idosubaru

late model 2.2's are awesome. much better than the 2.5's (in my oppinion due to head gasket issues). i'd plan for a very thorough maintenance if you plan on keeping it awhile (which it seems you would). the timing belt and water pump should be replaced and the timing belt pulleys should all be carefully inspected. any that are even a little noisey or free spinning should be replaced. the 97 and up 2.2's are interference engines, if one of those bearings go, so does your timing belt and bad things can happen to the engine. you could probably get away with a timing belt now and address the water pump and pulleys on the next timing belt, but i personally do mine at the same time. $100 isn't worth it to me. don't forget to pay attention to clutch play and the clutch itself. that's an expensive job. good luck and have fun.

come on let's give good information here...attack the REAR of the tranny with a large hammer. har har har.... i'd do what he said, change the fluid a few times. does it still bind with the FWD fuse in? i'm assuming it does or you wouldn't be checking the rear wheels right?

hey nip! quit picking on me!

yep, get some standard legacy struts from the same year/model/etc and you'll be golden. lots of others will swap as well, but the closer to the same as yours the better chance you have of setting level. i'm familiar with the XT6 air suspension more than the specifics of the legacy, but you have all sorts of options. i wouldn't pay any more than $35 for each strut if i were you. so $150 tops for all 4 spring struts. i'd buy the entire assembly too, don't piece it together. and send me your air suspension compressor when you're done the swap.

i think all the information you need is in that thread. it is highly unlikely you have electrical issues. i think you'd be spending lots of time looking for something that isn't there. if you want to thoroughly trouble shoot this thing electrically then your best bet is probably to go through the trouble shootin schematics of the FSM. they are quite thorough and detail everything. i think those are available online but i don't know where.

WOW, so a 1996 OBW has the same transmission as a 1988 XT6? weirdo. what phase is mine....a negative 1? a zero? maybe they started counting over again with the EJ series? how confusing.

it would be helpful to know if you're experienced with Subaru's such that you've already ruled all the common 4EAT issues. Or describe the issues you're having so we can see if any typical issues are the cause of your problems before chasing weird electrical issues that rarely/if ever cause issue. if it was electrical/grounding in nature i'd want to know if the car has ever been wrecked, flooded, any body work, etc? not that is matters, but i don't think you have a Phase I 4EAT. you have a Phase I EJ25 engine possibly, but the 4EAT was out well before the EJ25 motor.

i had to check the URL to make sure this wasn't nabisoc. mountains do require downshifting to maintain speed, that's very typical depending on the gearing. i haven't driven every possible subaru auto and gear ratio available but all of the ones i have driven require shifting when driving through the mountains, to maintain highway speed over very steep inclines. good luck anyone proving either way, there's no quantitative testing to look at. the 4EAT is fairly robust and will withstand a good deal. this is such a benign issue, next thread y'all!

nipper is correct, you should use a torque wrench, but i never do. i do guarantee i'm getting well past the recommended value. it's a cast iron crank and i've never seen one strip. i use a 3 foot pipe over my socket wrench and crank that mofo hard as i can. they never come off that way. i've done a few without the pipe and they've always held as well, but i don't hold back if you know what i mean. i even have a torque wrench, but have no plans on keeping it only to the recommended spec's, i'll go all out on that one. this problem is too common and causes too much headache to risk. if the motor is turning or the wheels are moving at all (if MT is in gear), the bolt is not turning with all the force you're giving it. make sure the car and crank are locked in tight so the bolt does the turning and nothing else.

i've heard other "gas" alternatives are escalating in price too, making conversion less cost friendly in the U.S. propane and NG varies wildly across different areas/regions. i know nothing about these conversions but have read alot about it. it's something i'd like to do but don't and will never have the time to learn it. i'd only do it myself for the learning aspect of it.

a 2.2 up to 1998 will work as well. the only thing you'll need is the exhaust manifold as well. the 95 just doesn't require the exhaust manifold. but that one item isn't worth reducing your possibilities. in 1999 the 2.2 changed a good bit, don't know if it would work for sure or not, i'd bet it would but i have nothing to confirm that. to recap - you'll need either a 1995 engine. or a 1996-1998 with exhaust manifold. with either of those two choices the swap is the same regarding everything else.

i'm not an exhaust expert but i've put larger exhaust on an XT6 which has a much larger engine (2.7 liter 6 cylinder) and 145 hp stock and i even think 2.5" is too larger for that. i think 2...maybe 2.25" depending what you're after is more than adequate on those. i'd think 2" or 2.25" would be maximum you'd want for normal applications on a 1.8 liter subaru. but again, just talking from experience, i don't know much about exhaust theory. i agree with all the comments on power too. i've done all sorts of things to the 145hp 6 cylinder ER27 engine in the XT6. exhaust, removed A/C pulley, ignition upgrades, intake modifications, new hewgaskets and valve job, perfect compression, play with timing, synthetic fluids...blah blah blah. alot of that stuff adds to reliability or needed replacement anyway, but in the end you don't end up with tons more horsepower. very little difference really, even on a much larger and more powerful engine than the 1.8 liter. old non-turbo subaru's are not power houses by any means. i wouldn't spend too much time on trying to make it powerful. if you really want power, then start planning ahead for a turbo or a complete newer generation swap. read through all the EA82 and even ER27 posts about modifications and you won't see great results. lots of effort and time on little return really. but..there has been lots of awesome work done and i highly recommend reading about it including looking at some good dyno results all through this forum. i highly value these vehicles, but not as powerhouses.

$500 seems stout but if it tests good then so be it. i have a 2.2 i'd sell for half that (wrong coast of course), and there are two 2.2's for sale locally ($225 for both or $150 each) and they include the transmissions! but if you need the engine that often dictates that you'll pay a little more than normal as well. for that much money i'd like to get a compression test on it first. if they can start it, they can compression test it as it doesn't even have to run to do that. great motors so with that mileage if the compression is good that's not a bad price if you need the thing. probably won't find one that you know runs with that low mileage. 1992 is a noninterference engine so if the timing belt has that few of miles on it i'd wait. i'd rather run the engine a bit before spending any more money on this motor.

keep the fluid full, if you're loosing it the motor will eventually run hot. check the floorboard under the carpeting at the passengers side feet well area, all the way up the firewall towards the dash. if it's wet that's almost positively the heater core. check for leaks, follow hoses, look under the car for wet spots or on the ground underneath. let it run and idle in the same spot for 15 minutes and look for leaks underneath. (just don't let it get hot). good luck and have fun

i don't know all the vehicles and options so it would help to know what motor you have. EA81 or EA82? I know GL hatches in 89 had the EA81, but i don't know about the wagon. i would pass on the sealant stuff, probably don't need it. water pump isn't that hard. with the pump and timing belts off you are only a few bolts away from replacing the cam seals, oil pump seals and crank seal. with that done you likely won't need a sealant or conditioner. if it's an EA81 it doesn't have timing belts. if it's an Ea82 it does and im' speaking more about those. find the leaks and address them, rather than using snake-oil. if you can't then that's one thing, but you'll be in for a water pump so lots of seals will be right in front of you begging for replacement! removing the timing belt cover is about the most annoying part of the entire job...the bolts won't come and it's just annoying. i rip mine off. turns it into a 20 minute job! tons of information on the board here about replacing belts, water pump and such. use the search function. when i was looking to replace one of my first EA82 water pumps i searched the forum and found out exactly how to tell which water pump i needed. unfortuntaely i don't recall the details, but it's all right here.

not exactly. depends what he's talking about. you're talking about the axles. subaru's have Ujoints on the driveshaft. they are not greaseable like other Ujoints. they are sealed and "non-replaceable" by most mechanics definitions. if they fail you'll have to install another driveshaft as the ujoints are not replaceable in the typical sense. Rockford makes ujoints to replace the subaru non-replaceable ujoints but it does take some skill to install them. i have a set installed on my driveshaft and they are greaseable. they are also replaceable now. the sealed ones require less maintenance and don't fail as often (but whether that's attributable to the design or usage/type of vehicle is debatable).

heads are usually fine if they aren't abused. i'd be more concerned that coolant/water has sat in the oil, engine bearings, rings and cylinders for an extended period. if the oil/antifreeze looks like it's mixed extensively and it's sat that way for awhile, that would turn me off. i've done a number of head gasket jobs and the only one i ever had to replace was driven for months by just continuously adding coolant like gasoline. the head wasn't completely destroyed, but certainly had visible damage. that being said, buying a used head is no big deal. can't imagine it would be that hard to find one, i have them lying all around my place. remember...he's asking $250, i bet they take $150 or $200. cars that don't run and need this much work often sell very cheap.

in neutral the pump probably isn't circulating any fluid since the torque converter and oil pump shaft wouldn't be spinning. makes sense to me what benebob is seeing. engine does the same thing when the coolant quits circulating (engine turns off). surface temps increase since coolant quits circulating.

those cars are tough, good motor and all. it looks in poor shape, but seeing it in person will help you. need to be very cautious about something needing a water pump. i traded for a car that "needed a water pump", yeah right, it needed headgaskets! i didn't care too much since i've done plenty of headgaskets. that's 208,000 hard miles if any of them are on a mail carrier route. those aren't highway easy engine miles. assuming the diagnosis is correct, the engine was likely overheated. who knows how many times or by how much. if coolant/water got in the oil then the internals of the motor may not be in top shape if it has sat that way for a lengthy time (looks like it has). bearings, cylinders, rings don't like coolant/water sitting in them. it is cheap, but with the condition, rust, dirty engine, the probability that it's been overheated....it's not necessarily a great deal. looks like it's been sitting for quite some time as well which presents it's own issues (coming from a guy who had 10 subaru's on his property!) personally i'd hold out for something around the $500 mark in much better condition if that's the price range yo'ure looking for. i guess down there the market might be worse, but up here i'd think you can find a better deal. you'll likely need $200 or more worth of parts, batteries, tires, water pump, timing belt...and more to get it running anyway. BUT - if they listed it for $250, they'll probably take less! so worth a look for sure!!!

the only tool you'll need is a punch to drive out the roll pin from the axle. very straight forward and simple. i've used allen wrenches before in lieu of any punches. i've heard of people using nails, but be forewarned you don't want anything to get wedged in there either, pound it too hard and it'll be heck to get it out. any store will have a couple dollar punch. i think it's a 3/16" punch you'll need, but double check that. the axle nut is usually 32 mm. funny thing is that i've seen 32 and 36 mm axle nuts on the same exact model subaru's not sure what that's all about.

agree with benebob. highly unlikely you'll reach high temps like he said for just some highway cruising and not many mountain climbs. if you're driving up many hills, don't let the transmission search, in other words shift multiple times up and down while climbing a hill because of the load. just take it easy and you'll be fine.

good information all, thanks!

on the XT6 automatics the stubby shaft that the cv slides over just pulls out by hand. put an axle on it, then yank on the axle and the stubby shaft pops out. i've never done it on a manual, but always assumed it would be set up the same way. has the circlips at the base that hold it in place like i mentioned in your rear differential thread.

not sure what the spindles are? the stubs, stubby shafts that the cv axle slides on? on the transmission they just pop out and pop in, having a circlip at the base to hold them in. why did you remove the rear diff to begin with? seems like something was wrong to make you want to remove it? that info might help too. can you post a picture, i'm not familiar with terminology of the rear diff, but a picture i can probably comment.

there are many different wiring harnesses in a car. you want the engine wiring harness i'm assuming since that's obvious. but which one do you want, the body side or engine side or both? engine wiring harness connects to you guessed it, the engine. then it plugs into the body side wiring harness which runs to the ECU. i have a complete body wiring harness but can't necessarily part with it until i do some checking.