idosubaru

Good grief. Is it rusted? Previous accident? the axles aren’t structural for the suspension. you can convert them to FWD or RWD, just stuff the hub with the cv end only but no axle. Meaning - the axle couldn’t cause the tire to move on it’s own. Unless it flopped at high speed and did some crazy down there. But that seems unlikely.

You’re talking about pulling the splined axle out of the hub/knuckle? Yeah I’ve seen some that are crazy but that’s worse than I’ve seen. I’ve wailed on them with a huge metal “hammer”, the type with large square head, and heavy, but that trashed the threads, have to grind the mushroom off the top or it won’t pull through and the threads are unsable aftewards so that doesn’t work. Why are you replacing rear axles, what happened to them? Can you reboot them or just swap the inner joints so you don’t have to remove the entire axle?

If exhaust and quarter panels are rusty you’ll be having expensive repairs coming soon. Unless you can do body and exhaust work yourself. But getting rusty body work right isn’t for the faint of heart. Light prep and paint won’t do it. Clutch has a good chance of needing replaced in the future. Particularly if a new driver is learning on it. Needs a timing kit for long term reliability and not making the engine a door stop. The pulleys are more likely to fail than the belt itself. Replace the timing belt, all pulleys and tensioner. And of course the turbo - as said that is not forgiving at all. If it hasn’t seen superb synthetic changes that’s not a good omen. If you don’t mind juggling those then keeping it is a fine option.

What do they do if the CTS plug is pulled? If they run with the plug pulled that would be a quick 30 second test. Pull the plug the next time it starts stalling? Isn’t the O2 sensor ignored when the car is first started and driven and picked up once the car reaches operating temperature? Could the O2 sensor be bad?

Yes legacy and outback struts fit up front. Spread flange slightly and the bolt holes don’t quite line up but it’s easiky worked around. I’ve seen people just pound the bolts through as they’re so close but then the threads on the bolts are hosed. But that’s how close it is - so just widen the hole a tad and you’re golden.

First thing is check now is the timing belt. Maybe it’s skipped or loose or compromised.

What does “pull up the test wires mean”? I assume you’re checking memory mode? If you’re getting a code for those items I’d focus on those items: Clear them both and see which one comes back first. Focus on that one. Ive located some troubling issues like this (including a TPS) by locally massaging the wires until the symptoms change (get worse or better). Start at the sensor and work your way back as far as you can. It was about 4 inches from the TPS. I Cut off the connector and spliced in a used one and good to go. But that only works if you can test while idling (engine will stall, run better or rev) or someone keeps trying to start it while you jockey the wiring around. Ideally follow the FSM diagram for troubleshooting the code. Check connector(s) for damage. Check each wiring harness for those sensors for rodent damage. They’ll crawl up and nibble wiring. I’ve repaired a couple of these over the years. Look at the FSM wiring and see if the TPS and MAF are related in any way. Test each wire for the sensor(s). Check Continuity and resistance between the engine side connector and the large main connector at the back of the engine on the passengers side. FSM will show you which wires are the culprit. Ideally you test from the sensor to the ECU but that’s more difficult just due to location. Engine connector is easy as it’s right next to those two sensor connectors.

www.car-part.com is a great resource. it'll give you the lowest range of years that will fit - others probably do too but it's still a good starting point some places list the final drive ratio and you can confirm yours that way sometimes as well.

I had the same question - you’d prefer that combo over an EJ25 with EJ22 heads? For reliability or performance or cost? They push similar power numbers? I’m guessing the EJ22 heads don’t have any better head gasket longevity since the bore is still large?

190 is high and above average. Are EA81s different than EA82? Is that in units PSI? It also varies depending if engine is warm, all plugs are removed, ambient conditions, throttle propped open, air filter removed, and directly with engine RPM - so there’s a ton of room for variation and high numbers aren’t really the goal. Generally you look at percent deviation from one another.

Thanks - Ah yeah I'll measure on the vehicle, I probably would have done it on the ground. I ordered the same part number struts and springs new at the same time from the same place (in the past year). But yeah - got it - i've seen different boxed stuff too. Who knows maybe I even used some air suspension top mounts or bushings - i think some are the same on air and non-air XT's and I just have a box of stuff mixed up. Anyway - doesn't matter - I'll measure loaded and check for flipped top mount.

wow, that's the majority of the issue? that's worth it's weight in gold given the extent of issues. I've always wondered what shops are doing because they see more than i do and I've seen plenty of failed new axles. seems like you'd be seeing them fail when installed by other people/shops too, like i have.

Ah, thanks. Good chance that's it, I should be able to check that on the vehicle.

I bought two new KYB shocks and swapped them in with new springs as well.

2 new KYB struts and 2 new springs. So if both struts are new KYB and both springs are brand new....bushings would be the issue?

Make sure to use 6 point gear, 12 point will strip the head. Socket with long pipe or a breaker bar. Some need lots of leverage.

They’re not that high. Roughy 150-170, more important is the numbers should be within about 10% of each other for all cylinders.

So you're saying some of the mounts/spring perches do differ between various models? Since I used random assemblies I probably mixed and matched from who knows what. If I get a set of EA82 top mounts/spring perches to swap out - which should I get for an XT6? Or which ones would give a "higher" strut, if that's even answerable?

They're interchangeable, I don't know what that 01 distinction is either, but you can ignore it for swapping engines. 01's occasionally had timing chain noise that was presumably fixed with updated parts, if so you'll be getting that with an 04.

In my EA82 rear suspension (XT6), I installed two new KYB EA82 struts and two new 10" Ground Control 200 pound (i think) springs. The drivers side sits at least an inch, if not 2", lower than the passengers side with no significant weight in the vehicle. Stock spring rate is lower than 200 pounds so I don't think it would be the springs being too light? Why would one side be lower than the other? Strut mounts and bits came from random EA82 struts I had available. Should I just have another set of EA82 top mounts and spring perches ready to install? How many different EA82 configurations are there for mounts/spring perches?

ebay is a good place for used part pictures sourcing sometimes. i would google search and grease mark the ones you have until you narrow it down. or post pictures of what you got with a number written on each one and we can rule some of them out if not tell you which one you need. get subaru part number from online source and then google search that part number, might show pictures as well.

Good eye. The front won’t have a sticker though. Maybe it’ll have a trans code sticker on top the bellhousing/case, look through the engine bay.

Sounds like it’s binding. If there’s an automatic dash then maybe it was swapped. If true then there’s a really good chance the front and rear gear ratios don’t match. That will cause binding while driving straight which will go away if you’re in 2wd or you remove the shaft. My guess is the rear and front diff ratios are different.

Ideally pull timing covers and verify timing isn’t off but if she can’t find reasonable assistance that’s going to be hard. At a minimum you can remove the two side timing covers - that’s only 6 10mm bolts and takes 5-10 minutes, that’s it. Turn engine with 22mm wrench and line up flexplate or flywheel marks and verify cam marks are also properly aligned. Takes 15 minutes.

No start Crank sensor code They’re a dime a dozen for used ones They require one bolt to replace This is about as easy as they come. 1. Buy a used crank sensor or eBay special for pocket change. 2. hand it to someone who can remove one bolt. Done. Sometimes these do seize in the bore, just bust the old one to pieces and rip it out. Either way it’s one bolt and not hard.