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but you have to check the actual month of 96 production on the door frame. I had a 97 that was made in 96, and yet it was an interference. Below is a post I had written in that has to do with the changover months, but it's more about the tensioner, but you get the gist. I forget whether the changeovers are the same month for tensioner and interference or not, because actually my 97 had the old tensioner and WAS an interference. Ultimately the only sure way I believe is to look inside the heads, but it's better to err thinking it is interference than not.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85339&page=2

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interference 2.2l engines are fine and will run FOREVER. Just replace the timing belt on schedule and, ALL the idlers and water pump with the belt. basically all that touches the belt except for crank and cam gears. Timing belts are extremely reliable and run LONG past their rating, 95% of the time. Some people don't change the idlers (pulleys) with the belt and at 120-140k one may lock up and wreck the belt, thus causing interference.

 

The hub-bub about interference engines is all because of a bad name they get from people who don't maintain their cars.. :-\ Buy the car and do a proper timing belt job on it and you can damn sure rely on it for at least the next 60 thousand miles. Then do the belt and idlers/pump again. The ej22 with proper maintenance will run 250k plus.

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EJ18's - none are inteference.

EJ25's - all are interference

EJ22's - 1996 is the last year though there was a case last year of one that was interference, over on subaruoutback.org i believe.

 

yup - interference isn't a big deal, just maintain them properly and you're golden. i guess if you're super cheap, lazy, and don't maintain vehicles then interference engines are not a good fit if you like driving until something breaks.

 

i travel too much and don't have time to be stranded so breaking down isn't an option. i do all my timing belt stuff, regardless of interference or not, and they don't break.

 

replace all the pulleys and tensioners to keep belts happy. the belt alone is not sufficient with age/mileage.

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Everyone is getting all caught up in "I have a 97, but it was made in 96. And it's interference."

 

If it's a MODEL YEAR 96, you're good. model year 97, assume interference.

I don't mean manufacture date, I'm meaning model year.

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I just had meself a great laugh as I reread my old 97 post, esp the part where I just then (at 245k) had realized the car had a timing belt!

:horse:

 

But! I beg to differ with you, oh 987.

 

It stands to reason to me that if my car was a 97, completed in 6/96, then that would suggest that they had interference parts in the factory in early 96. (Which my manuf date I remember surprised the hell out of me). And it's just my bent, (I have worked in factories) but if I were to buy a 96, particularly a late in the year one, I'd seriously assume that it was possibly an interference also. Until proven otherwise.

 

But the reason I particularly brought up the manuf. year/month issue, was because obviously this topic, interference or not, mostly comes up in tandem with timing belt/kit replacement needs or intervals, for persons buying driving repairing. And it is critical for one to know the month/year to "guess" which tensioner to order with your kit. That's not even venturing into the "California" kits which I almost got duped by on Amazon recently.

 

I point again to the fact that my 97 still had the "older" style of tensioner, which leads toward the fact that parts may have been interchanged at will or against inventory in the factory.

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