idosubaru

FB engine. No timing belt.

clutch and throw out bearing for certain based on access/labor costs. plugs and valve cover gaskets make sense. They're a couple hundred in labor. These are not all that advantageous due to the engine work but I'd also do the hoses, PCV valve, air filter, and serpentine belt - but you're not really saving much labor to do those now, It would just make a really easy 100,000 miles moving forward.

"value" is slightly ambiguous - you're probably right! but it will sell for that price. they do all the time. many markets support Subarus that new with no rust holes which run and drive with no current major issues for $2k. Particularly a Subaru or truck with 4WD in the winter. People are buying $2,000 rusty subaru's - a few of them would gladly tolerate the higher miles over rust holes and age. Yes you'll loose a large percent of the market. Out of 100 people in that price range of Subarus, maybe 90 of them will pass, but 10 will be interested and tired of seeing rust holes, dangling exhaust, and failed inspections.

no. only the RX had LSD standard. XT's very rarely have it, i'd just assume it's an open diff. i've owned 20 or so XT's. seen many more, and have never seen one with an LSD unless it was installed by me or someone else (forum member).

It's 2WD when 4WD isn't selected has a mechanical center diff instead of VLSD like EJ's, but they're similar enough that some rear extension housings/center diffs and some internal EA and EJ trans guts can be swapped.

I think its standard on XT Turbos but not the nonturbos. But I’m not positive, but it seems to be the case The optional XT6 sunroof was different too, it doesn’t come out but rather retracts and/or lifts up and is smaller so I’d guess the very rare optional roof is different than the standard one as well.

Ah good. You mentioned binding in 4WD which is normal / they all do that. Could you describe what is doing a little better ? Its doing it while doing straight, while off-road...? brakes ? Axles? noises? driveshaft? how long has it had mismatched tires? It really needs the right size even same size tires warn differently can impact transmissions You can Google tire size calculator and you can look up the tire size diffenremce to see how far off they are or measure the circumference of them and compare

Why not keep it in 2WD? If you don’t have a rear LSD put one of each tire size on the front and one of each on the rear. The shops around here put the same size on the opposite sides. So put one 185 size on the front right and one on rear left. And the 175s on the remaining locations. Some shops do what I mentioned above. I’m not recommending it but they get away with it and it would maybe be an alternative to what he is currently doing and for a couple days while he plans a proper remedy/diagnosis/repair.

You’re not supposed to do that. If you have an owners manual read how to use the 4WD, if not maybe you can find one online here or eBay.

oh right, wrong direction....subaru never had a USDM 4.44 final drive MT did they?

Subaru rear diff failures are so rare that its usually a misdiagnosis. Have you confirmed it or not yet?

Inspect for leaks. Look carefully under the engine. Oil loss - external visible leaks or install a Subaru PCV or it’s blowing past the rings Factory installed 03s usually leak coolant externally. They start leaking very slowly at first underneath and progress slowly over a long time. You can drive them a long time (I’ve seen 100k+) by simply topping off fluids. Already replaced head gaskets (not at all unlikely) are less forgiving and have more varied failure modes. If it’s an external leak the Subaru coolant conditioner works almost 100% of the time on initial external coolant leaks of original factory head gaskets If original that belt is insanely overdue by age and miles. Install AISIN or Subaru timing kit - belt and all pulleys and tensioner and water pump. At a minimum at least replace the belt and lower toothed idler, the most common timing failure points.

Could you get a lower geared trans/diff ratios? not sure how 1st gear ratios compare but final drive would drop from current 4.11 to 3.9. The main benefit being it would be cheap and easier to find parts.

Hypermilers are laughing I rarely downshift to avoid drivetrain loading. Brakes are simple and cheap. Professionals downshift so there’s a precedent. if safety were an academic high priority I wouldn’t be driving an XT6 or probably even a Subaru There are also zero bars, no cable, and no internet where I live - most USMBer’s couldn’t survive lol, an emergency is only a deer or tree. In some urban settings i might do differently

An outback owner had one of those strip out this week and practically strand him on a stock daily driver at 40k or 60k. He said the other had already failed. He complains Cardone won’t warranty them while well informed Subaru people shrug shoulders. google Subaru cardone axles, I don’t need to look to know you’ll find failures. That’s the problem with axles - he could have raved for the last three years, a few make it long enough for some reported success when a high percentage are still problematic, or will be. I used to go to a yard with a bunch of Subarus or call and ask if they can cut a deal for a few at one time. $15-$30 each. Www.car-part.com a good question is wether any particular EJ axles are better than others - length or cup size, etc. you can use any 1990-2004 Legacy, Impreza, outback, Forster, SVX axle. all 2004 and earlier legacy/outback axles are interchangeable. Pre-2000 axles won’t have the ABS tone ring on them but that’s not needed for a buggy and doesn’t impact fitment, it’s only for the ABS. But the 2000+ outer boots are much higher quality than pre 2000 boots when it comes to OEM.

wash-rinse-repeat, that’s what they do. lost track of Subaru aftermarket axle failures. two new ones blew to pieces less than 100 miles out of the box on stock daily drivers. waste of time when there are perfectly good OEMs everywhere for cheap. Note earlier poster - asks about axles blowing up, tries more aftermarket axles, and blows up more axles. That’s about par for the course.

that's an aftermarket axle, what brand is it? It’s not uncommon for new aftermarket axles to blow up even on average daily drivers. Have you tried OEM used axles ?

Yep that clogged one fails the most by a long shot. do the next belt early like he said is a good suggestion Although I’d just do it now. It’s an hour and easy and cheap compared to the level of effort you’ve put into this.

why would you not look into a test and possible free OEM shortblock? there's not only the current oil consumption - but the possibility the previous owner ran it too low on oil, the converter life will be shortened and be posing you future codes/issue, and you'll have a seized engine/thrown rods in the future and the consumptions could increase considering you're presumably going to have this thing awhile if you just bought it. otherwise - what GD said - use much thicker oil.

Trans would probably smooth out with a fluid change. those transmissions are awesome for reliability but aren’t the most luxurious machines ever made. It certainly shifted fine when new I’m just saying older Subarus won’t feel refined. Sounds rough. Good eye. You gotta figure when you’re looking for a good deal you’re gonna walk from a few unless you’re lucky.

05-09 specific issues: front control arm rear bushing, rear suspension seized/rusty, ghost walking, struts are a little weak in this generation but they’re likely to be needed on any car this age/mileage of course may run into high mileage wear items like struts and and bushings. Subaru brakes, AC, power steering, the 4EAT, all robust and rarely have issues have. Many people never change trans fluid so do that. that integrated HVAC/radio assembly can frustrate some people but probably not someone like you keep matching tires and don’t tow improperly due to the 4WD. The EJ engine is well known and predictably makes 200,000+ miles easily if you follow people who know that engine well

You're more than set up for a headgasket, no special tools, pretty straight forward and lots of quality online support. Resurface, OEM gaskets, AISIN kit, valve covers, Subaru PCV valve, plugs/wires, air filter, fluids and you're set for about as easy of a 100k as you can get. Ohio can be low on subaru offerings. I'm in Canton every two months or so and 15 years ago I could literally go there an entire weekend and not see a Subaru, now they're everywhere in that town.

the good thing about the cheap subaru is if you can find out why it's cheap - headgaskets for example - they are not hard to replace and done right you've got an easy 100k vehicle for inexpensive. most truck owners i see dabble with a car for a year or less and are back in a truck. will you beat the odds?! haha. I'd guess price is the driving factor here and finding one of those, or being platform specific, will be unlikely.

check fusible links any custom wiring that has ever been touched by someone since the car left the dealer lot in 1988 needs to be checked. aftermarket stereo, head light/foglight upgrades. is there any spark out of the ignition coil? is the ECU LED flashing any check engine light codes?

Ah great! Those EJ25's are almost as easy as they come. No special tools or tricks, super easy, i've done just the belt in under an hour so that's how easy access/labor is. Doing the job right requires more time than that though... Ideally you get Subaru or Aising timing kit - which includes the belt, 3 pulleys, tensioner, and water pump. The kit is only $200, it's an interference engine that usually bends lots of valves when one of those components fails. The lower sprocket and tensioner do fail and are not good high mileage/age items. If you're inclined to save a dollar - install a Subaru timing belt and the lower cogged idler, it is the part I've seen fail the most. And check the tensioner - if the seal is wet it should be replaced. Even if there's record of the "timing belt being done" - that doesn't mean much since it could be aftermarket and they usually don't replace the other components prone to failure. The original factory installed head gasket leaks on that year (symptoms vary by year) are always an external oil leak at the head/engine mating surface underneath the vehicle. it starts out really slow....just getting the metal wet, not even dripping, unnoticed unless you're staring at the bottom of your engine a lot, lol. This over time progresses to a drip and then more drips. It's rather benign. Keep checking the oil and you can drive them a long time with leaking headgaskets. They dont' blow in anyway that would strand you. But - of course a used car getting ditched for cheap can often have been run for awhile and already leaking. If it's leaking badly then you have the concern that someone ran it low on oil (as my friends daughter just did last week). Then the block is questionable....