AdventureSubaru

LOL! With a little rigging you could install a cutting deck under the car or a brush-hog bar on the front and really clean up.

Road tripped to Portland and back to bring home the wife's "new" 2011 Outback. We got a killer deal on it and the options hit everything on her list and then some. (She wanted the sunroof. We didn't even know it had remote start and backup camera until we picked it up!) Wohoo! About 1600 miles round trip. No problems from either vehicle. About to turn 230k on mine. Turned 60 on hers on the way home. Now just trying to find a few days where I can spend some good time in the shop and get lifted.

My wife has drooled over the 2010+ body style of Outback since they first hit the market. After our son was born, we sold her 2000 outback at 362,000 miles and I bought a 2006 LLBean Outback sedan with a blown motor, installed a good used motor and she drove that for a while. We weren't a huge fan of the sedan since the kiddos stroller doesn't fit in the trunk and my wife did not like the rear windshield/view for backing up and turning. So I sold the 06 and a couple other cars that have been hanging around (Funny how subarus multiply) and last weekend we got a great deal on a 2011 Outback. It met the list of my wife's desires and then some - green in color, sunroof, cloth seats. Great car. It has 60k on the clock and Ej25 with automatic trans. Only downside was that it took a 2 day road trip to Portland and back. Well worth the money saved and the wife is happy, so I'm happy. (On our way home with it. Mount Shasta in the background.) I've done lots of work on 80s and 90s cars. engine, trans swaps, head gaskets, lifts etc. But other than doing the motor swap on the 06 and a set of brakes, the newest subaru I've worked on is my 2000 outback. I see the EJ25 SOHC configuration under the hood of this 2011 and most of it looks comfortably familiar. But I want to know how to take care of this thing as best I can. What do I need to know about this modern animal? So far I did an oil change as soon as we got it home. I looked at the maintenance schedule and see that spark plugs are due. What else should I know? Any troubles to be aware of? recalls? tips, tricks etc. If you have first hand working knowledge on this generation, I'm all ears. My wife and i saved for a while to work our way to be able to afford it. We're hard workers and careful with our money, so I'm wanting to really care for this car and make it last.

Welcome to the board! The 90s subarus were among the most reliable Subaru ever made if you know how to make a few distinctions. Best cars were the ones equipped with the EJ18 and EJ22 motors. These are both known for going 300,000 miles and much more without large scale work. Many prefer the 1990-1996 motors since they were non interference. 97-99 1/2 were just as reliable but were interference motors so jomped timing or failed timing belts carry higher consequences. Avoid the EJ25 motor from 96-99 that came in the Impreza RS, Legacy Outback and GT. known for frequent head gasket failures. Both the automatic (4EAT) and manual (5MT) transmissions are stout and last a long time if maintained. Things to look for on a used subaru - head gasket leaks - on these motors look for bubbles coming out the coolant overflow. Exhaust gasses forced into the coolant are a sure sign. torque bind - test drive the car in tight slow circles and feel for bouncing, skipping shuttering. It's usually repairable, but not fun to do. Body - particularly around the subframes and crossmembers. Most will rust in the rear quarters but it's cosmetic. Severe rot underneath and near mounting points post a safety hazard. The usual condition and levels of all fluids. timing belt intervals (97+ in particular) generally due at 105-110k and every 80k thereafter Avoid cars that have been modified/raced/blinged out. usually these are thrashed and not well maintained. You'll be buying someone elses problem and paying $$$ for their immaturity. You can get great deals on the cars in need of a bit of work. One of the greatest things about subaru is that they are simple to work on and that many MANY parts cross over from year to year and model to model. A little time perusing junkyards and a few hours of wrenching can turn a $500. beater car into a very reliable daily driver, adventure car or road trip machine. Highly reccomended is to find a good bodied, good drivetrain Legacy GT or Outback with a bad 2.5 motor. Swap a 1990-1998 EJ22 motor in it's place and have the best of both worlds with the ground clearance and options of an outback and the bullet proof reliability of the best motor subaru ever made. 90s outbacks with bad headgaskets can readily be found for $500-$1500 and sourcing EJ22 motors for $300-$500 is not hard. A weekend of wrenching gets you a fantastic car for less than half it's value. Do some searches on here and hunt craigslist etc. for deals on the cars themselves and parts to build them up. The classifieds in here can also get the ball rolling. Welcome to the madness!

I think there are little access holes under the carpet. might have tape or plugs on them but I recall there's a way to get fluid in there.

I have used the Bahnhof brand kits 3 times now with good initial results. Longevity remains to be seen. So far 10,000 miles and counting on my 2000 outback.

Front clip - like the font "face" of the car to hol headlights, rad support etc? Your body style would include 1980-84 wagons, 80-89 hatchbacks and 82-87 Brat with some subtle differences. Google image searches by year will show you the changes in headlight design but I don't know that this changes your ability to put existing headlight on.

Lineup of the usual suspects - Radiator - will trickle to the lowest point before dripping. Lower rad hose, or the little tube behind the thermostat housing will burst and gush everywhere. Heater core hoses on the drivers side rear of the motor. Check both connection points. Coolant manifold o rings - crossover pipe beneath the intake manifold will leak and puddle on the block before dripping. Crawl around with a good flashlight and usually you'll trace the leak.

Looks like a great start for a build. Having lifted a midwestern impreza, try and get access to the top of the captive nuts for the subframes and trailing arm brackets and start soaking with PB blaster or something well in advance. I ended up breaking several captive nuts during the suspension lift and then later on the transmission crossmember during a trans swap. I miss the car but not the rust battle.

Always been curious about that. I've heard the write ups on the 2.2 heads on 2.5 block frankenmotor. Wonder what the 2.5 block with 1.8 heads would act like.

There's an easy bypass to put a non EGR motor mated to an EGR intake manifold and get no check engine light. With all the swaps going on it should probably get a sticky or a spot in the repair manual. You just run a breather hose from that metal pipe to the air hose for the IACV. I used an extra vac hose from the valve cover and ran it to a brass T fitting from home depot. $3. fitting and 2 hose clamps and a bit of pushing and wiggling and bingo! No check engine light. Have had 2 such cars and both passed california smog check.

yeah, you'll be wasting your time trying to put that 98 trans in. You're looking for 1999-04 Outback, Forester or Impreza RS automatics most likely as they will be same phase and likely same final drive ratio. You can use Legacy and Impreza phase IIs so long as you also get the rear differential to match and swap that in. Get the final drive for your trans (probably 4.44) and make sure whatever trans you get to replace it is a match by checking its code before you purchase. There are more of these generations showing up in pick n pulls lately. Use row52.com to find a good donor in the self service network.

yeah, that's a steal of a price. get it and figure out what you'll do with it later. Fix, flip, fix and flip, part it out, no downside. Looks like the body is solid.

Good news on camber/alignment on imprezas in particular. Since lifts are done to clear bigger tires, an LT tire on something as light as an Impreza has a very good tread life. My lifted impreza had noticeably positive camber and after 32,000 miles of being driven that way was just starting to show more wear on the outside than in. They were not name brand tires either. LT (light truck) tires were designed to be run on things that weigh much more than a little impreza. Makes for great durability.

Ej cars have camber bolts so a lot can be corrected at the knuckle. Not sure where it would max out though.

Getting pretty basic here. Did you clear the codes or just replace the 02 sensor? OEM part or aftermarket? any recent work etc./check for vac leaks?

EJ18 and EJ22 intake manifolds are interchangeable. Any 1990-1994 Ej22 is direct bolt in. 1995 Ej22 - swap your intake manifold onto the motor. 1996-1998 EJ22 swap your intake manifold and swap the exhaust y-pipe from the donor car as this will be single port exhaust. Really simple stuff.

different exhaust ports but identical motor otherwise. EGR switch can go either way.

Likewise. There's not a large off road subaru crowd compared to jeeps, toyotas etc. so there's not much in the way of aftermarket stuff for such purposes. Most of what's out there was built a piece at a time. A few guys on here manufacture and sell lift kits and a few other pieces. But beyond that you gotta get creative. My roof rack and light bar was made from gridwall and a bedframe purchased from craigslist. Others have made them from futon frames, and other scrap. Bars made for other vehicles can be adapted. Thule and yakima offer some roof rack and bolting options for stock subaru. Easiest lift as mentioned is to put some 98-08 forester or 96-99 Outback struts and spring under your car (Add a lift spacer if desired) and then upgrade to about a 27 inch tire. Will give you good ground clearance for trails and light off roading. I drove a 97 Impreza for years with such a set up and it will take you on all but the toughest stuff. The AWD is not great for true mudding and crawling. There are ways to get there but most of the stuff described can be accomplished with the set up mentioned and some good driving experience. Welcome! And be sure to start a build thread in the members rides section when you get this project going!

Welcome! I'm down a little south of you in the mountains outside of the nuthouse that is Santa Cruz. Best site by far for intelligent, well informed advice and opinion. Post up whatever issued in the "New Gen" section and you'll be set to make a good car even better.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/131698-my-lifted-subi/ Here's the one I mentioned. But yeah, a handful of them out there. I'm looking forward to joining that height level soon. I miss being lifted.

This beast still rompin?

Any uneven wear on the tire? It's common to get bad treadwear when a bearing starts to fail. The bearing ruins the tire which would make additional noise on the same side. Agreed to try rotating the tire first. Other wheel bearings would also be suspect. Seizing caliper possible. And yes, check front diff fluid condition and level.

That's the other dividing line. 1999 was the crossover year so it would fit some 1999s but nothing earlier. The short blocks are compatible back to 1990 but the heads, intake manifold and sensors all changed in 99. Yours would be a match to the 1999 1/2, - 2004s legacy, outback and Impreza. I believe (Someone coorect me/double check) that foresters started this phase 2 in 1998.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/118004-the-unofficial-how-to-lift-your-impreza-thread/ here you go. Same process for your legacy minus the two little differences already mentioned.