GeneralDisorder

The OEM boots from Subaru are the best and they aren't that expensive.

Trailing arm spacers help with this. But possibly not enough. ADF makes them in 1" and 2" GD

It's a commonly held belief that you must hone for new rings. There are cases, such as chrome faced rings, where this may still be true. I don't know about those because I would never use them and I think they have largely fallen put of use in general. But since the early 80's and especially since the introduction of fuel injection and modern synthetic oils, the bore on a properly maintained engine will have extremely little wear. What you have is a nicely machined surface - lapped completely smooth by the previous ring set. New rings are lapped at manufacture in hardened steel tubes and are perfectly round already. There is virtually no seating required. I can't tell you how many sets of forged pistons I've run on bores with 100k+ and none of them use any oil. The SAE did some testing on this in the 80's I believe and came to the conclusion that honing as part of a rebuild that didn't include a rebore, *in every case they tested* resulted in more engine wear, higher oil consumption, and reduced compression. This is because of the remaining grit from the grinding stones and ripped/torn cylinder wall and ring material contaminating the oil. Chevy power magazine even said in the mid 80's that honing should not be done unless reboring if maximum power with minimum friction and wear is to be achieved... My experience has been there is no such thing as ring seating on a properly machined modern engine. They are seated on the first crankshaft revolution, and after that they are wearing out. I could go on for days on this subject. Ultimately no matter who you talk to they have either never tried "not honing" because dad told them too and the fear of rings not seating keeps them from trying it, or they have never heard that this is even possible and are completely surprised and amazed at the results. I'm literally hundreds of engines into "not honing" and the few engines I had problems with were the ones that got honed because of rust or had been honed previously, etc. It's actually sad for me to open up some other shop's "rebuild" that's an oil burning disaster and find that the case halves have been ruined with a dingle ball..... if I had billions I would buy the company that makes those damn things and shut their doors. GD

From my experience, I'm a believer in no honing unless it's properly bored oversized and then they need a very smooth plateau hone. GD

No. Common misconception. GD

While it is technically possible to swap in the 2.5 liter from the 96 to 99 Outback/GT models, these engines have serious head gasket problems that can't be fixed without changing pistons, and that's a whole can of worms. They also tend to be expensive due to their tendency toward head gasket failure - they used to be in high demand.... You want to stick with the 2.2 its a better and more cost effective choice. GD

A used engine should be no more than $350 to $550. Freight usually runs $150. Even at $700 with freight there is no way you can do bearings in a Subaru engine for that little. It will certainly require the crank turned and the mainline honed - the only guy I know that will even do a Subaru mainline charges $280 for the privilege, plus $100 to turn the crank. Then there's going to be a grip of parts.... Then there's the learning curve. It was about three failed engines deep for me. Aluminum block engines are a different critter and split aluminium block engines even more so. The clearances are not stable with respect to temperature and remember that aluminum is VERY soft. Machining feeds and speeds are the same as oak. Give that a though for a minute. GD

What you want is Loctite 545 thread sealant. Once that cures it's not going to leak. GD

But why? Something to do? I get it but you could prep a used 2.5 block with your time and eventually gain ~30 HP. That intake won't do anything for performance. Really on a 2.2 there isn't much that will. GD

Can't be done in the car. And Fairtax is right. Don't attempt it. GD

Replace the lifter o-rings. GD

Alternators are common on every car. If the lifters make noise you need to replace the lifter o-rings. GD

Do NOT hone the cylinders. And DO NOT have some parts store machine shop get inside that motor. It will end very, very badly. Besides burning oil like none other if you hone it, they aren't equipped to do main and rod bearings on a Subaru engine. Cut your losses NOW and get a newer car. Sorry to say but the end of the line has been reached and exceeded with that vehicle. You cant get critical engine parts that wpuld be mandatory if thismuch worls needs to be done. Auch as the oil pump - they are discontinued and you can't get one. It's a done deal - stop wasting resources and get an EJ platform vehicle. GD

Pull the steering wheel off and find out what went wrong with the canceling mechanism. Chances are plastic bits are broken and you will require replacements. Might have to find used. GD

Low coolant level.

Transmission rear input shaft bearings. Plastic engine rear separator plate. Power steering pump rear cover gasket. Head gaskets usually wear out somewhere between 250 and 300k. That's the usual stuff. Honestly those years are pretty reliable. Basically the same as the 90 to 94's still. I have a 90 Legacy with 316k. HG's wore out at 285k. Engine has had Mobile 1 synthetic every 3k since new. I got it from the original owner. It's a fairly accurate benchmark of what's possible with perfect maintenance. GD

You need a used transmission. The problem is not electrical. Reverse and 3rd will work even if you unplug the computer from the car. It doesn't need any computer logic for reverse since there is no shifting behavior to control when in reverse. It's a purely manual controlled gear. GD

We used to use the Threebond 1217B which was a pink color.... That stuff is like concrete once dry - you almost have to destroy oil pans to get them off. They discontinued it though. Replaced it with 1217H which has done a great job thus far. Nissan sells it cheaper than Subaru by a huge margin. Not quite as aggressive as the B, but honestly that stuff was ridiculously over powered. GD

There really wasn't a 95 Outback. It was just some decals and trim bits. They didn't have the suspension or the 2.5 engine of the "real" outbacks. That started in 96. So for mechanical discussion, it's a 95 Legacy. Head gaskets is not a rebuild. That's a reseal. COMPLETELY different things. If you are just doing HG's they can easily be done in the car - no need to swap. For that matter you can pull it in the morning, install HG's and do other reseal tasks and easily put it back in and not be late for dinner. GD

2% isn't worth it. This is a (one of many) death spasm of the internal combustion engine for consumer level products. The death of the automotive service industry is nigh. Cars are headed toward appliance status. You don't call a TV repairman anymore..... within the next decade you won't call on me either. GM and Mercedes have already stated their intention to switch to 100% electric passenger cars by the early 2020's. Things like 0w16 are to get these last few years of products across the finish line and meet the tightening CAFE standards while they develop the electric cars to replace them and phase them out. You wont find these oil weights on anything but the products that will ultimately be replaced with electric motors. It's just one more short term solution to prolong the life of the ICE so they can buy time. It's not good for the machine or the consumer - it's been forced upon us because of legislation. I'll be moving to classic cars and muscle cars and other vintage and specialty stuff as the years go by. I won't be working on electric cars or hybrids. No thanks. I'll sell my commercial property and retire to my garage machine shop where I can be a fossil and hopefully my phone won't ring off the hook like it does now. I look forward to the peace and quiet. And before someone comes along and tells me how much more efficient electric motors are..... I'm acutely aware of all of that. As a former software engineer, military generator technician, and compressor/pump technician I know very well the power of three phase electric motors, variable frequency drives, etc. I am not disputing that. I just don't like them. And it's not for any logical reasons. I just don't. I don't want one, and I sure as hell don't want some Indonesian piece of bug ridden software self-driving me around in it. The day that I can't drive my self around is the day I start walking. And if they take my non-computerized cars off the road I'll surely be in a lot better shape because it's going to be bicycle for me. GD

Thinner head gaskets. Why are you boring it oversized? That's just a gigantic waste of time on an NA block. Get a new set of case halves or find a used set and have the main line honed. Cylinder walls are not a problem on Subaru engines, the main bearing clearances are the problem you need to address. GD

Sounds like problems if brake lines are rusting out. Honestly with that much rust it's a parts car or soon will be. Couple that with the generally undesirable EJ25D that really needs about $3k worth of work to upgrade the pistons and head gaskets..... parts car at best I would say. I don't give much more than $300 for non rusty pre-2000 models. You just can't get more than $1500 to $2000 in top condition and with enough rust to attack the brake lines.... yeah no thanks. I wouldn't take it for free at that point. GD

All you need is a wafer thin smear. This isn't a SBC china wall..... just lightly with your finger.... just the tip and only for a minute. GD

True - could be mr. rod knocking. Wouldn't be the first one of those I've seen. GD

Never seen that, and coolant temp sensor failure on EJ's is almost unheard of. Easy to check in live data though. GD