Fairtax4me

2nd and 3rd gen is really just too vague. Are you looking for 4 or 6 cylinders? Turbo or non-turbo?

Did you mess with the throttle cable adjustment when you took the manifold off? If the cable is adjusted tighter now, the ECU will have trouble adjusting the idle speed because the throttle plate is slightly open. Did you use new manifold gaskets?

Either your battery is dead or you have a poor connection at the battery terminal or poor connection to the starter. Make sure the terminals and cable connections are clean and tight first. If so, charge the battery.

My initial thought is fouled plugs because of the colder heat range, WRX runs cold plugs anyway, I don't see any need to have them even colder. Try a set of stock plugs first. Second thought is the MAF sensor could be covered in oil from that K&N.

What codes?

Simple to figure out which engine is in it. And which heads are on it. 2.2 vs 2.5: 2.2 heads are single cam, 2.5 heads of that era were dual cam. If single cam 2.2heads, Are the valve covers flat with holes for the spark plugs? Or are the valve covers rounded and the plugs go in at an angle above the covers? To identify the block look on top of the block just under the alternator. It will say either Ej22 or EJ25. It sound to me like the engine that was in it ran. So the electronics on that engine must have plugged in. Meaning the wire harness, at least, is original to the car. It sounds like the PO did a 2.2 head swap onto a 2.5 block (quite common) he would have had to use the original 2.2 heads, intake manifold, and engine harness. The only thing different is the short block between the heads. Take your 2.2 short block, combine that with the 99 2.2 heads (flat valve covers), and use the intake manifold that matches those heads. The wire harness goes with the intake manifold.

http://www.buysubarupartsnow.com/oem-part/subaru/outback-parts/2000/limited/2-5l-h4-gas/hvac/condenser-compressor-and-lines/compressor-bracket/73611ac110

I wouldn't plan on driving it cross country right away until you know it won't overheat or leak. There nothing wrong with taking it on the highway, head gaskets seal when the bolts are torqued. As long as everything was torqued properly, the cooling system is filled and burped of air bubbles, and its not leaking any fluids. Drive it anywhere you like.

Doh!!! I use the old timing belt wrapped around the sprocket I need to tighten and either the crank sprocket or one of the bolts that hold the idlers on. The jyou can crank down on the sprocket bolt without jumping the belt. Anyway, to get back in time look at the timing notch on the crank sprocket. How far is it away from straight up? If its within 45 degrees of straight up you can safely turn it to the proper mark on the oil pump housing and proceed to resetting the cams. Look at the marks on the cam sprockets and turn them in the direction that points to their proper timing mark 90 degrees at a time. If the mark on the sprocket is between 1- 5 o'clock, turn the cam counter clock-wise. If between 6 -12 oclock, turn clockwise. Only turn 90 degrees then move to the next cam, upper or lower on the same side. Do only one side at a time. Use a wrench and turn slowly. If you feel the camshaft bind at any point back it off until it is in a rest position and turn the opposing shaft (upper or lower on the same side) 90 degrees before proceeding. If the crank mark is pointing down you need to completely unload the cams before you can turn the crankshaft around to the timing mark. Here's how to do that: The boxer is a strange engine because you can set the cams in such a way that ALL of the valves are closed, this is just not possible on most other engines without completely removing the cams. Useful in situations like this when you need to turn the crank more than half a turn, you can close the valves completely and spin the crank without fear of bending any valves. Starting with the crankshaft, make sure the mark is pointing straight down. (with the mark straight up or straight down the pistons are at half stroke and there is no way for them to come into contact with the valves) Now you can slowly turn each camshaft 90 degrees at a time until there is no spring tension on the cam. You'll know when this happens because they will become very easy to turn. And will turn easily through about 30 degrees or more of rotation by hand with little effort. The passenger side cams will be at or near their timing marks. The drivers side cams will be approximately 180 degrees off their marks. Once unloaded you can turn the crankshaft so the timing marks align. Then turn the camshafts to their marks. Only turn the drivers side camshafts 90 degrees at a time. I hope all that makes sense.

If you use a quality screwdriver it's fine, cheapie a might break. Also, don't forget about the screwdriver or punch and try to start the engine. The starter will just bend or break it and it may get stuck in the bellhousing. I bent a 5/16" Allen wrench that way. I wrapped the end of it in red electrical tape after that so I could see it better and hopefully not forget about it again.

I don't see it making much of a difference from an engine cooling standpoint, though keeping the engine heat out of the ATF by bypassing the heat exchanger in the radiator will help prolong ATF life. The biggest factor in ATF lifespan is temperature, overheating ATF by just 10 degrees cuts about 10,000 miles off the service life of the fluid. Overheating by 30 degrees basically destroys ATF, its protective properties just go out the window. You might think about adding a temp switch for the fans so they turn on earlier. You could also put some Water Wetter additive in the coolant to improve its heat transfer capability.

If there is an inline filter it should be replaced. Look along the lower corner of the drivers side frame rail, this is where the AT cooler hoses are, if there is an inline filter it should be there. 97 did not come with an inline filter from the factory so there probably won't be one unless someone added it. The filter in the pan is nothing more than a mesh screen and does not need to be replaced. The AT cooler hoses run along the drivers frame rail to the drivers side of the radiator. There is a heat exchanger is built into the end tank of the radiator with one hose near the bottom and one hose near the top. It will help to remove the overflow reservoir, and possibly the drivers side cooling fan.

The phase 2 2.5 is known for seeping at the lower corners of the head gasket. Not a surprise to me that someone traded the car in becuse of a high repair bill, and the dealer replaced the gaskets before putting the car on their lot.

Don't bother with marks on the belt, they wont line up again as Gloyale explained. As long as the marks on the sprockets are lined up its good to go. Drivers side sprockets may be a hair off due to the length of the belt. But the belt will stretch after a short period of use (break-in). If you check that again in a month the sprockets will be lined up.

My only concern would be if they just replaced the timing belt, but not the idler pulleys that guide it. The pulleys are just as important as the belt itself. If the bearings in the pulleys to bad they seize and cause the belt to break. Water pumps on these practically never go bad because they get replaced with the timing belt, but some shops neglect to replace the idler pulleys, and those are the big trouble makers. Especially the one with the teeth. If the dealer you're buying it from is the one that services the car ask to see the work order for the timing belt replacement and see if it includes all 3 idler pulleys, and the tensioner pulley assembly. Other than that, just take it for a good long drive and see if anything seems weird or catches your attention. Sounds like a solid car though. Ask the salesperson about an extended warranty. There are tons of 3rd party warranty companies out there that dealers often use and they may offer an extended warranty package at the time of sale. Usually sale of extended warranties is left up to the finance person. If not, research some of them on your own online and check reviews from other people who have used that company.

10-12 psi at hot idle (700rpm) is spec for an EJ. These oil pumps almost never fail, except for the stupid screws on the backing plates backing out, and that's an easy fix as long as you catch it before they back out complety. I certainly would trust a Subaru original with 200k miles on it over a cheap ebay pump. Ej22s regularly go 300k miles+ on original oil pumps.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25054 Lots of pictures AND a link to a factory service manual! 0.o

Engine turns clockwise, so put the end of the breaker bar on the top of the frame rail on the drivers side. To put it the bolt back on you can lock the flywheel/ flex plate. If a manual trans put the trans in 5th gear and set the parking brake. This only works if all wheels are on the ground. If an automagic trans put a screwdriver through the hole in the bellhousing. I can't find the picture I was going to link to. But midway down the side of the bellhousing is a small hole, about 10mm. You can put a large screwdriver through the hole and turn the crank until the screwdriver slides into one of the holes in the flex plate. Now the crank is locked and you can tighten the crank bolt.

You broke the adjuster. I thought that part was steel, maybe its aluminum I dunno. Either way, I'm surprised the bolt didnt break first. To properly adjust the belt you need to first loosen the lock nut on the adjuster, then turn the adjustment bolt. Grab one from a junkyard. Just unbolt the whole thing (the two 12mm bolts at the top) its not worth trying to take apart. In the meantime, don't loosen the adjuster lock nut. If you do you'll be in for way more fun trying to adjust the belt. It's still doable by trial and error, but time consuming and aggravating.

I've seen one of those broken as well, not sure why. And yes Allen wrenches probably aren't wrong enough for this. I've used a finish nail before (don't remember the size) and it worked pretty well. I bought a brand new tensioner from Subaru a while ago and I kept the pin I got with it. I've used it several times and it has never bent.

The screws that hold the backing plate on the oil pump can get loose and back out. Only takes 20 minutes to take the oil pump off, blue loctite the screws, and reseal it and put a new pressure o-ring on it. Migt as well do it while you're in there. The o rings are like $3 at the dealer and they keep them in stock.

I know the Felpro head gasket for the 2.2 is the exact same part as what you would get from a dealer, and yes they even have the FHI logo. But the 2.2 gasket is an entirely different design. I do not know if the 2.5 gaskets are the same. One of these days I intend to find out, but for now my advice is to use a dealer gasket.

This is EXTREMELY risky! With no fluid in the transmission pan the fluid pump is being forced to run dry. Even if just for a short time, this can damage the pump and render the trans useless. Not a good method for changing fluid IMO.

I know time-sert makes head bolt inserts that are the proper length and are easy to install. The kits cost quite a bit though. Helicoil should work fine as long as you get the proper length insert.