Numbchux

5-lug swap requires changing the front struts anyway, it only makes sense to discuss it at the same time, as the shock/strut selection will be dependent on the 5-lug setup. It makes the most sense to do the job at the same time, as the only extra component of the project then is swapping rear shocks, which would be easier with the brakes apart anyway. HOWEVER, if you need to get the suspension sorted out, you might want separate that, as finding XT6 rear hubs is not easy even if you're willing to pay for them. Looks like you're reading the write-ups on the USRM, which is awesome. I feel like some of these questions would be clearer with what I've compiled here in the FAQ, check it out. The last link in that post shows someone putting modified-Macpherson rear suspension (like what you've got in the RS) under a Brat (EA81, very similar to EA82, except the EA81 uses torsion bars instead of coil springs). It's a huge job...

Yep, stock rear EJ multilink rear shocks can be made to work without too much difficulty, but they are not setup to use a bushing where the shock rod goes into the mount, and the EA rear suspension swing arm pulls the shock bottom longitudinally too much for that. WJM and I both broke a shock. Not ideal. The NA miata ('92-'98ish) shocks are very similar, without a bushing on the top, but the NB ones ('98ish-'05ish) do have the bushing, and are almost a direct replacement, only using a different diameter spring (have to run coilover sleeves).

4WD XT6s all have air suspension as well. You can use the whole rear shock/spring/mount from a 4WD EA82. It'll be a little on the tall side, but it's a nice bolt-in swap (so will the stock struts/springs from the RS in the front). FWD parts will bolt in, but are much longer (will lift the rear) If you want to run full coilovers, like this: The best fit is something for the '00-'09 Legacy. But be prepared to spend $1k for cheap ones (and really not necessary unless you're going REALLY hard, in which case be prepared to spend several grand for something decent).

Almost nothing from the rear will work (without considerable fabrication). Take a peek under the back of each car, the suspension design is about as different as it's possible to be. You can ream out the ball joint hole in the control arm, and use the whole front knuckle/strut/axle/brake assembly, you'll need the shorter EA81 tie rod ends to get the toe anywhere near zero. You will still need XT6 (or reproduction) rear hubs. At that point, you could use the RS rear brakes by redrilling the backing plate. the rear knuckles, strut, axles, etc. will be of no value to you.

Yep, Asymmetric and directional are different. Direction usually has a clearly directional tread pattern. Assymetric is usually more subtle, and the tech has to be looking for it, I've seen really good techs miss it, but of course a novice tech is more likely to miss it. How much it matters will be different from tire to tire, but ultimately the tire shop missed it, and should correct it. There is such a thing as directional AND assymetric, which means the right and left tire will be different. I had a set of Kumho VictoRacers several years ago for Autocross that were like that. I opted to warn the shop that mounted them when I dropped them off. But obviously that's very uncommon.

Those cars use the ABS sensors to run the speedo, AFAIK there's no shaft or gear in there. BUT, I do believe the 3-4 gear is cut to accept one, so you'd "just" have to split the case, and install the shaft, seal, and gear to accept a cable. And yea, you'll have a few negative running characteristics without a VSS.

Meh, when I bother to do a lift, it'll be a 2" SJR. Which is not free, nor are the larger tires that would be required to make the lift worth it (I do have 5 matching wheels specifically for that stage). I have been aggressively researching overload springs, as we had probably 4-500 lbs of gear in the car and I probably could have slid the roof rack a foot or so further forward, but we were on the bump stops in the rear at every bump. I wish I could find reliable information with the factory spring rates.... I did beat up the front bumper a bit when I had it at the ORV park last summer, but it's only plastic, I just let it bend. Living where I do, we get a fair bit of snow, and they salt the roads to deal with that, these things mean quite a bit of corrosive road spray in the winter. If I do cut the bumper, I want to make new inner fender liners to keep the road spray from getting where I don't want it. This isn't a huge job, but just enough to keep it off the top of the priority list. At this rate, I'll be doing this stuff to the next chassis (we've put about 60k miles on this car since I got it). I also have a trailer hitch in the back that sort of acts like a rock slider to keep the rear bumper protected against the big stuff.

Yep, that's where it would be. Like I said, I'm not sure exactly when that started, but evidently yours doesn't have it.

Neither of those places. On the passenger side, it'll be on a vertical surface. I know they did it back to the early '00s or so. It'll be a complete 17-digit VIN.

Put about 700 miles on the car this weekend, about 50 of which was off-road. Nothing too crazy, but it was fun to get off the beaten path. Dan (FJ Cruiser), Jesse (BMW X5), and Martin (Lifted '13 Forester) left the Twin Cities Thursday evening and camped in the Cheq forest in Wisconsin, then Friday they drove on a section of Minimum Maintenance Road which turned out to be more of a No Maintenance Muddy Path. I left Duluth after work Friday evening and met them at the campsite at Agate Beach one the Western shore of the Keweenaw outside Toivola, MI. Our campsite was just up the hill from the beach, so cool. Here's our group at the site in the morning. It was a little foggy in the morning, but still way cool. 20180901_090635 by Numbchux, on Flickr The 2 Subarus in the group. Mine being exceedingly stock on highway tires, Martins with a lift and General Grabber A/Ts 20180901_131259 by Numbchux, on Flickr Saturday morning, we made our way north through Houghton, then taking the ORV route (rail road grade, not challenging, but good to get away from the traffic) up the hill from Hancock to Calumet. It had a few big puddles, and some good views. FB_IMG_15360772879349834 by Numbchux, on Flickr Then up to Copper Harbor, where we got some ice and firewood, and other Dan caught up with us after working an overnight up in Hibbing and hauling rump roast to catch up with us in his WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee. On the edge of Copper Harbor, the road turns to gravel, and there's a sign that says "Road Ends". Excellent! FB_IMG_15360773684868233 by Numbchux, on Flickr We made it to High Rock Bay (the easternmost point on the Keweenaw) right about sunset. There were many other people camping, but we still got a spot right on the rocks near the water (so close, that we set up a few lanterns to mark the edge so nobody would accidentally fall off in the dark). Here's our campsite from inland looking out into the lake, Manitou Island appeared out of the fog for a little while. 20180902_082907 by Numbchux, on Flickr And from the point looking back towards shore: 20180902_085627 by Numbchux, on Flickr I love this picture, as the low-hanging fog over the bay makes it look like we're up in the clouds: FB_IMG_15360779104587057 by Numbchux, on Flickr And a few pictures from the trail back from High Rock Bay. This trail wasn't super challenging, several puddles that were a foot or so deep, but nice solid ground at the bottom, so wasn't too tough. I had zero trouble with the stock Outback without even airing down tires, but I would have been on edge if I hadn't had other people in the group and plenty of recovery gear. FB_IMG_15360772474750514 by Numbchux, on Flickr FB_IMG_15360773809562716 by Numbchux, on Flickr FB_IMG_15360773225444218 by Numbchux, on Flickr After driving up over Brockway Mountain (very rainy and foggy, so we didn't stop...still had to drive it, though), we stopped at Jacobs Falls: FB_IMG_15360773022671377 by Numbchux, on Flickr Then down south of Bruce Crossing to Bond Falls for the night. This is a really cool park, the UP Power company dammed the river, and made a pretty cool little park around the lake/reservoir/flowage that ensued, including lots of pretty nice camp sites. After a hike around the park, and a picture of the falls, we headed our separate ways towards home. 2018-09-05_01-23-41 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Original rear Ujoint ate itself, taking the rear yoke with it: 20180105_185438 by Numbchux, on Flickr I got my hands on a junkyard shaft that actually had good joints in it. I decided not to replace them, but try to make them greaseable. I had to get my hands on a carbide drill bit to get through the caps, but drilled, tapped, and installed a grease zerk into each joint to pump some fresh grease into them. 2018-01-30_10-11-44 by Numbchux, on Flickr This worked for 6 months or so, but the vibration started coming back. I didn't want a failure on our trip last weekend, so I replaced them. Truth be told they weren't that bad when I got them out, but I didn't want to worry about it. So I put some new joints in it. Really wasn't that bad of a job with the help of a press 20180827_203215 by Numbchux, on Flickr Took a picture of all my cars this spring (I've acquired an SVX parts car since then: 20180610_140943 by Numbchux, on Flickr 3 Generations of Subaru H6s: 20180610_132310 by Numbchux, on Flickr With some 1 1/4" square tube as a spacer for the front, a Primitive skidplate from a '95 Impreza bolted right up: 20180827_214432 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Drove it to South Carolina and back this spring to visit my In-laws. Ran flawlessly, but had a couple exhaust failures. OBX headers have a flex joint where the factory setup didn't, and I think that introduced some extra movement. One of the flexes began leaking, and the midpipe broke off right after the resonator. Some muffler tape, and adapter and clamp got us home without too much ear trauma. 2018-04-04_08-41-17 by Numbchux, on Flickr 20180406_130736 by Numbchux, on Flickr A Walker mid-pipe with some POR15 on it, and a repair flange to reinforce the flange on the axleback, and I got it fixed: 20180427_212858 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Overdue updates! Stock light configuration, as I'm sure you know, has a dual-filament bulb on the bottom to function as running and turn lights, and top one just as turn. Whenever I see these cars, it bugs me just a bit that the headlight is the top light, and the running light is the bottom one. 20180828_193222 by Numbchux, on Flickr Also, this spring I found myself in a campground wishing I had just enough light to navigate slowly without turning on the headlights and lighting up other people's tents. Bright switchback running lights seemed like the answer. So, I stopped at UPull and got some extra dual-filament sockets/pigtails, only took a moment with the dremel to open up one notch in the housing to get the socket to fit. Then splice the 3 wires in, install a switchback bulb. Now my running lights look like this: 20180828_195314 by Numbchux, on Flickr And turns like this: 20180828_195329 by Numbchux, on Flickr

Nice to hear from you. It'd be a shame to see you sell it, but I completely understand running out of time!

Camber adjustment, improved Ackermann angle (if you use EJ front knuckles), 100s of front strut/spring options (rear shocks don't change with the 5-lug, but are a pretty simple design so there are options there). dozens of brake options, front and rear. Wheel/tire options. Might not seem like much, but makes a huge difference. Of course, a better torque curve (EJ engine) and real AWD help a LOT, too.

Relatively simple car without any major common problems. 2.2l engine wasn't plagued with headgasket problems like the 2.5. Probably rear drum brakes (lasts longer than disc, but can be more labor intensive to service). Look under the car just behind the right rear wheel for the fuel filler neck (2"+ metal tube, mostly covered by plastic sheilding) and look for rust on it. That's about $100-200 in parts and a few hours labor to replace if it rusts through. Most other rust would probably only be cosmetic (unless it's REALLY bad). Agreed to ask for Timing belt service history. IIRC Subaru recommends every 60k on those. '97 is almost definitely interference, so if the timing belt breaks while it's running, it will do internal engine damage. Not a big job to do preventatively, though. Probably a competitive dealer price, but be aware you're paying a premium for that dealer convenience. That's probably a $1500 car in a private party sale. So do the research on the dealer, and make sure it's worth it to you.

They're not failure-proof, but not anywhere near the failure rate of the EZ stuff.

www.jdmfsm.info

That's completely dependent on the dealership. The Subaru dealership where I worked was willing to do jobs like that on other vehicles, so that Nissan dealership might be willing. Just start asking/calling around. The Subaru dealership is going to be very familiar with the process of pulling the bumper, since they probably do a few every day. AFAIK, that would only effect warranty if it's directly related, BUT I never worked in service so I don't know the details of warranty work, so call your dealership. There is some gray area, and if you've done all your maintenance at the dealership, they're more likely to cover something like that then if you just show up for the free stuff. I do know that should they need to remove it for warranty or recall work, if it's an aftermarket hitch the extra labor is on you, and if it's an OE that's covered. But I can't imagine what kind of recall/warranty work would require removing the hitch....

I don't think there were any bulletins on bearing how-to. Bearings aren't any harder than any other press-in bearing, just make sure to press by the outer race, not the inner. I highly recommend buying a press. My harbor freight press cost twice what paying a shop charged me to do one. I've done dozens since then (as well as bushings, u-joints, etc.).

Could be competitive. Book time is 3.2 Hours. Average private shop rate is usually $50-$75 = ~$200 in Labor Here's the deal with parts. If the shop buys the parts from a local parts store, and installs them, and something fails, the shop will (almost always) do the legwork and the parts store will cover the parts and labor cost (meaning you bring them the car, they fix it, and charge you nothing). The shop will mark up the parts on the original purchase for that service. Decent loaded rear calipers are probably about $100ea over the counter at the store, so figure $150ish through the shop (these are pretty loose numbers and dependent on individual shops/suppliers, but probably within $30 or so). So you're touching $300 in calipers. Depending on how extensive their inspection was, they might be guessing that the calipers will be seized, and it's completely possible that once they get in there, they might find that the old ones are fine. $150 for pads, rotors, brake fluid, maybe shop supplies. That may or may not include tax....not completely unreasonable. Keep in mind, when you buy parts, you're buying the warranty. You can always find a cheaper source, but they might not stand behind the part. You could buy it down the street yourself and bring it to the shop, but they're not going to replace them for free if the part fails, and the parts store isn't going to cover labor on an over-the-counter sale, and you'll probably have to re-buy the replacement part and return the defective part for a refund. If you're prepared to take that risk/hassle, you can certainly save a bunch of money, even if you have the same shop do the labor.

Transfer clutches and/or duty C solenoid have failed.

I got seasick before I got to the point of that video.... Looks like we're talking about the threaded holes in the face? Yep, those are present in the front, and most quality rotors for most cars. My problem is by the time I need them, they're too rusty to use. I tried it on the rotors from our '04 Outback since I had hoped to use them again, and stupidly used caliper bolts to do it. Not only did I not get the rotor off that way, I wrecked my caliper bolts.... The real secret is backing off the parking brake shoes through the little access hole in the backing plate.

Off the top of my head, it should be 4.111, same as the MT 2.5 cars that body style. The AT 2.5s had 4.444s

Completely dependent on the dealership. The one where I worked still had pretty good demand for older Subarus, so it wouldn't be difficult to sell once it was fixed. The service manager also had a good relationship with a couple JDM engine suppliers, which made it possible to reliably get decent engines without spending a fortune (although the VVT SOHC 2.5s were the most difficult). Also with a large service department, it was easier to shuffle things around to free up a mechanic to do the labor. I was never involved in the transaction, so I have no idea what dollar amount they offered, but it wasn't uncommon to get cars like that in trade and fix them, so it must have been a decent offer. But, I can completely see how a dealership in a different area might make a completely different decision. If the used market wasn't as strong, or the service department didn't want to deal with it. They might just send it to the auction as-is, in which case they'll probably only clear a few hundred bucks (keep in mind, most dealerships are willing to take a loss on a trade, depending on what it's being traded)