GeneralDisorder

Stock it would have the Mitsubishi TD04H. The IHI VF40 was only used on 05-07 LGT, and OBXT. In 2007 or 2008 they switched to the VF46.

Correct. It has knurled, hand-fit 251 pistons, and 642 head gaskets. Done at my shop a few months ago. Bill was over $3k. They are buying a 2005 from me to replace it. Insurance offered them a $150 buy back. I have to know by tomorrow morning if it's going to be bought back or the insurance company is going to make the owner a cash offer on settlement at which time they are liable for my storage up to the point when the tow guy hooks it up. Insurance company storage fees at my lot are $100 per day. This is to ensure a speedy settlement in the owners favor. The insurance company wants to stop those storage fees and the longer they low-ball my customer, the more they owe. Works great and a nice revenue generator for me. I don't much care what happens to it. Not much call for 25D's anymore around my shop, and I'm not warehousing parts for 20 year old cars. Not enough room or enough money in them. But yeah, to the right person, the engine is easily worth $2k with the work that's been done to it. Was a very well kept car with excellent history. 143k on it. 141k when we did the work. GD

You should resolder all the connections on every component.

Yes we can do it also. If you don't want to mess with it yourself. We also have a 1998 with 140k on it that we just did the piston swap on 2000 miles ago. Got mashed up in the front and is awaiting the insurance company to tow it off. Should be about $1000 in storage fees so if you match that and the buy-back of $150 you can pull the 25D out of it. Have to act within a day or two though. It's going to get sold to the insurance and they are eager to stop paying my storage. GD

It's actually really simple - just use a standard right hand drill bit and the bolts will spin right out when drilled from the back. GD

Yes 99 and 00 are compatible

You most likely have block surface problems as well. Resurfacing the head will do nothing for this. You may need to fill the pits and block sand the deck. Resurfacing is not possible without dissasembly. You can surface the heads with glass and 220 grit. It's quite easy. The 642 gaskets can be used if you swap to 251 pistons. Proper thread chasing, and head bolt lubrication is critical for correct gaskets crush. If you want the best machine shop around for Subaru engines, it's Bearing Service Co. in downtown Portland. GD

VF40 turbo models are the worst. 05-07 Legacy and Outback turbo models use the VF40. None of the turbo models are a good idea really. They are all maintenance intensive when old. GD

Looks like a riced out heap. Too bad about how it's been treated. Nothing else but an EA81 coupe rear seat will fit. And those fender mirrors are pretty close to impossible to find. Find a nicer one and use that as a parts car maybe. Pretty rough. GD

05 OBXT is an enormous money pit. VF40 turbo failures are not just common but virtually guaranteed. Bottom end failures often accompany. Turbo/bottom end failures are usually around $6,000 to $10,000 to repair on these. GD

Not difficult. Basic hand tools and snap ring pliers. They don't require pullers but they frequently can be difficult to get off due to corrosion and clutch material.

Clicking doesn't mean the contacts in it are any good. Check it for continuity when it clicks. No need to boil it - just heat the end with a torch. If you don't have a meter or test light then rig up a 12v bulb and some wire. GD

You need a new map light assembly or you need to open it up and resolder the surface mount circuit board components. GD

Reverse is the first gear to go when your start losing clutches. Time for a used trans. Should be able to get a used tranny for under $500. Install is about 6 hours plus fluids. Should be less than $1200. GD

This guy is a broke college kid. This vehicle will only serve to distract and frustrate his efforts toward his future. Moving on to a newer chassis is what makes sense. GD

Well I have occasion to cut open filters almost daily so I see their construction and effectiveness or lack thereof quite often. The guys joke that filter cutting is my favorite task. Really I just enjoy failure analysis.... and who doesn't enjoy some really awful carnage to take pics of. It's like watching a train wreck. Horrible, sure - but you can't look away. I have all the gear to check differential pressure across the filter and data log it also. At some point I will tabulate all the data on different filters and when/how long/how often the bypass valve opens. GD

They were a short lived feature that wasn't designed to remind people to wear the belt - for a short time in the early 90's they met the legal requirement for supplemental restraints while being cheaper than actual airbag implementations. The laws changed and they closed the "loop hole" that allowed this and they went away. No consumer pressure asked for this nonsense. GD

Who said anything about a 2JZ swap? That's way outside the bounds of feasibility or rationality. Even an EJ swap.... really just drive the Legacy. Much more reasonable use of time and resources. They are like $FREE.99 now. Seriously I got a 2001 Outback Limited (heated leather, dual sunroofs, one owner) for $300 with bent valves like 2 years ago. Put a 40k JDM phase-II dual-cam in it, and that's the family wagon. The engine cost $900 and I used it complete with just a new timing setup.....This stuff is so cheap it's not even worth the time or effort to mess with an EA chassis. I won't even take first and second gen Legacy's for free anymore. It's not worth my time to fix them or even scrap them. No demand for parts and even fixed you are hard pressed to get more than $1500 for anything older than 2000.

Yeah. But it's so sad to see people limit themselves to these as a means of transportation. The way people drive anymore you're like as not to be ran over in one. And first gen/second gen Legacy's are like free now. They are crazy plentiful and totally worthless. I just traded a guy like $800 work for a 2005 Legacy with a bad timing belt tensioner. And people are still trying to fix EA82's for purposes of neccessary transportation?!? I mean.... might as well get yourself some stone knives and bear skins while you're at it and be completely period correct. Oh don't forget - don't use soap and only bath at the local river. Have your friends dump some raw sewage upstream for the proper stone age ambiance. LoL. The EA's were fun, but not being able to find any maintenance parts isn't much fun going forward. I like my 80's gear as much as any of us, but the inability to get basic parts forced me to move on to 80's vehicles I can get parts for now and in the future. GD

You need the switch attached to the shift cable on the side of the transmission. Just get a used one. Failure rate is low.

Junk yard. None of that stuff is still available from Subaru. Or you can track down some manual belts from a postal legacy or from Canada.

I haven't tested those specifically, but I would guess they are probably quite a bit better. The impetus for switching was the obvious cost savings in using a domestically produced (Canada IIRC) filter over huge numbers of shipping containers full of bulky, lightweight oil filters being shipped here constantly from Japan at high cost plus shipping. What's really telling about this situation is that Subaru of Japan has not certified the "blue" filters for use on the FA's yet. The dealers are required to use the fat Tokyo Roki filters for those models. I imagine eventually they will get some blue garbage for them instead so the dealers can make fat profits off the cheap blue Fram. GD

No, there garbage if they are same blue junk that Subaru of America has made in Canada.

Yes the newer filters are this small. No it is not generally a problem. Denso filters are garbage. Amsoil, K&N, and Royal Purple filters are all quite good. I believe all are made by champion labs. WIX is a distant last resort. At least it has an up-front bypass. Still a cellulose filter and pretty poor filtration. The OEM Subaru (Of America) filters are made by Honeywell/Fram and are pretty worthless other than having a really high DP valve to force oil through the crappy element. You get, at most, exactly what you pay for with virtually every filter out there. They are built to a price, and if you are buying to a price you are inevitably sorting $hit products in a race to the bottom. GD

PS pump.