AdventureSubaru

I've heard of faulty coolant temperature sensors doing this sometimes.

I did this on a 96 outback recently. If you drop the entire exhaust and pull the driveshaft and pins for the CV axles you can drop the trans back far enough to lay over top of the motor and reach down to do the clutch swap from above. The trans will slide back far enough to do the swap without fully dropping the trans or pulling the motor. Have several sheets of cardboard or something to lay over the motor or you'll be super uncomfortable. You also need some real arm strength to lift the trans back up to mate back to the motor. Can probably be done with a hoist, but I ended up pulling on the trans with one hand and tilting the motor with the other to slide them back together.

take a camera and get pics if the rumor proves true.

Find a good used block. Put up a wanted ad here and search craigslist across the country. I shipped an EJ25 short block from CA to Montana for $90 and en EJ25 is considerably heavier than an EA71. Folks have also shipped them by greyhound bus pretty cheap. Stick with it. These are getting rare.

Am I still reading right? Proceeding with a helicoil without ever trying a thread chaser? Like doing head gaskets without checking to see if you've got a coolant leak or faulty thermostat.

California has them all over. I got one sitting in the driveway I'd sell you. 1996 Outback with EJ22 and 5MT. Recent clutch and is getting head gaskets done today. But desert country, west coast and texas are best bets.

Usually yes. They tend to fail at similar intervals, but if you're watching for it to fail eventually, there's nothing wrong with the "if it aint broke don't fix it" approach to wheel bearings. It's not like they will explode and cause an accident. They'll start growling long before safety is a factor.

I did this swap in reverse - 2001 outback 2.5 motor into a 99 impreza. As mentioned - keep the crank sprocket and the drivers cam sprocket from the original car and swap it onto the new motor. Ditto to the exhaust since the 2.2 is single port. You'll see quickly by comparing intakes and the sensors on the top if it's MAF or MAP and such. I had to keep the original intake manifold and do a long block swap. Worked like a charm!

Have you even tried a thread chaser yet? If I've read right, all you've done so far is try to thread the spark plug down the buggered hole. If there are threads left a thread chaser will open up the top and only afterwards you'll be able to reinstall the spark plug. Helicoil is an option. Some will last forever and some are time bombs. Good used head is the most reliable option. Can I kick you in the pants for ever thinking it was a good idea to start the car with the plug only partly set? Geez.

a little bit of 400 - 800 grit wet sanding will lift a little more. Be gentle though. If it were an EJ25 or something with MLS gaskets, I'd say mill it.... But this is a 90s EJ22. Those gaskets are much more forgiving. In my opinion, the surface should not be super polished. You want just a little roughness for the gasket to adhere to. Not a lot but I would probably not go higher than 800 grit on the surface. That's just me though. Not sure if Miles Fox still lurks on here much but he has slapped a lot of these motors together with no resurfacing and only so much sanding and polishing and I don't recall there ever being a repeat failure.

This is a very varied topic as longevity is based on a variety of factors such as terrain, load, driving style and maintenance. If maintained well, a 4eat transmission will last in excess of 300,000 miles before dying of "natural" causes. The 5MTs seem to be slightly weaker. Legacy outback and outback are the same thing. There was an outback sport for a few years which was a trim package on an impreza wagon. Everything you listed are good maintenance indicators. Never shy away from a car because it's had work done. Avoid the ones with patch jobs such as stop leak additives in the coolant, removed thermostats etc. where the real issue was never resolved.

I suspect there's a discount with large vendors. I get a discount just by purchasing postage through ebay or paypal. I wonder if parts geek marked them up or simply has different or no discount. Guaranteed it would cost me more than 32 dollars to ship 2 fender wells. Probably more than double that. $8. will ship you a small padded envelope these days so there's got to be bulk discounts or something somewhere.

If you know the EJ22 is a good deal and you've got the money, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to have it "just in case" These are super easy to swap. I'm about to do one this afternoon for friends of a friend. If all goes well I'll have it done, swapped and driving on the new motor by dinner time.

watch for coolant consumption. Keep your levels topped off. Eventually it shows up as overheating and/or exhaust bubbles in your coolant overflow tank. After it's running and warmed up, just look in the tank and look for bubbles. If it bubbles up like a fish tank, it's head gaskets and you should grab the EJ22. If nothing, you're probably good to drive. Most yards will include the intake manifold with the motor but if not, yes you need the EJ22 specific intake manifold. They are different between the two motors although everything bolted to it is about the same.

Do tell? Pretty sure when someone checks out and pays for something they are taking the burden upon themselves that they actually bought it. No one is suggesting anything illegal has gone on here except that the shipping costs were higher than their competetors though their prices cheaper. What was illegal and how does one fight back legally against a legal transaction?

If the EJ22 is automatic it should have EGR and be a match 99% - the 1% as mentioned is that you will want the Y pipe with the EJ22 since it's single port exhaust. Do you have a head gasket leak currently or are you preparing for the future? Depending if/when head gaskets have been done on your motor in the past, it could have a lot of miles on it before it needs anything. Not as bullet proof as a EJ22 but I've seen DOHC EJ25s go over 300,000 miles a number of times. If it's still good, learn what to look for on early signs of head gasket failure and drive it.

So far I can vouch for the customer service of rock auto. Had 2 returns over the years and both went smooth. Only had one transaction with parts geek and it was as expected. Good stuff and they were the cheapest at the time. As for shipping - different places get different rates. Not sure how this is put together, but I paid $30. to ship an intake manifold last week, so their price isn't crazy, they just aren't as cheap as others. And yeah. Cheap lesson in the long run. There's no legal recourse for folks who wont read a payment summary before they check out. And you can nearly always save some $$$ by spending some time doing price comparisons/quality comparisons between ebay, amazon, rock auto and such and the chain stores. We all get smarter as we go as long as we take the time to learn.

tires rubbing? I get that with a good size load or if the body leans a good bit on my outback but I have 235 55 17s on it. You can also get some pretty loud creaks out of old, rusted, failing suspension. Mine does this a bit at 235,000 miles now. Friends have a 2007 Jeep Patriot that creaks and groans on every pothole. Tough to speculate without hearing it myself. Cars make noises as they get older. I put them in 3 categories 1. Sounds like an old car. 2. Hmm... I should look into that someday 3. Better check and see what that is.

If anything I think you gain a little power. As I recall the later 90s EJ22s were just a little higher HP. But it wont be like a frankenmotor where there would be a large gain or loss on compression.

Yes. Bolts right up. Or find a dual port Y pipe and swap that in as well

4th times the charm maybe? If you're set on a rebuild, go for it. I've not done one due to time and expense. Only time I've ever gotten a bad EJ22 was when a guy lied to me about one that had jumped timing and trashed the valves. Doom on me for trusting his word. But otherwise bought used motors from 88k-340k and never got a dud. Pick n pull, dismantlers, and a few craigslist buys. One was a complete unknown, sight unseen that the guy had got on an estate sale with a bunch of VW parts. Turned out it was rebuilt. Best $200 motor ever. Been running in my buddies outback for 2 years. You'll pay a little more in freight shipping, but may want to see what members on here have known good motors. Folks who have been around here for a while wont steer you wrong. Most of the time spent on these forums is because we sincerely want to help people keep their Subarus on the road and on a budget. Or if you're going for a rebuild, guys/gals who have done it will chime in somewhere. Speaking of gals - maybe PM Emily with CCR. They've been in the rebuilding business for a while and have a great reputation. If anyone can tell you what's best for rebuilding, she can.

This combination - first rebuild. On a budget. EJ22. The only reason to ever rebuild an EJ22 is purely for fun. They fail so little and the cost and labor of a rebuild are both so much higher than a used motor. You'll be so much better off sourcing a known good used one. If you shop around a bit, you can often find one from a dismantler that hasn't been pulled and can hear it run before you buy. A wrecked car is also a good bet as it usually has to drive itself to the accident.

Congrats! It's a Subaru so with the right amount of wrenching and splicing, you can make about anything fit and work. Just be sure you are well versed in engine wiring and the like. But motor and transmission can always be dropped into about any platform without much adaptation. It's getting them wired in to actually run that's the issue. Plus figuring axle spline counts etc. NASIOC may have better info if you're looking at making it a speedster. Is there something wrong with the motor/trans? If maintained well, 300k may still have lots of life left. My wifes 2000 Outback (which we sold over a year ago) will likely cross 400,000 miles this year with the new owner. Seen it around town a number of times and you could never tell it didn't have 80k on it. Either way, congrats. I love the Bajas. Would love to get one someday but price is a bit of a barrier. Would make a great trail rider/hunting and fishing rig. (My wife always avoids my outback in fishing season due to the oceany/fishy smell it comes home with. Truck bed would solve that. Post up some pics or start a build thread for it.

Start with a new knock sensor. They fail regularly and are super easy to replace. The $10 ones on ebay do just fine. Second to that, I would check your mass air flow sensor. Clean it and see if that helps. Replace it to be sure. They will cause the car to get buggy, lose power at random and stall out without throwing a code.

Buy a used Subaru axle from a dismantler/junkyard. Reboot it and install. Still far better than new off brands.