Setright

Breaking in: Avoid hard stops for the first 200 miles. Then, once they've mated pad to disc surface, give a good work out to get them hot - and smelly. Then drive for a few miles to cool them back down. It is IMPERATIVE that you do NOT come to a halt when the new pads are smoking hot. So plan your route and don't do it while there's traffic. As for the actual work done, look for a black shims on the pads, these are steel with a hard rubber backing, they kill squeal quite well. If they aren't there: Squeal !

How much grease are you guys applying? I smear a blot about 8mm in diameter on one side of the threads, avoiding the two top threads to keep the grease out of the chamber.

On the engine. I was hoping the idlers were younger

Nipper, I can say 100% sure that coolant flow in an EJ series engine is from bottom of the block to top. It enters the radiator via the TOP hose. The thermostat will oscilliate quite a bit, but that means a more stable block temperature. It also means air is less likely to get trapped inside the block. This is a boxer engine after all. This direction has always been my "reasoning" and I've looked it up in a Subaru Service Manual at my local authorised dealer.

Please, do share with us the information regarding mileage on those idlers !!

Ermmm...Josh, there's nothing to prove. We all agree - as does the factory service manual! - that the coolant enters the RAD at the top and is pumped out at the bottom

As far as I can say, it's a down flow. The hoses have arrows on them indicating the flow direction - when new, they may have worn off. The pump circulates coolant around the block and past the thermostat. Once the temp is up the thermostat opens and lets a little bit of coolant in from the rad, then it may well shut again as the flow across the thermostat cools and closes it. Then it opens again a little later. I reckon the thinking is that this gives a more consistent engine block temperature.

WAIT! Is it possible that your car is equipped with a non-genuine thermostat? Drops on the freeway, climbs back to normal in city traffic? Fit genuine thermostat, problem solved.

Let's see...EJ22, with regular oil change intervals between 10-12000km or once a year, it will take you around 400,000km to wear that engine down So, WOT for fun, and if you stick to legal speeds, you won't hurt your mileage that much.

Depends very much on the year the cylinder heads are from. If it has fixed valve lifters, then cold morning ticking is normal. If they're hydraulic, something isn't quite right. What oil filter are you using? The genuine Subaru filters have an effective anti-drainback valve to keep oil in the engine during the overnight cool down.

Third vote for a new PCV. Or just flushing it out. Maybe the Seafoam deposited some gunk in it?

Yes to the above. There's a tool in the original toolkit, even has a rubber ring to hold the plug in firm.

Have you checked the clearance on the valve adjusters? Are they manual or hydaulic? If they are ok, I have found the "Mobil Delvac 1" 5W-40 engine oil is the best to quell my piston slap on cold mornings.

In the cold it's a little bit "baulky", but only the first mile or two, then it smoothes out. Once warm, the gearstick moves around the gate with ease You really should try it. I was near giving up on my gearbox until a Danish rally driver suggested I try Synpower...haven't looked back since.

Shouldn't be. Can you find two "hidden" screws on the underside of the dial cowl? Undo those and it should only be two clips holding the bottom of the cowl. Pull toward you. ONce that's off, you can see the screws holding the actual dashpod.

Any chance you're pushing the "Defrost" button? And your car has A/C? That jerk could be the A/C compressor switching on to dry the air and clear your windscreen. I've found that keeping the belt tension on the compressor within specs gives the most smooth transition between A/C on and off.

(Nipper, there was NO snap ) Oharaune, in the engine room, there is a slot for a FWD fuse. That must NOT be installed, it puts the gearbox into FWD only. Check the regular fuse box and make sure the TCU fuse is okay. As asked above, how many kilometers, how old is the gearbox oil, is the level okay?

The lack of frame allows more space for a strong roof.

Erm, maybe it's time for a European to get mixed into this discussion?? Yes, it's not legal to tow more than the kerb-weight of the car, IF you only have a normal license. If you've taken a "trailer license" you can tow the full 2000kg behind a 2.5XT - provided the trailer has brakes. In fact, the 2.0X is only allowed to tow 500kg without brakes. A 1470kg trailer must have brakes for a 2.0X to tow it legally. MAYBE that's the difference? Brakes or not? (Take note, that some countries also impose relative lenght and width restrictions. As Nipper has already put forth.)

My suggestion: Undo the clutch cable at the fork, use a long thin paintbrush to apply a small amount of grease on the throw-bearing axel..thingy. Worked for me, to cure the creak. And the creak may be stopping full engagement.

Could just be the "yoke" or whatever it's called, that isn't moving the pinion gear forward to engage it in the flywheel.

Those are possible. Your cable could also be hanging and causing the clutch to drag since it won't be enaged 100%. Also, the shaft upon which the throw-out bearing slides tends to dry out and the bearing may not move freely. Does the clutch pedal produce "creak" sound during the last inch of travel toward the carpet?

Yes, those are washers. Great stuff in salty winter! The headlight has beam, and if you look closely you'll see a small vertical divsion behind which the white side marker lights hide. The outer lamp, a separate unit, is normally off and flashes when the indicator stalk tells it to. Worth a thousand words: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/Setright/Lights_on.jpg

6 cylinder, everytime! If only I could afford one myself

I hope I'm not wasting your time with this shot of my install of Hella FF75? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v684/Setright/ff75close.jpg No new holes needed, just use the bolts holding the bumper on