idosubaru

No chance the transmission or rear diff have been worked on recently is it? If the final drive ratios are mismatched you’ll also get binding but it’ll bind driving straight.

Yes it’s a VLSD *center* diff. Every New gen manual trans since the intro of the EJ platform around 1990 have had the same VLSD center diffs unless you’re talking an exotic STi DCCD. There’s no other option. you’re thinking of front or rear diffs? As for continuing to drive- yes they can be driven for quite a while. Variables make it hard to say how long but they generally don’t become symptomatic very fast. But - the additional strain is hard on driveline components such as axles and the rear shaft and at least on automatics it can be hard in the trans. On an AT the internal hub/drum can shear off and you have to replace it. But that’s rare and I don’t know if, or what, an equivalent MT internal issue might be. MTs are so uncommon there’s not a huge sample size. I’ve seen one failed rear axle due to torque bind - drivable but noisy under load.

the Subaru OEM package says 33.7x3.5 google that and you get a bunch of orings, some honda ones for $2 and change and a 100 kit for .67 a piece....

Sounds like torque bind, good job diagnosing it. To repair it you have to replace the VLSD. $500 part, after labor figure $800-$1,200 to repair it.

mic one and match it. or take a coolant crossover into a well stocked store and match it. why not buy them from subaru? how many are you going to need in the next 3 years? if it's a ton then that scale should pay for itself if you're doing it right.

Just get a working airbag they’re dirt cheap. Www.car-part.com or post in parts wanted forum here. Otherwise remove bulb in cluster or disconnect the airbag controller.

Subaru *requires* an additive for that motor which has a nearly 100% success rate when used as intended. no one would be surprised that an engine routinely addressed with an additive was mitigated with an additive. You won’t get kicked off the board but all the data presented may not be immediately considered 100% accurate either. people, even mechanics, misinterpret, assume, incorrectly see, misdiagnose or otherwise unintentionally relay data. chances of customer data being 100% accurate is low.

Process is easy remove ball joint nut Remove pinch bolt and open knuckle flange a little. Done - easy If you live in rust belt they are sometimes a debacle to separate from the knuckle. Pinch bolts routinely shear off as well but thats far easier to deal with than some rust welded joints in knuckles.

“Get value” - what does that even mean? Yes you can sell parts off of it. But its an asinine waste of time financially speaking even for someone like me who knows just about everything I need to do that easily. The logistics are mind numbing and you “make” peanuts. Install an engine. Engine + labor = $2,000. Car is worth $3,000-$5,000 and you’re a couple thousand to the good. Rather than wasting time in parts spend time getting an engine here: www.car-part.com

RUST. Don't buy something with rust issues which is common if you're looking up north. I'd go out of my way to look the same distance south of where you are. H6's have headgasket issues. They are seemingly less frequently an issue than your old 4 cylinder EJ engine was and happen at notably higher mileages. BUT - they're symptoms come and go and make them very hard to spot on test drives. They can literally be undetectable when they first start failing, with only overheating events separated by weeks and even months. I've seen two that for the first year would only overheat in 90+ degree weather or highway driving. So - they commonly get picked up used and you have issues shortly later - even months/next summer maybe, but the issues would have bee previously extant, you just didn't know it. So buy cautiously. They're great and I do prefer them but I also am probably a better than average buyer. I want to find a seller who's selling for a very clear and compelling reasons. Iv'e seen multiples on car lots with extant headgasket issues and two of the failures on vehicles I've helped purchase (i'm consisntely helping multilpe peopel a year buy/sell subarus) were from Subaru's bought on dealer lots, while the private owner sales have always been free and clear. And replace your serpentine pulley bearings every 60,000 miles, they're not considered maintenance but they fail all the time. Luckily they're $10 and takes 30 minutes, super easy so it's no big deal, just make sure to do it.

The few 200,000+ mile Phase I EJ22s and EJ18s I’ve been involved with all have original headgaskets. I’ve never repaired one in a Phase I EJ18/EJ22

1. Water pump replaced 5,000 miles ago - typical shop warranty is 12,000 miles - is it still under warranty? Take it back and have them look at it. 2. aftermarket water pump gaskets for those are cheap crap cardboard, they easiky leak. What brand pump and gaskets were used? Water pumps faikure is rare though with the recent pump replacement and seeing coolant dripping - Occam’s razor says that’s the likely leak point. Id keep tracking that leak and see if you can pressure test it. Those are the easiest Subaru headgaskets to replace. The headbolts are external.

No. There’s no consistent mileage. Theres a crude average but that’s wildly inaccurate as a “longevity” marker for any one individual vehicle. They fail at low and high mileages. If you’re going to replace the gaskets then time it with some other work (like timing kit or VVGs) or just do it and be done with it and reap the value over the next 100,000+ miles. Anyone giving you a mileage is making up numbers or talking anecdotally about 3 whole cars they know about.

Probably. It’s cold, that oil didn’t run down there like it does in 80 or more degree summer days.

As stated the info above is incorrect. All phase I EJ22s 1998 and earlier have the same plugs above the VCs. 96 and 97 both go through the valve covers. 96 may be HLa and 97 are solid lifters - pop a valve cover or have an inspection camera with you. usually 96s have the old style tensioner and 97s have the new style tensioner. Pull the drivers sire timing cover (3 10mm bolts, real easy) and look. Run some 2x’s on end perpendicular to the rafters/lower chord of the truss and use those for the engine work so it can spread the weight over more trusses/rafters as well as limit the movement of the chords/rafters as the engine sways, swings, pushes and pulls. Im sure it would hold the engine statically just fine and you could get away with it once easiky but I wouldn’t do it simply from a lower chord/rafter on such an important structure. I can’t see the type of rafters or truss structures or the spacing, slope, design or type of wood but I wouldn’t recommend using the garage rafters like that. I wouldn’t want a lower chord/rafter carrying that much weight Particularly where that load could push/pull or the engine could slip or swing which happens during engine pulls.

Old gen you line the marks up 180 degrees off. You can install one belt, rotate, install second belt or just install one side with timing mark pointing up at 12 noon and the other side at 6am pointing down and no need to rotate. (Newer subarus aren’t like that just for reference.) Best to replace all the pulleys and tensioners. You can also use a needle fitting and squirt a little grease under the face seal if the pulleys, that’s the only failure mode. The bearings don’t fail they run out of grease and then overheat and fail. Keep them full of grease and they last forever. The water pumps do fail sometimes, that Long arm sticking out for the pulley exaggerates lateral forces and wear in the shaft/seal,bearings. People often get the distributor timing off installing it as you’ve done if you have more issues check that Thise Turbo engines don’t handle age, overheating or poor maintenance well. Headgaskets are likely leaking or the heads are cracked. If you drop the exhaust manifold you can find cracks or leaks. Occasionally the intake manifold gasket can leak which causes coolant to seep into the intake manifold and use coolant. But consider yourself lucky if that’s all it is at this point. If the engine wasn’t abused - meaning overheated or run low on oil - they respond well to a good reseal and can be reliable drivers. But turbos have a lot more failure and maintenance points to get there. Get the FSM, it’s way more helpful. We had a free copy loaded digitally on subaruxt.com if it’s still available but I think it may not be.

oh yeah - that plastic has likely been overheated and fatigued, and the coolant boiled, ran with high water content - probably desperately using tap water which leaves deposits inside the cores....not a bad idea at all to even consider replacing a radiator if there's additional signs of significant overheating.

these engines don't start failing that way - ever. so you can almost guarantee the engine was run hot significantly, or for a long time with a failed gasket, or less likely - it's been previously (poorly) replaced. that's what i was eluding too earlier when i said this current engine is likely suspect. i wouldn't have even considered repairing it, because it was highly unlikely to be a good engine, you're "fortunate" to see rare physical evidence of it. and you've already got the engine on the way, good luck dropping it in. swapping an engine in that 2003 is not significantly different from any other Subaru engine swaps. if you're the preventative type you can do the plugs and VCG's now while it's easy with the engine out and be done with it for 100,000 miles. the H6 plugs are robust and don't even show wear after 100,000 miles so they're not a huge concern but they should be replaced once in the life of a vehicle. do the serpentine pulley bearings now - keep in mind those are 60,000 mile replacement items due to their high failure rates on H6 engines. they're super easy to do though - remove the two pulleys and tap out and back in new bearings. standard bearings and they tap out really easy. i get japanese quality stuff off amazon, they're widely available and local stores will have them too. replace them again in 60k or remove and check at least. they fail at wildly varying mileages, so there's really no good mileage or reason to "60,000" miles but it's early enough to catch most failures. you should just have some consistent mileage in mind. i've even bought JDM engines that had failed bearings in them - i assume they had to be junked for that reason. wa

did they replace the seats or heating elements? or test the heating elements? just give the heating elements 12 volts power directly and see if they heat up - bypass all the controls. many of us could do this step at home in like 15 minutes. is the seat heated wiring getting power when the heated seats function is turned on? it is odd for both seats to fail. it's one thing for a component to fail, that's what warranties are for, but when multiple things fail then that can get confusing or point to outside causative influences. if every door knob in your house fell off the same day - you'd think someone was playing a joke on you.

VCG's, spark plug tube orings/gaskets, cam seals. maybe the cam seals are leaking again, check to see.

I didn't see any starter contacts listed for old gen stuff. will the EJ kits work for old gen or XT6?

Go unplug the dropping resistor and drive and see how you like it. free and takes 30 seconds. that's what i've always done.

did you check voltage output of the old and current alternator? what did you get? i just had an overcharging alternator take out my turn signals, fuses, and TCU (transmission computer), and I think something else in a 1988 XT6. check that the crank pulley isn't separating. is it an aftermarket alternator? granted i wouldn't expect identical symptoms between two alternators, but aftermarkets aren't known to be impeccable.

"half a tank" isn't very accurate regarding gas mileage but it looks well within normal XT ranges. That's 24 mpg. XT's can get 40 mpg XT6 auto, AWD (6 cylinders) can get 28. So roughly speaking your numbers look normal and repeatable if you drive the same in identical conditions. 300km = 186 miles on a half tank, which is 372 on a full tank. On 15.5 gallons of gas that's 24mpg

+1 did it run perfectly before hand? How long did it sit? Vaccum leak? Also - It’s not like anyone would slap their head in surprise if the carb ended up being an issue.