eryque

Had the engine up a little more than 2" above the center crossmember, just like the write-up on scoobymods. Stuck a hunk of 2x4 in there and everything. I wouldn't go any higher than that without draining the coolant and disconnecting the hoses because they were getting tugged on pretty good.

Look at ebay and Craig's list. I found a couple of small time dealers that only use Craig's list because the ads are free.

98 Impreza 2.2L. I'm replacing the motor mounts and am stuck. The motor mounts are attached to the engine by a bracket and two bolts. The bolt in front of the crossmember is easy to get out, but how the heck do you get that rear one out? It's directly behind the crossmember. I can get at it with an open end wrench on the passenger's side, but not the driver's side. On the passenger's side I can't even get enough leverage to budge the damned thing. Any suggestions? I'm about an hour away from giving up.

1996 Legacies in really nice condition are listing for $3k-$3500 around here, and that's for no visible rust and not needing any maintenance. Based on your description, my guess is that it's worth around $2000. If you sell it to a college kid or something, I think it's only fair to be sure that they know it's due for a $600 maintenance item. My experience is that most kids are going to spend almost all of their cash on a car, which may not be much cash, leaving nothing for repairs.

Good call. How can you tell if the pitch stopper has gone bad? Are the holes for the bolts worn too big, or what? It was suggested that I inspect that and replace if necessary. I've got a new one to install if I need it, but I don't want to replace it if I don't need to.

Seems like every time I see a car with aftermarket window tint it had a gillion bubbles in it and was pulling away from the glass. Is that usually a problem, or is it just bad workmanship?

You can disagree all you want, but that hasn't been my experience :-) There is a limit to the number of things that can go wrong, but with the number of components on a car that number can get pretty dang big. While logically it makes sense that you just need to fix the problems that are there, I've had cars that just would not stop breaking. Some of it was neglected maintenance, some of it was normal wear and tear, and some of it was freak stuff. Each time, all this added up to a car that wasn't worth putting any more money in to. Now that I'll agree with completely.

Or maybe someone could at least verify that I'm not likely to break anything doing this? :-)

My new motor and tranny mounts came in the mail yesterday so I'm going to replace them tomorrow. Are there any potential pitfalls I should watch out for? The plan right now is: 1. Jack up the car & put it on jack stands 2. Get underneath and loosen the bolts. 3. Lift the engine with the jack enough to get the mounts out 4. R&R mounts Any tips, tricks, or other info a newbie should know?

My experience with cars has always been that once a bunch of things start to go wrong, more and more things will start to go wrong too. Sometimes you just get a bad one, and sucking on a lemon like that is pretty awful. If I were you, I'd seriously consider selling it as well. I would never buy a Chrysler product, though.

I didn't realize that the brackets had changed. The 2.2L in my 98 Impreza sure looks just like the 2.2L in my old 95 Legacy. And yeah, that price difference surprised the hell out of me too. I don't know how they reman the one for the Legacy for $61, but I figured I'd take advantage of it before they wise up or run out. I don't even know that I need one now as it's putting out 14V at idle, but I'm sure I will need one and at that price I'd rather have a spare on hand then get forced into buying an inferior part locally when it does die on me.

Nipper's post about the $61 rebuilt alternator made me think that maybe I can use it successfully in my Impreza. The factory rebuilt alternator for the Impreza is more than three times as much. Does anyone *know* if it will work, or why it wouldn't? As far as I can tell, the main difference is that the one for the Legacy puts out 85 amps while the one for the Impreza only puts out 75. I don't think this should be a problem since the components will draw only the current they need. The only other spec I can think of that needs to be checked is the regulated volatage, which the FSM specs at 14.5+0.3/−0.4 V. Does anyone have access to the FSM for the Legacy to check that voltage?

Sounds like you done good! Pictures! We need pictures!

If I remember right, Mitchell's labor guide says the timing belt job is 3.7 hours for the belt alone, but not any other seals. Multiply that by whatever their labor rate is ($75?) is $225 just in labor for the belt alone. That time is for the 2.2L engine and I think it's more if you have the 2.5.

FWIW, I found that the spray cans I bought at the auto store were a very close match, even though the paint on my car is 10 years old. You have to look very closely and in perfect light to see any difference in the paint color. In fact, the only way that the repair sticks out is because of the mediocre bondo job I did that has a bit of texture to it. Don't forget to prep the surface carefully and spray a coat or two of primer under your color coats, and then spray a bunch of clear coats on top.

Everyone on this board have been incredibly generous with your advice and help, and you have all saved me many, many headaches and many, many dollars, and I wanted you all to know that I appreciate you. Last night I was worried that I needed a new tranny, but it turned out to be a ten minute fix adjusting the clutch cable, and I would never have figured that out without you guys. Thanks!

There's probably a screw loose. Grab it with your hand and wiggle it to figure out where the wobble is.

Steve, in what way is the engine less robust? Didn't the '98 Forester get the same EJ22 engine that the Imprezas had? You know, the ones without the headgasket issue that happens with the EJ25?

It was the cable. Thanks manarius and wondercow! My car and I are much happier now

I had a 90 and 95 that both acted the way Steve's did, which I recall being exactly how the manual described it. Take another look at your manual, I think you'll find it has a little different meaning now.

Could it also be caused by the excessive slop in my shifter? The bushings are completely worn away. New joint is on the way. I've got a hydraulic clutch. Does it still have a cable to adjust? Maybe it's a combination?

Well... the clutch is brand new. And I'm pretty sure either the motor mounts or tranny mount or both are shot. Would that do it? Should have the mounts here in time to change them next weekend. Maybe I should change those and then see if the tranny's any better. I'd hate to drive it around for a week and cause more damage though.

I am suddenly having more and more trouble getting my car into gear. I can get into 1st only by using force, though I don't hear the synchros grinding. 2nd is not quite as bad. Reverse can only be gotten through grinding the synchro and jamming it hard. Two weeks ago shifting was nearly effortless. Last week I started having to press the clutch absolutely all the way to the floor to get it to release fully. So what the heck is going on? Is my tranny disintegrating? Is it likely that just changing the gear oil will help? Argh! I am so frustrated! 98 Impreza 2.2L 5MT

Is the 90/10 split also true for the MT models as well?

I think Subaru's press release for the new vehicles said it was to get rid of confusion in the model lines, so now Legacy is the sedan and Outback is the wagon. The Outback sedan never made sense to me, so I could see the logic. That doesn't mean it wasn't SOA marketing's transparent way of saying we don't sell many Legacy wagons or Outback sedans, so we're goint to stop making them.