idosubaru

use Subaru OEM headgaskets, they "redesigned" them for the headgasket issue. there's no need for aftermarket bolts and gaskets if the job is properly done - milled heads, properly prepped block and install the gasket correctly. there are a few cases of repeat issues, but i would suspect most of those were severely overheated or not done properly. if the low percentage risk is uncomfortable you could consider a turbo motor or EJ22. Subaru requires conditioner to be added to the SOHC EJ25's. with those mods you're not really going to add hardly any horsepower so you're not going to have any problems with the transmission.

steering racks are easy. some of the lines are a bit tight to get to, but nothing hard. hard part is keeping your steering wheel aligned when you're done! it's very easy for it to be "off" if you like it to be centered or whatever visually. good time to replace the rack bushings as well that go around the steering rack. used to be some aftermarkets that were nice - whiteline maybe they were called. i bought EJ ones and used them in EA's and XT6's.

if it's just a sniff test and they look at the check engine/codes, you'll be fine. california goobs are the only ones that actually look at the engine i think.

i have a 97 Legacy GT with the exact same issue, but mine is a parts car. previous owner ran off the road at a high speed. a friend of mine who is well versed in fixing wrecked cars and rebuilding struts (a member here) said it could be a bent strut.

i made it no problem. apparently folks have been dying to talk about battery technicalities, wow! yes, i let someone "borrow" my alternator, i have extras at home. otherwise they would have been stranded and had to leave the car. i was thinking about getting a new one anyway, i drive a lot so having an old unknown alt isn't that appealing. not on EJ engines, water pump is timing belt driven.

so i let a friend "borrow" my alternator because they were stranded. can i drive my legacy 20 miles home without the alternator, on just the fairly new Optima battery?

Completely different, not even close.

bags are awesome, little hand bags. easily moved and strapped anywhere.

the bearings would be madly exposed to dirt, water, etc.

Yes replacing the entire assembly/knuckle is a great option. No worries about repeat failures. The bottom long through bolt can be lots of fun due to rust. Spray well ahead of time multiple times with pentrant (WD40 does not count). On the "new" used assembly, good idea to replace any wheel seals and make sure no grit gets down into the bearings. Then clean off the axle mating surface so it's sealing good on the seal. I also replaced the bearings and they lasted less than a year - about 20,000 miles. Installed a used hub like John did as well.

really don't want to be pulling the front axles, technically there's a way to do it, but it would be overly complicated. you'd have to disassemble your axles (or a spare set) so as to use the outer joints in the hubs. it's not really worth it though considering the parts costs/risk of contamination of the hubs/bearings IMO. get a tow dolly, then remove the rear half of the driveshaft. that is VERY easy and much lighter to pull and for safety reasons you could still have brakes on the dolly if you wanted.

can axle boots be replaced by leaving that inner joint in the hub? remove boot, remove clip, disassemble then reassemble? pretty sure i've seen that done before by detaching from the trans. would removing the inner boot too, but in this case might be worth it and inner boots tear easily as well (closer to the exhaust heat).

search doesn't play well with 3 letter words. try adding a * to either end of a three letter word, sometimes that works. *gas or gas* might actually show some results. not sure about: *gas in *oil or similar combinations but give it a whirl. how do you know there is gas in the oil?

John - yes, I think the heads should bolt on. Good idea to double check though since the 99's are quite different. You probably know this, but the intake manifolds and cams are different between 1991-1998 and 1999 stuff. So retain the 99 intake and cams, which is easy since you want it back in the 99 anyway.

Try cleaning the sensor off if you can get to it. It's just a magnet and can build up with particulates. I've also seen cracked tone rings which could probably cause this symptom. Two ABS issues that I do not think are your issue: Bad tires (even just old with plenty of tread and matching) will freak out ABS, but that would only show up on snow/wet. A bad wheel bearing can cause ABS issues, but it would almost have to (the ones i've seen) be bad enough to exhibit other obvious issues. Like noise, vibrations etc.

you said oil pump "seal". the oil pump on an EA82 has 3 needed parts to properly reseal it. the oil pump body to engine block gasket (mickey mouse), an oring (EA82 only), and the front shaft seal. replace them all, the mickey mouse seal will be the culprit of ticking. if the reseal doesn't fix it, you need a new pump.

that's bizarre. i assume this is a front axle. how did they "put it on a press", did they remove the hub? i assume they removed the axle nut? if they did then your buddy just has some horrible luck and it has a bit of the rust bug. this is "fairly" common on older stuff - i'm talking 80's and 90's, particularly in the rust belt areas. ideally you get some penetrant (real penetrant, like Liquid Wrench, not WD40) on there without getting it in the bearings. on a 2003 it's very odd, but obviously it got contaminated somehow. has that hub ever been worked on before? struts, axles, bearings, etc? that would be my guess, it was previously worked on.

i've never done anything to them as far as oiling. always had at least one XT6 as a daily driver for about 15 years, put many hundreds of thousands of miles on them through countless timing belt changes with no problems. i've never seen one of those tensioners fail either personally, here on USMB or on the subaruxt.com forum. the overwhelming evidence points to almost a zero probability of having issues with it either way. so there's nothing to worry about. oh yeah - check out subaruxt.com for all your XT6 specific needs too. john and i are both moderators there.

your dealer will end up charging way more than that quoted price. they wont' charge it without testing for leaks and fixing the leak that caused it to be low. that will add up. i've fixed a TON of a/c systems for under $30 and they've last years...here's some advice from experience: cans are available at any auto parts stores. get the kind with a sealant in it. the most likely place for leaks is the oring right where the hose bolts to the compressor. it only requires removing ONE bolt to replace each oring. very simple. i highly recommend replacing both and then recharging. it's kind of silly not too. although sizing the oring is annoying since you sort of need to remove it first to match it up. but, being one bolt you can literally do it in the parking lot of the store. remove, take inside, put back together. look very carefully (good flashlight) at the base of each schrader valve. if they're wet that means it's leaking. do this before trying any charging or they'll get wet from charging. if they're wet that's your leak and they need replaced. what is hysterical is that the most likely place for leaks (which i've fixed a bunch of times) are these 50 cent orings and $1 schrader valves. yet i've never met someone that took their car in for a/c work that didn't get charged hundreds of dollars. they see the majority of movement, heating and contraction and it just makes sense that they would be most likely to leak...and that is my experience.

I try and stick with Subaru as well, never had a problem. I've had problem with NAPA (not sure which) and Fel-Pro seals seating in EA engines. Granted I've also used plenty of Fel-pro seals in the past as well, but not worth the hassle for a few dollars any more. I've gotten OEM seals from Rock auto and thepartsbin.com before as well, but I haven't ordered from either in a long time. I get them from the dealer now.

yeah those are all the 1990's subaru's with plastic lenses that are yellowed. check out the forum here, there's a number of writes up, pictures, and before/after documentation of how horrible they are. some of the cars i've bought should not have been street legal the lights were so terrible at night. actually i just had one pass "inspection" like that last week. then i cleaned them up after the fact (sanding/refinish), knowing they would never catch that on inspection.

Yes, inners can do that. I have a broken inner boot too on my H6 VDC, I'm going to replace the axle. They are the same as EJ25 axles so it's easy to find a good used axle as well, they're $35 around me. The aftermarket supply is so bad that new axles are worthless. I'd go with Subaru or MWE only if you want a new axle. My best friend didn't listen to me, he bought one from an auto parts store last year. He's driving up here in September for me to put a Subaru axle in since his "new" one is clicking already. Are you sure it's not a heat shield, they are super annoying on all cars. They often get loose and rattle under load.

this is awesome, how did i miss this? this has zero to do with freedom. it makes no difference to the driver. having the lights on doesn't affect anything, you can't even tell!!! :lol: that's awesome, freedom. freedom for something that doesn't matter, fight for it! there's probably thousands of requirements for auto's. some that might please you to modify, so you're going to start reading through all the mandated, freedom stealing, requirements for auto manufacturers? i mean, what's 1 or 5 % safety increases here or there, freedom suckers!!!!!! my wife asked the hair cutter last year who the worst clients are....she was meaning, what hair is the hardest to style. the response was "Jersey guys, they're insanely picky".

bump, nice one drew, can't believe noone posted to this one. what is H2IK? when hot - make sure fan is coming on (EA82 is clutch driven i think)? it's not loosing coolant is it - radiator cap? clogged (or disintegrated radiator). a temp gun is nice here, hit it in few spots and the hoses and see what you got. or remove it and flush it out. my guess is on the radiator, but you likely want to make sure before throwing parts at it.

if they're leaking and your vehicle is eligible for the head gasket campaign, they should be replaced. there is no "leaking enough" - either headgaskets are blown or they are not. yours are blown and will get worse, it is a failure. i would pursue that some and take whatever means/avenues you need to in order to have the work done properly. at least inspect all of the pullies, replacing any that aren't in great shape. they need to make it to 100,000 miles (that's 200,000 miles if they're left in place), that's not an area to neglect on an interference and long interval timing belt. they should pull the cams and inspect all seals (cams and crank), replace any that are leaking. i always pull the oil pump and reseal it since it only takes a couple minutes with the belt off. often a backing plate screw is loose and they should be reinstalled, most of us use lock-tite.