idosubaru

replace the entire compressor is the easy solution. they can be had for $35 (i have one) and are very easy to replace. yes you have to open the lines but if you swap the compressor quickly very little air gets in the system if you vent the freon slowly the lines discharge until they equal atmospheric pressure and then the freon sits in there. sure some air gets in but not much. i don't do it this way as i have a vaccuum puller, but it does work. i've seen plenty of friends swap compressors and charge and their a/c works for years. or you can swap compressors and someone else pull the vacuum and charge (pun intended!!!).

any auto store sells cans of R134 a that you need. unless you have major issues or loss you only need freon, don't get the kind with oil in the can. your system will have plenty of oil in it. try one can of just freon first. a buddy in atlanta was adding a can every summer just about and then for the past year or two hasn't had to add any for some reason. still worked out better than hundreds at a shop. if that doesn't work, then you may want to try a can of freon with the stop-leak additive in it. i don't use that stuff but know others that have with good results.

what bolt pattern does the forester EJ25 have? i know the 2.2 changed between a 6 and 4 bolt pattern around 1999, was wondering if the 2.5 did the same. anyone know if the forester EJ25 in 1999 had an EGR system on it?

90 is OBDI and 97 is OBDII so i think there would be significant compatability issues. but that's just a guess from what i've read on here. might want to look into swapping the long block ony and retaining the intake manifold on the 97 if that's possible. or swap the 97 wiring harness onto the 90 long block. the 97 won't have EGR where the 90 will, so you'll have to deal with that as well. plug the hole and remove the EGR stuff and that should be taken care of easily. but again..i haven't done it.

I know what to do about the exhaust, a/c lines and power steering. Forester is a manual trans, will the 1998 EJ22 bolt up and work fine with the ECU? saw some discussions in a search but no good answers on the forester.

don't know if this is obvious but the front diff and transmission are essentially an assembly, very rarely are they separated. they are typically both replaced at the same time and not separated. doesn't look like forester transmissions are very common, i see none in TX or anywhere near you. you may want to put a post on the parts wanted forum here and on the forester board. i'd start looking into swapping in another EJ series (non forester) transmission. you won't have any problems bolting any 1999 transmission right up to your engine, they are a direct replacement. but the final drive may be different so you'd need to match the rear diff if it's not the same. i can't offer specifics of what exact years will work but you have a wide range of options with the manual transmission that will drop in so i'd ask around about that and save yourself a couple thousand dollars.

i'd look for some input from some people on here.....i'm not well versed in foresters and trans problems but i'll give my oppinion. the MT are reliable, your best bet is to score a used manual transmission and have it installed. i would bet you could find a used trans for $500 or less and have a shop install it for $200 (not the dealer, local transmission shop around here does AWD trans installs for $150-$200). you can get an EJ transmission for $200 for sure, but you may have to swap the rear differntial (which is really easy and they are cheap) if it's not a forester transmission. EJ22 transmissions are easy to come by. if the clutch is fine, you shouldn't need to replace it. was it slipping at all? the front diff does not have a transfer clutch at all that i'm aware of. sounds suspicious to me. if the front diff is bad i would not keep that transmission. i have seen bad front diffs be replaced but the new one get quickly eaten up. apparently a damaged front diff can cause issue where it mates to the transmission gearing/power transfer and this trans damage can eat away your next front diff. probably not likely and they should be able to check for that. but i wouldn't do it when manual transmissions for EJ cars are easy and cheap to find and rarely fail. i think you can end up with a used trans installed and new rear main seal insatlled for under $1,000.

that's the kicker....97 and up interference motors aren't worth taking the chance on. even if the belt looks good i'd rather get in there and roll them pulleys around and make sure none are seized or tight. MA you don't change you're own belt? no time?

you want an XT6? buy one of mine. usually the radiators go bad (they are almost 20 years old by now) and there are no aftermarket sources for radiators...then the dealer wants around $400-$600 for a new one. so it's easy to try and put it off and dump some coolant/block sealant stuff in it and overheating is not good for 20 year old gaskets and seals. if you ever see an aftermarket radiator for the XT6 it's just listed wrong, it will always end up being a 4 cylinder radiator. which can be made to work, it fits but the outlet and inlet diameters are too small and the fans won't mount up without some drilling/tapping/sheet metal screws.

it is a difficult job. it technically requries a special tool to unscrew the retaining nut, it's an odd thing. but it can be done without the tool of course, start it with a punch. personally i'd recommend a used unit like GD said. install it as is with some new grease or rebuild it it with new bearings. this way you can take your time and the car isn't needlessly down for a long time. at 200,000 i rebuilt my front hubs as preventative maintenance. rebuilt a spare set and swapped them in, quick and easy.

like they said, EGR. you'll have to block that hole off, but the head is perfectly useable on your motor. not true. Loyale and other vehicles are included in the "Older Generation Forum" beyond 1990 because they have the older generation EA and ER series motors in them. New Generation forum is for EJ models. The Older Gen forum says Before 1990 Unless Loyale, XT6 etc...for this reason.

yes a bad battery can still "run" and start a vehicle but cause other problems.

yep that sounds good if they're attacking the rust and painting it properly which it sounds like they are. i'd look and make sure the frame or rear suspension isn't rotted so bad that it might start falling apart soon before making a large investment in the paint and rust though. a board members car ended up stranded at my house because the rear wheels collapsed in and rested against the inner fender well due to rusted out underneath.

GD is right, the shop is FOS. there is no way an EA82 engine ECU can give you any code that would lead to an immediate diagnosis of a bad valve. first - look up info on this board about the EGR valve (NOTE - the EGR valve and valves in your engine are COMPLETELY different, so don't get confused). anyway, the EGR valve stuff is very easy to fix. do some searching on the board here and you'll find info on fixing, replacing or just removing it. if you keep oil and coolant in that motor it will have no problems making it to 200,000+ miles without any major items except timing belts (required replacement every 60,000 miles).

phil - your fan needs to be yellow. if it went up that much because of the fan change i'd look into that a bit more. maybe you need two fans? how big is the new e-fan? is it pulling air the right way? runs highest at idle or on highway? with or without a/c running?

correct, the car won't run if the timing belt brakes on an EJ22. i've pulled ones at 100,000 miles that look fine on the EJ25, still has the subaru stuff on it with minimal wear. actual breakage will depend on many, many factors with a built in margin of error and safety factor. so yes, any belt should outlast it's service change interval buy a fair amount. when an idler bearing seizes or oil and antifreeze get on the belt or the car overheats (and the belt gets hot)...it is desirable for the belt to far exceed it's suggested change interval. the tighter they make tolerances the more likely to have customers sitting on the side of the road, that doesn't make for happy customers.

that's a ton of money for a paint job, but probably about the right amount if he's doing the job right. i'd be more concerned about how they're treating that rust and if they are fixing it in mind to make it last. if that's the case then that cost may be close. cutting out metal and properly building it back for a good paint job is alot of work and custom but the best option if you want to keep the car for awhile. a cheap paint job can be had for $500 and will do little more than cover the rust and bubble up in a year or less and start flaking off. make sure you're not paying $3,000 for $1,500 worth of work. find out how they are tackling the rust and if they are doing this good of a job it should have some kind of warranty with it, get that information too. no matter how good it looks when it's done, there's nothing worse than paying lots of money for a paint job only to have it go sour in a year.

Subaru's aren't the weirdo mobiles that they may appear to be. it's an engine and transmission that mechanics will gladly work on if you like paying the bills on it. parts are not hard to find. the 2.5 motor has been around in various forms since 1996 so there are plenty of parts and manufacturers that supply stuff for them. for 100,000 miles and 5 years none of this should be an issue really as most newer cars don't have problems getting to that mileage with minimal to no repair costs outside of maintenance items. really depends more on the mechanic than the vehicle. subaru's are not special, but good/honest mechanics are. i see $1,000 repair estimates all the time from subaru dealers and mechanics on friends and family vehicles that i end up doing for next to nothing or isn't needed. is that subaru's fault..no the mechanic.

alt and batt often fail in pairs. i see it all the time when friends/family call me with problems. off the top of my head i'd say 30-50% of the time they have a bad batt or alt, they are both bad or the other fails in a matter of months. i'm not an electrical pro but what i've seen supports what these guys are saying. i'd have the batt tested or heck if it's old at all might be best to replace it, they aren't that expensive. if your connections were dirty/corroded the battery may have a very slow leak in it as well, might be another sign that replacement is in good order. with a good alt, battery and tight connections there will be little to no corrossion at the terminals.

sounds like you got it about right. simply put - prop the throttle open, disconnect plug wires, unplug fuel pump, remove plugs and crank the engine over a few times for each test. prop the throttle open and you don't have to hold the gas pedal down. the gas pedal keeps the plate open so air moves freely to the cylinders, otherwise you'll get a slightly lower reading sometimes. remove all the spark plugs (the wires will be remove when you do this so yo'ure done with that). pull the ignition coil wire if you'd like, i never do. unplug the fuel pump and crank the car for a bit. keep it simple, those other steps are unneccessary in my oppinion. test compression. the oil in the cylinders will help seal rings that have blow-by. so if you're compression is low and goes up with some oil then that cylinder has some blow-by. this doesn't work so great in subaru's because of the flat 4 design. in a subaru the oil will pool at the bottom of the cylinder and not evenly disburse around the cylinder walls very well so it's not all that efficient of a test on a subaru. a leak down test would be more appropriate. or just attach your air compressor to the cylinder with an adapter and add air with both valves closed and see where it's escaping. if it's blowing through the oil dipstick and crank case venting areas then the rings are bad. through exhaust or intakes and it's valve related.

but they're listed at $42 through advance so they're still $34 each? the XT6 is actually listed cheaper than the EA82 4 cylinder at thirty something.

excellent company, excellent product, honest company, excellent experience with many sets over the years. they indeed last forever and are inexpensive. i've put over 150,000 miles on a set. my buddy was replacing his OEM jeep wires every 30,000 miles...we put a magnecor set on it and he's now around 100,000 on that set. very good to deal with. i injurred one of mine and they fixed it or sent me a new one, i can't recall but it was painless and no charge. the EJ series wires are excellent as well and won't have the issues like other aftermarket sets have. if you know the EJ series they are really an OEM Subaru only item, but the magnecors are the only other option i'm comfortable with on those engines. be careful replacing them though, i put them on my best friends car and a subsequent moron replaced them with some cheap-o off the shelf crap. you can order through them direct or their website but you can typically get better deals through distributors. a little searching on the internet should do you right.

probably a good idea, the 3.0 is still a baby and not much track record. probably be a fantastic engine, but i'd rather not be the one to find out either way. the 2.5 is great.

05 will be fine.

an ideal set up would be to own two cars. a FWD XT is capable of 40+ mpg and have you other for the dual range fun.