idosubaru

Any rear EA82 axle will work. Get a used one and reboot it.

your compression numbers need checked or you’re just guessing. You shouldn’t get that large of a variation. 150ish is spec. Technically it’s dependent on engine RPM. each cylinder should be within 20%, 120 is exactly 20% less than 150 but that may be closer depending on testing accuracy.

EA82 are single spring - One spring let valve. Two springs per cylinder but that’s still one spring per valve.

No. They’re good engines if you can verify they were never run hot or low on oil for the last 30 years (impossible) and they have all new gaskets, hoses, rebuilt turbo, and the oil control and compression rings, or HLAs, aren’t stuck from sitting for extended periods of time in the last 30 years. If you can verify all of that they are good engines. That’s both nearly impossible and a crap ton of work and cost. for the same effort you can drop in an EJ for the same or more HP, it won’t need near the amount of work and pampering, easier to find parts for and more potential HP. The EA82T is a decent engine you just won’t find one in good enough condition and even if you did the cost and effort to swap and get it to daily driver reliable and prevent catastrophe of turbo related issues still doesn’t make any practical sense compared to EJ. but if you’ve got time burning a hole in your pocket and love hard projects that aren’t ideal and need more effort than necessary to get up to speed then have at it. Most of us have done it before too!

With the engine in the car? I’ve done most Subaru springs by hand, but wasn’t able to with the engine in the car. What do you use to compress the springs when it’s in the car? Wish I could meet up at your favorite watering hole and ask, I still have this car in my driveway!

Good eye. Besides problematic #4, the others are within 20% spec, barely. I wouldn’t consider those numbers a big deal until you redid the test and confirmed excellent starter amperage availability throughout the entire test (was the lowest reading done last with a weakening battery?) and throttle body and plate fully opened to ambient air. I’d probably test those low cylinders a couple more times. if the engine hasnt been run much is there a chance of rings and HLAs freeing up and settling into nominal ops after driving 1,000 km?

That's been happening since at least 2014 - small batteries/CCA's probably to save weight/costs. The solution is to upgrade battery/CCA's and address sitting vehicles that people aren't driving due to often reduced working and driving usage. That is annoying but fairly simple to work around compared to charging systems on older vehicles fraught with corrosion, degraded wiring and grounds, poor terminal ends, prior work and repairs, etc.

$126 free shipping: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-Subaru-Strut-20310AE44A/283564323183?fits=Make%3ASubaru&epid=1911306109&hash=item4205c0316f:g:KbsAAOSwl2BdvXdL

Oh yeah do that. I thought they were twice that price. $149 MSPR, $105 right here: https://www.subarupartsdeal.com/parts/subaru-strut-complete-front-right~20310ae44a.html

two part plastic epoxy the piece back into place.

one comment on another forum said baja front struts will lift an outback 1.5 inches, so i guess outback struts are a little shorter and would lower a baja. people also install baja turbo springs in 00-04 outbacks to stiffen and slightly lift them, usually in the rear but fronts have been talked about and done too. so there's a chance you could install Outback struts with Baja turbo front springs (the rear turbo baja springs were dirty cheap like $30 or something when I installed them on my outack). the outback strut will be shorter but you'll make up some of it with the stiffer turbo springs. that's probably what i'd look into doing.

Rebuilt title on something that old often does *not* impact the value at all. All that happens is out of 100 potential buyers of a 16 year old Subaru with a blown engine - you'll rule out 40 of them. Then there's 60 more that will buy it and don't care. It's not a big deal if it's known why they were wrecked, it's reasonably repaired, and been on the road years later with no issues from the wreck, and the car is old and not valued much to begin with. Also keep in mind it's a very abnormal market currently. That can swing both ways.

No connection, just three words stuffed together into one username

Legacy struts are the same as outback except they won’t clear the larger outback tires so you can’t use legacy struts on outbacks unless you change tire size. Buy Subaru or KYB struts and take your new struts and old strut assemblies to a shop and they’ll swap struts for you for cheap. Very common practice. In addition to not having the right part if GD is right, the quick struts are usually garbage. Float and drive terrible, the top hats are like rubber balloons and can deflect enormously (they push out the top Like if viewing the strut top with the engine open) or they break. I’ve seen brand new ones break in less than a week. Ignoring turbos/performance people, almost everyone in subaru world uses Subaru or KYB, that’s it. I do all my own work and trusts. struts are the one thing best left to a shop. But like I said do all of it yourself and take the new and old parts to a shop and they’ll swap them out. Why don’t outback struts work on bajas? i have baja turbo springs on the rear of my 02 outback and thought the struts were interchangeable between 00-04 outbacks and bajas. I’m not sure why fronts would be different but I’d assume baja and 00-04 outback KYB struts to be the same. If they’re listed as such by a reputable company like KYB, or well known distributor, then I would guess they’ll fit and work great. I’m sure it’s been looked into, a quick google should answer it. Or read the reviews of sites selling struts and see if people mention their baja on the 00-04 outback struts.

No tool in the world works every time, except almost, maybe a torch. these rust in a wide range of severity. What is “bad” for one person, is average for another, and then there’s another level and another. This isn’t “rusty and stuck” or “not stuck”. The tools break. Metal arms and ends shear and threads strip. I’ve seen those things happen multiple times, I don’t have any ball joint tools except a torch. Or the tool rips just the ball out of the socket into two pieces, and the receiving side of the ball joint is still rust welded into the knuckle and you have to drill and chisel it to pieces to install a new ball joint. I avoid rusty Subaru’s but sometimes encounter them and don’t have any ball joint tools except a torch. Yes coating is done, but the first ball joint removal isn’t usually done until the car is very old (in rust terms) at which point you do not remove ball joints unless you have to or you don’t know any better

headgasket. previous owner dumped it for that and you bought it. of course check to make sure you're not just seeing a dirty coolant reservoir, we can't see what you're looking at, but if you're noticing something obvious then it's the headgasket. being a manual you probably would just pull the engine and do the clutch as well and pull the engine. but at a minimalist project, those little EA82 4 cylinders are not hard at all to do in the vehicle. jack up one side at a time and have at it if you don't have an engine lift.

All common and normal. They frequently need some added after the initial top off. It doesn't feel very good though seeing that needle creep up after all that work. But it's common, just keep it topped off and watching the needle. I've never had issues after the first drive or two, so you can relax very soon. i've always wanted to cut open old radiators to see if they're "clogged", particularly cracked ones that were properly working before failure. my kids are old enough now i can have them crack one open if i run across one. I've been suspicious of that before as well. I think it can be perception, an artifact of looking more closely than normal, and some lag caused by radiator cooling capacity impacting the t-stat to temp sensor response time, like data lag sort of. The cluster temp sender is a separate system and in a different location that the temp controlling t-stat. So a fresh radiator would feed cooler coolant to the temp sender, for the same flow rate and heat load of the engine, through the tstat. That should also cause lower internal engine temps, for the same heat load, and a commensurate response from the stat, ending up in an overall similar steady state temperature that was previously seen. I wouldn't expect much difference, but maybe it's enough to be perceptible. All that to say - I've suspected before as well. There is some room for conceivable variance. But I'd also take the time to ask about the thermostat. How old is the thermostat? They very rarely fail and the ones that I've seen have all come from overheated engines, engines that have sat for extended periods, or were drained of coolant for awhile. And a couple of them had large crusty build up on them, indicative of sitting or overheating. it's just a mechanical part so they can fail but I think well maintained, never (significantly) overheated, proper coolant maintained, vehicles are far less likely to have tstat issues. I think yours just overheated once and mildly? When I've boiled failed tstats - I think all of them have opened, just not enough, so it's not a typical binary on/off failure, they can open but are stuck or caught in a groove so to speak, etc. Is it possible for one to stick "too far open", say from a settling into a decade+ and 80k miles of use? You could plug in and see what your engine temps are, though you may not have any pre-work numbers to compare it too.

your issue for FWD may be that it’s not failed to a continuous “locked” state. Keep in mind this is a DIY hack that would only be reasonable for a small number of situations and people who like to tinker. This isn’t a good option in general for most people. An 09 is newer than any I’ve seen. One could wonder if you’d have sensor issues due to speed differences, though with rear output tied to front and rear wheels rotating like front, my guess is there’s no issue. And in the end you’d probably just loose cruise control or VDC which for a car destined for garbage doesn’t much matter sometimes anyway. If the VLSD is totally locked all the time, I’ve seen MT Subaru’s with it done, though I think they were RWD. If I haven’t seen a FWD, it’s the same concept. They just left the failed locked VLSD in place and removed the axles or driveshaft. A member of this forum did it with EJ stuff and I’ve been in the car, though he’s not active here. Remove the rear driveshaft and plug the output so it doesn’t puke fluid. its obviously not ideal and I don’t know what longevity would be like. but for a free repair on a quarter million mile vehicle it might suit some situations. and the next time you go in for tires like I did, maybe you’ll hear the mechanics argue when they get it up on the lift: “Hey man that’s Subaru is FWD!” “Nah, no way, dumb &@&, none of those are” ”Come here and look then!” ”well, look at that crazy thing”

Awesome. Good job. Monkeying with cooling systems can be unnerving. You did it! The mount tabs are commonly cracked or damaged. I assumed it was rust, some items it’s certainly rust. I have no idea how many I’ve seen without tabs, no bolts, zip ties. I don’t worry about it depending which style it is and where the other fasteners are located. Add zip ties or epoxy the tab back in place if you have the broken off pieces. or get used fans/housings. The radiator easily basically stays in place with just the pegs locating the bottom and hoses pushing it back into the rad support, it can’t go anywhere, they don’t need much to hold them reliably. So if some bolts are in place or you zip tie it should be fine.

Engines and trans are compatible. The 95 intake manifold and all electronics bolt right on top of the 90 (or 89 as you called it earlier I think....?). If you’re willing to look into custom hubs and shafts then just bolt the Legacy engine to the Loyale trans and install it. All you need is an adapter plate which is easy and the learning curve has already been done. Convert some axles and modify the driveshaft length It’s a poor choice, but in those same terms, so is every other option youre choosing. And I don’t mean that as a slight. You’re obviously working from a different set of constraints than most people would - I work differently than i did 15 years ago and so does GD - so just get, or make, an adapter plate and you’re done. Mix and match some axles, driveshaft length. Theres no practical physical benefit for PT4WD or FWD in a Subaru unless you want to do burnouts and spin tires. All the weight of the 4WD and rotating driveline is still there. There’s no mileage benefit except mentally one might drive more mileage minded if they think they’re in a “higher mileage” contraption. put a FWD sticker on the instrument cluster. Subaru Autos that are converted to FWD see no mileage improvements or they’re very small and only in specific driving conditions. If you want to maximize mileage dial in your tire size to driving conditions to maximize gearing.

Entire 97 intake manifold bolts right on top of the 99. Easy. There’s nothing to it. Ideally install a new Subaru timing belt and lower coffee idler pulley. Broken timing belt or seized pulley means bent valves on that engine, usually a majority of them. The belt and that lower pulley ($30 from Subaru) are by far the most likely to fail. When towing on a dolly it’ll stress the rear clutch packs inside the rear of the AT. That rear extension housing (namely the Duty C, clutches and basket / which are all replaceable without dropping the trans) are worth saving if you’re the type to save parts for future repairs, in case you have torque bind. Which is common enough to keep parts for. Tow it with the engine on and FWD fuse installed. That should release all the pressure from the rear plates. It always worked for me. As another option, could you swap the 97 trans into the 99?

I think there are two styles of 90s compressors, so make sure you get the one you need. I assume shipping is too expensive but I have a 90s EJ22 compressor, $15 and it’s yours if you’re around Ohio or Maryland area.

Lots of examples like that. There's also lots of examples of lower mileage failures. On a board you just happen to see all the ones that "made it". My OBW H6 has 265k on the original engine.

Private and dealer both have upside and downside issues. It seems a of people find this hard (remembering that I've helped a ton of people buy subarus), but it seems easy to me. Every car I've bought from someone who clearly had a reason to sell - retired, moving, mobile people like military/grad/medical, car needed a new fender, family of 6 (the new baby can't possibly fit in their current car)....has been a great vehicle. Every car where the person didn't have a real reason to sell (they always have "a" reason - company car, needed something new....lots of 'artifical' or convenient 'reasons' to sell that are described to a prospective buyer but they aren't real reasons) - is when you are likely into a problematic vehicle. Dealers have some upsides too, usually on newer vehicles. A dealership purchase rarely has any upside to $5k vehicles - they get a car at auction they know nothing about that's had 3 prior owners and know known recent or past history. In my mind it's almost stupid to only look at dealers for sub $10k cars - you're guaranteeing to know nothing of the past history/ownership that way. Of course look there as well, but also consider private. I'll fly far away for a great private vehicle over a dealer. You almost always get a "worse" vehicle from a dealer of older, lower cost Subaru's because the nature of auctions/trade-ins is such that you're guaranteed to not know anything about the car. Unless yo'ure in a small or slow market where the trade-ins are local and known, but that's not the norm. You won't find one that replaces headgaskets on H6's - they're too costly and labor prohibitive. And I wouldn't trust that it's done right unless I know who did it and that OEM gaskets were used and the heads were resurfaced.

Right on GD. “never” is often overstating. Id guess it’s less likely and wonder if more likely on tricked out Impreza platforms that are driven as such.