I Finally found a 5 spd 96 Outback that I could afford and that would do what I needed it to do.

 

I needed a reliable DD for one of my jobs delivering for Jimmy Johns and after asking for some advice and a LOT of searching of CL, eBay and several other for sale sites in the midwest I finally located this little diamond in the rough in Cincinnati for $1K. 96 Outback wagon with 5spd manual and 2.2L and 176K miles, heated Cloth seats and rearview mirrors, alloy wheels and tires have at least 70% tread. Power windows, and Cruise Control are nice too!

 

It's got 2 rust holes at the top of the rear wheel wells and a little bit below the handle on the rear hatch gate as well as on the roof. Broken exhaust bracket and the Catalytic converter flange had rusted off, but the Cat was fine (local shop welded on a new flange, added the donut gasket as well as tacking down the exhaust manifold heat shields and eliminating the rear most joint all for $50! ). It had a frozen Caliper on the drivers side so I had to replace the pads in the parking lot of the previous owners' apartment complex before I could drive it 2.25 hours home (90% interstate). Dual piston calipers that were a major PITA to locate quickly and accurately. I had to drive the sons' car to Indy to the Napa DC to get the right ones after 2 screw ups at the local store and they only found the correct ones by searching for it as a 97 with the 2.5L LOL. Shifter bushing is virtually non-existant (4" of side to side slop) and the drivers side power steer boot is torn. Previous owner had small kinds so the interior is a bit of a mess, but nothing that can't be cleaned.

 

So far I have about $1300 in it and that will give me parts to fix everything except the sloppy shifter and the rust (Thanks Shawn W! ) As a comparison, the next best thing was in Pennsylvannia (6 hours one way) and was $2K and not significantly better condition except maybe the interior). The only other one within a 300 mile radius that I found for sale had 246K with new clutch, PP & TO Bearing and was $3500. You guys weren't kidding when you said the 96 OBW w 5 speed was hard to find!

 

Enough Chatter. On to the Pics!

 

First night at home:

 

 

 

 

after some window scraping:

 

 

Interior pics to come. Want before and After?

Nice roof!

 

JK. Car looks good besides the rust. Don't park it over those oil spots for too long. It'll get ideas...

Nice roof!

 

JK. Car looks good besides the rust. Don't park it over those oil spots for too long. It'll get ideas...

 

Not once it hears what's going to happen to what Made those oil spots.

 

This is what it is replacing:

 

 

Reliable as heck, but not worth putting any money into. It did exactly what I bought it to do. got me around until I found something better. And it did a fine job of it. Interior parts and SPFI will hopefully live on in something else.

the body on that loyale looks so clean.

 

congrats on the legacy, you won't miss that ea82 one bit.

the body on that loyale looks so clean.

 

congrats on the legacy, you won't miss that ea82 one bit.

 

Miss What? LOL

So now that I've found my Baby (and I'm LOVING IT! Why didn't I get an EJ Subaru sooner? Oh yeah, I'm a Cheapskate. LOL! ) I want to make sure that she lasts as Long as she possibly can.

 

I know that I need/want to do the timing belts/ tensioners / seals, water pump, etc. I've done some searching and found out the how to write ups and I found a timing belt kit from theimportexperts on ebay for $90ish that contains:

(1) Timing Belt (13028-AA102)

(1) Timing Belt Tensioner Bearing (13069-AA037)

(2) Timing Belt Idler (13073-AA142)

(1) Timing Belt Idler Sprocket (13085-AA010)

 

What other things will I need to acquire (water pump, thermostat?!? & seals) and where should I get them (OEM or aftermarket?) ?

What other things will I need to acquire (water pump, thermostat?!? & seals) and where should I get them (OEM or aftermarket?) ?

 

 

For my son's '92 Legacy we got the water pump, along with the TB and idlers, from The Import Experts. Working just fine so far (6 months!)

 

But for sure get the water pump gasket, the thermostat, crank & cam seals and o-rings from Subaru (OEM).

 

Oh, and you're not a cheapskate--you're just a wise shopper!

Thanks for the info. Are the O-rings you're talking about for the oil pump? or something else? I remember reading that I should replace those seals as well, I think.

 

For my son's '92 Legacy we got the water pump, along with the TB and idlers, from The Import Experts. Working just fine so far (6 months!)

 

But for sure get the water pump gasket, the thermostat, crank & cam seals and o-rings from Subaru (OEM).

 

Oh, and you're not a cheapskate--you're just a wise shopper!

Yes, one o-ring for the oil pump. Be sure to remove the pump and check the rotor for loose screws. Remount with new o-ring and anaerobic or ultra-grey sealant.

 

There is also one o-ring on each camshaft--left front and right rear. I think it's wise to replace them since you're so far into the engine at that point!

 

Good luck.

Yes, one o-ring for the oil pump. Be sure to remove the pump and check the rotor for loose screws. Remount with new o-ring and anaerobic or ultra-grey sealant.

 

There is also one o-ring on each camshaft--left front and right rear. I think it's wise to replace them since you're so far into the engine at that point!

 

Good luck.

 

Does the EJ have the "mickey" seal on the oil pump or am I mis-remembering? or do the oil pump and cam shaft seals together make up the mickey seal?

 

Also, I found a 97 OBW with Power door locks in a semi-local yard and my 96 doesn't have power locks. how hard is it to add them? Just cutting in the hole for the switch and plugging it into the plug inside the door panel? Are there other "frequent use" parts that I should snag if I come across them?

Yours should have power locks. Its the last year of the door lock/unlock toggler in the door handle area. They get to be pretty worn out and stop working. The year later they changed it to separate the switch in the panel instead of the door handle area, I haven't looked into whether you could retrofit this style.

 

Congrats on the new ride! Looks really similar to the 96 Auto One I just finished and sold but yours is better.