pontoontodd

I keep forgetting to try this. Might try it tomorrow. It did have good voltage when cold (12.5V off, 14.5V running). One of my friends suggested unplugging the temp sensor. Much easier said than done, but I'll probably try that. If it cures the problem, then it's probably an electrical problem. If it keeps running rough, then it might be the head gaskets or something, but I haven't seen any white smoke out the exhaust, it doesn't seem to be using much coolant, and haven't seen any bubbles in the overflow. This week I tried a different ECU and a new O2 sensor, no change. I sprayed ether around the intake when it warmed up and didn't seem like there were any vacuum leaks. So far I've tried: MAF sensor (and unplugging) O2 sensor (and unplugging) ECU coil cam position sensor fuel pump This is on the 99 OB EJ25. It always runs great when it's cold. As soon as the temp gauge gets to the normal operating spot in the middle, it will gradually run rougher and rougher. It's still barely driveable, but hesitates, sometimes makes no power, and bucks. But sometimes runs fairly smooth and steady. Sometimes it seems like a fuel delivery issue, but not always.

I started editing the first post as a sort of guide since this thread has gotten really long. Let me know what you think. Also, still haven't figured out why the 99 OB runs rough when warm yet, any more tips on that would be appreciated.

Converted the tire mount to quick release. First thing was to key slot the holes for the jack base. That will hopefully just stay bolted in the car most of the time, so I added a small bolt hole to hold the top in place while the tire is going in and out. next step was to do the same to the spare tire mount jack bolted back in Got these cam lock handles from Grainger. Cut down some long 8mm bolts and welded collars on them. Then turned them to a point and loctited them into the handles. I'd like to make the heads on these bigger but they barely fit through the lug holes on the wheels as it is. Tire locked in place It is definitely fast to remove and no tools are required. It's a little tricky to get it clamped in right. It doesn't clamp super tight either, if you push hard you can shift the tire around a bit. Figure I'll see if it stays in place driving around town and try to think of something a little better.

You can get a 110V MIG welder fairly cheap. They are easy to use and indispensable. I think after you have a socket set and a vice grips, that's the next most important tool. The hidden winch is cool, how is the cable going to come out? I'd definitely recommend some kind of protection for your oil pan and radiator support. Something like 1" x 2" tubing running the width of the radiator support with another one under the oil pan going back to the front crossmember. If you've already started hitting hidden obstacles, it's a short matter of time before you bash in the oil pan and/or radiator support. If you're going over a lot of rocks, something to protect the gas tank should be next. Since you like to go fast (judging by your Miata use), your best entertainment per dollar would be a set of rally struts/shocks/springs. They will make the car much more fun. Also, consider mud tires instead of all terrains. They're not much more expensive or noisier than all terrains. They will definitely save you from getting stuck in the mud and should be harder to puncture, and will work about the same as the all terrains in all other conditions.

A quick look on car-part.com shows you can get an engine for about $1000 in decent running condition, should probably do at least timing belt and idlers while it's out, maybe the clutch too. A mechanic that works on Subarus often should be able to swap the engine in an afternoon.

Here is the b pillar electric jack: It's hard to get good pictures of it inside the car. It lifts the rear tire off the ground in about a minute, takes another thirty seconds to get the front tire off the ground, another thirty seconds to go all the way up (another 6" or so). Takes about a minute to go all the way back down. I'd tilt it more upright but then it would be even farther back and might not even lift the front tire off the ground, especially after we put in the H6. I'd move it forward but there's really not room alongside the seat. It does seem pretty stable when up, I shook the car as hard as I could with the roof rack and it didn't move much. Definitely plan on making a bigger pad for the bottom. This is the jack we used: https://www.amazon.com/Barker-32455-Black-Power-Jack/dp/B00B2AUWC8/

99 OB is back to running rough when warmed up. I plugged the O2 sensor back in and drove around some with the scan tool. It seems to be running rich when it's warmed up and rough, the front O2 sensor stays around .8V. When it's cold and occasionally when warmed up and running well, it fluctuates between .1 and .8V. So that seems directly related to how well it's running. The short term fuel trim reads -30% often, seemed like it was always close to 0 before, maybe it's trying to lean out since the O2 sensor is reading rich. But it can sometimes read 0 and run rough. The mass air flow and throttle position seem smooth and solid at all times. I always have a code for fuel temp sensor circuit A high, but have for years, so I don't think that's the problem. It keeps giving me codes for #2 and #3 misfire, and occasionally #1, when it runs rough. Often a pending code for cam position sensor voltage range. The coil pack in the car at the moment is one I bought about a year ago but hasn't been on the car the whole time. I have tried two different coil packs with the same results. It would make sense if it's not getting ignition on all four that the exhaust would be rich. For a while I suspected a fuel pump but it definitely doesn't drive like it's starving for fuel, it's just as likely to run rough at low speeds and RPM as at high speed. I also suspect the cam sensor, but again I've tried two of those with the same results. Should I try another coil pack or cam sensor?

Asked the junkyard if the shifter bushing/u joint on the trans was any good, they thought it was. Bushing was non existent. Pin in the original one was sloppy. Made up a bushing to fix the one from the newer trans and put it back together. Wish I would have known so I could have just gotten one from the dealer for $30. We got the trans back in and did a little test drive. I'm sure this sounds stupid but it's like a whole new car with the tighter shifter, five functional forward gears, and minimal exhaust leaks. Also I forgot how good snow tires are on hard packed snow. Significantly better than the mud tires. The parking brake in the Impreza is definitely not as good as the steering brake in the OB though. Then we decided to do some troubleshooting on the 99 OB. First thing we did was unplug the O2 sensor. I would have tried this earlier but it's a real pain. Often I just can't do it and have to get my friend to unplug it, which was the case today. With the O2 sensor unplugged it ran smoothly even after it warmed up, so I guess I'll replace that again. The ECU was reading .31V on the front O2 sensor the whole time, the rear fluctuated (still plugged in). We started on the brackets and wiring for the electric jack, I'll post up some pictures of that when it's done.

My wife got the 2002 OB stuck in the snow, someone pulled out in front of her and she couldn't stop, so fortunately she swerved into someones yard and no one was hurt. I pulled her out with the 99 OB and on the way home pulled out two other people who were stuck. By that time the car had warmed up and started running rough again. When I got home I put the other coil on, it looks much better than the one that was on there, but it still runs rough. Planning on putting the junkyard trans in the Impreza this afternoon. So far the only thing I ran into was the 96 Impreza has a mechanical speedo but that trans is from a 96 Legacy. The cable from the Impreza trans seemed to fit right in place of the sensor, so hopefully that works. The plastic nut on the speedo cable is very soft, had to pull the rubber boot off and slide a box end wrench over it to remove it. If we have time we'll hook up the OBDII to the 99 OB and see if we can figure out the problem.

I have a couple. I do have one that has a USB cable for laptop, but my laptop battery keeps dying so I have to have it plugged in, so can't drive the car with that. I have a bluetooth OBD2 that I can use with the tablet. That seems to work about half the time. I'll try that again, anything in particular to look for? I guess I could try to see what the TPS, MAF, O2 sensor say when it's cold and then see if any of them changes drastically when it's warm. Is it possible both cam sensors or MAF sensors read bad when the engine warms up??

I tried a different cam position sensor and the car still started running rough when it warmed up. I tried unplugging the TPS this time after it had warmed up which made basically no difference. Aside from trying to unplug the O2 sensor, which seemed to be reading pretty normally, I don't know what to try at this point. This is basically what the car used to do when I first bought it, but back then it would usually go away if I turned the ignition off and restarted it. Hasn't done this in a year or so until just recently. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Got the trans for the Impreza. Plan on putting that in over the weekend. The 99 Outback has been acting up recently. Last week it started running rough. Pulled over and unplugged the MAF sensor, which didn't help much, so I just limped it home. I replaced the MAF sensor and drove it later and it seemed fine. Drove it again a couple days ago and once it warmed up it started running rough again. This morning I drove it around a little and it was running fine. I tested it with all three MAF sensors I have, two of them seem good, the Delphi one is definitely bad. I drove it quite a bit around town this morning and it seems to run fine until it warms up, then it sometimes stalls and runs rough. The only trouble codes were for: fuel temp sensor circuit A (this has been coming up for years) cam sensor range misfire #2 and #3 So this afternoon I'll probably dig out my other cam sensor and try that. Also talked to some people about the Hotbits struts and they said they only usually last through a couple of rally weekends before they're shot, so back to planning on making more of our own. I did find a spring company that appears to have springs off the shelf that should work for the rear at least, maybe the front.

The short term plan is to replace the Impreza trans so I have something else reliable to drive. Just ordered one, 158k miles, $300 shipped. 96 Legacy and Impreza were both 3.90 final drive, right? Then get an H6 donor car (01-04 OB EZ30) and start paring down the wiring. Install that in the 99 Outback. Bunch of other things we want to do to the 99 Outback. The only other major thing is a six speed trans and possibly R180. Depending on how that drives, perhaps some kind of gear reduction. Also electric jacks, rear view camera, tire pressure monitoring system, quick release tire and recovery ramp mounting. We are also planning on making a few sets of the long travel struts for our cars. Need to get started on that soon, at least getting the custom springs and some of the machined parts on order. I'm trying to find out more about the Hot Bits long travel struts first, if those are cheaper and strong enough, might just get those. Next project is doing bumpers, skidplates, and long travel on a 01-04 H6 Outback for trail riding/expedition, not racing. Might be the one I just bought, I will probably try to find a nicer one for the wife. At that point I might sell the Impreza.

After looking at it again, the engine/trans tilting doesn't seem like it would be worth the hassle. The trans mount probably isn't twice as far behind the axles as the engine mounts are in front though. My friend's Forester seems to be running well with the rebuilt engine, still no check engine light. Just in time for our first snow yesterday. The 2002 H6 OB doesn't seem to be consuming much coolant with the little hose clamp on the overflow hose. Gets about 18 or 19mpg city and 23 or 24 highway. We decided to pull the trans out of the Impreza yesterday. Basically figured I'll need a car to drive while doing the H6 swap in the Outback, and this was the cheapest and easiest way to accomplish that. Only took two or three hours. Half of that time was spent cutting rusty exhaust bolts and that sort of thing. Refabbed one exhaust flange that was rotted to nothing, tapped a couple of holes that were tight, and replaced a CV boot, so hopefully the replacement goes smoothly. I found a couple within a few hundred miles that have under 150k miles on them for $200-300 bucks, so I'll probably get one of those coming today. The pin in the shifter u joint type coupler is super sloppy, so I might order one of those from the dealer. We could probably rebuild the trans, but at least one chunk of a bearing race fell out when we drained it, so I'm guessing it would need a couple hundred bucks worth of parts anyhow, and if we put it back together wrong it'd be a big waste of time.

Any thoughts on my 96 Impreza? The trans is really getting bad, my friend said it was making some loud whining noises for a little while, won't stay in fourth gear, and sticks in second and third gear sometimes. The body is beat up, probably every panel except the hatch is badly dented, but not rusty (originally from CO), it's got about 250k miles, the 2.2 has been overheated but head gaskets don't seem to leak, timing belt and clutch replaced about 10k miles ago. The only thing that doesn't really work is the AC, that's been converted to an air compressor. It's probably the most reliable car I've ever owned, I can't think of a time I've hopped in after letting it sit for weeks and it hasn't just fired up and ran great. Should I get a junkyard trans for a few hundred bucks and swap it in? I figure we could do it in a weekend if it goes OK, wasn't too bad in the Outback, which is much rustier. I could just see needing to replace some unexpected part and having it sit for a week or two, or breaking off some bolt and getting the trans halfway out. Should I sell it for parts or as a beater? I doubt I could get even $500 for it. Should I part it out and sell it for scrap? Suspension and the rest of the drivetrain seems good, just not sure what I'd use aside from the CV axles and possibly diff/driveshaft. Maybe the rear suspension.

You're probably right that another 1" clearance at the oil pan wouldn't make a lot of difference. The guard we've had under the oil pan for a couple years now is pretty stout, the Outback's oil pan hasn't dented in a while, and with the new skidplate the exhaust should survive. I like the idea of tilting the whole engine/trans. I'll get under there with a tape measure this weekend and take a look. I'm guessing the trans mount is at least twice as far behind the axles as the engine mounts are in front of the axles, so we'd have to tip the back of the trans down about 2" to shift the engine up 1". I doubt we'd have hood clearance issues, but I suppose the accessories do come close to it, and if the whole thing is tilted they're going to be raised even more than the engine mounts.

In case you haven't noticed I'm not a big fan of going slower. But a low range would definitely let us do that in some places where we have to use momentum now. I am working on getting one right now, just not sure if/when I'll use it. I've driven various cars with locked diffs, so I know what you mean. It seems that our Subarus are generally power limited rather than traction limited when climbing hills and going through soft sand, so we haven't really even thought about limited slip differentials, lockers, welding diffs, etc. It seemed like the Loyale I had with the center diff locked all the time was pretty noisy when parking, but my Outback was hardly noticeable when the center diff locked up.

After a little searching, it looks like my 2002 OB 4EAT has a 4.11 FD. So the 4.44 wouldn't be a big drop. And first gear is pretty tall, 2.8 compared to the five speed 3.5. Although the converter, especially a high stall, would make up for that to some degree. I will do some trail riding with it before swapping in a manual trans. My thought right now, especially for the 99, after the H6 swap, is to put in a 6 speed. The one from the JDM Forester had the largest ratio spread. If we made a 1.2:1 drop gear set to replace the center diff, it would have about 20% more reduction in first but 8% more overdrive in top gear compared to the current five speed. Still considering making a taller sixth so we could make a lower ratio drop gear set. I thought about a wider/shallower pan for the EJ, not sure it would be worth the effort. Thanks for the tip on the Spectra pan, if my friend still has problems with his Forester pan I'll suggest that.

5/16" 2000 series aluminum is probably quite strong! Keep in mind we're hitting big rocks at 40mph though. There were a few things hidden in the silt we hit during that Vegas to Reno that popped the whole front end of the car off the ground a foot or two while going 30-40mph. How do you like the low range? I might finally be getting one.

Can you get a high stall converter for a 4EAT? Can you get 4.44 gearing for them? I'm super impressed it has an auto trans oil temp idiot light (which never came on while driving). I prefer stick shift, especially over this thing's uncontrollable downshifting, if for no other reason you can push start the car and do other things not possible with an auto. So it will probably eventually get a six speed, but I can see driving it with the auto for a year or so to see how it works. Ya, what a waste of time getting that other gauge cluster and messing with the odometer when super glue was the solution. I wouldn't worry about raising the CG by raising the engine. It's what, 10% of the car's weight? So you lift it an inch or two, the CG of the car goes up 0.1" or 0.2". You make a very good point about the CVs though, they are nearly pulling out at full droop as it is with the long travel. Thanks, for some reason I hadn't thought about that. The oil pan guard we made for the car a year or two ago is two pieces of 1" x 2" rectangle tubing welded side by side with an 1/8" thick 4130 plate underneath them. Pretty sure that's not flexing much. The engine definitely moves around on the mounts, I think that's the main issue. I did put in group N engine mounts a year or two ago which seemed to help, but it still seems like we need about 1" of clearance so the engine doesn't bounce off that guard. We've thought about making a heavier duty oil pan and/or exhaust but I'd be worried about cracking the heads or block.

I put the gauge cluster with the adjusted odometer reading in and the speedo, odometer, and gauge lights didn't work. Not sure if that's something I did or it was bad to start with. I super glued the arm that had busted off the trip odometer reset lever and put the original gauge cluster back together and in the car. Everything seems to work, so hopefully that will last a while. I had another thought after talking to one of my friends about the V2R. One of the lowest, most critical parts of the car is the oil pan, and it's right in front and centered, perfect for bashing into a big rock when you're driving ruts. We have an adequate guard on my car now but it seems like we need about 1" clearance between the guard and the oil pan or the engine moves enough to dent the pan. So now you have 1" less ground clearance than the pan hangs down, plus the thickness of the guard. I was thinking if we just raised the engine we could also raise the guard/skidplate and pick up some easy ground clearance and approach angle where it really counts. Not sure how high we could go and still have the stock exhaust clear the crossmember, that would probably be the first limitation, easy fix there would be some spacers on the heads. When we had my friend's engine all hooked up in his Forester except the engine mounts we were able to get it up at least 1". With the exhaust off and the mount on the top of the bellhousing off it was easy to go up 2". Thoughts?

Any progress with this? I like the idea of a few inches of body lift and moving the rad forward to fit the LS V8. Another option would be an H6 swap, there is at least one company that makes a supercharger kit to make 400 easy hp, I'm sure it can be cranked up from there if you really need it. Haven't watched it all, but Might Car Mods did an H6 swap into a Legacy/Outback and got into the 11s. I would recommend buying a rust free car and putting everything into that, especially if you're going to spend 10-15k building this thing up.

The 2002 isn't as bad as I probably made it sound. It never overheats if the radiator stays full, and with a clamp on the overflow hose the radiator seems to be staying full. Haven't checked for bubbles in the overflow but the head gaskets don't seem to be a problem yet. The trans shifting hard is not very noticeable when not towing. It definitely pulls harder than an EJ25, even though it's geared taller. I'm also thinking a six speed eventually, one reason I'm not worried too much about the auto. I think with similar gearing to the five speed cars, the H6 will be great off road. It will get long travel when it goes off road. I would also do a front bumper / rad support / oil pan skid and gas tank protection at a minimum before I push it hard. At this point I'm looking for an H6 engine donor and a low mileage (150k or less) H6 car in good condition for my wife. Appreciate the leads and offers to check out some of these cars. Definitely let me know if you check out the one in Helena. There are a bunch on CL and copart, and I've started to make a list of Subaru shops/car lots I've found. Might have to wait a bit to buy another one though.

Check engine light came on in the 2002 a couple days after I got home. Code was for second gear ratio incorrect (they have a code for that???), so I assume something to do with the trans shifting abnormally. Cleared it and hasn't come back on in the last few days. I should try a TPS, do these things normally downshift at half throttle? Seems like most autos require more throttle to downshift than this one. Small hose clamp on the overflow hose seems to be keeping the radiator full but we haven't put thousands of miles on it since then either. I really need to get some kind of repair manual for this car. The paper full FSM goes for $100+, digital is kind of inconvenient, and the reviews on the Haynes and Chilton manuals say they don't cover the H6. Is there some other option?

I was assuming the head gasket(s) are leaking. Going to check again sometime for the bubbling and see how the coolant consumption goes. It wasn't overheating in 90F stop and go traffic in California, or towing the VW in 80F heat, so not something I have to worry about right away. If I have to replace the head gaskets it was still a good deal. Thanks for the heads up on the TPS. The shifting isn't very rough when not towing. If I keep this one for my own use we'll probably swap in a manual trans. The check engine light did come on after I got it home, it still runs fine, but I need to see what the code is. Just tried to get a donor/parts car on copart but it went up to $1050.