Newbaru here.

[Crash138]

Hello, from Dallas Texas... Ive been a gear head most of my life, mostly interested in going fast. Was watching Mighty Car Mods on YouTube, and saw them messing around with Subaru, and an engine swap in a bug which got me interested in owning my first Subaru. Did a quick search on craigslist and found quite a few dirt cheap, and fairly new. Finding cars that look this good for so cheap made me wonder how hard a timing belt change is, since this is what they all need. After watching some vids, it looks like this is the easiest timing belt swap I've ever seen. Hell, rebuilding the whole engine looks like an easy job. So, I found a 96 Legacy Outback really close, but says it needs a timing belt he thinks and doesn't want to mess with it. I got it for $200. Wow. Cheap, makes this endeavor pretty painless to the wallet. So I figure now I could actually buy another motor and just swap and do a rebuild on the original. Can't find a 2.2l anywhere though. So if I go this route, can I just bolt on my intake to a 2.5l and install? Will this cause computer problems? I'm here to find out.

 

So after hauling it home, I decided to start it. I know its an interference engine, and that a slipped timing belt results in bent valves, but the guy said it ran still, and even so, what more damage could I do from just a start up? It fired right up. I do hear a "ticking" sound, but it doesn't seem bad at all. So, I'm half deaf and used to v8s, and its not bad, could this just be a loose timing belt tensioner? Or does bad bearings or the piston hitting the valves just not make that much noise?

[Crash138]

Good info here, I've learned my 2.2 is a non interference engine, yay, I should keep it, and I need a stethoscope.

[Crash138]

My 1996 outback.

[Olnick]

Hey, Crash--welcome to USMB.  Congrats, your car is a classic--last of the "bullet proof" non-interference 2.2s.  Lots of good info and good people here to help you get her tip-top.