idosubaru

presses in. i actually did one today and pressed it in by hand, don't even need a c-clamp. the threaded fronts are only due to the parking brake mechanism.

When asking, more information helps. What engine - 3.0 or 2.5? What transmission? How many miles? Do you always get your gas at the same place? Any check engine light on? Has the check engine light ever been on? The 3.0 has a common TPS issue, but i'm not sure what the symptoms are, I just know they are probably the most frequently replaced item. The EJ25 doesn't have the TPS issue.

the causation is only assumed though, it may not have been due to the struts. The alignment issue may have been there before hand but is just now getting noticed. Or maybe you're getting new tires, in which case they often try to "require", "sell", "suggest", or otherwise have you get an alignment. You had both rear struts replaced - something was previously wrong to have that work done. Those bad struts could have caused improper wear on your tires that is now showing up as beyond limits (down to the wear indicators on the tires).

1.25mm i would guess M14...but not sure. M14x1.25 if you're just looking to buy the nut you can take any other Subaru bolts you have in the garage...match one up to the ball joint, then take it with you to the store. or buy a couple sizes up and down to make sure you get the right one. or....you might be looking for a die to clean up threads in which case none of that helps!

oh nice, i actually missed "offroad mods", i thought he just said mods. he's making a new purchase so torque bind and such warnings are good to know, he might not know it. but yeah, sorry i missed the off road stuff. check SJR, he's on here and makes various lifts for Subaru's. if it's an automatic you can control the rear transfer clutches with just one wire and essentially "lock" your transmission. that's the Duty C solenoid wire. use a toggle switch to "cut" power and give you "locked" 4WD. then switch it to let it behave normally.

Gary Gross understands - i actually get called greg frequently. glad you got it figured out, i must have just gotten off line after you posted those questions. glad you got it. the MC cap is only removed to allow fluid to freely enter the cylinder. it doesn't do anything at all to the system or caliper. the pad to rotor distance is not anything you "set" per-se. just press the caliper piston all the way in, until you can install it over the new pads. the first time you pump the brake pedal you'll set it where it needs to be. properly greased pins (i mentioned earlier) will actually set that clearance for you but slightly "pulling" or "allowing" the pad to back off the rotor.

i'll hop in the "alternator is dying" line too. the sooner you replace, the less it stresses your battery.

subaru steering racks fail so infrequently that i would rarely consider getting a new one. ocassionally there are some really cheap rebuilt ones on ebay. the subaru racks are so good though that i'd almost want a used, particularly on a car your age. it would be extremely odd for you ever to need to replace it again. should be able to find one for $50-$100.

OP i would avoid lumping this with anything else. Dave and I (and others) see multiple vehicles a week. The EJ25 has significantly higher rates than other subaru engines. There are numerous EJ25's available on autotrader, ebay, craigslist, local ad bulletins, newspapers, etc with bad motors. All you have to do is search here or google for "headgasket" and watch the EJ25 rack up all sorts of stats - the facts speak for themselves.

subaru brake sizing is notoriously convoluted in the 90's, lots of places will get you wrong parts. i like the NAPA ceramic pads - the True Stops i think they are called. Nice, no noise, good performance. i've never had a problem with advanced auto parts pads, but they don't *seem* to perform as well. NAPA also has an ADI - or Adaptive brand ceramics which are quite a bit more expensive that I use on my cars, they come complete with all new shims and metal holders. I like those as well. Friend had a bad caliper and the rebuild kit was only $2.99 from advanced auto parts. Sure beats a $100 caliper. Did it on the car too, it was super easy. One seal and the rubber boot, nothing to it.

yeah, make sure you're not getting one with bad headgaskets or torque bind. it's not that everyone has these problems, but which do you think is mostly likely to hit the selling block?

Sounds fair. Yeah these struts sat exposed after I pulled the hood of my parts car and just laid the crumpled one on top of it. So the bearings rusted, bah!

Awesome, glad it's working out for you. Transmission fluid changes are definitely a good thing. You said "flushed" so I think that's what you mean, but if it was just a drain and fill then you might need to do a few to get it all out so to speak.

problem found: the bearings in the top are rusted. should have thought about that since they sat semi-exposed in the parts car for awhile. the bearings were popping as i turned. i greased it with a needle fitting and then sprayed PB blaster down in there too, to get to the places the grease can't/i can't. after 15 miles of driving to work the noise was noticeably less, i'm wondering if it'll just go away entirely, it's not a load bearing part. thoughts?

I don't think that's definitive. I've heard people say that before but i've went and unplugged mine before and the car wouldn't start. maybe certain engines are different?

definitely not. i've never gotten an alignment after replacing front struts before either, mark the top camber bolt and reinstall exactly as it was. should all work fine if you're not getting something significantly different from stock. in general since i'm rotating tires often (have to with 4WD subaru's), i keep an eye on tire wear. if i ever notice uneven tire wear i will get an alignment. i haven't had to get an alignment in 15 years and dozens of subarus since adopting that philosophy as recommended by someone who works in the field.

as a note, the first renditions of ABS weren't that spectacular so if it ever quits working it's not the end of the world, you'd just have normal, non-ABS, brakes. the system works fine without the ABS operational should you ever have that happen in the future.

yep, that's it. the dash trim and steering column covers are worth $100 as well if they're in good shape and you don't hose them up, they are easy to remove.

okay, so the one small block that this bolt would thread into, of the tone wheel, is missing. doesn't much matter, you're leaving it like it is and not worrying about it. that's a huge job - you're basically rebuilding the entire rear hub to replace that tone wheel. hubs, bearings, races all need pressed out to do this. which means you'd need new bearings too and to have a shop press them in the hub...not too mention removing the entire hub which entails dealing with that lower bolt that is crazy problematic for us nor-easters. or buying the hub tamer special tool to do it on the car yourself. either way, probably more than necessary and more than you want to do. i'd leave it.

all 88+ XT's are non-turbo, MPFI, spider intake (and 4EAT for autos). advice to stay away from the EA82T is super solid. it's an EA82, parts are not hard to come by at all. engine, suspension, driveline, and trans parts aren't any harder than any other old gen subaru, so that's no big deal. a few parts can be a little tricky on occasion, but it's just a matter of waiting for something more than not being able to find it. were talking odd trim pieces and stuff, nothing all that important functionally. with subaruxt.com you pretty much have everything you need. we even have the FSM's publicly posted. the EA82 can be very reliable if treated right and maintained well. anything 20+ years old..particularly cars not worth anything, like this, are going to need some maintenance to be reliable. that being said my daily driver XT6 (same engine as EA82 with two extra cylinders slapped on) at NASA, i had to be there, never let me down with a 120 mile daily commute. but, i also installed new water pump, oil pump, pulleys, radiator, every single coolant hose, plugs, PCV valve, filters, fluids, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fixed the known trouble spots (CTS connectors, alt plug)...etc. not sure what the 4WD can get, but the FWD's can do 40mpg on the highway, or at least mine did back in the 90's. the 4WD shouldn't be too far behind. you can probably recoupe the $100 it costs in gas money just driving it a few times! a car that will pay for itself. the xt's are nice cars. i've owned close to 30...or more. most of those have been the 6 cylinder XT6's. if you get it, you can be a part of a neat little subaru community - subaruxt.com, a site just for them. we have a nice group of folks over there, many who are dual members here.

you need to make sure the starter is getting sufficient voltage. enough power loss will allow it to turn over, but not quite fast enough, those things draw a lot of amps. that's why you're battery will go dead in a matter of minutes trying to start a car. all of that to say - the battery needs to be good. the battery terminal connectors need to be clean and tight. the grounds and wiring for the starter need to be good. any check engine light? that's the first place to start if there is.

that's awesome. sounds like you've done this before?!

i went with "maximum number of bolts", some calipers have one bolt and one slide. some have two bolts, particularly lots of front calipers. you should remove the entire caliper to lube the slide and bolt anyway. your uneven brake pad wear is likely attributable to the bolt/slide not being properly greased the last time the brakes were worked on. proper greasing gives you better mpg, pads wear evenly, and last longer. i'm not sure what you're talking about is missing. i'm thinking this is an allen head bolt that holds the ABS tone ring in place? in that case, it won't matter, it doesn't even need to be an allen head bolt although you may find it hard for a regular bolt to fit with a socket around it to tigthen it, i believe from memory those holes are recessed? obviously make sure whatever you replace it with doesn't stick out further than the old one where it may get in the way of something. it should be a metric diameter bolt with 1.25 pitch threads probably. i mean allen head bolts are rare on Subaru's, but all the regular bolts (not the smallest or largest) are 1.25, i suspect the allen heads to be the same. you also have the option of leaving it out. it wasn't there before and caused no problems. and the ABS ring is a non-load bearing part. i have a spare rear hub i can pull the bolt of an mail it to you if you'd like to cover the postage.

FSM may give specifications. A visual can show the fine wires of the MAF broken. But I doubt it's your MAF sensor. Best bet for help is more information. What vehicle, what engine, how many miles, any prior problems? What did it do before it didn't start? Crank/cam sensors are more apt to cause a no-start on EJ vehicles.

A fluid change can help alleviate problems, but the longer it's been ongoing the slimmer your chances of success. given that it had mis-matching tires also decreases your chances, but i would have it changed and see how it goes before doing the rear transfer clutches. but good news is it's not that expensive to repair and the trans doesn't have to come out to do it.