idosubaru

fairly simple engines minus the PITA carburetor. if it doesn't start you can almost bet it's the carb or ancient gas. fresh oil, verify gas is getting to the carb, clean and adjust the carb if it's worth messing with, and see what you got. they're fairly simple other than the carb.

What about in the middle of the divider between the two ports - just to the right in the first picture - that's not a crack is it? Do the valve seats have the typical EA82 cracks between them? If it pressure tested fine and was going on an EA82 I'd say just run it. But an EA82T....I'd be a little more cautious on.

that looks like a death sentence - seems to me they usually crack in the middle of that ridge, though i guess the crack doesn't have to propagate the same way every time. can you get better lighting and angle facing up into that possible crack area?

Classic insurance and antique plates typically require that the car isn’t a daily driver. Otherwise, I’d get them. Bare with me, this is good to know as an option for covering certain events: My boss at my first internship had a very basic old VW rabbit that he said was worthless, but he had rebuilt all the mechanicals himself. It was wrecked and it was the other persons fault. Of course it was going to be totaled. He told the insurance adjuster that he wanted the car fixed no matter what, otherwise he looses all of his time and investment. They balked and said it was impossible but he kept insisting and they eventually did it. He also didn’t sue them so that was in his favor - almost a “fix my car and I won’t get a lawyer” deal by only implying that, without saying it. 15 years later a lady runs a red light and I plow her with my xt6. Her insurance was going to total it. needed a bumper, fender, headlight. Not a hard fix. I followed my bosses approach from 15 years ago. I met the adjuster in person and explained everything I did and why I was keeping this car. I was clear I wanted it fixed and preferred to avoid a salvage title because otherwise I’d have to go through the entire rebuild and inspection process, a waste of my time for something that wasn’t my fault. He wrote up repairs for just under the total value and then found ways to compensate additional amounts that didn’t apply to the total value (or, that’s what he said he did). Either way - he cut a very acceptable check, no lawyers needed (always a goal of mine to avoid them if possible). Anyway, thats an option to keep in mind that I’ve seen happen twice to cover repairable accidents of older cars that would have easily been totaled. It’ll only work if you have leverage of it being the other persons fault and the particular company and adjuster is willing.

Change the fluid, multiple times if it hasn't been done much. And monitor CVT temperatures. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. It's a quarter million mile vehicle, the CVT doesn't have inordinate precedent over other transmissions or potential maintenance/failures at this age. Be prepared for maintenance/repair commensurate with any quarter million mile vehicle, not just "CVT", and carry on.

He’s talking about the newer ones, newer than 2010. subaru offered an extended CVT warranty for a reason: https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-articles/subaru-issues-extended-transmission-warranty-program-for-certain-vehicles.html The early years did see failures and issues. I’m not well versed in which years, though that chart above might be a good starting point. I don’t recommend people to avoid earlier ones necessarily, but I generally recommend leaning towards 2017+ if there’s a choice. sometimes you can find them on dealer lots with new transmissions in them. I went with a friend last year and he bought a Forster with a replacement CVT trans installed by the selling Subaru dealer. Service records showed it was diagnosed and traded in at that dealer.

people also convert normal subaru MPT trans to VTD by swapping the rear extension housing and guts. i don't know anything about it except that it's a rather straight forward swap mechnically, but I don't know how the controls then work out.

If the hub has been in there for years and 30,000+ miles, and it hasn’t been driven with bad bearings for a long time then it’s likely fine. if a press is used haphazardly the hub can be damaged. this isn’t likely the case though if the bearing has been in place for a long time.

Subaru or OEM supplier. If you’ve never seen a ball joint fail catastrophically you can probably google it - it’s not a pretty sight or worth buying aftermarket.

good work. it'll motor along just fine, I'd guess you might find some fuel consumption issues or that cam tower leaking from loosening it. you just loosened the cam tower and bolted it back down - that's brilliantly simple, i'd be interested to hear if it's leaking after some driving.

What he said. You can use 00-04 outback/legacy knuckles as well but the ABS won't work because the sensor and tone ring are different. But it'll run and drive fine otherwise.

Replace that leaking VC and most of the leaking could easily disappear. That's easy and cheap. With that description, 99.5 times out of 100 this is a misdiagnosis. Most of this might be the valve cover - those gaskets get hard as a rock and leak like sieves. Clearly this vehicle is worth as much to you as a termite infestation in your home, there's hardly a reason to think about this much - go give it a try. You would be looking at additives through anecdotal rose covered glasses. Fluids/additives work rarely, and usually on parts that were problematic from the factory, rather than old, brittle/delapidated/warn seals that are beyond hope. Those valve cover gaskets will be so hard and brittle that nothing will fill those gaps unless it also solidifies the entire crankcase. I've pulled hundreds of valve cover gaskets, old ones are always brittle, hard, and have zero ability to seal.

no that's not normal. that valve needs to be freed up. either keep moving and lubricating it as much as possible insitu or if you're that commited to doing this cheap spray the crap out of it with a penetrant like Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, Yield. ideally pull the head and clean/address the valve. worst case scenario swap a used head and done.

no. unplug the engine connector and check resistance from the engine connector to the connector terminals of the CTS. probably need to replace the sensor or fix the wiring. corrosion can creep back up the wiring underneath the insulation unseen. peel back the insulation and see what the wiring looks like. repair if needed, cover back up when done.

I’ve replaced entire outback sunroof assemblies with used for $75, easy, and lasted years with no failures. Never done a Forester. It may be that not many people deal with micromanaging For sunroofs, wouldn’t be surprised if you get very limited feedback on diagnosing and repairing the unit.

In general exhaust isn't a good DIY for first timers - but if it's all clean and relatively rust free and you're doing this for novelty/looks/sound, then it can be easy. Also keep in mind Subaru isn't as well supported as other manufacturers so the parts fitment isn't as always clear cut and obvious.

Why - are you doing aftermarket or replacing rusty stuff? Rusty stuff is waaaaaay more work. Cutting off rusty fasteners is a half day...or one week...affair if you don't have good tools or experience with rusty bolts and stripped manifold nuts/studs in the head. Or it's really easy if it's rusty free and comes right off. If you're doing the entire exhaust it's rather simple because you just remove the 6 14 mm head to exhaust nuts, a supporting bolt or two in the middle bracket and use soapy water liberally on the exhaust hangers and they pop right out and the whole thing drops to the ground. After that bolt up your new stuff and you're done. Aftermarket often causes check engine lights immediately or later so if you live in an area requiring emissions or the check engine light to be off for inspections then aftermarket isn't always a good fit.

Check Subaru prices just so you know, amazon has aftermarket I think for $250...

Oh okay - I see what you're saying in your most recently reply while I was typing. I'd just get a used one - check ebay or yards. Or investigate welding in a new one. I've bought small weld in sections of flex pipe before, so it can be done but you need to be able to weld.

You need to first determine if it's just the gasket and rusty bolts/springs, or if the pipe and/or flange are actually too rusty to seal. 1. For gasket - get new Subaru gasket, bolts, nuts, springs and replace. In the northeast those parts are almost always rusted to oblivion and will either easily twist off with pipe wrenches or cut or torch them off. 2. If it's the metal pipe then yes it's definitely worth keeping the original OEM converter and repairing the flange. Simplest is to find a good, honest shop that will just weld in a piece of pipe. I send people to a local place here that charges $45-$75 for Subaru's. I've done it and do my own vehicles, but that's so cheap for a really annoying job that's it's not even worth my time to piece together parts, fabricate, weld on someone elses vehicles. If you're amped up to DIY this debacle: Unfortuantely there aren't a ton of easy straight forward ways to recommend doing this. There's a number of different ways: a. flange repair. good that phrase, maybe with "subaru" and see what you get. there's brackets, there's just the flanges, there's slide over pipe fittings (those look neat but getting a subaru specific one that works with the right ID/OD combo... b. just weld in straight pipe. that is frequently done here - a local shop charges $45-$75 to weld in pipe for rusty fasteners. you can do that yourself too. or weld on new flanges. c. buy a used rust free part from a parts car

Are you absolutely positive it's a rear main leak? 100% of the "i have a rear main leak" Subaru's I've encountered don't end up being rear mains. Subaru rear main seals rarely leak. Of course it can, and does, happen, but valve covers, oil pans, and HG's drip and blow enough oil centrally and back in that same cross member area that people are prone to misdiagnose it. If you're sure it is: Go for it. I doubt it'll cause any issues, it just isn't likely to solve any. Follow the guidelines to get your money back and it's a free trial when it doesn't work. If it's ever been run hot, previously replaced, aftermarket seal, it's even less likely to work, though the original seal isn't likely to respond either.

great man, glad you got it back on the road.

The EAT trans is awesome. All things being equal get the EAT, but they’re not equal. Newer with CVT with some significant upsides. Take your pick. Id lean towards an EAT or as new as possible 2017+ CVT and try to avoid the first iterations with extended warranties.

describe the tapping and details more for us to diagnose something like this over inter webs. 1. why was all this work done? 2. Did it tap before? 3. Sound is what - High pitched, low, rhythmic, comes and goes for how long? Does it sound like typical older Subaru HLA tick or something else? 4. is it emanating from right or left side of engine or center or front or under the car? 5. what do you mean by “new” oil pump? They’re not available new, so it’s either a different used one, or you went through some effort to find and use a new one which suggests issues being chased you didn’t mention. Did you install a new shaft seal and Mickey Mouse gasket with the pump? Likely possibilities: 1. The bell housing cover plate under the vehicle is loose and moving or vibrating 2. TOD - HLA tapping. 3. Exhaust rattle or leak - they can sound mechanical and rhythmic due to loading being as such

Buy a used one. Don’t bother looking for aftermarket. Or bend some tube if that’s a good fit but it has a groove to hold an oring that seals into the water pump. If that angle and seating isn’t right it’ll leak.