Hey everyone, im new to the Subaru community and wanted some advice.

I've got a 99 outback that was my fathers before he passed away, and i want to turn it into a tough and reliable off road camper.

im willing to put money into it over the years and it going to be my daily driver here for a while.

once we are past the head gasket issues what can i do to make sure this thing is it excellent mechanical condition for road trips and camping i dont want to get stuck on a mountain because of engine trouble.

aside from the engine what other upgrades can i make to make this thing a tank off road? i want to be able to keep up with my buddy's jeep wrangler, i know i cant go everywhere he can go when he has a 3.5" lift with 37 inch tires.

but i want to go as far as i can on a reasonable lift like 1.5-2.5" that wont make the car underpowered because of the extra weight, nor make the axels and joints more prone to breaking.

can i upgrade the axels and joints? should i? what should i upgrade it to?

this thing is going to be a dedicated daily driver and camper so i want to cover any potential failure points before they fail and beef them up.

any suggestions or people to call other forums i should post on or whatever you think will help.

15 hours ago, faunjoustino said:

once we are past the head gasket issues what can i do to make sure this thing is it excellent mechanical condition for road trips and camping i dont want to get stuck on a mountain because of engine trouble.

i am assuming by this comment that it has a current headgasket issue?

If yes, making sure that job is done right is job number 1. There is a specific gasket recommended for this job.. part number ends in 770, i think... a search should turn that up.. look for info from user General Disorder...

also do the FULL timing job... belt, water pump, all idler pulleys, new oil seals behind the cam & crank pulleys.. and tensioner, if warranted. And do NOT use a Gates kit - their quality has dropped dramatically. Aisin is the best option. A search of this forum will give you lots of information on that job.

not a lot of "upgrades" available for these cars in general, but there are few items... King Springs is one that comes to mind that would be ideal for you. not cheap, but well made. There are some smaller lift kits available with a bit of searching.. nothing extreme, but moderate.

OEM axles are still the best available - aftermarkets have a much higher failure rate... reboot & regrease of the OEM axles will provide better longevity.

I know others will have more info.. so be patient..

You will be much better served for this purpose (overland camper) by selling that 25D garbage and buying something that's actually suitable for off-road (and can keep up with that Jeep). There's a ton of options in that regard - I would suggest the venerable Toyota Land Cruiser. Or if you really want to stand out in the crowd - an ex-military LMTV or similar is quite a bargain considering what the government spent on them. 

There are no upgraded axles. You can't even get OEM axles for that chassis anymore. You could modify OEM axles for a newer model. If you can get them they are about $400 each. 

The engine in that chassis is a dead end. You can't really fix the HG issue, and the plastic cam sprockets (which are an absolute must change if you open it up for HG's at this age) are no longer available. I bought the last set for a turbocharged 25D cylinder head build (with 257 bottom end) going into an auto-gyro a few months ago. 

You can replace the engine with a '95-'98 2.2L engine. But those are hard to come by and just make the problem of being underpowered for your desired tire size even worse.

Gearing is your enemy. The larger you go on tires, the more gearing you need, but cannot have. There are no options in this regard. 

Ultimately you will want the little Outback to do things it will never do and for this reason I would suggest you find a different chassis more suited to your needs.

GD

1 hour ago, GeneralDisorder said:

You will be much better served for this purpose (overland camper) by selling that 25D garbage and buying something that's actually suitable for off-road (and can keep up with that Jeep). There's a ton of options in that regard - I would suggest the venerable Toyota Land Cruiser. Or if you really want to stand out in the crowd - an ex-military LMTV or similar is quite a bargain considering what the government spent on them. 

There are no upgraded axles. You can't even get OEM axles for that chassis anymore. You could modify OEM axles for a newer model. If you can get them they are about $400 each. 

The engine in that chassis is a dead end. You can't really fix the HG issue, and the plastic cam sprockets (which are an absolute must change if you open it up for HG's at this age) are no longer available. I bought the last set for a turbocharged 25D cylinder head build (with 257 bottom end) going into an auto-gyro a few months ago. 

You can replace the engine with a '95-'98 2.2L engine. But those are hard to come by and just make the problem of being underpowered for your desired tire size even worse.

Gearing is your enemy. The larger you go on tires, the more gearing you need, but cannot have. There are no options in this regard. 

Ultimately you will want the little Outback to do things it will never do and for this reason I would suggest you find a different chassis more suited to your needs.

GD

i understand its issues but like i said it was my fathers and he passed away so ill swap engines or do whatever, is there anything else you can suggest?

 

If you can find one, a lower mileage '95 Ej22 is the way to go, engine wise. Non-interference, so no major damage if a timing belt lets go. Also stupid easy to work on with basic tools... but as GD said, it will be under-powered for what you are wanting to do.

beyond that, best I can offer is to make sure ALL maintenance is up to date. Fluids, brakes, cooling system, and so on.

I get the sentimentality of keeping the car, but in all honesty, I would fix it up for a daily driver, and get something else more suited for the offroad adventures. 

Can you go "offroad" with it? yes.

Are they fun to do a little mild offroading with? most definitely, but as mentioned, will not be nearly as capable as the vehicles mentioned by GD.