GeneralDisorder

You don't even need one - just use a drift punch to remove/install the nut. It's not that critical that you have this tool. And how many bearings are you going to realistically use it for? I've owned one for 5+ years and I've probably used it less than a dozen times. I own a Subaru shop.... see what I mean? Those rear bearings have a very low failure rate. GD

There is simply no need for an MoS2 lubricant in Subaru transmissions or diffs. The diffs rarely fail and the Subaru Extra-S gear oil is hands down the best gear oil for a Subaru manual transmission that money can buy. I ask: "What problem are you trying to solve with MoS2?" If it's not broke - and more importantly if there's no evidence that it may break in the future nor any volume of reports of failure then this whole conversation is a total waste of time and effort. Buy Extra-S. Move on with life. GD

I have one hanging around that I could snap a pic of. It's the same as any other gen II Legacy sedan though. Just has Outback trim and suspension. GD

If its a Legacy then its AWD. The marketing terms changed around durring that time frame but its exactly like a 2013 AWD system. Torque bind would be a bad VC. You can change them without pulling the tranny out of the car. Just drop the back down and pull off the extension housing and transfer case. The VC and center diff will slide out and can be replaced. GD

I use Aisin water pumps and they come with the metal gasket so I use that typically. When I use the NPW pumps (cast impeller which is desireable to some folks and the newer engines come with stamped) that come with paper I use the Anaerobic. Anaerobic will seal a gap up to .050" when used with the proper Loctite Primer-N. That's larger than most spark plug gaps. The pan is plenty flat for that and I always straighten them if there is any distortion around the bolt holes - usually only when someone has used an aftermarket cork gasket on them. GD

To be quite honest it sounds like it would have kept going for another 100k. Pictures will tell me more, but honesty it doesn't sound like it has enough wear to speak of. Sure the crank may want polished but if you can't feel the scuffing then there will be no measurable wear. Wrist pins don't fail in these so some slight wear there isn't a concern. Carbon is going to be completely normal for 280k. As I said back on page two - you probably should have just run it till it blows. In any case now that it's apart just chuck the bits in the recycle since it's not economically viable to rebuild the 2.2's. I just got an '03 EJ251 for $650 for example. And at 280k spending a ridiculous amount of money and time to fix the car is unwise - the transmission probably doesn't have more than another 100k or less in it. You can get that from a used engine which you can typically buy a warranty on if you are so inclined. I know you want to believe you are going about this the right way but I do this every day - I swap at least 3-4 engines a month and I've rebuilt a couple dozen as well - it's just too much hassle and the first time out you will probably not get it exactly right. How much frustration is this really worth? GD

Buy a Koyo and you'll get a decent part. Life span on the plastic tank units is about ten years. I replace one or two a month. GD

As I recall it was around $120. Including all leaks repaired, drain plug changed out to a brass pet-cock, pressure tested and painted. GD

I don't use RTV anywhere on any Subaru engine or transmission. I have found it to be messy, inconvenient and unprofessional. Anaerobic does all the sealing work at my shop. Including oil pans. Loctite 518. I have sealed hundreds of engines and transmissions and not a single one of them leak. They all look professional and my sealant never gets hard on me, never goes bad in the tube or has chunks of dried sealant in it. I don't lose the cap because there isn't one. It doesn't get stuck to rags, fingers and clothes never to come off again.... life is better for me without RTV. GD

All 4wd EA81's have adjustable lower spring perches in the front - you can adjust them up about 1.5 inches. The rear torsion bar is adjustable as well and is good for about 3" or so. There is not, nor was there ever, a factory "lift" for an EA81. Outbacks have about a 3" factory lift over a plain Legacy. No model has ever been lifted more than about that - let alone 6". GD

I have a shop that can and will put 1.5" in/out on the EA81 radiators. Done several of them including ones with 90 degree rotated connections for lifted swaps. Works great and no need for ugly flex hoses. GD

Subaru diffs hardly ever fail and almost no one even changes the gear oil in them. I have seen exactly one front diff failure on a 4EAT at about 140k and it was the pinion support bearing that went out. Outside of this one isolated incident and a few EA 4/5 speeds with a front diff that was fragged due to abuse or lack of oil there is just no evidence to suggest this is a problem area and needs additives or a great deal of thought/worry. You are seriously over-thinking the situation. Fill with a quality 75w90 and be done with it. No need for moly or anything else. GD

Pretty hard to do something wrong - unless you pinched the gasket but I've never seen that happen.... I've seen poorly fitting plastic housings and cheap Chinese water pumps that had badly machined housings.... Cut to fit hoses are total crap. The dealer hoses are between $15 and $20 each typically and fit really well. Just no good reason to not use them IMO. Though if this is on the STi I would get some silicone hoses.... GD

You will need a manual that covers the 99 to 01 Impreza as that is the only car that used the EJ222 for long enough to be covered in a manual. Only base model Legacy's in '99 got that engine. 00 and up all got the 2.5 and 90 to 98 all got the phase 1 2.2. The specs for the 00 to 04 EJ251/2/3/4 are very similar except for bore sizes, etc. Head bolt torque is the same on all EJ series engines regardless of year but you should use the latest procedure you can get your hands on. Use the valve adjustment specs from under the hood of the Legacy. If valves are open without the cams installed then you obviously have a problem there.... If all your pistons are not exactly half way up in the cylinder bore then you didn't align the timing marks prior to removing the timing belt - which could have caused bent valves if the cam moved under spring pressure with the piston at or near TDC. With the timing marks aligned all pistons are at the half way point and cannot strike a valve. GD

Just don't beat on it hard enough to mushroom the head and then have to file it down so the socket will fit again. :cool: GD

I would replace the hose, clamps, thermostat housing, and thermostat gasket with new one's from the dealer. Those parts are all relatively cheap and dealer quality/price just can't be beat on hoses. I really, really dislike almost all forms of RTV and rarely use the stuff at all. There are cases where I have no choice - mostly on American vehicles where there is a large gap to fill like the intake manifolds on GM V6/V8 engines. I keep a tube of copper RTV around for exhaust gaskets since I tend to see a lot of leaks on aftermarket exhaust systems that fit poorly to the pieces left of the stock system. I find that RTV is messy, look terrible and unprofessional, and is OFTEN over applied. If you have to seriously goop it on then something isn't right with how the pieces are fitting together or it's an American car Mostly I use Anaerobic flange sealant or in the case of threads I use either loctite blue (stick form I find to be most convenient), or loctite 545 hydraulic thread sealant. I know these products are harder to find and more expensive for the DIY crowd but their use will make the difference between a crappy looking goop job and a professional "clean" appearance that will last. Permatex Anaerobic, Loctite 545, and Loctite blue "glue stick" are three items that should be in every tool box and can be procured from Amazon for very reasonable. "My local store doesn't have it" isn't the answer since if you plan to work on your own cars these items should be bought ahead of time just like wrenches and sockets. [/RTV rant of the day] GD

Not really normal. Nothing you can add that's going to quiet failing bearings except sawdust which I don't recommend. Open it up and change the bearing that's failing or drop in a replacement used tranny. GD

It could be that the flywheel depth was not correct - it cant be the wrong flywheel because all EA82 use the same - XT6 is the only other similar unit and those have a different (shallower) step height. Thought that's usually something I measure.... may be a weak pressure plate. Have you let out the cable a bit? You don't want a staged clutch. That's not going to provide any benefit to you and only decrease longevity - just as performance brakes sacrifice pad and rotor life for performance so do staged clutch setups. GD

No hone required. Honing is an old wives tale debunked in the 70's. Only needed for chrome rings or as the final stage to a boring operation. GD

Axle rebuilding is easy. Contact Rockford CV for replacement stars, cages, balls, and boots - get some snap ring pliers and a boot clamp tool and do it yourself. Frankly - rebooting OEM axles after a cleaning and inspection is usually the best route. Unfortunately a lot of folks have replaced them already with cheap Chinese axles for which parts and boots are near impossible to source so you often can't rebuild what you take out. This turns into a viscous cycle and the only way out is to get a used OEM axle or a rebuild from the dealer or someone like Marshall. Personally I rebuild all my own axles in-house. I'm sure Marshall does a fine job but the turn around via shipping them out of state is not acceptable for my business needs. GD

I would rethink that. PRE is less than stellar in my experience - I have quite a few of their unhappy customers. They couldn't tune a PP6 on a 92 SS. I'm building him a MegaSquirt because it runs so badly...... You should see the hack work they do! I just opened a tranny they replaced third gear on to find three gear teeth left inside of a very dirty transmission case. Luckily no damage was done but the customer was right to be concerned when two teeth showed up on his drain plug. I found another inside when I opened it. Talk to Jared of PDX tuning. Or I can let you know when I get all the bugs worked out of my MegaSquirt build. GD

The radiator cap should regulate the system pressure regardless of a head gasket failure pushing exhaust gas into the system or not. Seems obvious to me that you have a cheap bottle on your hands and in conjunction with the leaks at the heater you have found the sources of your problem. EJ22 head gasket failure is extremely rare. Yes I have seen it happen - maybe a total of two times in the hundreds of 2.2's I've worked on. In both cases a severe overheating even was very likely to blame. GD

That's $900 fully assembled including all the new bearings and rings and usually a replacement rod for whichever one went out completely. It's more expensive than a SBC because the parts cost more and the labor is higher - both because in your example they aren't doing the assembly work and because of the more involved process of splitting the block and of boring/honing the blind cylinders of a Subaru block. The main journal webbing makes it a lot more work to do boring and honing. GD

Rod knock is far from "perfect". GD

Not correct. 1st has a syncro just like any other gear. They often are the first to go but it does have one - I have rebuilt subaru transmissions and can get into 1st at 35 MPH no problem. GD