Numbchux

Yep, been done many times. Start here: I compiled all of the information I could find at the time into a pdf after completing my first, nearly 20 years ago. It's still available there. There are hundreds of combinations and approaches to do this, depending on your budget, skills and goals. Some of what we did then involves parts that are basically impossible to find now. Reliable daily? Drag Racing? Circuit? Ice racing? Rally? Mudding? Sand dunes? Rock crawling? It's all been done.

That grill looks like 95-99 Legacy/Outback. These only came with Phase 1 engines, either a SOHC 2.2 in the early years, or a DOHC 2.5 later. But the engine is pretty clearly a phase 2 SOHC engine. That would mean it's not original. A 99 Outback Sport (based on the Impreza) would have a phase 2 EJ22. Look on the passenger side, vertical surface of the block, right next to the bellhousing. There will be a flat spot in the casting roughly 1x3". All USDM engines will have the original VIN engraved on this surface. That will give you the information. At a glance, the 4th digit will tell you what chassis (B = Legacy, G=Impreza, S=Forester), and the 10th digit will tell you the VIN (W, X, Y, 1, 2 = 98, 99, 00, 01, 02 respectively, ETC.). And there are many tools online to decode a vin to the specific vehicle.

Woa. That's a serious and alarming crack 😲

Do not run the fan directly to the ECU. There are 2 outputs from the ECU for fans, and they are both to trigger the low side of a relay. The temp switch in the radiator works fine. I've done it that way. I think the only time it would be an issue would be if you have A/C, as you would need airflow even if the radiator wasn't hot. PS, I'm sorry I haven't responded to your email. I can get on the forums at work, but I can only get to gmail on my phone right now. And I'm SUPER rusty on EA82 stuff. I hope you're finding the answers to your questions.

Yea, timing belt broken while running almost certainly needs most of the valves replaced. But they don't usually damage anything else

Yep, totally fixable. Hood, grill, LH headlight and bracket, upper radiator support (still available new from Subaru), maybe latch support, radiator, RH fan shroud and blade, condenser (hard to tell how damaged, and if you want A/C), air intake duct. Maybe bumper cover and/or tow hook cover. Upper radiator support is spot welded in, there's a few ways to deal with that, depending what equipment you have access to.

Yep, lots of good information That page is included in this whole "Subaru of the 80s" page. https://www.indysworld.com/subaru/index.html Check the "Original Ultimate Subaru Repair Manual" on there. Lots of good writeups there. I think this stuff is basically all 15-20 years old, but great place to start

From the old 4X140 wheels page hosted by McBrat at https://www.indysworld.com/subaru/gallery/wheels/wheels.html

I use a ScanGauge a lot, and find my EZ30s tend to sit at about 200F under normal circumstances (actually, most of my vehicles do). And the gauge starts to creep up at about 215. So I agree that if it's 217, there's something not happy. Good flow through the heater core? The thermostat is controlled by the flow of coolant back from the heater core. I worked with several buggy guys doing EJ engines, and occasionally they would block off those lines, but then the thermostat doesn't open at all.

Did you take any temperature readings on the thermostat testing? I've NEVER seen an old one open later than a replacement. The spring begins to get weak before the wax capsule, and they open sooner. So that's super interesting. I'm curious what the temperature difference was.

Looks like an incredible trip! I thought of you the weekend before last, (10/17-18) as I was up in the UP for LSPR. I saw lots of trails and abandoned rail road tracks that I suspect you have explored. Unfortunately I was in my stock Suburban, and had stuff to do with the Rally. And yes, MT Toyota trucks have a clutch bypass switch factory. I find it very strange. I have an 03 Tacoma yard truck, and the only time that I would use it, is if I reach in to start it from the passenger side, but the switch is way over on the LH side of the dash. I know people use it when the clutch switch fails. But how often does that happen?

I used the original XT6 shift linkage in my XT6 with an EJ 5 speed. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. If I wanted to do a better job, I would have cut and lengthened the linkage. I don't know the 6 speed stuff very well. I think it's similar, but at the very least, it needs the cable to get it into reverse.

Engine is the same. I'm planning and testing to attempt to build a Baja with an EZ30 (looking into if a 2nd gen 30 can be run on the 1st gen ECU), with functioning stability and traction control from the VDC, but a manual transmission.... I believe it will be possible, even with my limited knowledge on the CAN data stuff, which is how the VDCCU and TCU communicate. I think I wouldn't bother with that chassis at all. Look for an LL Bean one while you drive and enjoy the VDC. The Bean donor could be wrecked, rusted, whatever. Then get a low mileage JDM engine (they're running about $1500 right now). You will need the gauge cluster, HVAC boxes and much more. It's going to be much easier to get it all from the same car. But it would be possible to get a bulkhead harness and ECU from a Bean, and piece it together.

I think it's clear what you're working on. But for future reference. DOHC subarus (I think all of them, certainly EJs) require removing the cams to access the head bolts. SOHC engines do not.

Severe weather rated all season tires. There are a lot of these out on the market in the last 5 years or so, and people seem to really like them. I work at a Subaru dealership in the Minneapolis, MN area. We're no strangers to snow and ice, but also not really enough to justify a second set of tires for most people, and most of our customers do not have a place to store an extra set of tires anyway. I've had many customers rave about how much they like them. I used to work at a dealership in Duluth, MN, where the weather was more harsh, and snowfall more abundant. We still sold a lot of them, but also a lot more snow tires. I first started seeing them with the Nokian WRG series, but now there are Michelin Cross Climates, Firestone WeatherGrips, Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, and more. I put a set (not name brand) on our Kia Rio beater, as it only gets driven a few thousand miles a year. I was impressed with how they did last winter. No, not quite snow tire good, but better than any all season I've used before. They don't generally have much softer tread compound than an All Season Touring tire, so I wouldn't expect them to get damaged by rocks too badly, but I have zero actual experience. In theory, they are not as quiet as a touring tire, but generally tolerable with modern car sound insulation.

Towing with 2 wheels down will cause transmission damage, even if you get it out of 4WD

The wire to the charge light must be connected through that bulb (or a comparable resistor) to a switched power source to excite the alternator.

EA81 Hatches and Brats were still sold here in the US through 87, both with GL and DL trim levels. That's a common problem when getting parts for 85-87 models in the US, as many listings are not clear about which chassis is which.

EA81 or EA82? FWD? 4WD? I can certainly help. I work in a dealership parts department, and I have paper catalogs back to the '70s at home. Give me some information

That's in response to "CVT (no other option, correct)?" Ascent is only available with a CVT. They seem to have an issue warping front rotors. The '24s got an extra brace between the 2 caliper mounting bolts that is supposed to help with that, we've retrofitted a few cars under warranty. As with all FBs, especially the turbo ones. Remove the oil cap and shine a flashlight down in the timing cover. If there's sludge, or the aluminum is stained brown, then oil changes have been neglected. Walk away. You'll be chasing cam actuator problems, these usually end in removing the cam carriers and cleaning out the filters in the high pressure oil ports for said variable valve timing, sometimes it shorts the actuators which fries the ECU. Still far more reliable than the Hyundai.

Those should both be phase 2 ver 1, which means it's possible they would sort of work. But they definitely have different ratios. You would likely need the rear diff. And the shift points wouldn't be correct. Probably fine for a daily driver (I used a JDM WRX trans in a '95 Impreza once....it was OK), but pretty disappointing to drive spiritedly.

All EJ oil pumps are interchangeable. Grab a 9 or 10mm one and slap it on there (decent chance it has 7mm on it). Engine code stamp under the alternator will tell the displacement. Then identify if it's SOHC or DOHC. VVTi or not, etc. If it's a 2.5, parts are easy. The only difference is where the brake booster fitting is on the intake manifold (but if the installer was smart, they used the US manifold, so non issue). 2.0 is a little tougher. Have to use 2.0 WRX head gaskets. Pistons and valves will be unique, but pretty rare to need those.

I mean, the top 5 are all 22Bs (425 made worldwide in 1998, zero brought to the US). 17 of the next 19 are S209s (209 made for 2019, all delivered in the US). The top of the normal production cars are low mileage STis for 60kish. These were 35k cars new, 20 years ago. So double for the best of the best handful of examples sound about right. BAT is very high demand right now, and commands some serious money for clean examples of almost anything. I mean, here's a 1978 Brat that sold for $46k...

I have never seen a printed thing from Subaru saying what is and is not acceptable. But if the circumference of the tire differs even a little bit, it can change the rpms of the hub fairly substantially. And since circumference is effected 6.28x the tread depth difference, it's pretty important. And since it is exponential, technically a tread depth variation is not accurate, as 1/32 of variance on a 195/75r13 will have a much larger affect than on a 245/50r20. 2 different model tires, made to the same "size" can have a decent variation in circumference, so bad juju to mix and match. Even within the same manufacturer. I've worked at 2 Subaru dealerships over the years, the first would shoot for 2/32, and the current one within 1/32. I will be shaving a brand new tire this afternoon for a customer who had a flat. That is all the official answer. That is correct practice to ensure zero extra wear on your differentials. Anything more than that WILL cause wear, but it's incremental. And will depend heavily on AWD type (01 H6 could be MPT or VTD) and typical usage. Up to you to decide if you're willing to accept a bit. A small difference might make your transfer clutches wear out a few thousand miles earlier than they would have anyway. If you buy a Forester MT that's been lowered and has Impreza-sized tires on it, and get a flat and put the Forester spare on it. You will make it about 45 miles before the rear diff (even though it's not an LSD) catches fire. Ask me how I know.....

Alternator In my years at Subaru dealerships, I can't remember the last time I've seen a fuel pump fail. There was a recall on them a few years ago. Sometimes we replace the whole assembly, but even that is usually due to rodent damage. Alternators aren't exactly common either, but it happens. Out of curiousity...I have a 2015 Outback VIN in my catalog right now. I have 2 alternators here, and there are 53 in the warehouses nationwide. I have zero fuel pumps or pump assemblies, and there are 4 assemblies in the warehouses nationwide. Now, that doesn't take into account fitment (if that part number for alternator fits a lot more cars than the fuel pump).