idosubaru

i hit a deer in my legacy @ 70 mph, it was a good shot. i think i have a thread on here about it with pic's too. it went well and i can't stand body work. i suggest just put enough work into it to get it running/drivable. you might be surprised how easy it goes back together and be confident in what it will take to get it perfect later (summer). i was very surprised, it only took me about an hour or 2 to get it drivable again. mine only sustained damage to the upper radiator support - those things are flimsy and hardly anything to consider structural, so they're easy to bend back in to place. lower one would likely be more annoying. if you can weld you should easily be in business though. even if you can't i'd probably bolt a steel plate/channel under there and make your radiator fit.

End link bolts that won't stay tight? That doesn't sound right, I've never heard of that before ever. I would think something must be wrong. 2000-2004 Legacy/Outback heated seat switches would definitely work, not sure if others will or not. Did you check Ebay, you can usually find them on there. My bulb is out on one of my switches too - so it doesn't seem like they're replaceable huh?

I'm with Nip: Ignition wires (Subaru only on these) Knock sensor I wouldn't expect an O2 sensor to cause this but who knows.

i'm not filling mine up. mine is an XT6 which came with air suspension so it's all computer controlled. if you fitted XT Turbo air struts - yes you can install little adapters right to the top of the strut with a schrader valve and leave it. they're like your tires, you don't have to constantly fill them up if it's done right. once and done.

Are you resealing the oil pump too? I'd give that a whirl while you're in there, might take care of that TOD. johnfromky had some XT6 timing belts for sale recently but looks like you want it done now. i bought three of them, thought he had another left? I'd rank the crank seal as the hardest thing behind the belts to replace, I hate doing those, not much room to work with to press them in. Good luck.

cam seals are easy. all the same as the oil pump - remove the timing belts. remove timing belts, remove cam sprocket (just the big gear the belt wraps around), rear timing cover - none of that is special, just all unbolts. remove cam cap - it's the thing the seal is pressed into. it's held in place by 3 10mm bolts. remove it and replace the oring under the cap and the seal. thepartsbin.com sells cam seal "kits" that have the oring and seal. Subaru parts are better quality though probably, but i have used those kits before so take your pick. done, very simple. if you replace the crank seal, i definitely would buy a subaru crank seal, i've had these not seat properly aftermarket. you're going to need to replace the timing belt as well - when they get oil soaked, they break quickly. i replaced a friends leaking seal and the brand new belt (which i had installed only months prior) was coated in oil. not wanting to charge him more i wiped it off and reinstalled. the brand new belt lasted a month or two and broke.

I wouldn't go to smart service unless they are willing to install the anti-fouler. they're just going to say you need all new subaru parts and to hand over your checkbook and oldest child. find someone to install the anti-fouler and be done with it. it's so dumb how sensitive and unforgiving they made these systems. i've seen folks replace the converters with new Subaru units and still have issues, it's obvious the O2 sensors are very testy. i don't consider it worth my time/money to keep trying to work around a system like that, it's just plain stupid. ignore or anti-fouler all the way.

what are you talking about? :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

you know for sure the noise is coming from the valve trains/valve cover area - is this true? sorry, it's hard not being able to see it and talk to you in a normal fashion. want to make sure we're chasing the right rabbit. timing tensioners can appear and feel fine but make noise under load when the engine is running ,so want to make sure it's not that, that is far more common than HLAs. if it is an HLA it should pump up within 20 miles of driving. this happens all the time when an engine is rebuilt or when removing the heads. the HLA's are very noisy, sounds like something is terribly wrong with the engine, but the HLA's just need to pump up. if that is your problem then just drive it 20 miles and it should go away. but still odd, they typically don't just bleed down for no reason. if the HLA appears stuck - run some MMO in the oil. i've even used ATF in the past to free up noisy HLA's.

highly unlikely to just start after a timing belt install. MMO can free up a sticky HLA but i'd be very surprised if that's your issue - unless there's more info i don't know about. have you pulled the belt and made sure it's not the tensioner or belt slapping around somewhere?

hmmm, that's a tough one. i would think it's not oil starvation unless it's rod knock coming from the bottom end. probably valve train related - but that's a very odd issue - it like never happens. if the car has been worked on before or had issues before then i would guess valve train issues. if not, i'm a bit hesitant to say for sure it's oil starvation to the cam - they usually just lock up. can you pull the valve cover and have a look? maybe pull both and then compare the amount of residual oil splashed up inside the cavity to each side. lack of oil supply to one side/one area should be visible that way? i've done it before on older engines and the oil pumps out really good in the valve train area, seems like it would be obvious visually.

that would be a google question, look it up. i saw some hits but know nothing about them. here is what i would do: are the brakes working okay? Frankly i'd just leave the rotors in place, it is not going to affect performance at all. They'll just wear the brake pads through quicker - but big deal, brake pads are easy and cheap to replace and obviously you're hardly putting an miles on it. sounds to me like you're still getting taken though - i let cars sit for long periods of time too because i have way more than i can drive. granted i dont' do it every weak like you're doing but i never have rotor issues. it'd be cheaper to find a place that turns rotors too, i don't even ever want to know how much all this brake work has cost you, that has to be terribly annoying and is certainly a waste. they should at LEAST be able to turn them once, i've taken plenty of rusted rotors sitting in my garage to get turned. i'm lucky the garage across the street from work charges $15 to turn a rotor, find a place that still does that and you might be in better shape. given the cost of sending this thing to get repaired and lack of driving, how about just get rid of the car and establish a relationship with a rental car company for when you want a car?

One note that will differ from most of what you'll read here even though the oil pumps are very similar: You'll need 2 parts to reseal an XT6 oil pump - the mickey mouse gasket and the shaft seal. (The EA82 - what most folks on here have - have an additional oring that the XT6 does NOT have). The drivers side timing belt tensioner is kind of quirky and strange, but just requires screw drivers to do it right. The hard part is reinstalling the belt, holding the tension off or having someone hold the spring loaded screw tensioner while you install it. I have a picture on subaruxt.com of how to use a right angle screw driver so you can do it by yourself. Sears sells right angle screw drivers, one was a perfect fit for sticking in the hole (some are too large) and screwing the tensioner fully retracted. Once retracted install the tensioner with the right angle screw driver still on it - then let it "press" against the engine block, it will hold in place, then pull it out once you're done with the belt. Since it's a flat head - there are two possible positions - 180 degrees apart - the one "closest" to the engine will work, the other will not. it's really simple once you just have a right angle screw driver that works, you'll get the idea. you can even sure a screw drive and vice grips but that's really annoying. Subaru has a special tool (clip) to hold the tensioner, i acually have two of them but don't even use them because the right angle screw driver is actually easier. pictures is worth a thousand words, here's a picture of it: http://www.subaruxt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5129&highlight=tensioner *** i think you need a screw driver with a 1/8" tip - not all of them have that size. too big and it won't fit. This drivers side tensioner is also different from all the EA82 sttuff (which is what many people on here have). The timing belts are lined up different than newer belts - both cam pulleys are 180 degrees out from each other - not the same like all new stuff. install drivers side first, rotate crank 360 degrees then install the other side. That's about everything you needed to know. Since this is a beater car, just rip the timing covers off and don't reinstall them, at least the outer ones. They're typically annoying to get off, rusted, the inserts spin inside and won't come out - just a PITA. I've owned like 20+ XT6's and I never reinstall them on my daily drivers. subaruxt.com is an XT6 specific website and is where i have pictures of the right angle screw driver.

i've had steering pumps whine for a long time. keep them full on fluid and i would suspect they won't fail any time soon.

yeah that's the perfect application for this - low torque, corrossion and rust not an issue. nice hit.

any Subaru or MWE axle is going to last the life of the vehicle if it's properly maintained, you don't need an axle that costs more than the cars worth for that. whatever you're after, you're looking in the wrong place. some of their axles run $1,000 - $2,000, a one-off or even just a couple off production run would be insanely expensive.

you could install XT Turbo air struts up front and just fill them manually to the height you want. they sit a good bit higher and even have the 'height control' button so you'll have some "play" with how high you want it. and without all the other parts of the air suspension it should be reliable so long as the strut doesn't leak. or get a front lift block for your struts like i have on my lifted XT6. SJR makes them.

it's not what you're missing - it's what you're not doing:

glad you got it fixed. hopefully you don't have more issues, it doesn't happen enough that i think you'd have a 3rd round! i wonder what makes subaru go from a better design to worse, surely they know this they're seeing it more than we are?

I'm lost as to what all happened so far, but you have a non starting car and haven't tried to jump start it yet? Silly rabbit, go try and jump it that will immediately rule out all sorts of things.

Man, that stinks terribly. I had to drop a transmission (actually a complete 5 speed swap) on a 10 degree day. A nice heavy insulated jump suit was awesome. Wasn't that bad (but there wasn't any wind ) Get some old carpet or padding to lay down under the car and roll around on. Might find yourself napping

I don't think you need sealant anywhere on reassembly except the half-moons and the oil pump. No sealant on any of the gaskets. Yes the headbolts are to be loosened in a sequence, but I don't know the sequence. It's already been mentioned on here before, have you searched for any detailed head gasket information - there are some great resources online too - one by "Skip" i believe even?

exactly what Log1call just said about pulling the trans up. Will - don't worry too much about the torque converter, I've never really had any fluid ever drain out. But maybe that's because I drained it first, but whatever it's just fluid and you're not reinstalling this trans anyway. But even if you were reinstalling it I wouldn't care because I'd be pulling the converter to replace the torque converter seal and the ring seal around the shaft. Be careful and note the placement of the ring seal as you pull it out, some are mangled or will get knocked off when removing, note where it is to install a new one. Subaru only part but I wouldn't dare do after market for one of these anyway. Good luck!

symptoms can vary, this isn't black/white, they car run for years with this code with little noticeable effects or they can be nearly undrivable...and of course anywhere in between. just splice the wire back together. i wouldn't worry about it too much but i wouldn't hack it either.

Quick lesson on these codes. The computer is clueless about the converter, it only sees what sensors tell it. It's a misnomer to assume this code is related only to the converter. For instance a P0120 "cylinder misfire" - does not mean you need a new cylinder, it means you need new plugs and wires. Cat efficiency is determined by the front and rear O2 sensors. So there's all sorts of other ways to fix this code without replacing the converter. A new converter "might" fix it incidentally when another method would have fixed it as well. I'd verify what's going on before replacing the most expensive item. I'm not an expert on this stuff as it gets really confusing since these systems are notoriously unforgiving. But I'd do some reading or listening to someone that knows this well. I've seen threads where folks replace both sensors (Subaru OEM), the converter, and still have the code. Subaru has a very specific test for figuring out what is going on due to the unforgiving nature of this problem. Basics: Make absolutely sure you have no leaks. An exhaust leak can trigger this code. Tune up - plugs, wires, air filter, fuel injector cleaner Sea foam treatment I believe has cleared this code up before as well. The $5 non-fouler will also remove the code. I'd get some more help here if you want to save a few bucks and figure out exactly what's going on here. Hopefully someone more versed in these pipes up for you. As for the sunroof- im clueless on that stuff and hope mine never leak, that sucks!