Adventure Subaru II - 2000 Legacy Outback - Go anywhere/do anything wagon!

[AdventureSubaru]

With new baby and all, it looks like it's time to finally upgrade from the original Adventure Subaru  adventure-subaru-lifted-1997-impreza-outback which served me so well over thousands of miles, 14 states and 2 canadian provinces. It forded rivers, towed boat and car alike, climbed mountains, conquered desert heat and Wisconsin cold. And stayed faithful on very little $$$ and lots of use.

 

Basically, this car will be built to do all the same but with a little more size, towing capacity and general safety for the little guy.

 

Found the new outback advertised for parts locally in the Santa Cruz mountains. It had sat unused for the last 18 months with a "bad transmission." Looked it over and it the car really wasn't bad other than having a nice buildup of dead leaves and spider webs. It was filthy outside and in, but body and interior were in great shape other than needing lots of cleaning. Got it for a mere 350 bones and towed it home.

 

2000 Outback - 221k with EJ25 and 5 speed (don't find a ton of 5 speeds from 2000+ cars.)

 

 

Gave it a quick hose off to remove some of the dead leaves and all.

 

 

Roachy interior. Smoky car, dirt crusted console. Dust on everything. battery was dead.

 

The original intent was to simply fix it and sell it to contribute to the fund to get my wife a 05+ outback, but as we both saw the potential of this one (And I marveled at how simple it is to work on a rust free car!) it got me thinking that it may be time to change vehicles.

 

Got a used battery from pick n pull for $25.

 

Hunted through Pick N Pull's inventory, online, dismantlers and craigslist looking for a donor car or transmission. Came across a guy in Watsonville (only a 30 minute drive) who was clearing his garage of subaru stuff after having sold his car. He had a 2001 Impreza RS which blew the motor. he ended up replacing both motor and trans with a turbo model, so the good trans from the original car sat unused. Only about 150k on it. Checked the numbers and the final drive was 4.11. Bought the trans for $100! Steal of a deal.

 

Got a clutch disc off ebay. Figured while I was in there, best to know that it was ok.

 

 

Put it up on jack stands. (The scissor jacks were there for a little added stability but were a backup)

 

 

Pulled the old trans. I could hear the click of metal chunks hitting the oil pan when I drained the gear oil. Trans could only go in 3rd and 4th and even then, the wheels would spin while in gear.

 

Did the clutch and found this.

 

 

And it was an exedy so not like it was a cheapie. Never seen that before. the disc was ready to tear into two pieces!

 

 

new clutch.

 

 

"new" trans. Had to swap one of the sensors over and put the outback crossmembers on it.

 

 

Put it all back together and took it for a drive. Will have a few little things to chase, but it handles well. Good power. Shifts smooth through all gears.

 

Plans as of now

(I will be applying the K.I.S.S. method that worked well for the first car.)

body lift of about 4-5 inches or so.

Custom front strut lower ends

30-31 tires

roof rack/fog lights (probably from the first car.)

Trailer hitch & wiring

Front brush bar.

OBS hood scoop/vents

Maybe a rear mounted spare eventually.

 

For now... onto the cleaning!

Edited May 14, 2014 by AdventureSubaru

[Scooner]

That's exciting, the newest member of the adventure family haha. Take that fuse out on the passenger side of the engine bay and really feel the power! I took the one out of my wifes 2001 Outback and the power was like night and day...too bad i waited until the last week of owning it to do it! But what an easy way to get better gas mileage during the dry months. Can't wait to see more of this one. Hope that human baby is doing good as well!

[AdventureSubaru]

What fuse is that? You've got me curious. I took it for a quick spin last night and was impressed with the acceleration compared to the 4EAT in my wife's twin car.

[Scooner]

It's a fuse that allows AWD in those cars, it may not exist in manuals but i know it definitely exists in automatics. I read somewhere in the cars manual that in the event of a flat tire the driver was to pull this fuse to put the car in front wheel drive, when you pull it there is even a light that comes on in the instrument cluster saying front wheel i believe. Subaru did this because the spare tire they provided was smaller than the other tires and if left in AWD while running a smaller spare it could damage the tranny. Pretty smart them engineers!

[AdventureSubaru]

 

$4. worth of dollar store carpet cleaners/deodorizers. Good start to getting this car smelling nice again. Going to just hose off the floor mats.

[idosubaru]

*** disclaimer - don't do this because you'll die, but here's what  I do with smoke smells:

 

get an Ozone generator.   there is no other method that comes remotely close to actually removing smoke odors like that. everything else just covers it up and doesn't work.  the Ozone generator removes it from everywhere since it's a gas.

 

tool and heavy equipment rental places have them as well as hotels. i always rent them from a tool place.  $20 or something.

 

1. I expose everything- carpeting, glove box open, open cigarette tray, rear compartment, have carpeting under mats exposed by removing or propping up mats

2. place generator inside vehicle and run it for a few hours - i've left them run overnight before.

3. Afterward, the car i presume is filled with high levels/toxic gas and is terribly deadly...so i unplug/turn it off, open doors, let it air out

 

then marvel in the absence of any organic smells or smoke.

Edited May 14, 2014 by grossgary

[Mechanical_misfit]

DIG IT! These wagons are really coming down in price. I picked one up for the same amount a year ago and it was a great driver. I'll look forward to your progress. What ever happened to the Ski Wagon?

[AdventureSubaru]

*** disclaimer - don't do this because you'll die, but here's what  I do with smoke smells:

 

get an Ozone generator.   there is no other method that comes remotely close to actually removing smoke odors like that. everything else just covers it up and doesn't work.  the Ozone generator removes it from everywhere since it's a gas.

 

tool and heavy equipment rental places have them as well as hotels. i always rent them from a tool place.  $20 or something.

 

1. I expose everything- carpeting, glove box open, open cigarette tray, rear compartment, have carpeting under mats exposed by removing or propping up mats

2. place generator inside vehicle and run it for a few hours - i've left them run overnight before.

3. Afterward, the car i presume is filled with high levels/toxic gas and is terribly deadly...so i unplug/turn it off, open doors, let it air out

 

then marvel in the absence of any organic smells or smoke.

Great idea. Love the disclaimer I looked around. Found a shop locally that rents them for $45. a day. Everything is more expensive in california. But still, third hand smoke is a thing. And I've got a infant now.

[AdventureSubaru]

DIG IT! These wagons are really coming down in price. I picked one up for the same amount a year ago and it was a great driver. I'll look forward to your progress. What ever happened to the Ski Wagon?

 

Hey thanks! Yeah, I was stoked to find this one. Comparable cars in running condition (as it is now) are selling between 3500 and 5000 here in crazy California and it's high prices. Took me less than half the time to do the trans swap on this car compared to the Impreza a couple months ago with rusted bolts and having to cut a few with a grinder.

 

Ski Team wagon is being driven by some friends in southeast Wisconsin/northern Illinois. I'll probably put it up for sale in the near future. I want it out here, but we don't have much parking space and storage is (go figure) outrageously expensive. So if you know anyone who might be interested, you can point them my way.

Edited May 15, 2014 by AdventureSubaru

[idosubaru]

G Found a shop locally that rents them for $45. a day.

 

i was just guessing on price, i was probably off and CA is higher no doubt.

 

for me, zero work & 100% success is worth the meager price difference between that and $10+ in chemicals, rags, etc.

[AdventureSubaru]

Sounds like that's the way I'll go. Not too far from putting this on the road. Wife's Outback is sold pending funds. UCSC student that will be continuing it's adventures along the way.

 

 

Picked these up from Harbor Freight. Had a 25% off that needed to be used on something. Probably going with two of these on the roof rack and two on the brush bar. Once I've made them that is....

[AdventureSubaru]

Couple new parts ordered.

 

Took it for a good little drive yesterday and was impressed with overall power and the trans shifts smooth.

 

Can't figure out yet where this clunk in the driveline is coming from. When I shift and let off the clutch there's a pretty good jolt sometimes. if I can iron that out, i'll have peace of mind to move forward on everything else.

[TheLoyale]

Diff stubs don't have any unusual play in them? Seems like it would be a mount of bushing issue. Possible top mount bushing on the rear diff? Do these still have the two piece drive shaft like the older EJs did?

 

Any play in the output tail shaft? 

 

Xbeerd had something similar with his '92 Loyale during shifting and Decel, Pop/clunk noise, but not much of a jolt. I did ride in an XT which had a bad rear diff hanger bushing which caused a good jolt during shifting or when a decent amount of torque was applied.

[TheLoyale]

Or, btw. I had those HF offroad lights on Trashwagon10. They worked pretty well! Did you also have these on ur Outback Sport?

[AdventureSubaru]

I'll climb under the car and check. Should be getting smogged this week. I know one of the shifter bushings was a little wonky but shouldn't be able to cause what I'm feeling. Probably explains the shifter slop though.

 

Good to know about the lights. Looking forward to testing them out.

 

The OBS just had a set of smaller fog lights on the roof rack. They worked okay and will probably end up on this car, but I wanted a little more for some of those dark trails.

[ryot1]

i cant wait to see what comes of this one...

i dont knw if u kept up on my build but its growing as well..

i actually plan on taking a trip with my pup and girl as well ...prepping for spring ...

[ryot1]

we want pics we want pics we want pics!!!!!!!!

[AdventureSubaru]

It's all coming. We had to move this summer and stayed in some temporary housing for the last month. We'll be situated in a few weeks and work has slowed so the car should be getting some attention then. There are a few upcoming trips that I would like to have this lifted for. 

 

I did find a hitch receiver in the local PNP so I can tow the trailer. Gotta get the wiring in.

 

Let me know if you come up this way. Would love to see the Impreza in person. Maybe even take the cars for a romp somewhere.

[AdventureSubaru]

Local pick N pull yielded a Uhaul hitch for $25. and a near new set of brake pads during a half off sale for $.99 each!

 

Rock Auto supplied other goodies. Got new speedo sensor so i know how fast I'm going. Oil filters at $1.60 each!

 

 

 

 

Gear for mounting the hitch.

 

 

It's in. 3500 pound capacity. It's pretty beefy.

Edited September 10, 2014 by AdventureSubaru

[AdventureSubaru]

 

BIG changes will be coming shortly. I need to go buy a few more pieces of steel and then it's going to happen pretty quickly. The car has been performing well. But ground clearance is minimal on this generation (Even the outbacks) and I have a few upcoming excursions waiting for this one to be trail ready. The Impreza was sold over the summer. Kept the safari rack which may reside on this car.

 

As a new dad, every project is moving a little slower, but I'm not complaining.

 

 

Here's my helper and I as we diagnosed and repaired a 97 Outback that had skipped a tooth soon after an EJ22 swap. We put in a 99 style tensioner and bracket and new timing belt and it was back in business.

 

 

Towing power was one factor that made me chose to go with this outback over the lifted Impreza. Did just fine taking this little project home over about 200 miles - some of which was pretty steep terrain. That impreza was bought with a rod knock. I have a good Ej22 long block sitting in the garage. It is the one automotive project standing between me and some great upgrades and lift for the new adventure car.

[KiwiGL]

To me, your Outback almost looks like it has Legacy suspension in it - either that or it's collapsed badly! With Outback suspension, the hub should be almost in line with the rockers.

Edited March 2, 2015 by KiwiGL

[AdventureSubaru]

might just be this generation. 2000-2004. This seems pretty normal for them and ground clearance is a consistent complaint for them. I'll be doing about a 4 inch body lift and 5 inches at the struts to clear 30 inch tires. Should put me at 11 1/2 to 12 inches at least. Good enough for romping on some trails and some more remote hunting, fishing and backpacking trips.

[KiwiGL]

might just be this generation. 2000-2004. This seems pretty normal for them and ground clearance is a consistent complaint for them. I'll be doing about a 4 inch body lift and 5 inches at the struts to clear 30 inch tires. Should put me at 11 1/2 to 12 inches at least. Good enough for romping on some trails and some more remote hunting, fishing and backpacking trips.

 

Sounds like a plan. Have you looked into JDM, AUDM, NZDM etc suspension then, if the USDM Outback is just a stickered Legacy? Would give you additional clearance to the spring perch as the proper Outback struts have a longer body.

[AdventureSubaru]

Just passed 225k and a fresh oil change. About to do timing kit, water pump and a few other little odds and ends. Took my brother and a work buddy on a kayak/shark fishing trip. Car performed well. Got a couple small sharks but nothing enough to make for the "sleigh ride" we're hoping for. Hopefully after the weather gets a little warmer. Great scenery though!

 

 

 

[falconer315]

Some pretty awesome pics there...