DerFahrer

I don't think it's going to wire up perfectly if the outgoing engine is a DOHC and the ingoing engine is a SOHC. Also, if your state has emissions/inspections, understand that in some cases, it's illegal to put an older engine into a newer car.

Correct. Ignore that mark. Use the mark on the crank sensor tooth on the BACK of the crank sprocket. Don't worry about TDC ever with these engines. It is irrelevant. I've never bothered to find TDC. Line up the marks on the cam sprockets and the crank sprocket with the marks on the belt and you're golden. It is also impossible to be 180º out on these engines, since they're electronically timed. Reinstall the belt using the correct mark on the crank and it will start right up.

Hmmm. Just got the new Automobile mag in the mail. Design critique and first drive of new Impreza. Seems I'm not alone.

All 90-94 Legacy front axles will interchange. The FWD ones are thicker and beefier, but will interchange with AWD ones. Now, the FWD Imprezas have different front axles than the Legacies, but the AWD axles are the same as the Legacies. The SOA reman part number posted for the 90-94 FWD axles should work on an AWD Impreza. Someone told me the Impreza FWD axles were different and I didn't believe them, but I looked it up and they were right. Your Impreza being a 97 makes it AWD automatically, so I would think that the axles from a 91 Legacy should work.

Oops, didn't see your reply Shawn. Not to mention that they extracted 4 broken intake manifold bolts out too. I understand that the price was actually pretty good, but it just hurt a lot more than I'd have liked it to I'm gonna try to get them on tomorrow.

Just to clarify though, that's not a GT. The GT wagon has a raised-roof, hence why the VIN says BF instead of BJ. Here's a raised-roof BF wagon:

Wow! I got the heads back from the machine shop yesterday. They look beautiful! They cleaned them completely, they look brand-new. They should for $250 Hopefully I'll get the longblock back together before the month's over, and then I'll bug someone to help me get it back in the car.

Yeah, you do have to adjust the valves, but not THAT often. If it makes you feel any better, my 79 wagon was sitting for two years before I bought it, and it has sat on my property for over a year, and has probably spent all of about 60 seconds running total in that time period.

I've only torn down two Subaru engines (my 79's heads are probably ready to be picked up from the machine shop, and my EJ18 will be a test EJ18/EJ205 hybrid as soon as I get EJ205 cam sprockets), but they both still have cross-hatching. And the EJ18 is known for sure to be over 200k miles.

In the interest of fairness, I must clarify on the parking switch. I played with this when I test-drove it, but kept forgetting to mention it. On the 08 Impreza, the headlights do turn off when you actually remove the key from the ignition, and they turn back on when you restart the car. So, you can still leave your headlight switch on constantly like you did before. BUT... if you turn the car off, turn the headlights off, then turn them back on, they will come back on. So, my rational side says it's really not all that big of a deal. And I guess in the grand scheme of things, it really isn't. But I'm too much of a dork to fully accept it, and I'd still rather have it the old way. Anyway, I'm sure I could find more stuff to complain about to keep the discussion going, but I think I've said all I need to say, and to say more would just be redundant. So I'll drop it here, for good this time . No use crying over spilled milk, or normalized Subarus

My 91 is still going strong. It needs some TLC that I haven't been able to give it due to my financial and time constraints, but I plan on taking care of that when I graduate college, which should be in December. Yeah, you can probably reuse the tensioner too. It's advisable to search on how to recompress it, but in a nutshell, I can tell you that it needs to be done SLOWLY. Honestly, though, yeah, it's going to cost some $$$ no matter which way you cut it, but the car will be set until 200k. I think it's definitely worth it.

I don't think it's that big of a deal. They probably have both cars on the lot, and the detailer/person taking pictures/whoever doesn't know what they're doing. It happens, believe me. The car pictured is a 00-02 Legacy GT wagon. I knew that already 100% for sure.

You don't necessarily need to replace the pulleys. I've done two timing belt changes on my 2.2 Legacy and have reused the original pulleys every time. There's nothing wrong with them. My car has 174k on it by the way.

The VIN does indeed suggest a 94 GT wagon. The "BF" signifies the raised-roof 1st-gen wagon, which was only the 94 GT here in the states, and the R signifies that it's a 94. I probably won't have time, but if by some stroke of luck I end up on a computer tomorrow, I'll plug it in and see what the catalog says.

Oh, and I've been meaning to get these uploaded. Here's the sedan right after I drove it and parked it on display, with all the protective wrap off of it:

As far as the US goes: The LGT wagon 5MT was dropped after 05. 5% of the LGT wagons were sold in a 5MT, so they dropped it. Yes, there is now only a Legacy sedan and Outback wagon. There is now, however, an Outback L.L. Bean in a 4cyl.

Well, right off the bat, yes, the EA82 sedan is an AC and the EA82 wagon is an AN. So something's already fishy. I'll plug the VIN in tomorrow when I get to work. Oh, and FYI, I wouldn't publicly post your VIN up on the Internet... If you want to take it down and PM me, you're more than welcome.

Okay, I drove the car. We took it on an industrial road close to the dealership where there was no traffic, and a few nice and wide 90º corners. I have to admit, I threw the car into a corner and thought to myself "I can't believe I'm taking the corner this fast!" Yes, it handles better than the GD chassis. I've driven GD cars on good tires that didn't handle as well as this car does on RE92's. The car took the corner at a faster speed and at the same time felt more composed. It still had a hint of understeer as any proper AWD car should, but it was much less pronounced and much easier to control. And just for the record, I'm not some n00b who got lucky. I do have autoX and rallyX experience, some under professional instruction, and I've managed to stay close to the top 5% of the results for this year's GM Rev-It-Up. I'm in 417th spot, out of 7244 total... in the country. So I have a decent idea of how to drive. So handling: +1. The power? Yes, the torque is down lower. Yes the boost comes in quicker. I'm honestly not sure how it was done, as the EJ255 longblock is indeed simply a carryover from the 06-07 GD WRX, while the extremities are mostly Legacy GT, save for the turbo, which IS INDEED still a TD04. But I'd say it's almost at full-boost before 3k rpm. I wish it had a boost gauge so I could be certain, but there's definitely no falling down below 3k rpm like the late EJ205. And while we were trying to be somewhat nice to it (we didn't go above 5k), I can say the power is still there. It pulls just as hard as any stock WRX I've driven before. So, power: equal. Torque: +1. Now this is subjective and your opinions will differ from mine. But I do honestly like the overall look of the sedan anyway. It's nothing groundbreaking, but then again, what Subaru has been in terms of design? I never did get used to the Edsel-nose on the 06-07's. I'm sorry. I just never did, and I saw twenty of them a day for almost two years. But this car is at least very cleanly penned, if not particularly racy-looking. There's a couple things I'm not particularly thrilled about, such as the chrome strip on the trunk lid, or the fact that the cabin seems to extend too far back, almost making it look like a wannabe hatch. But overall, I would honestly say, in terms of looks, I'd pick the 08 over the 06-07 anyway. So, I guess, styling: +1. Okay, now, the interior. Personally, I don't like it. Those who have said it's similar to a Tribeca interior are mostly right. It is similar... and I don't like the Tribeca interior. It's not cheap, or fussy or un-user-friendly, or overstyled, or anything necessarily inferior. But... it just doesn't feel like a Subaru interior to me. If I sit in either the Tribeca or 08 Impreza, I don't feel like I'm at home, like I do in my cars, in a Legacy GT, in a GD/GG Impreza, or a Forester. They still have interiors that feel like Subaru interiors. But not these ones. Everything is different than what I'm used to. It's not even something I can completely put my finger on. But I just didn't feel at home in it. And, this is going to sound crazy, but I think the cabin is TOO BIG. That's right. I'd say there's at least a foot of clearance between the top of my head, and the ceiling. Now most people would agree that more room is always better, but I honestly felt like I was a little midget riding in the car, and I'm 6'3". I really don't like that. So, interior overall, -1. Now... as I've already said, I'm VERY steamed about the framed windows, right-side exhaust on the hatch, and the absence of the parking light switch. That's me being a traditionalist. I like my frameless windows, and I honestly don't care if they rattle when I close the door when they're down. It's a Subaru thing, just as the parking light switch was. Sure, no one uses it, but at the very least, it was something cool that only the Subaru die-hards knew about. That's my issue thus far, is that Subaru seems to be in favor of abandoning their identity to reach a "different crowd" (read: increase sales figures). I'll bring up the Car and Driver article, where they did a sport compact comparo and the Impreza came in last. I personally hate Car and Driver (anyone who rates an RX8 over a 350Z is just plain stupid), and I don't think they tallied the results up fairly. The Impreza got marked off for not being as refined as the other cars. That irks me. Who gives a crap about refinement? We're testing Mazdas and Nissans and Subarus, not Bentleys and Jaguars and Mercedes. I want to know how FUN the car is to drive, not how plush the ride is. Subarus have NEVER been refined. They're scrappy, quirky, rough-around-the-edges (which in my opinion gives them personality), and most of all, FUN. And that's what the focus should have been. So, I think in response to these complaints, Subaru basically just threw in the towel and focused on making the car "more refined" and a little more mature. And in the process, I think they took all the personality out of it. So, why I needed a couple days to think was because I was going back and forth deciding whether the driving experience I had (which was mostly positive) was enough to outweigh the fact that I think the car is now a little too mainstream and cookie-cutter... ... and I decided it wasn't. I got in an argument with someone on another board because they were saying that they didn't care about those "minor" things... as long as the car performs better. Well, yes. I'm here to say the car DOES perform better. I think we've already had numbers come up that the new car is faster in a slalom and pulls a percentage more g's and all that fun stuff. Yes, it does. But my rebuttal to his argument was that speed isn't everything. Those who know me know that my automotive enthusiasm lies in more than just speed. Two of the Subarus I own are under 100hp for God's sake. But I still love them, because they're the quirky and eccentric Subarus that I've grown to know and love over the past few years. This one, I'm afraid, is not. So, yeah, my stance still stands. I'm going to get my Forester XT Sports hopefully as a college graduation present, and unless Subaru decides to remember their roots and understand that they NEED to keep their loyal followers, then I won't be replacing the Forester with another Subaru. I know, I'm not a very good salesman am I? :-\

I complain a lot, but it has really been a great car to me. The ultimate test of a car's reliability, IMO, is how much it breaks and leaves you stranded. If it doesn't leave you stranded, then you can still "rely" on it. My car has NEVER left me stranded, anywhere. Not even for a flat tire or dead battery. That's in 7 years and almost 84k miles of driving. And it was already a 10-year-old car with 90k when I got it. Yeah, it's done some weird stuff along the way, but it's always gotten me there, and for that, I truly can't complain. Olnick, I'm actually a Knight, not a Gator I just mentioned the Gators for non-FL people to refer to.

I just drove the sedan. And I was allowed to do just about whatever I wanted. I need a few days. Sit tight.

I just filled up when leaving work today. My trip odometer said 382.6 miles (actually it was halfway between .6 and .7 so I calculated as .65, so 382.65) on one tank. My fuel light had just begun to flicker at 375 miles, but was staying on more steadily once I pulled into the gas station. I filled the tank up with 13.452 gallons of gas... ... and that calculates out to roughly 28.44 mpg. Granted, almost all of it was highway driving between Saturday and today. I drove to Gainesville, home of the Gators, to get a used WRX timing belt from petridish38 (who still has his Legacy, but doesn't drive it much anymore), and then drove to my girlfriend's house on the east coast, by the Kennedy Space Center, and then to work this morning. And my A/C's still not working, so I wasn't using it obviously. But this was with the cruise set at 80mph about 80% of the time, with a 173k-mile 91 Legacy, with 15k-old spark plugs (which is about all copper BKR6E11 plugs are good for), with two known noisy wheel bearings and a misaligned driver's door that makes wind noise, and with an ORIGINAL O2 sensor. ... getting 28.44 mpg and going 382.65 miles on one tank.

Okay, after another thirty minutes of hammering and jerking the head around (hehe), I finally got it off. I see a few nicks on the cylinder head surface, but they seem to be at the edge, and hopefully the new headgasket seals properly. If push comes to shove, I'll just have to have a complete head job done on both heads I guess. Wiped the coolant out of the cylinder, and there's no corrosion, so you're probably right Russ. I was afraid coolant had leaked out of the inlet and into the air intake hole and into the open intake valve, which would mean it had set there for several months. But the cylinder wall looks cherry - still cross-hatched, God I love Subaru - so I rubbed some oil around in it. I've been referred to a reputable machine shop, and I'll probably drop the heads off there Monday morning. Progress is being made! Thanks all for the encouragement!

Yeah, as Bratman said, the airbox actually helps low-end torque, because there's a reserve of air in that box that is available instantaneously when you open the throttle. Unfortunately, the trade-off is that the incoming air is slowed down, so it hurts high-end power. That's why people who switch to cone air filters and intakes constantly bemoan a loss of low-end torque. All this, however, as it appears to be a legimitate post, was actually only a clever way of saying that zstalker has an awesome avatar. One of my fave CD's ev4r.

What are you looking for?

How did you come to the conclusion that it's fake???