AdventureSubaru

Great looking build! Most of the off roaders (mine included) are done on a very small budget and with used parts. Neat to see what can be done with a little more fab and $$$. Looking like a very capable rig.

Unless something changes, JMoss is going to buy it and this car will become a summer DD in Pennsylvania. Hopefully he'll keep up with the build thread on here.

Back for sale as Tom has the coupe now and this car needs a bit more than it did a year ago. trans is working but making some loud bearing like noises in the higher gears. There is a yard locally with a good trans I can put you in contact with. $500. PM me. I'm in town for a week and would like to see it go to a new owner in that time if possible.

Trying to get this car smogged. 99 outback that had a bad 2.5 that now sports a 95 EJ22 EGR equipped so it matches. No Check engine light. Runs great. gave it new plugs and wires. Idles smooth. No vac leaks. All the monitors are up and going except the EVAP and EGR. Car has been driven about 80 miles of mixed highway and town driving. I only need one more monitor up before the car can be smogged. Is there any trick to getting these up and running? Will the EVAP stay off since the lines are just looped on the EJ22? (Those of you with 2.2 swaps may know if it has stayed long term) Anything to do besides just driving it?

Looking good! Should handle long trips a little more smoothly without as much lift and tire. Looks like it's at a similar stance to mine now which is a bit of a dog on the steep hills at highway speed. ROAD TRIP READY! Wish I could be joining you guys at WCSS. If I wasn't a new dad, I'd be there. Speaking of road trips - my 2 cents - don't let that exhaust get too loud. Subarus sound nice when they are a little throaty, but that impressive rumble that make people envious when the car is in a driveway or parking lot is a nightmare on a 16 hour road trip. You'll be deaf by the time you get to your destination. Love watching the progress of this car. Keep up the good work!

As long as he's telling the truth, that's a very fair price. Our outback went 341,000 miles under our watch and is still driving today. My daily driver right now is at 280k. Seen a few make it to 500k over the years. Take care of the car and it will go and go.

To most of us, anything newer than the year 2000 is brand spankin new by Subaru standards. For those years, the two things to look for are the timing belt and the head gaskets. Headgaskets on these car leak externally so look (or have someone with an eye for these cars check for leakage or signs of any headgasket trouble. Also, you would want to see that the timing belt is good to go - not cracked or showing wear/age. If the seller can provide receipts to show that either of these have been done previously, all the better. We just sold my wife's 2000 outback (same generation/motor/transmission as the one's you mentioned) with 341,000 miles on it and still going strong. These are great cars. Do some leg work to pick a good one for your kiddo and you'll have a very dependable machine.

Good to see you made it on here! Plugs and wires on the car are about new. Maybe 4000 miles. Air filter could stand to be replaced and PCV is the one that came on the car when we bought it about 100,000 miles ago.

Walmart supertech - cheap and works fine. Taken my cars to 277k 341k and 220k

A while back we sold my wife's car - 2000 Legacy Outback - 2.5 and automatic 341,000 miles - to a local guy. He's trying to get it smogged and it failed it's first attempt. Gas limit at idle is 100ppm and the car was at 300. At 2500 RPM it was down to 166ppm but the limit is 130. He's a younger guy and not super versed in Subaru yet, so I offered to help as much as possible. I have no prior experience in helping a vehicle get smogged. Hoping some of you would have some ideas on what to do/where to start. There's a twin to this car in a Pick N Pull close by so i've got some access to replacement parts if need be. Thoughts and ideas on what can help it pass?

Only drove it a few miles. Following your advice, I drive it a bit more and let it idle in the driveway for a while. The sound faded and is barely noticeable now. YAY! One more thing off the list.

Finished up the EJ22 swap on the 99 Outback 2 days ago. It was a pick n pull motor, so a bit of a gamble, but it started right up. smoothed out pretty quick. But it's got quite the tap to it. Was worried about rod knock but the more I research, the more it sounds like collapsed HLAs. Motor is a 95 2.2 out of a legacy. Prior history unknown except it sat in the Stockton CA heat with the engine drained of oil for a while. Gave it a new timing belt and fresh oil. Took it for a drive and the engine performs fine but has that annoying tapping. I found this write up which was very helpful. http://lovehorsepower.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43:valve-lash-adjuster-replacement&catid=10:subaru-legacy&Itemid=59 But my remaining questions are - Do the HLAs pop out or screw out? What is the torque spec for the rocker assembly bolts? Any difference between the intake/exhaust side HLAs? Any other tips or tricks from those of you who have done this before?

Subaru changed part numbers around a number of times and there were little changes from year to year. As far as direct bolt in - any 2000-2004 Legacy Outback or Forester trans should be a perfect match. Same gear ratio - the autos in outbacks and foresters were 4.44. When my wife's 2000 outback started acting goofy in the gearshifts at nearly 300k, I swapped in a 2002 Forester trans. Ran that for over 40k before selling the car. It's still going. The automatics in Imprezas and regular legacys would have been 4.11 which can only be put in your car if you put a matching rear differential in. So it may help broaden your search if need be. Sometimes if someone is in a hurry to be rid of a parts car, it may end up cheaper to get a transmission and a differential. But the simple answer is 2000-2004 Legacy Outback or Forester. Plug and play.

Looks like the Ski Team wagon is going back "home" to Tom. Organizing the swap from the west coast, but I can't think of a better person to finish up on this awesome old wagon.

I'll climb under the car and check. Should be getting smogged this week. I know one of the shifter bushings was a little wonky but shouldn't be able to cause what I'm feeling. Probably explains the shifter slop though. Good to know about the lights. Looking forward to testing them out. The OBS just had a set of smaller fog lights on the roof rack. They worked okay and will probably end up on this car, but I wanted a little more for some of those dark trails.

No problems there. This car is a 5 speed. Which brings me to my next question - does it matter which clutch goes in there? I'm putting a new clutch in because the existing one is at least 7 years old. Parts listings show different clutches between 2.2s and 2.5s. Which one should I get?

Took me 3 different yards. San Jose, Oakland and finally Stockton. None of the first gens had EGR. But scored a 95 EJ22. here's hoping it fires right up. non-interference, dual port, EGR and OBDII.

Great! Just what I was hoping to hear. The closest yard to me has a 92 Legacy automatic that looks like it was in a minor front end collision. (Hopefully drove itself to the accident.) and a nice clean looking 96 legacy sedan. if I've been researching right, the automatics should be EGR motors. So if all is there, I can get the 92 motor with the 96 intake manifold and have a drop in motor that is dual port and non interference right?

Nice score! Can't beat that price for a rust free car in the midwest. AT may actually be desirable if you end up lifting it. I've driven mine lifted with a manual and it does fine but on trails it feels like you're either moving too fast or riding the clutch. AT lets you move at a snails pace without abusing the car. Post up a few pics when you get the chance!

Picked up a clean 99 Outback with a busted DOHC 2.5 (Rod right through the block) Had a few questions/confirmations before I hopefully go pull a motor for it tomorrow. I know 99 was the transition between phase 1 and phase 2. Are all the DOHC motors phase 1? Car has 01/1999 date so I'd think it's on the early side? If so, am I right that any 1990-1999 EJ22 should be a drop in with the possibility of swapping intake manifold and associated parts and possibly the exhaust manifold if I'm putting a single port exhaust motor in there? Car-part.com asks for a specification between automatic & manual transmissions for engine swaps. Can a throw a motor from an automatic in there to mate with the manual trans of the outback? (after swapping flywheel) Any other thoughts or advice from those of you who have put ej22s in to replace the DOHC motor?

Once you have the engine out, it's a pretty easy fix. Impact driver with a phillips head will back the screws out. The 90s cars had a plastic plate that wore out over time and leaked. The dealer part is a steel upgrade that fixes the problem. Do a search on here for it and get the part number. It's in the ballpark of about $15-$30 I think. Typical leakage of higher mileage and/or older subarus. That's usually the reason why many of us associate a burning oil smell and subarus. On a subaru it's a normal, non worrisome thing. Most other makes of car and it would spell trouble to smell burning oil.

If it's leaking a lot out the back of the engine. (You'll know cause you'll get white smoke from under the hood and a burning smell when the car isn't moving - the oil separator plate leaks right onto the y pipe of the exhaust.) then you may consider pulling the engine for leaks. If it's only minor leakage, I just make sure to keep oil levels topped off on older/high mileage subarus. If the leaks are anything else then no need to pull the engine. Most stuff can be done with the timing components as mentioned. While you're in there the valve covers and little spark plug grommets can be good to swap too. Be good to the car and it should take care of you. We are selling our 2000 outback at 341,000 in good running condition to the happy new owner this weekend. I'm confident that it will make it to 400,000 before much work will be needed on it. And the 2000 is a less reliable generation than those early legacys.

Yeah. $300. is a great price for any car. Those first generation legacys ar great car. Super reliable, non interference motors. Simple to work on. Cheap to find parts. Go for it. Nothing to loose. In most areas scrap dealers will always pay about $400 for a whole car just for the metal value.

sweet machine! Would love to see more pics!

The "new" 2000 outback. 221k just installed a 150k 5MT to replace the bad one and new clutch. So these are the first days of me actually driving the car. The trans shifts nicely. Clutch pedal seems to have good pressure. If I'm not very gentle, I can feel a clunk when I let up on the clutch after a gear shift. Everything performs normally otherwise, it just feels almost like something is loose under there. It makes a little noise, but I can feel it as well. It feels like it comes from the rear of the vehicle. But at it's worst feels like front and rear if that makes any sense. When I swapped the trans, the clutch disc had cracked 3/4 of the way around and the transmission had pieces coming out the drain plug. What should I be looking at? Drive shaft? Rear diff? Any thoughts on what to look for?