Subaru_dude

The FB engines are practically immune to headgasket problems, have an easy to access water pump AND use a timing chain which will practically last the life of the car. Why is that so bad?

If you find a pretty good welder they could probably weld one up for you. Attaching it to the car is pretty straight forward, especially on the older, squarer Subarus.

There's a little button that the clutch pedal pushes when it comes up. That closes the circuit for the cruise. If the spring that pulls the clutch all the way up is broken or unhooked OR if the little pad fell off it's tab towards the top of the clutch pedal then that would prevnt that button from being pushed and the circuit would remain open.

SWEET LB'S ALIVE!!!!!!!! What kind of mileage do you get out of LB? A friend of mine bought an '84 Coupe 2wd 5spd and after a tune-up and de-emissioning the carb he's getting anywhere from 30-36. Little thing runs like a bat outta hell.

That is one SWEET looking Forester.

My nephew's '93 2wd 5spd Impreza was making some terrible noise as well and has been for 30,000 miles. Then it started kicking out of 4th and 5th gear. Split the thing open and that infamous roller bearing was broken and there were metal shavings EVERYWHERE. (don't know if the kicking out of 4th and 5th was because of that bearing though. I checked the price on the bearing and it's $128 from Subaru. I found a used tranny for $200.)

Yeah I love the mirror mounted on the door idea. Gives you just a little more visibility and it's reminicent of the '85 EA82s and also the Brats as mentioned.

Girls ruin everything.

Mainstream, maybe. Larger, doubt it. Looks the same size and even lightened it. WIN. The new 2.0 and 2.5 engines are badass in more than one way. WIN. 36 mpg. WIN. It's a Subaru. WIN. I don't see ANYTHING to complain about. Subaru is doing good for themselves and the rest of the world. The more people they appeal to, the more people there are driving Subarus. I see NOTHING wrong with that.

Yeah definitely better than removing all that timing belt crap. I was thinking the catalytic converter running underneath would be in the way of doing the pump from the bottom. Either way I definitely prefer this design over the previous EJ SO FAR. Don't know if the catalytic converter being so close to the oil pan will cause the oil to sludge up. Every Toyota Camry we've ever had has always been a sludge factory because the cat is so close to the oil filter keeping the oil hot.

I'm excited about the new engine. But is the water pump at the bottom of the motor? If it is it looks like the only way to change it would be from the top, and I'm sure that would require removing the radiator.

HAHAHA This has been a very entertaining thread to read. I added King Springs to my Outback (stiffer and taller) and also KYB struts and that reduced the bodyroll emmensely. I also at one point had a '93 Impreza wagon and added junkyard shocks and springs from a 1st gen AWD Legacy and that stiffened it up quite a bit and helped the handling.

Before: After: Also replaced stock fogs with PIAA 540s. They need adjusting though.

Well everybody I've got an update. My King Springs came in the mail last week and I've had my KYBs for a few weeks now and I got around to installing them yesterday. I guess I've got an extra 1 3/4" lift just from the springs, I also have 1/2" strut spacers for the front and 3/4" for the rear. When I get a job and can buy new tophats I will install those. Wanted to see how much lift I got from the springs first. I'll have pics tomorrow, should be nice weather. I still plan on installing the d/r one of these days... and getting rid of the plastic bumpers. BTW I really like the way this thing handles and rides now. A little on the stiff side but not TOO much for me. Can really take some hard railroad crossing hits very well.

Junkyard? Just about any parts store should carry that right??

For $200 that may be the route I go. But I'll have to have a muffler shop install it being there's no flange between the stock exhaust manifold and mid-pipe anymore... it's all one big piece.

What kind of muffler do you think would bring out the subie rumble? I'm not wanting to do full exhaust...

Hey Kyle... I just got an e-mail a couple weeks ago saying the springs STILL weren't shipped out but they were working on it. Some legal crap but I suppose by now they're probably coming. You can have my Outback struts FOR A SMALL FEE hahaha. Hopefully we can make this whole she-bang a combination off-road curvy-cruise. Maybe by then I'll have an XT... if not I'm bringing the Touring wagon, especially if there will be wheeling to be had. OR if I have that Aussie d/r in the Outback and skid plates as well I'll bring it. So many possibilities...

As of right now i have a broken collar bone but should be better in a few weeks. Can't wait to get the touring wagon out on some trails.

Somebody sticky this. I found an ethanol-free gas station near me and filled up on it. Within 20 miles... there's where all that damn power went!!! Man this thing's running like it did when I bought it 50,000 miles ago!!! I'm seriously considering stocking up on regular gas and storing it in a tank...

I'm not afraid of some minor trails. I SHOULD have either my '89 GL finished by then (reseal and new headgaskets) or King Springs on my Outback. The GL is pretty damn capable. I'd like to get muddy somewhere though.

If I can remember to check back to this thread then I'll be down. Or you could post something in the SE group thingy.

Would you mind driving a stick? If you could find a '96 with a 5spd, it'll have the non-interference EJ22 (no headgasket issues). OR you could go for a regular Legacy '95 or '96 (I stick with non-interference myself, that's why I don't like anything '97 or higher). The regular Legacy's didn't have the raised roof or raised suspension but you'd be looking at the same amount of room. Have you considered the first gen Legacy's? They're fairly roomy, maybe only lacking a couple cubic feet of cargo space.

Well how bout next weekend? I THINK I'm free then...

Was going to go with a snorkel at first and spent over $100 in crap to do it and realized there was just no way of doing it without it looking like a redneck piece of trash. SO I would like to have a cone air filter located JUST behind the throttle body. So far I have a piece of 3" flexible intake hose, a cone air filter, a pcv valve system plug-in thingy, and the wrong MAF sensor adapter. Has anybody else tried this? There's a bunch of different hoses associated with pcv and they seem to have a method to their madness... could I simplify it and just hook them all together and hook them into the intake? And there's also a big bastard hose that hooks into the intake closer to the MAF sensor. And does anybody have a part number for the right MAF sensor adapter part? I've searched and searched and can't find one. Apparently nobody's ever put a cold air intake on an EJ22 EVER. OR I could just stick that box back in the fender (is there an easy way of doing that? getting the fender off was a real pain) if that's the best way to keep water out. I drove through some pretty deep water (lapping at the end of the hood, headlights completely underwater) and I don't think any water got sucked in although it sure did seem like it was bogging towards the end of the pond. And also... how does water get into the transaxle? The dip-stick hole? Are there any vents like on the diff? I just want something I can take in headlight deep water on a regular basis and not have to worry about anything. Sorry for the oh so long thread.