GeneralDisorder

The devil you know vs. the devil you don't...... I would fix it. If your dad has enough tools to pull the engine and do the head gaskets (I do NOT reccomend you do them in-car) then go for it. It's not that bad of a job. Only "special" tools you need are an engine hoist (which you can rent for $25 a day, etc) and a torque wrench - which for a single head gasket job the $20 Harbor Frieght model will work. Figure a week of down-time if you work on the weekend. You will have to have the heads resurfaced and that can take a day or three depending on how busy the machine shop you use is. If you pull the engine after work on a weekday you might be able to drop the heads off and pick them up the next day and then have it back in within just a couple days turn-around. Line up your ducks before you pull the trigger - get the engine hoist rental figured out, machine shop location/price/turn-around time, alternate transportation, etc. Pulling the thermostat will not result in a totallly non-functional heater. It will get mostly up to temp just run a little cold. Heater should still function adequately. They also sell some cigarette lighter heaters that will work in a pinch. If you get really cold you can set the passenger seat on fire GD

Let's here a "Hooray!" for it not being my timing belt job Sorry man - I should have known when that thing bit me that those plug wires were suspect. I thought you had it sorted with that ground wire but I think that just shunted the "bite" away from your brother's hand . GD

EMPI makes some decent axles - I have run a set for over 4 years now on my hatch - I now have a bad boot on one of them but they are still going strong. They are brand new axles - not reman. They are made in China but EMPI is a well-recognized quality aftermarket brand in the VW community. I have had good luck with all the one's I've used on all models of Subaru's and other cars. So far - other than a boot failure - I have not had to replace one. I get them for $69 each from Discount Import Parts here in Portland. GD

Also - if you could do the rear transfer section mods you are talking about for an older D/R tranny (won't be that much different from the '99 up tranny - I have had both apart and that section is very similar between EJ and EA 5 speed's) then those of us that are running these in a Subaru don't actually need the reverse R&P and thus it could still be a marketable product. I would definitely buy a 61:1 transfer section for a 5 speed D/R and I know there's a LOT of people on here that would also be saving their pennies for one if such a product were marketed. There's already a couple members here doing a pretty decent business in lift kits - if lower gearing were to come along all those people would want one and it would attract more people over to the subaru off-roading community. Possibly some who actually have money . GD

NGK is a great value for wires and we all use their plugs - I have not had an issue with either and have used many of each as well as their NTK oxygen sensor line. Love all their products. Only time I don't use NGK wires is on my EJ turbo engines. I use OEM for those because they are much more sensitive to ignition parts. GD

If you want to visit Portland I do that kind of work - just as you say - personalized service from my own garage. I have quite a few older Subaru owners in your general area that make the trek to my garage - strange as that sounds. I guess *honesty* and *value* are hard to find anywhere these days - sad that it's come to that eh? PM me if you are interested GD

You *could* punch the guts out of the thermostat and it might be ok like that for a while. Running it too cold is still much better than running it too hot. I've seen this work on cars with bad head gaskets - it sometimes will do the job for a long time because the engine doesn't get hot enough for the "leak" to really open up and start dumping exhaust gas into the system. I bought a '97 Legacy where this was done and drove it 150 miles home without incident or coolant loss - didn't find out about the gutted thermostat till I tore it apart for a timing belt. When I put in a new Subaru t-stat it overheated within 15 minutes of driving. I changed the radiator and t-stat again and bled the system but it didn't help. I replaced the head gaskets and all is well with it now. Might be a temp fix for you - easy enough to try anyway. GD

If the gauge spikes it's too hot. The guages in these cars are what we call "dummy gauges" - they sit at halfway over a wide range of temperature. They have to get pretty hot for them to actually register higher than half. Better safe than sorry - $15 in oil vs. replacing an engine. GD

A range of pricing is typical of a shop that works more closely with the customer - I do that all the time. The difference is that *some* people like to have choices - choices on brands of parts used, choices on what to replace that is "labor free" because of the engine being apart for something else already.... etc. The $1950 quote is from a different type of shop - the way they do business is different - you drop it off and they call you when it's done. Whatever needs to be replaced *in their opinion* for them to warantee their work is what is done and the high quote is to cover their asses. If it comes in well under that then the rest is just pure profit because you aren't going to see a dime of it. You need to STOP DRIVING IT. Every time you overheat the engine you comprimise the oil - a few of these and you will be very dissapointed when you replace the head gaskets and the rod bearings fail in another 10k miles. You should, at the very least, change the oil EVERY time it overheats. You will kill it if you don't. There are certain costs that are built-in to that job - parts and machine work mostly. The parts, fluids, filters, etc will run about $400 and the machine work is typically about $200 to have the heads fully rebuilt and surfaced. That's $600 that's built in. Labor would be about 8 to 10 hours at whatever their shop-rate is. About 2 to 3 to pull the engine, 1 to 2 to tear it down, and then about those figures on the assembly and installation side as well. I charge $40 an hour and that works out to about $400. So typically a head gasket/valve job runs about $1000 out the door for people that bring these to me. I would be wary of any "import" shop - what brand parts do they use, etc? Subaru's do not like many of the aftermarket parts that are availible and some of them need to be downright avoided for a lasting repair. Head gaskets are a big deal and they are ONLY bought at the dealer by people around this community. Same goes for all the other gaskets used in that engine and also a few other choice items like the thermostat, etc. GD

Yeah - flashing CEL indicates a misfire - that's the only time they flash. It's to get the driver's attention to stop them from destroying the cat. I can't see the belt skipping - everything is new in there. Something would have had to go really, really wrong for that to happen. With all new parts and belt that seems highly unlikely. The fact that the coil pack bit me (and you) when we touched it has got to play into this somehow...... maybe that plug wire was loose all along and just now decided not to spark. Or perhaps something is actually wrong with the coil pack. I know Discount Import Parts has NGK's in stock. Pretty sure anyway. Probably about $25 or so. GD

Holy crap! I'm in a couple of those pics and my wagon is too . Speaking of my wagon - it started today for the first time in a long while and may be on the road by the date of the run. I shall try to make it this year. Been a long time ('07 IIRC) since it's seen the road - let alone snow! GD

I would have to wonder why they are selling it so cheap - but if it has a clear title and clear carfax then I would guess they just got a smoking deal on it from a trade-in and want it off the lot. There's not a lot of things that can go wrong with these at 88k. Perhaps they aren't that familar with Subaru's and the market for them in TX is small? Look it over carefully for fluid leaks, etc. Ask for maintenance records if they have them or can get them. But otherwise - if it runs and drives fine with no strange noises I don't see any reason not to buy it. GD

Compression check - could be some seriously messed up valves, etc. Plugs will very seldom cause something like that. GD

CV's don't typically squeek - it's probably an axle nut/cone washer issue or a dry wheel bearing, etc. GD

Tensioners, as a rule, always come pre-compressed. I have not bought one that wasn't compressed though I haven't bought an XT6 one either.... GD

The full XT6 clutch kit is working fabulously behind the frankenmotor in renob123's Brat. 100% XT6 parts from the dealer is working very well and handling the power no problem. Do the Frankenmotor - you will like that. As noted there is nothing wrong with the EJ25D except the expensive-to-work-on heads, headgaskets and the potential that a used one has been overheated and comprimised the internals. Otherwise they are great engines and with 2.2 heads and torque cams on them they scream. GD

Special tools for Subaru's are not handled through the dealer anymore - they are handled by Kent-Moore.....bend over and grab your ankles! http://subaru.spx.com/ GD

Hhhmmm - maybe a case of it not neccesarily needing a wheel bearing job before he started..... but it *does* now! Good thing you are involved loosely here Spencer - I'm sure it's easier for you to solve this than bring it to me . GD

The timing belt job would be comming up at 105k for both of those vehicles. It's roughly a $1000 to $1500 job depending on what you have replaced (if you have it done at the dealer). There are members of this board that can and do provide shop services (I am one of them but I'm not local to you) and the rate is much more reasonable - somewhere in the $750 range I would guess. The parts are around $250 to $300 if you buy quality aftermarket, or somewhere around $800 if you buy them from Subaru and have everything replaced. The labor is about 4 to 6 hours typically. Other than that job (which would take the car to 210k without any further major scheduled service), it's just maintenance items and fluid changes, etc. Relatively minor stuff really. I would still go for the OBW - that is a cost that you will incur either way. And you have another easy 25k to put on the OBW before it would need to be done. Unless you drive a TON that's at least a year away for most people - possibly two years. GD

Heh - He's laughing at you, not with you kid. I got nothing against you personally or your father - but you need to change the way you think. Start questioning things a little more and start asking *why* a little more. Do some reading and some research before you stick your foot in your mouth - because if you don't someone like me is going to come along and ask questions you can't answer. Check out my Avatar. http://www.skeptic.com/ Maybe that will help you understand. GD

I don't know about specifically the XT6 pulley's but even on the EJ's most of the bearings are pretty easy to knock out with a punch and install a $6 bearing with a couple sockets and a hammer. Generally on stuff this size a press is uneccesary - the bearing fit's on these aren't that tight. I don't often *bother* doing this as the EJ pulley's are cheap from ebay etc. I just get the whole kit because my time is more valuable than saving $5 per pulley (and having to custom build a "kit" containing only the parts I couldn't rebuild ). But for the XT6 it might be worth it if the kit is truely $300 . Hell even the EJ25's are around $225 for everything. That's a high figure for an '80s car IMO. Rareity is not kind to parts pricing. GD

Yeah - usually it's just a couple tapered roller cups that are driven into the drum and then the bearing cone rides on the spindle - one inboard of the drum and one outboard. With a castle nut that's torqued lightly and then backed of a notch or three . I've done a few 2WD bearings along the way - not Legacy's but other stuff and it's all pretty similar. GD

They are very similar - engine and drivetrain, etc will be almost identical. Head gaskets should not be a big issue for them - all cars can and do have gasket failures and there's no gaurantee that you won't have a problem down the line. But the failure rate on the '05 and up stuff is low. Just remember - it's a *gasket* - it's not like the engine is a mechanical failure - it's just a seal between the cylinder and the head. They have a lifespan and it's usually somewhere around 200k to 250k miles depending on too many factors to list. This is true of most modern cars - you buy a ford or chevy and chances are you will be replaceing the head gaskets at some point around that same mileage. It comes down to what you want - the Legacy Outback (I'm assuming it's a Legacy Outback and not an Impreza OBS?) are nicer and higher-end cars. They typically have a nicer interior package, a LOT more leg room and cargo space. Personally I like the Legacy's better. But it's really up to you. GD

Here's a couple links with pictures that you can reference. And yes - post some pics of what you find. http://www.stemco.com/Portals/0/Reference/BearingFailurenew.pdf http://www.actionbearing.com/technical_toolbox.html The FWD rear knuckle is probably a very simple unit - from my experience with the EA's it's probably a drum-brake set on a fixed spindle with some roller bearing elements that are likely small and cheap. It would, at the very least, be much simpler and cheaper to replace the bearings on one. GD

I use a 4lb drilling hammer and a brass punch. You aren't going to get anywhere without some weight. If you want to move metal you need weight..... If you can bring the knuckle down to West Linn I'll install them for you - no charge. PM me if you need help. GD