heartless

more food for thought - the higher you sit, the higher the center of gravity is, the more likely you are to roll the vehicle in a bad situation... Sitting up high is not necessarily safer - just gives better visibility

no expert, but seems to me it would be a lot of work for minimal gain.

only coolant related stuff on that side would be the upper radiator hose, and the radiator bleeder...make sure the hose clamps are good and snug. extreme cold can, and does cause minor leaks as things cool and contract.

I dont think it is in the sticky - altho it really should be. Super useful resource for sure. Somebody posted the link a long time ago and I bookmarked it for personal reference - have shared many times over. If you back it up there are folders for other Japanese makes as well - honda, toyota, mazda, nissan, etc...

try here for service manual: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

as long as the duty C is functioning properly, it shouldnt be an issue - just remember it is a "bandaid", not a solution.

we have a foldable one similar to this: legs fold up for storage - takes up a lot less space when not in use - under $200 at Harbor Freight. Again - way more capacity than is required for pulling a Subaru engine - makes the job a piece of cake. Completely agree on the full timing service, including seals, water pump, all idler pulleys, tensioner, and so on - do it right while the engine is out and easily accessable - and dont forget to reseal the rear separator plate while you have the access! Also a good time to replace hoses & vacuum lines as well. Do the job right before putting the motor in and you wont have to worry about it for another 75-100,000 miles (however long the timing service interval is for your yr/model).

+10 on ball joints and tie rod ends at the very least. Wheel bearings if needed (my 90 has never had front wheel bearings replaced, only the left rear...twice now at 237K) check condition of struts/springs

So does fixing it entail replacing the blower motor? or is there something else that can be done? if replacing is necessary, what other models can I potentially get one from?

Hmmm, interesting...the 99 does not have that damper in line - at least not under the hood...

shouldnt this be in the "for sale/trade" section?

that little round thing on the main fuel line under the hood was a very common sight on the older Subarus (80's) but not on the newer ones. It is not needed on your car and can safely be removed.

Good point... anyway - I may have inadverntently discovered what is making the squealing noise... Started the car this morning and didnt hear the squeal right off... when I got ready to leave, I turned the heater fan on and...yup, it squealed... this was the first morning that the blower was shut completely off when I started the car - every other time it had been turned on, set at level 2... not sure why, but I had shut everything off last night when I got home - blower fan, radio, lights - everything.

96-99 legacy outback struts yes 1st gen forrester springs yes longer sway bar, like from an outback - not longer - larger - as in diameter of the bar and bigger rotors with calipers to match - not a necessity, but an option I may need to adjust my tie rod ends, does that mean I need to get them for a different model? No, it just means they may need to be adjusted - usually done at alignment time. I have to at least replace my front inner tie rods ends, and get a new alignment anyway. Should i just get new tie rods all around? Not necessary unless you need them. Have been driving my 95 Legacy with the Forester strut swap for a week now - really liking it. It rides very well - better than the other half's 04 Mercury Sable. Handles well too You say you just got the car - something you might want to take care of, if it hasnt been done recently - Full Timing job! Just did mine this weekend (206K) and I was definitely running on heavily borrowed time! Timing belt had pretty severe age cracking, all the idler pulleys sounded like they had rocks in them, and the upper radiator hose was about to blow - was so thin in one spot you could see daylight through it! and the small coolant hose off the water pump was pretty mushy as well...

ok, lets see if we can clear up a little of the confustion... the lines on the main pump side are labeled. In this pic, the line you have marked as "0" should run over to the left side jet pump... The metal line that the "0" is attached to is supposed to be an evaporative line that does go back to the tank, BUT - Not at either of the pump locations! it should go to a fitting near the middle of the tank - one you dont have easy access to without dropping the tank. and under the hood... Get rid of the stupid thing with the circle around it - straight line from filter to engine fitting. the two lines with bolts in them - should be one solid line - this is the other end of that evap line that is hooked up wrong inside the car. Now - I have no idea why it suddenly started happening, but this is my theory.... Something recent has caused a pressurizing of the tank, the only outlet for that pressure happened to be the open jet pump line, so the pressure was forcing gas out of that line in an attempt to escape. You REALLY need to correct the routing of the lines, and resolve whatever is causing the pressure build up in the tank. If it was daylight, I would take pictures of mine to show you what it "should" look like...

Ok, that sounds plausible - and makes me feel a bit better too! Thanks guys. Was just a little disconcerted by it - never heard such a noise from that area before. Car spent the night in a heated shop (50 degrees F) overnight while in the processes of doing a timing job - got it all buttoned up today and no squeaks, no squeals, just that distinctive Subaru boxer engine sound.

this happens on cold startup only - not while driving - and it goes away after a second or two - length of time depending on just how cold it is outside. First time I heard it was just for less than a second - not long enough to really tell where it was coming from - temp was around zero (F). Second time it was for a couple of seconds - long enough to determine the area it was coming from - temp was about 10-12 below zero (F). Seems the colder it is, the longer the squeal will last - warmer temps it doesnt do it all - the first few days I had it, temps were in the mid to upper teens above zero over night, and no squealing on startup. tranny was just installed all of 2 weeks ago - new "filter"/pickup screen and new seals - all new fluid, too. When driving it makes no odd noises at all, shifting is very smooth and easy (no harshness) no funny vibrations - absolutely nothing that would cause me concern. just that odd squeal on really cold mornings...

nobody has a clue? anything? Well, I guess I live with it & wait & see what happens...

The 3 lines in your picture are main delivery, return, and jet pump - make sure the jet pump line is hooked up correctly to a similar plate on the drivers side of the car.. My guess is that one of the "repairs" is not hooked up correctly. you may find this helpful in trying to track down what is going on: Subaru/Forester/1998/Service Manual/ENGINE SECTION/Fuel System

answered above...

i would stick with the 95-99 model years & the appropriate gear ratio. 90-94 are more than likely going to be 4.111 ratio (no outbacks in those years) plus some minor wiring differences.

1995 Legacy L wagon, AWD, automatic - this is the car that had the trans swapped - twice... car has a little over 206K on it - not sure of the mileage on the transmission, but I think Miles said in the 180K range? Sub-zero temperatures yesterday morning - around -5 or so - went out to start the car to warm it up before leaving for work - a little bit sluggish to turn over - about 5 revolutions before firing up - not what I would call problematic given the temps. Immediately on starting I hear a squealing noise coming from under the center console area - defintely NOT from under the hood/engine area. Lasted for close to a minute before disappearing. I had heard it for a few seconds the day before as well, but it went away pretty quickly (not quite as cold then, temps just above zero) Any thoughts or ideas on what might be causing the squeal? So far it only seems to do this in extreme cold situations (have only been driving the car for a week) Tranny had new seals put in before installation - both front axle outputs and the rear output seal were changed (front seal was left alone as TC was fully seated and it was nice & dry in that area. Aside from the squeal on start up it runs and drives well, shifting is smooth as silk, nothing unusual happening - just the squeal when it is really cold. If temps are above 20 or so, it hasnt done this.

if it is worse when cold, then probably not the O2 sensor - you are correct on the 1st gens (90-94) not really doing anything until reaching operating temp.