idosubaru

that would be an interference motor. definitely no headgasket "issues". keep it from overheating and it won't have any headgasket problems. remember it's 10 years old, hose clamps are rusty and who knows if anything was ever replaced...thermostat, water pump, hoses, etc.

i wouldn't get a "JDM 40K motor" again. i got one last summer and it came complete with bad headgaskets. i just did it on a whim, figured i'd try it out, waste of time. i'm sure that's rare, but no need for me to go that route again. the best options are to fix it or get a CCR engine.

hey J, i have extra parts, so i'd swap mirrors and the switch to see if that fixed it. those are the easiest and most obvious places to start in my oppinion. if you don't have parts, check the electrical connects for signs of corrossion. you might be able to try disconnecting the power mirror and then using the controls to see if the fuse blows. don't know if that would isolate the controls, but it may. if the fuse blows after removing the mirror, then it's not the mirror. if it doesnt blow then it doesn't tell you much of anything.

you say "rebuilt", what all was done then? and when was that done, what year? do you know if they used Subaru's newer updated gaskets? there's a chance the heads weren't milled and Subaru gaskets weren't used, which could easily cause this problem to come back again. typically the heads are fine. a machine shop will do a valve job, mill them and test them. they can tell you if they are bad or not. i have yet to give them a head that was trashed. that's more common with turbo motors, but is possible to any. if they gasket-slapped it, just installed new gaskets without milling the heads, that could be the problem as well.

great work, looks great. amazing how much better they look off the ground.

on the ones i've seen the steering rack and sway bushings seem to get worse than those leading and trailing arm bushings. they're the only ones i've seen completely missing from a vehicle. before getting new calipers, look for a rebuild kit. i've found kits for $8 before and they're super easy to do. there's not much to a caliper rebuild, just the piston seal the dust boot and a clip to hold the dust boot. 3 very easy to replace parts. everything else is just a basic clean up job, very easy. well 4 parts if you include the new dust cover for the bleeder screw!

definitely use an impact gun. it should get it off without much trouble. manual - engage the transmission and go to town. i imagine it will come off without using the brakes if you use an impact gun. it will not come off, or is very unlikely, without using the brakes if you use a regular socket wrench. automatic - secure the flexplate through the bellhousing access hole with a stout object (i use a socket extension). if you have to use a hand socket wrench...get a 3/4" socket wrench. 1/2" sockets are not up to this job and can break. seen 1/2" sockets wrenches and breaker bars break. on rare occassions there are 36mm axle nuts as well, but i wouldn't expect it in your case. i've even gotten 36mm nuts from the dealer straight out of a cv axle box.

the later model XT's have a different nose...similar to the XT6 and may offer more room. 1987.5 and up i believe. you can tell it's an XT6 first by the headlight washers in the bumper.

under load (higher speeds, climbing mountains, running A/C) the radiator hose may be collapsing as well. i'm having that problem right now with a new aftermarket hose. insufficient radiator sounds highly suspect like mike said.

the sprocketed timing gear is typically the noisiest one, so at least check that one and plan on replacing it. i replace nearly every one i come across. mercury cougar? easier to work on but you'd be doing it much more often so that doesn't count!

is this on a 1990 legacy? what vehicle and how many miles? there are a number of options but my first guess is a ujoint in the driveshaft. check the ujoints for any play. if it's very light and "flutter" like you said, you might not notice any problems unless it's removed or you have a really good eye for spotting seized ujoints. the joints could be seized instead of having play in it and in those case they are very hard to diagnose without actually dropping the driveshaft down. before going through that you might want to make sure it's not a wheel out of balance or a bad/old tire as well. i'm doubting it's your diff, but it's not impossible. they normally like to make noise, not just vibrations. there are a couple other things to check but i think they are less likely so im going to stop there.

i've never heard of that, but obviously it's been done before. might just want to ask some smaller shops if they'll let you? technically speaking i don't think insurance companies would even allow that for most shops and if they did i'd expect to see that reflected in the price. the 10x20 garage you have sounds reasonable if you clean it out. maybe rent a storage unit for a month to either clean your garage out or turn it into a makeshift garage?

the drivers side typically breaks before the passengers side, that's normal. replace all your timing pulleys (or the bearings in them) and your belts will likely last longer. they can easily last more than 60k. depends on many factors. the bearings in the timing pulleys and sprockets are rarely anywhere near as good as new ones. most on the road are 15 years old, make noise and spin freely...not tight like a new grease filled bearing would. none that i ever pull (most have the original pulleys still) are in excellent condition. this generates heat which ruins the belt. add to that overheating due to various cooling system components that are 15 years old and may fail, leaking cam, crank or oil pump seals that get the belt wet and it's not hard to have conditions that cause them to fail early.

that's the limited production electrically assisted prototype EJ22. for real. it's probably an engine block heater or a mechanism for charging the battery.

no, i wouldn't buy it. i don't need a car right now. i would wonder if the air bag system is operational after the accident as well. depend a little on mileage. it's a decent deal if you need a car and it's in good running condition. seems high for a vehicle that's been wrecked and had the engine swapped. hard to say without any more info...who and how was it repaired, no info on engine...etc. *should* be an interference engine (assuming they replaced it with the same engine), so the timing belt would need to be addressed.

always realize that towing doesn't mean bad things...but it does gaurantee increased risk. you can easily get away with lots of things...but that doesn't mean there are not risks involved. i've towed a number of different things with subaru's and they do just fine, but the brakes are average at best on the older soobs. i would look to go over the brakes thoroughly and possibly upgrade them some if possible and you plan on towing a fair amount. a trailer with brakes isn't necessary but it's a good idea. be sure the hitch is properly mounted to good metal. i'd recommend a 2" receiver if you ever plan on getting a bike rack. i went with a 1 1/4" and am now building a 2" so i can use my 4 bike rack. the more towing you'll be doing, the higher the speeds you'll be traveling, the worse weather you plan on encountering and the more mountains you'll be traversing the more all of this matters.

sounds like cv material. that would be great, it's really annoying but nothing to be immediately concerned about. car is definitely driveable.

thanks dr. krazy. awesome, that and the front sensors should be the last steps for me before i have a tech finish up the testing/computer stuff. anyone know where to look for the air bag sensors up front and how many there are? i want to get a look at mine and check them out.

head gaskets can be done in a long day...the caveat being...if everything goes smooth. on a job that large that's not always the case. the biggest kink in the process is having the heads machined. i like having an extra set already done and ready to go. it's nice getting started and already having a head or two on by the end of the first day. having to wait for parts from a machine shop is annoying. if time is an issue, get an engine ahead of time and do an engine swap. either a rebuilt from CCR or a used one and replace the headgaskets on that one...just more expensive options for you. i'd also make sure this is all necessary. are you sure it's headgaskets that's loosing coolant? you only mentioned coolant loss...headgaskets would also have overheating symptoms. you could be looking at much easier fixes - a hose, thermostat, radiator, etc. and...the only seal that requires engine removal that would puke the kind of oil you're talking about is the rear main seal. and those are the least likely to leak on a subaru...sooo, i'd make sure before assuming the worst on both items. if it is indeed leaking coolant internally...ie, headgaskets then definitely address this sooner rather than later. coolant in the oil does bad things to bearings in the engine.

odd, the one i'm talking about was 2 HLA's on the drivers side as well. i was equally annoyed that it wasn't the passengers side - much easier! i've had what i suspected to be sticking HLA's free up with ATF and MMO but that's almost always someone elses vehicle and due to infrequent oil changes (my guess). those seem to come free with enough ATF, MMO, seafoam and time. so "maybe" that stuff will work, but no way to tell how bad they are. you "might" be able to verify a bad HLA by just pulling the valve covers and measuring the gap between the top of the HLA and the cam. compare the good and bad cylinders and see what you get. the good ones you might not even be able to get a measurement on if they're really tight. i've never tried it, so don't know how good access is on the d/s ,but seem like it might be possible. if you're going to replace them, Mitpah....i always spell it wrong, but they sell remmaned HLA's for only a few bucks each. well worth it.

2006, definitely give the dealer the first shot at this. you paid for a warranty, use it. hopefully they're "nice" (crossing fingers.....)

that's what i figured. i forget the name of the company/product but they make a kit that allows you to repair this. you could even look at it and come up with a fix yourself if you wanted too. you'll have to search for it, i don't recall the company or product name. for what it's worth i've installed a number of crank pulleys without a key or pin onto a crankshaft without any problems. it's not ideal but sometimes you don't have a choice. since the bolt and crank is iron, you're not going to strip it like aluminum. crank it down HARD. 1/2" socket with a 3 foot pipe on the end has never let me down.

i was thinking that too but if he got 3.5 quarts out it couldn't have been the front diff.

the oil pans are very tricky to replace. they look real easy but are not. i would try to bust the plug loose, it might just be too tight? it may not be stripped. if it is there are other options i believe...oversized plugs i think? quick boots are available for some older subarus but are not a good option. although i feel your pain that replacing the boot isn't a good option either, i agree! i just wait and replace the axles. as long as that boot is torn, off roading (dirt, water..SAND) will destroy a CV joint very quickly...otherwise they can last many years for daily driving and no salt/rock on the road like they do in the snowy areas. if you do it soon a new boot will do. wait too long and you'll need an entire axle.

don't disregard other options...but from what i'm hearing the HLA's are suspicious. that doesn't surprise me then. that's why i asked. the bad HLA's i've found were in engines that had significant amounts of water in the engine....every other TOD i've ever encountered (probably over 2 dozen??) was solved without addressing the HLA's. i'll also mentoin that the ticking would vary on these. based on the prevoius headgasket failure (yours and the ones i've seen), the known amounts of water in the engines, and the fact that you've narrowed it down to one side/one cylinder, i'm betting it's a seized HLA. if yours is anything like i've seen, the suspect HLA's need replaced. when i pulled them out they would not compress at all, even a millimeter. i soaked them for days in ATF, engine cleaner, heated them and cooled them and tried compressing them with a c clamp and a vice...they wouldn't even budge. they were as frozen as they could be. i can't imagine that they ever would have freed up on their own. so i had to replace them. one nice thing, the first time i dealth with this i wasn't sure but suspected the HLA's. i pulled the cam on that side and noticed that two of the HLA's (this is on a 6 cylinder ER27 so 6 per side) were a different height than the rest. it was hard to tell since they were still sitting in the engine, so i confirmed that by putting a straight edge up to them. they ended up being the two bad ones. hopefully yours will go away. some ATF, MMO oil treatment stuff might do the trick.