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My recent 11/10/2025 test report page says 15mph@1824 rpm. And 25mph@2100 rpm. RPMs seem close to what they should be. The ignition timing read 18 BTDC. But, as your reply just now asks, I am now curious exactly what gear was the car in at any given moment during the testing? The engine burns no oil. It has maybe 6k miles on the rebuilt engine. And no "tick of death" sound from bad oil pump seals. The rebuild was done many years ago when parts and machining [ cyl bore] were still happening, and I picked it up for $100 on Craigslist. I figured for $100, even if the crank bearings give way within a few hundred miles, I still have other parts to use. [like the oil pump]. But it was a quality rebuild, thank God. The EGR valve holds its vacuum. So, hmmm, I think I should also re-check all of the vacuum hoses. But that egr temp sensor has me wondering. And hey, thanks for your input.

What revs was the engine doing at each of these readings, and same gear/load? That could tell you a lot about what’s going on in your engine.

True. On the flip side I’d rather a known fact that it’s NON-interference than a bet that it is. I’m 99% sure the last non interference engine Subaru produced was the gen1 EJ22E. The Gen2 EJ22E used roller locker that helped bump the compression ratio for better power but the downside was the engine became an interference engine. Since the H6 is chain driven, interference or non-interference shouldn’t be an issue unless you’re trying to settle a pissing competition between you and a mate.

I don't think I've ever seen a car with front parking brakes so you should be fine on that aspect. Probably a good idea to remove any abs sensors from the hub beforehand to avoid damaging them. Also avoid overtightening them when installing. If you get both wheels off the ground, test the bearings. Hold onto the spring while turning the wheel by hand to feel any vibrations, they should feel similar on both sides. Unhook the sway bar links to get that extra clearance on lower control arms

If true, that means you have a *very* marginal ignition system, and probably should check plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc.

No codes. We know that EGR will affect NO (ppm). Now, I did pass California smog last week, but I am curious why the NO (ppm) @15mph was reading a whole lot higher than NO (ppm) @25mph. This last test showed 800 ppm @ 15 mph and 67 ppm @ 25 mph. Am unsure whether or not EGR needs looking into.

Just posting an update in case anyone else runs into this. As I said earlier My 83 Brat had a Nippondenso distributor [Cardone 31-812]. I swapped it out with a Hitachi [Cardone 31-810]. This solved the problem with losing spark at 2-2500 RPM. Thanks to all who gave advice.

Thanks for the tip with the ball joint. I think they are different in 2018. The first step (which I missed) is to use the OBD scanner, and in the menus, select to release all the pressure. What happens is that the parking brake electronically unscrews itself to release all pressure off the rotor. Then you do the brake job. At the end, you use the scanner to reset the electronic parking break to normal position. The guy I was working with showed in a good trick to mechanically release the EPB with a socket or allen head. Good hack for sure, I used it several times. I ended up at the dealer trying to get all the dashboard lights off. That is why with the newer cars I just want to make sure I am not stepping into the abyss.

Was an issue with under voltage once the battery was fully charged it went away

Are you getting a code 55 with the sensor connected?

I replaced the front axle on my son’s 2017 Legacy and it’s super easy. No alignment necessary if you undo the lower ball joint from the control arm and then just pop it out. Probably the most difficult thing is separating the ball joint from the control arm. YouTube removing lower ball joint and you’ll see what I mean. It’s more difficult for me to describe it than for me to do it. That’s weird. I’ve replaced rear brakes and a rear hub on two 2017 Legacy’s and never had a problem. I wonder if the 2018’s are different?

The EGR temperature sensor is out of the car. Multimeter reads infinite ohms when at room temp. Putting it into very hot water - ohm reading appears. Starts at 175k and gets down to 80k, which seems to be way out of range. I think it should start at 400 ohms when cold then ohms drop as it heats up. ???

Alternator has no relation to timing... and changing timing doesn't usually cause misfires anyway. Check for damaged vacuum hoses, loose wires, damaged/worn spark plug wires, etc, that may have happened during alternator replacement.

No funky smoke. Exhaust definitely smells of fuel though. After I've been driving, the hot idle is at about 1k vs when I cold start, it'll sit around 750. Could a vacuum leak caused by the HVAC system cause the EGR valve to not open appropriately? I bought the cheapest vacuum gauge from a decent brand I could find so I'll be hooking it up oil crisis style. Diagnostic tool + fuel savings. I should also note I'm not 100% convinced I'm experiencing a misfire. It very well could be excess fuel in the exhaust burning off causing the illusion of a misfire when I put my hand at the tailpipe. I lack the experience required to say for sure, I'm definitely still learning.

Try the spray test on those hoses? While it’s running spray some WD-40 around the vacuum hose ends all over until you notice a change in idle. No funky smoke from the tailpipe ? A little white? A little black ? Normal ?

Hoping for a known fact rather than a bet.

That should not affect timing. You’re sure you have an identical match on the alternator ? Coil may be loosing its life.

I replaced my alternator and now it's misfiring, does the alternator change the timing at all?

Posted videos from our trip back in June, one long, one short, maybe the best mix of mud/sand/rocks from the UP yet

I’ll put my bet in for interference. But chain timing rather than rubber belt cam timing, so something needs to be pretty catastrophic for valves to hit pistons in this engine - anything is possible though!

I noticed something today while I was leaving work. It's starting to get cold here so I let the car warm up without the heater running. As I was going to leave the first thing I did was turn the heat on. Hmmm. The idle dropped 300 rpm and started to sound like it wanted to stall. Perhaps I have some sort of vacuum leak and that's causing the issues. The EGR valve operates with vacuum. Maybe it's not operating properly due to vacuum loss. Perhaps this is causing my fuel smell? Some time in the next few weeks I'll run a D-check, do a fuel pressure test, and check for vacuum leaks. I've given the entire engine bay the smell check for fuel leaks and didn't find anything. I don't smell gas in the garage either after it's been sitting overnight. I do keep an extinguisher in the car though. :]

I recently had a whole super negative experience when DIY replacing the REAR hubs and CV axles on this 2018 Outback. The electronic parking break needed to be reset by the dealer and other issues. It was costly. As a result, I am a little gun shy to replace the front axles on this Outback. Q1 - is it advisable to get an alignment after an axle replacement? Q2 - is there anything which needs to be turned on, shut off, reset or otherwise completed with an OBD2 scanner when replacing the front axles? I have a decent scanner. Q3 - I have done front axles before on Subarus, but is there anything I should be preparing for or anticipating before I start with the nuts and bolts ? (insert your sage advice here) Thanks, Craig

Interference or non?

Same!

I guess it's a good thing you got that spare 4EAT after all. UP weekend sounds like a blast, I'll have to join y'all again one of these times.