Numbchux

I disagree with this. The EJ251s are not very robust. The DOHC heads are extremely tough, almost impossible to warp. As much as I do prefer the phase 2 bottom end, the DOHC heads are WAY better than the SOHC. Timing belt cost difference is about $20 (we get Gates kits on Amazon, that's my source). Meh. That's a drop in the bucket when you're talking about an engine swap. Yes, cams would be more expensive when there are 4 of them, but the DOHC heads flow much better than the SOHC, so you'd probably end up with more power. At the end of the day, I go out of my way to avoid either engine. I have owned several examples of them, but my current Subarus are either H6's (XT6 and '04 OBK VDC), or EJ22e's ('97 Legacy and swap-in-progress Brat).

It's weird, as in, uncommon. Don't think I'm not familiar with the "bigger engines into lighter vehicles" concept. I've been involved in probably a dozen EG33 swaps into '90s Imprezas and Legacies. Not to mention EJ22s into EA82s. And a handful of EJ22s into VWs, and a few WRX swaps. When I'm bored and want to wish I had stupid amounts of disposable income, I research 2GR (3.5l VVT All-aluminum 290-some-hp V6) swaps, and dream of putting one in my Celica. Or a 1UZ into an older Celica. Or a 1MZ engine with Rav4 5-speed transmission in an AWD Pontiac Vibe Each to their own, and I'll certainly offer the knowledge I have that might help make it happen. But it just seems like a lot of work/money for a mediocre engine. The EJ25D is a much simpler option, for the same power. Typically people try to go for more power, or at least more reliability. EG33 or pre-VVT EZ30 would be a much better option. Or building a high-compression 4-cylinder (several recipes for that, some with a mix of OE parts, some with aftermarket).

Weird. So you're looking to buy a 2.2 car, specifically to swap a 251 into? I think these cases are almost always someone that happens to have a 251 and a phase 1 car that needs an engine. Up here, at least, a good 251 is worth more than a running-driving 2.2 car. FYI, a '95 2.2 ECU is pinned differently, a 25D or '96-'99 22E ECU will plug in, but will not run.

Well....I'm sure you'll get far with that attitude.

Advantages: Shiny chrome. May come with a horsepower-adding sticker. Disadvantages: Less power, less torque, less effective filtration, costs money. This is true of all brands. Some are worse than others, but none of them are worth the money. Some people like the extra noise....

From what you've posted, your issue sounds like it's almost entirely with your local dealership. Almost all of those SOHC 2.5s have seeping head gaskets if they haven't been fixed. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the valve cover job was a mis-diagnosis. Although, your statement "I have a cardboard piece under the car for the past two days now and not one drop of oil on it" means it's pretty minor, most of these cars leave their mark everywhere they go. ASSuming your head gaskets are seeping oil, the question at this point is whether the dealership can convince your extended warranty company to cover the problem by admitting that it was present while you were still covered, or they step up to the plate and cover it themselves (be it with coverage from Subaru or not). I definitely encourage you to make your situation known to Subaru of Canada. Due to my position (parts in a Subaru dealership), I don't see the cases where warranty is denied, but I see a lot where Subaru of America covered things that seem pretty far-fetched. Now, we are a large enough dealership to have our own warranty liason (a luxury most dealerships have to outsource), so getting things covered is much more streamlined. But it should be possible.

Like that post says, there is nowhere for the IAC valve. That's interesting that once the car is warm, it will idle without it.... I have heard of people making a set of adapter plates to put the entire older intake manifold on the newer engine. Doesn't seem too difficult. Luckily once I got into the project, the EJ25D I was working on was in better shape than advertised, so I just sold the EJ251 and came out ahead.

Yea, I don't remember the details, but I know I took the door card off my '99 when I replaced the mirror assembly several years ago. Other than that, it seemed pretty straight forward.

I've used EJ axles/knuckles with XT6 control arms on 3 different cars (2 different sets of axles, 3 different sets of control arms, at least 3 different strut/spring setups) without any trouble. EJ knuckles/brakes with '93-'94 Impreza FWD MT axles and EA81 tie rod ends should be a bolt-in.

Correct, the 14" wheels will not clear the outback front brakes. But, if you have a donor car, the brakes (rotors, and complete calipers) will swap right over, and then it'll all work.

Those require some creativity with the inner wheel seal. I did some research on theoretical solutions and have posted it a couple times. CV axles are weird, the shafts change diameter and spline count with very little pattern. If it's ever had a reman axle put on it, you have zero prayer. A local friend of mine 5-lugged my old FrankenWagon with the PT4WD D/R (23 spline) trans in it, and he was able to create one good axle by swapping the 23 spline inner onto the XT6 shaft with what he had, but had to be several reman axles to get another combination that worked. Rear suspension crossmember is identical between the FWD XT6 and FWD EA82. Just swap the arms, it's easier.

This tool is pretty amazing (I've used the snap-on version, and there was a local MN guy hand making them for Turn-in Concepts a few years ago (sniper1fa) which I've also used. But this is the same idea: https://www.amazon.com/Company23-Removal-1993-15-Impreza-Forester/dp/B0176TH2WG

Sort of. But they're typically the same age, and under the same conditions, they typically fail at about the same time. Always a good idea to replace calipers and cylinders in pairs. Also, there isn't really any one component that could fail and give low pressure to the rears. The way that Subarus are plumbed, they're on separate circuits all the way up to the master cylinder, at which point you'd have an issue with the fronts as well. They do both pass through the proportioning valve, but even though it's one assembly, it's basically 2 valves in there to keep the 2 circuits separate. Also, proportioning valves very rarely fail, and cylinders do.

Seems most likely to me that you have seized wheel cylinders. Hydraulically, the 2 rear brakes are on different circuits, so if the front works, it's almost impossible that it's an issue with a line or master cylinder. Maybe the proportioning valve...but not likely. There are a lot of moving parts in there, and if they don't operate smoothly they can all cause problems. But, usually, if they seize, they tend to allow the brakes to apply at least partially, and then not release.

They were on the old USRM page, which I thought was rehosted on McBrat's site, but now I see that most of it is gone... I might have a few saved on my desktop, but it may be months before I get that set up at the new house.

What size tires? I've run GD WRX (16x6.5 +55) wheels on both my XT6s. The only time I had issue with rubbing was with 225/55r16s on them. 205/50, 205/55, and 215/55, no problem.

Alright, well, there's no point upgrading springs if the struts/shocks are junk. But I suppose that will depend on the condition of what you have, which it sounds like you're not quite sure of. There aren't any new options for FWD XT6 struts. EJ struts can be done with some modification, spreading the flange on the strut, and drilling out mounts. This works OK, but you don't get accurate or reliable camber adjustment. If you swap to EJ knuckles and axles, you regain that camber adjustment, struts require zero modification, and opens the door for almost any brake setup your mind can imagine. This requires EA81 tie rod ends (look up for an '84 Brat). The shorter tie rod assembly makes for a tighter ackerman angle, which helps improve front end grip while turning. So if you want to replace your struts, you basically have to go with EJ stuff. -'07 Impreza and -'09 Legacy would be closest, although newer would probably work, too. In stock form, the Legacy options generally will be valved a bit stiffer than the Impreza equivalent, due to a slightly heavier car. But WRX applications will yield more performance application. Upper spring perches are all interchangeable, although there are a few different diameter springs...so it's best to match those. Strut mounts are very similar, EJ is just a slightly different bolt spacing. You can make it work with a file or dremel. Here's an EJ strut mount in my '89 XT6 As you might imagine, with such a wide range of struts that would work, there's a similar pallet of spring options. Stock takeoff stuff, aftermarket, etc. Not easy to predict how the ride height is going to work on an XT6, though. Rear shocks. Lots of aftermarket, OE equivalent options available. Best probably being the KYB Excel-G (formerly GR2). If you want upgraded stuff, '99-'05 Miata Rears are a direct replacement good for a lowered application, and offer a huge selection of performance options. They use larger diameter springs, which mean you pretty much have to use coilover sleeves. The larger spring perch on these might be an issue with wide tire clearance, but it's easy enough to cut or bend it out of the way. As I mentioned, there's a ton of options for EJ front strut/spring combinations. Most of the Legacy/Impreza options are going to be pretty close to stock XT6 height, maybe a bit taller if it's for a heavier model, so you could grab lowering springs for them and use that and do pretty well. Also, again, stock EA82 rear springs are 2.5" ID, so you can just buy coilover springs in whatever length and spring rate you want. If you want to dial in your ride height, you may want to get coilover sleeves. Ground-Control is a great option, I love the little machined upper spring perches that they include, and high-quality Eibach springs. Assuming they still make them like they used to, the lower spring perch adjustment uses a stainless set screw into an aluminum housing, use lots of anti-seize on that, as the dissimilar metals can chemically weld. I called Ground-Control (in 2008) and got a kit that was fronts for an Impreza and rears for a Miata. In hindsight, I would have used 7" front springs, too, as I ended up running them as low as they would go. Also, the mockup picture in that post is a Miata front shock. This would have been fine for a stock or a bit taller ride height, but for lowered, use the rears. Also, that was for an EA82 with the 5-lug swap. With the heavier 6-cyl in front, I'd use the same spring rates front and rear. 250-275 is a good ballpark. You can get super cheap coilover sleeve kits on ebay and similar, but they don't always use a 2.5" spring (larger than that won't really fit in the rear wheel well). Sometimes they don't come with any upper mount, or it's just a plastic insert (which works decently, just remember it's only to keep the spring centered, the stock spring perch must remain to hold the weight). And very rarely do they list spring rates (and usually they're very stiff to allow the typical buyer of those kits to lower their cars as much as possible). My current XT6 is running: Front: '92 Legacy knuckles/hubs/axles/spring perches and strut mounts. EA81 tie rod ends. '94 Turbo Legacy front brakes and KYB GR2s. '02 WRX 5MT Sedan front spring (smaller diameter than the upper perches...not a great fit, but it works). Rear: KYB 341065 shocks (EA82 4WD Rear), 12x2.5" 250 lb/in Eibach springs, Stock XT6 rotors/pads/brackets, '88 Nissan 200SX rear calipers. Also '92 Legacy ebrake handle and cables. No, don't put the air back in. The air bags function like a very progressive spring, yielding the worst combination of sluggish response and crummy ride. I had the rear sway bar off mine for an unrelated issue, and you couldn't tell with the air on, but it made a big difference when I swapped to coils (meaning the air suspension didn't allow enough travel to even load the sway bar).

Welcome, and congrats on the Brat. But you've got some searching to do. People have been offroading '70s and '80s Subarus as long as they've existed, and talking about it, at least to some extent, as long as the internet has existed, and a diff lock is one of the hottest subjects of that conversation. Toyotas and Subarus (of that vintage) have basically nothing in common, other than their country of origin. Subarus and Nissans share a lot of parts.

First thing that comes to mind is a fuel pressure regulator. It has a small diaphragm that can puncture and leak fuel into the vacuum line connected to it, which can cause it to run very rich. Disconnect that vacuum line and look for fuel in it. I don't see how a fuel pump could do it. It seems to me like a knock, MAF or O2 sensor would fail more slowly.

Cool, before I get completely distracted....I'll post this info. Rear EA82 springs are 2.5" ID. That's the same diameter as almost all coilover springs, so you can go onto ebay, summit racing, etc. and buy springs in custom length and spring rates all day long. Stock EA82 wagon rear springs are ~190 ft/lb. I'm running 12" long, 250 lb/in Eibach springs from Ground-Control 4WD EA82 Wagon GR2s in the back of my XT6. Now, I would say that's a little taller than stock, but I've had so many suspension and tire combinations on there, and it was on the bump stops when I pulled the air stuff off...

That's true with full coilovers. Not sleeves. Also the '00-'09 Legacy/Outback rear suspension is considerably different from the Tribecas, '08+ Impreza and '10+ Legacy/Outback. There's no good answer for this. There are hundreds of little combinations that can work, and they all will have a slightly different effect on your car. So let's start with the basics. I assume your XT6 is AWD since you mention that it had air suspension. I don't *think* they made a FWD '6 with air, but let's make sure we're on the same page. Do you want to re-use the struts you have, and just get springs? If so, we have to figure out what you have on there. As mentioned FWD XT6 front struts are shorter than 4WD, whereas FWD rears are longer than 4WD (FWD cars ride lower, but without the axle present, the rear shock mounts much lower on the suspension arm). If you're looking for a strut and spring combo, do you want to go full coilover? Any preference on brand? Budget? There are so many variables here. I've probably done as much suspension-swapping and experimenting as almost anyone here without going to a complete coilover setup. So I can probably point you in the right direction, but let's get some more simple questions answered before we get too derailed.

30531AA031

Yes

Pull your forester radio out and see if it has any unused plugs on it. You'd be surprised, many of these have another input. I've got one of these going into my wife's '04 Outback McIntosh in-dash changer: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/USB-Car-Stereo-adapter-radio-interface-for-Clarion-CE-NET-Suzuki-Subaru-SD-AUX-MP3-bluetooth/607693_725852386.html

EJ front diff is in the exact same place, and is the exact same width as an EA82. Yes, a '93 FWD EJ18 should have 23 spline stubs. FWD impreza axles would be correct if, and only if, you're going 5-lug. I see no reason it couldn't be run off a '96-'99 EJ18 or EJ22 ECU.