idosubaru

consider this a learning experience - like a college education. you should have never went through with all of those repairs to begin with. you should have checked here first. but if you learn something from it the rest of your car ownership experience could be inexpensive and very reliable. next time - get help from a forum like this. this place is a gold mine. give us your symptoms and goals with the car and we can help you fix this. highly unlikely you'll ever run into something we haven't seen or can't help you properly diagnose and fix this for a reasonable amount. i would not put much stock in the dealer. sounds like a great place, but i would avoid the "grass is always greener" phenomenon that is at work here. dealers tend to be insanely expensive and it's easy to "say" they would do it for less without being the ones that actually did the work, encountered issues, needed to replace more than they expected due to unseen wear, leaks, and rust. not saying you got treated right - but i wouldn't really worry much about cost comparison and a war of words verses experience. anyway - it's sort of apples to oranges and it's a nice selling point for them to talk about how much less they would have done the work for - makes it more likely you'll be a future customer or buy another car from them - their favorite customers are ones paying for inordinate amounts of service to the tune of thousands of dollars. i would seriously consider this a learning experience and come here for what this place is best for - looking for repair guidance, not damage control from hundreds/thousands of miles away - you're kind of putting the cart before the horse and asking the plumber for tax advice. there's some value but you'll have a much better experience coming here for *** repair specific *** instructions. this place is more experienced and knowledgeable than any dealer. leverage that to your advantage starting now. and good luck dealing with the aftermath, i don't have much to offer there except what has already been said.

there are companies that flip salvage cars from auction, but prices won't be favorable. there's a website that auctions/sells wrecked cars...forget what it is but there are always subarus on it. post in the Parts Wanted forum here and other forums as well.

CO got hit with a bunch of snow? around here that's a good time for wrecked cars to start hitting craigslist - not a bad idea to keep looking there. good, cheap, swap candidates.

it's really easy, there's nothing to it. the easy way is to keep the EJ18 intake manifold and bolt it to the EJ22. computer doesn't matter, it'll run fine, except that like GD said it's better to have the EJ22 ECU.

by "hub" do you mean knuckle assembly or the hub (which is simply pressed into the knuckle and not bolted on)? you have the axle removed? if you mean the knuckle assembly - do you have the strut unbolted? there's a 12 or 14mm pinch bolt on the underside of the knuckle. the knuckle is only attached via the axle, strut, and ball joint on the control arm - 3 fixed and obvious points on a very small part. do you have all of those removed? either a bolt is still in or another common issue is the ball joint is seized up in the knuckle and control arm. if you have the pinch bolt removed - then place a chisel in the split on the back of the hub and lightly tap it to "spread" the ball joint retaining portion of the knuckle apart and allow it to slide out. honestly i don't even mess around with them any more - if i remove the knuckle i'm just buying a new ball joint and using a pickle fork. with the rust we have up here a pickle fork is a necessity for this job, otherwise they don't really come out of the control arm or knuckle. a picture might help if you're still stuck. but i'm guessing that ball joint is seized?

google search found this site showing USA as COO: http://fortyone.co.nz/parts/show/2645/Brownline/Digital%20Torque%20Wrench.html amazon has them for same price with free shipping.

bad axle is most likely. aftermarket axle industry is terrible. i would find a used Subaru axle and reboot it - then replace with that. that's how i replace axles here. like you said new is insane price wise and the used aftermarket industry is terribly ripe with bad products, so i avoid the issues by rebooting used subaru axles. the OEM subaru axles are very robust, it is best to keep them and never replace. next time you have to replace the axle you could entertain throwing the new replacement on the other side that's never been replaced and that one on the right which is eating axles. this will determine if junk axles are the issue or something at that wheel is actually wonky.

not much you can do to nurse them along. i have not seen thermostate removal help, but maybe each case is different. the EJ thermostat set up isn't favorable to remove it since you also remove the gasket which seats around the tstat. i doubt you have anything to gain but you've got nothing to loose to try either! that is not true. i don't use them or recommend them but they don't fail 100% of the time, not even close actually. they're used all the time without issue, again not saying i recommend it because i don't use them.

weird. not very normal for radiator caps to fail, particularly at such an oddly low age/mileage. if you smelled it there could be (would be if it wasn't tampered with) evidence of an external leak or an attempt to clean it up - i would go look for it. we are very well versed in Subaru's but we can't look at the engine. i can't imagine them being too anal about this repair/clean up.

use Fel Pro permatorque headgaskets - any others require a retorque procedure which is annoying. Subaru intake manifold gaskets are far better than the aftermarket flimsy cardboard stuff too. there's a coolant passage associated with this gasket on EA82's and they can leak into the intake. the oring on the cam-carrier is a metal reinforced oring available only from Subaru and a very few other parts retailers - like thepartsbin.com i know has them. used to be $2.13 from the dealer. don't use a regular oring.

they don't list one subaru rear differential in the entire state of Texas...everything is bigger in Texas except their supply of subaru parts LOL. i think places just don't mess with them because there's no demand so better off recycling them? i've looked for subaru rear diffs before and surprisingly few are listed. you might be able to look for rear axles, or a transmission (with matching gear ratio) and then call places and ask if they have the rear diff/vehicle still available too.

i doubt i want to mess with shipping that huge thing, but someone else might. i'm just too busy right now with car stuff, i really don't have time to mess with it aside from meeting up with you. although i was hoping to make a houston-austin trip - "can i check in a rear differential?" but just post in the parts wanted forum, someone will have one. i have noticed they don't list them very often for yards, they don't seem to hold onto those - probably for the reasons i listed earlier, they don't sell because there's no demand. houston, who needs AWD down there anyway, right? my buddy took his to the Subaru dealer in Atlanta and they were very reasonable in price, i was surprised how cheap it was. i posted the price somewhere else on this forum but don't recall specifically how much it was.

i don't know the delineation but it appears some EA82's had a simple set up like that and others did not. can you tell if the digital display has the markings you need on it? like is KM even on the dash anywhere?

strange. classic! have you done any voltage, draw, impedance, or electrical testing at the starter? i think we need an electrical guru to get the ball started but helping determine (or maybe you already know Drew?) whether or not it's the solenoid frying or the starter itself? if it's the starter would it likely be happening while the starter is being used or is there any way it could be something happening while driving when the starter isn't doing anything (that is hard to imagine?). if it's the starter then i'd be tempted to pull one open and see what it looks like and see if you could track down something simple.

on DOHC engines if you see the MLS style gasket then it's been done. the original gasket was thin and whimpy and looks like a single ply on the edges.

yes i've done it. you can remove the entire rear differential and axles and leave the end cups in the hubs by disassembling the rear axles. takes sound pounding to separate the joint but it comes apart eventually. it's not a bad option to simply replace the rear differential if you can find one. they are literally worthless because they rarely fail and so there's no demand, yards are literred with units they'll never sell. if you were close i'd sell you one for $25 which would be worth the time savings invested in removing all those parts. but then again removing all that stuff isn't a bad idea, a good bit of work, but you'll never have rear diff or axle joint and fewer ujoint issues with all of that removed too. and your gas mileage will go up by 0.003 mpg.

the new style tensioners fail fairly often. unless it's a really crappy car i replace them as a rule, a used new-style tensioner that's got 100,000+ miles on it and 10 years old is not worthy of another reliable 100,000 miles, i've seen too many fail to count on them. i either replace or install an older style tensioner that generally don't fail - but even they are getting aged and not really worth it either. i would replace it anyway. the ebay timing belt kits have all new pulleys and tensioner for a good price, that's what i usually use. if you're still amped to mess with it: is it an aftermarket or Subaru belt? are all the cam sprockets positively installed on the right cams? rotate the engine a few times by hand - any settling, any difference? the marks on the pulleys are what matters. if you're having issues i would ignore teeth counting myself. install the belt, release tensioner and rotate engine a few times by hand. do the marks still line up?

yard stick and i've used a pool stick before as well. old Subaru keys that are warn often work in multiple subarus. i've done it countless times - have a key that works in multiple subarus. in my experience the ignition is more forgiving in this manner though, probably because it is also used and warn more as well, just a guess and maybe it's coincidence but i've had them work in the door before as well. Subaru can cut you a key off the VIN number (at least 90% of the time they can - if the original sales paperwork was properly filled out). or you can call a Subaru dealer if they're nice or you don't live close to a ghetto. they can look up the key code for you from the VIN. not necessarily likely to do that over the phone, since you could just do it for any car - but for an old car like this they might. i do it all the time with a dealer. i'll have them cut the key and a friend pick it up. LOL if you have the 4 digit key code any locksmith, or the dealer, can cut you a key as well.

engine and trans computer should not be an issue and sensors should not be scary at all. rear reverse lights are usually the "tricky" part, those often are not plug and play like everything else. just some basic wiring fixes that though. still a sizable job. the transmission install is the easy part. it's the pedal cluster, clutch set up, center console getting it to look right, driveshaft length, instrument cluster, rear diff (different final drive ratio), cruise control (if needed like on older models)...nothing super tricky to work around, there's just a lot of bits to complete it. in general it's far less desirable to AT MT swap by piecing it together rather than having a complete manual car to pull all the brackets, parts, and stuff you need. other than that it shouldn't be that big of a deal, i know another guy that's done it, but i don't know much about what he did.

answer these questions: any vibrations? center, front, rear, left/right? has it gotten worse over time or came and stayed the same? any recent work done? are the axles original Subaru or aftermarket? answer those questions so we can narrow down, there are a few things it could be. based on your limited information so far i'm thinking driveshaft ujoints are failing. you can look visually for ujoint issues though sometimes they don't reveal themselves until removed. if either front axle has ever been replaced and the noise is located up there then those become highly suspect. particularly the inner DOJ's.

that's probably it, or one of them, but i've seen the most threads about this on Subaruoutback.org. while boosters vary less than car seats, it will be somewhat dependent on the equipment itself, they're not all the same shapes/sizes. take the booster seats with you to a Subaru dealer and try it out and see what happens. or someone else that has a newer Subaru as a starting point.

tstat is a good place to start. make sure fans are coming on and radiator isn't clogged.

how about repair the headgasket? or buy the heads, intake, and exhaust you need used with EGR? then sell your car rather than part it out just for a motor. a running car will sell for more than the two options above.

parting out cars sucks, but if you're bored tear it up. if you can part out the car i'd say you can also fix the headgaskets. i'd put my time there and get a decent price for the car verses parting it out myself, or just fix it and keep the thing! properly repaired it shouldn't cost all that much if you can do the work and last.