idosubaru

car-part.com is great starting point for interchangeability. put in the part you need and then take note of what other vehicles it's cross referencing - any legacy/outbacks - what years? what year imprezas?

that's standard practice, and happens for a reason, but it is by no means "true". regreasing it may or may not help. a shop doesn't make money testing or trying so they just have one size fits all solutions that aren't accurate but they work and happen for a reason. This doesn't mean they're based on actual physical, mechanical data. shops need easy repeatable and scalable one-size-fits-all solutions. you're not a shop, with a little data driven brain work you've got more options than the average shop if you're DIY. 1. stuff some grease in the joint REALLY GOOD by hand - stuff it and stuff it and stuff it some more. work it all up in the joint. if it gets quieter after that - then you know the joint will respond well to a regrease/reboot. this is a sort of "test" you can do. it's worked every time i've done it (and it makes total sense - see explanation below). *Keep in mind the grease will fling out within like 100 miles and you'll be back to where you are - as i said this is a test, not a good option for even a temporary repair. 2. if it's an OEM axle and they're hard to find - i would attempt to regrease it before installing an inferior aftermarket axle that definitely won't last. 3. if it's an aftermarket axle then yeah it's not worth saving or their such trash there's no way to compare "old noisy axle that previously had no issues" to a "brand new unknown POS aftermarket axle". not worth the time trying to salvage or determine which of those two is the trashiest. you don't replace door hinges in your home when they start getting squeaky - you oil them. you don't need to replace bike chains when they're dry, rusty, and creaking, you lubricate them. the noise does not indicate that any significant damage has been done. same thing here - the noise is symptomatic of a lack of grease, not a failing part. now...it very well may be that it's gone too long or had abrasive sand/coal throw up in it and it is in poor shape. and that's where shops can't guess or waste time particularly considering the wide range of clientele they have.

It probably doesn't. Just clean it and reboot it. Aftermarket subaru axles are a waste of time, just clean and reboot the one you have. Change all of them? no way. subaru OEM axles last the life of the vehicle, you might be throwing away great life long axles and installing crap aftermarket that definitely won't last the life of the vehicle consistently. just reboot them when the boots break. Use Subaru OEM boots for longevity. check mounts and make sure the engine/trans aren't rocking too much and stressing the CV boots more. if it's a lifted vehicle it might just go through CV boots quicker.

remember there's no asymptotic line you're crossing. it's safer to get a larger tow vehicle. it's safer to tow less weight. it's safer to get trailer brakes. all true but there's no hard and fast rules on you buying a car or you deciding on trailer brakes or not. but yeah - if it says you need them then have at it - get a trailer that has them. each pound you add to the vehicle increases stopping distance and decreases vehicle performance. trailer brakes help even if youre under the limit., a trailer pushing a vehicle, even a full sized truck, in an emergency situation is a terrible feeling. but technically speaking there are just guidelines - there's no magic line that gets cross....like at one point you don't need trailer brakes - oh it started raining and the weight of the rain pushed you over the magical line where you now need trailer brakes. it doesn't work like that. every pound you tow decreases safety and trailer brakes mitigate that. granted there are imperperceptible, impractical limitations to this illustration, but even when you get up into the range where trailer brakes help, are recommend, or required, there's no hard and fast lines. people are towing crazy high loads over the weight limit without trailer brakes....not recommending it of course, but it's just an increased risk, just like driving without trailer brakes whether or not it's recommended or not.

Yeah what he said is right - the FWD XT6 rear struts are a good bit on the tall side, they're not short. Do you need EA81 tie rod ends...you could also use XT6 tie rod ends I think right? I'm about to install EJ knuckles on my XT6 and I don't think I need to change the tie rods?

the codes will clear on their own once the issue is resolved. it is real-time information. it only shows the code if an issue is detected. solve the code and the light goes away, maybe after a drive cycle or two. thanks for getting the info out on the scanner, that's awesome, got one in my amazon cart. i think most of us are rookie-ish when it comes to circuit board diagnosis and testing.

Ah right - that's the first i've heard of a causative reason, excellent, makes perfect sense. Nice to swap EJ knuckles and struts at the same time. You can get XT6 bolts to go through the EJ knuckles and EJ struts but they can be tight and I've had to pound them through with a huge hammer and damage the threads. Sometimes I have had to do that and others times I haven't, don't know what the difference is but if you just swap the EJ knuckles and struts at the same time you won't have that issue. Sometimes it helps to do this depending how you're doing the conversion, this can get you by for quite some time. Sometimes the airstruts will hold air, it's often a weak compressor or orings that are leaking. I add Tee fitting and just fill them manually after disconnecting them from the vehicles control/air supply system. Take the front passengers side air line and run it between the rear passengers side and rear drivers side struts (the front passengesrs side air line is long and easily accessible for removal) and install a Tee fitting in it so you can fill them both with any old compressor. NAPA sells air line Tee fittings. You can do the same thing to the front as well - add Tee fittings between the solenoid and front struts and air them up. Unplug the solenoid electrical connector so it stays "closed" and doesn't open/let air out (assuming the solenoid doesn't leak).

No. You don't need to use any XT6 struts. All XT6 AWD struts are air suspension, not what you're after here. Also make sure you're not confusing "5 lug swap" with "suspension swap" - those are two different things and the options are not the same. The thread title is about 5 lug and now you're mentioning struts. You need to be clear or nothing will make any sense. "I want to XYZ...." 87 XT Rear struts: Any Rear EA82 or Rear XT6 FWD complete strut assemblies will swap into yours, they're all interchangeable. The complete thing bolts right in, direct swap. The rear of the car will sit at varying heights depending on the model and FWD/AWD. People have installed newer style 00+ Legacy/Outback rear struts into EA82's as well. You use rear EA82 top mounts on the 00+ Outback rear struts and they can fit into the EA82. I think people have reported the strut rod breaking when doing this....but I'm uncertain...there's a thread or two where people have talked about it. But remember - none of this applies to 5 lug swaps - that's a different question. You don't want any rear EA82, FWD XT6, nor EJ stuff for a rear 5 lug swap, so none of the above applies. You mentinoed struts so the above info only applies to struts, not lug pattern/wheel hub considerations.

personal preference. how much oil is it loosing now? has the smoking off the exhaust started to annoy you? will wafting smoke in traffic or drips on the driveway/garage bother you? hard to say particularly with the HG already being replaced, those have less predictable prognosis in terms of how quickly they get worse or incur additional symptoms. i would consider just installing the belt and timing pulleys now. timing belts are pretty easy and quick so it's not like a crazy time savings or waste to do the belt and let the cards fall where they may regarding the HG. if you plan on owning this car 100,000 more miles you'll be doing exactly one headgasket job no matter what, so the only savings you have are either that you're living month to month and don't have the funds now (but most people in that situation won't have it later either), or the "risk" of possibly loosing the car between now and the date you could have replaced the headgasket had you waited - in which case you wouldn't have needed to do it. if you drive it 20,000 more miles and it averages 1 quart per 1,000 miles that's 20 quarts of oil and roughly the cost of one+ headgaskets. if you know you'll eventually replace them anyway and the smoking off the exhaust has started to become noticeable/slightly annoying, and time and money are no concern then maybe consider doing it now.

As I said - map light. I’d replace it. The proper protocol if you dont like guessing or believe anyone telling you to replace it, which is healthy skepticism, trace the appropriate wires and verify the ohms or continuity of each. If those all check out you then know it’s the light assembly then you could test the light assembly circuitry and board itself for basic continuity to try and narrow down the exact failure point

Don’t listen to me for anything performance related. Top mounts need to be OEM or KYB, aftermarkets can suck real bad. they can balloon up like a mushroom cloud and I’ve seen them fail in less than a week. same with struts you can get away with some but others are floaty, terrible, feel unsafe, and probably have similarly low longevity if you want any more than to limp then around to flip or drive one or two more years. For average daily drivers OEM or KYB is the standard. I’ve seen some smoking cheap deals in the past for the KYB FWD rear struts and got them, they work in your Impreza.

A. Remove the gasket, clean and reassemble with excellent grade sealant = free parts costs. That's what GD does. B. Buy the Subaru OEM $25 reseal kit: https://www.subarupartsdeal.com/parts/subaru-repair-kit-pump~34419aa100.html https://www.ebay.com/p/Subaru-Genuine-OEM-Pt220495-P-s-Pump-Kit-34419AA100/1350529604 The reseal kit may not include that reservoir oring so buy both if needed. Given that you're paying a mechanic to do this I'd just reseal the entire pump and replace the oring both at the same time so you're not paying labor twice. Subaru Power steering pumps last the life of the vehicle, reseal it all and be done with it. *** Given you have a substantial leak I think the gasket is more likely than the oring....but that's just a guess The orings sometime leak - 70 cents and it's very easy to replace. Do you have any friends who know how to use a screwdriver? Subaru part number for the oring is 34427AA020 https://www.subarupartsdeal.com/parts/subaru-o-ring~34427aa020.html Subaru sometimes lists the dimensions if you want to google that and order a local oring the same size here's a thread with part numbers and more....this is common there are more threads like it if needed:

impractical for most people but if you want to give it a go, have at it. you'll learn something. timing pulleys, CV's and driveshaft ujoints are the same way - grease degradation and loss are the reasons for failure. regrease them and they would run a really long time. there's probably a way to consider it here as well but the advantages for most people don't exist to try it.

i guess coolant/oil or not doesn't really matter - either way you're in a headgasket job. and like we've already said - you can plan your repair out way ahead of time. your timing components are 10 years old - replace those and that labor is "free" since they have to be removed for the headgasket anyway. new OEM gaskets, resurface the heads, adjust valves if required, OEM or AISIN timing kit, new thermostat, radiator hoses, plugs, wires, PCV and you're good for another 100,000 miles.

Circle whatever you see in green, I don't see any green coolant. These gaskets won't blow or leave you stranded. They won't mix oil and coolant, they will not overheat. They will simply seep oil out slowly, ocassionally coolant as well, externally and as long as you top it off it's no big deal. It's not as if they leak profusely or are pumping oil on the ground, it's just a very slow seepage. Keep the fluids topped off and you can keep driving it and plan your repair later. That oil you're seeing is probably a few drops from over a long period of time slowly spreading out as it soaks into the surrounding dust, dirt, and debris on the metal casting. it's not like it "just sprung a leak" that's going to be problematic. The 08's will get worse fairly quickly sometimes but you've still got thousands of miles.

great, good job. you did it exactly right - cut the drill bit down to fit. those threads strip all the time - i'm sure it happens i've never seen a failed thread repair so carry on and don't worry about it.

that looks normal, and benign - barely even looks like it's leaking and would easily roll a few 10's of thousands of miles without replacement......and there's no coolant in the picture. without seeing any coolant i wouldn't make anything of the 4-5" perceived difference, it's not a diagnosis at all without repeating it a few times to verity

i've bought numerous Subaru and Subaru H6 JDM engines/trans from various ebay and other suppliers. they probably all have the same sources so i doubt the product or success rates vary much, probably just comes down to customer service.

Yes you should: 1. chase the threads with a tap (M6x1.0) 2. get a longer bolt which will then reach deeper threads that have never been used before. You can insert a coat hanger, etc and measure how deep the hole is so you know how long of a bolt to get. make sure the bolt is long enough to fill the hole. I prefer subaru bolts due to quality but i'm sure you can get a high grade bolt from a parts store, low grade average bolts will rust Have a few washers in hand in case the bolt is too long, to use as spacers under the bolt head. ***My guess is the threads just came out in one big hunk and they looked like a helicoil. That happens all the time and is more likely than a helicoil backing out. Are you 100% absolutely positive you saw a "helicoil"? Also - if the helicoil "came out" it's unlikely the bolt would hold any torque at all...it'd just hang there completely unloaded.

you would think someone has figured it out. the system went to CANBUS around 2005-2007 and is dramatically different and harder to work with.

just looked at the pics - those guides don't look terribly degraded to me, look about like the pitting and light edge wear i've seen before. maybe some of that is from the noise/play in the chain though... that's some seriously backed on oil. wow.

1. axle - the inner joint. as a "free test" you could swap the axles from side to side and see if the noise changes. or try to regrease it and see if that helps, it may be lacking sufficient grease. 2. front diff Subaru axles last the life of the vehicle and should be rebooted. www.car-part.com for $15-$35 axles and reboot them. i lost count of how many bad aftermarket subaru axles i've seen and are a complete waste of my time.

Map light. Google it - the options are sparse, unknown, it extant at all. I haven’t had the need to check thoroughly but I haven’t seen a cheap way to read 05+ SRS codes. Need the shop level toys like GD has at the moment. I wonder if the laptop OBD2 cables, or more importantly the supporting software, have come far enough yet on these new systems to read SRS codes?

They’re fine with conventional oil if changed frequently and never overheat, run low on oil, etc. synthetic is great and there’s no reason not to run it but the first issue is neglect. H6 chain noise isn’t typically a big deal. They can run 300k with the majority of their life having some chain noise. maybe yours was neglected and this isn’t “typical” but I wouldn’t sweat it much, you’re not going to rebuild the block and right all the past wrongs. My guess is chain failure will be about number 68 on your list of failure items over the life of this car, ie. you’ll never see it The only H6 chain noise I tried to mitigate had chain noise under high loads - when you floor it or downshifting up a mountain. It had done this for years. I installed new OEM chain guides, water pump and tensioners and the noise didn’t change. Car was like this for 100,000 miles before I worked on it and is still the same now at like 300k. I presume it was the chains. Luckily the engine/trans was out for other things and chain noise wasn’t a big concern. Oil viscosity hardly matters here. Sure try four different weights, it’s no big deal, not worth reading endless oil diatribes. That article is terrible, the useful information per length is near zero. I couldn’t make it far but is there anything substantial in it? Ferrari and Mercedes, races, and academic pedigree. That’s basically zero qualifications regarding Subaru maintenance.

YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHHH!! I hope you tossed it down, stomped on it and yelled something creative! i've never had a fork not work even with those fractured impossible to remove debacles described earlier.