98 outback

[Imsodef]

sup guys, im making the switch from GM to subaru today.

 

going to buy a 98 outback today and was wondering what kinda offroad mods you guys have done to improve your outbacks.

[bheinen74]

put in the newer updated headgaskets if not been done is the first thing to do. That being said off the bat, I hope you did research the several problems that all that era outbacks have.

[idosubaru]

yeah, make sure you're not getting one with bad headgaskets or torque bind. it's not that everyone has these problems, but which do you think is mostly likely to hit the selling block?

[nipper]

A 1998 anything has a increased chance of having a bad HG. Interestingly it is also more likely to have a replaced HG then any other 98 on the road. Pay close attention to the color of the coolant in the overflow tank, looking for debree or oil residue.

 

TB really is just mileage (over 200,000 things dont last for ever) or unknowledgable owners. Look for mismtached tires, burnt tranny fluid (on autos). Take it for a test drive, drive in tight circles. The car should be able to make the circle with little or no gas. If it has TB it will be very obvious. A slight lurch initially when makeing the tight turn is normal (as the computer sorts everything out). This is common for most real AWD vehicals.

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

A 1998 anything has a increased chance of having a bad HG.

OP i would avoid lumping this with anything else. Dave and I (and others) see multiple vehicles a week. The EJ25 has significantly higher rates than other subaru engines. There are numerous EJ25's available on autotrader, ebay, craigslist, local ad bulletins, newspapers, etc with bad motors. All you have to do is search here or google for "headgasket" and watch the EJ25 rack up all sorts of stats - the facts speak for themselves.

[davebugs]

Perhaps we're looking at this all wrong.

 

The 2.2 is just too reliable. It's not that the 2.5's are wimpy.

 

As long as we're setting rod knock and piston slap aside that is. A few 2.2's seem to have some piston slap but rod knock is very rare in what I run across in a 2.2.

 

 

Rod bearings. I'd argue that they are often part of the fallout from HG issues and "cooking" the engine. But I don't truely know since when I buy them they are usually in need of repair and often don't know the history. I'll do HG's on a 2.5 if no rod knock and piston slap. Thus I usually 2.2 them.

[bheinen74]

nobody is offering the answer to his question on offroad mods, we are telling the real what to do stuff before we offer any more to this person, that is why i like this board. If the person posted on nasioc or something, he would have got the typical performance mods which would for sure cook this motor. I hope he addresses the maintenance things first, then he can legitimately start asking mod stuff, after the real stuff is fixed.

 

if he really does want to "improve" his outback he will listen and search.......for known issues first, then attempt to mod it.

[davebugs]

Gee. I assumed he had the intelligence to ask here to get the real scoop.

 

That's why I always start here and only go to the other places when I'm linked there or can't find what I need here.

 

This seems to be more of a "mature" audience (and not just in age) about keeping reliable cars on the road than the other places. Every MB has their nitche and I think this has the best info and least abuse that I've experienced. YMMV.

 

 

That's why I choose to spend my time here.

[idosubaru]

oh nice, i actually missed "offroad mods", i thought he just said mods. he's making a new purchase so torque bind and such warnings are good to know, he might not know it.

 

but yeah, sorry i missed the off road stuff. check SJR, he's on here and makes various lifts for Subaru's.

 

if it's an automatic you can control the rear transfer clutches with just one wire and essentially "lock" your transmission. that's the Duty C solenoid wire. use a toggle switch to "cut" power and give you "locked" 4WD. then switch it to let it behave normally.