idosubaru

they are in different locations so you visually inspect. take a picture of the wet/oil area and post it here and we'll help. 1. if it's leaking at the valve cover - it's the valve cover gasket. 2. if it's leaking at the headgasket then it's the headgasket. valve cover mating surface and headgasket mating surface are in different locations so it's not too difficult to tell usually, particularly when it first starts happening which sounds like the case here. if oil gets everywhere under the engine and it's all wet from previous oil leaks...then it gets muddled...but doubt that's happening here. valve cover gasket leaks tend to drift/seap/blow towards the back of the engine and inwards towards the engine so they can make the head gasket mating surface look wet/oily and confuse people. the opposite can't happen - headgasket leaks don't make the valve cover areas wet.

valve cover gaskets are easy to do in the car, not a big deal at all. replace them first and see what happens. timing belt, easily done in the car, these are a cinch to do as far as timing belts go. best bet is to replace all pulleys and tensioner too, not just the belt as pulleys/tensioners do fail sometimes. HG's - they do fail even on later models - seen a few 08's. they do not mix oil and coolant, won't fail compression tests, and they won't fail an exhaust gas test either. they leak externally, which is what hte mechanic was referring too. but if the valve covers are leaking, replace those first, clean up the oil spots, and let it roll. if the HG's start leaking these motors can be essentially driven indefinitely even with externally leaking headgaskets - it basically comes down to how much oil (or coolant - they can leak either externally) you want to add and if it starts dripping on your driveway or exhaust - how annoyed you'll get at that. my friend had a 2003 with leaky HG's and the car was so beat up and high miles i just told him to keep adding oil and not think about HG replacement. i don't know how long but for a couple years and probably 100,000 miles he drove it with leaking headgaskets. that is typical for this generation engine - they leak externally - starts really slow and gradually gets worse but very very rarely fail catastrophically and wont' leave you stranded if you keep it full of oil and coolant. they wont' ever overheat until they're low on coolant. requires Subaru Coolant Conditioner in the engine so if the oil compromised the head gasket might be a good idea to change the coolant and add one or two bottles of Subaru coolant conditioner to be on the safe side, that's what I'd do.

sweet, is that side more likely to be "driven"? is one wheel more likely to be receiving power most of the time or it depends? if a subaru is freewheeling stuck in mud/snow or in the air - is it always the same front tire that will spin?

you are more versed about them than I, as I don't know the technical stuff about clutches but i'll share my experiences and the two issues i've seen when pulling motors/trans: 1. missing one clip on a perfectly functioning vehicle. i am just assuming the clip failed (somewhat based on #2) but who knows, maybe something caused them to fall off like you're suggesting. ; 2. aged clips that are...not rusted...but the metal just looks aged, the surface is not clean looking....sort of, hard to describe but they're notably fatigued and i wouldn't want to leave them in there.

i've never had a problem with them being exposed here in the land of rust, so you being in a lesser rust prone area would probably be fine. given how everything else rusts up here i'm not sure why they don't. most subaru wheels have the axle nuts covered via a hub cap or center cover, does yours maybe have those?

yes it is, my H6 has them. i bought it wrecked and had to replace them. they are called pretensioners, they're supposed to be safe but hard to get out of - i think it's recommended to keep something handy to cut them off if in a wreck.

what you're describing is done all the time to verify if something is caused by the p/s, belt, pulley, etc or to move a car around, parts car, mechanically in progress, etc. so you're golden. due to the alternator it's use as a daily driver like this will be limited.

that's awesome. i'd be wanting the timing tensioner and pulleys replaced with the belt, but they'll be pricey from Subaru. the pulleys and tensioner have more issues before 200,000 than i'm comfortable taking a risk on. or you can entertain having it changed before the next 100,000 miles as well, that's an option. the lower sprocket is the one that is usually in the worst condition - $59 from subaru (that's the discounted price i think).

if there's no way, then we'll swap them out one at a time and see what happens. my XT6 has MWE axles, but my modus operandi isn't always the best fit for every other person or situation. neither is yours. i'm trying to help someone out here and keep costs down. i already mentioned my distaste for aftermarket axles and voice that with you to others here as well, i don't need encouragement or advice about that. didn't ask for advice on or need axles, i have plenty of OEM or MWE axles already. that happens after you've owned 20 or 25 XT6's.

installed two brand new XT6 axles and have the classic new axle DOJ vibrations on acceleration - is there a way to determine which side is doing it, assuming it's only one? i avoid aftermarket axles like the plague because of numerous bad "new" axles like this. these happened to come with a car i picked up, i figured these things should be good. chances are in my favor right?

good call, we need to just quit looking under our cars and drive them

wow, you've really gone through some brake hardware. we have poorly maintained and winterized roads here and while I have rust issues everywhere else for some reason I've never had to replace a caliper yet. brake clips i've replaced, they rust and pads hang in them. I bought 3 sets of clips earlier this week, i'm getting into the habit of just replacing the clips now that one of mine hung on rust and devoured the new pads in a few months, they're hard to clean and pitted/rusted anyway.

crack, finish up work only to find more. well one thing tackled at least.

actually i don't remember, i only run into this job every few years so i don't end up getting to familiar with it. that's how i know it's fairly easy, i re-figure it out every couple years. LOL i recall that being a thought during the process though....boot goes on when...? it might not matter does it - it just sits on top of the piston so you could install it after the fact as long as you have room to seat the boot in the ridge and the piston doesn't cover that up or hinder that? some have circlips to hold the boot in place and some don't (97 Legacy brighton did not, but all the others i've seen have).

check engine light is not related to TOD. unless the TOD is something abnormal and not "normal" TOD - since TOD isn't super technical. if your TOD is hydraulic valve lash adjuster noise - then it's not causing any of your check engine lights unless there's something really catstrophic going on that's not normal. EGR - clean the valve and lines. probably lots of EGR related information on here if you seach - but since you can't search easily for three letter words that might hinder you.

the way the AWD works - you can hose the transfer clutches and more (automatic) or center diff (manual). actually - you *will* cause them to fail every single time the circumference or rotations are not congruent - it's just a matter of how long and when. the circumference is what matters - most folks aren't mechanically inclined or have the capacity to figure this stuff out - so the simplest one size fits all approach is to have all tires matching. places around here typically install two new tires by putting them on diagonally on subarus - one on one side rear, one on the toher side front. i wouldn't do it, but it's done enough around here that there must be a reason. you gotta be smart but you can work around things.

if you post up a picture of know what style caliper you have, i may have a used one i can send you for like $40. i shouldn't say "easy" - good catch. it's straight forward but it is tedious at times - seating and pressing the piston in, etc. every one i've done was leaking or just preventative maintenance. if you and him are having seizing issues - there may be pitting/rust involved and that might be compromising the seal, piston, etc, issues i haven't come across yet.

1. final drive ratio does not match or 2. torque bind again do you know what vehicle the used trans came out of, year, make, model, trim? different subaru's get different final drive ratios. but it's pretty simple there's only 3.9, 4.11, and 4.44 for legacy auto's, so it's going to be one of those. all you need to do is get a matching rear differential to match the front diff ratio of the new trans. (this is assuming this is the cause and not torque bind - so you'll have to figure that out first) an easier way to do this would have been to swap the rear extension housing off your buddies transmission into the original. that doesn't require dropping the trans and can be done in the car, would have saved a lot of effort and not had to worry about diff ratios.

they're really easy to rebuild. don't even have to remove the caliper from the car. 1. remove the caliper from the rotor/bracket. 2. then push the brake pedal until the piston pops all the way out of the bore. you might want to rig up a clamp or ziptie to hold the other piston in place since it's good or just do them both at the same time. have a bucket/pan ready for all the brake fluid that's going to pour out. pull the piston all the way out of the bore once it's loose. 3. clean the bore and piston, make sure there's nothing obviously wrong, and remove the old and install the new piston seal. it's just basically an oring that goes into the caliper that the piston slides past. 4. install new dust boot and clip (some don't even have clips). refill and bleed. there's nothing to it really - you're really just replacing ONE seal, the caliper bore seal, that's it. you'll of course replace the dust boot stuff while it's apart, but the actual repair is just cleaning the bore and installing that one oring/seal that just sits in a groove. the worst part of the job is bleeding the brakes, the caliper rebuild part is simple. advanced here had them in stock so they should be able to get the kit in a day or two for you.

i'm sure you already know that EA82's and XT6's had air suspension...not sure how similar they are or if any suspension stuff is interchangeable between the two?

or pull it apart and rebuild it, they're not that difficult to push the pistons out, clean out, install new cylinder seals and put it back together. dual pistons are going to be more but i rebuilt my friends Legacy front caliper for $3 with the kit from advanced auto parts, not much to it really. they're really simple. or yeah - just swap in another caliper, they're probably cheap and easy to come by.

lifting a car a bit helps too, i like sitting in my higher cars more than lower ones. not that i really care personally, but i can imagine having a bad back the higher ones would be nicer. excuse for a 2" lift, call up SJRlifts.com!

check fluid level. when it's warmed up - are the fans turning on? radiator is probably partially clogged but check simple stuff first radiatorbarn.com has cheap new rads.

if it's in the rear have someone ride in the trunk/rear comparment of the wagon. it'll be obvious from back there. if it's on the front i use a temp gun. bad wheel bearings will generate more heat and that side will be notably hotter. given how much heat is being dissipated you have to take like 20 readings to get a feel for what's going on, but compare sides and one will be 20-50 degrees warmer overall. others have had sucess with a stethoscope or other similar mechanism on the strut coils as you rotate the wheel - listen to for grinding/noise. i've seen quite a few subaru wheel bearings that had no play in them at all but were bad once removed and replaced. i only work on subaru's and i've seen it so often i don't even see any validity at all in the "move wheel" check...i mean it can verify a percentage...maybe about half...of the wheel bearing failures i've seen, but doesn't come close to ruling it out. is it more successful in older vehicles?

it's probably just clogged with debris/insulation, remove and clean it out. they're super easy to remove, underneath the glove box area you'll see the cylindrical-ish looking area and a few bolts/screws holding it in place. you may have to remove the kickpanel if there's a plastic piece there, it's usually just barely clipped in with two plastic pieces that pop out at the top. remove that and you'll have access to the blower motor. they rarely fail so they're only a few dollars used and super easy to replace. unscrew, unplug, replace, done.