lostinthe202 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 (edited) I'll try not to make this too lengthy, I currently own a '96 OBW, 2.2L, 5spd with 212xxx on the odo. It's been a good car but it is starting to come unglued. The exhaust is rusting apart, the brakes need a rebuild in all four corners, the body has rust developing in the wheel wells as well as in many places underneath (PA car), between my unruly dogs and their unruly owner the interior is pretty well shot. The front end is rumpled from a rear-ender and is partially gorilla glued together. The engine runs well, but has lifter tick that I haven't been able to ditch. I've bled all the lifters and replaced those that wouldn't pump up (only two), I checked the rocker arm oil passages for muck to no avail. It's due for the T-belt and assorted goodies so I was going to try changing the oil pump to see if that had any effect. A friend of mine recently picked up a new vehicle and was looking to get rid of his 2000 Forester which is in need of several things. He doesn't work on cars and didn't want to pony up. Here's the particulars, 2000 Forester, 204xxx miles, auto Needs: pass front wheel bearing rear diff. has torque bind front axles timing belt and friends are due So here's what I'm considering. All of the parts that are wrong with this car could be pulled from my OBW. True - many of these parts are about the same miles so may fail after not too long. True - this scheme would involve my diff 4.11 which would also involve my trans, so that means an auto to manual swap. (something I would do anyway, I hate autos) True - not exactly a weekend project. True - less rust on the the Forester True - even though it's 4 years newer, they have virtually the same miles. True - the Forester would be a gift so I'm starting at zero invested. What say you Subaru community? Thanks! Will- EDIT*** forgot to mention, the Forester has a solid maintenance history going back to original purchase, never any HG issues. Edited November 16, 2009 by lostinthe202 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 To me if it moves, it is repairable, if it is rusted its terminal. If the Fozzie has no rust, then go have a blast nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 sounds like a project funny timing belt and friends are due friends with lending hand yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 To me if it moves, it is repairable, if it is rusted its terminal. Sad but true. There's some years before it's gone, but yeah it's coming. sounds like a project funny timing belt and friends are due friends with lending hand yes. hehe, actually referring to all the pulleys, waterpump, etc. as the "friends". Sadly I have no friends who live on this coast that are into wrenching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Sounds like a good project to me. I'd take a free car any day, especially if it's rust free. I'd be wiling to help out if you were a little closer. DC area is a pretty good drive from here though. :-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Bring it on down to Richmond one weekend and we can fix the torque bind and you can suffer with an auto until you get to the swap. The fix takes about two hours. The other stuff is a go for me. I'd take a driveable nicer car for free and swap the parts form your OB in a minute. Just to have cheap transportation. The 2.5 SHOC os a better engine too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Alright, for "go for it" 's and no nays. Of course, what did I expect on a Subaru board But, I think it does make sense to do... at least it makes sense for people who are used to playing legos with cars! Thanks for the offers of help. Car work is sort of like an improv jazz session for me, I have to take bits of free time as they come and rarely get to plan anything out. I've got my backup transpo roadworthy and the wife and I commute together most days of the week, so there isn't too much of a time constraint aside from finishing before ski season ends! Will- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpar Mod Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 Being someone that has restored three cars, not daily driver's however if that matters, and someone that likes to make broke things work again, you're looking at the whole thing in the right way. I also did something similar to what you want to do a while back with an '89 Loyale that belonged to one of my brothers in law. He wrecked it and I got it for free and put it back on the road for $350. I got rid of it several years later still running, but the body was falling off of it ( also a Pa car). At worst case, you'll have to throw a few bucks into the Forester. Now, you'll have a driveable vehicle for next to nothing. If it only lasts a year, you're way ahead of the game. If it lasts longer, big bonus. You can look at it as you basically have a disposable car for nothing. Every month without a car payment is gravy. Every month that you drive it wothout putting any money into it is more gravy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 16, 2009 Author Share Posted November 16, 2009 Thanks for the feedback. I haven't ever had car payments and I don't ever plan to. Seems to be one of the best kept secrets in car ownership, if you can read English, you can work on cars... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 will, awesome to see you stick around that's a plus! i guess you'd have to see what you think of the seats based on the posts/conversations from before? that Ej25 is interference so you'll want all the idlers and tensioner replaced...or I would anyway with that kind of mileage. the "newer" style tensioner is less reliable in my experience than the older style (like your 95 has). actually....you can swap the old style tensioners on newer cars if you have the bracket. torque bind is an easy fix - i fixed two this year just by flushing the fluid. one had the LSD additive added since a straight flush didn't fix it, the additive fixed it instantly (there's a thread about that). as for ticking, i guess surely the oil pump on the EJ22 has been resealed at some point? see if reseal or new pump fixes the EJ22 tick and drop the entire lump into the forester!?!? only thing is that's not a direct swap...you'd have to swap the EJ25 harness and cam sprockets onto the EJ22 block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 will, awesome to see you stick around that's a plus! i guess you'd have to see what you think of the seats based on the posts/conversations from before? Aw shucks, I like you guys too. Yeah, that's part of what sold me is that the Forester seats (aside from just being newer) have many more adjustment options that let me get rid of the "bucket" position that's been killing me in the outback. that Ej25 is interference so you'll want all the idlers and tensioner replaced...or I would anyway with that kind of mileage. the "newer" style tensioner is less reliable in my experience than the older style (like your 95 has). actually....you can swap the old style tensioners on newer cars if you have the bracket. I knew it was interference, but I didn't know that about the tensioner, thanks for the tip. I'll pick up a new one as the OBW's is original as far as I know. I'm assuming/hoping that there is a cheapo ebay kit for the sohc 2.5 like there is for the 2.2 torque bind is an easy fix - i fixed two this year just by flushing the fluid. one had the LSD additive added since a straight flush didn't fix it, the additive fixed it instantly (there's a thread about that). auto's drive me crazy (no pun intended, hehe) I really haven't like one yet. That is until I rented this '08 Ford Focus the other month, I was really impressed and that's saying a lot considering my opinion of Ford. anyway, I know it will be a lot of work, but for once I'm not under the gun to keep it on the road like I have been with the outback. The wife and I have been able to work out a mutual commute which has been great. as for ticking, i guess surely the oil pump on the EJ22 has been resealed at some point? see if reseal or new pump fixes the EJ22 tick and drop the entire lump into the forester!?!? only thing is that's not a direct swap...you'd have to swap the EJ25 harness and cam sprockets onto the EJ22 block. Yeah, I'd considered this. The oil pump was resealed and the screws on the back plate checked at 160k when I did the last T-belt. The service is due soon, so I think I'll pull the belt and inspect the pump first. If it's leaky or the back plate is loose, I'll pop for the kit and fire it up and see how she sounds. If everything is good, I'll store her and run the 2.5 until it gives out then swap then. If she still ticks, I'll probably keep the motor anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdjdc Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Don't burn the ej25. Come on down to Richmond one weekend and we can pull the engine and reseal it. We can do the whole job for around 300 and that includes a new TB. You can save this motor and have the whole car stock. I kind of like them that way and I do like the ej25 after a reseal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthe202 Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 I think you might have misread, there's nothing wrong with 2.5, the 2.2 has lifter tick that won't go away, but I'm not going to burn either engine. The only thing that is getting burned is the auto. I won't own an auto, if the swap doesn't work out, I'll put the auto back in and sell the car. W- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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