idosubaru

put some sealant....sure-tac or something, cant' recall what it's called. something made for water pump type gaskets. no need to slop it on. the sealant will help keep the gasket in place as well and keep it from folding over or mis-aligning. water pump bolts can be very dirty and caked with oil, dirt, old sealant...etc so i'd make sure they and the bolts holes are clean and torque them down to the specs. that could very well be your issue. i have bought aftermarket water pump gasket individually before. www.thepartsbin.com i believe sells them for some applications.

pretty sure someone had this problem at www.xt6.net if you want to search there or post. if you search click on the button for "search all terms" or you'll get more returns than you want to sift through. okay this is from memory but alot goes in my brain so i'm iffy on the accuracy - i believe it was some kind of bushings. and a mechanic won't take note of the bushings usually because he's just concerned about installing the end linkage to the trans, not much between the trans and interior that he cares about.

if that bolt hole is really leaking coolant (which i'm suspicious of, i'd double check everything) then i'd guess someone helicoiled those threads because they were stripped and hit a water coolant passage in the head while drilling. i would double check everything and verify it is really leaking from that hole, sounds very odd. did you try starting the car with that bolt removed to see if coolant would visibly drip out of the hole? i would suspect the leak is really originating elsewhere and ends up channeling to that bolt.

for now i'd just let it ride and assume it was mis-aligned from the factory. but it does sounds weird to me. an independent shop could have told you why it was out of alignment. a dealer only has something to loose by being honest with you. for instance...suppose it was a greater issue....the dealer would like you to find out this greater issue after the warranty expires. but then again i trust noone unless they earn it. i never get alignments unless they are needed or something drastic happens to the vehicle. a knowledgeable person who has nothing to gain will tell you that alignments are rarely necessary and certainly overkill with every set of new tires. if the old tire wore perfectly even for 30,000 miles it's really silly to think the new ones are all of a sudden going to get ruined in the first 10,000 miles of service on an average daily driver????? even potholes are no match for alignments unless you slam them hard and "slam them hard" is much harder than most people think since it's really an ambiguos term. i've driven 100,000 miles each on two XT6's without EVER getting an alignment even with new tires. i'll drive my 220,000 mile XT6 to your house and show you the perfectly even wear. i even bent the front control arm four wheeling in snow and replaced it with a used unit about 70,000 miles ago and still never got an alignment. again, no issues. alignments are one of those things that people make money off of. if you pay attention to your tire wear...which should happen anyway on an AWD vehicle because you should be rotating the tires frequently you'll notice irregular wear before it becomes a problem and have the alignment checked without paying for it more often than needed. if you don't rotate your tires much or pay attention to them then get them aligned regularly. others will disagree and if you want to spend the extra money go right ahead as there is nothing wrong with getting an alignment whenever you feel like it, i for one will keep my 70 dollars and have tires last just as long as everyone else.

doubt the fan could actually cause any significant reduction in engine running termperatures. removing the thermostat would cause significant temperature reductions. even still i suspect the engine would last a long time assuming everything else was working properly even with the thermostat removed (though i do not recommend it and agree it's a very bad idea). just saying the engine wouldn't die immediately. it would be a prolonged state of decay more than impending failure. again - don't do it.

the XT6 radiator is even larger than your turbo radiator and i know a guy running your two core turbo radiator in place of the XT6 radiator in his XT6 in Hawaii with no problems. it's a smaller radiator and has smaller input/outputs and he said it never overheats so i'm assuming it's not your radiator. this is assuming your radiator isn't clogged at all.

if you run it for too many miles (like 100's even 1000's possibly) the head will be destroyed (or expensive to fix). the head will have a notch melted or warn into it where the leak is if you drive it while it's hot too much. best to keep it running as cool as possible (remove thermostat like mentioned above) to prevent permanent damage. the heat is bad for the oil and bearings as well. i've done a bunch of older model subaru head gaskets. it's a straight forward job, but it will require tools, time and experience is a very helpful attribute as well. a rebuilt or used motor might be a better option than a new (or used with unknown history) car.

what he said. there are caps that looked a tad different, but same specs and are interchangeable. and the caps aren't model dependent....maybe just changed with time or supplier or something. same part though.

first thing i'd check is the axle nut then the cv joint. did you install the axle washer facing the right direction?

if the boot is torn, maybe the half shaft is making the noise and your bearing is fine? need to inspect some more. if you still suspect the bearing, same question - was the bearing packed properly and the hub housing checked for abnormal wear. how bad was the previous bearing when it failed - it could have damaged where the bearings sit and toasted your new bearings. but packed properly seems they would have lasted longer. did you do it yourself? did you damage anything....i'll word it differently, did you pound or beat or use any tools over 10 pounds to remove the old bearings? trying to be funny....

here's one of my XT6's with a MAACO paint job that is very new. previous owner had it done. they blew right over some rust around the bottom, so the prep job wasn't perfect. cosmetically appealing at the moment. http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1514&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=270 it's the red one about half way down. file is too large to post here.

no they are not. pre 1997 are non-interference. 1997 and above are interference. i got this information from a subaru dealer mechanic who's been there for a number of years. he said he has seen some people bring in 2.2 liter motors with broken timing belts and has yet to see any of them that resulted in any damaged. he said the 2.5 motors routinely cause internal damage though.

don't know about yours, but every rear main seal i've replaced is bigger than the front crank seal.

the rebuilt engine runs perfectly normal temps. sorry it gets confusing, i have six XT6's (all listed in my sig). this issue was on a stock XT6 and the problem was the radiator(s).

take a sample of coolant somewhere and they test for hydrocarbons (what the HC stands for). HC indicates compression leakage past the gaskets into your coolant. never had it done, only read about it so i can't tell you where or how much it costs. if the car overheats and you turn it off and see bubbles in the overflow tank that is classic head gasket sign. if you loose any coolant at all, that is also a sign of leakage or head gasket issues. i would do a compression test before an HC test. you can do a compression test yourself.

i just told you that you can get more than whatever those values are that you posted. the values are mostly arbitrary, they try to stick to them as they want to pay as little as possible. they are good averages and general information, but the insurance company will pay whatever it takes to keep you from suing their nuts off. if you want your car fixed bad enough they will fix it. tell them you want YOUR car back, not another car payment. you've got to be aggressive and proactive and don't wait around for things to happen because they won't. if you don't have this attitude you won't be successful. if you do, or have a lawyer you can get your car fixed. if the cars *value* is 8,000 and it costs 10,000 to fix it i garauntee i could get the insurance company to fix my car (assuming accident isn't my fault). they will pay you AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. the CEO is not making 3 million a year because he's willing to pay out as much as possible to claims. time to start thinking business and realize the insurance company is trying to take advantage of you...and YOUR the one that got hit! you didn't ask for a truck up your a$$!!!! but - even if you don't have a lawyer you can still accomplish this....i don't lie but know people who will claim to have a lawyer when they really don't so the insurance company cooperates. if they feel you're a push over and won't persue anything (which many americans are)...take this for instance...how many people actually debate the *value* insurance companies pay for totalled vehicles??? VERY few, so they don't expect you to either. but they want an at fault accident settled and over with. i'd start by talking to a lawyer, most will offer free consultations for a few minutes. they might even tell you that it's not worth your time to get a lawyer....but you don't tell the insurance company that. you tell them you met with a lawyer and are ready to take further action if they don't cooperate quickly. here's is the steps i would take: i'd get a free consultation with a lawyer (some will even do it over the phone). then find out how much to fix and add some to it, it's easy for the shop to miss minor items that might need tweaking afterwards. call the insurance up and tell them you'll sign a contract stating you won't persue litigation or continue seeing your attorney if they pay XXXXX amount to fix your car. YOU make the deal, don't let them make the deal. it takes a little knowledge and aggressive attitude, but it can be done. don't believe anythign they tell you, be persistent that you want YOUR car fixed and don't care what the internet or kelley blue balls has to say about car values. you had a great car in great shape and intend on keeping it. you don't want to get screwed with more car payments or a used car in with unknown maitenance history. be persistent and don't listen to them, they have pre-canned retorts and commentary on everything but it's all pre-canned and rehearsed BS regurgitated by the person your talking to on the phone. ask for the manager if you have to. when they know you mean business they'll start to crack and want to settle the deal. good luck and have fun doing it.

i've read through howstuffworks before but still wasn't sure why you can here the expansion valve. i seem to be hearing a quick burst at variable times on my OBS...10 minutes, 15, 7 minutes..i'll here a quick burst like someone is pressing a schrader valve in for a second. seems to only happen if the A/C is on, was wondering if this valve is doing that and if it's supposed to.

forgot to mention....if the accident was not your fault (which it sounds like it was not), then the ball is really in your court if you know what you're doing. they will fix it no matter what the cost. i am telling you this as a fact, not a matter of oppinion. they may want to total it and tell you they can't fix it, but that's BS. if you get on them and don't back down you can have the car fixed. you tell them you want YOUR car back the way YOU had it, the accident was not your fault, you've taken good care of this vehicle and do not have any desire to settle for futher payments on a new vehicle or a used vehicle with unknown maintenance records. you want YOUR car fixed because you know the engine and trans are well taken care of and it's their fault. don't get me wrong, they will play hard ball so if you can't handle it don't bother trying but i promise you they will fix it if you're persistent and mean business. someone may say it's totalled and that's all they'll give you...they are wrong, they are only saying that because that's what happened to them, that's what the insurance company wants. if it costs more to fix they won't want to pay that! but they will to avoid lawsuit or to mitigate a claim. the key is who was at fault. if you weren't at fault then this holds true. if it was your fault then you're in a trickier situation and you'll basically get whatever the car is worth.

it was a reality TV skit....you'll be on TV in a few weeks. okay, there really are alot of goofy people around and the closer you are to a city the more that escalates...in my experience, maybe yours is different...all the nice people in the city and a bunch of rude jokers in the country? anyway, weird encounters are good to notice but not that uncommon either. i like to weld razor blades around the inside of my stereo. paranoid, nah. wanting to laugh at someone trying to steal my junk, yes. not having anything worth much in my car and a low end stereo seems to keep thieves away, but i've since moved out of the city so no worries now. i agree with the car alarm, throw some remote locks on there while you're at it! i've chased 3 criminals - one broke into my house (guns not allowed on campus, which is a good thing because i hunt and have guns for said activity, glad i never had to make that decision but hindsight is 20/20 right?), one tried to steal a jeep two houses down from previously mentioned house, the other stole my bag at the atlanta airport. all in atlanta, real nice city. i caught them all, two are in jail. i'm gloating, but i'd never do it again. i've heard of a few cases since that time when people chased would be criminals and ended up shot and dead. glad that wasn't me.

shouldn't need an impact wrench and i wouldn't use a chain wrench on the crank pulley. if you do, cut up some rubber...like from a tractor tire tube and place it between the chain and pulley to protect it. every subaru i've worked on gave me no problems removing the crank pulley with a 22mm socket and either putting the car in gear (manual) or jamming a socket extension into a slot in the flexplate (auto trans) under the intake hose. just use a long breaker bar or pipe extension (that's what i do) you can also attach a socket wrench to the crank pulley bolt, rest it against the motor mount and crank the motor. it will bust itself loose, but don't do that unless you know what you're doing. it's very easy to do, but don't want to see anyone get hurt by my suggestions.

the frame is fine, i wouldn't expect any problems with the car if you can get it fixed. good luck with it. i can tell you for sure that if it is totalled the insurance company will take it, sell it and someone will fix it and sell it as a salvaged title vehicle. so either way it will end up on the road again, it definitely won't be parted out, it's too nice and someone will make $ fixing it and reselling.

make sure the transmission pan isn't dented. not likely, but possible and tough to track down.

hey - what is this expansion valve and what does it do/sound like?

shouldn't be timing as that really never changes assuming everythign else is nominal. you can unplug your O2 sensor and see how it drives. i unplugged mine and it won't affect highway mileage at all. done it a bunch of times. how about the ignition pack?

has the fluid ever been changed?