idosubaru

Thanks - just measure it, with no weight in it it's exactly 1" lower than FSM spec's. All 4 FSM responses to "improper vehicle posture or wheel arch height" involve replacing the strut and/or spring. Interesting it doesn't mention bushings as even a possibility.

"loaded" - not construction equipment, rocks, or a boat - but many many thousands of miles a year with 450 pounds of people, plus bags, bike, kayaks. is that "loaded"? Okay that makes sense - since I have an issue I'll go ahead and replace the springs and struts as well. Thanks for chiming in, I was just about to order the parts.

Maybe I’m misreading something but every Subaru from the 1980s until 2004 uses that top style - including the 2002 forester. It’s not rare, it was the only axle style for decades. In general transmissions can vary for various reasons having different part numbers, and to claim “one year only”. when in reality there are other trans that fit. But the information is sparse to come by. When did the sensors/electronics change? They did in 1999 so I’d guess 2000-2001 trans work as well if the final drive ratio is the same or you swap the rear diff to match Gear ratio and sensor comparability are the key drivers. Certainly other foresters in that same generation have transmissions that are interchangeable - as well as other model Subaru’s. If you swap the rear diff to match you can use whatever gear ratio you come across. Generally the gear ratio will be 4.44 and maybe one other option, that’s it. But swap the rear diff to match and you can use either one.

I’ve never had a problem either but they do look trashy in short order when they rust and there are ways to make covers easy which negates the point of running without them. I think both ways are a good fit depending on the person and vehicle.

I pried on points while in the air and nothing moved, but suspension isn’t my thing. Maybe someone knows if this is something that happens to Subaru’s sometimes.....or never? lifting Subaru’s increases camber and outer edge wear, so it seems geometrically resonable to guess the opposite may happen if the rear lowers and the hub follows that same arc? But I never saw the famously saggy older rear Imprezas do that, but they’re already low to the ground...? Needs them anyway so I’ll start with struts and maybe springs and hope someone can recommend something before I burn another set of 18” tires!

I’d run others or Subaru. I’ve installed Gates and Cloyes (I think) on EA/ER engines. Subaru belts are excellent quality and worth that cheap price but the other belts will work reasonably well too. I usually replace all the pulleys or on XT6s I regrease them. Pulley failure is just as likely as belt failure at this age. If you run naked out here the timing pulleys, springs, and tensioners rust up from exposure. Looks rough and may not be good for the belt and bearing face seals to sit or ride against.

2006 Tribeca both rear tires are wearing heavily on the inside edge/corner. It doesn’t appear that rear camber is adjustable. There’s no movement in any rear bushings and no rust (bought this car in the south). At 200,000 miles the struts and springs are probably original and the roads here are atrocious and rough. The ride is definitely rougher than stock on bad roads but not really noticeable on normal roads. The generic answer is ‘yes’, but ive never seen struts cause tire wear issues on Subaru’s. Do old rear springs/struts cause this routinely?

parabolic escalation. they can start out very slowly. It’s almost random at first, a few weeks or even months between symptoms. once it seems regular and is consuming coolant, it’s going downhill fast from there. The gaskets will blow catastrophically or it’ll eat a rod bearing if a blown radiator or hose doesn’t wake her up. I’ve seen a few make it through summer with a few run hot events, and the first winter have no issues. Once temps creep up the following summer the symptoms return and get worse very quickly. I’d think this pattern was anecdotal, or was something else going on, if I hadn’t seen it multiple times on H6s and I think never in H4s. Which is interesting. with 1,000 degree combustion temps and controlled/maintained 200 degree operating temps, an ambient temp swing of 30-90 degrees seems trivial and I don’t think I could believe it if I didn’t see it b

I’ve had Subaru’s shipped from out west. Cheap, under a grand, and well worth it to get what you’re looking for and rust free rather than trying to get something close to what you want locally. When I’ve done it prices fluctuate wildly. Same company quotes $200 more or less than a quote 5 days earlier.

Covers aren’t a big deal, i just use a couple of the easier more accessible bolts rather than all of them or zip ties and they don’t take long at all. Being lifted makes the bottom ones easier too.

HG. H6's are less common so people don't see many, but with age and miles HG failure isn't rare. In the US a sometimes reasonable option is to swap a $600 JDM engine.

I’ve done what Bennie said about 50 times. remove clip cut through a corner of the bracket that holds the brake line. Dremel, angle grinder, Ive even done it with a small hand held metal hand saw. Bend bracket until the line can slip through. Do the same to new struts and Install slide brake line into bracket bend bracket back to its nominal position. Insert clip if you’re in an area prone to rust treat the cut metal on the new strut with some rust preventive paint/coating for aesthetics. It’s thick enough if it’s not going to rust through like a fender but it will have surface rust if you want it to look a certain way.

Did you check the timing marks? Pull the fuel line and check for gas. Just unscrew the hose and turn the key to ON, but not start. Fuel pump should cycle and flow fuel for 2 seconds. Takes 1 minute to do that. Simple. If there is no or limited fuel the fuel pump cap tabs cracked and the oring pushed out. Replace the cap with a used one and oring with a viton one. I don’t think you can buy the caps anymore Baja caps with internal filters were available for a short time but I don’t think they still are? or I guess the fuel pump could be bad. Aftermarket pumps are low grade enough I’d rather just replace a cap if it’s cracked and take my chances on an old Subaru pump over new aftermarket pump 00-04 models are prone to this cap issue

Excellent recommendation on burning Chilton if even mildly serious about keeping it awhile. Subaru FSM are infinitely better and free, how are chiltons even printed any more?! theres no pulling the cog behind the crank pulley. You watched it wrong or the video was talking about something Else. The pulleys are all metal and don’t fail at all / the bearing grease dries up. They seize and stop rolling or blow catastrophically to pieces. Sometimes the one pulley is called a “toothed idler” or “cog” or “cogged idler” only to differentiate it from the rest which are smooth and it is not. that one is far more prone to grease degradation and failure. the belt can slide over the smooth pulleys for awhile even if they fail and seize (but not if they overheat and catastrophically throw up all over the timing case) subaru timing belts are easy no special tools takes an hour. give yourself 2-4 hours for a first stab depending how fast you work, add another hour or two for first time water pump Agreed on the neon, it may deserve a toast or a party for making it to 200,000 miles and 20 years before scrapping it. but if you think you can crank some more miles on it and love playing that game I gasket slapped one for a friend in the car with no special tools. The crank pulley and working between the fender rail sucked to start and finish but otherwise it was easy enough all right there on top. I forget what year his was but it was a newer style like early 2000 not 90s.

Reboot Subaru OEM axles. Aftermarket are trash. most people wouldn’t buy things with failure rates as high as aftermarket axles. I don’t get how shops can even stand to install them. ignore anecdotal statistically irrelevant comments about brand “xyz” being good. There’s no point as long as your axles are good or used Subaru axles are available.

150 is indeterminate with all 3 of them being the same - that's excellent consistency. compression is a function of RPM and often you can't control for that or even know what it is while cranking. throttle plate needs propped open, battery needs to be strong and fire that thing around like a beast, does that EJ22 have HLA's..etc. I would assume those three are fine, or indeterminate - and the 3rd one is the problem child. Sure - maybe do additional tests on those 3 or try to test it again with wide open air flow/throttle and extra battery juice from a jump starter, but that's not immediately shocking without additional tests. The consistency of 3 may be more telling than the singular number due to environmental/testing variations. as for swapping piston rings - two shops owners on here do it plenty. these guys know their stuff and are into these exact motors multiple times a month year after year. GD says don't split the block and usually has really good, data driven reasons for his choices. what's he's said in this regard makes sense.

It was hard to imagine you wouldn't guess or notice that right away, and i've never seen the AT cables be problematic (eventhough they far out number MT cables in existence)...but who knows what a 20 year old high mileage beast holds in it's closet. Out of curiosity - do you recall if it was just a mixed bag or if it was a particular kind of cable more common? MT, speedo, ebrake, hood latch?

Yeah, that's what I meant - the cable, cable retainer, fitting where the shift cable engages the inhibitor switch - the linkage is what i meant and have seen cracked/damaged/missing pieces before. And I've seen tight/seized/snapped clutch and speedo cables so if it sat maybe those cables can get stiff and seized internally as well?

If it's the valves can he drop the exhaust headers down and look for oil in the exhaust ports for an easy test/diagnosis? Subaru valves don't seem to loose much oil very often so I'd be hesitant to just dive into a headjob without diagnosing it. I assume this is an older 1998 or earlier EJ22 - if so those heads are insanely easy to swap in the vehicle. All the head bolts are external, it's about the easiest Subaru head job ever. Isolate which head is bad and you can just do that one side. remove, resurface, repair valves/stem seals, clean up block and install a Subaru gasket.

First kit sixstar is what you want. The second kit - no way. The pictured parts aren’t OEM by looking and as he said the price alone says “trash” AISIN kits are sold on amazon and rock auto and often Include water pump. As long as it’s a complete AISIN kit it’s fine. Another kit that includes some AISIN parts - avoid those. And of course you can buy from a dealer locally or the online dealer parts are often about 20% cheaper than local.

Ideally you diagnose first. It’s almost always rings before valve stem seals. But a swapped engine with unknown history can surprise anyone Rering it, don’t hone or touch the cylinders and don’t split the block.

I have a pounding headache and can't think or probably type straight...have you checked the selector on the passengers side of the trans? I've seen parts of those chipped/broken/missing, but they did still function. If I didn't use those parts on the donor transmission, I've got a parts transmission I can pull any pins or clips you need from.

Yes it's bad. Technically it depends on what vehicle you have and it's corresponding fuel/evap/emissions configuration.

Right on - this year I've seen a few "AISIN" labeled "kits", I think it was mostly ebay. but they had an AISIN part or three and everything else was other suppliers, it wasn't a typical full AISIN or OEM kit. So yeah, make sure it's an actual AISIN kit and not just carrying the AISIN name, an AISIN part, with other parts thrown in.

Smart - just like you said, you don't really want to cut corners here on an interference engine, they usually bend lots of valves, over 50% of the valves are bent on every one i've seen. 1. Replace the timing belt and lower sprocket (toothed idler) at a bare minimum. Those two parts fail the most by a long shot. 2. Assess the remaining pulleys and replace if noisy or free wheeling too easily (no grease inside). Look for wetness on the tensioner hydraulic seal. 3. Use Subaru parts only - belt is Mitsubishi and you can research the cheap $35 pulley...it's koyo or NTN or NSK I think. 4. Dealer prices on these parts are not bad at all - you can buy them online at discounted prices and there are a number of inexpensive sellers on ebay. Yes they're not as cheap as the cheapest belts - but like you said you don't want those on an interference engine anyway. The best recommendation is to replace the belt, all 3 pulleys, tensioner, and water pump. AISIN sells kits, usually they're OEM but there's becoming some confusing providers now too if you're shopping around and not getting a totally aisin kit. The tensioner isn't prone to fail if properly remove and installed. the cam and crank seals for your year are very robust materials and rarely leak. Your 2003 baja may have the 7mm oil pump though which is known low grade bottom of the barrel, most EJ25's have 9mm except for a few around 2003-2006. If yours has a 7mm pump it's best to install a 9mm, in which case you'll need a crank seal and oil pump oring - get them from Subaru.