Hey everyone,

Finally went out and took a picture of my 96 Outback that I picked up last month. Thought I would post it for everyone to see. It needs work. It has the classic EJ25 head gasket failure and code 24 (Duty Solenoid C) for the transmission. Funny thing is that it didnt have torque bind when turning. So I go to look underneath it and someone has removed the rear driveshaft! Talk about hillbilly engineering! You would have thought it would have been better to just replace the Duty C Solenoid and still have the AWD than to remove the driveshaft. Oh well, a quick visit to the local pull and pay will remedy that problem. Could any damage be done to the transfer case or rear differential by removing the rear driveshaft?

Yeah Ive seen the remove the driveshaft trick. I run a subaru repair shop in columbus if you want to swing by sometime. Have lots of parts etc for outbacks. Know where others are at local yards.

I also do tons of the 2.5>2.2 swaps. Nice looking wagon.

I vote paying Logic a visit. Dump that stupid EJ25, let him swap in a 2.2. Repair the drivetrain and drive it till it rusts out.

 

Correct me if I am wrong. Didn't the 96 2.5 call for 93 octane?

it is a smaller 2.5 than the 97-99 dohc

oh yeah I forgot I have a 96 wagon in my shop with a good driveshaft.

Yeah, it says right in the owner's manual and on the fuel door that premium fuel is recommended. I am not a fan of that. Although I somehow don't believe the previous owner splurged on premium fuel if he wouldn't spring for a duty C solenoid to fix the transmission. LOL. Logic, thanks for the offer. If I get up that way sometime, I'll PM you and stop by. Looking forward to getting this wagon fixed up and road ready.