idosubaru

that's an EJ25D which is notorious for awful headgasket issues. my first thought it someone dumped it when they saw the issues and you bought it. but let's hope i'm wrong: 1. get the fans working 2. use a Subaru only thermostat (aftermarkets are notoriously whimpy, even visually, just look at them) 3. make sure it's properly burped - any air in the system and it will overheat. keep adding/filling nose up in the air. but if you're bubbling in the overflow tank - that's exhaust gases getting pushed into the coolant and you have a blown headgasket. very common for that engine and wouldn't surprise me if it was sold for that reason.

top is 98?-99 bottom is 96-98?

no, the valve cover gaskets and spark plug tube gaskets are all DOHC EJ25D specific. ; *** there are even two different DOHC valve covers with corresponding different gaskets - like 96-97 and 98-99 here in the US anyway.

i'd imagine one of the online places might help you out, some are even members here like Jamie from subaru genuine parts.com? do they ship internationally? if you don't get any leads elsewhere i don't mind helping you do that but simpler if you can find a place that will do it. $300!!!!????? nuts.

Do you have the complete engine and body side wiring harness? Get the FSM's and start stripping the wiring harness. great engines, don't generally need too much. replace the valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube gaskets, and spark plugs while it's out. they're quite tricky to do in the vehicle. use Subaru OEM NGK plugs, they are expensive but very good and you won't ever have to replace them again unless you drive 160,000+ km's. replace the two idler pulley bearings for the serpentine belt. they fail at an extremely high rate for some reason, i consider them normal maintenance and should be checked every 30k-60k. they're super easy and cheap, you can: 1. replace just the bearings - a basic 6203 bearing - they tap in and out *really* easy 2. DAYCO 89007 pulleys can be used in their place 3. Subaru is quite expensive for the pulleys. oil cooler gaskets leak all the time and at that age i'd replace it and any bad hoses associated with it while the engine doesn't have coolant in it. if the coolant pipe under the drivers side head is rusty - don't leave it there, it's cumbersome to get to in the vehicle. they're $50-$60 from Subaru. Subaru part # 14165AA014

fuel smell and 16 mpg sounds fairly conclusive that it was dumping too much fuel. fuel thins out the oil and doesn't lubricate the bearings. the bad fuel mileage suggests: 1. something was compromised when the job was done 2. a symptom of engine issues was ignored for 1,500 miles #2 would be more culpable for the rod bearing failure unfortunately. www.car-part.com for used engines or JDM Depot has good prices on JDM motors.

i'm sure you've seen how far an EJ25 piston protrudes out of the block right? they're freaks of Subaru nature. is the 642 gasket a Phase II gasket, i thought it was? those aren't typically used on EJ25D's and i thought it was because they shouldn't be used, but i'm unsure. without thick enough headgaskets Phase I pistons can strike heads themselves (not just the valves), so they do need to be a certain thickness in some situations (block/head swaps).

do you ship parts ivans, i'll keep those cores in mind? indeed, you're not alone. i have to explain it like 3 different ways before friends finally get that we can not get internet, cable, DSL, cell phone service, nothing. they think i'm saying we don't sign up for it - but it's simply not available or an option where we live. there are no lines or reception. until a few years ago, google maps and GPS couldn't locate our house so family/friends using it would get lost. i mentioned to a couple next to us at a restaurant that i hadn't watched TV in 10 years because they were talking about a show playing at the joint, and when you don't watch for 10 years you don't even know the names of shows any more. they started laughing and didn't believe me.

if snow/water gets on the door it can trigger various strange electrical issues involving anything in the door or that shares a circuit with it. i would suspect the key/remote or door switches got wet and shorted something. i've seen it happen before and once dried it never happens again. get one of those key boxes you attach somewhere under the car, under a fender liner, behind/under a bumper cover, etc and you'll always have a spare key. if it's still suspected to be somethign mechanical: stopping in a SUbaru dealer would be a good idea in older Subaru's it's caused by a defective door lock timer, a common issue, they'll randomly lock and unlock. oddly they'll normally do it when the car is sitting with no key in it. the door switch could be the culprit too

not sure on function, my guess is the rough cast of the caliper bracket isn't a finished product worthy of the task, these are probably a simple way of providing a robust sliding/working surface. i've seen cars without the clips before...i presume a prior brake job and the pads were hosed or forgotten or not in stock or expensive...so they just pad slapped it without them. so they'll "work" if the vehicles i've seen without those clips are any indication. not that i'm saying it's a good idea, just sharing an experience, i wouldn't do it. i generally buy them from rockauto.com because they're super cheap and just try to replace them frequently. otherwise they rust up and cake up with brake debris and the pads can hang on them. it is often the case that brake pads are too tight and need filed down, if that's the case read the TSB's or threads about it - they can be too tight and hard to fit, grab/catch/possible deform the clips as well.

the lesser cylinder wall/mating surface thickness that blows all the headgaskets must make it lighter. LOL maybe a small difference is substantial given the cumbersome work of pulling a block out of a vehicle. i imagine quite a few variables makes one engine pull hard to compare to another: engine mounts or other parts grabbing/sticking and geometry - position you're pulling from, height of vehicle, what you're standing on, how/where you're taking it from and too...can make a weight feel much more awkward even if it's the same weight - as in the difference between picking up a concrete block and a piece of furniture that weighs the same. then there's the weight of oil, coolant, additional parts.

cars101 is a great resource. we dont' know what you value...price, reliability, high mileage capability, safety, etc. They don't change much over the years - 00-06 probably incurs the most changes regarding engine, safety (airbags possibly), etc. Brakes, suspension, etc are all about the same really, front suspension is basically interchangeable (not that you'd want to due to some dissimilar items), but functionally and all they're very similar. up to 1996 is non-interference EJ22. about the best engine subaru has ever made. finding a pristine condition one is hard but makes for an easy, inexpensive, and reliable 250,000 mile vehicle. 1997-1998 is interference EJ22. equally robust but make sure all timing components are replaced for interference reasons. not that it really matters because you should be doing all of that to even 96 and earlier models for reliability/maintenance. 1999-2001 is Phase II EJ22. a variants of the EJ22 and a nice option for avoiding EJ25 head gasket issues. 99's have a "delayed forward engagement" issue with automatic transmissions. not a huge deal and easily remedied if it happens but nice to know ahead of time and be sure if you test drive one to start it when it's dead cold and see what it does when going from park to drive. 2002+ is EJ25. Watch out for headgasket issues. Google if you're not aware.

crack, yes the impact driver! thanks! perfect. i have one for TPS screws and rotor screws that need drilled out 110% of the time around here. lol copy, i'll spray them (i have some YIELD) anduse an impact driver. where do i get a torx bit for an impact driver? i guess an online search will point the way, i'll check it out when i'm not on dial up? indeed, i've seen those H6 timing chain/headgasket threads multiple times, probably replied in it. my problem isn't drilling a few, my problem is drilling just about ALL of them! plenty of rust around here so i'm accustomed to drilling and have left handed high grade bits, torches, YIELD, welder...all of which i've used to get rusty bolts out.

2002 H6 EZ30 that has like 60 hex bolts for the timing chain cover. only one out of the first 10 i tried came loose. if i spend 10 minutes drilling each one out - it'll take me 10 hours just to remove the timing chain cover, that's fairly absurd. i'll try a chisel first to see if i can get each one to nudge. any reasonable solution to remove these bolts quickly? surely Subaru and shops are not drilling out 50 bolts?

i'm not sure what "ocassional slipping" means, but if it means the inner DOJ of the axle is slipping on the splined transmission shaft then yes that's definitely a problem. there are some very early 90's Subaru's that got different axles. I'd verify for sure that your 92 FWD axles are not supposed to be any different from every other Subaru. I would check a Subaru FSM - not anywhere else though as it's a very rare axle if it's different. All EJ Subaru axles (legacy, impreza, forester, outback, baja, svx are largely interchangeable from like 1990-2004. for instance i know 1993 Impreza FWD axles are a different spline count than every other EJ made for 15 years, it's and oddball. again - i don't think your legacy is but if you're chasing a weird issue....? there are often core charges on parts depending on supplier so that $40 core charge you mention isn't that surprising, though it seems a little steep but i never buy aftermarket so i wouldn't know averages either.

yep, normal. LSD the wheels both turn the same direction. open differentials turn opposite direction. congrats on having an LSD!

+1. aftermarket axles suck. you will continue to have issues if you want aftermarket axles to last years. they're bad right out of the box all the time. when you through away your original Subaru axles you tossed the best axles you'll ever have on that car, they should have been cleaned and rebooted, not thrown away. if they still have the original axles i'd call first thing this morning and tell them to save them. check front diff oil too, has it ever been changed? but i doubt that's it, they usually make humming/whining noises under load, accelerating, throttle, etc.

you would have to describe what you mean by "locked up". are you driving it, what does it do, are you just worknig on it and seeing tires spinning the same direction, etc?

great, that's got to feel good to finally get it knocked out after 4...or 5 times!! good job figuring out exactly what was happening, that's some attention to detail there. not surprised the diagnosis was incorrect and a new pump fixed it, first day you posted i new a gasket couldn't be that hard to seal:

go Dave! glossed over the active valve stuffs. easy fix!

my bad, i was forgetting the non-VDC H6's in my comment even though i own one of those too. LOL so my H6 VDC and H6 non-VDC vehicles have interchangeable transmissions..minus the rear extension housing. fascinating. when i replaced the transmission in my 2003 non-VDC H6 a few years ago i think folks were saying VDC and non-VDC were not interchangeable.

woah elephant smoke batman, that's crazy! yeah you need a new wheel bearing, the hubs never come out like that, never seen or heard of that happening. make sure you reboot the axle, aftermarket axles sucks really bad, clean, regrease, and reboot the OEM axle at all costs. or buy a used one at a yard and reboot it if you don't want your axle for some reason.

if water froze then anything is possible. it's been below freezing many times and down to negative 10 out here, i suspect the same there - so who knows how many freeze cycles it's had? the heads have freeze plugs in them i believe, so if those are popped they'll need replaced. i've never seen it but others have talked about it on rare occasion.

copy. sounds good. actually - you can remove the drivers side timing belt cover, it's only held in place by three 10mm bolts. this shows the 3 bolts holding part #13 in place: http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b12/type_19/engine/timing_belt_cover/ item #15 is the timing tensioner in this diagram: http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b12/type_19/engine/camshaft_and_timing_belt/illustration_2/ peer in there with a good flashlight and see if the belt is loose. sometimes the tensioner is not notably bad though when they knock like that, they look fine statically (sitting still) but can't hold tension under load. alternately it's located right under the a/c compressor so if the knocking is from that region then it's likely the tensioner. a mechanis stethoscope may help and are only $9.99 at autozone: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/OEM-Mechanic-s-stethoscope/_/N-255s?itemIdentifier=70131 or order it online and use the "20OFF" promo code and get it for $7.99! ebay has code readers for like $40 or so, great investment and they're so cheap i don't mind throwing them around, taking them on trips, off to help a friend, etc.

first guess is the timing belt tensioner is failing. it's knocking at idle, which i've seen happen before and it can sound really loud and ominous. it may be artificailly loosing timing under load. i would not drive the car like this. it's an interference engine, if the timing belt breaks then valves will bend (unless you're really lucky). then it'll need a complete head job, rebuild, replacement, and $1,500+ or hours and hours of repair. the timing belt, pulleys, and tensioner, should all be replaced. Gates kits are like $130 on rockauto or amazon for everything. it can be done in an hour...probably not for a first timer but it's not hard. the new timing belt tensioners are known to have issues and fail and knock at start up and probably not maintain proper timing under load. they should always be replaced as well as allt he pulleys (which come in the kits mentioned above). for a more general approach: flashing CEL means multiple cylinder misfire and needs addressed soon/immediately. any advance auto parts, autozone, or other chains read codes for free. have i read and post them here. could be ignition related: plugs and wires. use Subaru wires and stock OEM NGK plugs it could be timing component related, artificially affecting timing under certain situations/loading.