idosubaru

*** is it LOOSING coolant***? basically we're looking for a leak. if it's loosing coolant somewhere it might not be headgaskets. bubbling in the overflow is classic internal headgsket failure (it's pushing exhaust gases into the coolant). testing for exhaust gases in the coolant is the best test but the auto parts store testers aren't consistently accurate and many shops don't have the high end electrical equipment for testing that. but you can call around and ask places if they have one. a typical small generic mom and pop shop isn't likely to have one i don't think. but it does sound like classic headgaskets - the good and bad thing about that engine is that those headgaskets are super easy to replace, easiest subaru headgasket to do. the head bolts are external. unbolt manifolds, remove timing belt and off the heads come. REALLY easy, could easily do it in the vehicle. make sure the heads get resurfaced and you use SUbaru OEM or maybe Fel Pro PT headgaskets. you can resurface yourself - it's super easy as well, just read GD's thread on it here on this forum. the bad part is it's still going to cost a lot at a shop probably - a head gasket job is in general a large job and comes with high price tags. it's rare for a shop to be like, "ah yeah those are really easy, we can do those much cheaper than most".

you're right - when prying against the LCA, the strut and bushings move and have so much give, there's almost no impact going to the specific seized joint and the force transfer is mitigated. prying against the LCA is nearly pointless on really seized stuff...."really" seized, which brings up the very confusing part of this topic: it's highly ambiguous due to the wide scope of how bad it can be. outside the rust belt these jobs are often cake (compared to the rust belt), lots of methods work. many methods suggested online that work for rough rust - would have never worked for yours. and your soaking/impact routine wouldn't work for a few really nasty ones.

Resurface the heads. These never warp but will have high and low spots and not ideal roughness. They're cheap and easy but For all the radiator cap comments seen online it's unlikely.

Site linked above is great resource for digital FSM and parts. I have an extra complete xt6 FSM hard copy I'll sell. I have xt6 parts, what do you want and what state are you in? PM if you can or email at yahoo using my user name here.

Fluid - read owners manual did you pull the entire TC with shaft out or did the TC come off the shaft? A picture is ideal here In general you just slide it back in and rotate and push until it's fully seated. There are more threads with specific instructions. The TC does not touch the flex plate when the engine is installed. There's a small gap and the TC to flex plate bolts draw them together Knowing that you can measure the TC to engine bell housing mating surface distance and compare that to the flex plate to trans bell housing mating surface distance. If they're going to touch, the TC isn't fully seated.

Cheap pads often last a year. What pads did you use? I've seen Wearever silvers last less than a year multiple times. Cheap and brake fine but don't last. I think Driving style and environment makes a difference. I go through rears faster in these pothole ridden twisty mountains in my 04 outback than I did in flatter MD and GA. Newer vehicle brakes are wearing rear pads much faster than older vehicles but 20000 miles sounds to low. Particularly 2010+ models.

You are wise to question. Each one differs but if it's bad Soaking it likely won't work. Remove the entire knuckle and control arm and submerge the joint - I doubt that would even work. It's just too much rust to saturate all of it. People that don't see really bad ones don't get that. using a smaller bolt and nut passing through that hole is common repair in rust areas. Getting another used knuckle is a way to lessen the down time on this job - assuming the ball joint isn't rust welded inside the knuckle. It doesn't take long at all to swap a knuckle - 2 bolts and three nuts, swap brake stuff and you're done. No drilling or thread repair required.

I'd get a cheap 4EAT and add a transmission cooler and be done with it. 5 speed: Huck is s member here who did the first known swap a long time ago. In general for subarus need driveshaft, clutch pedal assembly, rear diff, center console and shifter, clutch cable bits, cruise control computer, flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, I'm uncertain of svx specific needs but I recall something needing cut and welded - on the pedal assembly I believe.

The Subaru FSMs are readily available fre online. These wheel bearings rstelynseebay

Resurface the heads and Use EJ25 turbo head gaskets on the reassembly.

That seems like more than head gasket but hard to say with just words. Knocking and no compression is not typical EJ25 head gasket failure. Short block - 99 forester and Impreza RS 2000+ EJ25 Everything else Technically a late 90's ej25 can work but it's not worth it. Less reliable engine and funky piston/head gasket clearance issues.

Heartless those are some sweet looking rotors. Hang those on theXmas tree. That's low miles for the year, did it ever sit for a period of time? Or have seized caliper pins- those are nearly guaranteed in the crust rust belt? I wouldn't expect rotors to typically get like that with average daily driving, never sitting for extended periods or having extended caliper issues.

The rears never need replaced. 260,000 miles on mine, but I've never measured them. Fronts commonly cause vibration when braking, not the rears.

Only turbos and XT6's have air suspension in the US. If you were debating the $1,000 to buy it, it's likely daydreaming or silly to think about forced induction. But that's never stopped most of us !

Make sure it's not slowly getting low due to an external leak and then overheating when it's low on coolant. If you replace the head gaskets just resurface the heads no matter what. It's pointless to check for "warp" because you want the proper finish and they all have high and low spots on the surface anyway. And Subaru heads don't warp anyway unless you install a supercharger and run it overheating til it stops. Lol You can resurface yourself if you're doing the head gaskets yourself it's really easy actually. Read thread on here about it.

Use it, NA power is small change and not going to touch the block. you're not going to hit 200+ hp which is chump change for the block. as he said - look into bearings and oiling, that's where those engines fail, and don't run it hot.

two of them i've seen exhibited overheating only in the summer, one would only do it with the A/C on in the summer and drove two years before it got bad, but the first year of issues those two cars would only have problems in the summer. those two both started out really slow and took about 2 years to get to the point they were overheating and/or using significant amounts of coolant. so if you go easy on it maybe you'll limp it along awhile. that would be hard to believe if someone told me that and i didn't see it with my eyes - i can concoct scenarios to make it sound plausible..maybe...but it doesn't seem immediately logical that 90 degree ambient temps make any difference to a thermostatically controlled engine that's 200+ degrees. .

unless i'm seeing it wrong, that's not normal. are you saying both sides of the vehicle (passengers and drivers side) and the new rotors/pads were all like this? usually it's the caliper slides sticking and causing the pads to not seat consistently. i wouldn't expect that on such a low mileage 2012 though...

yes. but most prefer pulling the engine.

I wouldn't think so - use a 6 point socket. are yours really rusty? give it a try and see if they start to budge or if they're tight or not?

it's really easy, if it's messy i'd just do it. tigthen backing plate screws, new oring, new crank seal, seal the pump body with anaerobic sealant.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/57466-70-ticket-for-passenger-in-brat-jump-seats/ http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/94655-brat-rear-seat-laws/

i'm not sure what you mean by an "aftermarket" arm. i've just installed the aftermarket bushings and that's done fine. follow the tips online about heating them up or soap or things like that to make sure they install easily.

sure. if they're OEM installed equipment, why wouldn't they be? need to be OEM installed with seat belts intact i believe. many cars people on this forum own wouldn't be legal if we had to meet modern laws - ABS, stability control, air bags....

I've installed aftermarket generic bushings but it is cumbersome