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Don't buy aftermarket replacement axles, re-grease and reboot your stockers, they simply outlast anything "remanufactured."

Replace both belts and tensioners. It might not be an old belt that “just snapped”, it could be a seized tensioner wheel that melts the cambelt and makes a huge mess. If there’s any melted rubber on the crank or cam wheels, clean this off - ALL of it! It’s not fun. Best bit about the EA82 cam belt job is you can’t stuff the engine as they’re non interference. The other option (and I have to say this partly for shits and giggles) is to EJ it. Then your L will be really fun! Cheers Bennie

Like I said: Ignore any references or talk about #1, that's like asking if needs to be a full moon when you change a timing belt. you can be completely clueless about what "#1" means and get timing belts right every time. follow my directions. there's no concerns about the disty being out. I'd replace the water pump. EA82's aren't known for lasting long, they have a long shaft which isn't forgiving on internal seals, and if it's not OEM definitely replace. the aftermarket gaskets can be flimsy cheap cardboard. Get OEM and/or give them some help with water pump gasket tack. particularly if the mating surface on the engine is rough and/or you can't clean it. Axles are often fine - the grease is just ancient- just regrease them. If they're original the grease is nearly gone and runny and terrible and you definitely want to keep OEM axles...high miles but if they're OEM they are worth regreasing. They can easily last the life of the vehicle if they're Subaru axles. If they're aftermarket they likely didn't come with good grease or enough grease out of the box. Regreasing them will quiet them down if they're noisy and alleviate vibrations. Ideally you take them off and clean them but you could just try to stuff some grease in there insitu...with that same needle fitting i mentioned for the timing bearings too, although I don't recommend that, it's a hack. Granted if they're aftermarket they're junk to begin with but so is whatever new aftermarket axle you have.

I've done timing belts loads of times. Never once had to re position the distributor. Line up the marks, put belts on, as described previously.

If you're blowing bulbs with frequency, you might want to look at the headlamp plugs and see if they have thermal damage.

1996 and earlier are non-interference. 1997 and up are interference. Although there's enough EJ swapping over the decades that it's wise to be careful assuming a 199x Subaru has a 199x engine.

Ignore TDC and free wheeling cam, doesn't matter, this is real simple: 1. Align flywheel mark and drivers cam down to 6 o'clock then install passengers belt onto cam aligned to12 noon to timing cover notch. Done. If you think of a question you're inventing confusion. Although it needs a new drivers side belt and new timing pulleys to be reliable. The chance of another failure are extremely high due to age. If you want to be cheap you can get a needle fitting for a grease gun and refill the pulleys and never replace them. They'll last forever and won't fail that way. Just regrease them when you change the belts ever 50k or 7-8 years. EA82 stuff is inexpensive so there isn't much need but I do it on unavailable pulleys unavailable in other Subaru engines.

I would replace both belts to be on the safe side, and be sure to check your tensioners while they are off. With the flywheel at the center III mark, line up the passenger side cam sprocket timing mark with the notch in the rear timing cover. Should be straight up. Put the belt on and adjust tensioner to proper setting then tighten the bolt. Now rotate the crank 1 full revolution. You should be back at the center III mark, with the passenger cam sprocket now pointed straight down. Line up the driver cam sprocket timing mark with the notch in the back cover (straight up). Put the belt on and then adjust the tensioner to spec then tighten the bolt. Now I usually rotate the crank atleast 2 full revolutions by hand, then realign the center III mark on the flywheel and check the cam marks. One should be straight up aligning with the notch in the back cover, and the other straight down. Recheck belt tension and you are good to go. Also, the cam seals can be done in the car as they are removed from the front as an assembly. Simply pull the timing covers (which you will already have off), then both cam sprockets have to be removed. You will need something to hold the cam sprockets in place when you break the bolts loose to remove them. I would recommend lining up the sprockets as if you were doing the timing belts first, or atleast mark them in reference to the back cover for when it is reinstalled. Remove the back timing covers on both sides, then you can pull the cam seal housing off (3 bolts if I remember correctly). This is also the best time to check that water pump in the vehicle. There is an o-ring on the pipe that seats in the side of the water pump your hose connects to that is notorious for leaking on these. You can also check for excessive free play or rough bearings in the pump, along with any potential leaks. That o-ring would be my first suspicion. Then simply reinstall your cam seal housings, back covers, cam sprockets, and the timing belts as mentioned above. Another note, since you had one of the belts break, if you get your timing belts aligned and then go to start it and it fails to start, don't fear just yet. You may have to rotate the distributor 180 degrees ( it may be 180 degrees out of time. This sometimes happens with these when a belt breaks and the belts are replaced opposite of how they where before. Ex. pass belt was straight up, driver straight down before, now pass straight down, driver straight up). This is a non interference engine so even if you slip up somewhere, you shouldnt damage valves, piston, etc like interference motors. Best of luck with it, and keep enjoying that vehicle. They are awesome.

Not all of them. Our 95 EJ22 has hydraulic lifters and is listed as non-interference. Our 97 "had" solid adjustable and was interference. I swapped 95 heads onto it. I later found out that I could have just swapped the rocker assy. instead. But I had already swapped the dual port Y-pipe with the heads.

The belts tend to move the pulleys when you put them on, so make sure the cams are still pointing up when you are done installing. Also you could in theory put a mark 180* from the oe on the passenger side, but it isn't worth it. Takes no time to rotate the engine. Also make sure you use the right timing marks on the flywheel. There are 2 sets and they are different. Also if its rusty use some sandpaper to remove it. The marks are stamped pretty deep so you wont remove them easily.

I too agree with running open belts. Here is the link to the video i watched to learn how to instal the timing belts correctly. I hope you got the kit and replace all the tensioners idleers and all that. you will be glad you did. MIles Fox is a Subaru Mechanic that shows you how to do these things at home with minimal tools. best of luck man...

Saves you from pulling the axles and drive shaft. Just set the diff down on the crate. Makes it a sub 1 hour job.

You don't need the alternator or the water pump for 10 seconds. I stopped installing the covers years ago, after watching a number of members run without covers for years, with no problems. I've caught idler bearings before they fail and take out a belt since. Also, I suspect the belts run cooler with all the air blowing over them, and seem to last longer. I would replace both belts. The cam pulley has the timing mark up, aligned with the notch in the back cover when you are putting the belt on. Only on the side you are installing at the moment. The cam you are not working on doesn't matter. It's a kind of double check, that once you do the single revolution on the crank, the one that has the belt will be down. The 2 cam marks will always be 180 degrees opposite each other.

We do the HG's, timing, and radiator/hoses for $2750 Axles - there's choices but I prefer to use new OEM axles - they tend to be around $400 each. I can get Chinese one's that aren't terrible for half the price but you don't get the longevity out of them. If we were doing a HG replacement I would only charge one hour for install of both. GD

I dunno what it is, but the car has a cabin air filter -a fresh one couldn't hurt and maybe give you a chance to check for rodent damage or loose wiring in the blower area....? check radiator level - in the radiator, don't trust the overflow to reflect actual coolant volume.