I've been working on swapping an engine from a 99 legacy outback (manual transmission) in to a 98 forester (automatic transmission) 

 

I finally went to put the engine in the forester today and noticed the one of the studs on the engine wasn't protruding through the transmission bell housing.

 

So I looked over the old engine I had pulled from the forester and noticed that it only had two studs on the engine whereas the one from the outback had four.

 

After many creative searches and reading many threads I had decided to see if anyone in this community of knowledge has any light to shed on this for me.

 

This seems like an uncommon configuration for the studs on a EJ25 as most pictures I have see only have the two bottom studs.  So can I pull the stud from the engine and just use the old bolts off the forester as I was planning to do?  If so how do you remove the stud?  

 

Are they any other weird problems that I am likely to run into and should gear myself up for?  It seems like 99 was a magic year for the EJ25......

 

Since I am writing this up I had one question regarding the lining up of the drive plate with the torque converter.  Is there an easy way to line up the bolt holes or do you just have to guess and then move the drive plate by rotating the engine.  I have it lined up now, and I doubt it will get out of line when I pull the engine, I'd just like to know if there was an easier way in the future.

 

This is a picture of the engine I removed.

 

I did find a picture of the an engine with the stud configuration like mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just use the holes that line up. Subaru added 2 bolts in 1999 but the pattern is the same.

Yep, just ignore the 4 unused bellhousing bolt holes in the 99 engine. You can take the studs out of the top and use bolts if you wish, or use the studs and nuts, it doesn't matter.

 

It's actually not uncommon, it seems to be a 99+ manual transmission thing to use studs at the top of the engine.

 

I prefer studs because you don't have to worry about stripping out the aluminum threads by getting the bolts misaligned, they should all be studs, tbh.

Edited February 21, 201610 yr by 987687

Thanks for the responses.  Of course the one stud that's not long enough is the one that needs to be used for the starter, so I will have to pull it out.  

 

I agree though as far as studs go, I'd prefer more studs and less bolts.

Looks like someone put those studs in to put it on an engine stand. They are not there in factory form.