Numbchux

I've had pretty good luck getting individual used tires with partial wear on ebay. Just did it when my wife managed to find a nail with her car.

Yep. And the internet will tell you that all aftermarket Subaru stats have a smaller opening and you should only buy OEM. Which is why I said the Aisin one I have is smaller, and Duralast one I have is identical to OEM. And also why I said I've never had a problem with aftermarket, although I'm the first to admit I don't live in a climate that requires much of a cooling system. YMMV. There is the argument that higher flow rate isn't better, as it doesn't give the coolant time in the radiator to actually cool off, which is why you never want to run without a thermostat. Obviously I don't have the equipment or knowledge to completely analyze the most efficient flow rate of a Subaru cooling system....just adding my anecdotal experiences. I mentioned opening temperature to point out that even after 250k miles and 17 years, my probably-original one still performs almost perfectly to spec (probably within the accuracy of my thermometer).

Good luck, with a thermostat? Truth is, I've never had a problem that was definitively solved/caused by a thermostat, regardless of source. I had purchased a Duralast stat for this car when we bought it, which is still on the shelf. And I bought an Aisin one for the Forester I'm working on. When I took the one out of this '04 a couple weeks ago (likely original, *might* open about 4 degrees F cooler than factory rated, opens fully), I compared it. The Aisin one was the stereotypical small aftermarket one, where the Duralast one was identical, down to the markings, to OEM. Complete opposite of what I expected. Yea, that's why I haven't bought one either. There's a couple sources for those, and Aliexpress is the cheapest to me, but still expensive as they all have to come from the far East. If it were half as much, I'd probably buy 2....Then again, I have a few of these cars, and intend to keep running them for many years, so it might be a good investment.

My '04 H6 was running warm. Approaching 250k miles, about 115k since I bought it and put an aftermarket radiator in it (I bought it crashed). It passed the hydrocarbon test with flying colors, doesn't pressurize the coolant while revving, doesn't loose any coolant (leaking, burning or pushing it into the reservoir). So, even though these engines are prone to head gasket failure, I do not believe that's what I was seeing. I tried Water Wetter, the only one of those additives I've heard good things about. It's supposed to reduce surface tension, and therefore improve molecular contact between the liquid and solid. Might have made a small difference, but not much/enough. Then I did 2 rounds of Gunk/Motor Medic Radiator flush. The first time, I removed the radiator and back-flushed it with the hose (as well as washing the outside of it, and spraying quite a bit of degreaser/water through the condenser). I disconnected the heater hoses, and back-flushed the core. Removed the thermostat and tested it, and flushed the engine through the top heater hose and radiator hoses. Second time I just drained it out and refilled. It seems to run great, now. I did buy a ScanGauge so we can actively monitor the temperatures, as the factory gauge really doesn't show much. I've heard good things about this Golpher aluminum radiator on the Six-swapped Subarus Facebook group, so I was thinking about buying one. Might still for the next car....we'll see: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001893254265.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_groupList.8148356.20.664f421a5EchJf

I generally agree. But, my local dealership is 2-3 days out, and doesn't stock much for 20 year old cars (I don't blame them). Where the parts stores generally stock the aftermarket ones. With some patience, they do fit, but they're generally thicker rubber and will not fit the factory clamps. When I was putting together this Forester this spring and had time, I ordered OEM. When I've had hoses blow out, I grab aftermarket.

I've seen the timing cover warp and rub on a good pulley, but that pulley is clearly separated. "Needs a new engine" HA!

Most aftermarket hoses are "cut to fit" as they fit multiple applications. I just put a Gates lower on our '04 H6 and had to cut some off both ends, but then it fit great.

Depends on the hose. All hoses have intended fluids. If you use bulk heater hose for PCV, it'll turn to mush. Standard fuel hose is only fuel resistant on the inside, and can't be used submerged in fuel as the outside layers will degrade. But for a coolant hose, fuel would probably be the worst, but oil is not good, either.

Not reliable. I always start with the OEM part number (with the VIN on www.partsouq.com or www.parts.subaru.com). If that's cheap enough, I just buy OEM. Or I use the part number search on RockAuto to look for cross references to aftermarket numbers. Otherwise, RockAuto has a pretty good application lookup (look for notes, though, as there can be some tricky listings in there). Any parts store lookup. Or, I believe Dayco, Gates and Continental all have pretty good lookups right on their websites.

Sounds like you need a new mechanic. I've been working in dealership parts departments for about 10 years, now. And every vehicle gets a thorough inspection, and when necessary, potential failures are communicated/quoted to the customer and any work declined is clearly noted on the repair order for our records and theirs.

Typically listed aftermarket as a bypass hose, but it's actually inline with the heater hose circuit. Crucial to thermostat operation. Since it's such a simple hose with a bend, most parts stores stock one that will fit (sometimes with some trimming). If not, there are self-adhesive silicone hose repair tapes that work fairly well for emergency repairs. I try to keep a roll in my cars most of the time.

Yep, different terminology for the same thing. CEL is trying to tell you what's wrong. Pull the codes. My crystal ball is a little hazy.

Several good links in the FAQ in the retrofitting section:

Not any more than anything else that's approaching 20 years old. A lot of mistakes and neglect can happen in that time. My '00 has been well cared-for, and I wish it would run warmer. Only on the hottest days do the coolant temps get above 180, when it's below zero outside, it barely gets over 160. I'm thinking about replacing the OEM stat with a cheap aftermarket one to let it warm up a bit. OEM SOHC headgaskets usually leak oil externally. Overheating is more often caused by dirty radiator, failed fans, plugged heater core, etc.

+1 for boot replacement on the old axle.

Ideally, careful oil pressure monitoring and lab testing of the used oil will tell you what works best for you. For my daily drivers, I'm wholeheartedly of the opinion that the best oil is new oil. I use the cheapest 5w30 I can get my hands on (usually Walmart or Fleet Farm house brands) and change it more often then recommended. I'm a bit more picky on filters, but not by a lot. I have a pressure gauge and a 11mm oil pump on my EJ25 daily, and don't see much of a difference in pressures summer to winter (it's 93*F here today, and not uncommon to see 40 below days in the winter. Although my car does spend overnights in an unheated/uninsulated garage, so we have to get a pretty good gold stretch for it to be below zero in the mornings.

^what he said. The '99 SOHC is phase 2, the '90 is phase 1. A lot of little differences between the 2. Different intake manifold bolt pattern, so you have to graft the new wiring onto the old manifold. The '99 likely has a MAP sensor in the intake, so this will have to be retrofitted. You'll probably have to use the '99 throttle body. etc. etc. etc. Doable? Yes Logical? Not really. More work than just replacing head gaskets, or installing a low mileage jdm engine.

Any modern standalone can run an EJ engine. Some will run better, some will require modification. Depends what you want, and what engine/configuration you're planning to run. Talk to your tuner. They all have preferences/specialties for different brand of ECU. Haltech and Link seem to be the big consumer grade manufacturers these days. There's also Megasquirt and Speeduino if you don't mind the extra work of open source hardware.

I ordered on Amazon for the quick shipping. Here's the exact one I purchased: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07XDNHQTM?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details If you search the valve body part number (31825AA052) on Amazon, there are about 20 listings for the solenoid. I just picked the one I could get the quickest. I've seen some reviews saying they had these aftermarket solenoids not last nearly as long as the original (failing within weeks or even months...), so time will tell. But I wouldn't mind doing this a few times over the rest of the life of the car rather then spend the money on a new OEM valve body. Interestingly, I read that the lock up solenoids and at least the 2 shift solenoids are the same (AWD solenoid sure looks the same, too. But that was not listed where I saw this), so pulling used shift solenoids from core valve bodies to replace the lock up solenoid is a decent option.

Checked on my lunch break, and the Permanent code was gone. So probably 4 or 5 drive cycles to clear that. Good as new.

Pitch stopper bracket removed, and throttle body to make it easier. And the valve body came right out. This article shows which bolts hold the valve body in. And which solenoid is which. https://gearsmagazine.com/magazine/subaru-cvt-gen-2-valve-body/ Found this video showing how to release the wires from the solenoid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6FaBvGSTec The cavern where the valve body was: 20210616_212603 by Numbchux, on Flickr The culprit (or, rather, the replacement...) 20210616_210238 by Numbchux, on Flickr I've driven it about 4 times, since. The Pending and confirmed codes cleared and have not come back. I haven't driven it enough to clear the Permanent code, but I have no reason to suspect that won't come. It is interesting watching the function. Once the transmission is warmed up, it locks the converter at about 15 mph, and lets the transmission do it from there on.

Did a little experimenting last night. The Android program ActiveOBD can read lock up duty with my Carista ELM bluetooth dongle. If I shut off the car and clear the codes, and then try to drive it, it will try to lock up the converter 2 or 3 times, and the car lurches a bit as it happens, then the light starts flashing. Once the light is flashing, it doesn't even try to lock it up. Solenoid is supposed to arrive today, so I started tearing it down last night. The 2 steel dowel pins in the aluminum housing after 185k Minnesota miles put up quite a fit (I don't know why it has pins at all, it's just a cover, the alignment is not that crucial). There is nothing on the edge to pry from. There's a boss for a bolt for a ground wire on the left front corner of the cover. I threaded a longer bolt in there, and was able to use the claw of my hammer to pry up on that on the ground bracket for the starter, and wedge the handle of the hammer against the cowl. I called it quits after that, so hopefully the body comes out without a fight (I suspect I'll have to remove the pitch stopper bracket from the transmission, at least, to make room) and I can get it all put back together tonight. Interestingly, the catalog shows a gasket for that cover by VIN. But it was sealed with just a smear of FIPG (the perfect amount, so I think it was probably factory). New gasket is a stamped steel one like an OEM water pump gasket.

I followed the FSM diagnostic procedure. Tested the wiring for a short, none. Tested the resistance of that solenoid, should be about 13 ohms, and it reads about 3. I picked up new orings and a cover gasket from the dealership, and I'll remove the valve body tonight (I'll do the other test while it's out to test the short section of wiring that goes into the trans then). New solenoid is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I'm hoping to drive it to work on Thursday, and her rental car has to go back on Friday.

Next things to inspect are brake caliper slides and suspension bushings.

CVT Fluid level is not easy to check. Nope. She drives the crap out of it. We replaced a lot of valve bodies at the dealership with good results. And the code only refers to the electrical circuit, so it really has to either be the solenoid or wiring to it.