idosubaru

it's just the brake light not the ABS light right? top it off and see if the light goes out after warming up, maybe cold is delaying the response of the sensor.

dealers are typically 12 months 12,000 miles on repairs.

so we have oil loss but no compression loss. it sounds like there's oil coming through the intake - can you verify and inspect that more closely ,try and follow a trail? it's not the valve stem seals/guides? what was the history of the motor before the rebuild? what was wrong with it and what the previous parts look like?

this is what i was thinking: maybe even show them that video...if you don't mind being equated with WRX drivers. LOL look at mileage - how much have they driven it to test? probably not much - they're in a tight spot - put 500 miles on it until it does it - that won't make a lot of customers happy, but if it doesn't happen after hours and 100 miles what are they do do? or just keep driving it until you get a handle on how to replicate it or it gets worse. wonder if weather affects it - it's a lot colder now than it was a month or so ago?

any legacy/outback 1995-1999 belt and buckle should work. www.car-part.com

front axles - CV axles -don't have ujoints. if it's the rear driveshaft: used driveshaft www.car-part.com or yes you can replace them with rockford and there's another cheaper brand too. alternately a driveline shop or even an automotive machine shop can install them for you. order the ujoints and hand them the shaft and ujoints to install.

under warranty - have alingment checked? Subaru offered updated alignment spec's for 05-09 outbacks for this issue....

replace bearings only if there are symptoms. they dont' fail often enough to warrant replacing for no reason. Subaru tie rods and ball joints rarely fail, dont' replace them unless necessary. grab the tie rod and just yank on it - does it have play? i just checked one today on a friend who was told they needed a new tie rod - it's tight as a brand new Subaru. pointless to replace it. it has a cracked steering bellows so I think they're just preemptively replacing it because on some makes and models it probably makes sense on those more prone to fail.

if something goes wonky you can drive the car with just the emergency/parking brake. CYA legal disclaimer - i don't recommend it because it's unsafe, probably illegal, etc. but i've done it a bunch of times - choose time of day and route appropriately and i haven't had a problem.

Fix known issues and then move on to the lesser known issues: fix the CV axles. fix the seized caliper slide. Newer generation Subaru wheel bearings rarely have play - it's almost pointless to even check for play- one with play is usually so bad it's obvious what the issue is. Doesn't sound to me like you have a bad wheel bearing: 1. no noise 2. they said "wobble" - subaru bearings are unlikely to wobble (unless really bad in which case you would mention noise or not need someone to tell you they're bad) 3. "wheels" - plural. you have a better chance of winning the lottery twice than having both front wheel bearings exhibit the exact same, identical "wobble" with no noise or alternate symptoms. if someone said they owned an albino monkey with 3 ears....it's probably technically possible...but highly suspect. General mechanics often make assumptions across manufacturers that don't hold. what is true for one manufacturer often is significantly different with others. i've done it a number of times- assumed something I know from Subaru world is the case when helping a friend with a Volvo, Chevy, Dodge...and i've been wrong. mechanics can't keep tabs on every manufacturer and model across 3 decades. They're also dealing with a fickle, demanding, entitled population so sometimes they're better off - pricing consumers out of a job or in general pricing high. If they try to pinpoint and replace the one thing that's the issue and then the customer has another issue a monht later and comes back with, "Why didn't you find this issue last month? Is this your fault? Did your work cause this?" - sometimes it's simpler for them to quote bigger jobs than the bare minimum as a CYA or a service, since some people just appreciating getting everything possible done "while you're in there" - depending on the local clientele and market economy. lots of variables - it's not worth parsing or dissecting - just make the best decision for you and your situation.

no sealant needed, seal was compromised, installation was compromised, or something else. i'd also go for Subaru seals this time. they are notably high quality. it's very rare but i've had aftermarket seals not fit well and leak, never had that happen with Subaru seal. someone posted pictures and mic'ed a subaru and aftermarket seal years ago - like 10 years ago with pictures - and they differed. maybe not even enough to cause issue - i don't know the tolerance nor have set up a research lab. LOL i've used gobs of aftermarket seals and only ever had one issue i can recall - it's rare but it can happen and i don't think is shocking.

why are you focusing on what they said rather than symptoms? do you repair your car based on what people say or actual physical symptoms and needs? if you have no symptoms - just carry on, who cares what they say? if you do have issues - then state what they are - that's more helpful than guessing and ambiguity. this is all standard OPS for any vehicle work: many shops, and personal owners too, will replace more parts than necessary. ask what he minimum to repair is or go get a second opinion if you dont' like it. wheel bearings can have repeat failures if the hubs were damaged from driving too long on them in bad condition - if that's the case replace the hub too if pressed in improperly the hubs can also be damaged - a hub tamer is preferred over a press. strut and cv axles do not cause wheel bearing failures. parts/repair warranties are often 12,000 miles or 12 months - you're way beyond that. but more to the point- you can simply ask the shop what they're warranty is - it's usually written somewhere or ask the parts place what the warranty is. ask the parts place too what warranties typically are for wheel bearings. either way you're beyond typical waranty time spans but then you'd know without just guessing and he-said-she-said circles. why was the vehicle "on a lift"? your question is ambiguous: "them" - what is that? bearings, tie rod and ball joint..... it's almost like you're trying really hard not to help yourself out.

have you pysically taken it apart? it's usually the slides that are stuck - not the piston. clean and regrease the slides with high quality grease like SilGlyde, it's 100X better than the regular permatex stuff. if it's the piston you have a couple options: 1. unbolt the caliper from the caliper bracket pump the brake pedal...starting lightly then harder and see if you can get any piston movement via the hydraulic pressure of the brake system if it moves - then compress/extend/compress/extend 2. alternately you can just push the brake pedal until the piston comes all the way out of the caliper - fluid and all. then rebuild it - rebuild kits are like $3 - $10 and include a new seal for the piston. real simple. if the piston is rusty it'll need replaced 3. get another caliper.

Phase II EJ22 heads are the same exact heads as Phase II EJ25 heads except for the exhaust ports. unlike Phase I - they have the same intake manifold bolt pattern, same valve part numbers, etc. you just need a single port exhaust header from any 1996-2001 EJ22.

good deal. in general the auto's are easy to remember/determine final drive ratio, manual trans final drives vary more.

That's what i do, the Subaru units. Auto parts store alternators are not that great quality - they don't replace the VR, so you're still getting a used part on a part that presumably has failed before (requiring rebuilt). They're a great fit plenty of times but I try to avoid them if reasonably possible.

schrader valves and hoses are most likely. they fail often and I'd suspect would be more likely to vary like you've experienced over time - leaking sometimes and not others based on heat cyling, engines, etc.

1. post the code. probably an 0420 but best to be clear 2. nearly anything can cause an 0420 start with anything triggering the CEL (other than 0420) or causing poor gas mileage, exhaust leaks. simplest fix is an O2 extender - works often enough it's worth the $5 to never think about it again.

the old style tensioners are robust and have much lower failure rates - but they're old by now too and replacements aren't Subaru OEM usually so quality can't be guaranteed to be OEM...unless you buy OEM. the tensioner bolts to a bracket - just buy the new style bracket or serach for the bracket. opposed forces website or many online or ebay sites have good exploded view diagrams/part numbers.

ideally this happens: 1. engine is properly burped 2. coolant is carefully monitored to check for coolant loss in the radiator (not due to boiling over), bubbles in overflow (not due to boiling). don't give much weight to archaic headgasket tests like oil/coolant mixing or do compression tests - those are not the failure modes of this engine. I don't ever bother looking there, no need to. if they fail that way it's because they've been worked on before or are so bad the diagnosis should be obvious. rough and shaking is a cylinder misfire, not really that alarming, most of us have seen that 1,394 times. can be caused by headgaskets or nearly any other component. it does seem ominously like a HG but don't let shaking be a confirmation of diagnosis. bubbles in the overflow while the gauge is not in the red/overheating significantly are nearly positive HG signs. there are hydrocarbon testers for testing the coolant for exhaust gases. there's a chemical test which is decent and electrical testers much more conclusive. when you get around to repairing it: 1. use EJ25 turbo headgaskets 2. resurface the heads 3. do not skip those two steps for any reason

Simple way to remember auto's is all EJ25 96-04 are 4.44: Outback, LSi, GT, SUS, Forester, Impreza RS I presume later ones follow that same line but I'm less familiar with all trim patterns/years. (H6's are 4.11) 96-99 won't have LSD. those are best found in 2000+ cars101 delineates fairly well which have rear LSD, though folks have said it's not uncommon for them to act like open diffs with age/miles.

Bram said it's located right where you indicated - looking probable, good eye Chux.

XT6 wagon conversion: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/72109-xt-wagon/

are you positive they're smaller or they just appear smaller? pic? all EA82 rear axles are interchangeable so they have to be the same stubs don't they?

is that a Subaru manual or something else? why doesn't it show a clip on that boot - does the oring replace the clip or it's in addition to it? EA82 XT's don't have an oring there. but it's a rather benign oring - get an automotive grade oring sized to match at any auto parts store - they have bins of them they can match to size. even if they have standard sizes there will be one suitable for a metric oring.