fishy

Another evening at home, another lesson learned from Subaru... I pulled the clusters out of both cars and they were (of course) physically the same fit, same harness plugs and everything. Then I pulled both clusters apart and realized that behind the overlay/bezel thing the speedo/odo part of each cluster was a different shape. The Impreza brighton unit is attached to the fuel gauge and was a different shape and wouldn't swap into the Forester cluster at all. So I had the brilliant idea of just trying the whole Foz cluster in the Impreza dash. It all plugged in nicely and with a turn of the key it did SWEET F@#K ALL! I think one of the blinkers sort of lit up a little but that was it. So that's about all I can do with that I guess. Epic Fail!

Thanks for the tips! I was thinking the speedo and odometer looked like a nice little package. I'll update my thread here whenever I get around to actually swapping the thing out. I was under the hood of the impreza investigating oil leaks and gnarly sounds today instead. Ain't old subarus great?

I still haven't had a chance to turn any bolts and screws on this job but I put a measuring tape across both clusters. What I learned was that the Foz tach is too big to fit the blank hole in my Impreza cluster. The good news is that the speedo/odo gauge looks identical in size and layout between the two so I hope my Imp unit will swap into the Foz and THEN I can move the cluster in. I'm still wondering (anybody?) if there is something in my Impreza Brighton to plug the tachometer into or not.

Excellent score. I'm always jealous when you forum guys talk about the PnP yards. Over here in the far east (of Canada) we don't really have any yards like that. We have to pay the yard to pull, sort, and store parts (and then wait for or order it ahead of time).

I don't remember for sure but I think it was a Bosch plug I had in a Lumina once that lost a piece of electrode. The plugs were less than a year old and the result was mad misfiring, stutters, hesitation, and a bonkers reading from the o2 sensor (because of that cylinder puking raw gas through the exhaust). I always inspect and/or replace plugs in a car with any of those driveability type symptoms first thing. With hondas and subarus you're looking at $15 for a set of 4 NGKs that they love. If your problem turns out to NOT be the plugs (and wires) then congratulations: you've just invested very little time and money into a partial tuneup most cars are overdue for anyway. That said: I switched out the knock sensor in my 98 Impreza because it was hesitating and bucking under throttle too. those are about $15 shipped from ebay for cheapie no-name ones that work fine. They're also a common failure point in subarus. They're also ALSO a quick easy thing to switch out.

I just picked up a 99 Foz parts car on the cheap and it has a nice tachometer in the guage cluster. It also has the same dash as my 98 Impreza Brighton. I'm fairly sure the cluster would physically swap into my Impreza but is there an existing plug or wire or something there to hook up the tach to my brighton? Bonus point questions: If I can hook the tach up at all... Can the odometer be swapped to retain correct mileage or would it be smarter to swap the tach only? I haven't compared the two clusters super closely yet but I'm getting tired of that big blank panel that says "Subaru" where my tach should be.

I stand corrected, it's not a slushbox. It's a snowmobile transmission Kidding aside I think I'd like to try out a Subaru CVT sometime because they look like they'd be half decent fun with the paddles and still be automatic for the Mrs. or relaxed cruising.

I think you pop it over to M to run it in "manual" mode and use shifter paddles on the wheel to shift the slushbox.

I got my sensor for this guy: http://myworld.ebay.ca/chandlermotorsportsinc/?_trksid=p4340.l2559 I have no affiliation or history of purchases with him/her I just rolled the dice and picked a cheap one to order. The main thing is that every time I drive that car now I grin about how much better it works.

Those symptoms sound VERY much like the symptoms that made me change the knock sensor out in my 98 Impreza. The result was excellent. Check out my Redneck Knock Sensor DIY thread to see the how-to video I did if you need some more info.

Hahaha yep, I tell everyone it's my hillbilly turbocharger I'm still shocked that the knock sensor could be behaving as badly as poorly as mine was but not light up the CEL...

There has been a bunch of chatter around here lately about knock sensors and their quirks. My 98 2.2 Impreza was bucking and surging and hesitating while driving but not enough to make the car undriveable and oddly not enough to throw a code. So I thought I'd try changing the knock sensor out. Since I was working on a hunch I bought an El Cheapo ebay knock sensor (about $15 shipped to my door) and installed it to find a massive improvement in the car's performance and a huge grin on my face. While I was doing the job I took my video camera along so I could share the experience and things that I learned:

I just installed a knock sensor that I bought on ebay from this seller: http://myworld.ebay.ca/chandlermotorsportsinc for about $16cad shipped to my door. Works perfectly so far and cleared up a surging/hesitation/bucking my 98 Impreza was having.

Especially in Canada is right. A friend of mine wanted to buy a 2007 Civic Hybrid (new in 07) and after doing his research and then a pile of paperwork he went from Canada down to the states to buy it from a dealership there. Even after all duties and travel costs he saved about SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS over the Canadian dealer price. It's bloody disgusting.

I've owned GMs, Hondas, Fords, and 3 Subarus... The Subaru boxer that we know and love seems to be the hardest thing in the world to get an accurate oil reading from, at least in a short amount of time. I've also given up trying to do quicker checks and only bother when the car has been sitting for long periods of time. Otherwise the results are too randomized to be useful.

I've got a 99 legacy 2.2 with 330,000kms on the dial that does exactly the same thing. I had it in my head that this was cause by worn out valve guides but I don't have any concrete backing for the theory. I look forward to hearing from someone who knows more about it.

Putting a 2.2 in place of a broken 2.5 is common and highly recommended. While you have the 2.2 on a hoist or bench you should really do the timing belt, idlers, water pump, and other such upkeep items and then shove it into the car and enjoy it for the remaining life of the body. I'm pretty sure the 2.2 from 96 and up ARE interference motors though which makes the often-neglected timing belt an important item when you have great access to it.

I currently have a 99 Legacy 2.2 4eat with 335,000kms on it and a 98 impreza 2.2 4eat with 225,000kms on it. The Impreza's awd is nearly instantaneous when there is slip whereas the Legacy's rear end is lazy and slow to engage. I'm not sure if it's the mileage or the maintenance history of the cars but the difference is very obvious so I completely appreciate what you're saying!

Any Monty Python fans here? Perhaps the hovercraft is full of eels

Let me further preface the idea with: I'm not trying to be Fast and Furious and I know the 2.2/4eat is an economical drivetrain at best... but I'm working on a video project that may evolve to the point of filming some before and after dyno pulls of the cars (the other car that's already naturally fwd). I'm just asking... I'm not a complete moron, honest!

Howdy, gang! I'll just out and spill my question and wait for the mocking/answers: Let's say you've got an old 2.2 impreza with the 4eat and you might want to do some dyno pulls with it... but the only dyno anywhere nearby is a 2wd unit... Is it possible to get away with using the FWD fuse for a few dyno pulls or is that transmission homicide?

Do you get much rust in your area? If not: Has the car always been in a rust-free area? On older Subarus I like to have a look at the rear crossmember for rust. If you can safely slide under the back of the car locate the rear differential. Have a good look up around the crossmember that sits over top of the diff and holds the lower control arms on. You _can_ replace these if they're shot and it's a fairly simple job but it's not very quick or easy. It's worth a look on a Subaru THAT old at least for piece of mind. A 99 2.2 Impreza should give you good service for quite a while as long as you take care of the upkeep like others have mentioned. The lighter weight of the Impreza makes the most of the 2.2 as well. Cheers!

I'm no expert but I just fired up my 98 Impreza and drove it after it had sat in my garage since October with about a 1/3rd of a tank of gas in it. The fuel was at least six or seven months old. The can ran well enough but I dumped some fuel stabilizer in it before driving too much and then stuffed a bunch of new fuel in it as well. Now it seems to drive a little better each time I take it out (not a daily driver). I know, cool story, bro! Short story long: I bet your 3 month old gas isn't going to hurt anything.

Two further thoughts: The WRX and STi models make 265 and 300hp respectively through the same style paper panel filter and inside-the-fender magic resonator stuff that we have in our lesser cars. Plus the paper filters filter better than aftermarket ones. As far I know the Cobb upgrade list goes like this: ECU and exhaust first and then if you feel like it you can add their intake but it isn't necessary for performance. That speaks volumes.

Just this week I did a boatload of reading about custom intakes on our MAF-equipped subarus... Especially this thread over at the Nabisco forums: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1471819 The conclusions I've drawn from my readings are that: 1)A full cone filter type intake (short ram or cold air)is NOT a benefit. In fact when you bypass the magic resonator jug thing in the fender the resulting resonance of the incoming air charge tricks the MAF sensor and makes the cars run pig rich and perform worse. Louder, but slower. 2)If you leave the MAF, air filter box, and all the fender gubbins in place but replace the piping between the MAF and throttle body with nice free-flowing air intake pipe you get a tiny bit more sound and an actual measurable HP increase. I saw the figure 10% tossed around in that thread somewhere but cannot confirm that myself because I don't have access to a dyno... yet... maybe someday.