idosubaru

You have a "multiple cylinder misfire." Common causes: Spark plugs and wires need replaced with high quality NGK, OEM, etc. (how old are the current ones and what brand?) Oil leaking into the spark plug tubes - valve cover gaskets. (were these replaced with the headgaskets and how many miles ago?) Coil pack issue - swap in a used one is the easy/cheap test. Other possible causes exist but let's get more info before we start guessing. As Lmdew said - read the codes and post the exact numbers here. This is one of the rare times driving with a check engine light isn't a good idea and prolonged could cause damage.

use another person's car and jumper cables.

EJ22 heads are super easy - just pull it off and install a used resurfaced head and never think about it again for 100,000+ miles. i wouldnt even bother wasting my time to pull the engine. could probably swap a head faster than pulling the engine those EJ22's are so easy. remove tbelt, intake, exhaust and unbolt the super easy 6 head botls for the head - done. super cake.

read the OBDII codes and post them here.. get a compression/leak down test as soon as possible. those PCV hoses are typically hardened with age and brittle - thye crack all the time. i have no idea how many i've replaced, ignored, or taped.

subaru master cylidner failure is extremely rare. i've never seen it and the ones i replaced ended up not fixing the original issue i was tracking (same symptoms are yours). hard to bleed issues are often rusty brake lines on top of the gas tank. since they aren't accessible/visible you can't see the area to look for a leak. once enough fluid collects on top of the tank then the gas will flow over the top/edges of the tank and be seen dribbling down the side. crawl under there and smell for gas (if you have a good sense of smell). otherwise you just keep trying to fix it until finally it blows out and really leaks hard enough to see it. access the lines under the rear seat - splice in new line and snake it through and under the car - not too bad. if you're not comfortable making the flared fittings you can always bend the line in place - and drive the car to a mechanic to finish the connecting portion of the job. i'm not recommending this because you'll wreck and die but what I do is drive by downshift/parking brake at 2am/low traffic time.

otherwise IACV is simple - removed, clean, reinstall. just annoying with any cooling hoses and/or the gasket needing to be replaced. personally i'd just prop the throttle body open or ignore idling with throtle closed (the only time the IACV is needed) at the moment until you know more about this enigne.

push the gas pedal - does the car stay running? if the timing was off you may have bent valves. i'd want to confirm timing and valve performance (compression/leak down). and why was it off to begin with - this is causative - a engine doesn't randomly get untimed. it would be like coming out and see your front door missing. you wouldn't think "oh the door just broke off and rolled away i'll get another" - you woudl think, "something happened, someone took it, something caused this"

"for that engine" - the best approach to valves is to inspect them when the valve cover gaskets start leaking - because all Subaru's will eventually need those replaced by 150,000 miles and then the labor is nearly done for a valve clearance check. it's nearly "free" minus just sticking the gauge in there. to specficialy answer your question, it's "yes" and "no" - left to interpretation. it's an "inspection" item at 105,000 per "subaru literature" as you call it, so it's a "yes" to inspect: http://www.cars101.com/subaru/subaru_maintenance.html but youre getting hung up on the definition of "inspection". the engines very rarely have valve issues, it's almost unheard of. if the car is running great and been mildly used and maintained well - there's no reason to suspect valve adjustment is needed. and to that end - the shops are doing you right by not recommending. to that extent it's a "no". no noise, no issues, asymptomatic by all accounts = "good inspection". that's normal for something with such small failure rates. that's how they do those "60 point inspections" and "150 point certified pre-used inspections". there's only a couple things they actually test/check, the rest are cursory glances and asymptomatic verification. someone will gladly take your money for something that's not going to need any work done to it if you tell them you feel better actually measuring it. if you go this route - ask them for the actual clearance values for each valve so you can see if any are wearing differently than the rest. in this way you can likely forgo the next adjustment at 200k or be forewarned. i don't recommend that at such low mileage unless the car has been doing some severe towing or racing or is modifided to forced induction.

i would have recommended quitting dealership service 10 years ago on that vehicle. after 5 or 10 years dealerships ofter aren't good for maintenance unfortunately for a variety of reasons. egular maintenance is easily done by nearly any shop - plug, wires, knock sensor repair, timing belt job even - all easily done at a shop. if you're having a service done you can search or ask for suggestions on here - like which parts to use and what all to do for a particular job. most shops will gladly take good advice - but they'll need to differentiate you from every other customer diagnosis they encounter (which is a lot and poor on a good day)

google it - it's really easy. there's a connector above your feet while driving. ground a pin, get the codes, fix it. if it was that directly related to the accident - the sensor/tone ring are damaged on that side or the sensor picked up extraneous debris (clean the tip of it off).

Abee's Hi Tech 811 McPhaul Austin, Tx 78758 They had one of the most well versed Subaru tech's in the country, it would be worth a phone call even if he's not still there. the guy with mad Subaru skills may have ventured over to here: 13038 N Hwy 183 Austin, Tx 78750 http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/9-out-west/132009-subaru-diagnostic-repair-austin-without-dealership.html

Are the fans coming on? Clogged radiator? Is it always at 3/4 on the gauge at all of these circumstances: 1. idle 2. sustained highway 3. up hills 4. coasting down hills? What brand headgaskets were used when they were repaired the first time? Does the gauge operate normally otherwise - creeps up slowly as engine warms and will properly descend with engine off? (making sure gauge is not freaking out

it's usually the front rotors. have them turned or replaced. you can replace only the one that needs replaced, no need to replace both rotors. the slides are routinely problematic with sticking or being seized. on 00+ stuff i throw away the pin bushigns that can swell - they're useless. use Sil Glyde or similar quality grease - it's an order of magnitude better than the standard brake caliper grease - and actually it's necessary if you have pin bushings because regular grease will cause them to swell.

i've used longer bolts on timing belt pulleys before, but i can't remember if that was EJ, EA, or ER engines. you can check ahead of time by comparing the length of the bolt (minus the portion that goes through the pulley) to the depth of the hole by inserting a screw driver down there. see how much extra room you got. 1. chase the threads with a tap to clean them up 2. install a longer bolt that will reach unused clean threads in the bottom of the bolt hole. or yeah - just helicoil them. they can be done in place with right angle drills/attachments. put on goggles, place a drill bit in a vice and swing as fast as you can with a heavy hammer - it'll shear the drill bit in half - which may bounce off of 12 different things if you're not prepared for it. this shortens the bit so you can use it in tight places.

what emily said - no sealant needed except for oil pump, that's what she meant, and defintily use a subaru water pump gasket, the aftermarkets are flimsy cardboard.

1. refill the radiator and expansion tank - how quickly before it shows a decrease in level? 2. is there any oil loss between oil changes? 3. any oil or coolant leaks exist? 4. pressurize the cooling system 5. has the engine ever had major work done before?

did you check fluid level? is the transmission pan dented? there's very little clearance between the pan and pick up tube is the AT light flashing 16 times at first start up? (this indicates a known fault by the TCU - get the code). as to limping it around: what he said - get under the hood and it's fairly obvious which connector is big on the passengers side rear of the engine compartment. one goes to the passengers side footwell compartment area where the engine ECU is located - not that plug. It's the other large one that snakes on top of the transmission, follow the wire bundle back to verify. i mean if you disconnect the engine - it'll be obvious ad just won't start -- plug it back in. takes a matter of seconds, no big deal. probably even cleaner just to disconnect the TCU under the dash - it's not exposed and less likely to be/get dirty than the engine compartment connectors.

ignore lifter tick = free repair lifter tick = reseal the oil pump or replace the oil pump. cheap and easy: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136547-ea82-er27-ticking-tod-hydraulic-valve-lash-hla-noise-diagnose-and-repair/ very rarely other causes are the culprit - so far ever case of TOD on an unabused vehicle i've had was repaired by a reseal/replacement of the oil pump. "faster" - that's highly subjective - how fast, does reliability matter, does cost matter, who is doing the work....the sky is the limit - what's your limit? in general (not knowing anything) - someone driving a quarter century old Loyale with the distance to the moon on the odometer has some reasons for driving said vehicle. i'd keep the "repairs" and "upgrades" in alignment with those reasons. turbo's are a big project, not entirley practical, and more maintenance....sometimes those things don't line up wtih those same reasons.

what he said - rear differential failure is rare. they're often replaced only to still have the same issues because the rear diff wasn't the problem to begin with. i like to sit in the rear cargo area while someone drives - if the sound is left/right then it's hub related (bearing for instance). of course it can happen but it's rare in Subarus.

easy, there's nothing to it. pull rubber grommet out of body and pull connector out to disconnect - knock out the pin, remove the bolts, disconnect the connector. takes 15 minutes. i have some 1996 legacy sedan doors in white - which ones do you need? email r PM is better but i'l try to check back.

Used engines are very commonly used, not a big deal. THough it's wise to be timid of EJ25's. Most yard engines are good - find one that went to the yard for rust or wrecks - very common. Then presumably the engine was good. But obviously still risky. Most offer a 3 or 60 month warranty - but you're paying the labor again - unless the shop warranties that too (i think some do if htey work with local yards) So you just have to check - I've bought engines and trans and never had issues. If you're driving certain cars like Ford Exploders, certain 4WD Isuzu transmissions, and Ford taurus torque converter - that fail commonly but "start and lot drive" - then yeah, those are a bit scarier. I had one bad JDM engine but I'll take some of the blame on that because it wasn't a yard and there were red flags from the seller - a one-off sale, not very upfront, cheap, I should have walked. I have a known good 135,000 EJ25 - $500 with new headgaskets and resurfaced heads. Bolt your timing bits on it and you're good to go.

you can drive CV axles for 50,000 miles with broken boots and a long time popping and clicking. can you drive it as is? did they actually fail or just making noise? stuff grease in it and then drive it - that buys you a little time before it slings out the new grease. so far the few vibrating axles i've cleaned/regreased/rebooted have lasted years after with no issues.

Two months ago I helped a friend buy back a 2003 H6 Outback for something like $400 with rear end impact and some front damage. There's a few varaibles but I'd expect around $500.

Email me pictures of the rear and when you get a figure. I might buy it from you for the buyback price plus something making it worth your time. Parting out cars is only worth it to a small number of people. I'll never do it again. I'll sell some parts here and there if I have a car for other reasons but Pictures, shipping, meeting people, damaged parts, claims that parts don't work, people take 2 hours of your time and then end up not buying the part, tons of questions.

FB engine with a look out on oil consumption issues. I like EZ30 and EZ36 engines but if you do get a headgasket issue on them they're a beast of a job. They are not the EJ22's you speak of in terms of reliability.