idosubaru

$1k is low end for a legacy, but you can find them, they're out there. keep looking for one that needs a bit of work and be ready to jump on it. i've gotten a lot of good deals including two late model legacy's for $900 and $1,000 that needed minor things - alt, light....simple stuff. the first gen legacy's do look like crap....and i'm not that picky (hey i drive XT's?). but - they are more robust than the second gen legacy's. they have fewer torque bind, strut, wheel bearing, rotor, and other issues. they seem like less maintenance in terms of stuff like that.

+1 - and mention some more details - like is the CV boot broken or has it ever been broken or axle replaced? if not then it's probably wheel bearing. also - any clicking - CV's usually click very specifically, not grind.

if it's in really good shape EA82's are easy to get a lot of cheap, reliable miles out of. i agree with them though, they are underpowered, behind the times, etc. if it's in good shape now i'd expect more miles out of the EA manual than the EJ auto, though the auto's are robust and not problematic as a rule. i'm not sure why but the old school locking center diffs seem better (i'm speaking of FT4WD XT6's though) in my experience at tracking up the unmaintained snow covered mountain switchbacks on my daily commute. i have never driven an EJ and thought "wow, that went so much better"...i always grab the XT6 keys on bad snow days. maybe since i've owned one (or 10) XT's since 1993 i'm just more familiar with the. the legacy is a much better car like they all said though. *but - the loyale may yet have one redeeming quality - it's probably got the better chance of talking the guy down to $750!

yeah - it's already ruined, which is why i was pulling the cluster out and saw the oily mess back there. thanks - good to know that's what caused the speedo crash so i dont' install the new cluster before getting the cable replaced.

might want to comment on why it's "needed for inspection". a new sensor might not even fix it if it's that P0420 code and check engine light that's holding you up.

+1 it can be done in the car by jacking the engine up. got to get the engine a good few inches up in the air. i don't jack the trans up on XT6's, i unbolt the rear trans mount and "rock" the back of the trans downward while engine is going up. works on an XT6. caution - it'll "look" like it can come off and might creep the idea in your mind that it'll come off without jacking the motor up. don't believe it, it doesn't come off without getting the engine up in the air. second - make absolutely sure the pan needs replaced. many other more common oil leaks get the pan/gasket wet and make people think it's leaking when really it's not or is a small leak in comparison to something else.

sweet - how many years/miles have you put on it with the new cable?

4WD manual trans XT6. has anyone replaced the seal where the cable goes into the trans? one post suggested replace from the outside, one suggested trans has to be split open to do it. i've heard of this before but this is my first time seeing it. is this what fried my speedometer? can i clean the cable? seems like i could just degrease it and then regrease it?

removed instrument cluster and control pods (lights, wipers, etc) because the speedo was bad. with those removed the drain at the green fusible link was zero?!?! but i still have 75 milliamp with no radio installed at the main red fusible link. that's still too high isn't it? so its gone from 200....to 125 after swapping alternator....now down to 75 after removing instrument cluster/control pods. just weird having that many drains - bad alt fried multiple things? but i haven't seen that happen to anyone else with a failed alt? in an attempt to see which was causing it I plugged them all back in with the parts on the floor and the drain did not return...GRRRR:lol: note: there was one really hot connector with some brown spots, and some electrical tape on one wire of that same connector - like someone messed with it before. also the speedo cable was leaking oil profusely, it's all over connectors (but not the hot one), etc.

they should still do it, i don't think there's any time constraints? someone had an XT6 recently that had never had the power steering recall on an XT6 but the parts aren't available so they're hosed.

has it been like this for 3 years or recently gotten worse or it got notably bad all at once? if you hold pressure on the pedal does it stop and "drift" lower or spongy or? if you pump the brakes really fast, like 3 times down and up and jam on the last time, does that improve things? MC sounds probable. check brake hoses and make sure they aren't ballooning out, but i haven't seen or heard of that happen to Subaru's.

your timing belt broke or is otherwise compromised. pulling one of the side covers takes like 5 minutes and three 10mm bolts to pull and have a cursory glance at the belt. could be something else, but i'd check there first. it is repairable and properly done you've got another 100,000 miles of relatively inexpensive, reliable, driving. i would have it repaired if the engine isn't completely hosed...even then it is worth repairing. replacing just the timing belt is risky as they indicated, comes down to statistics. i don't know what the percentage is but if %10-%20 don't make it to 210,000 miles, that's not acceptable reliability for most people, particularly with Subaru's this new. no one is buying a 2006 and thinking they have a %10-%20 chance of engine failure, best to keep maintenance philosophy somewhat close to other expectations. which on a timing belt job for a car this new means replacing the belt, pulleys and water pump. manual or automatic? it's not a manual trans stuck in gear right?

you're right - the changer shouldn't matter. a Subaru 6 disc changer, which it most likely is, are plug and play, no wiring required. even if it required wiring it wouldn't affect the car except blowing fuses or a drain, not engine issues. given the running issues and known previous wiring attempts i think a simple test might help: test for continuity and resistance on the wires between the engine side harness and ECU connector. this should be relatively simple - both connectors can be gotten to in 15 minutes or less, so rig up a tester and see what you get. you could even start with the 8 wires you've already identified as being previously compromised...seems likely you'll find the issue there. or like a hacked up radio job you could *guess* and just re-do those 8 splices. pull the tape, pull them apart, properly join them together again.

oh my what a mess! subaru's, particularly of this vintage, rarely (like, never) require wiring work like that. i'd definitely be checking those taped wires. how many wires appear spliced/taped? do you have any idea why they did that? the engine swap required no wiring at all. so whatever he did wasn't related to the engine swap....or shouldn't have been anyway. misfire - have you considered the fuel injectors/supply? i had a really bad misfiring 2000 Forester last year. none of the standard things worked, swapping the entire intake manifold fixed it. not sure if that means fuel injectors or what but you might look into something like that?

2005 era EJ25's can have headgasket issues. it's not "common", but it does happen and mileage is meaningless for that issue. it's always an external leak so check the head to engine mating surface before buying, it is immediately visible without any work. it's a benign headgasket leak when it starts, no drivability issues, no damage to engine, and it won't leave you stranded. - they seap very slowly externally and you can literally drive them for many years and miles that way, it doesn't strand you or cause engine issues. guy i know has been driving his for years that way and it now sits in my parking lot with 300,000 miles with some very heavy leaks. you just have to make sure the coolant is getting topped off so it doesn't overheat and engine oil doesn't low (the can leak coolant and/or oil, both externally).

why did he say it's a dash wiring problem? that's highly unlikely. that's kind of like saying a tooth ache is stage 3 cancer.... i'd start another thread to determine what is wrong with your engine first, then move on to catastrophic things once we've narrowed it down better. if you end up needing to look into the wiring: i would rather do the engine swap, it's easier. so switch jobs - you do the engine swap and have a mechanic do the dash pull and wiring trace!

i'll give that a try - easy check, thanks. seems blatantly obvious now that you say it. start disconnecting light stuff until/if the drain goes away. i have a 50 milliamp drain through a green fusible links that have zero drain in my other XT6's. the retractable light system is really convoluted, with lots of relays, controller boxes, etc hopefully i can isolate something. mucho thanks. i would really like to fix it, XT6's do not look cool with the lights left open!

cougar - looks like i'm getting somewhere but is getting complicated. seems like it might be related to another problem i had and never fixed a year ago. XT6's have retractable headlights - these never go down, they'll go up, but never down - even after i replaced every single component in the system (motors, timer, controller, some box, relays, fuses, etc)...... so i'm wondering if a bad diode is to blame for it all. they can cause drains (says google) and might be causing more drain i have and the lights not retracting and the FSM shows a diode in the mix. another thread about that: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=125912

ah electrical people, high five! i'll try again and see if i can't find each "end" for testing. question - (keeping in mind i don't know wiring lingo) - if i locate one end, there's another connection somewhere between the end and diode so says the FSM - can i still test the diode even if another wire is connected somewhere between where i'm testing and the diode? for example: XAAAAAAAABAAAACAAAAAAAY if the diode is "C" and i'm testing with the DCCM at X and Y but there's wire connected somewhere at "B" - will i still be able to test the diode or will that wire at B hose it up? this also complicates the 'run another wire/diode' scenario but it's only one or two so maybe it's not too bad. i'm not good with wiring.

has anyone ever had a failed diode before in the wiring harness? i think i may but can't find much of anything about it. i'll try to find the wires going to it so i can test or rewire in another diode. it's buried in the wiring harness behind the dash/side wall area on the drivers side somewhere and i haven't been able to locate it. the details: i was tracking a battery drain. it's looking likely that it's related to the retractable headlights. over a year ago i tried getting my retractable headlights to work - they don't go down, only come up and stay up. i replaced every single component in the system - motors, relays, timer, controller, fuses, everything. no change. so i'm thinking these two are related - and on the FSM wiring diagram there is a diode for the retractable headlights (indeed the only part i haven't replaced) and Google says diodes can cause a drain. also - my alternator was causing a 75 milliamp drain at the two wire connector (not the lead). replaced that and no more drain there. so either the bad diode fried the alternator or the alternator fried the diode? i'll try and post a picture of the FSM wiring diagram and see if anyone can help me.

wow. traps don't work? that's just weird. are you sure they're living the car or maybe just visiting it at night? try leaving the car at a friends house one night? if you need to get rid of smells, an ozone generator will do it, they're amazing and are the only legitimate way to eradicate smells. heck - they're toxic too so if the mice are in the cabin it'll kill them if you let it run all night inside the car, which is what i do with really bad smoked in vehicles, etc. then you'll have dead animal smell....but at least that eventually goes away? they tend to do bad things to wiring, insulation, etc - i'd get on this as soon as possible. is this covered under warranty!? !?!

there's an 88 RX in Colorado with a SOHC EJ25 running around for years now. member over at subaruxt.com installed it and has posted info/pictures of it over there in the past.

awesome! i got alternator to swap and a few extra readings to take. appreciate it all. almost can't wait to get home!

$40-$60 to have a small piece of pipe welded in place at any honest mechanic, you just have to find one of those. i'm not sure if there are various levels of quality you can ask for or get but cheap pipe rusts out quick, or at least up here it does. exhaust shops should have decent pipe though. you can try to piece it together yourself with pipe, clamps, etc, it's just annoying messing with cutting the pipe, fitting it, getting the right size OD/ID, etc. it can be done but a bit of a learning curve first time around and tools are an issue for some folks.

are you positive that's the trouble? might want to flash the codes and make sure the sensor itself isn't hosed - did it get tweaked or hit when the tone ring failed? if it's not working out, a used hub might be the way to go, you can swap those out rather quick.