New to USMB, 2000 Legacy wagon. Need to switch from auto to Manual

[FirstLegacyWagon]

Hey guys, New to the forum world! 

 

I've decided that I have too big of plans for my legacy than i really am capable of.. Though, with as much time as i need, I plan to have this thing running in better condition than when it was originally produced! 

 

Though, I may need the knowledge and advice of many other drivers... my first issue I would like to deal with is my broken front sway bar. Any ideas of how I could find such a part without ordering online and costing myself an arm and a leg??

 

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[987687]

The front sway bar is BROKEN???

 

Did a shop tell you that? pics of it? Sway bars don't break.

 

It is, however, likely you have a broken swaybar end link. They cost about $10 on rockauto.com and they're really easy to replace.

 

 

Auto to manual swap isn't really that hard, per se. It isn't too much harder than swapping out a broken transmission, just a few extra steps here and there.

However, if you aren't comfortable working on cars it would likely be a gigantically daunting task.

[Crawlerdan]

actually i have come across several broken sway bars, clean in half. i would say 6-8 have passed through my hands, not links, the bars them selves

i would suggest a wrecking yard, or posting in the wanted section here

 

as for the auto to 5 speed swap. it is very easy, just do your homework, plan well, and then tackle it. even an inexperienced wrench can do it in a weekend if they have all the needed parts and have read their homework

[djcommie]

Subaru cars equipped with manuals are so common, you may be able to just buy a manual car and sell your automatic one, I've never found it viable to do swaps when you may actually get a better car out of a 'donor.'