idosubaru

on older soobs, definitely reseal the oil pump unless there is some sort of oil pump specific failure (which i have never seen or heard of). i saw that thread too and was curious. 206,000 miles on the original and i don't plan on replacing it any time soon...but it's an XT6 and not a newer soob. your t-belt link didn't work, whoever posted that.

by yourself with an engine lift - easy. you wouldn't have any problems at all. just pull motor and trans at the same time, lay them on the floor and go to town. by yourself from underneath - dropping the tranny is easy as cake. i can have one out in like an hour. getting it back in is the trick. fun lining it up. all in all not terribly challenging, just bulky and awkward.

did you actually pull the wheel off? i'd check the caliper, pads, shims and rotors and make sure everything looks good. maybe a brake pad is falling a part or something? best to have a look at it all. did you already go that far? before touching the caliper/pads, try rotating the rotor by hand. if it's warped you *might* be able to feel it grabbing as you spin it. turns fine, turns fine, gets just a little tighter. my brakes were vibrating terribly (brand new rotors???) and i jacked up the front of the car and tried this. i could *barely* tell which side it was eventhough the vibration was horrible. the passenger side felt like "i think it's sticking right there...or maybe it's there...keep turning...i don't know is it really sticking???" you get the point, eventhough it was obviously bad, it was very difficult to tell. dang this is like my 4th edit......have someone apply the brake while you turn the rotor by hand and see if you can duplicate the grinding while you're sitting right there.

i've *heard*/*read*, though not from what i'd consider excellent resources as i really don't remember, that running without the thermostat can increase internal engine wear because the engine isn't maintaining as consistent of an operating temperature and is less frequently in the operating temperature for which the motor was designed or at which the engine was likely run for a fair number of miles previously. that being said, you'll be fine. i've done it on more than one occassion and was just doing it up until i replaced my head gasket last week. after much abuse and not having the thermostat for a few thousand miles (and i've done this before as well) the 206,000 mile XT6 is running today as good as it ever has. and i was getting a rediculous amount of water in my oil as well, probably not good for bearings and such. the leak was slower with the thermostat removed (though it was still leaking way too much).

if it doesn't snow much and you don't have to drive much when it does snow or money is an issue then maybe they aren't for you. if you have to drive to work no matter what and 300 dollars for a set of tires isn't going to put you in the poor house then the safety aspect might be worth the aggravation of wearing out a set every winter or two. i'm in a weird part of maryland where it can be a couple weeks without much snow, but we can also get 24+ inches in one day. i'm putting blizzacs on right after the new year but i can also swap a set of tires with ease so i could take them off until storms threaten. the way i see it is that it only takes one situation to be very grateful to have gotten them or to eternally regret not.

2,700 sounds insanely expensive but i know nothing about outbacks. they better be doing a complete job for that price. i'd want to know with the problems these 2.5's have with headgaskets...what do they do different to keep this from happening againg? have they made any changes to the head gasket design to improve longetivity? i wouldn't want a repeat of this 3 years from now. how many miles? if over 100,000 i'd think about getting a valve job and new valve stem seals. other items to replace - crank seal, cam seals, reseal the oil pump, valve cover gaskets, water pump, timing belt. it's all apart anyway, be done with it. maybe they even include some of that with the price? if they charge per job (head gasket + timing belt + water pump all separately) then you're screwed. if they charged a little extra for parts and labor you're golden cause it's already apart. i know someone just had their XT6 completely resealed (except oil pan gasket) at a dealer for 1,600 last week. different car, but two heads, two timing belts. 2,700 sounds crazy to me. i just did my head gaskets last week, definetly not 2,700 worth of expense there.

answered this in your other thread on fusible links.

yes they are dealer only items. or pull them from soobs in a junk yard somewhere if you don't like the 7 - 10 dollar price tag. i have bought fusible link wire and made my own before. i mailed some of that wire and electrical connections to an XT6 owner once to do the same thing. solder them to the old connections of a bad link or use female electrical connectors that will slide over the terminals in the fuse box. i guess you have to be careful what kind of wire to use, it's rated. the rating are listed on the fuse box lid in amps i believe.

thanks, i'm headed your way...akron this weekend. tow dolly it is.

thanks for the heads up. tow bar isn't an option anymore based on what i'm hearing. i'll probaby be towing multiple XT6's and other cars (soobs hopefully), so a tow dolly will be best. i'm not looking to tow one XT6 multiple times, so custom work isn't really worth it. a friend left a message and said she knows someone that has one i can borrow, so hopefully that will work out. if anyone sees any good tow dolly deals...think grossgary (Gary Gross) and send me a PM. not really seeing much of anything under 500.00. thanks hotdogs!

okay the grand canyon, while a national monument, has to go. you could ask a machine shop, but i'd get another head. the other cracks look like every other valve crack i've ever seen and had repaired so that head will be fine. get another head to replace the crackhead. if the bolt is in your good head, no worries that won't be a problem to get out. use some nuts to crank it out or vise grips. if that does work, just drill it out yourself with a screw extractor or a reverse threaded drill. a machine shop will definitely get it out, they see that stuff all the time. those intake bolts drive me absolutely nuts. happens all the time. it's too late now, but i'll usually spray them down good with liquid wrench (better than wd40). back the bolt out just a tad, hopefully it will come loose just enough so that you can spray some liquid wrench just beneath the head of the bolt and it will run down the bolt, along the bolt as it passes through the intake and maybe to the threads eventually. do this and work the bolt back and forth just a little bit. then let them (probably need to do it to more than one) set over night. do it again later....twist the bolt back and forth before making the final attempt to remove it. another helpful trick is to get a pry bar under the head of the bolt and press UP as you simultaneously unthread the bolt. i've had stuck bolts come out this way. that is an excellent way to get a bolt out that just keeps spinning or won't back out. also working the bolt back and forth helps. unscrew it just a little bit - then screw it back tight, unscrew it, then screw it back, tight...you get the point. sorry to be so long winded, these things are annoying...see it all the time on subarus (not that i work on anything else).

check your driveshaft, the ujoints in particular. pull it off and make sure the u-joints all feel loose and not lumpy or even frozen.

looking to tow an XT6, anyone know if a tow bar will work on an XT6? or how i can find out before i go buy a tow bar. i've only used a tow dolly, so i don't know how they work or what they fasten too. i'm not looking for information about the transmission, i FWD, AWD, manual....i know how to address all of that. just wondering if a tow bar will bolt up to an XT6. (or an XT?)

always good to thoroughly check every sensor electrical connection under the hood. make sure none are corroded, dirty, exposed wires...etc. pull them off of each sensor and look to make sure you see nice shiney clean metal contacts. you don't even need to know what sensor it is...just start unclipping htem and having a look and cleaning htem up. or you can start the car...and wiggle all the connectors while it's idling. a bad connection will cause the idle to go all over the place. no engine codes?

bridgestone blizzacs. don't run them during the summer though, they will wear exceptionally fast. best to have 2 sets of tires/rims. i'm about to get a set, i dont know that i've ever heard as many good comments about a product as i have these tires. my parents just bought a set last week. i'm sure others that have them will post. check their reviews at www.tirerack.com

did you check fluids - trans and diff fluids? is it FWD, 4WD or AWD? if it's AWD i think you want to match the tires. if it's 4WD, makes sure it's not in 4WD. what work have you done to it already? what transmission? what car? what was wrong with it before that you need to repair it? how do you know it's the transmission and not the differential or wheel bearing or drive shaft (if it's 4WD or AWD)?

i live 2 miles from PA and i'm almost certain they do the gasoline switch in the winter.....i think MD does (where i live). this will decrease mileage some. check tire pressure of course. you don't have any extra weight in the car do you? gain some extra pounds at thanksgiving? did you switch jobs or routine...in other words your driving habits? i like doing tune ups all at once: fuel filter spark plugs ignition wires (i have magnecor so they never need replaced) distributor cap rotor (forester may not have these items, i don't know specifics of that year/model). air filter O2 sensor all this stuff is cheap and easy to do. pull the stored codes, it's possible the ECU might be seeing some degraded performance somewhere. probably not, but no harm to check.

rotate tires? takes more time driving it and dropping it off than it does just to do it yourself. they don't do anything special, this is almost the easiest task to perform. don't get any easier than that. front to back is fine. i have 206,000 miles on my daily driver XT6 and haven't had it aligned since i got the car at 101,000 miles. i drive off road and put this thing through some use. i rotate front to back every time and have excellent tire wire.

if the car runs fine and you have heat this is a non-issue. 1/4 up the peg is standard operating area for XT6's, so i wouldn't think twice about that. if you have heat inside, then the engine is obviously operating properly. if your engine were running significantly cooler than it should you would not have good heat.

looks like bogus numbers. since it's just dealer records, my guess is they'll say someone wrote them down wrong. it's not like this information is used for titling purposes or anything. start sane, but my guess is they'll give you the run around. i am admittedly untrusting of dealerships. try to stay inquisitive and confused before getting irate, particularly if you plan on dealing with them in the future. if you feel you're getting jerked around, tell them you want to know exactly where the discrepancy lies and that you're ready to call a lawyer (just say that, no need to actually do it) and also report them to the BBB (Better Business Bereau). but it will be easy for them to say "oh johnny ray in the back usually forgets the exact mileage between looking at the odometer and walking back to the computer". i'd track down the previous owner and see what she has to say about it. she may be able to verify when and if the car was taken in and the highest number of miles she recalls it having. get a carfax report on it. www.carfax.com i think. that will have some mileage numbers on it. i'd stop into a different subaru dealer and ask for the service records on your vehicle. they may be able to pull them up on their computer. and they may even be able to tell you the previous owners name. might show up on the sheet if they print out the service records before.

I AM A REAL BONIFIED FREAKING DAREDEVIL MANIAC....call the FBI cause this crazy freak changes his oil and DOES NOT fill the filter up with oil. i am one crazy mofo because i never have. i have a 206,000 mile XT6 that runs fat, has perfect compression all the way around and is likely to be around for awhile. and that's with the abuse i've thrown at it over the years. i've also had 2 other XT6's with 198,000 and 196,000. if i would have put oil on the frame rails maybe they wouldn't have rusted so bad i had to part them out. tell them to never buy certain year nissan maxima's and other cars where the oil filter FACES DOWN...OH MY FREAKING rump roast CHEEKS...they wouldn't be able to prefill their oil filters...AH!!!!! and don't give them word that the transmission fluid lines don't stay pressurized after shut down either.....i'd hate for them to get nervous about that....they could push the car down a hill, getting the wheels and trans pump turning which might pre circulate some fluid through the lines...after priming the motor of course. sorry it's late and i find this very funny.

i'd also be concerned about pieces of the JB weld or permasteel breaking off inside the transmission. i don't know what this hole looks like, but go pushing some of that compound up in there, some may break off and get sucked into the trans.

take a PCV hose inside and get whatever size hose it is, get a couple feet of it for a couple dollars and cut it to length. it won't have the nice curvy bends and look perfect.

i've visited and talked to Ron, they have an awesome operation.

might want to wait more than an hour. someone will reply, i promise. your oil temperature shouldn't be reaching excessive temperatures on a NA engine. why are you asking, more details may help. there is probably lots of oil, heat and breakdown information on the internet since that's not subaru specific if you're in a hurry.