Numbchux

Tone wheel is likely on the CV joint on the '03. Certainly is on an '03-'04 Outback. Rear disc conversion isn't hard, just requires parts. While everything from your Outback will work, you may not want to reuse it.

Yea, should all work. Obviously engine, transmission, driveshaft, possibly rear diff, won't be of any use to you, but suspension and brakes-wise, yea. I think it all should be the same. Off the top of my head, it is very close to the front axle change, as you've mentioned, so you'll have to grab axles with female inners. There are a couple different configurations of rear axles, too, but I think you should be good there. There have also been many variations in ABS wheel speed sensors over the years, but I think as long as you have matching sensors and tone wheels, you should be good. The front rotors will likely be the same size, mid '03 was a changeover in pad style. Depending on the trim of the Forester. It might have rear drum brakes, and not have a rear sway bar. There are ways around this, too, but involves either reusing more parts from your Outback, or buying more parts.

My mentioning of the fuse box was an example, not a diagnosis. Refer to my previous post, buy a multimeter, and pick a symptom.

205/55r16 is considerably smaller than stock on your car. 225/60r16 is OEM

My '04 Outback VDC came with 225/60r16s, I've stepped to 215/65r16s, which are a hair taller. Still plenty of room, could probably go a bit bigger, but the sizes I was looking for did not offer much selection.

My '04 Outback H6 has had a failed primary radiator fan, I suspect since I started driving it about a year ago. The only time I noticed was offroading on a tight and technical trail, so about an hour of driving with zero airflow other than the secondary fan, under a load, in 80* weather. I bet you have a tiny coolant leak, causing the water pump to cavitate under certain conditions. Could easily be the overflow tank. I would put a UV dye in the coolant, that would make it pretty easy to pinpoint the exact leak point.

I think most of what you're listing is pretty common across the industry, in my experience. There's been a huge push for lower fuel mileage. A huge attempt to reduce friction in the engines has reduced their longevity. I completely blame the oil consumption on this, and I've heard that running synthetic 5W30 in those cars has drastically reduced the oil consumption, at a direct cost in fuel mileage. Manufacturing processes have changed, and parts are made with as little extra material as possible. Probably both in an attempt to reduce weight for mileage purposes, and cost of manufacturing. But in trying not to overbuild parts, manufacturers are making them more prone to failure. In the last 15 years, the internet has made it SO easy to compare cost, safety rating, and fuel mileage of new cars (and almost anything, if you can't compete out-of-the-box, you're going out of business, almost regardless of longevity), and has made the competition completely cut throat. But evidence of reliability is far less easy to research, and highly circumstantial. A warranty can help ease that comfort to the buyer, but you're still only talking about 60-100k miles.... The addition of systems like traction control, immobilizers, TPMS, etc. have only driven up costs and complexity. I also think that in this day and age, the average owner does less and less preventative maintenance. Over my years working in auto parts (now at a fairly large Subaru dealership), I've had several customers tell me they don't know how to turn on their headlights manually. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume they're not checking their oil.....ever. And with recommended oil change intervals climbing towards 10k miles, the chances of catching a problem before it becomes catastrophic are slim. We see so many engines come in here with obvious signs of neglect. Turbo vehicles are higher maintenance, and I do not consider turbo-gas engines to be an indicator of longevity....150k miles is a lot for them, regardless of manufacturer. Pick your source, cost of repair for Subarus tends to be on the inexpensive side. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm (The only examples in the "high cost" column are turbos) https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/total-cost-of-ownership/?r=963483507881576000 (I immediately see the Legacy, Outback, Crosstrek, and BRZ in the top 5 of their respective catagories, although this consider depreciation as well)

Not much market for them. I've purchased a couple Part Time 4WD dual ranges for $100ish from local junkyards over the years. And I didn't even have to pull them. Make sure it's actually a 5-speed (and therefore an EA82. EA81s were made in the same year, and are considerably different, but the 4WD EA81s would be a 4 speed). The non-turbo cars put out so little power, they really don't fail too often. So the above-mentioned methods of checking for issues should be pretty reliable. The drain plug is magnetic, so expect to see some "dust" from the syncros as they wear, but chunks are a bad sign. And yea, if the gear oil is badly discolored, you'd probably want to walk away.

If you have worn springs and no bump stops, you are ruining your struts. You are correct, you probably won't need them with stiffer springs, but it's a good idea to prevent strut failure.

Also, I think I remember from my research several years ago that all the leather cars have side airbags (built into the seat), and all the cloth ones don't....I might be wrong on that, but something to look into. I looked up the OEM assembly, MSRP is like $400.....surprise surprise. Try car-part.com. They may even ship it to you. I know I've purchased seat parts (for work) from junkyards that needed to be shipped.

The low fluid switch is definitely normally open. Unplugging it will disable it. I know on one of the Subarus I had, low fluid disabled the DRLs. Don't remember which one. Although a quick look at my '04 diagrams, it's definitely the same wire from the parking brake switch, both just switched-to-ground and there's no diode, so I'm not sure how the DRL module would have any way of knowing which switch was activated.

bump stops? I'm assuming they're bottoming out, and don't have bump stops. That's about the only thing that I can think of that would wreck them so quickly.

I'm not super familiar with the differences between the EA81 and EA82 clutch kits.... BUT, I know that '85-'88 is a very difficult year range, as the EA81s and EA82s overlap, and don't have different model names, so it has to be done with body style descriptions. A hatch is fairly clearly a hatch and is an EA81, but a "coupe" also has a large hatchback, was made at the same time, but was an EA82.... When I have needed EA81 parts, I look them up for an '84 Brat. And usually when I need EA82 parts, I look up for an '89 GL or '90-'94 Loyale.

Yes, the sender *should* give a very linear resistance range through the temperature range. It is the gauge that tries to compensate for minor fluctuations and only read major problems. If you want more resolution, it'll need to be an aftermarket gauge of some sort.

That light is connected to a switch on the ebrake lever, and a level switch in the reservoir. Usually it just means slightly low fluid level. But the switch can be faulty. If the fluid is definitely full, unplug the switch on the reservoir. If the light no longer comes on, it's that switch.... Switch alone is part #26456AC000, It is discontinued from Subaru, and no dealer in the US shows inventory. However, it looks like you can get one straight from Japan through Amayama: https://www.amayama.com/en/search?q=26456AC000

From what I understand, yes, they do. The company I went with (Auto Owners) does not deal straight with customers, so it'd have to be an agent anyway....might as well be one that can shop around for you. When I met with our broker, he had quotes through several companies, and while Auto Owners wasn't the out right cheapest, it was competitive with the cheapest, and they had several reasons to go with them based on our personal situation. Information I NEVER would have known about when I was shopping around.

Brokers are way better than agents. They do not represent any one insurance company, and can shop around for you. Up until last August (when we bought our house), I had had Geico for 7 years. I switched from the stereotypical big, cold, corporation (I never had a claim, but I can't imagine what it would have been like, just getting my billing information updated was a nightmare), to a local brokerage. I went from having just 2 cars covered, to 3 cars (with considerably higher limits), a house, and a couple riders for specific items, and am paying HALF what I was paying. And, now I have a local agent, who knows me by name, knows where I live, etc. I cannot speak to insurance rates from one car to another. My cars are pretty much all old enough that they all cost the same, and I only carry liability coverage. And it's definitely very different based on local trends and laws But, my work in the parts department of a Subaru dealership, I'm dealing with body shops a dozen times a day, and more than occasionally ordering parts to repair other makes for our customers. They are not any more expensive to repair than any other Japanese import. Yes, the common domestic sedans are cheaper, but that's about it. Subaru does like to use pearl paints, and especially Satin White Pearl is apparently a pain, but I can't imagine that really effects the cost of repair that much. I don't believe that they're any more prone to theft than the aforementioned BMW or Mercedes, and replacement cost is definitely cheaper. That said, the only real way to know if that's a good price, is to shop around with the immediate competitors. Talk to some local agents/brokers and see what's what.

Yep, SJR lift, plus ~29" tall A/T or M/T tires. You'd be surprised. If it's an auto trans, there's a relatively simple wiring mod to get the AWD (which is normally very front wheel biased) to work a little better offroad. Search for the Duty C mod, and be careful, as most of the documentation is on the older generation transmissions which work a little different.

This, +1

I'm not sure you're going to find that one at a hardware store...it's pretty thin to fit under the cap, and therefore under the wiper arm. 86514AC000 and MSRP of $2.32. Looks like no dealerships in the region have any on hand, but the Indiana supply warehouse has them, so I bet a dealer near you could have one in a day or 2. Or, look in a Junkyard. It looks like all Legacies, Imprezas, and SVXs used that same retaining nut through 1999 (-2001 for Impreza)

Fair enough, I still think for $50 a pair, I'll go with the Centric PowerStop ones.

I assume that is the 20251AA040, as $5.88 is Subaru MSRP for that. That part number is only the rear lateral link bushing on non-STi GDs (fronts and rears are that number on an STi). The front lateral link is a 20251AA000, which is $30.45! I've driven a few cars with heims in the rear, and while they handle abuse well, they clunk. We had them in our Rally car (TSSFab, although I don't think they offer them anymore), if you're worried about noise, I wouldn't recommend them. I've got all poly bushings in my Celica, have for several years. Love it, a little white lithium on them at install, and they're quiet as the proverbial church mouse.

It would theoretically be possible, but would require considerable wiring changes, as well as much of the heater boxes/actuators. As the manual controlled ones are all cable-operated, and the automatic one has electric actuators in there that move the blend doors....

Am I missing something? The only braided hoses I see on there are Universal fit.....

Now, when you say "lines", I assume you actually mean "hoses", right? Stainless is not a good material for making hard lines with. I looked up Centric braided stainless hoses for a '02-'07 Impreza (non-STi) on RockAuto, and then punched the part number into Amazon and ordered them up. They come with crush washers, banjo bolts, and retainer clip for the strut bracket. If you have rear discs, you can use the rear hoses for the same application. The included banjo bolt threads right into the caliper, since the hose now comes off the caliper at an angle, you'll have to route it around behind the shock, but you can still clip it into the second mount on the trailing arm. This replaces 2 separate hoses with a short section of hard line in between them. 2017-07-25_02-22-30 by Numbchux, on Flickr If you have drums, swap to discs. IMO, there's no point in upgrading the hoses....