Slimthehippie

Sorry must have missed that it was a 5spd.

I believe you checked the front diff fluid, the trans dip stick is on the driver side hidden under some black hoses very near the same spot as the diff stick just on the driver side of the car. Don't feel bad at all I did the same thing awhile back. If the noise/grinding feel changes depending on turning left or right verses driving straight it is the wheel bearing. A bad CV will make a noticeable click click click noise then turning. I have had 2 subies now and both had all 4 wheel bearings go bad. As far as I understand it is a common Subaru problem. Millage seems to very when they go bad. It is a pressed In bearing only you cannot buy a hub assembly. Buy or have a shop install a QUALITY wheel bearing like a National or Timekin brand anything else will not last long 6mo-1yr.

How much of a hassle is it to swap the phase 1 into a phase 2 car? I think I have all components, I stripped the entire 97 car. Also the 97 had cruise control and the 99 does not can I add the cruise to the 99 I also took the cruise module? Thanks for all you help.

Thanks dp213 that helps. So what makes an ej22 a phase 2, meaning what are the dead giveaways? Was there any half years like 1999.5?

Questions- You said clean trans fluid, are you sure u checked trans and not front diff?, Said there is play/slop in diff end of cv, up down side to side or in and out? I have a very similar noise, slight feel of vibration that is relative speed and not rpm, no cv slop. I know my issue is a front left wheel bearing.

After owning 2 Imprezas 97 AT Coupe and 99 AT Sedan, stripping the 97 for all usable parts and scraping the rust eaten shell I think I know less about them now than before I knew subaru was a car. It's the little diffrences between the years and 2dr vs 4dr. I originally pulled the entire drivetrain from the 97 thinking all the parts would interchange with the 99 being how both are ej22 but that's not the case. Both have single port exhaust with different heads like spark plug placement, not sure about the ej22 phases, different AT trans. and so on. I'm not looking for easy answers just where to find the answers.