idosubaru

Dude, you never described the symptoms at all - just that people are talking about your car. I wouldn't base anything on some passerby's commentary on your car, they probably don't know anything about that engine. Describe the noise itself - precisely the sound and how it varies/happens. Is it present 100% of the time? Does it ever change? Does it go away as the engine warms up? It's probably piston slap which is benign and you can ignore it the rest of your life. Or heat shields Or if it is valve train related - have the valves adjusted properly. In general Subaru valves get tigther as they age though so they don't typically get louder in that regard...

engine running hotter than normal - particularly under certain conditions.

nice work, again!

are you positive all the valves are closed when you're doing the tests? I'm sure you know this but the timing belt needs hung correctly - and as John said - the wrong mark is typically used, use the dash on the very back of the crank sprocket, not the mark on the face (triangle?). these heads are super duper easy to remove - all the head bolts are external, i wouldn't even pull the engine for this. I'd install 2 used heads - resurface them http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122588-diy-head-resurfacing-or-post-apocalyptic-machine-shop-techniques/ new valve cover gaskets a complete Gates timing kit from Amazon new cam seals, 2 cam cap orings reseal oil pump and tigthen backing plate screws new water pump and use a Subaru gasket (the aftermarkets are flimsy cardboard) drive it another 100,000 miles, those engines are awesome.

any current or recent check engine lights? I had one not starting for awhile. Found some other threads that said cam/crank sensors could cause that so I replaced them and no change. After a year or quite a few months - it finally gave a check engine light and wouldnt' start at all - MAF sensor code, replaced, good to go.

Draw a line across the face of the crank pulleye - chalk/sharpie/etc. Run the engine. If the line breaks up - the pulley is separating. The belt isn't turning enough to produce much output from the alternator. This produces - alternator failing symptoms, but replacing the alternator doesn't fix it...because the issue is still present. Testing alternator voltage first - would point to reduced output. Which tells you to check the pulley or test the alternator off the vehicle in the parts store.

If throwing parts and guessing isn't working you should do some proper testing: 1. test the alternator output. how many volts is it putting out - check it multiple times/conditions - like when the lights on the dash are on. 2. test the battery 3. battery posts and terminal end connections can be corroded or loose 4. run a jumper cable from positive alternator post output to battery positive terminal - do the lights then go away on the dash?

those pulleys don't even need the wooddruff key installed at all. so don't worry about that, yours looks fine but there's no need to worry about it at all. just make absolutely sure it's properly tigthened (and then some) when reinstalling. i've run without timing belt covers many times for years, i have two vehicles now without timing covers that have been driven that way for years, not a big deal. not recommending it, but certainly nothign to sweat about. i'd be more concerned about the pulleys and tensioner - they're probably original and have a higher percentage failure rate than engines with a small piece of timing cover missing.

If New York changes every law in your favor, you get your money back, and the sellers are arrested - it's still in your best interest to protect yourself from less desirable sellers. They will always exist. +1 I wasn't a fan either. Your best advocate is you. Financially, medically, as a consumer.... A wealth of helpful suggestions in this thread to remind us how to buy cheap Subarus.

depends. amazon, rock auto, check shipping rates, ebay, and local chains can be cheap if you research online discount codes - buy online, pick up in store. depends on your ability to maneuver through online coupons, shipping, and juggling the shipping juggernaut on rockauto.

Not worth it. Sell the vehicle and buy what you want - FB25 or turbo engine or H6. A cheap/ghetto $2,000 turbo install will probably grenade your engine in 6 months to 2 years. Not what most people want. If you want it done right - you're talking a lot more money and you might as well go back to my original suggestion - sell it and get what you want. I'd charge (if i charged people to work on cars, which I don't) at least $10,000 I'd think to do that swap...probably a lot more.

bad battery posts/terminals/connectors. loose or dirty. alternator - have it tested - auto parts store national chains test them for free - on and off the car. autozone, advance, probably napa...

+1 these bearings rarely show play - that's an unlikely symptom. it's so unlikely that i highly doubt both front bearings are bad to the exact same degree. to say it's very improbable is an understatement. if they are i would guess they were both previously replaced with poor bearings or compromised during installation. could it be a tire out of balance?

I'm a professional laboratory for Subaru CV axles. Front Subaru OEM CV axles will routinely run 50,000 miles in the front with broken front boots. Rears will go 100,000 miles. When I lived in non-inspection areas I'd never reboot axles, waste of time. I'd drive on them clicking for years. No way in a thousand years it'll fail. Sand, fine gravel will destroy them quickly - avoiding offroad is critical, hopefully you're not out west to play. The inner joints, once they loose all the grease, are going to start vibrating. I actually did the same thing - was in Colorado and both inner boots busted and I had to drive back to Maryland. They would vibrate so bad the car was nearly undrivable - rear view mirror shaking, searching for speeds that limited it - accelerating/load made it 10x worse so every grade was awful. But I was also towing a huge trailer - probably 2,000 pounds, 4 wheeler, 5x10 trailer loaded with gear and 3 adults, that probably exacerbated things. When I got home I cleaned and rebooted them and I've been running those same axles for 5 years now in my lifted XT6 with no issues. You can stuff grease in by hand and the vibrating will go away instantly - but then it just slings right back out the joint again and back to vibrating. By a tub of grease and toss it in there. A friend of mine stuffed his with grease and wrapped it with saran wrap/duct tape maybe? That was like 20 years ago so I don't recall the outcome but he was driving it like that for awhile.

+1 for KYB's. king springs seems silly, i'd never consider them in a 1,000 years. wear item (i guess it's barely a wear item) and you can't easily keep them/move them to another vehicle when you move on from the vehicle. i've had my SJR lift on at least 2 XT6's now - and maybe a third by the end of the year.

Looks terrible, but it's minor. Replace door and fender and you're good to go. Can't see the lower door sill really well but looks intact.

No. Replace the failing seal. They obviously make that stuff for a reason because people are desperate or want one more year out of a rusted out worthless american car. Seems like a poor solution for a Brat. Peroonally I'd just plan on addressing everything that's labor intensive to get to all at one time: rear main seal clutch, throw out bearing, pressure place, resurface flywheel, reseal oil pan

ha ha - i forgot i sent you those parts! i'm too freaking busy to keep track and notice!

Does Idaho have property tax on real estate? It does seem nutty to have some of the additional taxes. The additional departments, staffing, systems, building, utilities in every county to keep track of various taxes seems ludicrous. If they choose 1 or 5 forms of taxation, we know politicians are all making excellent decisions for budgets and spending, so that's comforting. LMAO

Either approach is a good fit as long as it's communicated and people know what they're paying for. There's plenty of people on both sides of that equation to make them both a good fit, communicating it is wise.

gotcha - i forget the DOHC belts are more expensive. the other belt kits are $50 or more less. have him tighten the oil pump backing plate screws if he's resealing the oil pump - one or more are always loose by now.

1. Replace your PCV valve. unlikely the cause - but they're so cheap and easy it's worth doing it in case excess pressure is pushing oil out more than necessary. 2. If you're using really thin oil - using thicker oil might assuage the leaks a little too. we need "higher up" pictures - nearly all oil leaks end up where you're taking that picture. they start upwards at various places and then all drip DOWN and are blown BACK - so many oil leaks have that same end result. what vehicle/model/year so we know what engine it is exactly. he already covered it but: valve cover gaskets are most common cam seals crank seal rear separator if it's a 97+ engine they are inteference and all the timing components should be replaced or else failure will result in bent valves. while replacing the belt, replace the cam seals, crank seal, and reseal the oil pump. Gates kits on Amazon include the belt, pulleys, and tensioner.

That's just exhaust heat shields, they're thin and prone to rust and falling apart over time. Very, very common on many vehicles. Eventually they'll start rattling/vibrating. Tack weld back in plate, wrap hose clamps around them and tigthen, rip them off or replace$$$$$. General Disorder suggests removing them may not be beneficial for the problematic P0420 codes, so if you have a 1995+ you might not want to remove them. Other than that it's perfectly fine to remove them and throw them away, changes nothing.

howling with the fuse removed. no howling with the fuse installed? so it's something not being driven in FWD mode. the tailshaft end should spin even while driving i think since the rear wheels necessitate the driveshaft turning... does it make the noise no matter what - like coasting as well? subaru has a website called opposedforces - it has exploded view diagrams of the transmission, with diagrams showing the guts. the rear extension housing is removable without removing the transmission so it's good to know it's not too bad of a job if it needs fixed at least.

This is speculation but most of us I don't think lean on legal and government avenues for solutions. We would purchase cars differently and avoid similar circumstances in the future. If you can't smell a bad deal easily or easily walk from low priced vehicles, then you would be wise to realize that buying cheap old cars is inherently risky...dealer or not. Dealers are even more risky in some ways. Here are some examples of how I buy from craigslist and why I'm glad there are lots of sellers on craigslist: Pristine low mileage Legacy - manual trans - $900, not a thing wrong with it, new tires. That was not the selling point for me - it's the two retired professors in a really expensive neighborhood who were tired of driving a stick in the mountains and just wanted it gone and were glad no to deal with a tire kicking weirdo who they wouldn't trust in their home (well that's speculation - they may view me like that>! $900 1999 SUS - leather, excellent vehicle, love that car. the selling point - the seller was a Doctor, married, busy, about to move for residency and just needed the car gone. $900 Legacy, garage kept, two owner, excellent condition - selling point? You guessed it - the seller. Professionals, high up engineer (i'm an engineer too), full disclosure on the car, went to his nice home in a nice pittsburgh neighborhood, I still talk to the guy randomly, i think because we're both engineers - like 7 years later. Easy to tell the guy was being honest, up front, and wanted an easy deal with someone who isn't scary. I helped friends get a low mileage pristine, one owner H6 Sedan on craigslist - two young professionals, bought the car at their house with the kids running around, needed a bigger car - no way that couple wants the liability of a cheap car on their heads, they don't have the time or want a pissed off local around their kids driving past their house every day. See the pattern? Best to look at the seller, not the price or the car. But I've also passed up plenty of deals to get those too - I could tell countless stories of weirdo's, unsure about, uncertain, shady homes, shady situations, not up front, don't respond, don't communicate well. I prefer for-sale-by-owner veihcles just for that reason - you can tell exactly why they're selling it and who they are. If I can't, or there's questions, I can walk. Particularly for older/higher mileage/cheap cars.