idosubaru

put it in park or put it in gear if you don't have the caliper on. if you have an appropriately sized crow bar or digging bar (works best), you can wedge them in between the lug studs and rotate until it hits the ground so the hub can't move any further. the impact method works best here. and it can rough up the threads on the lug studs, but it's never anything a die can't clean right up. have a 3 foot pipe to put over the end of your socket wrench or wail on the end of your socket with a hammer, it's like a pseudo-impact wrench and comes off every time. what are you working on? if this is all to replace an axle and it's frustrating, then consider leaving it as is. a broken boot is no big deal. i routintely put 50,000 or more miles on axles with broken boots and clicking around turns. if you're not offroading, no biggie. good luck

any before or after shots of the damage? things to worry about: does the rear trunk or window leak? was there any fender damage? any damage to the rear suspension - possibly alignment issues that would eat tires is no fun. was the gas tank damaged? salvaged is fine, the more you know about it the better. and the better deal you get the better. this doesn't sound like a great deal to me, but if it's what you want and in your range then go for it.

this is a valid statement. at higher temps more gas is lost to fumes/evaporation. filling up in the heat of the day will result in more gas being lost in fumes and less going into your tank. probably a small percentage, but it helps with pollution/smog as well. this is a slightly different conversation than they are having about BTU's and winter density...blah blah blah. i don't know the specifics of that, but people debate gas properties every time a gas mileage thread comes up.

get that XT6 running! every company has an engine failure at some point. this certainly doesn't make a trend or prove anything, it's the only one i've seen on the boards or personally so it shouldn't cause alarm.

that's crazy. 2005? warranty, woo hoo!

sounds like you already got it down. don't pull the engine. pulling a motor is time consuming and buys you very little in your situation. just replace your timing belts and front end stuff like you said. if you're concerned about that leak i'd make certain it's the rear main or separator plate before removing an engine.

the rear trailing arms actually aren't that hard to remove. they look alot more troublesome than they are but there isn't much to it. if the bolts are seized and rusty that can be annoying, but other than that they come out much quicker and easier than i anticipated.

rear diffs are a dime a dozen. $35-$100 depending if you can find it locally or need someone to ship you one. i'm with nipper, i'd be much more concerned about the center diff (manual) or transfer clutches (auto) in the trans. much more expensive and a much bigger job. rear diff is no big deal. perfect excuse to upgrade to an LSD unit while you got it off.

tire bulge should be independent and not related in my oppinion..unless subjected to harsh driving conditions then that could cause issue. sounds like your rear strut needs replaced. replace the entire assembly with a complete unit and that should do it.

97 and up the 2.2 is an interference engine so you want a new belt in there. install new belts, water pump and oil pump seals. inspect or replace the cam seals as well. and be prepared to replace any tensioner pulleys that are noisey or loose as well. that's annoying as you don't know until you get in there and they are expensive. water pump and the tensioner pulleys can cause the timing belt to fail if they have issues. i'd rather replace than expect them to make it to 150,000 miles.

what do you mean by "front end work"? oil pump, timing belts, cam seals, crank seal, water pump...none of them require pulling the radiator or the condensor. i've never pulled either for that type of work on any subaru...EJ22, EJ25, EA82, EA82T, EA82, ER27. if you do need to remove it, best not to remove the condensor at all unless you have to, the lines are not very flexible or forgiving.

on the bolt....a socket and a very long pipe. but rear boots typically last much longer as they don't flex nearly as much. the ones closest to the exhaust will fail first, particularly if one is fairly close obviously. that being said, split boots don't typically last very long. unless you're offroading hardcore your CV's won't fail with a split boot so you can leave it alone as long as you want. i've gone 50,000+ miles on front and 100,000+ miles on rears with the boots gaping open. my XT6 had split rear boots when i bought it at 105,000....still had the same split boot axles at 220,000 and i just had the carcass towed away a couple weeks ago. axles were fine, never made a noise or gave me issues. i'd leave them before worrying about putting a split boot on. save your efforts for a job down the line. maybe when both are broke in a year or 2 or you have to replace a rotor or something else, then do the axles. that's what i do and i drive a fair amount off road...still no problems. i got split boots on my rears now on my new XT6...i don't plan on replacing them ever.

they should all be the same unless you want to measure the circumference of each one to verify the numbers independently. tires can vary by manufacturer even if they are the same size. kind of like shoes and clothes...but not quite as bad.

if your motor is toast then CCR should be able to use your heads on a new rebuilt block. or just ask them if they can build that set up for you. i like the idea of getting a new block and reusing everything else you have on it. that should make it as easy as possible in terms of exhaust, intake and EGR compatability issues (if any). i think CCR rebuilds to stock spec's, i doubt they'll upgrade parts. and with good reason, for normal driving a stock 2.2 is superb in reliability. they routinely make 200,000+ miles with ease. is this legacy originally a 2.2 or 2.5? they had both in 99 depending on model right?

starting in '05 or '06 the STi wheels are different so you'll need to verify whether they are WRX or WRX STi. they went to a 5x114 lug pattern instead of the more subaru-common 5x100.

oil pump seal usually solves the problem. i've seen numerous failed gaskets in various states, slighty deformed to completely ripped apart and sucked down the oil ports. very common for this gasket to be compromised. might want to consider replacing the crank shaft seal as well while the tbelts are off. or at least have one on hand if it looks like it's seeping at all. HLA's can cause the same noise if they are stuck or frozen. infrequent oil changes would cause this condition. this can be "treated" with ATF, MMO, or seafoam. this is a rather large job and since the oil pump is the usual cause i would not go through all the trouble without knowing for sure it needs new ones. that information on how to replace them is on the board already, i've posted numerous times on how to do it and how to diagnose the bad HLA's once you get it apart.

if you installed a new gasket, it probably got "kinked" while you were installing it. check right where the oil is coming out, see if you can tell that the gasket is pinched inside the valve cover. this is my guess. or you reused an old gasket that needs replaced.

i'm wondering if FWD has smaller tie rod ends than AWD? seems like a poor manufacturing decision but could be an artifact of old processes/parts

on newer generation Subaru's (EJ) the manual trans do not have the option to lock the center diff. BOO for SUBARU for not keeping that trait of the older generation models. for automatic trans subarus you can install a duty solenoid C switch and control lock up of the transfer clutches for the rear. this will essentially "lock" the front and back, the car will hop and jump like a truck in 4WD. can't do that with the manual trans, the center diff will always remain open. on older model manual transmissions (EA, ER series vehicles) they offered locking center differentials and even dual range. those are great vehicles in terms of 4WD capability.

ram engines is the way to go for engine internals. they are great guys and know their stuff. there's an XT6 running around with those forged pistons in it and he likes them. whether it's necessary or not i have no idea. probably not on stock boost. you'll have temp problems before anything is my guess. make sure the radiator and cooling system is pristine. forged water pump maybe....

i am unfortunately aware of this, my relatives and friends have owned the notorious neons (cast block/aluminum heads!!) and the POS GM 6 cylinders that i've had to work on). i'm only saying between the 2.2 and 2.5 there is little comparison. since he's talking about subaru's that's what i've been talking about. i've yet to see a 2.2 in MD with a blown headgasket. 2.5's i see all the time.

ive never seen any cams like that on XT6's or EA82's and i've pulled a few that had blown head gaskets and were run for awhile with water leaking badly inside the head gaskets. cams always looked good. the one i pulled apart that was run without oil had metal scarring and flakes, nothing looked like it was deteriorating like that. interesting pictures.

i would recommend anyone that doesn't do their own engine work be more cautious than myself on the older 2.5's. i think it's an issue for the average car buyer. do a head gasket search on this forum and you will be lucky to see any 2.2 head gasket failures, it's always a 2.5 so i don't think relating it to mileage alone is fair to prospective buyers.. also, while i see a blown headgasket 2.5 for sale about every month or two, i have yet to ever see a 2.2 with a blown head gasket for sale locally. most high mileage headgaskets blow on older cars due to overheating the engine (bad radiator, water pump, low coolant, etc). 2.5's leak for no reason. i have also pulled over on the side of the road and seen 2.5's with bad headgaskets and the owner scratching their head. never seen a 2.2 on the side of the road.

36,000 isn't that abnormal for brake pads, but for all the calipers and rotors all needing replaced at the same time, i know for a fact without looking at the car that it doesn't *need* all that money put into it. i'd probably finish the job without replacing any parts except pads if it was my vehicle.

more details. why did you take the car in? were the brakes working? were they making any noises? any grinding noises? is this covered under warranty? any previous brake work done in the past? does this vehicle have 36,000 miles on it, or it's been 36,000 since the last brake job? sounds like a sham to me. i get calls about once a month from friends/family that say some place is telling them they need new rotors and calipers. this is very rarely the case, particularly on subarus. but shops make lots more money replacing all those parts. there is absolutely no way that both front calipers are sticking, that's like winning the lottery twice, very highly unrealistic. but i hear it all the time from people that take their car to the shop. they're just getting worked over. calipers just don't "happen" to fail at the same time. what is more likely is that the calipers only need the slides greased. the calipers have slides that allow both sides of the caliper to clamp onto the brake pad. over time these slides get dirty and need grease or else they "stick" and don't slide as easily as they should. wipe the slides off and regrease - this is standard procedure for a quality brake job. unfortunately most places pay BY THE JOB, so the quicker they get it done, the more money they make. that means they aint getting paid to do it right and don't get paid to grease your slides. so if you've had a brake job before, they probably didnt' grease your slides and they need it now. as for the caliper itself...if it was sticking there is a rebuild kit that most mechanics don't want to mess with. rebuilding a caliper only takes a couple minutes - there's ONE piston seal (or two if you have two pot calipers) per caliper and a snap ring and boot cover. three parts and a few minutes and the rebuild kits are cheap. i get mine for under $10 for older subaru's, don't know what the new ones cost. rotors, i doubt it. either way you've already taken the car in and there's no way to check or prove anything. but i'd bet much money that you're getting hosed.