Numbchux

No. Other than the basic concept, all the dimensions that matter are different, specifically that fronts are 30 spline, rears are 27.

Fair enough. Sounds like you've put way more research into this than I did....I know I just guessed on a drill size a bit smaller than the knurl of whatever studs I used (I don't remember either dimension). It helps that that is not a street-driven vehicle.... Carry-on.

I was reading this thread and wondering just how expensive.... So I looked it up. Part #38434AA050, MSRP of $577.93, which is actually less than I thought. But.....discontinued. Looks like you could still get one straight from Japan through Amayama trading, but then it's more than $700 https://www.amayama.com/en/search?q=38434AA050 I'm sure you could get an aftermarket one, if you really wanted.

2005 has drive-by-wire, immobilizer and 5EAT. Excellent car, excellent engine, but not a great swap candidate. Has to be run on a standalone ECU (which drives up your cost considerably). And I don't know how a person might get that to work with the 5EAT transmission. It may not be the best choice, but I think it's the only one that could be done reliably for $2k.

As I understand it, the OD of the knurl is 14.43mm, but it's supposed to be an interference fit. It might be designed for a 14mm hole. I know when I did my 6-lug conversion, I drilled smaller than the OD of the knurl, and it worked perfectly.

No-one has made a system to flash that ECU. And no, there's not really anything to get any more power out of them. There are a few things to shift the powerband up higher (lightweight or even underdriven pullies, primarily), which can make it feel faster, but generally speaking they just reduce low-rpm power.

Yep, EG33 doesn't fit without a little fabrication and creativity (I've seen some very creative ways that didn't require almost any fabrication, I've worked on a couple that required zero welding). EZ30 does fit fantastically. You don't need to swap head to turbo your engine, just need to have some exhaust fabricated. I've even seen it done so it goes up from the stock non-turbo manifold, and the up-pipe goes up behind the cv axle, which meant the engine crossmember didn't have to be changed. There's no point in going to the trouble of swapping heads to use all non-turbo parts. All the parts you'd need to turbo your engine, you'd need to swap in a turbo engine (turbo, intercooler, downpipe, coolant hoses, etc). Yes, it requires a little exhaust fabrication, but that seems pretty mild compared to pulling and replacing the engine, crossmember, and most of the interior to do an engine swap and harness merge. Stock turbo swap is not easy. EJ22t ('91-'94 Turbo Legacy) fits the best in the engine bay, but requires all the electrical merging work of any of these other swaps, and will not yield 250hp, no way. JDM stuff is cheap, but risky. Pretty hard to buy one that's in good shape. Also the wiring is very difficult (very few wiring diagrams available, and what's out there isn't very reliable), they do not have any on-board diagnostics, so much harder to troubleshoot any issues. Getting an '02-'05 USDM WRX wiring harness and ECU is a great option, as they're abundant (people part those out all the time), OBD II, and open-source tuneable. From there, you could run just about any combination of phase 2 turbo heads/block. But, you'll have a hard time putting together an engine for your budget. EJ205s are mostly blown up/abused. EJ255/257s are expensive.

This isn't quite true. It's not a great idea, but it absolutely CAN run, and will run surprisingly well. I've had personal experience with 2 2.2l Imprezas (one a '95, and the other a '97) that were turbo'd without any management mods for some time. There are ways to get it more fuel to compensate for the extra air. The biggest problem is the timing maps aren't really boost-friendly, so they're much more prone to detonation. And obviously the mechanical challenges of cam profile (you don't want any overlap in a forced induction engine) and compression ratio. These things make it less reliable. But depending on the person, vehicle and use, it can be a fantastic option to have some cheap fun. And even if you blow it up, 2.2s are cheap.

I disagree. The speed difference between the 2 wheels opposite is much more extreme than front-to-back. And with the Duty C engaged and a rear diff welded, the transmission, transfer clutches, and driveshaft are still not the weak link. It's the axle shafts. But being loaded with forward-drive torque, as well as the strain of different speeds on either side will put a bit more force on them then if they're just coasting, but not much. Also, I'm assuming your thinking of an EA82/XT6 with "pop the pins and go on your way". This is a 2000 Outback...axle failure isn't the end of the world, but it's much more difficult. As both ends must be present to keep the hub together and gear oil in the diff. And swapping out for a spare axle is not really an easy trail-side repair.

Yes, it would reduce the stress a little bit if they weren't loaded, but the hubs are still engaged to the axles full-time, so it would still be really hard on things on the street.

No way would I run any sort of temporary stud. I agree that that sounds like it would be hard on your tires, and many would probably fall out on the road....no thanks. I've seen the studs fly out of dedicated ice racing "permanently" studded tires.... What kind of car is this? I'm assuming it's pretty early ABS if you're running 14" wheels. If that's the case, the system is pretty terrible. It focuses so hard on trying to keep the tires spinning, that you can't stop. I've done a few tests on mid-'90s cars, on pulling the ebrake, or disabling the ABS and locking up all 4 frequently is a faster straight line stop than with the ABS. That said, good tires help immensely. Our '04 Outback VDC has a much better ABS system (the VDC system is integrated with ABS, and has a steering angle sensor, and G-sensor so it can change programming depending on whether you're turning or not), and that combined with our new Nokian Hakka R2s, and the ABS almost never kicks in.

What kind of money are you looking to spend? How much power do you want? That's not a terribly strong transmission, so I wouldn't shoot for much more than 200-250 hp. Luckily the turbo cars went back to a push-style clutch after about 2007, so you can still get a decent clutch for that transmission without spending a ton on a custom one. In that power level, you have several options. If you're looking for more of a DIY project, you might consider just turbo'ing the stock engine. With a few psi, it can even be done on the stock engine management (you sacrifice longevity a bit that way, but it works surprisingly well). Some sort of tuneable management and a good tune could make it pretty reliable (Subaru ECUs don't really like piggybacks, generally speaking, especially when you start talking about trying to tune the timing maps. So if you're not up to spending $1-5k on a nice standalone, you might consider a megasquirt). That's the route I will probably go with my Celica, replacement engines are cheap if I blow it up, the exhaust parts from a stock turbo car bolt right up, just have to figure out the intake side... In a similar DIY situation, there are some high-compression 4-cylinder options. I'm a big fan of 6-cylinder swaps. EG33 is a fantastic engine, but requires some fabrication to physically fit in the engine bay (longer, radiator has to be moved forward). EZ30 is a great fit, but donor cars aren't quite as easy to come by as the cars they come in are still pretty desirable. If you decide to go that route, go with a '01-'04 non-VDC car. And then basically any of the turbo engines from 1991 and newer would fit fairly well (bolt to the transmission, and motor mounts would line up). All of those options will require wiring a different ECU in there, either a harness merge for the stock ECU for the engine your using, or aftermarket. You'll need a turbo engine crossmember to clear the exhaust up-pipe. The '91-'94 Turbo legacy one is bolt in but getting harder to find, newer WRX and similar ones can be used with a little modification. Turbo Subarus went to an immobilizer system in either 2005 or 2006 depending on the exact model. If your donor is an immobilizer car, it's virtually impossible to use the stock ECU.

I did miss that. I would recommend a reconsider on that topic, if possible, as the Subaru automatics just suck power, a manual will make it feel a lot quicker. In the case of an automatic, though, I'd recommend the EZ30 route. If you shop around, you can probably find a decent LL Bean donor car for less than $2k. Swap the engine, transmission, ECU, and TCU (and wiring to run it all). You shouldn't need any more parts other than maintenance stuff that you might want to get out of the way while it's out. And then you should be able to make some back on parting out the donor car (leather seats, suspension, brakes, etc.)

I've had a bunch of Loyales, and I recognize exactly where that is, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Is it plugged into anything? Does it look factory, or maybe something somebody added on later? My first thought, is it looks like a hall effect sensor of some sort. I wonder if someone added a magnet ring to the axle, DOJ cup, or driveshaft and that was maybe mounted to read it as an auxiliary/replacement speedometer or odometer.

We install a TON of Hankook Optimo H727s on Subarus at the dealership where I work. Apparently they're a copy of the Michelin Defenders, but much cheaper. 100k mile treadwear, quiet and comfortable, and moderate all-season performance. Yokohama Avid Ascends are also good and very similarly priced, sacrificing some of that treadwear for a little better bad-weather traction. My Dad has put Kumho Solus KR21s on a few of their vehicles. He has loved them on the Subarus, but his Honda Odyssey is absolutely worthless in the snow with them.

$2k parts cost for an engine and transmission that's a performance upgrade from what you've got isn't really doable. Best option is maybe a 6-cylinder, but EGs or EZs were never made with a manual transmission. You might be able to get a good SVX donor for less than $1k (5-10 years ago, you could find rusty ones with blown transmissions for a few hundred bucks all day, but they're getting rare up here). Those are fantastic engines, but require some fabrication to fit. Then you'll need 5 speed swap parts. pedal box, shift linkage, driveshaft, flywheel, clutch, transmission, probably rear diff. '01-'04 Outback LLBean would be much easier project to fit, but they're more expensive to find a good donor. (don't get the VDC, as the traction/stability control systems make them very difficult to use for engine swaps).

It means you cannot rotate your tires front to rear. If your tires are directional, it complicates mounting them. If this board has taught me anything over the years, it's that getting your hands on a couple 13" EA82 rims in the PNW shouldn't be hard. I've probably thrown away a dozen of them over the years....

It's not ideal, and I certainly wouldn't recommend it on a new, AWD car. But, being that it's not a new car, and it's part-time 4WD (which means you should only be engaging the 4WD in slippery conditions), it's probably fine. Also something you should be aware of. EA81 wheels will not clear the front brake calipers on an EA82. I think it's possible to space them out, but not great. If you only run the narrower wheels in the back, no problem....but that's inconvenient to say the least.

Here's the Subaru parts diagram for the handle...as helpful as it is. Subaru does not offer parts for he button, just the entire handle. I grabbed one part number at random, and it's $100, and still available.

4" total lift without lowering the drivetrain means you probably won't make it out of the driveway without blowing several CV axles. I'm not even a big fan of 2" just-suspension, although it seems that many people do it without trouble.

There are a few stock applications (for other vehicles) that can be used in place of the stock Subaru springs that are stiffer, and therefore yield a bit of a lift. I'm not a fan for trail use. Unless you're really carrying a lot of gear, all they do is limit suspension travel, which is already their Achilles heel. I think SJR is the way to go these days. There used to be more, but that's about it. I think there are a few other people making them now on the side, but nothing really well listed. If I were building another Ea82 car, it'd be an SJR 4" kit, 6-lug swap and some decent 29" tires.

Yep, I don't remember where I've seen them, but there are high-stall converters. And I was once told that any shop that can rebuild a converter can modify it for a higher stall. And yea, 4.44 exists. Off the top of my head, I think most 4EAT Foresters are, but I'm not completely sure. If your car is an LL Bean car, the transmission is not unique to the H6. The VDCs got a different center diff (that's actually a diff, the car handles SO much better in the snow), but I've heard talk of swapping the VDC/VTD center diff housing onto regular 4EATs, and even into non-VDC cars. Yep, raising the engine means raising the front of the transmission, which effects your axle angle. On an EJ, I'd be tempted to modify the pan to make it shallower and wider, but the H6s have a much different oil pan arrangement (cast aluminum upper with a very shallow steel lower pan) that would be difficult to modify. We put a Spectra oil pan on a car here at work, and the mechanic said it was noticeably thicker/heavier. I've been tempted to grab one of those for our car, not as a primary protection, but a last line of defense.

With an automatic, Mudrat tried years ago with his Subarubicon rig to just do the Duty C trick, and it was not strong enough to supply all the power out the back. He ended up pulling it apart and welding the clutch packs solid.

I wouldn't use strut spacers at all with a forester strut lift unless I was also installing drivetrain blocks. The reason Scott's (or others) 4" kit comes with 3" blocks for the engine, transmission, and rear diff crossmembers, is to lessen CV axle angles. So, you could go with Forester springs and struts. 2" Strut blocks, and 2 or 3" Subframe blocks which would yield about a 4" overall lift.

Thanks! And yea, almost 700 sq ft of garage space, and over 22 acres of land. I should have posted this picture. I was moving stuff around in the garage, and had all 6 of my cars in one picture: 20161120_133202 by Numbchux, on Flickr L to R. 97 Legacy, 04 Outback, 89 XT6, 84 Brat, 87 4Runner, and 91 Celica