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1. Throw away the Haynes manual. 2. It’s not 18 pounds at the cam bolts as you’re assuming. It’s 18 pounds from the center, but the cam bolts are off center and therefore the torque value at the cam bolts would be less than the torque value at the center line where 18 pounds is intended. What is the value? Measure, study some leverage calculations and do the simple math, or just ignore it, it doesn’t matter. You just need to get the slack out of it. 3. Just try to put a few pounds on it and do your best. Not a big deal. I’ve probably done 100-200 timing belts and don’t need a torque wrench.

He may have had multiple user names but denissex or something like that comes to mind.

That’s probably Will, WJM.

I would just resurface them with new OEM or equivalent gaskets on both sides and be done theyre notorious for having intermittent symptoms I’ve seen them go weeks/months between overheating events - I would assume the weeks/months during no overheating would pass a leak down test and it’s likely load dependent or not a complete failure One of the plugs didn’t look differ did it? You could pull one head and check it first - maybe it’ll be obvious it was that one and you can avoid the other side (fingers crossed)? EJ22 swap?

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agreed - i get facebook, but it's inefficient and awful for this purpose, younger generations don't like it. time to move USMB to snapchat and instagram.

they don't do that very often, so it's not common or as familiar as the typical outer joint clicking. yep - avoid aftermarket axles. buy from subaru or reboot OEM axles. www.car-part.com

It doesn’t impact properly running vehicles. Subaru was putting it in 100s of thousands of cars for the last 15 years - theres billions of miles and over a decade of data and history showing no issues on well maintained vehicles. So there that and all the anecdotal reports or hacks with issues. It’s not magic or mystical what’s happening, people just don’t know or talk about it. People limping along and trying to put off repairs, maintenance and ignoring symptoms willbe refilling coolant, getting low, overheating, adding stop leak, then running low and overheating again and those products don’t work well in those situations with low coolant, full of air, overheating situations Yiure fine to use it now. Moving forward you’ll want to repair leaks/overheating quickly - which doesn’t sound like an issue for someone buying high end coolant and replacing hoses preemptively, or drain the stuff out if you plan on delaying repairs (which doesn’t sound like you) You’re also fine not to use it - there are people repairing these and not using it. Dealers don’t typically resurface heads so Id probably be tempted to use it in this case but I wouldn’t sweat someone who doesn’t. On factory installed gaskets the Subaru conditioner would stop like 99% of existing initial external coolant leaks. It was very effective on initial leaks of factory installed gaskets.

yeah i would diagnose if you don't want to throw money/guess, transmissions are hard to diagnose. check voltage/power - make sure you have excellent power source and connection, and the crank pulley isn't separating. poor power supply can cause dirty signals and bogus codes. check the transmission pan and make sure it's not dented, or previously replaced thereby suggesting it was dented/repaired. doesn't look related to your codes, but easy enough to look. did you buy it with all these known issues? i would not assume that symptoms will be identical every single time. but you don't have an inoperative instrument cluster odometer/speedometer either do you?

MT/AT doesn't matter on Subaru's. Yours are the wrong year/phases. i wrote a complete guide to EJ22-EJ25 swaps - it details all your options.

i assumed that was the case, but thought i'd verify - as i said at first, junk axle. very common with aftermarket axles.

how Positive are you that particular symptom is directly correlated to the axle change? ive seen brand new aftermarket axles blow to pieces in less than 100 miles so I wouldn’t put any symptom past an aftermarket axle.

I've seen a good many nicked and compromised oil and cam sprockets - you are exactly right - just file them smooth and you'll be done. The overall size and distribution of the belt won't lend itself to any significant wear on small localized points like that if they're filed smooth. but if you have a new pulley - then sure, run it. Someone probably grabbed the sprocket with a pipe wrench or chain wrench at one point to hold it still, that's pretty common, and gouges the surfaces.

If it looks OEM that’s preferable. Theres is preference between stamped and cast impellers but ive never seen either fail so I’m uncertain why that sentiment exists.

1. read the check engine codes - what do you get? any national chain can do it for free if you can't. 2. knock sensor is the most common failure on that engine by a mile - i've never seen a cheap $8 ebay special knock sensor fail yet so they're at least a cheap test mule. 3. plugs and wires 4. the timing belt and pulleys are 22 years old and basically worthless for service - they all need replaced. at a minimum check that none are compromised.

have a look - if you can find a known good axle/not broken boot one to start with, then decide. if you can't...well then the decision might be made for you... i've had decent luck repacking noisy axles, but they're axles i know the history of and they were highly quality to start with, not aftermarket. if they're aftermarket i'd just move on. if Subaru maybe repack them and see. you can even stuff grease up in there really good by hand and see if the noises change. if a little grease quiets them up for 10 miles (it slings right back out) then you know it's worth a proper clean/repacking.

Nah - that's the inner joint of the CV axle. Swapping axles will change the symptoms and verify. It could be the bearing, they're supposed to be installed with a hub tamer, not a press. If they damaged it by using a press then the bearings and hub will need replaced. Your symptoms are classic inner CV joint issues though, the bearings can cause varying noises around turns but usually aren't so throttle dependent, that's classic inner CV stuff. Get a new OEM axle or used OEM and reboot it and never think about it again If the seized axle thing happens on the other side - just take the knuckle/axle off the car, reboot, and reinstall as an assembly, no need to remove the axle from the knuckle. I've even done them without removing the axle from the knuckle but that's probably not most people's cup of tea and is a better fit for the newer 2000+ style outer boots that last forever and don't need replaced every time an axle comes out. speaking of which - i think you can use a 2000-2004 legacy axle on your car, i used to use them all the time on 95-99 EJ's when I used to work on those older subaru's. they have better outer boots and they're newer. i don't think a FWD imp is any different so that might be a good option.

How much of a concern is excessive lube coming off the bolt during install and getting between the gasket/mating surfaces? The thicker lube is probably better than oil also for this reason? Yep - tell tale grooves, i've seen shops do this as well.

The wire type clamps don't look like they're spaced/installed like factory new ones and the hose itself looks off - the bend and curved lips at the end past the clamps looks different. maybe it's the split hose/overheating/age/photo - but given the age and those small details i'd guess the hose isn't original...and unlikely original belts too.

1. Get an owners manual for fluid specs and more, but that should be generic coolant like all older Subarus. 2. The Right Stuff is awesome if you mean timing covers. Permatex anaerobic is the perfect fit but pricey and two part. 3. He just answered that, google and you’ll find them too

I wonder if the gaskets need to be run/heated up to fully expand/seal/crush? Why are you pressure testing it after installing them? Did it look like the heads or gaskets had been worked on before? FelPro/Subaru, sand paper/blanchard grinder (perferred resurfacing machine), no spray and spray.....are not distinctions that matter. people do all of the above, or none of the above without issues so those aren't the likely culprits. i use Subaru and no spray at all, they're supposed to be installed dry. but i know people use that stuff.

M12x1.25 - see if a lug nut fits on them to verify. if it's smaller than it's an M10 x 1.25 autoparts stores are almost never a good source for bolts and thread sizes. they can't size or check or find out and probably a low grade nut that'll flake to rusty pieces anyway.

Timing belts are super easy, I dont remove anything for that easy job. Complete kit -timing belts and pulleys. Two cam seals and two cam cap orings, crank seal, oil pump orings (2 of them); oil pump shaft seal, water pump, thermostat. How do you know for certain the water pump is bad, it’s leaking? If it’s the original AC and working then it’s R22 refrigerant you can’t buy at the store. Just leave it alone, or you’ll need to source R22 or covert to 134a. Valve covers are unrelated to that work but easy anyway. Get new grommets too. 10mm ratcheting wrench is mandatory unless you like taking 13 minutes to get one bolt off on the lowers drivers side rear valve cover. Haha

For your message. Thanks for posting then asking. It’s a beast of a job. A JDM engine makes a lot of sense on these. It was sold because of bad headgaskets, happens all the time, due to the intermittent way that engine fails they’re prone to get sold to an unsuspecting buyer. Those heater cores do clog but they don’t cause overheating, they just cause cold heat. So yeah just clean them out to get your heat back. So you had two issues - headgaskets and clogged heater core. They’re unrelated in this case The timing chains last the life of the vehicle, if there’s no noise and you plan on reasonable oil quality and changes there’s nothing to replace. I’d replace the water pump because they’re only $100 but they really never fail either so take your pick. Use OEM. theres a tub of orings you’ll need for the timing covers. resurface the heads and use Subaru OEM gaskets. I don’t even think about checking for flatness any more, maybe I should but every Subaru head I’ve ever done has high and low spots but the H6s I’ve done are worse on average than the H4s. other than Tribeca engine removal being a little harder and the dual H6 timing covers 100 annoying hex bolts and 3 miles of sealant it’s a standard Subaru headgaskets job. on tribecas I’ve had to remove part of the upper radiator support (it’s bolted unlike every other Subaru that was welded), no big deal just a Tribeca thing to be mindful of.

is a used one okay or you want new? someone else has to have these laying around, I just had appendix surgery but if i didn't scrap them i have some of those at home.