idosubaru

no speakers - i have no idea where those things are. woah crazy!

good job! i'm all for paying cash, well done! not the latest model - a 2011 is 7 years old now, but yeah, either way i totally get that you look for what's a good fit for you. just throwing out options, never know what all the variables are.

did you tighten the backing plate screws of the oil pump? i've never seen one without a loose backing plate screw. i'm not sure what/if any issues they can cause but can't be design for them to be loose.

if it is HLA's - try to narrow it down to a particular one (cylinder) or multiples? on older Subaru's the oil pump can cause HLA noise...never really heard of it in EJ engines but maybe someone more well versed in them can say something about that?

looks like you started a thread to figure it out, i posted there, good luck!

first positively identify the noise for a forum of people who can't see, touch, drive, or smell the car. how positive are you it's valve related? piston slap? usually EJ25's but....? timing tensioner knocking - yours should have the old style tensioner which i've never seen knock like the new style tensioners can but again they gotta fail and have a few failure modes. pull the drivers side cover and watch it while running or put a stethoscope on the engine and see where the knocking is the loudest. check valves like Caboob just said - 1996 is usually hydraulic non-adjustable but a 20 year old unknown car should always be checked first - could have easily been swapped prior or a incorrect model year or bleed over with adjustable valves..etc.

ha ha my self dimming mirror is kaput too - still want it? ha ha I put the speakers on my to-do list when i get home, if i'm not too busy as usual i'll check my list and see if i can find them.

Tires and lifts no big deal, go for it. Tires will of course affect gas mileage and speedometer reading will be off depending how big you go. A little bit is marginally and doesnt' do much more than compensate for the average low reading of the speedometer. 10% off and you're actually traveling a good bit different at highway speeds, just take note. Headgasket - they don't fail catastrophically (or very rarely do - usually that only happens on previously replaced headgaskets where failure modes vary more wildly). They just start leaking externally and you can drive them years and 10's of thousands of miles without issues - just top the fluids off as they get low (usually oil on that year, but could be coolant). Someone just posted last week that they've been leaking oil in theirs for 50,000 miles now and it's never gotten terribly worse so they keep adding oil like all the people who know Subaru's suggest you can do - that's common, not anecdotal. Headgasket replacement $1,200 - $2,000. Use Subaru OEM gaskets (preferrably turbo engine gaskets) and resurface the heads (no matter what the shop, mechanic says). Price depends on mechanic, other parts replaced (timing components), and resurface costs (should be inexpensive but often times uninformed car people are at the mercy of whatever shop/mechanic they're using. Preventative isn't really necessary since they give you plenty of time to plan and don't leave you stranded - but either way plan the steps out - get the turbo gasket and find a shop that will resurface the heads for a reasonable cost without incurring typical high costs of complete valve job, check for cracks, flatness, pressure test, etc which is pointless on those heads. just resurface and be done. If you wait or buy a few years newer like 2011 you can get into an FB engine which means no headgasket issues and no timing belt maintenance. On a 2007 Forester you need the timing belt replaced which is $500 - $700 to replace in a sub-par poor manner. If you buy that car you're into a big expense right off the bat - yours is due by age at almost 10 years old and 105,000 is the mileage interval for it. It's stupid to just replace the belt - the complete timing kit should be used. Done right it should include a complete timing belt kit (and oil pump reseal IMO) for $700 - $1,500 depending what all you get done and parts source/mechanic. Put that maintenance costs into a newer Forester 2011 gets you into an FB engine 2012 gets you into an FB20 - if that's anything like the 2.2, 2.0, and 1.8 engines of the past it's going to be a beastly engine making 200,000 without blinking or looking at your wallet.

good luck. as to power - it's personal preference. i'm never into speed, power, performance, etc. i swapped an EJ18 into an originally equipped EJ25 1996 legacy sedan and it was underpowered but it performed just fine as a daily driver. in flat land it wasn't really noticeable, it was just a slow car but you can make up for it by just pounding the gas pedal if needed - those EJ18's can take RPM's all day long. when i was driving 4 adults up steep mountain grades with oversized 16" wheels and tires - then it couldn't maintain 70 mph.

something wasn't done right - a tap not cutting aluminum - that's like scissors that can't cut cheap wrapping paper. post a picture of the tap and then mail me the tap and i'll video tape it and pay postage. were you using an M6 x 1.00 tap? 1. tap the hole (which is now probably to big to accept the original size bolt due to drilling it out) for a larger size bolt. original size is M6, maybe go with M7 or M8 or a standard size. this is only possible if the water pump hole can accept it or be drilled out larger, and there's room for a larger head on the bolt. use a high grade bolt like the OEM bolt or it'll rust/corrode. or 2. helicoil it and use the same original bolt size - then you don't have to worry about it fitting through the water pump flange. i would just helicoil it - the hard part is always getting the old bolt out, which you've done - helicoil or timesert repair is easy after that. i've seen plenty of other gaskets seal and hold with one bolt missing - never done a water pump but i wouldn't be surprised if it held...or didn't hold!

they are different, but they're just speakers i think. i used to have a set lying around but haven't seen them in awhile so memory isn't helping.

in general they're unnecessary. varying weights or concoctions may mitigate a specific engine issue, but on an otherwise great running engine with no symptoms they aren't preventative or helpful in terms of longevity like most people think. most peope think 150,000 miles is "high mileage" - it's really not high mileage at all. poor running 150,000 mile engines have seen heavy use (racing/towing/playing) or poor maintenance. subaru's run 300,000 miles all day long with cheapest automotive oil you can find without issues. so what's your mileage, prior history, and concern with the engine?

are you looking for 2017 numbers or something else? www.cars101.com is a Subaru specific site good for lots of research questions. he keeps it regularly updated. states 32mpg for 2017. Subaru.com would be another option.

That information doesnt exist. Outback mileage hasn't gone up significantly in 20 years, there's nothing special in the pipeline. Are you looking for a raw 2mpg in subarus, significant gains over other manufacturers, or huge gains in all ICE vehicles? The latter will come quicker if gas prices rise significantly. Outback gas mileage has basically been the same for 20 years, with very minor upticks. efficiency increases hasnt been able to outstrip size increases, a big bump any time soon is unlikely at best.

Can you describe the symptom if it happens again? It's positively like pulsating brakes? front control arm rear transverse bushing or capture nut can exhibit pulsating while braking as well but are slightly different in tone.

Yes mpg will improve. Quantitative information is limited. If you want great gas mileage, a tiny manufacturer that specializes in 4WD lifted vehicles isnt a good place to start these days. That's not their niche or focus so probably be behind in the eyes of hyper-milers - like looking for a 700 acre family farm in Manhattan.

It bolts right in. Bolt EJ22 intake and wiring harness to EJ18 and you're done. If those early ej22 have knock sensor, remove it and thread it right into the ej18, the spot is there and threaded even though ej18's don't have one. Same timing components between those engines - all the pulleys and belt and yensioner are identical. Those ej22 head gaskets are super easy to replace if you want. Head bolts are external, resurface heads and new Subaru gaskets and you're done.

LOL! "˙ɹǝʇlıɟ lıo ʎɯ ʇuǝp ʇ,uop ı os ɹǝʌo ǝɯ dılɟ 'sıɥʇ pɐǝɹ uɐɔ noʎ ɟı"

$500 seems expensive or i need to dust mine off in the garage. www.car-part.com i found a $500 155,000 mile EJ22 in like 3 minutes in southern california and one on craigslist as well. sometimes JDM engines are an option and older NA ones aren't that expensive. wrecked cars on craigslist are another option. with a little effort i'd find an EJ22 for cheaper than you were anticipating for the XT6. plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, gaskets - EJ will end up being way cheaper to get up to reliable 100k daily driver.

+1 great engine they run forever and are reliable if you know what you're doing but the timing components alone are $400 for a kit and other parts are hard to come by/pricey. an EJ22 would be worth waiting for.

there's no need to vacuum the system - i haven't in 10+ years and never had a problem, waste of my time at this point on most older Subarus. but sure, if you want to tear it up, just don't feel like you must. i've swapped compressors, charged, and run them before without issues - it depends what is failing interally, but the "debris everywhere" stuff everyone talks about online is more theoretical jargon and possibilities than definitive outcome. most people writing about A/C stuff online aren't very well versed in what they're talking about - even if they're professionals, trained, etc, and carry a dogmatic view about it - so it's hard to wade through your options. i've never flushed a system and never had issues. not saying it's wise or not risky, i've just never had it happen - even when swapping a failed compressor - so all the naysayers would have recommended the wrong thing for those vehicles and situations. here's two rough recommendations: here's what i would do - if you have ample supply of used compressors - they're a dime a dozen for EJ vehicles because they rarely fail/there's no demand (i'd give you one if i had them because they're pointless to try and sell - but alas i've already given them all away/thrown them away): 1. pull the compressor and line from compressor to condensor - since you'll want to replace those orings anyway - it's like no extra work. 2. flush those lines into a bucket. 3. if in step 2 you get residual bits of metal showing in the bucket then you need to address the entire system 4. if you get nothing then install new orings, new schrader valves, bolt everything back on and charge it without vacuuming. 5. so basically it's a $50 or less fix and only takes a few minutes. if you're installing a new compressor or can't find any cheap ones then yeah flush the entire system so you're not putting the compressor at risk. though if you flush the lines and condensor up front into a bucket and see no debris i wouldn't worry about doing the entire system thing myself.

he hit the nail on the head with valuation - get it running and it's a $1,300 vehicle roughly. you might get more if you sell it to some highschooler as a first car. nearly worthless if they're not running. $1,000 - $1,500 for average condition decent vehicles that can be driven immediately without eye grabbing damage/paint peeling. $2,000+ if low mileage, great paint, well maintained, etc. replace the wiring harness with a used one - I have some spare XT, XT Turbo, and XT6 parts/cars.

All 00-04 legacy/outback/baja rear struts are interchangeable, with varying height differences and wheel clearance variations at the front spring perch.

1. Get all the engine/trans bolts 2. 4 torque converter bolts. 3. 2 motor mount studs need to clear the crossmember - something needs to lift the transmission so it holds everything up above the cross member - usually the engine lift is doing that - but since you'll have to lift the trans for reinstallation it works well to do it right now as you're pulling. if all that is good: 4. there are dowell pins that routinely stick as well. chiseling/large screw driver/pry bar will work to separate - create a gap, go to other side, back to other side and back and forth a few times as you open/close the gaps and it'll wiggle out.

just replace the arm - you'll need a new ball joint (i've never seen rusty ball joints come out). familiarize yourself with how hard balljoints can be to remove - hopefully it's easy but they can vary widely, some will be impossible for some DIY folks to remove at home or require far more work than they ever would have anticipated. hopefully yours is easy - but if this needs done in a day you might want to know how bad it can be. it is by far the single hardest front fastener/part to work with in the rust belt. since you're replacing the arm you only need to get it out of the knuckle....good luck!