a few ?s for those that have lifted there imprezas and more ?s fore everybody else

[oooo]

I just bought a 97 impreza outback with 3.9 manual trans and have plans to lift it and put atleast 27 or 28 inch tires on it, maybe 29 if I go crazy:grin: . I have some questions that hopefully some of you guys can answer.

 

Suspension ?s

The plan is to use a 2 inch liftkit from australia and then legacy outback struts and springs with impreza tophats in the rear but I don't know if those tophats will fit on a legacy outback strut amd spring.

 

1. After lifting and putting the larger tires on how much did it effect all around drivability, stuff like power and acceleration. Is it underpowered like a lifted ea82 with 27's and the 3.9 trans. is 5th gear pretty much usless?

 

2. Whats the largest tire that can fit under the spring perch on a forrester strut, and do the sg forrester struts give more lift then sf forrester struts? I read on the ausubaru.com forums that 29 inch is the largest tire that can fit under the spring perch on outback struts and from what it looks like on my lifted legacy theres enough room that that seems about right.

 

3. I have read that some of you have lifted using forrester struts and springs but did you use impreza tophats on that? and others used outback struts and springs and outback tophats and they just redrilled some of the holes where the rear strut top mounts. Do the different struts have different ways for tophats to mount to them? the liftkit from either scorpion or a byb kit has to use stock impreza hats, if anybody knows of a way to get them to mount on outback struts and springs it would make things alot easier.

 

 

Engine ?s

the plan is to swap in a 2.5 if the headgasket problem has finally be solved

 

1. Since mine came with no engine I was thinking of swapping in a 2.5 but have a few reservations about it. But the extra power would be nice.

 

1a. Did the final redesign of the headgaskets fix the blowing the

headgasket problem that all 2.5's seem to have. Making them

reliable like the 2.2

1b. From what I have read my 2.2 computer should have no problem

running the 2.5 and I can just use my 2.2 manifold I think, but do I

have to stick with a phase 1 2.5 or can I use a phase 2, because a

phase 2 wont leave me stranded like a phase 1, if it blows I can

just keep filling it with coolant

 

 

Transmission ?s

the plan is to maybe change transmissions from 3.9 to 4.11 since the engine was out and if i decide to get another 2.2 ,thought it might help especially if I go with 29" tires. Plus the speedo would read correct.

Heres the information I think I know about the transmssions feel free to correct me about anything in this post and when answering the questions because I'm not totally sure. Still trying to learn this stuff so maybe someday I could help others.

 

1. The 96-97 legacy outbacks and gt's have cable operated clutches and they switched to hydraulic ones in the 98-99 outback and gt's But Im not sure so I think the 96-97 should be a direct swap and just bolt right in. If they are, will they accept impreza axles or do legacy outback axles have a different spline count then impreza axles.

 

2. I already have a rear 4.11 r160 from where I changed my legacy auto trans to and outback trans so I assume if impreza spline counts are the same as legacy outbacks then they should work with this diff, unless I were to find a rear 4.11 lsd from a manual 2000 rs because I believe the rs lsd rear diffs use different impreza axles, so I would have to find the ones that came on that model year.

 

Sorry for such a long post and so many questions but I have alot planned for my impreza and I don't want to waste money on parts that won't fit because I didn't do my homework. hopefully these are all the questions I need answered.

 

Thanks in advance and thanks again to everybody on this board, the knowledge I've been getting from it is priceless!!!

[screwbaru2]

will they accept impreza axles or do legacy outback axles have a different spline count then impreza axles?

They are the same. I just put 97 legecy front driveshafts in a 99 imp works fine no issues.

I can just use my 2.2 manifold I think. No, but if the years are the same the connectors might all match the harness. The intakes are different.

[idosubaru]

if you're looking for EJ22 reliability, then get an EJ22. EJ25's have more head gasket failures (much rarer after replacement, but does happen), more engine bearing failures and more piston slap. nice motor but it's not an EJ22. boost your EJ22 with 7psi if you need 20 more hp.

 

it is a good motor though and most people probably don't look at reliability the way i do. the EJ22 intake won't work, but if you go with an EJ25 it's intake will plug right into the EJ22 harness, so no need to swap intakes anyway.

[oooo]

So if I have to use the ej25 intake to use the ej25 engine does that mean I can use a phase 2 out of a 2000 rs becuase I might be getting one of those that just had the headgaskets done and only has 97 thousand miles on it really cheap

[idosubaru]

no, they are not interchangeable. the wiring harnesses change in the Phase II EJ25's (SOHC). of course anything can be done with enough time and effort...a V8 can be thrown in there if you want.

[JT95]

I have a 99 OBS with the phase II 2.2. It's no sports car, but the little 2.2 is peppey for all I need...maybe not all I want, but all I need for sure. It is a fun car to drive. I was used to drive a 95 Legacy w/ the 2.2 (230k miles, thank you), so the slighter hp increase in the 99's EJ22 and the Imp's lighter weight made it seem like a boost in power for me.

 

Now, I am in the slow process of working a 2.2 out of an '00 Impreza OBS into a '99 Legacy Outback with a blown 2.5 engine/tran. The phase II wiring is a different setup than earlier engines, so I would avoid going that route if you want simple. I had to tear the top off the engine and re-wire the engine using the 2.5's harness, and even then everything doesn't match perfectly. My swap would have been so easy had I been able to interchange the intake runners, but alas, that was a no-go. However, I would think you would have good luck using a low mile phase II EJ22 (a few extra hp and still reliable) and use the intake and engine wiring harness of one that is specifically for the 97 Impreza.

 

 

Now, if you want a fun engine that's a little different, I have heard of people building a 2.5 with 2.2 heads. Supposed to be a pretty torquey engine, but I've never seen it in person. Of course, I now have a 2.5 sitting in the garage with a crapped out head (what came out of that '99), so my plan is to tear it apart and rebuild it with some dual port 2.2 heads when I find some. That setup might do the low end oomph you'd like. Research it though, cause I'm just looking into it myself. The 2.2 heads would let you use the correct 2.2 intake manifold for the car and still have a 2.5 bottom end, which would make wiring up a snap with a 2.2 harness on the engine. Since you're already into a project...

[oooo]

Thanks to all for the info, keep it coming for the other questions above that haven't been answered yet. I might try and do a franken engine but, the engine just had new headgaskets put on like 2 weeks ago and all new seals and timing belt and water pump done like 2 months ago, don't know if I would want to ruin a recently rebuilt engine for that, might just find a newer shell to put it in. What was the first years the imprezas, foresters and legacies used the phase 2 2.5 and how long did each use it for

[johnceggleston]

edit, delete, error.

[oooo]

Well I still haven't figured out for sure if the 96-97 outback 4.11 manual trans are cable operated and since they seem to command a pretty high price I was wondering if I could get a 4.11 from a 90-94 legacy manual because they seem way more reasonably priced, and just take the 3.9 from my impreza outback sport and swap the 4.11 gears and diff into the 3.9 case and install a outback speedo gear and in effect create the trans I need at a way cheaper price. Does this seem like it would work or are there sensors and wires that will throw a check engine light or not even work properly since the 4.11 legacy trans and tcu are obd 1 and the 3.9 impreza trans and tcu are obd 2

[oooo]

Ok I might have found a 96 outback manual trans from one that had the 2.2. I know thats pretty rare, but the junk yard listing says its build date is from 6/95, does that make it the 4.11's the 96 outbacks are supposed to come with or is it the 3.9 manual that came on the 95 legacy outbacks, because the first year of the outback production was 95, It was just basically a appearance package of two tone paint, small fog lights (not like the big ones that came in 96-99) and a different interior, it had no lift. So was just as low as the normal legacy wagon. Still trying to find out if 96-97 outback trans are cable operated.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far

[oooo]

ok I think I'm gonna get a 97 gt 4.11 geared trans if I can find out if its cable operated and not hydrualic, its around $150 cheaper and there is one located around here, from what I've found it is the same gearing as the outback trans in all gears except 5th, the outback is .871 and the gt is .780, so that means I won't be turning the really high rpms at highways speeds like the outback, Ill just deal with the speedo being off and maybe get a scan guage 2, because the guy at the company I talked to said it should be able to correct the speedo. If that doesn't work dakota digital has something thats supposed to correct speedo's. Here is the link that has alot of transmission info for new gens http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/trannychart/trannychart.pdf

 

the rest of the site has some cool mods also, sorry if its already been posted before

[oooo]

Well cash is getting tight, just got a 2 inch lift kit so looks like the 4.11 tranny is out. I figure It should still drive pretty well with the 28 inch mud terrains even with the 3.9 tranny because im swapping in a 2.5 engine since I need a engine any ways, this way after I get it all running and lifted with the big tires if it seems slow accelerating or just all around slow, I can swap in the 4.11 later down the road when I have more cash, but If it drives fine with the 2.5 engine and 3.9 tranny I've saved myself around $800 bucks in parts and labor that can go towards upgrades to rear disks and maybe bigger brakes all around. Anybody that has lifted there impreza and is running 27 inch or larger tires and has the 3.9 can you please post up your driving impressions of your car.

 

Thanks for your time and I'll post up some pics when its done

[Hendrik]

I just bought a 97 impreza outback with 3.9 manual trans and have plans to lift it and put atleast 27 or 28 inch tires on it, maybe 29 if I go crazy:grin: . I have some questions that hopefully some of you guys can answer.

 

Suspension ?s

The plan is to use a 2 inch liftkit from australia and then legacy outback struts and springs with impreza tophats in the rear but I don't know if those tophats will fit on a legacy outback strut amd spring.

 

I just lifted my Impreza 93 with 50 mm (2") , simply by putting on all orginal four struts steel bars with the same tread as original.

Plus 12 bolts , thats it.

I will now put 245/60/14 , with aditional 30 mm adapters (to come)

to get the space for the tires.

 

About engines , nothing to report , stay with my EJ 18

[98obster]

3. I have read that some of you have lifted using forrester struts and springs but did you use impreza tophats on that? and others used outback struts and springs and outback tophats and they just redrilled some of the holes where the rear strut top mounts. Do the different struts have different ways for tophats to mount to them? the liftkit from either scorpion or a byb kit has to use stock impreza hats, if anybody knows of a way to get them to mount on outback struts and springs it would make things alot easier.

 

 

sounds like you're going a different route, cool. I currently have 2000 forester assemblies on my OBS and will be switching them out for a 2008 XTs set as soon as my strut bar arrives. there will be a difference of about .4 inches increase below the lower perch. Yes, bigger tires would be cool but I am trying to figure out the rear trailing arm situation to return to original caster.

I'll be putting in an upper rear Ingall's bolt to dial out camber but no crossmember spacers for now-no jumping for now I guess.

[oooo]

aren't forester trailing arm mounts different then the impreza's. Seen a picture of a trailing arm mount and the hole was in a different place and and shaped a little different and was supposed to move the wheel back like 8mm but I'm not sure what it came off of. Also I thought that outback trailing arm mounts where supposed to be different then regular legacy trailing arm mounts and supposed to move the wheel back some also, but when I lifted my 95 legacy with outback struts and springs I tried swapping the outback trailing arms mounts on but they looked excatly the same, no difference at all even measured just to be sure, so maybe the junkyard sent me the wrong ones. In Australia when people lift there 1st gen legacies, they say to swap on outback trailing arm mounts to move the wheel back away from the front of the rear fender, so maybe the difference is only between gen 1 trailing arm mounts and gen 2 outback mounts. Another way you could move the wheel back is by getting some trailing arms that you can adjust the length on. I think somebody on another bord was using those to fix his problem. Maybe somebody can post up some comparison pics of the different trailing arm mounts and what they came off of. So we can all get a defenitive answer. 98obster when swapped on forester stuff did you car sit level or did it have a rake to it, and how big a tire can fit under the forester spring perch? You can fit 29 inch tires under the outback struts spring perch, so I went that route incase in the future bfg quits making the 28 inch mud terrain I got room for the 29's and almost every tire maker makes a 29 inch mud terrain.

[98obster]

I have about 1.25" clearance in the rear. I am running 195/65/15. forester stock is 205/70/15. that would be nice but a little too tight on turning and the rear caster issue of course. thanks for the info.