Crash138

My 1996 outback.

I just yesterday used 2000 grit sand paper on my 01 dodge headlights to get the yellow off, then sprayed a clear coat on them... Turned out great. Now when I drive it I don't have to turn my brights on...

No I didn't mean use the right stuff with a gasket, but by itself. My friend used it solely on a Chevy 350 for his mud buggy and it never leaked. Never heard of anyone else doing it though...

I hear that the head gaskets on the 2.5s are a bit of a problem. Head gasket choice is key, and the cheap ones (eBay) should be avoided... My question is, what are the recommended replacements? Is there a cometic gasket for them? Maybe a thin film of "the right stuff"? I know a guy that swears by that stuff, not used on Subarus though..

My daughter just had the tranny go out on her beloved 05 mustang, because it doesn't have a dipstick, she ignored having any service done to it, so yesterday I drove 300 miles to pick it up and 300 miles back to my house with it. I'm thinking of setting it on fire for many reasons.

Lack of proper maintenance would be my first guess.

If its a good deal or not is hard to tell with the information you have given. What year? What price? Was the required maintenance performed at the correct intervals? Does it smoke out the tailpipe? Does it shift properly? Is there rust? What I have learned in my research as of recently is that timing belt change intervals are key. A Subaru mechanic on YouTube suggested every 80k to be safe, and to change the oil and water pumps, tensioner while there and it would lead to a long life and reliability. They are very easy to work on compared to other vehicles, and part interchangeabilty makes for cheap parts. The time I spent in Alaska, I have seen gobs of old Subaru still going, they have quite a following.

I'm new to Subaru too, but that's what it sounds like. I do know you should keep an eye out for coolant in your oil because that could ruin your bearings quick.

Good info here, I've learned my 2.2 is a non interference engine, yay, I should keep it, and I need a stethoscope.

Interesting, so I should keep the 2.2 in my 96 outback then...

Hello, from Dallas Texas... Ive been a gear head most of my life, mostly interested in going fast. Was watching Mighty Car Mods on YouTube, and saw them messing around with Subaru, and an engine swap in a bug which got me interested in owning my first Subaru. Did a quick search on craigslist and found quite a few dirt cheap, and fairly new. Finding cars that look this good for so cheap made me wonder how hard a timing belt change is, since this is what they all need. After watching some vids, it looks like this is the easiest timing belt swap I've ever seen. Hell, rebuilding the whole engine looks like an easy job. So, I found a 96 Legacy Outback really close, but says it needs a timing belt he thinks and doesn't want to mess with it. I got it for $200. Wow. Cheap, makes this endeavor pretty painless to the wallet. So I figure now I could actually buy another motor and just swap and do a rebuild on the original. Can't find a 2.2l anywhere though. So if I go this route, can I just bolt on my intake to a 2.5l and install? Will this cause computer problems? I'm here to find out. So after hauling it home, I decided to start it. I know its an interference engine, and that a slipped timing belt results in bent valves, but the guy said it ran still, and even so, what more damage could I do from just a start up? It fired right up. I do hear a "ticking" sound, but it doesn't seem bad at all. So, I'm half deaf and used to v8s, and its not bad, could this just be a loose timing belt tensioner? Or does bad bearings or the piston hitting the valves just not make that much noise?