idosubaru

will new struts be better than 20 year old blown ones, you're asking? yes.

Thoughts/suggestions from the offroad side of things? It's not really possible to pull a trailer back a mountain access road right? I mean I know it's hard to say depending how bad it is, but trailers have zero ground clearance right? Going hunting in Colorado in October and I'm trying to decide which car to take out there. Need to get up the mountain as far as possible. Have to drive from east coast to Denver then up some intense mountain access road for a few miles (hopefully)! Cargo space isn't a big deal since we'll have a trailer. I'm a pansy and have a huge army tent with wood stove, etc. The 02 H6 OBW would be fun....but don't really want any battle scars on it, so that one is out. It basically comes down to a 1998 Auto OBW or Manual trans lifted XT6. Three of us, but one is only 14 and not very big, so back seat would be "possible". The XT6 would be most capable once we get there, the OBW far more comfortable and more room (I'll have a trailer either way). Two years ago the trail had one long mud pit that was really bad. OBW would have no chance on that. Wish I could know the conditions of the road before I left. They both have a front reseal and timing components all done this year. The OBW has unknown headgaskets and I haven't driven it hardly at all, that's probably the main thing that scares me and I trust the XT6 more based on familiarity, more PM done to it, better drivetrain for off road, and ease of work and parts to take along. Guess I should decide and drive the OBW for a couple weeks to make sure the headgaskets are good.

the newer stuff also "looks" like it comes out but the retaining ring i'm speaking about sits just far enough over the seal to keep it from coming out (or the new from going in) but no far enough to tell without looking closely. it looks like it's just part of the trans casting, i had no clue first time i dove into the same job. i started picking at the seal until someone told me how it works.

I'm up in the air on this, but have considered it earlier this year. How long would it take me to remove the harness on a parts car? If you need another hit on this I might jump in to help out.

they're not going to guarantee wrecked parts.

on EA82, ER, and EJ stuff you have to unscrew the retaining ring on the outside of the trans. im' assuming EA81 is the same. knock it around to loosen and unscrew. keep in mind this part sets the backlash inside the front diff and is critical to install exactly in the same position. so you need to mark it's position and COUNT how many times it unthreads, then install the same number of revolutions to reinstall.

my friend found them yesterday or the day before on ebay for a Phase I EJ25 so try some more. EJ25 Timing belt EJ25 Timing belt kit Subaru Timing Belt Subaru Timing Belt Kit Etc....it'll come up.

There's no quantitative information on this. Thing is the newer the car, the more likely for repairs to get fixed without anyone ever knowing, so it usually takes awhile. So if you're looking for a black and white, yes or no, kind of answer you will not get one. If someone suggests they know, that probably means you're listening to a whole lot of opinion, anecdotal experience, or both! Here's what I recommend - get a 2000-2002 that has already had the headgaskets properly replaced. They're not hard to find usually, particularly in Subaru rich areas. Or get a 2004+. 2000-2002 is part of the extended head gasket warranty campaign, so those are documented by Subaru so to speak. 2003's have definitely seen some failures and folks are saying some 2004's (i believe there's one thread on here about one). But like I said, cars only a few years old often just get fixed, they're still worth $10,000. I'd guess they resolved it. I personally would shoot for a 2004+ vehicle as the incidents seem lower so far and the 2000+ headgasket issue is much more benign than the older ones and doesn't leave you stranded (that's most important to me).

wow, yeah that's bizarre. was it one of the rear pistons? that's where the head gaskets typically leak on these, may have been proceeded by overheating.

it's black i believe. search and find all the threads here about it. that's what i did when i did my first ABS work and it was easy. FSM probably has a picture of it.

Chux, your best bet is a lawyer but I guess it's too late? What do you need to convert a body side harness or engine harness? I'm contemplating....

100,000 miles?

no special tool is needed, just a wrench has worked on all the EA, ER, and EJ motors i've ever done. it's tight on some, but i've always been able to get them all. you unplug it first, then thread the wire/connector through the wrench to get it on the 6 points of the sensor. the special tool is a socket that can work with the wire on it, has a slot in the side. no need for that though and i find the wrench more maneuverable in tight places/clearances.

it's definitely a higher risk proposition. i've seen a lot of them fail within a year, i wonder if you're just not seeing the long term failures. they're not returning, don't have the car any more, etc. folks familiar with other makes say this isn't Subaru-only issue either, so it's known elsewhere. doesn't really matter, a search here shows how common of a problem it is, so if someone is interested they can peruse real world experiences, no need for either of us to be right or wrong. it's just risk management and how you value you're time. i agree, New from Subaru is hardly an option at all. MWE is $60-$100, well worth it for high quality axles. used subaru axles can be had cheap (buddy picked up two this week for $60 shipped to his door....oh wait, all because he didn't listen and bought new aftermarkets a few months ago and now they're vibrating....that's awesome ). oh...and a subaru i recently picked up has two brand new axles on it...i mean shiney rubber and metal, spotless....yep, vibrate like nuts. awesome?!

24mm. you can double check by testing the new one you buy to replace it at the auto parts store.

at that mileage i would not be replacing anything unless necessary. i'd be interested to have an idea of how much oil it's actually using of course, but sounds like you're not in a position to drive it through a full oil change interval to find out. timing belt components yes (pulleys, tensioner, water pump, if not done at some point), otherwise i'd leave everything else.

if this car never used to overheat then they did not properly bleed the air out of the system, have it fixed immediately. whoever just did this work didn't do it right. what exactly was done, what is a "water pump seal" (there is no such replacement part on this engine) and why was it "replaced"? was there previous overheating or is the terminology just getting lost? i'm guessing you had the axles replaced at some point? vibration is likely axles. use Subaru or MWE only axles.

i'll sell you a used one, PM or email me. But - i've never seen one of the newer ones fail before, I'd make sure it's plugged in first, like it wasn't accidentally left unplugged or something.

http://subaruxt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3575&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=rebuild

yes knock sensor can cause that. all sorts of info on here for how to replace.

yeah, i've been thinking about diving into mine but with no emissions or inspections requirements I don't really care about the CEL on my swapped non-EGR motor, but I have thought about trying to deal with it.

purpose of rebuild? what are you looking for, goals? might want to swap it out with one of your running motors if it's in better shape/lower miles. rebuilding a known good low mileage EJ22 seems odd, except that you know it's in great shape. Mr. Radon over on the Subaruxt.com forum documented an awesome engine rebuild. Talks about plasti-gauging the bearing clearances, hot tanking, exellent pictures, right up piston pin removal, making his own tool for that, blah blah blah - a really nice documentary on an engine rebuild. it's an XT6 of course so the parts are different but the principles would be nearly identical and the engine lay out is the same.

legacy - replace the transmission fluid. ball joint should be replaced immediately if it's needed. they're only $30 plus labor. as for reliability i'd replace the timing belt, a few hundred dollars depending on mechanic/labor charges. use an ebay timing belt kit - they're only $90 or $150 with the timing belt. they include everything - all new belt, pulleys, and tensioner. excellent deal. no point in just replacing the belt and leaving all the other old stuff in there. a new timing belt will break if those pulleys or water pump fails. Air filter, thermostat ($12 from Subaru), PCV valve ($7 from Subaru) and radiator car are good, cheap and easy things to replace as well. Save the rest for necessary repairs in the future.

I have heard of oil leaks before GD on these, but have never seen one. Like you said it's typically coolant. Blown radiator is awesome. Hard to imagine something not causing that. You're on it, leave those pulleys, they'll be in great shape still. You'll be able to tell when you get to them, but highly unlikely they'll need replaced as the Subaru pulleys are of excellent quality.

both good reliable cars so either way is a good chance for a reliable car. i'd probably personally want the one that looks better cared for or has had fewer owners. meaning if one had one owner and the other had 10 i'd definitely get the one owner car. at this age and mileage there's no substitute for good prior maintenance. steering racks are easy to replace and check engine light on the legacy is likely something very benign and easy to fix. as for the rear bearing, i wouldn't bother repacking/replacing the bearings, get a used hub assembly since there's no way to tell how long/how bad it is. repeat failures are common on these. used hubs usually end up being cheaper anyway.