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Thanks guys, my installer is hesitant about the job so I'm heading towards the EJ22 swap instead. Seems like more folks have done this anyhoo. Still intrigued about the EJ20 tho, here's a link for someone who swapped an EJ20 into a 2002 impreza and raves about it. https://www.toronto-subaru-club.com/forums/technical-engine-normally-aspirated/172191-simple-affordable-replacement-any-sohc-ej25.html Fairtax I'm checking out that link to find an EJ22 for this job. I love it when people say I can just glance at sumptin and know, I'm not there for sure! Need to triplecheck and then sleep on it, phone a friend!

Just want to see if this can work. Found a JDM sohc EJ20 with dual port exhaust, comes with intake. Will this swap into a 96 Legacy Outback with an EJ25 and auto? Seems like the EJ22's are only available USDM. I want to keep everything NA. Besides paying attention to EGR and dual vs. single port exhaust, what else is out there to bite me? I live in a state where I can't have a CEL lit to pass inspection. Wiring a direct plug and play or is there splicing involved? Will the ECU be happy with the EJ20? I'm open to suggestions for better ideas and sources for an engine.

Image is '96 impreza wiring diagram. While buzzing out the clock spring if that doesn't pan out also buzz out the front sensors and inflator wiring. The control module is looking for low resistance on the inflators so shorting the pins can make the light go out if that is the trouble.

No gary, lucky me. Head gaskets were done on the JDM engine. Maybe I can conjure up a special tool 86Bratman...maybe I'm already in over my head but I hate the thought of burned valves as much as getting the dealer to do this.

1997 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L DOHC. JDM engine put in by PO at 170k and I have 60k on top of that. Compression (cold) results: #1 210, #2 220, #3 220, #4 150 That 150 on #4 took its sweet time to get there too. So am I over the edge for burned valves or just creeping up to it? It runs ok but has been stumbling, real misfires at low rpms lately. Sounds a little hollow out the tailpipe. Not idleling rough, seems to be ok on power. Plugs look all the same. Leakdown test on #4 warranted? Will pop the valve covers off tomorrow and check the clearance on the valves. I'm expecting bucket and shim type vs. the screw adjustable SOHC after '99. Hoping to be able to pop out the shims without pulling the engine and pick up new shims at the dealer. Any tricks to this? Advice on making special tools or just use a wide screwdriver to lever down the bucket? A friend suggested using a zip-tie to help pull the shims out. Consensus seems that the exhaust valves are mainly too tight so they stay open and don't cool. They are best accessed from under the car.

i was living south of baltimore, home of some pretty good salvage yards, or 'parts gardens' as they are sometimes called. bought my first soob in maryland and got hooked

Who on the board lives here? Already found a pick-a-part on Lebanon Pike near Trevecca but haven't gone in. Found the subie dealer downtown too. Sales tax is a killer here, 10% but no income tax so that's a plus. Super nice people here and lots of subie's, well, not as much as up north lol. Finally got a garage to work in, houses are a good value here.

+1 absolutely correct. too much heat and you can cook the part or damage the pcb. low wattage iron, fine solder, and temperature control is needed. a microscope helps for both work and inspection. if the pcb is designed well, just a touch of heat will flow the solder onto the pad/lead and keep the solder from bridging under the part. the smallest amount of solder, just enough to wet the pad is best to avoid bridges. if bridges form, usually just sucking up the excess solder with fine solder wick and just walking the iron over the leads fixes the problem. i'm not a electronics tech but have pretended to be one occasionally when they aren't available. in my opinion the hardest part of surface mount work is removing many-leaded devices, which i always left to the experts who have vacuums, hot plates, and hot air reflow tools.

that sucks. reminds me of when a friend of mine bought a house with a home warranty, two weeks later when he was on travel the dishwasher caught fire at night and his wife (and young kids) had house guests at the time. firefighters came in and chucked the burning remains in the backyard. warranty company wouldn't cover it because 'it had been moved from its original location.' he just ended up eating it and moving on. nothing else to do. i just sold a car with a cylinder with low compression, clearly stated in the ad. took a couple of weeks but the buyer knew what he was getting into. on the good side, the ad filtered out the average buyers and basically only mechanics responded. hope this is the only surprise and its a good runner from here out.

ah. makes sense. i know gg has done outer lateral link bolts before so I was sort of wondering. never done an inner bolt, sounds like i don't want to try outer bolt gave me enough trouble...but where there's a will there's a way.

dealer items for my '95 wagon lateral link bolt 20540AA000 lateral link bushing (two needed) 20251AA000 Nut came off the LL bolt on mine after a long soak. Rotate the LL bolt as much as you can before cutting to break up the rust. Cutting the LL bolt will eat up sawzall blades and chew on the washer but for me was the easiest, don't have a cutoff wheel. For mine, the foreward bushing wasn't seized to the bolt, only the rear, so I cut the bolt just forward of the rear bushing, between the bushing and the knuckle. I used a huge c-clamp plus some large sockets to press out the seized bolt and bushing. Hammer out the remains of the bolt from the knuckle. Press in new bushings using the c-clamp and socket method but grease them first. Might have to press them in slightly too far and then back because they might deform a little. Don't forget the washers when bolting it back up.

Kudos to my fellow pennysavers out there, I reuse nitrile gloves until the fingers turn a pale shade of yellow and pop off

you need to break up the rust, hammering is the best for that. here's the tool you need. 1-5/16" X 12" Standard Bull Pin klein-3259 wedge the bull pin in between the a-arm and the bearing housing. make sure the castle nut is on the ball joint. hammering on the fat end of the bull pin will drive out the ball joint head from its rusty cave in the bearing housing. tons of rust in there. no way you are going to pry it out easily.

hammer it out with a bull pin as a wedge between the knuckle and the control arm.

sounds like what everyone else is saying, bad alt at idle, what is the alternator voltage output (the covered terminal on top of the alt) referenced to chassis with some loads (headlights on, heater fan on). compare that with the positive post reference to chassis and the negative post. with a single jumper cable, clamp one end on the negative battery terminal (make sure there is no corrosion between the clamp and the post) and the other end to a good metal contact on the block. see if voltages improve any. have to decide whether you have one or two problems (intermittent connection at the negative terminal and/or a bad alt). alternatives to the parts store alternator if you can swing it http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/110564-1993-legacy-charging-system-alternator/

+1 change valve cover gaskets, not a lot of $$$ stink comes right in the vents while sitting at a traffic light.

i run away from people who can make claims like that 'guarantee', not a bad idea tho...water pump is easy to replace once you are down there...use an oem gasket. dealer price is probably average and is likely to go up if they replace pulleys and wp, shop around for parts yourself- search this board...tons of useful info on what kits have good water pumps on ebay. don't wait long though...at 110k one little snap and you have a bad day. some good shops in oregon have mechanics who are members on this board...post an ad, someone will likely beat these estimates and give you only what your car needs.

get a notebook and a voltmeter. start measuring voltage from the battery and on downstream to the electronics. I doubt the battery is bad but i'll bet something is dragging the voltage down as noted by the dimming screens and wonky sensors. computers need stable power. maybe the voltage regulator in the alt is bad. you could check voltage in the fuse panels. sorry if you checked all this already...didn't read your other posts. what is the voltage on the 12V power input at the cable to the ECU?

so you didn't change out the timing belt before the swap? or if you did, everything spun ok both ways? if its seized this won't help much but you could take out the plugs to drop the compression.

change of ownership means changes in shifting patterns...car is adapting to its new owner...machine the flywheel and inspect the clutch.

some keyless entry modules have a 'programming switch' wired in near the box. open driver door turn the ignition to on push button alarm should silence, clicking relays should stop. at least this is how mine works

A bad bearing normally makes a growling sound by itself but if there is rotor rubbing, I doubt you'll hear that low rumble over the screech. Look on the rotor for wear. If its the bearing, driving on it may damage the rotor but towing 40 km is going to cost you more than a new rotor. The hub won't need replacing unless this has been occurring for a long while. Its possible for even a noob to do this repair but its also easy to screw it up by installing the bearing by pressing on the inner race or by pressing in the hub and not supporting the inner race. It takes less work to do the job on-car if you have the right tools. Off-car, using a shop press carefully takes time and practice. Read up on wheel bearing replacement so you at least know what your mechanics are up against. Don't know where you are in the great white north but check another member, IvansImports, who does wheel bearings right.

Economics. It isn't the price that the thing cost to make plus markup, its the price that people will pay for it. Example: Silly Bandz. 75% profit margin.

maybe it slipped a tooth. even one tooth off and it sounds bad starting from the low compression. double check timing by counting teeth. on the DOHC, its 51 teeth on driver side, 54.5 teeth on pass side from crank to top cam notch. also in case you didn't do this, loosen tensioner bolts and wedge a screwdriver to lever the tensioner to the pass side, and tighten up the tensioner bolts. helps tighten up the belt. i rotate twice around clockwise to take up the slack before buttoning things up.

if you can't find someone to spend the time on it, take the little bugger apart yourself. its sitting right on the passenger side firewall in the engine bay, at the top. the contacts inside the mechanism are probably bent and/or need some scotch-brite attention. the grease has also probably flowed in places away from the gears, just smear it back in place.