heartless

have to agree with idosubaru after getting more details.. definitely does sound like a wheel bearing on its way out. the more noticeable wear on the RR suggests that wheel. would suggest investing in some better quality tires as well, once you get the other issue sorted out. And possibly an alignment job, too. a good, budget friendly brand is Mastercraft. Have used them myself for a few years now and have always been very happy with them.

why would you want to purchase inferior products like that link?

new-ish tires could be the source of your road noise.. every tire has its own unique characteristics, and different brands, compounds and tread patterns will create different noises and handling characteristics going down the road. heck, new vs worn will produce different noise levels. 85k - suspension might be ok, might not.. worth spending a little time inspecting things.

first thing is how old are the tires? any unusual wear patterns? are all tires the same brand, size and approx tread depth? next up, for me, would be what condition are the struts/springs in? how old? also related suspension bushings.. handling issues are typically related to suspension components.

yup, the radiator itself will only hold about a gallon. the entire system holds the 2-ish gallons - block, heater core, etc. the "flush" stuff is not necessary, at all, as already noted. I would be more concerned about why the reservoir is dirty - what kind of dirt? oily dirt? just dirt, dirt? and how dirty is it? oily dirt can suggest other, more serious problems.. The timing set is far more important to keep things running reliably. unless you have verifiable proof it has been done, it needs to get done asap. for a proper factory service manual, go here, locate your model and year, and download: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

wow, very nice! i really like the headlight guards, too. lol

i used the 98 Forester struts/springs.. simply because we had one handy for parts to start off with. the used ones were pretty well shot so I updated to new parts later. I was quite happy with the results overall and did not notice any major problems with tail sag after installing the new set. Even allowed me to use the larger Forester wheels.. You will notice that the rear wheel is slightly forward in the wheelwell.. the only way to fix that is to get the Outback trailing arm - it is a little bit longer than the stock Legacy one, but honestly it was not bad, and I never had a problem with anything rubbing

ALL Subarus will be FWD biased - you are asking for something that does not exist.

you will not find complete strut assemblies for one that old. Not anything worth having anyway. KYB is the go to strut of choice for any Subaru. Springs to match and new tophats and associated parts (rubber isolators, etc) will allow you to pre-assemble before installation. verify all parts on a diagram to make sure you have everything you need. Fronts require a cone shaped washer to allow the strut to turn in tophat for steering. Struts & springs should match the application you are taking from (ie: the outback, or forester) Tophats should match the car you are putting them into (ie: the Legacy) I did it this way when I swapped my 95 Legacy over to Forester struts.. all new components assembled off the car, then it was just a simple R&R to complete the job. Was very happy with the outcome.

that info should be in the owners manual, but if you dont have one.. check here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/2010/

you probably just need to do a good clean & polish.. if the headlight housing looks yellowed or hazy, that is exactly what you need to do Maguire's (and others) sells a kit that has two grades of sanding pads with a holder, polish, an applicator pad for the drill, and a sealer all in one box. the trick is to make sure you wet sand out ALL of the yellowing/hazing before going to the polish. It will not last forever - 6mos to a year depending on conditions, but it does do a good job of cleaning things up and improving light output

do they still have the rear oil separator plate like on the older 2.2s? If they do, my bet is the leak is from there, and no amount of "fix in bottle" will fix that. The only way to fix that is pull the engine and reseal properly - and if you are going to do that, may as well do all the other stuff it needs. If the body is still in good shape, it might be worthwhile to do it. 200K really is not that high on the mileage. My 02 Forester has 260K and going strong As already mentioned, it is fairly rare for the main crank seal to leak.. yeah, it does happen, but not that often.

if this is a manual, yeah, downshift.. cruising rpms should be in the 2500-3000rpm range.. 1500 is way too low

Tire clearance will be the biggest issue for this swap.. as already noted, the standard Legacy spring perches sit lower on the strut than the Outback version does.. take a look at your tire clearance now, maybe even take a measurement from the bottom of the spring perch to the top of the knuckle to compare with a standard set at a jy.. If there is not a lot of tire clearance currently, you probably will not be able to do the swap without buying new, smaller tires as well.

most here go up, not down.. not sure how much of a response you will get. Can I ask why you want to go lower? standard Legacy (non-outback model) is typically a little shorter than an Outback - maybe 1.5 inches or so - standard Legacy struts & springs would most likely do what you want. and KYB is the recommended strut, be very cautious of those "one piece" things.. Would also recommend getting new front mounts as well.. the bearings are probably shot if they are the originals