johnceggleston

for that price i would expect it to have a new timing belt.

thanks for the tips. the top access was so tight during removal, it seemed to be too tight. but going back together it's the onlt way to go. so i'll just have to make it work. there is no way in he11 taht i could ever make a living doing this kind of work!!!!!!!!! it's a good thing i enjoy it. thanks again. john

so i finally got the 2.5 out and the 2.2 in on my 97GT swap. the hardest things coming out were the driver side lower bell housing nut, had to remove the steering to rack universal to have room to get it out; and the bolts connecting the torque converter to the flex plate. i ended up pulling the whole thing forward until they cleared the cross member and then unbolting them. so my question is how in the world do i get them back in and torqued to spec???? obviously i have to "seat" the torque converter before i slide the engine in, but now i'm stuck with no access. how do you do it????? i made one mistake in the process, i removed the steering rack because of a torn boot, and i was so excited to get the new engine in, i forgot to reinstall the rack while the engine was out. it would have been sooo easy to get the rack in and the steering linkage connected with the wheels & sterring wheel straight. oh well, it came out with the engine in i guess it can go back while the engine is in. any help on the flex plate bolts would be great. thanks, john PS: seating the torque converter is really easy as long as you know you have to seat it the second/third time. many thanks to mnwolftrack for his great how to!! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81925&highlight=seat+torque+converter

i think i'm gonna go with bucky on this one. i don't think her photo shop skills are good enough to fake that picture. i really like the engineered storage inside the spare. do you think that tray would fit in my outback???

you just have to weigh the cost of the repair against the potential miles you can get out of the engine. 1000$ for a 2.2L engine swap, (parts and labor) is probably a safer bet than 1200 - 1500$ on a 2.5L engine with 164k. the labor difference is the gasket job. the engine R & R is the same for both. the gasket & t-belt parts may be the same as the 2.2L engine cost, with the 2.5 you 'will' do the timing belt and related parts since a failure wil ruin the engine, and you don't want to have to go back in for 100k. with the 'right' 2.2L you "could" just stick it in, a failed timing belt will only cost you a tow more than doing it now. but by doing it now, you should get 100k trouble free miles.

what he said. mechanics who know subarus will suggest either a head gasket job or an engine swap. they already know about the head gasket issue with the 2.5L engine and the life expectancy of the engine after the repair. when you tell him "ok, the hel with it", i bet he offers you 500$ for the car. then he can fix it, sell it and make some money. find a subaru shop. get a second opinion.

i recently read an ad for lowering springs, try including that in your search details. i can't remember what car it was for or if it was here or on www.crazedlist.org. (that's a great search site for http://www.craigslist.com (?). if you use 'crazedlist' you'll need the mozilla firefox browser with the 'web developement' add on, or what ever they call it. they are both free. welcome to the party!!! :banana::banana:

looks like a nice car. looks like a really, really nice place to live. great view.!!! i love virginia. you can put on outback struts (96 - 99) and lift it up a little, no need to change the springs unless the struts come with them... and larger tires for that matter. it will throw off your speedometer a little if you go with larger diameter tires, but it will lift it even more. if you just paid for new tires, you may want to wear them out before you replace them. but the struts will still work. how do you like driving it??? i assume it's AWD??? i put 90k miles on a 93 just like that, from 75k to 165k. all i had to pay for was brakes and timing belt, and then i had an accident. it was a great car!!!! that's what convinced me to stick with subaru.

a loose puley will wobble when the car is running, maybe for a bad pulley as well. wobble is bad.

don't mess with the pinch bolt. there are other ways to r&r the axle. i undo the sway bar link, the steering tie rod at the hub and the bolt on the bottom of the hub, not the pinch bolt. some don't even undo the tierod end. another option is to mark the the strut to hub bolts and undo them. that way you can put it back together exactly the way you found it and hopefuly won't have to pay for an alignment. do a search.

wait a minute, when you pull the plug and drain the trans you get about 3.5 qts, but the trans holds more, almost 3 times more for the 2.5L trans. check your manual, or do a search . there was a post listing the correct amounts just last week. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=91690&highlight=only+difference

i think the spec is 2000 max.

S = 95 T = 96 V = 97 W = 98

the 2.5L wasn't sold in the us until 96. the trans number you posted for your car fits in a 95 leg 2.2L wagon or sedan, early 95 i think. in 96 the legacy trans went to a tz102zabaa i think. the last 2 letters mean: AA = legacy BA = outback CA = GT but thoses don't really matter, it's the second 2 you have to avoid. ( if you paste your trans number into the search tab / box at the top of the page, you'll find lots to read.) edit: there is an ID plate on the driver side strut tower close to the fender under the hood near the windshield washer tank. read it from the side of the car. it will tell you both the engine and the trans part numbers and well as color code body style/ trim, etc.....

i've never seen the trans part number on the jdm trans. it must be unique to japan. it is not on any usdm auto trans as far as i know. however, it will work in your car as long as it has a 4.11 final drive ratio and comes from the 95 - 98 period. have you looked here for a trans? you may find one closer and / or cheaper. www.car-part.com any auto trans will fit from a legacy, 2.2L, 95 - 98. any trans that starts with TZ102Z.... and then has 4 letters like yours above, will work. it really doesn't matter what the 4 letters are. stay away from any trans with TZ102Z2... and then 3 letters, these will not work. the ones with the second 2 have a different final drive ratio. good luck.

also known as subaru in japan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades

nipper, where to this year???? are there any trails or hills to climb or is it all pavement?? enjoy your trip.

and then there's this part: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81925&highlight=torque+converter

there's a great thread on seating the torque converter with pictures. it may be in the repair manual. give a search. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81925&highlight=torque+converter

do your self a favor, remove anything of value, radio, tires, trans, before yu turn it over. i'd be tempted to swap in an engine with bad head gaskets.

and the only difference is the torque converter, the 2.5s is larger.

from a non-engineer, layman's perspective, it's not really noise goop. it's glue, sort of. it in effect glues the prake pad to the shimm and/ or caliper which keeps it from making noise. so use it. engineers and mechanics please insert corrections here.

front speed sensor would be my guess, but i've never heard of it causing no 4th gear. did you run the rpms up until you hit the rev limiter, that should make it shift.

she is young after all. no wonder she likes driving it.

my 97 obw seems to lock up too soon. i live on a hill which i usually drive up in 3rd, but unless i'm accelerating up the hiil the trans / TC locks up almost imediately after it shifts up from 2nd. this usually then gives me a bit of a 'lugging' feeling. at 126K miles i just sort of figured a couple of the sensors were marginal. once my GT is back on the road, i plan on looking at the O2 and knock sensors. who knows about torque converters????