idosubaru

that's definitely interesting. in any event, a friend of mine that owns his own business fixed one last year that threw a belt. said it wasn't that bad at all. needed one or two valves and the pistons and cylinder walls were fine. probably a slow speed break i guess.

you are fine. drain the fluids and replace, they could have run quite hot, but even that i would consider overkill, but never a bad idea. people get towed all the time, with two wheels down and two floaters with no problems. i don't recommend it, but it happens.

valves will hit valves....after the piston smashes them sideways!

the valve only go up and down so if they collide they collide, if they don't they don't. can't imagine the t-belt changing that, but i could be wrong. the ports can't overlap, so someone explain if that's true. i've worked on 2.5's and 2.2's, but never DOHC. in the interference motors you'll have piston to valve contact. level of damage will vary.

non interference.

i like the sound of that fix too. i would avoid locktite myself.

from the front with a lift. depends what you're doing with the "donor" car. if you can hack away at the hoses, wires and cables you can have it out in an hour a half (less if you're fast or done it before). i'd plan on 2-3 if you're not trying to break records and disconnect things. really depends how much hacking you want to do. cut everything - wires, hoses, throttle cables, trans cables (on the car side of the engine harness obviously, you'll need the engine connectors), sawzall some stuff, cut the exhaust, you could have it out in under an hour. this is feasible on a donor car as you'll use all the cables, hoses and wires from the receiving vehicle.

a shop can replace a bad ujoint for about $100-$200 with the rockford ujoints i used in mine. i have never seen a bad ujoint last a year without getting noticeably worse or failing completely. the bad ones i've seen typically have the rear view mirror shaking quite humorously...which is why the mechanic said to wait until it was "unbearable" because they normally get worse. once they remove the drive shaft it should be easy to tell, as the ujoints will be stiff, lumpy or frozen. should only need one replaced, they run $40 per ujoint plug installation/labor cost. vibration can be attributed to many things - wheel balance, tires, snow/mud packed inside the wheel.

you said your rear air suspension was still in use. this computer controls those, so disconnecting the connector will make it such that they don't work anymore. if you disconnect with air in and they don't leak they should stay there for awhile and you can reconnect if they ever need to air up. this picture is from an XT6 - so im' not positive if it will look the same, but i know other EA82 air compressors and some air components look the same and the canadian model XT6 had air ride height buttons like the EA82, so it could be the same. i'd imagine it's routed the same way, behind the fuse box, down by the handle to pop the engine hood.

start with a screw driver and work your way up to wrenches, prybars and chisels to separate. the key is to gradaully and patiently work your way all the way around the bellhousing a little at a time. it'll separate easy that way, although it takes a few minutes and some patience because you just want the thing out of there by that point! if you have a lift you can always pull the entire engine/trans combo together at the same time and separate them outside the car. i can have a trans out much quicker from underneath than through the hood with my engine lift. but it is certainly easier in many ways to use a lift, working under the car sucks. good job getting it out, you saved yourself some time and effort compared to pulling the motor, hopefully it goes back in easy.

there's also a connector in the door that could be pulled out or loose. more probably if that door has been in an accident or worked on before - window, speakers, etc.

i have a picture of the connector posted here: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1560&highlight=air+suspension+light that way you don't have to remove the seat and carpeting to get to the computer.

that's normal for the height switch to blink with the front disconnected. the light blinks if there is a problem. the computer thinks there is a problem because the fronts are not operating. once you convert the rears to coil overs you can unplug the computer and no more air suspension lights. the computer is under the seat. but an easier plug is found by the fuse box.

answer this - does the car vibrate at all? if it doesn't, then i doubt this vibration is u-joint related. i'd hate to see you replace the driveshaft and the vibration still be there. he is correct in saying the u-joints are not replaceable. they are staked in non-replaceable u-joints. i have actually replaced them before, ROCKFORD makes a ujoint that will work and is designed specifically for replacing these staked in "non-replaceable" ujoints, but it requires someone willing to do the work which your mechanic will not want to do. my Subaru has Rockford Ujoints on it now, but it's not something a mechanic would know how to do probably. this is not a common issue for the ujoints to go bad. i'd get a used drive shaft. should be able to find one for $100 or less. actually....i'd make SURE the driveshaft is the cause before wasting time and money on it. again...does it ever vibrate while driving? or just make noise?

of course it can be done. with time and $ you can do whatever you want. i've looked into it and haven't found any that would be an easy bolt-on and i have plenty of spare parts so i didn't go to far with it.

that's where i got mine too! so i tested it again last night. how does this thing work anyway, my CD player has never worked. turns out, i can't even insert a CD. when i push the CD or TAPE button nothing happens. When i push load nothing happens. Tape player works if i push the tape in. since mine has never worked, how does the Load and CD button work?

can we see a picture of how it's fitted? does it have any hydraulics or controls to raise/lower, tilt or adjust side to side? i bought a snow plow a couple weeks ago....

change your own filters, leave the grease gun in the barn next to the carb. you won't need it. is that geeky enough or do i need to elaborate!

i don't recall needing to remove the cam sprocket and rear timing cover to do the 2.2's and 2.5's i've done but that could be bad memory.... i did a couple last year.

i would post exactly what is needed here and we can comment on that. on the driveshaft - why is that needing replaced? a bad driveshaft will result in very noticeable vibration at certain speeds. if there's no vibration i wouldn't believe it needs replaced unless i saw it. every bad driveshaft i've ever seen (u-joints fail) vibrates at some speed. if it had to be replaced, source a used one on the board here, he may be quoting a very high priced new or used unit up there. you can get a driveshaft for 50-100 bucks. and they are very easy to replace, an hour labor. on the CV - don't replace it if the $ bothers you and you're not keeping the car awhile. on fronts...i've driven 50,000+ miles with broken boots. on rears i've gotten 100,000+ miles on ripped boots and i've never heard them make any noise (still on there). CV boots aren't worth replacing in my oppinion. there's a chance if the inside boot breaks that the grease spatters on the exhaust and smokes a little, no harm but really annoying. if you can ignore that smoke or don't have it, don't have the cv axles replaced. if you do replace them, get subaru only as the aftermarket ones you get at shops are horrible quality and will break when new (do a search on this board, it's happened to a number of people, including me). and by break i mean the entire axle will break, not just the rubber boot. subaru OEM axles never break. what gaskets are leaking and how bad? loosing a quart of oil between oil changes is tolerable if it's not dripping on the exhaust and smoking or leaving marks on the driveway. if you can forgo some uneceesary repairs this car can last you quite some time and reduce that price tag. good luck.

dealer number 1 will deny fault. my guess is they screwed something up. did they say for sure if the oil level/pan was EMPTY? oil all over the engine could have happened over time or right when the motor failed all at once. any mention of coolant/oil mixing. just curious, none of this would probably tell much. i'd search this board as well, most get charged $1,000 - $1,500 for a complete head gasket job. $3,500 is absolutely insane, i'd be very stern about fixing this motor with that kind of money in it. i'd search this board and print all the dealership head gasket replacement jobs that people have had done for $1,500 and ask them what the difference is. kind of late for that, but i wouldn't trust them. i'd have someone (not the dealer) install a used motor for you. grab a 2.5 liter for about $1,000 - $1,500 or install a 2.2 in it's place for $500-$1,000. 2.2 won't blow head gaskets. good luck with it, hope you get good results. i can't recall the cam cover and how it would be installed backwards, maybe someone with a more recent memory can add to that.

i tried multiple CD's, but i'll try again. before and after i blow compressed air inside it.

was there a fix, what did you end up doing? sounds like a cleaning of some sort isn't a bad idae. i'm thinking blast it with the air compressor.

mine does the same thing and i can't figure it out. i'll replace it at some point, but would be awesome if there was a "fix".

head gasket - search the forum like mentioned above. tons of info and this is a weekly if not daily topic. for the 2.5 liter of your vintage.