GeneralDisorder

Rear sway bar is a good upgrade - that will definitely help with cornering. The rest is useless. A strut brace won't do squat to that flimsy body with 90 HP, and a turbo will just blow the engine apart. They are too fragile, too high compression, and I doubt you understand what's involved in a turbo swap anyway. Not to mention - if you don't have the money for an EJ - then you definitely don't have the money to do a turbo (not and keep the heads from shooting out the side of the car). You can do a decent EJ22 swap for about $1,000. But you could also just buy a good condition Legacy for the same money. It's about what you want and quite frankly there's no good reason to want an EA82 body unless you just like the way they look and like burning up cash to put the EJ drivetrain in one. Basically they are a huge waste of time and effort with Legacy's getting so cheap. There is a small niche for people that off-road and must have a wagon but that's about the only good use I can think of for the EA82 body cars now. Same goes for the EA81 wagons, etc. Hatchbacks and Brat's are where it's at for wheeling and Legacy's and up are where it's at for driving. GD

Front and rear hubs are not interchangeable. You must source a hub from a 4WD rear disc vehicle. You can use the caliper. Probably the backing plate as well. But not the hub or rotor. GD

No - EA81's are side-starter and your EA71 is a top starter. The bell-housings are completely incompatible and will not bolt up. GD

Yes there are sealing kits - but the cost is a lot more than a good used tank, and there are a couple outfits that are selling brand new EA82 tanks for almost nothing - less than the cost of those kits. Someone posted a link to a place selling EA82 tanks for like $75. GD

Any car with a steel tank like the Subaru's can become VERY nasty if allowed to just sit around. My '69 GMC was a camper truck and sat for most of it's life (has 29k original miles). The gas tank was a rusted mess when I got it and I had to replace the entire pickup/sending unit and install multiple fuel filters to keep the crap out of the fuel system. I still have to replace them every few months and I only drive the thing maybe once a week to haul/tow something. Unfortunately there is no drain plug on the EA82 tanks like there is on the EA81's and first gen Legacy's. If you suspect the tank is nasty it would probably be easiest to just source another tank being they aren't that rare. GD

If you want something that takes less mods and will bolt directly in - try the Nissan Maxima 90 amp alternator upgrade instead. It doesn't have the voltage drop at idle and bracket modifications needed for the GM alt and is around the same price. Plus it has an internal fan, it's metric, and you can use the same pulley off your OEM alt which means no belt changes, etc. All around an easier swap IMO. GD

The filter oil is problematic on MAF cars. Little too much and it gets on the MAF wires and causes havoc. Too little and it doesn't trap dust. It's a variable that doesn't need to exist. The paper filters are better. The 22T is rare, and a completely different engine. Not only would you have to change the engine cross-member, entire cooling system, entire exhaust, and wireing+ECU, but it's not that big of a performance boost without modifications. You would be looking at a LOT of work and it's much easier to just find a turbo car and drive that. It simply is not economical to convert them when the same basic vehicle is availible with the turbo engine, proper radiator core support, ect already factory installed. GD

He gave a measurement - .02" (which is a crap load I might add - 4x the limit). The first question I have is how this number was reached. He should be able to demonstrate this for you. Till I was actually shown this (very unusual) failure..... I would be hard pressed to believe it. GD

I'm independant. No overhead, no employees - just me. $65 is cheap as shops go - but you have to pay people that don't actually wrench. I doubt that YOU personally make $65/Hr right? I charge $35/Hr because that's MY salery. The quality of my work is also generally higher than most shops. Ask the people here that know how I operate. GD

I would try to get a Paraut water pump (OEM manufacturer). Actually the dealerships are not that expensive on these. I would remove the oil cooler and see if you even need the fitting. IIRC they screw to the oil filter threads on the block..... but I could be mistaken about that. GD

If you want to bring it down to me I'll save you more than enough to cover the trailering costs - if a drive to Portland is something you would consider. I charge $35/hr and no markup on parts. GD

The head gasket issues aren't that big of a deal on the phase-II engines ('99 Forester, '00 Legacy). They develop an external coolant leak that is often stopped with the Subaru coolant conditioner. They don't overheat if the fluid is kept topped off. I have a '99 Forester with 240k on it. It started leaking externally - I put in two bottles of the Subaru stop leak (yes, you can do this according to Subaru) and it hasn't leaked a drop since. The stuff works well. And even then - often these vehicles (being a decade old or nearly so) have had the head gaskets replaced by now. Plus it's not that big of a deal to repalce them and gives an opportunity to check seals and do timing belt, water pump, etc. It's just a gasket. GD

I would do it. Doesn't sound very risky to me if it'd done properly. GD

Well - it's a 105k belt so that's a bit paranoid yeah. But if you feel like doing it.... it's not hard and it's a good learning experience. Plus it gives you a chance to check cam seals, etc. I do them all the time and sometimes I have to do them before they are due because I've bought a car with an unknown history so I can't be "for sure" on when they were done. I just pulled one apart with 17k on the belt (didn't know for sure though till I pulled it apart) and I feel better about selling it knowing EXACTLY when the belt will need replaced again. Just depends on what you want and what kind of peace of mind you are looking for. Crashing an '04 Forester engine's belt means bent/broken valves. Honestly the EJ belts are REALLY large and strong though and they almost never break even when run well past the 105k they are designed for. You just don't see broken EJ timing belts till they are 150% or farther past the change interval. GD

Easiest to pull the engine out. That give you an idea of what's involved? "how hard" is pretty nebulous without background info. I do them all the time so it's no big deal to me. Couple hours and a few beers..... GD

The cooler's dramatically reduce oil temps and that prolongs oil life. It's worth it (especially on the turbo's) and the whole system doesn't stick down below the exhaust. But it's up to you - just install a "normal" water pump and remove the cooler. Sell it on the forum if you don't want it because other's around here will. Being that both engines are SOHC, all the stuff should work unless the tensioner parts are for a pre-'97. Otherwise they are pretty much all the same. Many people prefer the '97 and older tensioner style (they seem to be quite a bit more reliable) and you can swap the newer engines over to the older style tensioner just by swapping the tensioner bracket. GD

You winched the front end up a tree didn't you? GD

Doesn't mean they aren't bad - in fact it makes it more suspect as it could be an inferior aftermarket part. Not only that but one wonders why it was replaced twice...... GD

The oil cooler system is self-contained - there's no reason *not* to use it if all the parts are there. Basically it's just the special water pump, the oil cooler "sandwitch" that goes above the filter, a few hard lines and some hoses. It's a nice feature so you should save it if you can. As far as the timing belt stuff - all the SOHC belts are the same (both engines are SOHC right?) and all the EJ's use the same three idlers (two smooth and one cogged). The last idler is the belt tensioner and unless the parts you have are for a '97 or older then it should all be pretty much the same. Even the DOHC engines used the same idlers and tensioners. The only difference is the length of the belt. GD

Non turbo heads are SINGLE INTAKE PORT. The turbo manifold will NOT bolt on. They are completely different and completely incompatible. Neither head will work. GD

The '99 model year 4EAT's have a problem with delayed engagement. There's a seal you can replace, or you can try the trans-x additive and see if that helps. At any rate it's not that big of a deal. GD

A used hub/spindle is probably your best bet. Check www.car-part.com I've found some great deals through there and usually you can find a local option if you want to avoid shipping, etc. Excelent resource. GD

The cost is relatively small if you have some wireing tools (stripper, crimper, etc). A relay is about $10 or less and the wire/fuse holder/terminals/etc will probably run about $20 give or take. Even if you have to buy the tools you can still get this job done for $50 or less. It's an inexpensive repair in the scheme of things. The instructions above in johnceggleston's post as well as the SVX write-up that Manarius linked to are both good - if you can't do this job yourself you can still find someone at a shop that can follow these excelent instructions. It's a simple wireing task that should take no more than 30 minutes. I wouldn't pay more than $100 to have this done so don't let someone tell you it's a nightmare and is going to cost a fortune. I don't know where you are located, but if you post up your location and ask for help there may be someone in your area that can assist. If you are near Portland, OR I would be glad to take care of the whole thing for you for $50. GD

Easy: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202183868&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_sku=202183868&ci_src=14110944&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D25X-_-202183868&locStoreNum=4018&marketID=54 + http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00944996000P?vName=Tool%20Catalog&cName=Mechanic'sTools&sName=Drive%20Tools%20&%20Ratchets&sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=00944996000P + http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=22mm+impact+socket&cid=2140107396625314653&ei=8K2WTN7vLpi4iwTI672fCw&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p Takes about half a dozen good solid blows generally. Pull radiator, slip socket and ratchet over the crank bolt, smack toward the end of the ratchet - reset the posistion of the ratchet and repeat till the bolt spins free. It's just like using an impact but no air supply and works with the engine in the car (or out). This is how it's done at the junk yard. Works every time. Incidentally, this method works for alternator pulley bolts, cam pulley bolts.... etc. Just about anything that spins and can't be easily held or stopped from rotating. GD

It's interesting to note - just about the only modern car I've worked on where it's easier to pull the engine for a clutch job (because pulling the engine is so easy) is a Subaru. Honda's, Toyota's, VW's, etc - generally easier to drop the transmission since there's so little clearance to try and get the engine free in a transverse application. Usually easier to do the transmission on American stuff too - since even the RWD's have heavy engines and most of those being trucks (or vans ) have the clearance underneath and are difficult to wrangle the engine out of. Is it any wonder that I swear a lot when working on anything but a Subaru? GD