1 Lucky Texan

dunno about northern border shipping or if there's room for negotiation on price, but I just saw this on - ahem - 'another forum'; https://www.subaruoutback.org/threads/rallitek-overload-springs-rear-fits-2000-2004-ob.531827/

ouch a quick look at one site here shows prices from the $40s to the $80s ??? maybe 4 vs 6 cylinder but ?????

sorry your thread turned into such a 'train wreck'.

worked with a guy with railroad experience, used thermite packs for welding rails.

^^^^ that reminds me.... Jonathan, I don't recall you saying, but I'm betting you've swapped struts before? If not, the only gotchas are, making sure the top 'perch'/hat maintains its orientation. There may be an arrow or hole that should point to the fender or just scratch or mark it before removal. And, there is an asymmetrical spacer (thick washer) that is domed or conical. The narrow side goes UP against the bottom of the bearing in the mount. From reading only, seems like a lot of risk getting away from KYB for a strut. The only mounts I bought so far, was some group N from an online dealer into my WRX, the rubber cracked on one side. They cost as much as the strut! Before you think; "well, I'l just run these old original mounts", take one off and spin it around a finger, shouldn't be a crunchy feeling bearing.... How are the KYB mounts? I've read some folks use thos in place of OEM. Not sure about a non-OEM spring with stock characteristics. Springs from a dealer are not priced outrageously. King and Rallitek springs seem to be favorites for special applicatons. (lifts,drops or w'ever)

Ido has a technique that seems to work. The other way I read of was an impact screwdriver, the kind you whack with a hammer. I expect it is the 'percussive shock' in common that helps them work. cue;

What goes in for 'break in' oil?

find the FPR and look for wetness in it's vacuum line.

good point, you are seeing some positive changes I guess. I only report what I've read. What brands and composition are you using now?

another question, how are the bearings? They are probably crunchy and going bad.

I've only read about taken the motormounts loose and using ratchet straps to pull the engine away from the working side.

Not sure about Wix supplying Subaru, the old ones were Roki for a while. Japanese quality. I THINK the present ones may be spec'd from Fram? There was an intermediate one that had a reputation for leaking from the rolled/crimped portion. GD would know, He has a good feel for what to avoid from the dealer.

oh, nothing wrong with shopping for a good price among , say, name brand ceramic pads across different vendors. (of course, nowadays I guess we have to watch out for 'gray market and counterfeit' parts too.) I think the pads I spoke about were Wagner, but I don't recall if they were semi-metallic or some kinda resin or what. They were terrifying and squeaky. I don't get paid to risk life and limb testing 'economy' pads so, I don't risk it. Some of them may be great - OK, which ones? and down here, we don't even buildup much rust. I can't imagine living in the rust belt and STARTING OUT by taking a pad over to the grinder to get the flashing left by poor stamping of a backplate down to where it will fit in the caliper. How tight is that fit gonna be after a coupla winters rust growth? (Rust Never Sleeps - NY)

looking at the following as an example. I suppose, if you could get the window weld in all the right places, free of voids, you could get something useable for at least a short period of time.

well, I'm not certain OK, but I think they are separated by vulcanized rubber, but there are metal 'cups' or w;'eevr that overlap each other such that a rubber failure will not allow a strut to shoot thru your hood.

negative Trim numbers mean the ECU is pulling fuel so, rich-condition is what you probably need to look for. On some cars, the fuel pressure regulator leaks fuel down its vacuum hose causing rich running. If you had slipped timing on one bank's cam pulley, maybe that would also show up as neg fuel trim? Probably limit revving too. But that would not be fixed by unplugging a sensor or resetting the ECU. any other codes? Does that engine have AVLS, maybe a problem with that?

Other folks with experience have mentioned cheaper pads are OK too. And I don't think that brake squeal necessarily is bad - just annoying. But, pads that dust a lot, wear-out quickly, don't have good initial bite (which may not show itself until winter) or don't modulate well, or, maybe even require you to file or grind on the backing plate just to move freely in the caliper? yeah, for a car I'm keeping for myself - one that I still recall what the braking felt like when it was new - I'll spend the xtra $8 or w'ever and then never look back. (I don't discount the possibility that an emergency could force someone to buy w'ever is at hand, or, buy cheap now, so you can upgrade immediately when funds become available.) I've been 'that guy' in the past, buying the cheapest hose or belt or sparkplug.......usually regretted it. This is an area where marketing doesn't help the consumer much, or, can be cause for concern if you don't have good advice to take with you when you shop. No parts store wants to lose your business because their competitor down the street has a fan belt that is $2 cheaper, so many consumables are available in a wide range of price....and quality. It's a race to the bottom.

I have no where near the experience Ido has, but I bought pads on clearance once that were noisy and had terrifyingly worse stopping distance. Had to dump them after only a coupla months. I will only use name-brand ceramic or, maybe, StopTech street performance or w'ever they call them now on the WRX ( Para-Aramid composite )

never read of it being tried.

Amazon, RA, and ebay have all been good source in the past. As have various online dealers like subaruonlineparts.com subarugenuineparts and subarupartsforyou, etc. Centric makes fine rotors and their PosiQuiet Ceramic pads are a good value. Any name brand rotor/pads (stay with ceramic or, maybe , semi-metallic for the pad material) stock brake parts are Tokico with Akebono pads. Good stuff but quality aftermarket is as good and cheaper. Don't get anything labeled economy or w'ever. That stuff is for folks flipping cars or who have minimal finances. so many questions about axles have been asked and answered. My opinion, a used Subaru axle, 'maybe' with new grease and boots, is the best 'practical' option. Next would be new from Raxles or maybe a highly rated brand, FEQ heavy-duty or ???? most risky is typical parts store rebuilt axles. OEM is extremely pricey of course.

His testimony in Congress was awesome.

yeah, an accelerated oil change or 2 might be a good idea in case a little fuel blows by. I guess synthetic oil is ok? Cars ship out with it new from the factory so, I guess the old timers were wrong about insisting 'dino' oil be used for break-in.

I've read similar 'aggressive' break-in stuff from some motorcycle rebuilders. Something about the inner champfer on rings and cylinder pressure being necessary for 'seating' them properly.

TDIL - humor is serious business!

Much lifetime warranty stuff is slapped together with minimal attention to quality and the customer becomes the 'final QC'. They can win by the law of averages but 30% or w"ever of their customers may lose. And when a problem is happening to you, it's happening 100% of the time.