idosubaru

the 2.5 with blown headgaskets would end up being about the same amount of work anyway than dealing with an entire parts car and pulling the engine..plus it's old and probably has rusted bolts to deal with, and of course it's OBDI - so yeah the 2.5 would be easier and cheaper probably in the end or not much different anyway. 2.5 with new HG sounds golden to me if it's in good shape, i won't have an EJ25 in my wifes car unless it has new headgaskets.

like he said 2.2 verses 2.5 makes a big difference. in this year the 2.2 is a non interference engine and the 2.5 is an interference engine. definitely replace the water pump, it's not worth the low cost to replace verses the risk of hoping the water pump lasts to the next timing belt - which will be either 210,000 (2.2) or 250,000 (2.5) miles. to replace the water pump requires removing the timing belt, so do it all at once. i recommend replacing any timing belt pulleys or tensioners that have any play or noise in them as well. i have yet to find a late 90's EJ engine that didn't need at least one pulley - usually the cogged lower pulley is the most common to be low on grease. if it's a 2.5 you definitely want to err on the side of caution since it's an interference motor and risking a broken belt from a bad pulley can essentially ruin your motor. while the timing belt is off also replace the cam seals and oil pump seals, they are right behind the timing belt and don't cost very much to replace. best to do all this stuff at one time. EJ motors are very reliable, particularly the EJ22, so do it once and you got a great chance at making an easy 60,000 more miles to the next change. my rule of thumb is to replace the water pump every other timing belt on EJ22's and with every timing belt on EJ25's - not knowing your cars history i'd do it all.

i would first make sure the engine is even good. keeping in mind he is far more experienced than myself, a friend of mine did the same thing this year. bought an engine from a rollover vehicle and installed it in another. engine didn't last very long and this was a 2000+ vehicle, it failed, can't recall if it locked up or developed rod knock but it only last a few weeks. he thinks the roll over starved the engine of oil long enough to cause damage but didn't lock it up. i don't even know if there's a way to test it because it worked fine when he bought it and installed it. that being said a 1995+ 2.2 i think is a better candidate. the 95+ 2.2's are a plug and play deal, not so sure about the pre 95's. do some plugging/searching here there's tons of information on it, i know the 94 and earlier ones aren't typically used for the swap. yes, any 2.2 up to 1998 i believe will bolt up exactly to your existing trans. i believe you'll want to make sure if your current engine has EGR (which i think it does), that the 2.2 also has EGR. some do, some don't. of course you could work around it, that's probably what i'll do next time because EGR's suck.

you posted while i was typing. cool, you got it off, just make sure it's very tight when you get it back on. i've never used a torque wrench on a crank pulley bolt, i have a 3 foot pipe that i put on my socket that puts it well over specs. new tensioner should do it. that's great you caught it, this would cause serious engine damage if it happened to slip a tooth - interference engine and all. that would have been sucky luck had it let loose on you.

+1 what nipper said. is it still under warranty? what made you look at the timing belt? the crank pulleys are tight and one of the worst to remove on the vehicle, so you're not alone. automatic or manual? put a manual trans in gear, ebrake on and block the wheels. an automatic there's a bellhousing access hole under the intake manifold. rotate engine until you see an access slot in the flexplate to insert a socket extension, this will hold it in place. the starter trick works every time...just about, so that's fine too if you're comfortable doing it and know how to do it. don't start the engine, just bump it over and make sure everything is placed right. if you can't get the pulley bolt off and this is your first time, i'd also be concerned that it won't be reinstalled properly. that can cause serious damage to the crank and keyway that many mechanics won't even fix. make sure the pulley is at least as tight as the spec's. cast iron crank and cast iron bolt, it won't strip. since youre new to this, be advised these are aluminum engines and heads, don't go buck wild on any bolts holding tensioners or pulleys in aluminum, it strips easy.

like Gloyale said, but i'll phrase it differently - the more you use, the less it should be driven. it's subjective and i don't know that there are any hard numbers to go on. i probably wouldn't add more than a quart for actual daily driving duties and i wouldn't keep it in there for an entire oil change interval. if you wanted to run 2 quarts or 50/50, then a quick drive to operating temps or maybe 100-200 miles is all i would do. i've done it, but i'm not saying i recommend it - if it's something you wanted to try i'd limit it. for a bottle of seafoam or half a quart i'd be comfortable, and have, run that for 1,000-3,000 miles.

when doing a swap: will an AWD TCU run a FWD trans? will a FWD TCU run an AWD trans? assuming the trans are from the same model and year?

it's common for the wheel speed sensors to need replacement. dig around on here and find the endwrench instructions for pulling the code. if the ABS light is coming on, it's telling you what the problem is and will tell you the code. it's very simple to do if you're comfortable grounding one pin of a wiring harness. it's just about the gas pedal.

Gloyale is right that most will go away without replacement, but i would not be surprised if it never goes away, or not completely in your case. like i've said, i've seen them seized and unmovable - soaking in various detergents and with heat, vices, still didn't budge. in those cases, they will not be freed if they remain in the engine.

i would leave it tight, that's not causing any of your issues.

they do seize though and will tick. if they are seized you can often tell (every time i've seen them) by removing the cam and putting a straight edge across the top of the HLA's. the seized one will be at a different height than the rest. and you can usually tell if they're seized as the ticking will be isolated to one cylinder so you already know which ones to look at ahead of time. then they are obvious when you go to compress them, the good ones will compress the seized ones will not. the seized ones i've seen wouldnt' compress after soaking for days and using heat. but...i'm with GLOYALE, it's very rare for them to seize and i wouldn't expect them to seize without severe abuse - infrequent oil changes or contaminates in the oil - like coolant or antifreeze. TOD is usually solved by resealing the oil pump, or a new oil pump.

i'm probably missing something...i see 97 Legacy Wagon and 91 Legacy mentioned, how does the impreza fit in?

i've seen the lever just get stuck. work it back and forth and good to go. i'm sure there are other ways it can fail, i just haven't seen that (yet!). good luck, hopefully it's simple, worth a check at least.

any chance something wasn't right with installation? it's for sure the right axle? never again on reman'ed for me. i've seen them new out of the box blow to bits and others have had problems as well. you're better off with a used Subaru original. if the vibration is bad enough i would do something about it soon, as i believe a bad CV can damage the plastic speedometer driven gear inside the front differential. that plastic gear is only inches from the shaft, but if it breaks it requires removing and disassembling the transmission and big bucks just to replace a plastic gear. i believe the speedometer driven gear is on the passengers side, so if it's that side i'd be more concerned.

okay from what you're saying this sounds like a great deal. i wouldn't be surprised if it treats you well. wasn't trying to scare you but it's hard to make recommendations without seeing it, knowing the price and your situation. for that price this should be an excellent score, i would shy away from paying top dollar, but doesn't sound like you are.

try to get the bolt to back off a little bit, at least enough to squirt penetrating oil down the shaft. probably won't help much as the corrossion is typically deep, but if you get any room under the head you can get some down there. if you get it to break loose at all, then alternate tightening and loosening in small bits and work your way. also putting upwards pressure from under the head of the bolt as you're loosening helps as well, but this is only possible if it comes up a little bit. i've never done the loosen when engine is warm trick, sounds good.

more difficulty dropping the lifters verses the rocker arms? the rocker arms can not physically stay in place without falling when you're disassembling, it's impossible, so every single one will drop every single time the cam carrier is removed. where the lifters typically lie in the bores. i've never seen an HLA/lifter come out while the engine is in the vehicle, so that is definitely an odd experience to think of them sliding out on their own. they lie on their sides so to speak, parallel to the ground. hopefully he has the same experience, i've had a few that did not come out with penetrating oil and heat...with the head off it doesnt matter the machine shop gets them. with the engine in the car hopefully his come right out.

200,000 is quite a bit. i'm not saying they aren't capable of more, but i also wouldn't expect another 50,000 or 100,000 trouble free miles out of one with that many miles on it. the one thing you have going for you is age, it's not an old vehicle. a 1990 with 200,000 is far more concern than a 2000 with 200,000 on it, particularly with good service records and one owner. means the tires and proper maintenance were probably kept in good repair which is very important on these trans. i wouldn't necessarily rule it out. also keep in mind that replacing this transmission isn't all that unreasonable. used transmissions are relatively inexpensive and you'd easily be able to find a relatively low mileage 50,000-100,000 mile unit for a reasonable cost. installation will run $250-$500. so don't be too worried, a rebuild is not a wise choice on this transmission, it's not worth the high costs in my oppinion considering how reliable these transmissions are.

i think yours is an automatic since you mentioned "red fluid"? if it's an automatic, red fluid will not leak from that seal behind the axle stub. the automatics are mated to the front differential as an assembly and the front differential has differential fluid in it...the thick nasty smelling stuff. so it won't be red. those seals are difficult to replace and the process to reinstalling the retaining plate is very crucial.

all Legacy GT's have the 2.5 and the 1996 Legacy LSi I just picked up does as well. probably easiest if he just told us what he's talking about! if it's a 2.2 then your 1996 isn't interference. 2.2 went to interference design in 1997 model year...so double check the manufacture date to be sure. if it's a 2.5, they are all interference. auto the same in 1990? the 1990 and 1996 are different, i do not know if they will interchange or not. a quick look at the FSM wiring diagram would be where i would start with that one. the auto starters and manual starters are typically different, though i can't say whether the legacy will interchange or not.

your ebrake might just be stuck on though, so you might not need a rebuild at all. check that mechanism, if it's bad i would replace the caliper. of the few stuck ebrakes i've encountered, none have ever done it again after freeing them up. now if the caliper needs rebuilt, i would do it. i've rebuilt mine as prevenative maintenance and rebuilt a few for people on the xt6 board as well. if it's anything like the XT6, which i would guess it is, they are very easy and rebuild kits cost $5-$10 for both sides. the XT6 is a front ebrake set up just like the loyale so i'd imagine it's similar if not identical in process? the ebrake stuff doesn't get in the way at all, just leave all of that. off of the car, use the ebrake mechanism to "push" the piston out. on the car - with the pads out and caliper bracket pulled up, just press the brake pedal until the piston comes out - with lots of brake fluid too so have a bucket under it. pull it the rest of the way out, taking note how the rubber boot and clips are in place. it's very simple on the XT6 - a rubber seal on the piston and one clip to hold the boot in place and that's it. loyale should be the same.

the 99 is a bit different, but doesn't require a 99 to swap with. any 1996-1999 EJ25 will easily swap. later years will as well, plug and play for the most part. you can search here for more info. if you're going with a rebuilt then CCR is the way to go. headgaskets are common issues with these motors, i would not get a used engine unless it was very cheap or known to have had the headgaskets replaced.

you're talking about the rocker arms that fall off. the "lifters", the HLA's or Hydraulic Valve Lash Adjusters often stay in the head and are difficult to remove sometimes, no matter if the engine is out or in.

right on. i was curious if anyone knew whether either set up was easier to transplant than the other...parts, etc? not real familiar with hydraulic set up and what all it entails, but i do have a complete one available. and i know everyone is going to say to just buy a manual, hey that's usually my response, but that's probably not going to happen in this case. it's got the new headgaskets on it too, so i may even keep the engine!

picked up a 1996 Legacy LSi and i'm almost positive i'm going to convert it to FWD Manual. It's an automatic AWD right now. comments on whether I should convert it to cable clutch or hydraulic? does anyone know whether the pedal assemblies are interchangeable between those two? in other words does a hydraulic clutch have to use a "hydraulic clutch" pedal assembly?