1 Lucky Texan

ever come across an old rubber band? time takes it toll on fluids, rubbers, plastics and greases. I did my WRX's TB at under 70K miles and 9 years, the toothed idler was wobbly and very rough/dry/crunchy. The tensioner had oil on top of it and another idler was rough feeli. glad I did it. The maintenance schedule has a time side. a few things there make no sense - spark plugs for instance. But fluids collect moisture and can be degraded, oxidized or emulsified. try left-foot dragging the brakes for 2-3 blocks at 40mph or so, making sure to cool them down for a mile. Or investigate doing a more aggressive 'bed in' procedure. Often, 'warped' rotors are just uneven pad deposits.

scan for codes as said possible exhaust blockage or knock sensor - but any codes will be important

maybe rear bushings on lower control arm or some other mount/bushing?

I've gotten used remotes on 2 occasions for our 03 - they work fine

sounds great - didn't seem to have but one style though at the place I rented mine.

axle nut is staked into a slot, but my corded electric impact can buzz them off. Otherwise, big cheater needed. many people reuse the nut, book says new nut. Final torque should be done off the ground - I 'buck up' the rotor with a big screwdriver in a vent - up against the brake caliper. Rebuilt axles are horrible - 1 good one for every 8-10 bad ones. Used Subaru OEM, maybe regreased and rebooted(check car-part.com or LKQ), or even new chinese axles (FEQ or maybe EMPI brands?) better than most rebuilt axles. one TB on that motor - you can search for images and youtube videos for examples.

i've used an old pad as a lever to do the push-back just use w'ever and don't cut the dust boot and try not to score the rotor

not sure how ea82s handled parking brake, but on the present car, there are little shoes in side the rear disks - might need to back-off the 'star' adjusters to clear any lip worn into the drum 'area' if you do decide to pull the rotors. Subaru brakes are good components and rotors should be kept if they meet minimum thickness stamped on them. I would buy Centric brand rotors.

take the suspect alternators to a shop for testing?

dose it get quieter or louder with rpm increase? you might have a weak TB tensioner, that may allow the belt to make a knocking noise.

spec for my car was right at 1mm I think, so - ~0.040"

how is the car stored and used? any work or wrecks recently? ANY other electrical issues? odd brake, turn signal, parking light issues? original radio/head unit?

I'm sure there are plenty of people who are in a situation to take on a risky project and it does seem like you had some more information that may have reduced the risk somewhat, but, as a casual DIYer, it would mean a LOT to me to feel what the car drives like. Folks with a real shop and more experience and more time for wrenching - probably not the worst project. But, just seems like there could be better 'rolling chassis' out there to start from as a 'base'.

seems iffy given the miles,rust,filth - suppose the trans or front diff give out next? probably needs struts and some bushings, maybe the cooling system is clogged-up? I suppose it depends on what else you might spend that time and money on. but. I REALLY like our 03 H6 and understand why someone might want a similar beast, just dunno how I'd feel if it was in poor condition though.

how much would your shop charge someone who brought their old assemblies and new struts to you to swap?

some people claim, if struts have been bad for a very long time, the springs are done-in too. Your call. OEM springs are not 'crazy' expensive. You could find a shop that might do the swap-over for you for $40-$60 or w'ever - just call around. Take your assemblies and new parts to them. I bet they'd love to do that for you on a slow thursday morning.... I recently swapped fronts on my WRX - got struts from amazon for $66 .In the past, I did the wife's 03 OBW. First side with handtools - ugh! Bought an electric impact, not too bad. If you have a friend or relative that has done this, offer them pizza and beers to come over for moral support. NOTE! - forgot to mention, scribe/scratch a mark from 12 o'clock down onto the camber adjustment bolt - put it back in the same position on the new strut and alignment will be close enough.

make note of what part of the top hat faces 'out' towards the fender/knuckle - mark it with something that won't easily rub off in handling if therer isn't a hole or arrow w'ever. get/borrow (or buy like I did) an impact wrench - possibly a very strong drill with proper adapter to a socket to run the compressor's screws down. grab as many coils as possible 3 on each one if possible - position them 180* from each other around the spring. I had to flip one too - so the screw heads faced opposite directions - helped with clearance to get the socket on run them down until you JUST get things loose. don't 'over compress'. I found it helpful to use vicegrips to hold springs and tophats in position don't forget to move the bumper and boots over. I think the images are gone, but there may be some help for you in this thread; http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/81-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension/36263-2003-w-h6-baja-springs-kyb-struts-done.html

do you feel this as side-to-side in the steering wheel, or front-to-back in the seat of the pants? any change if you touch the brakes lightly?

I think you may have 2 problems. swap tires front to back. (they are all 4 the same brand/model/size right?) check for oil on the sparkplug boots - maybe leaking valve cover gaskets? If the plugs are original, probably time for a change anyway - or close enough to do it with the inspection for oil. scan for pending codes - they may help. have you had a mechanic drive it? these are difficult for use to guess at over the net. Just encouraging checking a lot of stuff....

if you mean temps go up when stopped (stoplights, trains, very slow traffic) then go down when you begin to drive forward, could be a bad or intermittent radiator fan(s).

did this begin gradually or after some work was done? any CEL codes?

u-joint? the driveshaft turns much faster than the axle so, sound and rumbling could occur quite fast - does it seem like the vibration is 'about' 4 times faster the the wheels are turning?

99% of the time, the system's low pressure switch is just protecting the components from low refrigerant levels. info here;http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/43428-diy-c-air-conditioning-leak-refrigerant-repair-5-less-15-minutes-less.html

you might look around Crutchfield.com to see what units they have for the car. I can't help with any comparisons, sry.

I'm kinda thinking an oil analysis might be helpful. If coolant or fuel are creeping-in when the engine is off, traces might be found in the oil. Any company available to you like Blackstone or Polaris here in the US? also, given the few miles, kinda wondering if the PCV system might need servicing. how is the car used? very short trips? long intervals of sitting but some distance when driven?