idosubaru

no, it's on the drivers side, no need to remove valve covers.

you're not in the wrong place at all, perfect place and thanks for sharing. i just mentioned the xt6 forum as a reference, just another forum, no big deal. keep up the good work. by "slow down" i simply meant that you are tearing it up. glad to see you're having fun with it!

nah, just the one you're talking about. there's a fuel pump sock - it's a very small screen on the inlet side of the fuel pump. it is not a replaceable filter though, it's built into the fuel pump.

wow, slow down! subaruxt.com is an XT6 specific group, most of which are members here as well, if you ever have any questions, need parts, or would like to share about yours. good luck!

various opinions here. some say OEM only, some say that or Bosch....some say who cares. i'd leans towards OEM or the OEM brand (Bosch i think?) the newer the car is - like 2000+. prior to that i might drift more depending on the vehicle, condition, issues, etc.

that's no good - just get back to the slopes and ski until something is open or someone calls with the part. post in the parts wanted section and hope a colorado member has one?

being a MT the only way to move it is to get another driveshaft/ujoint on it or tow it. driveshafts are usually cheap, just get a used one and install it in the parking lot. pain working under the car but it's an easy job. be ready for gear oil to come out, if you jack the rear of the car up for room and it'll keep less gear oil from pouring out too. these are non-replaceable staked in u-joints so the two most common fixes are: 1. get a used driveshaft (which will also help get the car home without towing, etc, as mentioned above) 2. replace the Ujoint with a Rockford ujoint - they make one for these subaru non-replaceable ujoints, you can google that for the part number and install directions. requires some cutting and grinding and making sure the joint is properly installed so the needle bearings don't get hosed. an auto machine shop or driveline shop can easily do this in no time with they're variety of presses, grinders, and other metal working equipment. joints are $30-$40 each, then a very rough $50 or so each to install by a shop. but - give that you drove it until it broke - i'm wondering if the old shaft is any good anyway, it might be damaged in some way. yep, just acting like an open diff. if your current description is accurate, what you did would not destroy the center diff.

awesome it wasn't the belt and started, i think!? crank or cam angle sensor? could one of those fail and allow it to turn over but not fire properly (causing a no start and strange sound)? normally it would/should cause a check engine light but i have seen a handful of failed sensors not give a check engine light - it's been awhile but actually one of those sensors i believe i've seen that happen to before - causing starting issues but no check engine light. i can mail you one of each to test if you want? i have a 97 EJ22 and gobs of EJ25's which are probably the same.

i've been to Dallas, GA before and a friend of mine is from there. i went to GT and lived in atlanta for 9 years. if a life turn ever landed me in GA i couldn't be happier! (hope that doesn't make you puke if you like the other team!)

i was curious about the oil pick up tubes and found this thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2205625 there's a zillion out there, interesting. some of the comments seem to suggest this pick up tube is also used on non-turbo imprezas as well from 2006+ or was "turbo" implied and not written?

verify but at least some, if not all, the turbo's should be run with synthetic oil. there's a particular bolt or screen or passage that clogs...someone here will know which turbo models that topic pertains to and more specifically what that means, i don't typically get into turbos. a timing belt will be due at 105,000 miles, so it's one year out from a $400 - $800 maintenance depending who and how it's done. transmission fluid should also be replaced at some point if it's not 100% verifiable that's it's been done. or ask them to do it as part of the sale, like if it's a dealer. those are the major points to take note of that can cause major issues if not addressed.

i ended up using an OBW fender for the SUS. the OBW fenders have a painted gold stripe under the wheel well arch sticker that you can't see until the sticker is removed so it's not a perfect match for the SUS. it also needs one very tiny 5 inch long sticker that only the SUS has to continue the pin stripping up the side to be perfect. i attached a picture of the damaged fender before i replaced it and the after picture. the original (damaged) SUS fender picture is in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=122932&page=4 the repaired picture here on this thread is with the OBW fender is simply as-is - with just the wheel well arch sticker removed only. it was a fine option for me as SUS fenders are impossible to find and painting isn't desirable for me. i found a great OBW fender for only like $80 so it was a great fit for me.

a follow up - the stripe came right off by just setting it in the sun over the summer. i was surprised that the OBW paint underneath the sticker was not all green like the rest of the fender. so for the top half of the fender: The SUS is all green. The OBW appears all green but there's a thin gold paint stripe under the wheel arch sticker that you don't see until it's removed. The fenders are otherwise the same and interchangeable. but the OBW fenders have a thin stripe of gold paint even under the sticker for some reason. it wasn't noticeable enough for me to worry about it so i just left it like that but if you're a perfectionist it may give you mental problems.

in some situations having two alternators is a good option. keep one in the trunk, jack compartment or somewhere else on hand just in case. buying two used alternators - preferrably factory OEM units with low-ish miles anyway. i'm nearing 200,000 miles on two of my daily drivers but only one new Subaru alternator i got a great deal on. not entirely stoked about having an aftermarket unit on there since i plan on another 200,000 miles out of these cars. so - i'm going to install the new one in one of them and then put that old one, which still works fine, in the spare tire compartment of the other vehicle. guess that sounds strange, depends on your goals and usage and how much you desire reliability or trust aftermarket stuff. i don't have enough experience with it but have seen enough failures with limited experience to deter me on my vehicles i travel long distances with.

weird. hopefully something simple. this has the old style two piece tensioner right? i've turned them over before and had them sound different/faster but those were with bent valves.

+1 on timing belt. ebay timing kits FTW.

cylinder misfires are typically spark plugs or wires and on these motors stock NGK plugs and subaru wires are best, aftermarkets sometimes cause cylinder misfire codes right out of the box. but given that you said it's seen a hard life and skipped timing belt though anything is possible. change the plugs and check the compression or do a leak down test while you're at it. leak down test is better if you can pull it off. if valves are bent i have no experience about running a car with a bent valve, all the ones i've seen were too bad to even run. would prolonged driving ruin valve guides, burn (your already bent) valve...damage valve seats? i have no idea, someone else will have to comment there. oil leak - just find the source, simply have to look. it will be very telling to note if it's coming from the front of hte engine or rear. front leaks tend to make all the engine covered in oil - rear leaks only really cover the back of the engine. the front has cam seals, crank seal, oil pump seal that can all leak and are probably likely given the age and condition of this vehicle. so lots of stuff behind the timing belt that can leak and it all drips down below the engine and blows back on everything else so it tends to all look the same. rear of the motor covered, reread last post.

i'd be looking for any Phase II 00-04 trans like you said. forester or outback doesn't matter. the H6 trans are different - you want to avoid the VDC models and probably all H6's altogether unless you're looking for extra work or issues. stick with EJ25 is probably what you're after. gear ratio is only concern, if it's a Phase II everything else will be the same. unless there is metal/debris in the fluid or filter i would just reuse the torque converter. every transmission i've bought has always come with the converter though, so you should just get it with. make absolutely sure you know how to seat the torque converter, folks do mess that up and end up bolting the engine and trans together without seating the TC properly and that cracks the oil pump and ruins your "new" trans. seat it properly - the flexplate and torque converter should not touch with the engine/trans bolted together - the flexplate bolts draw them together. if the flexplate/TC start to touch before the engine/trans are mated together it's not seated properly. best to make sure it's right before trying the install anyway to avoid wasting time though. there's a thread with some good pictures - johnceggleston i believe posted it??

if those symptoms are accurate, you simply need a new radiator. a couple overheats, while a really bad idea on any car, particularly one that's 10+ years old - does not mean the car is toast. the engine might be totally fine and easily capable of another relatively inexpensive 100,000 miles, i wouldn't toss it out just yet. aftermarket thermostats are generally weak so if it's ever had one of those installed in it's lifetime i'd get that thing out of there as well. 2 bolts and a $12 part, not a big deal. if you're hesitant still at looking into it further - at the very least do this: 1. test for hydrocarbons in the coolant. any mechanic can do it or get a kit at the auto parts store and do it yourself. it's as simple as pulling coolant out of the radiator and testing it with the little kit. requires no tools or skills really. this would be the most likely way to test this engine for a headgasket failure. they tend to pass other headgasket "tests". radiatorbarn.com has brand new radiators for like $80-$90 shipped to your door and they're super easy to replace. a couple 10mm bolts for the reservoir and fans and 2 12mm bolts for the radiator, it's a really easy job. a mechanic should not be charging much to do it. as to value - that car would easily sell for $1,000 here - even $1,500 - $2,000. i'd give $1,500 for it right now without seeing it if you were close. if there's known engine damage - then $500 - $1,000 might be more realistic price.

i point others to EMPI based on your recommendations as an add on to my own recommendation which is MWE or rebooted Subaru. but there have been a couple of EMPI complaints, here's one: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/35397-2007-empi-am-axle-vibration.html a 2007 with 62,000 miles though...???

if the axles have any angle to them at all, lowering the vehicle would lessen articulation and put less stress on the boots. but if you're offroading it's doubtful you want that.\ it should be booted right away....but i've put a ton of miles on busted boots before. like 50,000 miles on fronts and 100,000 on rears - a lot of highway miles though. i lived in georgia 9 years and found it a rather forgiving place for axles (sort of surprising given the summer heat), probably because they don't use any rock, salt, coal, whatever on the roads. i never really had any CV issues during that time even when driving with broken boots which i did a lot because i was in college then and didn't want the time and $ expense. if you're offroading it though, the grit will ruin the joint quickly. i was driving my broken boot XT6 in the sand in south georgia a couple years ago and they went down hill REALLY fast once that sand got up into the joint. started making noise immediately, like a day or a few days after driving in the sand, before i even made it home they were hammering away. the comment that it was damaged during install is a high percentage one.

+1, as long as those aren't aftermarket axles then have at it. the aftermarket axle industry is out of control. MWE is the only other acceptable option for me, there's just too many problems with aftermarket axles.

yes, easy swap. check the cam sprockets and if the trigger marks on the back are different swap the cam and crank sprockets onto the "new" engine. should be installing with a new timing belt kit anyway so that stuff should be off anyway to get at the timing belt.

left and right are the same. a front axle will fit either side.

well said - i wouldn't go looking for extra work either on these things. seized cam...do you even know for sure the condition of the engine? they aren't that hard to do in the car if you choose to do it, like if you think you'll actually get another 150,000 miles out of this thing then maybe it would be worth it but few EA82's will see that. use the Fel Pro headgaskets, they're the only ones that dont' require a retorque, thereby saving some work/time. use Subaru intake manifold gaskets too, aftermarkets are flimsy and prone to leak as the intake gaskets also share a coolant passage.