MilesFox

With my experience, NAPA ALTROM brans supplies an oe equivalent 'made in japan' part. This is good quality and often supplies from the oem manufacturer. I always shop napa for hard parts and seals. Only the dealer for an obscure part. I am always pleased with napa altrom as do not get any made in mexico or china parts the same as the lesser brands or the chain stores.

This is an idea i first learned on the USMB over 10 years ago. good luck

I wouldn't worry about HG leaks as this common knowledge doesn't apply to 2.2 with composite head gaskets. And not to worry about the rear diff if the fluid is not low. For the mileage, if the timing belt was done, that is good. If not, use it to drive the price down. I bought a 98 obs with 185,000 mi for $800 bucks as something to compare with, although mine was shagged. About the mileage, 154k is failrly low. If it makes you feel better, my 98 forester heas 243,000 mi, and i swapped a 2.2 in it that has even more mileage. And yes, i did head gaskets on a 255,000 mi ej22 to use in this car. Good luck

Never use the arrows.

What he meant to say is "put it at the hash mark on the crank (woodruff key at 6 o'clock) so that the pistons are at the center of their bore" TDC is never used for subaru timing belts. This is what the arrows are for. And Never use the arrows. Never the arrows.

stuff a rag in the spark plug hole to prevent the valves from falling in once you remove the keepers

ask us how we survived without helmets and knee pads

Ask your parents how they survived their first car without airbags. Ask grandpa how he survived without seatbelts. the 91 or 92 loyale will have SRS automatic seatbelts. In a weird time of federal mandate for existing platforms, you end up with things like a 1993 dodge shadow with an airbag for the driver and an automatic seatbelt for the passenger, akthough the driver had a manual seatbelt. The focus should be on defensive deiving and avoiding collision, but you can't control other people's driving.

I have been told not to use stainless bolts in aluminum. perhaps the nickel content and galvanic corrosion. metric 6x1.00

I was hoping your car was red when i clicked this post Here is my red 88 DL wagon i used to have. This car no longer exists. Please copy it as it was sweet

knock sensor. Try premium fuel and see if that changes anything. By the mileage and age of the car, a failing knock sensor would be expected.

I would suggest foamular panels anywhere they are easy to install, expecially the floor if you are doing plywood. I did a hardwood floor in mine with bamboo using a plywood. You could probably do the 1/4" fanfold foamular to make contours such as inside the door and the rear quarters, layer them onto eachother to build unsulation. Use the thick boards for the roof and the floor. Use 3m spray adhesive or liquid nails project glue.

Here is an example of what a subaru can do off road. This video was made 10 years ago in zanesville, ohio. The car that is struggling in the mud hole got its ignition wet. The moral of the story is that subaru AWD is quite capable, and you really only need a 4x4 truck with locking diffs if you are towing trailers in the woods or rock crawling. The Subaru is loads better for normal street driving, winter driving, 'all road' conditions which include ATV trails and river banks.

I am from northeast indiana. I have had no problems with ATV trails and riverbanks in the area, glacial remain and kettle lake type geography. Most of my experience is 80's subarus with 90 hp and 13" wheels. Although these rigs had low range. But before i was into subarus, i was all about that pontiac grand am. I will never do another grand am ever. And now i live in Wisconsin, whhere it averages 10 degrees colder and 10 inches more snow per year. For subaru models, i have had the following on average: 86-88 GL wagons, 5mt, dual range, a handful of 83-84 ea81 wagons 90-94 and 95-98 legacy wagons both 5mt and 4spd automatic. I currently have: 96 impreza wagon with forester struts 96 legacy with outback struts 98 forester with 2.2 swap and impreza struts(lowered) 98 legacy outback 86 gl coupe with 01 impreza motor swapped in and full time 4wd dual range with limited slip rear. In the farmers field and woods the subaru would walk out where the ford truck with swampers dug ruts so deep in the mud it got stuck hard and no room to maneuver between the trees. The subaru would walk a 60 dgree incline laterally. And up that incline as well with a rolling start. It would eat up bean fields at 60 mph sideways. A subaru with snow tires is absolutely unstoppable in snow. Even a lifted truck is limited by its differentials for ground clearance. A subaru averages 9 and 11 inches at the diffs. You just have to experience a subaru to believe in them if all you ever had was gmc trucks and ford explorers. wheelspin is your firend with these if you get stuck; wind it up and bang out 5500 rpms with no sweat. I suppose you could consider a $1000 mid 90's legacy or impreza to get familiar. If you wrench on your own cars you wil find the subaru is absolutely a breeze to work on, but throw out gradmpa's car wisdom when it comes to these.

I slapped together a shortblock that had 260,000 mi with 145,000 mi heads to put in a forester with 249,000 on the body and trans. I only did the head gaskets because they failed on the original donor car, because i forgot to plug in the radiator fans. Everything you ever read about head gasket leaks, failures in regard to late model phase 2 engines or ej25d with MLS gaskets need not apply to phase 1 ej22e engines with composite head gaskets like ea82 and ea81 engines always had. You can preemptively do the head gaskets as PM, but it is not necessary. Pip open the head on either block and you will find plenty of crosshatch in the bores even on 250,000 and 300,000 mi engines. Do the rear baffle plate (oil separator) but leave the rear main seal alone. A little weeping is fine, but it is more likely to fail from iporoper installation than leaving it be. This is a general rule and all of your searching will lead to this conclusion. You would be better off leaving the oil pan gaskets alone if they are not leaking. Be aware of the o-ring for the crank breather on the back corner of the oil pan gaskets in regard to excessive oil consumption, if not installed correctly. Use the 1995 intake and harness and ECU as it is OBDII and will be easier to troubleshoot.

Honestly, transmission failures are rare, with or without regular fluid changes. The most common failure for the trans is the duty c solenoid and torque bind, which is a serviceable maintenance item, or a broken transfer clutch basket, caused by driving around with a bad duty c. Any more to do with trans failures is the front differential, either due to lack of service, the consumer or the machanic being unaware that the trans has 2 dipsticks and 2 fluids, being drained and filled withthe wrong fluid either DIY or fast lube, OR being drained and not filled under the same circumstance. In my experience with old subarus or ones with high mileafe, the only one i ever had trans trouble with was a 94 legacy with 104,000 mi experienceing the 'delayed forward engagement' until it warmed up. This also was one of my lowest mile cars, and the service history showed a trans flush at least once. My 98 forester has 249,000 mi on its trans, unknown history, but no problems. I suppose the best way to determine which car to get or which has the betst trans is to drive it. If it drives with nothing wrong, good to go. Otherwise, if there is a problem, it will be obvious.

I'll give you my opinion being a fellow hoosier native myself. Sure you are used to trucks and SUV's but if yo unever experienced any kind of subaru before, i can see where you may contemplate what you may end up with compared to what you are familiar with. But it is my opinion that, once you experience a subaru, you might not go back to your old platforms! I used to be aFWD GM guy as this is what i learned to drive on and work on cars....then i found subaru. Don't let no one give you hell for driving 'Jap Crap' as the legacy is built in LAfayette, and most of your fords and chevy's are builtin mexico and canada. Good luck with your searching. Anyway, the Subaru is quite capable. Don't be afraid to load it down or get it dirty. And a Subaru with winter tires in the snow and ice will put trucks and SUV's to shame. Really to compare a 4x4 truck to a subaru is you only need the truck if you are towing a trailer in the woods, although the subaru is happy to eat up some ATV trails. I am only speaking from my own experience and opinions, as i can relate to Indiana and the demographic there and the preference for domestic vehicles.

My 86 3door with an 87 RX trans always seemed notchy after i put it together. I had put in a synthetic 75w90. I had the car for a year this way. The shifting was just really notchy, although not grinding. Someone suggested adding a quart of ATF before changing the fluids, which i hadded the quart and drove around for a month like that. Then i changed the gear oil again. No bueno. I finally pucked up some subaru extra s from a local dealer (the first dealer had no clue) and installed this fluid, and my trans shifted much smoother after about 100 miles of city driving. I would imagine the synchromesh GM stucc could work, as ong as it has GL-5 rating on the bottle. This is important because of the front differential, which works the same as any other front or rear diff by itself with gl-5 oil that lacks the synchromesh additives if it is just a diff. The GL-5 rating is for the ring and pinion gear.

perhaps 195/60 tires

cam or crank sensor. These are easy to do. There is also an ignition amplifier on the firewall. Use troubleshooting instead of shotgun approach unless you have known good parts just laying around. Remove the outer timing belt covers to inspect the belt or observe it turning. Check the marks on the camshaft. Use the hash marks, not the arrows. Never the arrows.

The panel under the dash board comes out. Remove the plastic screws to get in. This panel clips onto the steering column shaft towards the rear. The LED lamp on the ECu may be visible between the foam under the steering column where it goes into the dash. Ther would be 2 black plugs with a singe wire on each end to plug un towards the back of the ecu near the pedals, if i recal. Ithis is the "ECS' light on the dashboard. The 'oxygen monitor' mounted in the trunk applies to XT coupes

One thing to consider is if the trans has the proper oil. If you had the car 7 mo, perhaps the PO changed the fluid out to present the car. But the trans requires a synchromesh gear oil with GL-5 rating for the differentials. I would recommend replacing the fluid with subaru extra s or an equivalent 80w90 or 75w90 for synchromesh trans if the problem persists. Also as a general rule, subaru does not like to be shifted into first while rolling decel. 2nd ok, put into first as the car is stopped

Consider a 2005 legacy GT

Over at my oil shop it takes people 6 and 9 months to put 3,000 mi on their car. Of course they never consider trans service every 30, 50, or 60,000 mi depending on their vehicle.

The higher the mileage, the more likely major services have been done.