Numbchux

I'm not unfamiliar with those temperatures, I am further north than the majority of Canadians, and while I try to put our daily driver in the garage (unheated, uninsulated), we own 19 cars, and only one garage space. I do not use block heaters or battery blankets on any of our cars. As has been mentioned, an alternator doesn't really generate much power at idle. To recuperate from a cold start, it's best to drive it for 30 minutes or so. My Forester doesn't get driven more than once a week. It's started up just fine every time (I really only move it when I'm clearing snow, so it's usually cold), but it has the best battery. When it's cold, the power steering pump will whine like crazy. Generally it's air being drawn in between the reservoir and pump, a screw clamp on the hose and a new oring on that fitting will help, but it's still going to do it.

The 4-cylinders are more common, but these are not rare. I bet they made more EZ30s in 2001 than all the SVXs over the years, not to mention the fact that the EZ platform carried on with some changes until just a few years ago. I've had zero trouble getting new parts for mine.

Wrist pin access cover. There's an oring under that that is definitely been leaking.

Great cars, great engines. I have 3 of them on the road, planning to swap another into a Baja. I much prefer the VTD AWD that comes with the VDC models. It's a shame to have the nice premium car and engine in the LL Bean, and the crappy MPT AWD. Only engine issues I've had are valve cover gaskets, oil cooler oring, coolant hoses (there are a few small ones between the water pump and oil cooler, they get oil contaminated and seep. Also metal lines in front of the oil pan and under the LH valve cover can rust through) and serpentine belt pullies (the bearings in these can seize with very little warning. Pull them off and give them a spin periodically. The bearing alone can be replaced on the factory pullies). I use plain old green EG coolant and regular fuel.....occasionally if there's oxygenated premium for a decent price, I'll use that, but not very often.

When I worked at a Subaru dealer, we tried a few aftermarket cats on customer cars. I bet 80% of those cars came right back with the same problem. We had better luck with the aftermarket ones that are listed for sale in California. That said, the factory cat was stolen from my Honda Odyssey last fall. I bought an aftermarket one to replace it. It was less than $200, and a factory cat is about $1500 (and the theives cut the flanges off the pipes on either end, so I would have to either replace those pipes, or fabricate something anyway).

Agreed. You need an Alternator Read the codes and diagnose, cruise will return. You have a 2.5, unless it's been swapped. You likely need transfer clutches (ASSuming you have an automatic. I'm guessing this is why you got stuck).

That's less than a 27" tire. Outback struts can pretty reliably clear 29s. Now I'm sure the spring perch has moved a bit in 20 years (as early Legacies came with 14s and a 2009 with 17s). My bet is on stock, or stock replacement. Turbo in that year came with a smaller diameter tire than a standard legacy (215/45r17 vs 205/50r17), so no reason to think they would have taller struts.

Depends on what you want. Nobody makes a true selectable locker for a Subaru. The duty C solenoid mod for automatic transmissions is decent, but IMO if you're pushing hard enough to need it, it's not strong enough. I can't find the information now, but there's a company in Europe that can rebuild the viscous center diff for a manual transmission to be significantly stronger. Lock-rite offers automatic rear lockers for Subarus. These can be a little odd, as when you go around a corner, they only power the inside wheel, and the outside wheel ratchets. But offroad performance is 1000% better. There are a couple companies that make selectable lockers for Nissan r180 front diffs. Subaru STis use r180s in the rear. I have seen a couple examples where people have found the right combination of pieces to use those lockers in the rear of a Subaru. If you're a real baller, pontoontodd makes a unit that replaces the center diff on a 2006+ STi 6MT which gives simple FT4WD function (open or locked, no LSD) and a real low range. But you'll probably be in it $10k by the time you get it all set up with the 6 speed swap, and it would be kind of pointless without at least a lock-right in the rear.

EA82 was sort of an evolution of the EA81 (EA81 being 80-87 and EA82 85-94, here in the US), but with a lot of major changes. Biggest being the switch to overhead cams and timing belts (which moved the distributor). The single port intake manifolds can be swapped between them, so an EA82 manifold is a direct bolt on. But, there are other challenges (biggest being the distributor...). EA82 is a dinosaur (so is the EA81, but at least it's simple). Almost completely unsupported. Now, most of the parts you'd be using for the SPFI swap are simple and reliable. But no, there is not really any new anything available for it. You'd need a used front harness from an SPFI car, and cut out all the stuff that's not engine related (pretty detailed information in the write-up). Used throttle body, used ECU, used distributor pickup, etc. Again, these parts are not exactly prone to failure, but they're still 30-35 years old. And even if it works, it's still 35 year old technology.... When I get some free time (HA!), I would like to use a Speeduino and an EA82 intake/TBI on my Brat. But I only use it around the yard. I think I would use something a little more powerful/supported for a street car (I say that without actually having used the speedy, lots of people use them on the street). Sorry to bring up the EJ so much. Your first post sounded like a complete nightmare, so I jumped too quickly to "start over". I do think you'd be happier with the end result of an early OBDII EJ22, and there are solutions for most of your concerns. But it's certainly not your only option.

4-cylinder Automatic Foresters and Outbacks in that vintage should both be 4.44. Best way is to use the VINs from both vehicles on www.partsouq.com. If you look up the ring/pinion part number for the front or rear, the gear ratio will be in the comments.

The biggest difference will be that the Outback struts will give more clearance for larger tires. The overall strut is longer, and the spring perch is higher up on it.

Yes, the water pump will swap. The exhaust will swap (you might have to swap oil pans for clearance). I would do some research before spending any time on it. Confirm (one way or another) that the 06 is VVT and 05 is not, and what that means for the swap. Best practice is to keep the intake manifold, wiring and sensors that match the car (hopefully you got it with the disassembled car).

I believe '05 was likely EJ251, and '06+ is EJ253 with VVT. So the heads are likely different. I think it's possible to run a 251 on 253 controls, but you'll likely have trouble codes (which you may be able to surpress). And yea, they moved the cat closer to the engine in 06, so the manifold is a different shape, and I think that's the reason for the water pump change, as it changes the routing of the lower hose, slightly.

Alright, so you have a complete EA81. Decent engine. Here's an old writeup about using EA82 SPFI on an EA81. https://www.dropbox.com/s/k4kdbpaclc6sko4/EA81_SPI_guide.pdf?dl=0 As for swapping to an EJ. These guys have been doing it forever. It's not cheap, but should solve basically all the fitment issues. https://smallcar.com/vanagon/subaru-vanagon-conversion-parts/subaru-vanagon-parts-kit-4spd-vanagons-and-syncro/ Or, from the company that made the adapter you have: https://www.kennedyeng.com/subaru-vanagon

Yep. My first step would be to inspect, clean and lubricate all the moving parts in the brake system.

Came here to post what @idosubaru posted. I also want to add if the vibration changes one way or the other while braking?

Yep, the term is frequently used interchangeably. The front one on a 2003 2.5 is installed right in front of the first cat, angled up along the RH side of the front of the transmission.

Typically referred to as an Oxygen sensor, and listed that way in aftermarket listings. But an Air/Fuel sensor (Or wideband) sensor can detect a wider range of mixtures with more accuracy than an Oxygen sensor. Modern cars (in the last 20 years or so) generally use AF sensors upstream to monitor the fuel mixtures and adjust how the engine is running, and just O2 sensors downstream just to monitor converter functionality.

You don't have time to do an EJ swap, but you do have time to reverse engineer someone elses bastard and start over? If time is your concern, an EJ22 swap will take a lot less time then figuring out what you have, and redoing it. And the results will be 1000% better. This is not debateable. Yes, you'll have to spend $1k or so, as nothing you have will help. You do not have EJ heads on an EA81 block. I'm the first to say "anything is possible", but I really don't think that is. It's certainly so incredibly far beyond reasonable that nobody would have done it. You cannot put one of these: Here:

Well, then it's not covered. That said, it's not a death sentence as long as you keep an eye on it. I've also heard of people switching to 5w30 with considerably reduced consumption.

If it has under 100k miles, take it to your nearest dealer for an oil consumption test. It likely is still under warranty.

Other control arms can be used, although the inner bushing is different, which poses problems with the stock crossmember. That said, those other control arms wouldn't change anything with the sway bar mounts....

I disagree with that so much, I deleted it when I quoted your post. EJ22t is definitely not the best Subaru engine ever made. I've owned several high mileage 00-04 Ej25s. Never had coolant leak out the block. They all leaked oil externally. These use the exact same head gasket as the 05-09. Now, of course, we're talking about ~20 year old engines. There are soo many variables in maintenance and care that have a bigger effect on the future running than any design changes. For example, I have an '02 Outback H6 that's been clearly beat up, neglected, and left for dead, and it has a dead cylinder, at 130k miles. And my daily is a '00 EJ25 with 355k on it, that runs beautifully.

This is usually true. The dealership I worked at actually did use 770 gaskets, and had a couple really good techs. But, having plenty of issues meant high turnover (myself included) and some pretty novice guys in the shop. But, having worked in auto parts here for about 15 years, I have dealt with most of the local independent shops, too. And there's only a couple that I would trust to torque a lug nut correctly, much less do head gaskets. What I'm saying, is either one could go either way. About the only thing you can verify with 100% certainty, is to ask for the repair invoice that shows the part number of the gaskets that were used. If they knew enough to use the correct gasket, that's a very good sign.

Did you remove the engine or transmission to do this work? No part of the axle is spinning? like, maybe just the inner cup.....