=CC=

I loved my old Audi, and it was very reliable, and usually easy to work on (except for the rust), but parts were really hard to find for it. Life is much simpler with my old Outback. I can actually still get parts at the dealership for it, and those parts don't cost an arm and a leg.

I'd been noticing some shaky braking for the past couple of weeks, and decided it was time to address that problem with some new brakes. Got my rotors and pads delivered, and started in on that job. The front brakes were a bit of a pain in the butt to do, but managed (in between thunderstorms) to get them swapped out. Then on to the rears. Where we found a pair of seized calipers. And what looked like original rotors (probably not, but they were UGLY!) As luck would have it, we had just replaced the brakes on the Legacy before it died, and so we snagged the calipers (along with the pads and rotors) from the remains of the Legacy and used them. They were easier to do than the fronts, and as an added bonus, I now have spare, new brakes on the shelf for the next time. We're going to flush and bleed the brake lines today, to get all the nasty fluid out of there, and start with fresh. Just in time to drive my boss to the airport next week.

Last weekend I finally replaced the mangled driver side seatbelt with the good one out of the Legacy. Turns out that some goober replaced the seatbelts in the Legacy on the wrong sides. So after we got it installed, we realized that the buckle part was backwards, so we had to turn it. Which is doable, but not high on my list of favorite things to do. Brand spankin' new exhaust is sitting on my porch, just waiting to be installed. Along with some new speakers, and hopefully a replacement hvac control unit before summer. It'd be nice to have AC this year.

I guess it would depend on the part. I wouldn't want to drive around with lightly tightened suspension bits, or lug nuts.

This will be my first Subaru winter, so I don't have any real world experience with it. However, I handled 8 winters with my old Audi quattro, and with snow tires, it was unstoppable. As in, we went out twice in a blizzard (when we truly had no business being on the road), and the old guy just kept on going. That car had torsen AWD, and I thought it was great....as long as I had the snow tires on. With regular all seasons, that car was squirrely as hell. I've driven selectable 4wd Suzuki Samurais in the snow, and they were ok, but being so lightweight, they had NO problem sliding around, lol. I'm actually looking forward to trying out the Outback AWD. I'm curious to see how it compares to the torsen. But not until I get my snow tires on it.

Just gotta say, this is a great community, So far, the new fuel pump is working a treat. I added some fuel injector cleaner and dry gas, as the temps are going to go down again next week. This car lived a pretty good chunk of it's life at the beach with the person I bought it from, so hopefully running some dry gas in it will get rid of any residual moisture in the gas tank and lines, so I won't be replacing anything related for a while. Hopefully, George doesn't decide to make the fuel pump replacement a habit.

That's a heck of a story! As it turned out, I replaced a dead fuel pump with a dying fuel pump. And it died right after I filled up. Of course. So, off to the parts place to get a new one. My husband rebuilt and replaced it while I was working today, and the old guy is back up and running. Again!

When we did my Audi brake lines, it flared very easily...we didn't have any mangling issues at all.

The saga continues....we also need to swap out the fuel pump relay. This is a very fun job in below zero wind chills. So far, the only job that compares to removal and replacement of this oh-so-accesible part is replacing the shift linkage bushings. We have the relay, just haven't accessed George's relay yet to remove and replace it. This will probably happen tomorrow, since the wind is supposed to die down some by then. The best part is that George died at work, so I have to travel to get to it, but at least my boss doesn't mind me leaving it.

Agree with GD. I paid $500.00 for my last 2 cars, and they both ran. For a non running vehicle for parts only, I wouldn't pay more than that (and would probably offer less).

Hubby's Outback fell through, so at this time, he is considering a Crosstrek. Eww, car payments. New Year's eve fun was replacing the fuel pump...George's decided that coldest day of the year so far was a perfect time to die. To make matters better, we are both trying to recover from the flu, but it had to get done. We snagged the fuel pump out of Killer the Legacy, and swapped them out. It's nice to have a parts car in the yard...even though it takes up space, it's really nice to have it sitting there so we can actually see the part in the place it's supposed to be...no hunting for it, lol. It's also nice to be able to experiment with removal techniques....I'd rather break crap on the donor

Sorry, I can't answer the flare question, but you will find that copper nickel brake line a joy to work with. We had to replace all the brake lines front to back and side to side on my old Audi (30 years of salty roads really wreaked havoc on them), and it took us about an hour total to bend all the lines and flare them. It was great stuff to work with...no kinks or creases, just bent like a cooked spaghetti noodle. And it held up very well; I would probably have gotten another 30 years out of them if the car hadn't gotten wrecked (and been rusty as hell).

Parts availability (or lack thereof) is the biggest reason I elected to scrap my old Audi rather than try to fix it. That honestly was the best car I ever owned, and I loved it. But it was becoming impossible to find parts for a never very popular 30 year old car. I knew her time was done when I was quoted $500.00 before shipping for one control arm that was located in Germany. I managed to find 2 in the states, but that really was the beginning of the end. If it's a small part, I buy extra, and stash. I learned the hard way.

George goes to get the timing belt done this week (about time right?) My husband found himself a 96 OB for $500.00. Only problem is that it's an automatic (yuck), and has a 2.5 with a blown head gasket (big surprise). He's thinking about picking it up, and spending some $ having the HG replaced in the 97 Legacy, then switching engine/trans/diff into this 96. Should just be a direct swap, yes?

George is currently sitting at 348K miles, and so far, everything is going well. Next up on the Fix it list will be new wheel bearing (got some noise going on there), rebooting the CVs (got some grease going on there)and that should be about it. I'm going to start the hunt for a spare set of wheels, so I can have some snow tires mounted up and ready for winter. The fitment issues I had with the aftermarket lights was definitely due to the body damage. We used pliers, a crow bar and a small hammer to beat the crinkled area back to an approximation of it's original place, and replaced the old lights with the ones from Killer the Legacy (after using a headlight restoration kit). They fit much better, and work a million times better, so at least now night time driving won't be quite as much of an adventure as it has been, lol. The hunt continues for a second Outback for the hubby (he really likes George).

Thanks for all the info! The reason for the question is that my husband really likes the old gen1 Foresters, but like y'all noted, they are hard to find without having already spoob the bed. The problem with the ones I'm seeing is that they all have blown head gaskets, which could potentially be fixed, but how do you know if the person who was driving it when it went didn't just keep right on along and completely trash the darn thing. I have no problem paying to have a head gasket repair done, I just want to make sure that if I'm spendin the money on it, it's not going to be a complete basket case from the beginning. I've been down THAT road before, lol. And, yeah, I have one of those Chesterfield smoking 2.2 now, (age-wise), but it runs great...which is why I was asking. Thanks again!

Fuel mileage on the old guy is about 27mpg, George has a 5mt, and easily cruises at highway speeds. I'm not complaining, lol. My husband was driving a VW Golf TDI, and was routinely getting around 50 mpg, so while 30 mpg isn't bad, it's not quite as good. Still, much better than what he gets with the truck (about 16 mpg). He really like the torque of a diesel...and that IS a lot of fun.

What year EJ22 would be a compatible swap with an older Forester? For instance, say I have a 98 or 99 Forester with a blown head gasket...what year 2.2 would be the best/least complicated swap candidate? I'm sorry, I know these questions are asked a million times, but after extensive searching, I haven't been able to find the info I'm looking for. Thanks in advance.

FYI, some aftermarket headlights SUCK!! I bought a set, and off the car they look great, but the fit is spoob. Guess I'll just have to clean the old ones up a bit. Part of the fitment issue might be the fact that ole George has some minor front end damage (crinkled hood)...and that most of the tabs that attach the light to the car are broken off. They were secured with zip ties. Pretty special.

Replaced the coil pack...and George approves! The misfire seems to be gone. I'll be saving the old one as a spare, because it did work, just not great. But better than nothing if I need one. Next problem...AC. I had it checked out, and seems to not have any leaks (good), but doesn't turn on. My friend told me the first thing to check is the climate control module, then the relay. If neither one of those is the problem, I'm looking at having to spend some money.

George probably burns a little oil, but the amount must be minuscule, because the level on the dipstick never really changes. I'll admit, I don't much care for the newer models either. Late 90's to early 00's, but any newer than that, they just look like any other SUV on the road.

It looks like the plan for Killer is to get killed. We're going to part it out. Even though George has twice as many miles as Killer, George is actually in better working condition, so we will be pulling the engine and replacing the head gaskets (as well as checking everything, and probably refreshing what needs it), then storing it as a spare for George if we ever need it. We'll be stashing all the body parts that are in decent or better shape than George's. and removing whatever interior bits are needed to give old George an interior facelift. I'll also be taking the brakes, since I just replaced those, lol. This part out is probably going to be taking place when the weather cools off, mainly because I still have way too many projects currently going on (parting the hubby's wrecked TDI is first on the list). Once I've picked out what I need, I will probably start a for sale/free to a good home post to get rid of anything else, and the scrap whatever is left.

Yep, brand new wires and plugs (used the recommended brands there, too, might as well they're cheap enough, lol). Guess I'll be checking with the dealership for the coil. Can't hurt to replace it. I'm continually amazed by the dealership support for the older models. I seriously went through hell and back looking for parts for my Audi. When I needed to replace the control arms, I was told by all the dealerships (and quite a few vendors) that the parts were NLA, but there was one control arm, located in Germany, that could be shipped in for me...at a cost of $500.00!! I did eventually find them (Blauparts, if there's anyone on this forum with old VW/Audis). Subaru is such a contrast! I've found every part I've needed for my 20 year old car with no problem. This forum has been a wealth of info, also, so thanks!

I'm really enjoying old George. One thing I've learned is that George REALLY prefers hi test gas. He has expensive taste, lol. I really wish there was some way to make a VW diesel work in one of these. My husband really likes George too, and he half wants one of his own, but his commute is so long that gassing up every couple days would break the bank. On another note, how often do the coils fail on the EJ22? I have an occasional misfire/stutter that occurs usually when the engine is cold, and always when it's raining. I've replaced the plugs and plug wires, so I'm thinking that the culprit may be cylinder 4 coil (or am I completely wrong?)

Was the foul smell kind of a burning smell?