idosubaru

i'd probably just change the oil first. if that doesn't help, add the ATF a little before the next change.

how do you know that the ball joints are rusted? they are hard to visually inspect. most of what you see is a castle nut and rubber boot right? but yeah, replace any ball joint if any bad signs. nipper forgot to mention "roll over" as more failed ball joint fun.

one issue i can think of, the 95 head has an EGR port in the exhaust, a 90-94 head i think does not. if you're removing the EGR stuff it shouldn't matter though.

i wouldn't worry too much about the rear diff right now. that's not likely to cause you any problems any time soon like nipper said. they'll make tons of noise and still won't fail. same with clunk, it's related like nip said. focus on the trans for now.

small size is all you'll want, don't worry about getting one that's larger. it's really not "small", that's just relative to the other sizes available. relative to your current cooler it's enormous.

always change your oil right away if you don't know how old it is or it's been a long time. i'd change the oil then add whatever you want after the fact. that old stuff has got to come out, it's not very HLA friendly.

i just removed an axle last week from my parts car, it was very easy and i didn't touch the control arm. i unbolted the strut and it popped right out. installing might be different though since you won't want to mess with that adjustable bolt in the strut.

a pair of channel locks can be used to "push" them out from behind. you're pushing the insert out with the bolt. the proper selection of channel locks and something to aid pushing will push them out easily.

i thought every EA82T piston was identical? 7.7:1 compression.

LONGER BOLT. there is no reason to search for a nother solution, this it the best. i've done it dozens of times. there's plenty of room for a longer bolt. the only trick is not getting one that's too long. keep trying until you get the right size or cut a longer one down to the appropriate size. use a toothpick or something to stick down in the hole and see how deep it is. hold that up to your stock bolt and that shows you how much longer the new bolt needs to be. washers under the head will effectively "shorten" any bolt that is too long. be a good idea to chase the threads first with a tap to make sure they are as clean as possible. if for some reason you have a problem with this then helicoil will work just fine. helicoil on the cam cap holes is easy. you'll need a right angle drill or attachment probably if the engine is in the vehicle.

check this out and move on from there. i agree...they probably did but until you verify that you can't do anything. you'll likley have to sue or threaten to at least, unless you're good. insurance companies don't maximize profits by giving out money any time they have a chance. they play hard ball, they have more money, resources, training and lawyers than you do. they'll ask what's wrong with the vehicle and you'll have nothing to show them but a car that runs and drives fine. they're used to people not following through with anything so they or their insurance will more or less drag you along. they're good, they'll make you feel like they're being considerate and doing their best to help, but don't be distracted by their ploys, they're trained to do that. be prepared to get serious and in their face (or have a lawyer do it for you) if you want results, do that and you will win. if you hope the insurance company is honest and respectful about a mistake you will have an uphill battle. good luck and let us know how it goes.

you need two cars? you're getting rid of yours and getting this higher mileage one? i'm confused how the first impreza plays a part in this decision. these vehicles won't have a problem lasting well past 200,000 miles. what you're assuming when you do this though is that the previous owner(s) took care of the vehicle. all the oil changes were done in a timely manner, any oil leaks were addressed properly and the engine was never overheated. the more miles it has on it, the more chance it has of being neglected, run hot, etc. in general though this is a great car and a great motor, i look at subaru's all the time for sale and it's no big thing to see them running great with 250,000 miles for sale. inspect it well and plan on a few expenses and you're golden. after 200,000 miles it's not that odd to have an alternator, starter or wheel bearing to cause an issue. these are minor and the engine should be fine. what i'd pay most attention to is the clutch and engine condition.

head gaskets are usually $1,000-$1,500 depending how many parts they replace along the way (head work, timing belts, water pump, oil pump, etc). $1700 is high and should include alot of new stuff..water pump and such. the motor is probably fine, but like nipper said the more it's been overheated the more chance you had of damaging the engine. thing is, if there wasn't any damage done this motor will last another 150,000 miles. if it were me i'd install new headgaskets myself. but i wouldn't have to pay since i'd do it myself. the parts are cheap. 2.2 liter motors are super cheap and don't have the head gasket issues of the 2.5. if engine replacement was the way you wanted to go, do not replace it with another 2.5. you have no way of knowing if the headgaskets are good. you can get a new motor or new headgaskets but i'm assuming you don't want to spend much money. 2.5's are not cheap. 2.2's on the other hand are a dime a dozen because they last forever and there are many of them around. a 2.2 is nearly a direct swap for a 2.5, plenty of people on the board here have done it. they are more reliable and don't have the pesky headgasket issues of the 2.5. this swap can be done for around the $500 mark with a little legwork. definitley under $1,000 even for a newbie paying someone else to do it.

i can't help much. i do recall trying to remove one before and after a few minutes of looking at it, determined it was a PITA and i would swap seats if need be. that being said....just get a new seat with the key and have a separate key for the rear seat. or grab all of the lock cylinders for the trunk and doors, they aren't that hard to swap. this is of course after the Turbone method which i would use....rip apart the old backseat to find out. they are a dime a dozen and it's 20 years old anyway.

if you can find one and install it, it's not terribly difficult to swap from auto to manual. so if it's in great shape and a good deal it might be worth it even if the auto makes you puke at first.

the ECU's vary a lot across different models/options. it'll plug in, whether it will work or not is another thing. one crazy thing i found out...an XT Turbo can run on an XT6 ECU. it doesn't run well and i actually have a non-turbo motor in the car but i tried an XT6 ECU just for kicks. didn't want to hold a steady RPM, but was driveable.

headgasket repair costs $1,200 - $1,600. you could buy a 2.2 and swap it in and sell your 2.5. you'd end up saving $500-$1,000.

no harder than searching.

my guess...much of this is covered in previous posts, it's a holiday weekend and lots of college football. also you didn't mention what engine. it can be determine by deduction from the questions you're asking, but much easier if you mention what engine up front. the oil pump - make sure the screws on the back are tight. and yes you're correct, replace the o-ring and seal and use anaerobic sealant on it. lots of info on the boards if you search. the rear separator plate - replace with a metal one. you can use sealant, but i think a gasket is available for it. that will be obvious when you ask to buy the gasket or when you remove the old one. lots of info on the boards if you search. legacy777 just answered your water pump question, listen to him. in general i'd never use RTV on water pump gasket. "if" anything would be used, i'd use the sure-tack stuff for water pump gaskets. "best" place to order parts depends on your definition of "best". all around cheapest? Subaru OEM cheapest? http://www.thepartsbin.com has excellent consistency and accuracy and prices...but they aren't necessarily Subaru parts. http://www.rockauto is super cheap but i have serious issues with their accuracy so i usually avoid them unless i can verify each part number somewhere else. legacy mentioned a great Subaru OEM parts supplier.

bearings are annoying to source. ask the local auto parts stores or call a machine shop and ask where you can buy bearings. once you find a bearing supply place they can source the bearings you need using the number on the face of the stock pulley that you have. they'll cross reference and price all the different brands for you. or you can look up local bearing supply in the yellow pages or online at Yahoo Yellow Pages. do a search on here and you'll see previously posted information on this. be advised, without a press the old bearings are difficult to get out. i attempted to get them out by hand...didn't work without bashing the snot out of the pulley itself. i ruined a couple trying that. wasn't worth it, i finally learned how to repack the bearings.....much easier, takes less than 2 minutes and they are new when you're done. here's a write up i did on how to repack the bearings yourself. they are good as new once you're done: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49443&highlight=repacking some pulleys i think have lips or something making the bearing seals harder to get to than the XT6 pulleys. all of the XT6 ones are really easy. some pulleys are available brand new on http://www.thepartsbin.com, ebay and http://www.rockauto.com as well. typically they aren't that expensive to buy a brand new pulley. i know i've bought them before when working on cars for other people. XT6 pulleys are outrageous, i'd never buy them as they are easy to repack. EJ pulleys you'll have to check yourself. i'm almost positive the sprocketed pulley is an easy one to repack, the bearing faces are right there, nothing is in the way. the sprocketed one is typically noisey, i replace it every time i do an EJ engine.

+1 on getting rid of addressing one code at a time, leaving the CAS last. if you do replace the distributor, mark very meticulously how the old one is installed so you know EXACTLY how the new used one should look when you swap in the next one. being an optical type sensor (hall effect sensor) i would guess you could try disassembling and cleaning it. no gaurantee that will work, but you may see something causing issue when you do it. sensors/electronics often have issues that a simple cleaning can resolve. either way (replacing or cleaning), i'd have a used one ready to swap in. i've had two bad distributors, the weird part being that while the CAS was the problem it never gave a code in the ECU? both times it occurred on a previously perfectly running vehicle that ended up sitting for an extended period of time. my guess is the internal electronics corroded some or something like that, but i have yet to disassemble either of those "bad" disty's since i had extra's lying around.

gravityman. i'm really confused on this blown turbo deal. if the nut "back off" as they say and bearing got toasted. is there any chance this nut or metal pieces ended up in the engine combustion chamber? metal in the cylinders won't make nice things happen to the engine. and as for the oil being low.......that's funny as hell since people have posted threads on here about new subaru's "using" oil and they take them back to the dealer who says...."that's a normal amount of oil usage"......that's a funny discrepancy, not that it matters for you now. that's awesome news they fixed it.

i've gotten 4 XT6's for free and others on the cheap. there's no shortage of these older subaru's. make certain you are turning them around. turn them around as quickly as possible. if you're picking them up faster than you're selling them, you need to regroup and rethink what you're doing. be more picky about the ones you buy or get them cheaper or quit getting them if you don't have the time to turn them around. a cheap or even free car is not always a good deal. it's never a good deal until you do something with it. until then it's only a liability. it's easy to think 'what a great deall, i could fix that and sell it, i could this and that". just make sure you're doing more than getting the cars, stick to the original plan which includes...."fixing"...and "selling". otherwise like i said they are just a financial liability. just my two cents.....good luck with the projects!

i thought the same thing, i was thinking he was talking about the minimal amount of play that the differential has, but he says it's not right. he doesn't work on cars but his "buddy" does. i did tell him to carefully inspect the hub for damage, check torque and washer/nut. i'll call him tomorrow reinforce that. thanks GD.

GD, have you seen this partial rotation issue before? rotates some..then catches?