idosubaru

not offended, logical. i only mentioned tires - that they make more of a difference in traction than 4WD. you've got one of the best snow drivers around and don't know it, that's too bad. and it's not the "XT6", it just those EA/ER transmissions, they are cool. it could be helpful to figure out what is wrong with your tires or 4WD rather than just assume "the XT6 is bad in the snow". that way you know more about them and realize like everyone else that has owned both, that the locking center diff was an awesome feature that Subaru should have kept. in the end any 178k 20 year old car isn't going to make a good daily driver without significant attention to maintenance. this coupe will be great for you - no rust and less of a chance of poor previous maintenance - like needing an engine replaced and then not being installed properly (leaking intake gaskets).

if money isn't an issue then ignore this. but i hope you're not installing another used engine? i'd hate to see you have head gasket, piston slap or bearing issues in a year. you never found someone to do the EJ22 swap?

T i don't see anything abnormal in that picture but maybe it's the picture or i'm missing something? i don't see much of a gap at all. it looks perpendicular to the sealing surface of the gasket anyway, so doesn't look alarming yet. do you know why one of your head gasket bolts were loose and is this the motor that blew a gasket before? only suggestion i have is maybe save the 6 pack for when you're DONE the work this time!!!!

your questions are too generic and impractical. "best"....that's ambiguous. but yes it's best for you. "best" depends how you define it? only the owner can make that decision. but based on what i know about you, you shouldn't be messing with your transmission. you need to read up all the threads you can about transmissions and...well anything subaru. you spend enough time on the boards that you can do that. and you need to get an FSM - Factory Service Manual. you ask questions about front diff swapping and engine transplants like it's easier than changing your oil!!! a honda or neon, or something else with more after market support. your question is too ambiguous. it would be good for you to decide what you're trying to do and read as much as you can. once you understand things better you can ask better and more specific questions so we can actually help you. as it is you've asked dozens of questions about things you are not going to do. first you wanted a higher ratio (4.11 is the title of this thread)...and now you want to go to a lower ratio (you just asked about 3.7??)??????? it's hard for us to figure out what you're trying to do. but if you wanted the 3.7 the easy way to do that is to find a FT4WD EA82 Turbo transmission - like out of an XT Turbo or RX. those both have 3.7 final drives and bolt right up to your XT6. that's the only easy transmission swap that gives you a gear ratio change. if you're concerned about all this gear changing though - just get different size wheels. a 15" or 16" wheel changes your gear ratio too (essentially lowering your final drive). that's far easier than a transmission swap. and if you can't afford the wheels or tires to do that then trying to swap transmissions is a bad idea.

sounds like it's time to move on from the XT6. you've had a horrible experience with that car anyway. even with the 30k crate motor you like to mention it still runs and performs sub par compared to other XT6's. with all it's issues, a new impreza and near perfect coupe on the way, this XT6 is not worth your time at all. sounds like the car you like the least is the one that needs the most work, which doesn't seem like a good fit.

i'm confused? why put new headgaskets on a motor with rod knock? yank it and give it a good look over, sounds like it needs a new motor anyway.

keep the car. in general there's no need to pull the engine unless the rear main is puking oil, which is very, very unlikely in a Subaru. bad oil leaks like this are usually very simple - timing belt and the seals mentioned above and the valve cover gaskets. a far cry from a $2,500 job, go elsewhere. this sounds like simple repair work too, no need for a Subaru dealer on this one. can you take a picture of the underneath of the car so we can maybe help you diagnose where the leak is coming from?

once or twice a year sounds very odd, make sure you're not loosing coolant. bubbles in the overflow tank when it does overheat - that's a sure sign of head gaskets on this motor. tell your daughter to listen for that next time it does it. once/twice a year is not indicative of headgasket unless it is really only driven more than a few minutes that number of times a year.

best bet is to get a used one. many people have access to parts cars or junk yards where these things are worth pocket change. post in the parts wanted forum or stop by a junk yard. you could try diassembling it and cleaning the contacts though. they are rather simple in design and function, though i've never taken one apart.

gotcha, i'll edit that so as not to confuse anyone. i meant to say the wiring might be the same - like the connectors at the ECU might use the same wires - so swap ECU then make the harness fit? no matter, it's a bad idea any way around.

i would not use block sealer if you plan on keeping this vehicle for any length of time. whatever engine ends up in there - a new one or the original, i wouldn't want that block sealer all through the cooling system - heater core, radiator, hoses, etc. you can do tests and if it fails that's a bad thing. but they don't confirm that the head gasket is not leaking. the EJ25 is a freak. it can pass compression, leak down, and hydro carbon tests. being known locally as having some subaru knowledge i've gotten questions from mechanics that couldn't figure out an overheating EJ25...passed all the conventional head gasket tests.

doubtful that will help. like they already mentioned "filter" is the wrong name for it, it's just a screen and i've yet to see one that even had a hint of dirt on it.

no. it's not worth it.

yes cam cap comes off really easy, i've done a ton of them. there's an oring behind it that you'll want to replace with new. no problem removing the cam sensor, it just unplugs and unbolts. remove and reinstall and you're golden!

that's really bad. i would almost wonder if that tire is dragging or lagging. like torque bind, ebrake or rear caliper, wheel bearing, axle, rear diff? i'd want to jack it up and make sure it spins freely.

they quoted you the price for the block to protect themselves. it's probably a head gasket. imagine if you're a customer and go in with overheating car. shop quotes you $1,500 to replace the gaskets. then it's still overheating and the shop says "oh you have a bad block and that's $4,000". some people get seriously miffed at paying $1,500 and then needing a new block for that kind of change. so the easiest route...just quote a block replacement every time. statistically speaking - making up numbers - you have a 2% chance of having a blown block and that number gets larger the more times you drive it while overheating. if you've been driving it as much as it sounds like then it's gradually degrading the block over time. all of that heat and repeated driving does bad things to gaskets and bearings and even cylinder sleeves. there's really no way to promise anything. your symptoms are very common (for this motor, not head gaskets in general), nothing odd about what i'm seeing there. but - you want to make sure that's it's not loosing coolant somewhere else and something very simple. have the radiator caps, hoses, leak points, thermostat and water pump ever been addressed? all of those are at or past replacement mileage and are over 10 years old now. if you do need engine work, a cheaper alternative is to go for an EJ22 engine swap - it's easy to do on a 1998 EJ25 vehicle and the EJ22 is a more reliable engine. and your speedo issues are common to 1999-ish vehicles for some reason.

i wouldn't consider that the "going rate" and i wonder what kind of warranty they have. CO junk yards list a core with rod knock for $500 and running ones with warranty for $1,500+. $1,000 is the going rate around here and on ebay. completed items on ebay - there are dozens sold for $850+. and even still they're the same old problematic head gaskets, piston slap prone, and less reliability than an EJ22. EJ22's just seem like a better fit for most people...but certainly not everyone. depends which engines you're comparing, but it's generally 30hp or less for a swap if you want to be a bean counter. the EJ25's are nicer in that regard but the difference is minimal in my opinion, they're still not fast.

impreza's are a real goof ball of a job by Subaru. they went backwards in the mid 90's. impreza's had rear discs in the earlier models....then around 95, 96, or 97 (not sure when) they started putting rear drum brakes on them for some reason? which is stupid considering that would entail higher production costs for a lesser product.

i don't think that's the EGR. the EGR is on the drivers side rear of the head. it comes out of the head and runs to the EGR valve on top. but the thing you're talking about runs from the passengers side head (right at the exhaust manifold) to some big cylinder contraption and then to the intake. i'm not sure what that system is called or what it is for but i removed it and blocked it off. sounds like what you did.

is there something out there that suggests the LSD stubs are different than the non-LSD stubs? i've always swapped them out indiscriminately and never had a problem. i never even thought about it.

i'm wondering the same things myself connie. not sure if i feel like fixing some of the things on mine or just buying another. thing is, XT6's are so cheap it's hard for me to justify putting tons of work into one. i know you've talked about that rust about 1,344,322 times but i still can't remember where it all is. if it's the frame rails that's not terrible. if it's all around the back where the rear subframe mounts or that subframe itself is rusted then that's more difficult - although you could get an entire subframe to put back up under there....if the body is good enough to bolt it too.

might be a good idea to mention if this is the block that has blown head gaskets a few times? i've seen comments on here about these sleeves moving or shifting in the cylinder bores. but if your found a loose headbolt then it sounds like you found the actual problem. can you post a picture, i've got a number of blocks and have pulled apart a bunch and can't think of seeing this before. i'd be interested in seeing what it looks like.

yeah john i don't think this is a good fit. it is a huge job for you and something you've never done before. even more importantly it would be a ton of effort for hardly any increases. it would a little bit but it would still be waaay slower than your XT6 which you're not satisfied with. so - lots of hours of work, very little increase and way slower than a car you already have and aren't satisfied with - doesn't sound like a good fit. what you would need to do if you were really serious about this is to compare the wiring harnesses. i wouldn't be surprised if the MPFI and SPFI were fairly close and the ECU's probably have the similar connectors. if that's the case you might be able to repin the existing connectors?? if you want something fast, don't try to start with something slow, that just doesn't make sense. it's like going to the plumber when you're having a heart attack. in your position it is better to not try to go fast at all.

EJ stuff is nothing like EA older gen stuff. EJ engines are very sensitive to ignition wires. i've seen (and you can find many threads on here too) brand new aftermarket wires cause cylinder misfire check engine lights. it's not worth $40. stick with OEM subaru wires or Magnecor. Shop around, do NOT buy them from Magnecor. A distributor will have cheaper prices, i think i bought mine online for my 1997 EJ22 were $60-ish or so dollars. Magnecor wires are awesome - you'll never need to replace them, so by the 2nd wire change you're making money and have wires that won't degrade. i've carried over sets to second and i think third vehicles before.

hmm, that makes it interesting. could be piston slap too? if it's piston slap it's not harmful....and EJ25's are known more for that than EJ22's also, forgot about that one. tensioner rod - as in the timing belt? that would be a cheap/easy fix. maybe you should start a thread in the New Gen forum to help you diagnose what this sound is. might be able to help figure it out?