86BRATMAN

Timing belt and idlers should have been done at 105k, even if they say the belt is done ask for proof of idlers being done with it or plan on doing them. Tires don't have to be anything special, but they do need to be all the same type and size within a couple mm of wear. Must be replaced as a full set, no screwing around here torque bind is the enemy, following the tire rules and changing the trans fluid every 30k miles is the best defense. Could give some other tips to watch for if we knew whichengine is in the car.

Slap some headgaskets on there and run it. I highly doubt that antifreeze ate that spot in the block, it's most likely a casting flaw, make sure it's smooth and that the heads are flat. I've seen worse run for years.

From what I've read 1st Gen Forester actually has a slightly lower spring rate than legacy, it's the 2nd Gen Forester that have higher rates.

You have to use the manual driveshaft, don't worry about switching the wiring harness, it is not that difficult to redo what is already there to make it work like a factory manual car.

The timing belt won't interchange. You'll need an ej22 specific timing belt, but you don't have to change the timing sprocket, all phase 1 engines (both of yours are phase 1 btw) use the same ones. Use the flex plate from the ej25 of course, and bolt the engine in. Only other part you should need is the ej22 exhaust manifold as it is a single port v. the ej25 dual port. The ej22 most likely will not have egr, I've never seen a manual ej22 with egr, and all usdm ej25d had it.

From what I've been reading King bearings are reboxed ACLs.

she's done for. at least with the that shortblock. You could find a complete engine for what it would cost to rebuild that one, most likely.

Best of both worlds, 96-99 legacy outback struts and gen1 Forester springs. Nets a hair over 3" of lift, gives you the best tire to strut clearance of the options above. And the ride doesn't really change drastically if you keep sway bars connected. I am a shade tree mechanic with 15+ years of hands on subaru experience, and I have personally ran this setup.

Not without a boatload of modifications to the floorpan and rear suspension.

When I had the 205/70s on my 97 legacy, 60 on the dash showed as 63 on my gps.

You betcha they're compatible. Swap away, really the only Forester part you can't use without modifications is the rear sway bar itself. Being Impreza based it won't clear the useless hump on the bottom side of the Legacy spare tire housing.

Technically a longer axle will be wider when they are installed lol.

Put the one in from the 84, chances are if its from a parts store they'll order the wrong part because the computers screw up the model change in 85.

2.2 Liter Engine Enhancements Beginning in the 1997 Model Year, the 2.2 liter engine for 1997 Legacy and Impreza models has had internal and external changes that yield an approximately 10% increase in power and 3% increase in fuel economy. Accomplishing this involves many factors, one of which is engine friction reduction. The piston, a major source of engine friction, has been coated with a friction reducing agent called Molybenum. This thin coating not only allows smoother travel through the cylinder, but also reduces cylinder wall scuffing. The skirt of the piston has been reshaped and the overall weight has been reduced by approximately 100 grams. Compression ratio has been increased to 9.7 to 1 by reshaping the crown of the piston. This eliminates the clearance that was available between the piston at TDC and the fully opened valve. Piston pin offset has been changed to 0.5 mm. Piston to cylinder wall clearance has been reduced by increasing the piston diameter. Pulled directly from this endwrench artice. http://www.ultraligero.net/Descargas/Manuales/Subaru/EJ22-Overhaul.pdf

This is a cross post from another forum. Please help this young lady to be reunited with her legacy. http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/4132253437.html

The ej22 heads didn't change in valve configuration from 90-98, the difference that made the 96+ interference was the piston change. Heads from a non-interference ej22 will still interfere on an ej25, don't believe me throw one out of time and rotate it.

If you have any local junkyards that have gen1 Legacy's, go looking in their center console. They all, at least on the United States, have automatic seat belts, and use the same hex type tool as 95-99 sunroofs.

None. 96 ej25 pistons are a higher compression piston than the 97-99's

You do realize that makes a piston to valve interference engine, if the belt slips or breaks, right?

Every 96 ej22 I've ever seen has been single port. And you don't want 99-01 ej22 heads, they are phase 2, larger chambered and will lower your compression when used on the ej25d(unless its a 96)

People use wrx struts on gen 2 legacys all the time. The spring rates are lower on the legacy, and the perches are slightly lower. Not enough to make a huge difference, but its there. He will need an alignment after the strut/spring as the gd platofrm is wider than the legacy. Stock eccentric bolts will be enough to get a normal camber setting from them though.

If you do buy it a timing belt, tensioner, and water pump would be cheap assurance that you won't have to worry about anything with that part of the engine for another 100k miles. It's rarely the timing belt that goes bad, it's the tensioner that seize and cause the belt to break, which will most likely end up in valve damage due to the interference nature of the 96 up engines. Also pulling the oil pump while you're in there and checking the screws for tightness, and replacing the o-ring wouldn't be a bad idea.

Tell the dealer to replace the other 2 tires with the same that has already been put on there. Thats a big no-no for an awd car.

Not to sound like a broken record, but it's a pretty safe bet that you're 180 off on the drivers side cam.

I know you have this figured out, put I'm putting this here for future searchers.