AdventureSubaru

I run 215 75 15 with just a little space left between the spring perches and with some light fender trimming. It's been done with 1 inch wheel spacers and additional trimming/bashing. I think Monstaru did it with Stella. And WagonRyan and Ryot1 I believe run 235/75/15s. They both have build threads in the members rides section. They can provide more info than I can.

X2 on a junkyard motor. The EJ22 is one tough cookie. If this one has headgaskets + plenty of oil leaks etc. it may be beneficial to try and track down a cheap used motor on craigslist or a junkyard. Depending on how overheated the engine may have been and the fact that it's been sitting for a while makes it a bit of a crapshoot to try and sort out.

The Off Road section has a sticky on lifting an impreza. The whole process is the same with a legacy except you probably don't have to drill a hole for the rear tophats for the lift. Shop for a set of 97-99 Outback or 98-2003 Forester struts and springs for 2 1/2-3 1/2 inches of lift. Add some 3/8 HDPE spacers which can be bought cheap or made cheaper (I make them out of wal mart cutting boards) if you want just a little extra lift for $20. Get a set of outback trailing arm brackets and you're pretty good to go. The rear swaybar still worked stock on my Impreza. The front remains disconnected and is not very noticeable unless you are an aggressive driver. With a little bit of fender trimming and removing mudflaps, you can clear a 28 inch tire. The whole lift took me an afternoon to do with the help of my brother and most of the time was spent on issues of rust and not the actual process of bolting parts together. (the car was from Wisconsin.) You can see my build in the members rides section. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

While the body stuff wont swap over to your car, MANY of the mechanical components - struts, engine stuff, CVs, braking etc. will. If you have free access to parts, might be a good time to stash some spare parts for the "just in case" Depending on the nature of your access to the car, you may want to keep some good parts to pass on to other members/subaru owners to help them keep their cars going. The less that ends up going to scrap the better. If the 96 has the taller outback struts, you can bolt them on your car for a small suspension lift.

Yes. All 93-99 Impreza hoods will interchange. Good to go.

I think any of the EA81 generation automatics should work fine. That would be 81-84 wagons, 81-86 Brat and hatches. Apart from maybe the turbo models, I think they all had the same gear ratios and would work out just fine. Just double check 2wd vs 4wd and that the gear ratios match from car to car. Been a while since I've done a whole lot with these EA81s so someone less rusty than myself may offer more insight, but you should have plenty of options for a good trans.

Looking for a replacement transmission for the new project 2000 Legacy Outback and have a good lead on a 2001 Impreza RS 5MT. Trans code is TY754VCAAB. Same gear ratio at 4.11 I know the automatics all switched to phase II by the year 2000 but can't find a definite answer for the manual trannies. Would that 01 Impreza 5MT be a match for the 2000 Outback 5MT?

Towed it home and added to the fleet. Here are the findings so far- Pulled the clutch fork boot. Did not see fuzz. Jacked up the front wheel. The tried putting the car in gear. It does not want to go into first, second or reverse. I can hear the bushings squeak from the pressure but it doesn't go in. Third, fourth and fifth go in no problem. With the trans in third, I rotated the wheel about 180 degrees but did not hear any grinding. Thoughts?

Have had success in the past using this method. Tried unsuccessfully for the last half hour to find a working link. No luck. Seems the VIN must match dealer inventory in order to be searched now. If anyone has any luck running this, let me know.

The answer is probably yes. They should both be Phase 1 transmissions of those years. Is it automatic or manual?

Great! Exactly the sort of troubleshooting I was hoping for. Thank you, as always. Can't wait to get it home and start messing around with it.

Long story short - I'm picking up a 2001 Legacy Outback 5 speed tomorrow. The guy selling it advertised it as having a "bad transmission" and said the car would not move. As I looked it over the car sat in neutral and the engine ran smooth. but the transmission had rattling/light grinding sounds coming from it. Am I right in thinking that if the issue truly were transmission and not clutch related that it shouldn't really be making noise since in neutral there should be no engagement from the tranny? I'm getting a good deal on the car even if the trans is toast, but all the better if I'm only looking at a new clutch. The car should be in my driveway tomorrow evening. Any good ways to test and see whether i'm looking at a clutch job or whole trans? Or do i just tear into it and see what we're looking at?

Back on the road! The new trans and clutch are a night and day difference from a few months ago. Just need to grab the bottom end of the speedo cable for the new trans so I can get a working speedometer again. Otherwise, it's back to business which has included a good deal of work lately and a few fishing trips. These latest are from the other day when my father-in-law and I got some stingrays. Thinking about trying to eat one next time. These we just unhooked and pushed back into the water.... very carefully! This last one was this mornings sunrise. Subarus look good in the half light of dawn.

Thanks man! Got the last few pieces bolted together and started her up. After sitting for a few months, it growled to life and apart from the usual breaking loose of the brakes, smoothed out just fine. Clutch is tight again. (Actually too tight. May need to rig a return spring for the clutch cable) and the trans is smooth through all gears. No more watching the shift lever slam forward every time I push the clutch pedal. Will be taking it on an hour long drive tomorrow to try fishing for some leopard sharks with a few work buddies. Hope the car performs well and the feed is on in the water!

Car is coming along and about to be back on the road again. In the meantime the 2000 Outback has been cruising along just fine. Nearly 339k and due now for some valve cover gaskets and spark plug grommets. The oil is seeping into the plug wells and making the motor a bit of a dog. The Impreza trans is in. New clutch disc, plate, TOB etc. installed. Picked up gear oil today from Walmart. Welded some small leaks in the exhaust while I had it out. Will be installed and should be driving Sunday. Hard to believe it's already been off the road for nearly 3 months! Not getting lazy... Here's the real reason the car has not had much attention lately. Born last Saturday at 10:30am. Weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. A very healthy and enthusiastic baby boy! Can't wait to teach him how to fish, hunt, paddle, play ball and fix Subarus. A very pregnant and uncomfortable wife left me few blocks of time to work on the car, but as she is recovering and a little more capable, I should be able to make more rapid progress on the improvement of the adventure car. Especially now that I have a little "helper"!

Forester strut/spring combo swap yielded about 3 1/2 inches of lift on my 97 OBS (with 3/8 HDPE spacers) It easily clears a 28 inch tire. Got great ground clearance now. Looks like it was made to be that way.

Hah! Yes. A common misspelling is to incorrectly spell "winch" (The motorized cable that pulls a stuck rig out of the mud/snow) as "wench" (a tavern girl for lack of a better definition.) I always find it funny when a wench is advertised as part of a vehicle sale, or is described as an upcoming modification to the car. "I'm going to put a wench on the front bumper" - all I can picture is some girl riding around on the nose of the car.

Any of the 2000-2004 Legacy or legacy GT (basically non outback) will drop you 1.5-2 inches. You can use the front struts and springs of any 1990-1999 legacy or Impreza for the same but the rears are a different set-up than yours. The 2002+ impreza will have the same fronts but not necessarily the rears.

yep. Any 2000-2004 2.5 from forester, legacy or legacy outback will be a perfect match. No need to swap intakes or anything. if it comes from a standard to an automatic, just switch the flywheel for the flexplate. Be sure to read up on how to seat the torque converter properly. It's not a hard job, but if you miss the third step, you can crush the trans oil pump. Get it seated all the way and the engine swap should be a breeze.

Comes with a "wench" - not sure if that should help or hurt the sale price. Also not sure if it's legal outside of Nevada.

Correct. Get someone to put it in gear in 2wd and try to drive it. Peek under the car and look to see which axle is spinning - you found your culprit. If the CV is ok, the front hub is likely stripped. You can get a replacement from an auto yard pretty cheap. Not too hard to replace either unless the car is really rusty.

Gotcha. Post up a description of what's going on in the "new gen" section and help/advice will be on the way. I replaced the 4EAT in my wife's outback a couple years ago. It's a pretty simple transmission to work on, it's just HEAVY if you have to move it. Hopefully you wont have to learn that firsthand for a while.

Welcome! 97 Legacy is a great car. If you've got the 2.2 motor you've got one of the most reliable set ups that subaru ever made.

I've layered JB weld with small strips of fiberglass cloth to add strength to it. Have considered wire screen for the same reason.

Awesome! Glad it was that easy and you don't have to go transmission shopping!