idosubaru

details man, details. EA81, EA82, carb, FI, MPFI, auto, manual, and importantly - what was wrong with it prior to the head gasket job - did it ever start then? Is the check engine light on - or are there any codes? rather than guess it doesn't have spark, pull a wire and test it - it takes 6 seconds, not worth guessing over. personally i'd check to make sure you got spark and then check for fuel - just yank the line off the filter. that takes all of 30 seconds and tells us a great deal. they can be hard to start after a head gasket job, but i'm betting you tried alot. in situations like this it's important to double/triple+ check everything. it won't start with vacuum leaks. make sure the brake booster and all the other PCV and vacuum hoses are connected. did you install the timing belt correctly - one side up, one side down (not both up)? did you check to make sure they aren't off a tooth or more? make sure the main engine harnesses are fully seated. pull and reseat.

i have an XT6 ECU - $50. pm or email me.

the subaru dealers will match the online pricing. probably not worth it in this case, i'm just letting you know for the future, that's what i do. actually i don't buy any of these. i use Magnecor wires. they are far superior than anything mentioned here and you never need to buy wires again. they are also very reasonable and last the life of the vehicle. i put a ton of miles on cars so that's why i use them, they probably aren't worth it for the average person since you have to probably order them. but i've put 150,000 - 200,000 on one set before and they were still in great condition. my time is valuable, i can make more than shipping costs in 30 minutes so i don't go anywhere or wait in lines unless i have to. clicking a few buttons and having it on my doorstep is the bomb

i would be fine using the wires you're talking about. that being said, since you got technical i'll point out why you're wrong: not correct. what an OEM supplier sends to Subaru and what they send to Autoparts stores does not have to be the same thing. in the case of ignition wires though i'd guess there's little difference, which is why i say go for it. it's actually the same across many business enterprises. many sugars come from the same plant, same supplier...but the "higher quality" sugars are finer and sent to the higher end brands. the cheap-o brands get the lower grade, more granulated sugar. same in the auto parts industry. the same company can supply the same products to various end users, but that doesn't mean they are identical. even if they're produced identically, they can still go through a sorting process that sends higher quality parts to one verses the other. or they can even make minor production changes that might effect quality...but still produce the "same" product. if you don't understand I can give some lengthy examples, but i doubt that's necessary. in this case i'd personally go with the wires.

Auctions are fine if you can check it over first. Sight unseen is always bad. The newer the vehicle the better chance of not getting a problem child. The H6 motors are great and your best bet. Those vehicles are also the safest, they come with side impact air bags, VDC and are big vehicles. As for reliability the H6 or 1996 EJ22 are by far the most reliable. But for the EJ22 you have to get a manual outback. If you have to settle for an EJ25 get a 2000+ OBW, those EJ25's are better than the earlier models. When the head gasket blows (their biggest problem), these later ones don't leave you stranded. The 2000+ OBW EJ25's will start leaking but not overheat until it runs lows on coolant, which usually takes awhile and is easily refilled. Also - if you know where to look the later ones are easy to tell just by peaking under the hood. The earlier models can avoid detection for a while and wont' show on a test drive. But they will ocassionally overheat no matter if the coolant is full or not - which means you're stranded. I would avoid the 1996-1999 EJ25's, they are the worst by far on a number of counts. Still a good engine, it's not like they're junk, but not nearly as consistent and reliable as other options.

Subaru EJ engines are very sensitive to any aftermarket wires. buy Subaru OEM wires, they're cheap anyway. if that's NGK and you dont' want to buy from Subaru then try them. i've seen after market wires new out of the box cause check engine lights and poor running. don't do it. funny this comes up - i actually picked up a legacy this morning for a friend - the check engine light was on and it read "cylinder misfire" - i see new aftermarket wires on it. i haven't fixed it yet but i'm betting just new Subaru wires will fix it. poor guy sold me the car dirt cheap partly because they didn't know this about Subaru EJ engines.

i'd just get brakes from any auto parts store. i don't want to make a suggestion because if this turns into a "this is my favorite brake pad" thread, it will go on for eons. the cheapo pads i've had good luck with on subaru's, bad luck on other vehicles - meaning the just wear out really quick. i usually recommend middle of the road or higher end pads rather than the cheap ones. you can search online or here about opinions on ceramics and metal pads to make that choice. if they are grinding and getting into the rotor, it should be replaced. that being said, if they aren't vibrating (warped) you can pad slap even a horribly eaten up rotor. i don't recommend it, it's going to eat up your pads quicker, but they will work. as for struts, don't replace them until they are bad. you'll hear popping sounds on hard bumps/terrain when they fail/loose their charge. the easiest way to change struts is to get used low mileage complete assemblies. otherwise you'll need a strut coil spring compressor and trust yourself to use it right. simpler to buy a new/low mileage complete strut/spring complete assembly that doesn't require any assembly. if you do that struts are really easy to replace. 3 nuts up top and two bolts at the botttom. just need some tips on maintain the camber bolt position.

personally i'd leave the current broken boot axle on there for another year or two and ignore the noise before putting a craptastic aftermarket axle on there. the old, broken boot subaru axles will more often than not out last new store boughts. they are that bad, i'm not exagerrating. actually, fairly certain i've seen bad reviews about the ocala joint you mentioned.

since the motor is out, the one for sure method of removing it is to take it to a machine shop. they have everything at their disposal and work with metal every single day. if they charge one hour labor $40-$75, that's probably well worth it (my shop even charges less than full hour rates, so it'd be even cheaper). saves you the hassle and cost of other tools that may or may not (often in my experience) work. you definitely aren't drilling this thing out, i mean you could but it would absolutely suck (as you seem to know). if you're still gung ho about having fun with this yourself: comes down to how badly seized that bolt is. every extractor i've ever used was not that impressive, including at least one set from Sears...at least for REALLY stuck stuff. but i've done enough rust/welded bolts that i've seen about as bad as it can get. i'm talking stuff that's beyond the capabilities of most folks. if it comes out with the extractor then you can probably get it out with some other creative method. i've dealt with a bunch of situations like this and if it truely is bad, extractors don't work. if you just hosed it up and it's not really insanely rust/welded/theworldhatesyou stuck - then it'll come out without an extractor. if you have access and room, i'm not sure exactly which bolt you're talking about. you can drop a nut on top of the bolt head and weld the nut to the bolt. you need to be a good welder or know someone who is. weld a nut to the top of the bolt head, then you have a fresh nut to torque. this is a fantastic method if you can do it right. be sure to let it cool down first after welding. don't try and remove a heated bolt. you said recessed, so this won't work but a true pipe wrench will work too if it was one of the corner bolts and you could get it on there.

brakes = easy. if they aren't vibrating you might just need new pads. if they've eaten the rotors down, you'll need rotors and pads. most likely your fronts are bad, do those first. rear drums are kind of annoying. not hard, but if you're afraid of stuff you might leave those to a pro. get a used axle, store bought axles suck. if you're paying someone to do it, don't risk needing to do it again or causing damage. get a used Subaru axle, reboot yours (if they're still good), reboot a used Subaru axle. you can order one from a junk yard and have new boots installed on it. search here, there are tons of aftermarket axle problems. take it from someone who has seen brand new ones explode - it's not worth my time and i do my own work. i'd be more annoyed if i had to pay someone every time.

yeah, they're rather antiquated and annoying too. based on finances and time, waiting until you're ready for an EJ swap is probably the best bet. spend some time searching, i've been offered free and seen really cheap EJ's before. just look for one that's been wrecked or has a blown trans or something.

Subaru ujoints will not at first show play when they start to go bad. They will be lumpy, which really only shows itself by removing the shaft and checking it. I have also seen seized ujoints which exhibit no play at all, but are seized, meaning they won't move at all by hand. If you have play, it sounds like the shaft is in bad shape. They can finally break and cause some nasty wreckage. There are pictures on here of transmissions with cracked casings from such failures.

If it goes away when you hit the brakes then you probably need new pads and the vibrations are the rotors. If not then it's probably an axle. It could also be a wheel bearing. If this is the case you might be approaching very dangerous conditions and need to address this quickly.

from what i've seen there's no "magic" date. i've seen a mixed bag of the new verses old styles. i've had some early cars that i thought would have the old style, but didn't and the other way around. my 1997 Impreza (1996 build date) has the new style.

brakes are VERY easy to do yourself. axles and mufflers can be much trickier if you have rust and old/seized parts to deal with. brakes are simple on Subarus, this is a great place to save cash and money and typically you can do a better job than a mechanic. rotors - don't replace those unless they're vibrating or have issues. if driven and maintained properly i've actually put 200,000 miles on cars without ever changing the rotors. as far as pads i've yet to have any bad experiences. the worst i've had is the cheapest pads tend to wear very quickly, but i haven't had that happen on any of my subarus. personally i'd recommend avoiding the cheapest, and get a medium grade or high grade pad from your store of choice. be sure to remove the master cylinder cap when compressing the piston be sure to grease the caliper slides. Subaru has an online article, referenced in another thread, about filing any pads that are a tight fit. Read that, as it's a common problem across all cars and pads.

usually not a good sign, but let's start simple. do all of your tires match? meaning the size, tread depth, and tire pressure properly set? check the fluid level, color and smell. have someone familiar with the color and smell of ATF check that for you to see if it's old or burnt. follow the directions in the owners manual to check the level. it probably needs the transmission fluid changed, but i can't say whether that will fix your problem or now. have it flushed and filled with fresh ATF. a drain and fill isn't enough...you need at least 3 of those to actually get a significant amount of fluid out based on the design of an AT. for most folks just paying a shop $70 to flush it is the best bet. the only problem is i can't gaurantee it will fix anything, but at this point it needs to be done due to age and mileage.

most likely just bent valves. have a look, you can probably fix it cheap.

manuals are easy to verify, find the gear chart. but yes, those should both be 4.11 gearing. no way those will have the only other option of a 3.9.

looks like every one i've ever pulled with similar mileage. i've cleaned them a bunch but frankly i don't know if it's worth it. i think it's more of a mental exercise because of what they "look" like, but the actual difference you're making is almost non existent. any non-smoothness, meaning residual stuff or added scuffing from cleaning, on the pistons probably accelerates build up which you'll have again in no time anyway. glad those pistons look good, hope it all goes together well.

i have dark/grey or something like that Legacy GT door panels, probably what you're looking for? email/PM me. i'll be out of town all weekend with no cell/internet service. back sunday/monday.

take a head bolt with you to the store to verify the thread size.

i've always removed the cam bolts with the timing belt in place, it's been enough to hold. get the marks lined up before trying to remove the bolts, if the cams happen to slip for some reason, it should only slip a bit and it's not in a position to cause interference i don't believe. i don't think you'll have "interference" even if it did slip a tooth when all the marks are lined up. since you have the engine out and this is your first time, just remove the valve covers and use the flat spot on the cams and hold that with a wrench to remove the cam bolts. go ahead and replace the valve covers, now is a good time anyway with the engine out. i wouldn't worry about the belts not lining up, i've seen this before even in 80's vehicles. it's annoying, but it happens. there is always one "position" that is closest, that will be the correct one.

keep in mind this isn't like reading a ruler. you can't be "a little bit off" if it's installed properly - the design of the teeth mean it's either right or wrong. it's not like you can be a "little bit off" in the sense that it's not lined up right. if you line the marks up properly, you're fine. install it using the marks, personally i ignore any hand made or added marks. the marks on the engine are exact, use those. they work %100 of the time, or should assuming nothing is abnormal about the whole deal. i do them all by hand, i certainly don't have the "special tool", it's not needed. frankly the first DOHC i did was easy and i didn't have a problem at all getting them all lined up. i have done tons of other Subaru's though so that helps, but still the DOHC wasn't really any more difficult, just some extra parts to line up.

i think you copied and pasted that post from another forum, because there isn't much negative feedback on here and this place definitely isn't lacking in "non-WRX" knowledge - actually the opposite is true, there's hardly a reference to WRX turbo stuff here. anyway, yeah who cares about styling/looks, that's your deal anyway. it's a good, new car, great reliability, and a warranty you'll be fine. if you're picky and desire novelty you might not like it.

with no CEL or more information i don't know what to tell you. personally i'd start swapping parts - TPS, MAF, ignition coil, CAS, cam sensors, etc but i have the luxury of having one or 5:lol: of everything lying around. or get it over with and take it to a dealer. at some point you reach a limit where being resourceful, DIY, or cheap on such a new and valuable vehicle doesn't make sense. any number of sensors, wiring, fuel pump.....