idosubaru

did you buy this car used and how long/many miles ago? if this is a bad headgasket my guess is that it was replaced before but they didn't do a very good job. odd for this engine to blow a gasket like this.

you might even be able to find an exhaust gas test kit at a local auto parts store as well. they are fairly good, but not as definitive as you'd think on newer gen stuff. if it tests positive - you're probably hosed. they can give a false negative though - meaning you could still have bad head gaskets but "pass" this test. i've seen it happen, only on EJ engines like you have.

assuming your details are correct (the radiator fixed the leak): your heater core is clogged. remove both hoses going into the firewall and flush the heater core out. probably best to just plan on replacing those hoses and clamps too, good chance they are not in good enough shape to reliably pull off and reuse.

oh yeah, i agree the radiator testing sounds kind of corny. but i would look into this a bit more, i wouldn't ignore it unless you're ready to just run this thing into the ground. a quart per 500 mile leak could easily turn into "all your oil on the ground while driving" and ruin your engine. it's way too easy to run low and do engine damage. seen it happen numerous times.

Vipec and Z4 ECu - what does that mean?

that's a fine price. it really depends on your local market. in saturated areas it's easy to get stuff really cheap if you keep your eyes and feelers out. but that's time consuming too. $350 for a trans you need sounds great to me. not too mention he's not likely to sell it, will probably come down a bit, and scrap prices are a lot lower than a few months ago. talk him down to $250, scrap the rest for $100 and you're only out $150.

wow. a quart every 500 is terrible. it could easily be leaking it too, any signs of leakage? my guess is it's a very dirty engine if it's been this poorly maintained. it could have just overheated due to the coolant being low. if you want to keep this engine at all, do not let it run hot at all. it's hard to say. it could be separate coolant and oil leaks. a $10 clamp and hose for the coolant and a $5 oil seal/gasket. i'd want to verify the coolant and oil are mixing. have the oil drained and inspected for froth. remove the oil cap - is there a milkshake substance under the cap? look at the dipstick and drained oil - preferrably an open container to drain the oil into - look for coolant/oil mixing. a compression test may verify the condition of the head gasket as well and is very easy to do.

i wouldn't put much faith in a 10+ year old coolant overflow tank. they are USUALLY dirty on all the subaru's that pass through my hands (like dozens of them). they just get dirt in them from not being tightly sealed. now, that doesn't mean you don't have a problem, but that's not the way to diagnose. you didn't say if it was manual trans or auto or what engine is in the car. in 96 the manual OBW got an EJ22, the automatic got an EJ25. from your comments sounds like it's an automatic with an EJ25. they rarely loose headgaskets without overheating. has the car ever overheated? how much oil is needed to be added between oil changes? and how often are you changing the oil?

piston slap is loudest at start up. that it goes away with increasing RPM is true of lots and lots of engine noises just due to tire, trans, engine...all sorts of other noises drowning it out. i'd just ignore that "fact" for the moment.

was that the original water pump? Subaru?

First - make absolutely sure where it's coming from. "rear" leaks can often be from somewhere forward, but drain and/or blow back and only "appear" to be from the rear. Easy and likely culprits: Valve cover gaskets and the rear cam cap o-ring. These are very easy to replace and inexpensive. Fortunately the easy ones are also the most likely. Both of those usually tend to leak over time and you're vehicle is 15 years old. Expensive/big job culprits are headgaskets and rear main seal. For leaks at the front of the engine you would look at Cam seals and oil pump seals/gasket.

i might have a 97 Legacy FSM i could send you, would you be interested in that? guess i should have told you off line since we were just talking but i didnt' really think about it. let me know.

amen girl, i wouldn't keep it either. quarter million miles, about the distance to the moon, yeah it's about time to move on. might even feel kinda good to finally get rid of that thing? wonder if anyone here would use it? still probably a useable motor, just might eat some oil.

the a/c doesn't need to be disconnected to pull the engine. unbolt the compressor from the motor and swing it back towards the windshield, it will swing out of the way enough to pull the motor. even if you did disconnect it all you'd have to do is recharge it with a couple cans of refrigerant. i've done it a bunch of times and have never had a problem yet. i'd plan on pulling the engine, or at least have that as plan B since you're most likely going to need it. clutches are relatively straight forward and there are FSM's available so that's why there's no write up about this. find an FSM and go to town. disconnect everything: heater core hoses, air box/hose, throttle cables, wiring harness, distributor, starter, radiator hoses, power steering lines, a/c compressor, exhaust manifold nuts and anything else needing disconnected. unbolt motor - two engine mounts underneath and the bellhousing bolts. gradually work your way around the engine/trans contact area with a screw driver and chisel while giving it some lift and forward pull with the engine lift to get the engine/trans to separate. this usually takes awhile (particularly on one that hasn't been apart for awhile and your first time). just keep working around the engine and it slowly comes apart. you'll get it 1 inch separated on one side. then when you do the other the side that was 1 inch will only be 1/2 inch....just keep plugging along, it'll come. yank motor, replace clutch, reinstall. as you're finding out, be sure to replace everything and reseal the separator plate (just a plate on the back of the motor, really simple).

that's cool you hopefully have a good motor to start with. so what actually happened to this thing? wasn't it overheating? can cylinder wall wear/damage cause that?

94 was the last year for the loyale. we have the Subaru Factory Service Manual for the XT's over on the Subaruxt.com forum. Not your car, but will have the EA82 engine info in it. might want to define "a lot more power". if you really want more power, then it's not worth it, not practical, can't be done, however you want to word it with the EA82. if you just want it to look, feel, seem, and "sound" fast then just stop at your local ricer shop and buy all the add ons they sell or get them off ebay. you can read all day long on here about the EA82, it's a really poor engine for any mods. in general, small non-turbo engines just don't have much to gain. it's an extremely reliable engine if you're up to doing all the needed maintenance on a 15+ year old engine. as for the coolant leak, it could be the intake manifold gasket. they're much easier to replace and only cost a few dollars. the MPFI EA82's have a coolant cross over that can (and often does) bleed coolant into the combustion chamber. it gives coolant loss and similar to headgasket signs. but at this age there's plenty of chances for headgasket failure too since people don't keep up with maintenance on these things and typically overheat them - blowing the head gasket. EJ swaps are a great bet. excellent motor. and lots of info on here.

your first question is financial in nature. you've already mentioned that's a likely road bump. get a rough estimate of start up costs and time to become profittable (with appropriate safety factors in place) and see if that's a financial risk you're comfortable with and can make happen. your states DMV or MVA (whatever you motor vehicle place it called for your state) will have the information required for getting licensed. look at that, it's actually not that hard. you're starting the right way to succeed (rather than just doing it), and need to move quickly from here. start networking and finding people that know the business, like you're doing here. nice to find someone local that you can really interact with and respect. choose wisely, most people don't! i'd go straight for a dealer owner or as high up as i can possibly meet with. get a broad overview from them. i go to church with the owner of a Ford dealership, so i'd personally start there. start having lunch and connecting with people. personal relationships are key. what kind of discounts are USMB members going to get!?!?!?!

Subaru doesn't supply "used car" lots, those are independent. go to auctions, buy Subaru's and resell them. that doesn't take anything but looking up your state reg's. There are numerous independent subaru specialty shops. i've been to them in Georgia, Maryland, and West Virginia. they aren't affiliated with Subaru at all. Though they can create relationships with local Subaru dealers to help supply inventory and such. An actual dealership is a completely different undertaking and requires far more. Shop, supplies, inventory, lawyers, finances....it's a completely different ball game and a much larger enterprise. You'd need to decide what you want to do. One you can start next week and doesn't cost much of anything. The other requires massive investments or leveraging of assets, as well as time, to get started.

i would replace the $7 inline filter on the passengers side and the EGR valve. yours should have this, though i've seen some that don't. not sure when/why they changed. it's a $7 filter from subaru only and i've seen clogged ones cause EGR valve codes. you could try soaking and cleaning the EGR valve too, but if it's stuck might be tough. i have a brand new EGR valve on my 1997 Subaru impreza that i'd sell you. i was annoyed that replacing the solenoid didnt' solve my issues, so the old one is still good. i also have some EJ25 EGR valves used. i'd be willing to sell either one if you want.

hmm, that sucks the trans may have problems. you can find a used trans fairly inexpensively and they're reliable enough that replacing with a used one works well. but maybe it just needs a fluid change? if you're going to end up spending a few hundred dollars having the heads rebuilt then a used set like mdjc offered or an EJ22 swap would probably end up being cheaper and give you something with fewer miles on it. i also have an EJ25 in my garage with new headgaskets but doubt you want to spend that kind of money.

cool stuff. i don't know anything about brat's, what makes this a good find (besides being a brat obviously, i know they're hard to find)? sometimes there's separate limits for different "category" vehicles too. like only "one untagged vehicle per address"...etc.

for the cylinder misfire it's usually very simple - ignition related. meaning, it just needs a tune up. specifically: spark plugs and wires. make sure to use Subaru only wires and the stock NGK plugs. this EJ25 engine is not forgiving with aftermarket stuff of any kind. if the plugs and wires have been replaced, then it's likely that Subaru wires or NKG plugs were not used. as for the other, some testing would verify things but probably need a new sending unit.

most likely there's valve damage. but there's a chance of no damage and it's not always that bad if you can do the work yourself or have a reasonable mechanic. a friend of mine fixed one a year or two ago, just needed 2 bent valves replaced, everything else was fine. this is why we often recommend replacing the entire set of pulleys/tensioner with the timing belt on older cars or high miles. most likely yours weren't replaced, so that's expecting the original bearings to make 200,000+ miles which isn't a good bet. a complete head job/inspection *can* be done with the motor in the car, but it's usually suggested to pull it for head work. with the EJ25 head gasket issues and 200,000 miles i would plan on replacing both head gaskets with this job.

i basically do what subaru360 said - timing belt every 60k, the pulleys/tensioners every other timing belt. the only addition for me is on a 10 year old car i would replace the pulleys regardless of mileage if they're original or unknown. with the interferences jokers starting in 97 it's even more important now as time goes on.

dealer quoted by cousing $599...or was it $699 for the belt only. independent will probably be $300-$500. mostly depends on parts costs and what all you do. you should really have the entire timing belt components replaced. the bearings and pulleys are 10+ years old. there are ebay kits available that include the belt and all the pulleys/tensioners.