idosubaru

right on, H6 has coil on plug - no plug wires at all.

at first glance it seems like it but it's not that odd that the fluid leak and ripped boot *appear* at the same time. the ripped boot could have caused moisture/contamination of the seal or the seal could have started leaking and the extra fluid inside the boot was the last straw for a 15 year old boot already close to wearing out. if you don't want to do the job twice, just get a used rack and install it now. although - personally subaru racks rarely fail and so i assume they are very robust. if i ever have one leak again like this i'm just adding some of that stop-leak stuff to it and see if that seals it up. replacing the boot is pretty much useless on it's own to stop the leak, just as you surmised that is just a dust boot, there shouldn't be any fluid in there. either add the fluid or swap in another rack, that leak is highly unlikely to go away. maybe you could get a super duty boot that can hold fluid, let it fill up and then it won't leak any more.

2003 Legacy GT wagon - the gap between the hood and fenders could use some adjustment left to right. The gap between the hood and drivers side fender is tiny and the other side is larger - but it's all straight so it's like the hood needs to come a few millimeters to the passengers side. Is that possible? I unbolted the 4 bolts holding the hood to the hinges and that barely gave any adjustment at all. Bend the hinges?

copy, thanks GD. i was busy so i was guiding him through the ordeal and only helping as needed. i'll look into the rest of the options.

helped a friend just get a 2002 Subaru OBW H6 VDC lucky for him it came up with a cylinder #1 misfire like a couple weeks after he got it. swapped coil pack and installed a new spark plug: still cylinder #1 misfire. what's next? i'm thinking Seafoam in the gas and probably fuel injector?

look under both cars side by side and it quickly becomes evident how different the rears are and why few/if anyone has done it. it is not a bolt on affair by any stretch of imagination. get the torch, metal fabrication, and welding equipment ready.

any TURBO transmission is an easy swap due to those having the same axle spline counts on the front. XT6 is a 3.9 final drive, if you get a trans with a 3.7 final drive, just swap the rear diff to match. they're easy, cheap, and plentiful so not a big deal. you can also use a non-turbo transmission if you want to get into swapping a suitable axle. build a fraken-axle by swapping non-turbo DOJ's onto the XT6 shaft so it matches the non-turbo splines.

yes. swap away!

no they are not desirable for subarus.

driveshaft ujoints often cause this, probably the most common cause. CV axles can as well - any broken boots back there? rears usually don't cause issues but *can*. wheel out of balance? can you describe it a little more? any noises at all? does it get worse with speed or go away with any speeds?

yes PS - i've seen prolonged driving cause exactly what you're talking about, actually really severe. not sure if i still have that block or head but i've seen a prolonged leak cause localized "wear", in this case it was actually quite a big divot in the block or head (i'm forgetting). i feel like i still have it and wanted to post pic's, but no clue where it might be. but yes, i've seen that exact thing before. everything up to par - they don't fail so the extra time retorquing is a waste of time for me. but to each his own and i don't mess with EA82/ER27 any more unless i have too...and even then i cringe and hide.

awesome, how do you pull the seal out?

97 and up are all interference - which means extensive engine damage/repairs if the timing belt breaks. i'd plan on a $200-ish timing belt job when you get one - replacing all the pulleys too with one of the importexperts kits (because from subaru it's a $500 or job). i like 95-96 legacy's - early enough that they're non interference but new enough that they're not ugly. IMO of course. EJ25's have headgasket and bearing issues (due to previous overheating due to previous mentioned issue). that being said - it's easy to find a blown EJ25 and repair it for cheap. that's the best option to get an inexpensive and reliable subaru. you can even swap an Ej18 or EJ22 into an EJ25, it's plug and play so it's simple. lots of info here.

multiple calipers failures is weird. i'd get it to "lock up" again and then crack the bleeder screw open. if that causes it to free up - then that would mean something in the hydraulic lines is causing it to sustain hydraulic pressure like: 1.hose (you already ruled out) 2. ABS module (i'm not sure if that's possible or not, not sure how it operates but seems plausible?) 3. Proportioning valve (i don't know the failure modes of these, it would be worth a search 4. Master Cylinder - not sure a master can cause one caliper to lock up, Subaru master cylinder failures are really rare. Was this car ever wrecked? *** If cracking the screw doesn't free it up - then it's not hydraulic pressure related. Tom already diagnosed it as brake related....so that would have to point to caliper...which is looking very possible at this point...though fishy? good luck!

i've got both in my garage now, i know what you mean. corteco doesn't say to not retorque so i favor the fel pro's because of that since they have no propensity to fail if everything else is up to par. but your case obviously isn't normal so every advantage is a good thing. good luck!

on step (11) - there is only one way to install the axle to the trans stub. if you carefully look at each hole for the spring pin you'll see one has a "valley" of the spline lined up with it's center, on the other hole it's a "peak", so it can only go on one way. look and align before sliding it on. i prefer a way that doesn't require step 6 and is far easier in my opinion. step 6 usually requires excessive work (like he mentioned) and possibly replacing the ball joint (almost 100% of the time around the rust belt). there's a way to avoid both of those pitfalls. with the wheel off there's only one bolt and one nut to remove to get it out. the 32 mm axle nut and the top strut mount bolt. mark the head of the top strut mount bolt, it retains alignment. i hit it and the strut body simultaneously with a chisel to make two notches. just did this tonight, takes 5 seconds. then loosen (but don't remove) the lower strut mount bolt. slide the axle off the trans first - then push it "up" into the engine bay a few inches to slide it out of the hub then pull it out from behind the "wheel" (which isn't obviously in place).

woah, valve stem seal with engine in place, that sounds awesome! never heard of anyone doing it, clearance would indeed be tight but seems like room would not totally rule this out. you can unbolt the bottom engine mounts, rear trans mounts, and jack the engine up to get more clearance and room to work with.

i recently went beyond limits on a head resurface too - the shop screwed the heads up, resurfaced again, all without ever checking and it was past limits. i installed the head and it's holding fine. really shouldn't matter much if the two machined surfaces are the same and clamping force is where it should be. typically i'd say decking an EA block seems like a waste of time. but if the surfaces and clamping force are proper it should hold. then yes having the deck blocked seems like the last step here. i would not coat headgaskets in anything, rarely do folks that do a lot of these do that. they are meant to install dry in subaru's, that's not the reason yours aren't holding. are you sure the headgaskets aren't holding? it's not a cracked block or anything else more ominous?

you should know this is the most prone engine to blow a headgasket that subaru ever made. with 20+ year old headgaskets and cooling systems i would never touch the red on the temp gauge in this car. is it actually overheating? is the coolant boiling, pushing into the overflow, bubbling, etc? sounds like it is given the predictability, but the gauges/sender can be inaccurate. radiator could be clogged. radiatorbarn.com has cheap new ones. doubtful but your water pump could be hosed. most likely radiator is clogged or headgaskets. are you loosing any coolant over time?

hopefully didn't waste too much time - but in the future if you crack open the bleeder screw and the caliper still doesn't release/free up, then it's not the hose. hose will retain pressure in the line and on the rotor...cracking the bleeder valve slightly will relieve the pressure and seized caliper. if that doesn't happen then that's not the problem. wow, what a pain. another failed caliper and a new one that failed? no need to replace the bracket, there's nothing functional to it - it just holds the caliper in place.

if you only do around town driving - is it still pushing fluid into the overflow or is that only happening at freeway speeds? do you ever see bubbles in the overflow tank? first step is get a mechanic that knows what they're doing or isn't hard up for cash. the catalytic converters were a complete waste of time on an overheating engine (and real cheap, right? ), there are other steps that should have been covered first. i'd rather not be negative but that's one of the dumbest things i've heard in a while...and from a mechanic with unbelievably more experience, training, and cert's than me? i'll be rehearsing this story with friends soon. if the overheating characteristics are different now than they were - then the system may just need to be bled properly. you can search for "burping" or how to burp the system, etc for instructions. need to get the air out of the cooling system, which is tricky to do on newer engines. i'm not convinced this is the issue though, but certainly worth verifying. it's starting to sound like headgasket issues - did the mechanic test for hydrocarbons in the coolant? that's what should be done given the coolant pushing into the overflow tank. (most auto parts stores sell a kit that does it with instructions so if you're using a baster to transfer fluid maybe you're up for giving this a try?). if you go back to this same mechanic that doesn't know what he's doing, don't let him rely on a compression test - an engine can have failed headgaskets and still get a good compression reading, this is actually common with newer subaru engines. if it is the headgasket then i'd start thinking about trying Subaru's coolant conditioner on this engine. i wouldn't normally recommend this for a non-EJ25 engine (you have the EZ30) but given the fact that this sounds like a similar failure mode for those i'd consider this an option before the expense of headgasket replacement. in some cases the conditioner can stop existing leaks where exhaust gases are pushing into the coolant - which it sounds like yours may be doing. don't forget to find another mechanic.

if i had someone willing to do a trans swap for $200 i'd gladly pay it. what's his number!? doing a trans swap is annoying, doing it from under the car is a pain. i've done it. you can have the trans out really quick though, it's really not much to it if you don't run into any problems (rusty bolt). getting it back in is the more annoying part. it *could* be far quicker doing it from under the car minus the complications of working on your back, limited space, limited equipment (jack with straps), etc. it's far simpler, just awkward as all get out. you *can* remove the CV shafts withough pivoting the wheels, but i don't recommend it, particularly for a first time experience. it's tight and not always as simple as it sounds. but yes it's possible. if you're still bent to do it, then yeah that all looks about right. you'll probably need another jack to be able to push/move the engine to get an angle for the trans to come out/go in properly. you'll need to fab up a way to strap the trans to your jack - variations of wood/plates/ratchet straps will work. get some goggles, the dirt and rust flakes in your eyes is really fun. good time to reseal the rear engine separator plate if it hasn't been done before. torque converter seal, rear extension housing seal are the two possible trans related items to consider while it's out. those the rear one is replaceable with the trans in the car.

i have had all noises/vibration go away on the two CV axles i've rebooted that were making noises and vibrating really bad (drove from Colorado to WV like that). they are now in my daily driver and perfectly fine after cleaning/repacking/rebooting. these were inner joints though, i would think outers are less forgiving. you could clean the joint out, stuff a ton of grease in there by hand without rebooting - if the noises go away then you know they'll go away when you do the complete job. i would repack and clamp the front outer if the boot isn't ripped - you said it just popped off? then yo'ure only out grease and clamps if it doesn't work, no big deal. i don't think there's any magic to knowing which will be fine and which won't, just have to decide. the inner boot is not the same part number and i don't believe it's interchangeable.

friend has a broken boot and is headed to my house on his 2002 Legacy. i have an inner 1996 boot and it looks the same as the inner on his (i have some spare axles i'm looking at). will it fit?

like they suggested you could be fine but it's a larger gamble than worth it on this part. i use radiatorbarn.com all the time, last Forester radiator i bought was $88 shipped to my door.