lstevens76

What year, model, engine, and mileage subaru? Have you experienced or noticed any noises or other problems? Any recent work done (such as head gasket, etc...)?

Ok, if it is oil how sure are you it is the Head gasket? You have valve cover gaskets, rear main, separator plate, etc... that can all cause oil to leak down and hit the exhaust. And a valve cover gasket leak can look like a head gasket leak as well. Are you losing/using coolant? Do you see coolant on the ground under the car?

I assumed you were putting plywood and using the transmission pan. That's my fault because that's the best place to jack. I didn't think about you wanted to verify that it was safe to do so. Just use a piece of plywood so it distributes the weight.

Moog makes Springs for the Impreza and they supposed to be better then OEM. But I haven't used them yet so that is not from personal experience.

If you have the front end on jackstands as you should there shouldn't be a problem getting a floor jack underneath that transmission.

4WD vrs AWD is the difference between being able to turn it off or on. If you a have a selector to "engage" 4WD then it is a 4WD. If it is always turning the wheels then it is an AWD. And 28 isn't bad in all accounts, but even outside the US was the gas tank that small? I don't think your running all the way to empty.

Bad thermostat, faulty water pump, clogged radiator. I would suspect it's one of those three and not an air bubble. the reason people say to fill from the top radiator hose is that water has to go through the thermostat to get into the engine. What you described is no flow through the radiator.

I agree with replacing other "normal maintenance" items, but the crank sensor will leave you stranded if it fails. I also agree on the "rarely goes out" as well. Both of them are simply using magnetics to read the position of the crank/cam. There are no moving parts to the sensors themselves and unlike other sensors they are not in the exhaust flow, fuel flow, air flow, etc... and not required to read liquids or air making them very rare to fail compared to other sensors in the system (such as the MAF).

Just to explain the white marks. On a new timing belt there are white lines that show you where to line up the belt along with an arrow to confirm you put it on the correct way. Those white lines allow you to make sure you have the proper teeth and tension between the crankshaft and camshafts. That is there only purpose, but they wear off over time.

The "sport" which was the "Outback Sport" never came with a 2.0, just an FYI. On the '96 I had and the '00 I have now I average 25 to 30mpg which is anywhere from 350 to 400 miles a tank (I usually get between 14 and 15 gallons on a fill up if I run it close to E). Getting only 250 the first question would be how many gallons do you get on a fill up? My grandfather won't let his vehicles go below 1/4 of a tank so of course his fill ups aren't realistic for a full tank on mileage is why I'm asking.

Did you use a new timing belt? If not did the timing belt still have the white marks or did you count the teeth? Did you unplug the crankshaft position senor possible? (double check and make sure nothing there came lose)

One last thing that a lot of shops don't know how to check on a Subaru: Ball Joints. Subaru ball joints are checked differently than a lot of others. With a prybar you can check them yourself.

1995 was the crossover year. I've seen Impreza's and Legacy's both OBD1 and OBD2. I know where there is a '95 1.8L Impreza that is OBD2, but I've also seen one that is OBD1. 1996 was the first year all Subaru's were OBD2. Do you have the factory service manual? How much are you planning on spending? Evergreen sells a full kit for this, but I would use Fel-Pro head gaskets not the Evergreen. Subaru sells a full OEM gasket kit that Amazon has for $250, but you would still need rings, bearings, etc... As for the part your trying to identify either find the FSM (search on here), subscribe to alldatadiy.com, or go purchase it. If you can't find it in the FSM then post pictures for others to identify it. A description isn't always the best option especially when we don't know where on the IM it's exactly located. And I fully understand your reasoning, just wish others would. A swap is all great when you know the history of an engine, but if you don't and you can rebuild it yourself your better off.

wt covered the common swaps and heres a few other options. Almost all EJ series short blocks will mount to your heads. This means you can use a newer short block with your heads and intake. You can also use EJ22 Heads on an EJ25 block giving other options as well. The wiring issue he is referring to is primarily at the intake and the newer (99+) EJ22 and EJ25 sohc have different intakes and heads causing interchangeability problems.

Was it the top or the bottom part of the plug? If it has any metal in it get one of those extendable magnets and pull it out. Otherwise your going to need something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/24-inch-2-in-1-pickup-tool-94162.html