idosubaru

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.

check out your owners manual. you can't get all the fluid out anyway by draining a trans like you can an engine anyway, so the "mixing" fluids concern isn't one. you could find out from Subaru exactly what fluid they use and it comes with and add that. fill through the dipstick, a funnel is handy for this. check it a couple times, the ATF doesn't read as consistently as engine oil and follow the owners manual instructions...when warm, shift through the gears..etc.

the noise isn't going to go away with time due to "pumping up", so no need to give it more time for that. you replaced the headgaskets? how long did you drive with bad headgaskets? where you adding coolant or water when they were bad? how bad were they? (i'm asking for a reason).

if you "buggered" the end key/crank pulley area there is a company that sells a kit to repair that. beats replacing the engine. if i could remember any more about it, i'd tell you but i don't. and you should let us know if that's your only issue. for a rebuilt i would only consider CCR in colorado. you won't hear higher recommendations from more people in the subaru community. give emily a call if your serious about going this route.

in general no. if it's too loose and not holding it then it could. but one screw is plenty to hold it in place and in alignment. as long as it wasn't loose...and in that case it probably would have been maxed out in terms of adjustment and the car wouldnt' have ran at all, i would imagine it's fine. mentioned this at XT6 but i wouldn't go cracking it open unless you had a spare one handy. hasn't been that long ago since we've seen a "hey i jacked up my TPS and need another one right now" post, hate to see that happen to you if you need this car.

body shop should have good experience with this as well and would likely be cheaper than Subaru. for an air bag light might be nice to have them check it out anyway.

no, nothing is worth messing with to try and get to fit. it's all different. i have a set of custom pipes and the original receipt to have them made was $250 or so...not much at all to just have a custom one made. take an original XT6 header and have them use the original mounts and fab up a new one. for what it's worth you saw mine at XT6.net...it added nothing so i wouldn't be too excited about it.

when someone pulls out in front of you while towing something the last thing you'll be freaking out about is if you have an ATF cooler at all.

no way, that's no big deal at all. soobs can easily tow a motorcycle, boat, and other such items without a problem. if you're going to be towing a fair amount and you plan on keeping this vehicle for awhile the best bet is to get an ATF temperature monitor and see what temperatures you're actually running. based on that info, then install an aftermarket ATF cooler. you could try one of those laser thermometers too...point and shoot temp readings, use it on the ATF hoses. weight, vehicle, type of driving and other variables make a difference in the end temperature of the ATF. too cool isn't ideal either, so checking temps first is best. if you're rarely using it and not loading it up very much a small trailer like that may not necessitate an ATF cooler. if you're seeing large mountains, steep grades, heavy weight and making frequent trips in 90+ degree summer heat then it might be good to check it or consider it. depending when/how you'd be using this you might want to consider brake upgrades instead of an ATF cooler. i would imagine the stock cooler is up to the job (depending on all those variables mentioned). braking distance will increase with heavier loads, there's no way around that. if you plan on significant loads, you could install larger rotors and calipers up front and/or in the rear. safety on an item like this is huge. fold up, hang out of the way trailers are super nice for storing out of the way. check into other trailers and think about what all you might use it for, don't want to forgo a slightly larger trailer that you could use later.

you have the transmission labeled correctly. Part one is the transmission stub shaft (stubby shaft, axle stub). looks like the wrong axle to me. you need the right axle and you need to hope that your stubby shaft is still useable and not too badly damaged. if it's an automatic the stubby shafts pull right out no problems. i'd probably get another set and install them, thye just pop in and out. yank it and it comes out, pop another one in. if it's a manual trans those stubby shafts really aren't replaceable...well they are but it's a huge job and not one you want to do incorrectly. i would wonder if the other side is the right spline count as well, that can ruin the hub assembly if it's the wrong axle.

there is no need for OEM oil filters, there are excellent aftermarket sources. puralator pure one is one of them.

please do this, i've replaced the steering air bag but thought the p/s required removing the dash so i've avoided it for now. great information, thank you for taking the time to be observant and posting this. it's been very hard (as you know) to get much information on it. for now i'm going to replace the p/s air bag, check the up front sensors and then have a shop look over the system.

wow that's rediculous, more rediculous than i thought it would be.

i've only heard of them being sourced at the dealer, but i'm not saying they aren't available elsewhere, never looked. dealers can be very uninformative about what they do or don't have, might want to check before hand just in case.

i would have 5 quarts on hand.