GeneralDisorder

You need a factory Subaru thermostat. The aftermarket one's never work correctly on Subarus. TAMA is the OEM manufacturer. Subaru uses a cold side control and it seems to be a problem for the aftermarket units. Also if you ran it without a thermostat and that is your basis for assuming the head gaskets are good - that's a false assumption. In fact we often gut the thermostat on cars that have internal HG failures to buy the customer a few months to figure out their situation since they won't overheat with the thermostat pulled. I've had customers gut the thermostat and drive 3 hours to my shop on vehicles that absolutely had fire ring HG failures and wouldn't drive more than 15 minutes with a thermostat in place.

Based on reliability history, experience, and resale value I would pick the Toyota 4Runner or Tacoma/Tundra hands down. They are still available relatively trimmed down and simple, they are bulletproof, and they hold their value: https://caredge.com/toyota/4runner/depreciation Toyota has a host of other models also and don't seem to suffer (as much) from the foolishness that has plagued Subaru in the last decade. And overall they hold their resale value at least as well. Without adjusting for inflation you can practically drive a 4Runner for free these days - selling it after 5 years for nearly it's new asking price. Subaru is a puppet of Toyota and with the trend toward electric vehicles Subaru really has no technology to offer - leveraging Toyota for that space. Going forward they have nothing to offer other than a brand image. Once you go electric you no longer need the mechanical symetrical AWD, and the boxer engine is just an old gas burning relic. Toyota will milk the brand for it's image and toss the husk. Watch and see. GD

I'm tellin ya - sell that albatross while it still moves. RIGHT NOW you can sell it and cut your losses. When it fails? What's your prognosis financially? The ONLY course that makes sense given the reputation of this transmission is to get rid of it NOW. Gambling in Vegas probably has better odds IMO. If you look at the sum total of my experience - go back and look ay my posts from 10+ years ago - 15-20 years ago even. I was an EZ Board member of this forum when I was just a kid in my 20's with no money and a $400 Subaru. I've been AROUND ya know? You really think I got here without (once upon a time) being a fan of the Subaru design, engineering, and in general their simple construction and being friendly to repair and service? At this point I check in here from time to time - mostly to marvel at how much the tables have turned and to warn others of the writing on the wall that I see on a daily basis owning and running a Subaru performance/repair shop. You think it's good for my business to rag on the brand? Be grateful that I don't care. GD

That's around the mileage we start to see these fail at. Probably a sign of what's to come. The last 2013 Legacy we did a CVT on was a total failure at 135k. Wouldn't even move. Sell it while it still moves and you can get a reasonable return on it before it needs an $8k transmission. GD

Reliable? Anything made before 2005. After that it just goes downhill. GD

That is Subaru sealant that's been used at the dealer level. That's Threebond 1217B and at one time was the Subaru recommendation for transmission pans as it is particularly suited to ATF. It's VERY hard stuff - we call it the pink concrete..... some dealer techs liked it because it rarely leaks. 1217b has been superseded by 1217h for all applications. 1217h is grey. GD

3 steps till seated. GD

They typically drop right in. Lap them a bit if you like. Usually lash is fine - can open it up by grinding the stem a bit if needed. It's not rocket surgery. GD

Have you carefully inspected the plugs and wires? This sounds exactly like what I've seen when spark plug wells get water in them, or plug wire end connectors get corroded, etc. Ohm the wires - looks for cracks on spark plugs and look for burn marks on the plug wire insulators. I've seen them arc out through the insulation to the plug well. It usually manifests just the way you describe because cylinder pressure is rising and coil dwell time is long leading to a lot of secondary ignition voltage and higher resistance at the plug gap.... I would install new wires and plugs and gap the plugs to 0.025" and see if that doesn't resolve it or significantly improve it. GD

It will run as long as you retain the atmospheric pressure sensor from the control valve - the one with more electrical connector pins. This sensor is used for altitude compensation of the fueling calculations. Having said that - it would have been trivial to just drop in a new set of valves and keep the car compliant to it's federally mandated emissions equipment. The EPA is not kind to those they target for violations of the clean air act. GD

If Jerry can(not) still modify the 4MT cross-members to fit the 5MT - this I don't know. But last time I talked to him (10+ years), his phone number was 5o9-nine5two-2eight5five. The 5MT swap process is relatively straightforward. Transmission, clutch kit, clutch fork, and flywheel come from the 85 to 89 5MT dual range. You can have a single-piece driveline made, or make a mount for the 5MT center carrier. Jerry's cross-member is simply a modified 4MT cradle with 5MT mounts on it. The 4WD linkage rod has to be lengthened by 1", and will otherwise bolt on. The 5MT gear shift linkage needs a mounting point (stud or bolt) fitted to the floor pan to hold up the back of it. It's been done hundreds of times. I've personally done probably 15-20 of them. I have Brat at my shop right now that's got an EJ22 and an XT6 full-time 4WD 5MT in it. It's all actually really simple. 4MT's are hot garbage. Put no effort toward them. It will be wasted. GD

Radiator cap or damage to the filler neck. If that's not it - HG failure. GD

CV/DOJ style joints have a lot of sliding friction components and as such do best with moly grease. GD

Subaru discontinued their reman axle program and when it was active they never offered axles for ANY turbo models so that bugeye Impreza must be a non-turbo? Rears we don't see problems with (yet). GD

Nope. Nothing out there. OEM axles from Subaru and replace them every ~75k till Subaru discontinues selling them. Currently you can't buy any axles from Subaru for vehicles older than 2005 and that's creeping up slowly. GD

Need new Subaru OEM front axles. The newer (last 10 years) Subaru's have $hit axles. Not uncommon to need them replaced before 50k miles. Especially on the Crosstrek and Forester. GD

The auto's were hot garbage. Don't do that. Fix the Loyale push-button system. It's not that complex. GD

Yeah the parking brake modules are basically guaranteed forever on those things. On some models my guy at Subaru says the warranty is unlimited mileage, and 99 years. Apparently it's enough of a safety issue that they will be fixing these essentially forever. GD

Is this a drive by wire engine or a drive by cable engine? I can never remember what the Baja got and didn't get it's such a giant sack of random parts. GD

Subaru is replacing virtually all of the late model Ascent CVT's under warranty for knocking/failure/software problems. Very bad. Frankly I would avoid all the new Subaru's. Absolutely junk. GD

It's usually about 4-5 quarts. Complete fill when replacing the torque converter is about 8. No issues we have encountered from mixing Amsoil with the factory stuff. I just did a TC on a 2011 last weekend (bad thrust washer delaying TCC release), and filled it with Amsoil and customer reports perfect operation. Fluid needs to be filled at 105 to 110 to ensure proper level. We fill, run through gears, fill again, run through gears, power-brake (lightly) till trans temp comes up within range and fill last time then test drive. GD

Besides doing this every day for a living and that really making it lose the shine..... I think precisely because it has lost it's shine for me I'm going to give you the most prudent and cost effective advise. My goal is to get in and get out as quickly and effectively as possible while maximizing long term customer satisfaction, profit, and minimizing my labor and expenses. JDM engine. Period. I wouldn't even consider wasting a shop hour looking at a 295k engine. That's a door stop till the scrap truck rolls through. I suppose if you have a ton of time and are still on the "mechanic learning curve" and wish to use this as an educational tool........ NAW that's just silly. Keep it and tear it down for educational purposes after you JDM swap it and then POUR the contents of your workbench into the scrap truck after you are done taking it to pieces to find out what a nightmare you avoided. GD

Torque converter thrust bearing failure not allowing TCC to unlock fast enough. You need the countermeasure torque converter with the updated needle bearing thrust washer. There's a service bulletin about this out there somewhere. GD