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I’ve been driving XTs since 1993 and have owned a couple dozen ER27s as daily drivers and worked on others. 250,000 mile engines, and more, if well taken care of. The blocks and heads are non issues. Though splitting and assembling one yourself is not ideal. Those heads (and other old generation Subaru heads) get superficial, benign cracks between the valve seats. very well known amongst old school Subaru folks but not anyone else. Ignore them and carry on, but they’ll freak you or a shop out if they’re not familiar with old school subarus. High mileage ones can get warn HLA seats. headgaskets no big deal. I don’t know if headgaskets are still available OEM but those would be best. Oil pumps don’t “fail” but can often cause incessant ticking by introducing air into the oil. (It’s often called TOD or Tick is Death, although it’s a misnomer since it doesn’t cause any problems). Engine runs fine and it’s benign but engine sounds like a diesel. Oil pumps are NLA and one of the most common needs that would be nice to have available. New OEM timing belts, pulleys and tensioners are good for the factory recommended 60k change interval. Some of those pulleys are no longer available and old pulleys are devoid of grease and will seize and break the belt if not addressed. how you address those timing pulleys and if you use nonOEM parts will dictate change interval. I regrease the bearings, use after market timing belts, and check the belt and bearings around 30k. The passenger side belt had an adjustment routine that’s suggested to do at routine intervals and there’s an access point through the belt cover for that process. A well maintained OEM water pump is good for the 60k timing belt interval. But you may not get OEM and the long shafts and general design lend themselves to replacing with every timing belt change. They don’t have any ominous or outlandish failure modes, just wear and age. Electrical issues - these are only an issue now with age and brittle/corroded connectors. The CTS wiring is so common I have no idea how many of those I’ve fixed and I’ve done them Preventatively before. There’s an injector harness thats the same and can be bought new and sometimes the wire a few inches back needs replaced. Very easy, you would just address it as soon as you were building the engine. Plastic alternator connector - same thing. Brittle, but they’re obvious and easy to diagnose because you’ll loose charging. There’s a new connector available, easy and you’ll do this from the beginning unless you get a rare perfect connector. IAC - idle control sticks very commonly. Clean them out liberally internally, preferably while activating the valve so it’s cleaning through the whole range of motion and getting all parts. They can also fail and need replaced. knock sensors don’t fail often during nominal use but are so fragile with age they can break during removal or work. convert to an EJ alternator so you have more modern availability. that’s it - lots of parts are NLA and not a huge supply and it’s only going to get worse. Why not use an EJ22 engine?

one cam is always harder to turn than another due to the cam lobes being oriented differently. what year and engine? cam sprockets have notches/markings on their outer circumference. line that up with the 12 noon notch in the rear timing covers.

Check the steering rack bushings. Have someone turn the wheel while your looking at the rack under the car. The rack shouldn't move side to side at all.

Not returning to center makes me suspect strut tops. Clunking is frequently sway bar/link bushings, but wouldn't effect your steering. Just disconnect it to test it.

I love XT6s and ER27s, but no. Not at all worth the work to swap it in this day and age. EJ22 is smaller, lighter, more reliable, more fuel efficient, better supported. ER27 ECU is mounted in the trunk, so you basically have to make a harness from scratch to swap it. Or spend the dough on a standalone. They use a different bellhousing pattern, so if you change your mind, you will need a different transmission adapter. If you want a 6-cylinder, get an EZ30. Modern, reliable, powerful. Don't mess with anything more than 20 years old (sorry EG33....getting to be a dinosaur as well).

anyone try the felpro gaskets with success??

It is a manual 4wd. I double checked and everything seemed tight from what I could tell but I will look into it more tomorrow. Already have been looking into doing a reseal so that is soon to come. Thanks for the advice and things to look at! I am sure there will be more questions to come ha

The RELAY is under the dashboard beside the main loom power relay. The power wire to the fuel pump is usually a thick black/red stripe wire. Cheers Bennie

The biggest thing - MANY parts are NLA. It would be far better to use an EJ22 with an adapter plate to the transmission. Either way you are in for a load of work, but with an EJ, parts are available, and the EJ22 is one of the best & most reliable engines.

18. Gap check and install the plugs. To install the plugs I use a piece of rubber gas tube over a wide flathead screwdriver, and slip it over the neck of the plug. This way if you miss the thread the tube slips on the plug and does not force a crossed thread. Once snug you can then tighten up to spec with your favorite socket/box spanner. In you go.... Press on the boots, and then fit everything else you removed. Here is #4 plug, just to remind you of the urgency of this job: As I removed the oil filler neck from the LH cover to aid removal and refitting, I replaced the O ring there too. Remember to be clean, well-prepared, clean, methodical, clean, and do not rush. I hope this helps some of you, I felt it was time to give a little back! The low rev hesitation problem is completely sorted after this job, and the car runs and sounds better, including at idle. Thanks for looking Mitchy

Punctuation is cool. I'd love to help, but I have no idea wtf you're asking.