heartless

would have to agree with all of the above... Not a good idea, not by any stretch of the imagination. If you want a lift, do it the right way - not hodge-podged together

Replace with either NGK brand or OEM. The last time I bought wires that were not NGK*, it was a set of Duralast wires on my 89 GL wagon (may moons ago) - they failed on me when I was 2.5 hrs from home. I swore never, ever again. (* never have purchased OEM wires - nearest dealer is too far away) Failure was arcing through the plug boot to the engine block - it was so bad it was even obvious in bright daylight. Took seconds to find after getting off the highway to a safe place and popping the hood. Managed to limp home by wrapping the crap out of it with electrical tape, but as soon as I got home a set of NGKs were ordered and I have never looked back. I don't care how good others claim their wires are - on any of my Subarus it is NGK, period.

what kind of wires is the next question... NGK or OEM only... store brands have proven time and again to be problematic. as for the iridium plugs - meh - if it were me, they would get swapped out for the plain old copper core NGKs - just because...

can still pretty much guarantee you it has nothing to do with the headlights being on. I typically turn mine on and leave them on all the time - never once has any of my cars chimed at me for that. I did have at least one instance on my 95 where it chimed while driving, and it turned out the seat belt buckle was not fully engaged. Unbuckle and re-buckle and the chiming stopped.

could it perhaps be a seat belt chime, not headlights? I have never had a Subaru chime at me for headlights being on. Ever. Not in any of the Subarus I have ever owned - from the '89 GL, to the '90 LS Legacy, to the '95 Legacy, to the 2002 Forester - and a few the other half has had as well from around the same age ranges, up to & including his 2006 Outback.. In fact, it is one of the things I love about Subarus - the lights go on & off with the key. I don't have to worry about leaving the lights on accidentally - because they turn off when the key is off, or even in the Acc position. The ONLY lights that will ever turn on with the key off are the ones run by the "virgin switch" - the one on top of the steering column.

the under-hood data plate is usually on or near the left front strut tower. for paint needs, I use either my local parts house that will mix paint, or these guys... https://www.automotivetouchup.com/

There are torque specs for every bolt/nut for a reason, and they should be followed. Over torquing will break things, under torquing will allow things to work loose. Either situation is not good. even lug nuts have a torque spec.

Thank you for the confirmation.

Ok, to all the gurus out there, I have had a line failure on my 2002 Foz, just ahead of the right rear wheel, but just behind a small "box" that has both rear lines going through it. The fittings for the lines going into this "box" are shot - all the way around - as in there is no way in God's Green Earth they are going to come out of there - ever. so the question is - just what the devil is this little "box"? (see attached pic) Is it just a junction point (this is what I think it is, but?), or is it a proportioning valve? if it is just a junction point, it can easily be eliminated from the system, yes? FWIW - both of the rear lines at that point are in pretty bad shape, so seriously considering doing both lines and being done with it

Transmission fluid MUST be checked with the car running, preferably with it fully warmed up, and parked on flat, level surface. Do NOT check it with the car shut off - it will not give you an accurate reading.

you shouldnt be braking mid-corner anyway... brake BEFORE the corner/curve, then gradually increase speed as you go through the corner/curve. just sayin...

Do one thing at a time here... start with the plugs first - just basic NGK plugs at the proper gap spec is all that are needed here. (i completely agree with Gloyale - get the stupid double iridium plugs out of there - they are just a gimmick to part you from more of your money) then address the rear O2 sensor. If there are still issues after both of those - then look into the injectors.

have to agree with GD on this one - on a 95 (which is non-interference) clean the sucker up, new key to guide placement of the crank pulley (that is all the key is for, btw), and torque the bolt down properly - good to go. After addressing the timing that is. New tensioner, and may as well do all the other pulleys & related timing stuff, and she should be golden for 100K

the Outback became a "truck" around 2004-ish. this article from 2004 talks about it https://www.thecarconnection.com/tips-article/1005582_subaru-outback-counts-as-a-truck

If you have the owners manual for this vehicle - check it and use what it recommends.

it is mostly an EPA/Federal classification thing having to do with the CAFE rules. a "truck" classification is more lenient on fuel economy than a "passenger car" There are other things that go along with it, such as cargo capacity -vs- passenger room, but in this case, I think that fuel mileage is the main reason. The Forester does not get as good of fuel mileage as the Outback, even tho the Outback actually has more cargo capacity than the Forester..

you mentioned a couple of times that you replaced the plugs & wires, but failed to mention what you replaced them with. these need to be NGK - both plugs AND wires, or NGK plugs and OEM wires - Nothing else! Anything else and you are just asking for problems. Checking the timing would be a very good idea. In fact, I would do this BEFORE doing anything else, and do it ASAP. Make 100% sure it is exactly where it needs to be. Being an interference motor, you want to check this sooner rather than later, or you could find yourself with a major overhaul on your hands.

And this is why we recommend either OEM or NGK plug wires only. Store brand wires are crap.

is it actually burning the oil, or is it leaking? Subaru's are famous for "marking their territory" (ie: leaking oil) from a variety of different places. If it were my car, I would be cleaning up the engine as best I could, and verifying it was not leaking anywhere before I even begin to entertain swapping the engine out, or anything else remotely expensive.

to be honest - I think a car alarm pro/con depends a lot on where you live. I live in a very rural area, not a lot of crime, especially in relation to vehicles around here. I rarely lock my doors, and usually only do so when I have been out shopping (which is not often) Hell, a lot of farmers around here leave the keys in their vehicles so they dont have to hunt down keys when they need to go chase loose cattle or something. yes, my 2002 Forester does have an alarm on it.. it uses the horn for sound.. I found out how to turn it on or off by using the fob (the squarish looking one is what I have) by holding down both the lock & unlock buttons at the same time for a couple of seconds. I have no idea if this would work on an '04 or not.

completely agree... and the little plastic clips are cheap to replace if you break one or two in the process - altho I dont think I have ever broken a Subaru door panel clip... that was the Dodge, lol

check out the diagram for "sound systems" here... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/1998/Wiring%20Diagrams/

yes, using your VIN will make sure you get correct listings.

What he said ^^ a quick look and it would appear 2008 to 2011 are all compatible, but not knowing for sure what exact model you have, it would be best if you check yourself

you mean the outer crank pulley? yes, they usually come off fairly easily once the bolt is removed. I have only ever had to fight with one, and it wasn't that much of a fight, LOL. things had gotten a bit gunked up on that car. Sounds like you have managed to dodge a bullet with the toothed pulley and the hoses.. always a good idea to check those when doing this job. when I did my old car - the radiator hoses were so bad you could see light through them in places - yes they got changed!