Numbchux

I'm excited to hear about that. We're planning a trip up there for this fall. Probably less intense than you usually do, but I'd still like to see what we find. At the very least, we want to cross the firesteel railroad trestles, and spend a night either on the beach at Keweenaw point, or the island on Schlattner lake (pending finding a decent inflatable boat for cheapish, as it probably doesn't make sense to haul a couple canoes up there just to get to the island).

Well, being that they're chains, when the tensioner goes weak, the chain will jump time, but not break. So it's completely possible that it didn't damage anything else. That said, opening the timing cover alone is a fairly big job. You can get low mileage JDM engines for less than $1000.

What? Subaru never used a 3.454 diff They use 3.545 in the SVX and some newer models pretty sure a PT4WD 3AT would use a 3.70

I know nothing about circle track setups, nor your setup.... but it sounds like you're running RWD, yes? No front axles connected? If that's the case, then you don't need to worry about changing the transmission. Subaru r160s come in 4.44, 4.11, 3.90, 3.70 and 3.54. Pick your gear calculator, and see what the difference in rpms would be at a given speed and tire size. I don't remember if any EJ-platform Subarus used a 3.7, might only be the EA82ts and such. I know the only Subaru to use a 3.54 is the SVX (edit: nope, used on plenty of WRXs, too). Although it's not uncommon for SVX owners to swap to lower ratios, so you might be able to find a decent used one. Nissans also used r160s, and long-nose r180s are also usually a direct swap (pending axle spline counts), so there might be other ratios available that way.

Possible. But much simpler to use flat stock. Go a little thicker than OE, and it should be fine. 3/16" would probably be perfect.

Yep, the link itself was just a pair of flat metal pieces (with some shape stamped in for strength) with 2 holes in them. I assume the bushings are available. I bought a steel sleeve that goes on that bolt inside the bushing for my XT6 this winter... I think they have the older catalogs on here: https://parts.subaru.com/

+1 on your symptoms being a misfire, likely due to lack of spark. The one I saw that made the cat glow was a bad coil.

Subaru recommends conventional oil on the H6s, different resources conflict whether it's 6k or 7500 miles. The research I've seen (there was a report by Blackstone labs last fall that was very interesting on the subject), that the age of the oil matters much more than the type of oil, when it comes to wear. I run the cheapest oil I can find, and change it at or before the recommended interval. I shoot for about 7k on our '04 Outback H6

Semi-loaded comes with bracket, pins, etc. That'll fix the problem. The only time I replace a caliper, is if the bleeder is broken off. But I have an electrolytic rust removal rig set up, brake cylinder hone, thread taps, other cars to drive, etc. It's his daughter's car, so he may not have the time to keep cleaning and lubing and test driving. A $60 caliper is an option, and for many people, it's a reasonable option to just slap a caliper on it and be done with it.

Yep, Bolt is 20540AA001, MSRP of $24.95 Nut is 20550AA010, MSRP of $6.67 Washer is 900335056, MSRP of $1.44, x2 The bushings aren't usually very expensive, and swap pretty easily with a ball joint press. So you might want to replace those instead of fighting with getting the bolt out of it. There's a few different numbers for those, though. If you want to shoot me the last 8 digits of your VIN, I can look those up.

Yep, if everything is working correctly, the pads should wear evenly. So if the outer one was worn more, that tells me the pins are sticking or bottoming out, and not releasing the pressure on that pad. If you swapped the thicker one to the outside, and then had trouble getting the caliper to clear it, that confirms that the pins are not traveling as they should. Overheating brake components can absolutely cause a vibration, so I wouldn't look seriously at steering/tire/bearing problems until you get the brake issue sorted. Take the pads out, bolt the caliper back on, and then move it back and forth on the slides. Sometimes they can move freely individually, but bind when they have to move as a unit. Too much grease can also prevent the pins from compressing all the way. Or, save yourself the time, and buy a remanufactured semi-loaded caliper. The NAPA Eclipse brand ones are a premium BBB reman, and (here anyway) are competitively priced to the unpainted competition from BBB or Cardone.

Be prepared to cut the lower lateral link bolt to get the knuckle off. Possibly needing to replace the bushings in the lateral links as the bolt won't come out. You'll likely have $50+ in hardware at the dealer just to remove and re-install the knuckle. Also, FYI, there are 3 seals

This is the problem. Caliper piston should compress into the caliper fairly easily, otherwise the pads are dragging all the time. Rebuild or replace the caliper. Lube the slides with a good high-temp caliper lube (not just grease/anti-seize).

I don't know what the market is like up there. But here it would probably be cheaper to just have a muffler shop weld on a new muffler, than to find a pre-bent section and try to attach it to what's already there. Or, cut it off, and buy some ear plugs.... Also, I live in the first major town South of the Canadian border in this area, and it's very common for Canadians to come down here to do their shopping, because stuff is much cheaper here. We even get customers coming here to the dealership, even though there's a Subaru dealership in Thunder Bay. It might save you a good chunk of money to endure until you get across the border.

As much as I like the SVX, I can't recommend it for a daily driver, especially not with that long of a commute. They're heavy, and therefore get pretty poor gas mileage. As mentioned, parts are difficult to track down. The transmissions were better in the later years (I just picked up a '97 with like 270k on the original transmission), but the OBD II management stuff is even more rare.

Yep, wrist pin plug. OE washer is 803928010, MSRP $2.05

Good work. Keep it up, and keep us updated. I missed this... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/2001/Service Manual/

Yea, only major difference is the VDC cars.

Subaru ignitor is pretty rare, but that sounds like the symptoms I've seen on other vehicles when the ignition module begins to fail. If you have another, I'd swap it in. Is yours still bolted to the factory bracket? It uses that bracket as a heat-sync, so that could be the problem.

Possible? Maybe, but I doubt it. Certainly more work than just pulling it off. Make sure you use the OE-style metal gasket for the pump. It probably leaks because someone used an aftermarket paper gasket.

Jump on MNSubaru.com, lots of local guys, might find someone willing to help and/or recommendations for a cheaper shop.

Busy day today, didn't get a chance to check on the 6MT, I'll try again tomorrow. I deleted a few PMs.

Yep. The coil assembly has 3 wires. Power, 1/2 signal and 3/4 signal from the igniter. It's a yellow wire, IIRC the center of the 3 wires, but I could be wrong there. It's a fairly easy wire to miss when initially prepping the harness, obviously you've had it running before, so you must have connected it. The early harnesses I did (including my own), I ran it to the main relay. But before long I left the circuit in tact as it was set up in the Legacy, and powered it right off the switch in the new vehicle.

I'm not sure how you have it wired, but I'd be testing right at the relays (ASSuming you're using factory relays, brown 6-pin main, and green-connector 4-pin fuel). Both input and output side of the relays. I might even semi-permanently install a test light on those (after the relay) so I could watch them during operation. ECU signals the igniter/module, which powers the coil. It's wasted spark, so there's 2 signals, one for #1&2, and one for #3&4. Igniter failures on these are VERY rare. Coils happen, but typically you loose one or 2 cylinders, not everything. Factory power supply for the coil is right off the ignition switch, no relay. Might want to check that. I'm not 100% convinced it's power-supply related. But if you find those test points, and be ready to test them quick when the symptoms arrive, it's probably the easiest and free test you can make.

Rear rotor offset is different than other Subarus, so it won't be a bolt-on affair there. Decent chance stuff is different in the front. It's easy to get in the habit that Subaru brake parts are interchangeable, and the SVX is 5x114.3, so STi stuff will work. But it's a pretty different animal. Also, I bet there's a bunch of information on www.subaru-svx.net