On the 2.5, I haven't pulled the engine out, or taken it apart to see how bad the internal damage is yet...

Not really looking forward to it. The head gasksets are gone for sure (coolant everywhere, not a huge deal), but the temp guage pegged above hot within several seconds, the oil light came on (never before), and a rod knock started. The overflow tank was full, a common sign with the head gaskets blown. Pulled the dipstick, and it was covered in fresh metal shavings... Not good at all. I'm thinking the bearings are spun, maybe the heads/block cracked. Basically a toasted 2.5.

The engine had 110k on the lower end, and had been consuming some oil in the last couple of months. The engine was rebuilt about 25k ago, with the exception of the bearings, which felt fine. Of course, they should have been changed (hind sight is 20/20) at the same time. The engine was quite a runner for a 2.5, with all of the standard mods, and a list of others. Basically, it's a platform for all sorts of goodies for the 2.5 and the Outback. It has had some serious excursions in very remote places, and never let me down. When you build a powerplant for peak performance, you often sacrifice reliability. Guess that's the price you pay... It was fun while it lasted. I'll be building more 2.5s, just not for my car right now. It's a very strong powerplant for a four cylinder. If I kept it stock it would have run to 200k miles no problem. That's no fun though, that can be my wife's car.

But there can be performance and reliabilty, an H-6 with 230hp stock!!!

So who's the guy that's done the EG33 swap into the Outback? He's got the key to this puzzle.