idosubaru

Pull an ATF hose line and start the car - just to see if fluid is circulating. Contact the old owners? Sounds like they got what they wanted - dump it before it strands them but never hurts to ask.

If the Duty C is an artifact and not real then maybe this is less likely but no power to the rear (and maybe the front) sounds like a possible symptom of it. I've gotten borked non-moving 4wd Subaru transmissions to move by revving high ( blown front diffs, bad solenoid issues) but that's probably a bad idea when you don't know, lol.

Codes could be artifactsbof another issue and not directly related. Like simply its expecting something to move that isn't. Looks like you checked fluid level? A rare failure related to Duty C issues is the clutch hub/drum shearing off. I would search for what symptoms occur when that happens. I know someone on here has hadn't it happen and posted about it before and years ago I sold someone one off a parts transmission I have. Bigbususa or some user name like that comes to mind. Might need to find the correct name of that part to search. It's the transmission side driven gear/hub that the 4WD bits engage and are driven by. Too much torque bind and it shears off.

All that being said headgaskets can fail a second time. Doesn't happen terribly often with OEM gaskets and dealers have a good track record overall. Though dealers don't generally install the best available gasket or resurface the heads.

good job taking a picture. Take the same photo tomorrow after more driving. Short answer: Crank seal ($500-$1000) or valve cover gaskets ($200-$300) Preferably get photos of the entire underside from frame rail on one side to the other. You've got most, but not all of it. Bad leaks that get worse quickly are often (not always) seals - crank seal or cam seal. While the seals are $5, it's mostly labor. It's basically a timing belt job plus cost of seals. $500-$1000. If you do it be sure to get a complete timing belt kit - tensioners and pulleys. The originals are devoid of grease by now and you have an interference engine and don't want to pay that labor cost twice (seal now, belt later). Crank seal costs $5 and could be replaced in two hours so an honest shop charging by the hour could conceivably repair this for $200 but that's unlikely to find and better off doing the timing components now as well. A crank seal would leak around the center of the engine - arouns the oil pan as you do have pictures there. Dont think too poorly of the shop - EJ25's leak oil externally at headgaskets all the time. Afailure mode you're apparently not familiar with - EJ25's do not mix oil and coolant, which you mention. So they're closer to factual than you are...as an illustration, though they're still likely to be wrong here, I just wouldn't fault them...yet. It's usually.2005+ models but sometimes earlier ones and replacements (which yours is) have more variations in failure modes. Few shops know these specifics/engines this well but HGs are probably more commonly seen than oil seals, if that's what yours ends up being. Did you add oil if it lost a lot?

oh yeah right, that. how about searching USMB for numbchuxconversions and then placing a link to a freely hosted version as outlined above? i got 9 hits with a quick search/no effort - is it possible to capture most of them that way? or would loosing the pic's/time line in a thread throw it all out fo whack? https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=numbchuxconversions.com+site:http:%2F%2Fwww.ultimatesubaru.org

+1 to what he said. In genearal - Possible transmission issue: Check fluid level.

For $10/month, cheaper than you're paying now, you can get 1 Terrabye of online cloud based storage and put the entire website dump into a public folder. If the backup, photo uploading, and cloud based storage is helpful to you, as it is many people - might be a win-win. Maybe - why don't you dowload the files and try it? Migrations usually take inordinate time, though it is relatively a simple website. That's a good starting point - another simple and free option might look something like this - do a complete website dump and store it on dropbox (or other free cloud based storage app) account). this would only work if the file size is small enough for the free account size (usually 2 GB i think) and he's not already using those apps.

Hahaha. That's hysterical. Carry on.

new pulleys and belt and you're golden, can be done in well under an hour, easy job. leave the covers off for easy access/save time.

what do you mean by overhaul? complete bottom end rebuilt or just a headgasket job? in general yes resurface the heads every time.

unlikely due to exhaust leak. RPM is likely minor and unimportant, a tune up would probably help that (given we know nothing about the vehicle so this is all ambiguous, foggy guessing) 1. headgaskets look for external leaking at the rear bubbles in the overflow tank after an extended highway spring look for signs of them already being replaced - you can see the edges of the gasket protruding from the block if you know where to look - google image search if not brand new coolant, water pump, tstat, hoses, radiator suggest you should look further into possible chasing of a headgasket issue (although these would typically only happen with headgaskest that have already been replaced, since the originals just leak externally and visibly so the failure is obvious). 2. torque bind - drive in tight circles. 3. timing belt - all the pulleys, tensioner ,and belt should be replaced for long term reliability, the valves will be bent $$$$ if the timing belt breaks. $200 in parts and 2 hours labor to do it yourself, or $500 - $1,000 at a shop.

Not at all. Even an LSD would have probably survived a short incident if you're just referring to the moments around the mishap. i've done it before and it's fairly commonly done on other open differential situations. pretty generic in principle so this is probably google material too if needed.

that loosness was definitely the issue. will it come back? is it EA81's that have the concave nut or washer or something that has to be installed in one direction or EA82's?

you've served a ton of people over the years, you can feel great whatever you choose. that you're considering it says to me, move on. always good to clean house every now and again. "good is the enemy of great" they say. too bad it's not easy to migrate to free apps.

In the end it sounds like you've found the car you want at the price point you want, so just roll with it. Most people like excellent synthetic oil service records - they don't fair well with poor oil mainenance, far less forgiving than their non-turbo counterparts. The engines and turbo's are pricey and tend to coordinate their departure from this world. What brand gasket and were the heads resurfaced? I'm suspicious of the story - radiator failure and it's associated little overheating isn't ever a reason to do another asymptomatic 10 hours and $2,000+ worth of work. That literally never happens, radiators are cheap, easy and don't need removed to do the headgaskets. "You drove on low tire pressure/spare too long with that tire before it went flat - we better rebuild your transmission for $2,500 in case the differential and 4WD were affected"

for me it would largely depend on why the headgaskets were replaced? were Subaru OEM gaskets used and were the heads resurfaced? if it's aftermarket headgaskets i likely wouldn't want it. if the heads weren't resurfaced i'd be hesitatnt without further deails on what precipidated the replacement. does it come with an existing warranty on that work and is it transferable to a new owner? most shops give 12,000 miles or 12 month warranties. headgaskets aren't common with that engine - you're thinking of the 4 cylinder non-turbo engine. the turbo variant is generally not prone to headgasket issues.

if it's really bad - install regular heater/coolant hose in it's place until you can get a good part in hand. look/ask for a blown H6 engine (any 01-09 EZ30) - if they have a blown engine they might be willing to pull that pipe for you. www.car-part.com order from subaru. i'm sure with the part number you can get one from ebay or amazon. Subaru part post in the parts wanted forum.

check the controllers and fuses, maybe someone disconnected/pulled them?

No it's not. Unless reading on my phone is hindering something. He said 96 or 97. Phase II isn't until 1999 for the EJ22.

http://www.numbchuxconversions.com/Files/ the gear ratio chart i assume it posted somewhere here?

I used it last week - but that's coincidence, first time in a few years. I have it all on at least two old laptops and numerous back-ups and just downloaded it today to my new laptop, thanks for the heads up Chux. Makes sense to close it to me.

rebuild kits don't have directions. it's really easy though - just terribly messy. i've only done this with inner joints but the vibrating/noisy inner joints i've regreased/rebooted are perfectly fine years later with no issues. i would presume the same is possible with outer joints. some people swap axles from drivers to passengers side as well - idea being the loading is different internally - so that's another option if you're worried, but i dout it matters. have cardboard or somethign to work on so you can throw the big greasy mess away. remove boots cut off boots and clamps remove circlip holding cup onto joint with a screw driver - it's hard to see as it's covered in grease and sets inside the ID of the cup right on the lip, close to the end. slide cup off keep track of the end joints that'll slide off. remove circlip on end of axle stub so you can slide the entire jiont off the axle shaft. now you just cut off the outer boot and slide a new one all the way down the shaft (after cleaning out the old joint). then reboot the outer joint - install boot/clamp, slide joint onto shaft, install circlip that holds it onto the shaft, install the little balls of the joint, slide it into the cup, grease it, install cup circlip, install boots and clamps.

Rust almost always means more maintenance and issues sooner rather than later. Exhaust, caliper pins seizing are the main rust induced mechanical issues that can be easily assessed and addressed. Move on is a good option. But I hate rust. Sounds like you don't want to fork out the $ but Get a year out of it while you plan for version2?

Where did you read the VIN number?. I've seen plenty of subarus with replaced body parts and mismatched VINS.