heartless

so you are saying we will most likely need to unbolt motor mount and lift the engine on that side to get the old one out & new one in?

yeah, yeah.. you live in the land of no rust.. for those of us not lucky enough to live there, rust is a very real, very annoying part of life. Especially so on anything more than a couple years old... My Forester is a 2002 - 16 years old... The other half's LL Bean Outback is a 2006 - 12 years old.. Both have had a long time to foster the nasty rust demon. Both have now had the same basic failure, just at different ages...The only reason I can fathom that mine lasted longer than his is due to the location of the tube, with mine being on top of the engine, thus slightly more protected from the elements than his (even tho his was slightly protected by the undercarriage cover). I just thought it was funny that both cars have had the same failure within a month or so of each other. At least it is not the dead of winter!

yup, part was around $50 including shipping, and it shouldn't be too difficult to change out.. good access at the bottom end where there is one bolt & it goes into the thermostat housing, the tight one is going to be at the back side where the two stubs split off - there is a bolt that holds it in place back there, plus the hose clamps going to the heater core and the throttle body.. access is a bit tight, but should still be doable. in all, it should actually be easier than doing the one on the Forester was, LOL. don't have to pull the intake to do it. idosubaru - Any tips you can share for the job? will we be able to fish it out & new one in without unbolting motor mounts or anything like that?

yesterday morning the other half sends me a text that his car's (2006 LL Bean Outback) temp gauge was doing weird things... ie: showing hotter than normal, dropping, raising.... cant really see anything underneath because of the stupid plastic cover, but something was leaking coolant somewhere. Before coming home after work, he checked radiator levels, it was low, so he added coolant (about a 1/2 gal) & drove home... he says temp gauge never went above 3/4s, but still very concerned... When he got home, we popped the hood, and could not see any obvious leaks while the engine was still running but as soon as the engine was shut down, there was a very obvious leak below the drivers side head... oh great... headgaskets on an H6? I know this is not common, but not unheard of either, and from the dripping we saw, it was pretty bad. The thought made my already upset stomach even more queasy... but we could not think of anything else down there that it could be... (not nearly as familiar with the H6 layout as with a 2.2 or 2.5) We both decided we needed to pull the plastic under cover off and get a good look at things.. after letting the car cool down a bit, off it came... and to our surprise (and relief!) we found it was not a headgasket leaking, but a tube running just under the head that was seriously corroded and had finally burst. This tube comes off the thermostat housing, runs under the head and is connected to both the heater core and the throttle body at the back end. Now for the "what are the odds?" part - Just over a month ago, I had pretty much the EXACT same issue with my car - 2002 Forester with EJ251 - rusted out water tube... so much fun! But - at least it is NOT a headgasket, it can be replaced, and the part is already ordered (hopefully will be here in time to install over the weekend)

what about the plug wires? have they been replaced, and if so, what kind? Auto parts house wires are junk and are known to cause issues. Wires should be either OEM or the appropriate NGK set for the motor.

completely understand. just happy you seem to have gotten it sorted out.

take your meter along with and test voltage with nothing hooked up.

yes, the 95 Legacy is OBDII - I had one.

blown headgaskets do not "suck air in" to the block.. they can cause exhaust gasses to build up, but that is usually into the cooling system, not the crank case, so I would take what that guy said with several grains of salt... R&R the PCV system - that is most likely the cause of your issue

how do you know it is not the timing?? did you pull the covers and check it? If not, then don't discount it. Even 1 tooth off can cause all kinds of headaches. VERIFY it is correct - do not assume. also, if there is CEL you really should get those codes read - borrow a reader, or buy one, or something, but find out what the codes are.

very possible it could be the switches themselves, or maybe something got unplugged pop the door panel off the drivers door and make sure everything is plugged in properly, and while it is off, check for power getting to the switch

car-part.com

it was just a thought..

at just barely 15mm outer diameter, thinking it is a bit small for an injector o-ring too... but I have no experience with one that new.. I honestly can not think of anything that small. XT is a turbo model, right? could it have something to do with the turbo system?

#4 looks pretty much as it should, #s 1 & 3 are passable, not great, but not that bad either, considering age & mileage. #2 is definitely an issue.. and not just the oil fouling, but the broken insulator - yikes

I used to have the same "aversion" to the 2.5s as you... then I got myself a nice little 2002 Forester with the EJ251 - not a bad car at all. In fact, I am quite happy with it. the other half has a 2006 LL Bean Outback with the 3.0 and it is quite nice. the one to really stay away from is the EJ25D (dual overhead cam version) - that one was loads of trouble. Maintenance history (if at all possible to obtain) and/or carfax report can tell you a lot about a car. The report for my Forester noted that the head-gaskets had been replaced around 108K, & it had no accidents listed (the condition of the car bore this out). It also told me that I was only the 3rd owner of the car, with the older gent I got it from being the 2nd. Careful looking can find you a nice, well kept car that has had good maintenance over its life. Don't be afraid of the 2.5, just be aware of the potential issues that could come up with one that has not been cared for properly - same as with ANY car.

my first Subaru was an 89 GL wagon (basically the same as the Loyale), 5spd, FWD - I paid all of $150 for that car (it needed a clutch and a few other items) and I drove it for 8 years! She had 150K miles when I got her, and was pushing 285K miles when she was finally permanently retired due to serious rust issues - motor still started first time, every time, and ran strong. It was because of that car that I found this group - way back in 2001, and they have helped me many times over the years to keep my Subarus going. I try to pay that back by helping others where I can. So yeah, this is kind of like a family. =)

good luck, guys.. glad to have been at least a little bit of help. =)

That is awesome news! Welcome to the family (even if you dont have one yet!)

interesting tidbit for you.. one code being set can set off a whole sequence of other codes... start by addressing the FIRST code listed when reading the codes.. fix that. reset codes, see what comes back then fix the next FIRST code, reset, see what comes back... repeat as needed.

i would be willing to put money on them being different. i know some people have done the "splice" thing, but it has never worked out for me - I will spend the little extra to get the right one with the appropriate connector already on it just to save the headaches.

don't go just by what you see online.. actively look around - we found my 2002 Forester locally (other half saw it while he was working) and we got it for $1400 cash. Being in Northern Wisconsin this car is in very good shape for its age. The picture was taken shortly after I got it 2 years ago

I have a 2002 Forester with the 2.5 that has just over 240,500 miles on it now.. it did have the headgaskets done long before I got it (were done around 180K according to the carfax report) I bought it at 206K. Car runs great. With good care and maintenance they can go a long time, making them quite economical vehicles.

personally, I would not trust ebay as a reliable source of information. Rockauto has also been known to be wrong before, so use caution. As to whether or not there really is a difference, I personally do not know, but would be more inclined to think yes, there is a difference. hopefully someone else can verify

never hurts to double check the timing.. pull the outer covers, line up your cam marks.. if it is out of time, it should be pretty obvious at the cams. for the rest, yeah.. it can be a pain to figure things out with nothing to point you somewhere. you said you had to swap the throttle position sensor? any way to try a different one, just to rule that out?