Fairtax4me

I know it doesn't matter but, on the H6 alt, couldn't you just put a pulley on it from an EJ alt?

02 has a phase 2 motor, more of a pain to make it work but it is doable. I'd get one from the 97. The EGR is not a big deal. If your car does NOT have it, it doesn't matter if the "new" engine has it or not. Just use your old wire harness (easy swap) when you swap the engine. But, you would probably be better suited to spend the money on regular maintenance like Gary said. The 2.2 is nearly bullet proof (in a theoretical bearing killing bullet sort of way) :-p and it really takes some abuse and neglect to have one kick the bucket. Put a timing belt set on it, new oil seals and reseal the oil pump and you should get another 60k out of the engine easy for only $150 or so. Slow synchros aren't going to leave you stranded anywhere. Learn to shift a little slower and it will be a non-issue.

No no, swapping cushions on these is much much more work. The tracks are literally 4 bolts. Slide the tracks to each end to get access to the bolts. If you have the height adjustment, move it all the way to the top, the plastic side panel has one screw with a plastic cover on it. Remove that and the side panel will move enough to get access to the screw on that side which holds the seat track to the height mechanism. Remove the screws on the back, slide the tracks to the rear and remove the two bolts from the front. The wire for the seatbelt light has a zip tie the needs to be cut.

Are these manual adjusting seats or power? Either way, I think the track should unbolt from the lower frames fairly easy. Just swap the tracks if they don't line up right. I've swapped quite a few seats around in my two Legacys. Have a set of front seats from a 91 in my 96 and only had to swap the seat belt hook to make them work. Otherwise they fit just fine. They did come from a sedan though. I've also swapped a set of 97 or 98 outback leather seats into my 95 wagon and there was no difference that I could tell. The track slides could be out of alignment. They will move independently of each other if the handle gets pulled. You need to get them back to perfectly even before all of the bolt holes will line up. I do this by getting them close, then putting the seat in the car and lining up the front hole on the rearmost of the track, then pull the handle and slide it all the way back until it drags the other side back into place.

Somebody just had a thread about broken timing chains on an H6 a few weeks ago. I'm not sure what the conclusion was. I'll have to look it up. In the meantime, have you done a compression test? Have you checked for spark and fuel?

The temp gauge is run by a single wire sensor on the crossover pipe on top of the block. It's under the number 3 intake runner and probably obscured from view by the main engine harness. It's not very visible in this pic but this shows the general area.

You may just have to adjust the cable more. If you push the release lever by hand towards the rear of the car how far will it move? When adjusted properly the lever will only move 1/4" or so.

Now throw it away so it doesn't do it again. :-p I just use one of those black transmission funnels on both of mine. Neither of my cars has the black box on the throttle body though.

Assemble the block and measure it, that's the only way to know for sure. Better do that before you order your head gaskets. You might need that extra .01".

I'd look for a vacuum leak first. When was the last time it had new plugs and wires put on? PCV valve? Ever use any fuel system or intake cleaners? MAF cleaner?

I might have to check out the rear diff on my sedan. I've had this strange whirly grindy sound from somewhere (sounds like the front) for about a year. It's only noticable at slow speeds though.

Assuming there are no exterior leaks, the initial level may have been slightly low. Check spark plugs for signs of oil. This could also be a stuck PCV valve or clogged breather hose.

The 4 at the rear are something like m8 x1.5 thread. The two at the front are m12 x 1.75 thread I believe. You should be able to get those sizes at Lowes in the hardware dept.

I've heard some talk about Subarus not liking Mobil 1 but the stuff I've read about is always someone getting a new (to them) car with 150k+ miles and switching to Mobil. Then in 10k miles it puts a rod through the block and they blame the oil. I've never read about one having trouble if it has been run since day one brand new on Mobil 1. Now that's just what I've read, I have no personal experience with the matter. A good place to research oils and read other people opinions and experiences with them is the forums at Bobistheoilguy.com. My personal favorite in the Subaru is Valvoline maxlife 5w30 combined with a purolator filter. However on the last change in my wagon I used Amsoil OE synthetic 5w30 and a Wix filter. Mostly because I was ordering several other types of oils, and their OE branded oil was cheaper than what i normally buy from the parts store. It actially made the lifters quiet down quite a bit, but it had Castrol Gtx in it before that. It needs to be changed again and this time it's getting Castrol again, so I'll get to see if the lifter noise comes back.

I'm not sure how those things work but you can probably find some info in the service manual here: http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/

What about cam timing? One tooth off will cause very similar misfiring issue. Plugs and wires, how old are they, what brand are they?

Could be a faulty shift solenoid. Though I have heard of these having some strange problems if the pan gets dented. Have you tried to get and codes from the trans control module? Does the ATF light blink when the car is started?

Ok if you have a metal line the damper is on the master cylinder, and you should have only one rubber hose. After looking at some photos it looks like the new MC came with a new damper, so hopefully that can be ruled out. There's only one other thing that hasn't been replaced, the hose. I couldn't find a part number but it looks like its only $20 or so at a dealer.

I would guess this is probably a dealer only part. Does your car have one rubber hydraulic hose or two? There is a damper of some sort between the master and slave cylinder. On later models, looks like late 99 and on, the damper was moved and mounted to directly on the master cylinder. That's nice because there is one less hose to deal with. I'm not entirely sure how the damper works, but usually it's just to limit the flow of fluid back into the master when the pedal is released. Knowing that the fluid is coming out black after just a short time, I would suspect a faulty hose. If it's bad enough you can see it expand like a balloon when the pedal is pushed.

Definitely want to do it, don't have the money. :-p Maybe someday soon, just want to get some general idea of what's involved with the swap for now.

I have that seal puller and it's about the best $15 I ever spent. It works perfectly on low clearance seals. I use it to pull rear rear main seals too. Aisin water pumps are OE parts for just about every Japanese brand. This kit also comes with the factory style coated metal water pump gasket. http://www.ebay.com/itm/90-97-1-8-2-2L-Subaru-Impreza-Legacy-EJ18-EJ22-Timing-Belt-Kit-AISIN-Water-Pump-/260925109309?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ASubaru&hash=item3cc059343d&vxp=mtr#ht_2976wt_779

I did not know they were bolted together. (EA noobness) Is the range select lever cable or rod operated? Any reason an EJ shifter wouldn't work with some modification?

You found the Beer Garage! Love that site for the great walk-throughs and pics. You don't have to completely disassemble the pump like he did, but definitely check the screws. And make sure that o-ring doesn't fall out and get pinched when you put the pump on the block. It's a bit tricky to get it to stay sometimes. I put a little bitty dab of high tack gasket sealant on the O-ring and to hold it on the block.

Check the sheath end of the cable, make sure the little boot is hooked in the bracket on the transmission.

Anaerobic gasket maker is available in just about any auto parts store. The kit I got from Mizumo came with a coated metal gasket just like the OE part. If your kit comes with paper the dealer gasket is only like $4, so just grab one when you go to get the oil pump o-ring.