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Replace the battery terminals and check the fusible links. GD

Amsoil 5w40, and Amsoil filters if you want to run up to 25,000. We don't recommend less than 6k. And we don't do any non-synthetic anymore. Waste of money and time. GD

None of that matters. Change and check the oil and filter often and nothing else matters. Synthetic and OEM filters are best, but neither matter if you don't let the oil get low, don't overheat the vehicle, and change the oil on time. 10w30 is fine. Viscosity isn't important. Newer cars have lower friction rings and 0W oil and easily consume oil leading to low oil situations. We also know nothing about their vehicles, history, or statements. People say stuff about cars all that time that isn't the definition of "scientific", is anecdotal, way too many assumptions are made, inaccurate, etc. A wal-mart conversation isn't really worth any time. Oil filter - not a big deal. Some synthetic oils are good for well beyond 10,000 miles and when paired with a good filter. 25,000 mile oil and filter change via Amsoil: https://www.amsoilcontent.com/lit/g1490.pdf There are also people who change their oil filters every other oil change. There are times and conditions in which these practices, and others that need not be mentioned here, have merit and will not illicit any issues. You shouldn't do it, but not every situation is identical to yours.

Viscosity is not crucial on a 1997: 5W30?, 10W30?, 10W40? Its not going to make much of a difference. If you're burning or leaking oil, go with the thicker grades Filter: Subaru OEM?, or Fram?, or Wix? etc. IMHO it really won't matter. WHAT IS IMPORTANT is to change the oil and filter frequently, more frequently than recommended. Keep that oil clean!

They fail because users treat them like cast-iron V6's.

New boots and clamps, new grease. That’s all you need. Remove axle: knock out inner roll pin at trans, remove 32mm axle nut, remove top 17mm strut mount bolt, loosen lower strut mount bolt. pull on strut so hub rotates out. Slide axle off trans. Push inner joint back so you can pull axle out of the hub. pulling the balljoint is easier than stray bolt method, there’s more room, but the ballpoints can be huge nightmares if there’s any rust or corrosion It’s very tight angling the axle out but it does come out. swap boots and reinstall. As John said, the axle slides onto the stub only one way when reinstalling. Look at the grooves in the stub and grooves on the axle and make sure they’re compatible If not, rotate 180 degrees. It’s very simple, you’ll notice when you remove it now that you know to look.

Find and remove the roll pin. When reinstalling, the roll pin only goes in one way. Very important: use the correct size punch to punch out the roll pin. Axles attached to the differential, not the transmission.

NTN won't sell axles through the grey market. Their axle division has an exclusive deal with Subaru. Trust me I've asked about it and my sales rep at Worldpac would sell his children to get NTN as an axle supplier. GD

It does take that long. We do them periodically on the 2008 to 2010 WRX's and STI's due to fatigue failure of the pedal mounting box spot welds. About a $1500 repair. And that's not even touching the heater core box. We have it on good authority that the assembly line starts with the heater core hanging from some fishing line and all subsequent parts are then bolted to it. GD

Also make sure the coil bracket has good ground. The ignition transistor uses the bracket as ground.

If the CEL isn't lit, and multiple computers act this way, then you have a power/ground issue. Check all the power and ground circuits to the ECM. GD