Caboobaroo

I never seem to replace them, even on high mileaged 2.5s. I do like to do all the idlers and water pump if I'm in doing a timing belt, oh and cam seals if they're leaking. Also check the wrist pin access plugs on there front of the engine with the belt off, those are known to leak and can't be serviced with the belt and idlers in place.

The impact driver is made to give it a turning force along with a down force to keep the bit in the screw.

The back of he fuse block is known to get hot and melt due to a high resistance in one of the main power wires there. Pop it out and see if only can figure out which one it is, the wire might be brown from the heat.

I wouldn't use any sort of "stop leak" type stuff. Nothing like having it clog up the radiator, the heater core and part of the block. I've seen it before on a few different Subaru engines, one being an old EA82T that I tore down. Find a good set of heads and do the work yourself. It is time consuming but it'll be cheaper for you to do it then to pay a shop to fix it. Do it right and it will last another 30 years! Oh and I love my XT. The looks I get, the people who randomly come up to me and start asking me about it, random people taking pictures of it on the street in front of the shop and so on. But I have the 2.7... Picture for posterity!

No. The 2000 and 2002 are compatible with each other but in 2006, they changed the piston dish style and went to a variable valve timing setup on the heads.

Had one get towed in a few months ago that had skipped at idle. Customer started the car, went to the back to get something out of the hatch, closed the hatch and the car died. Pretty astounding. Wish my new EJ25D car had that instead of a rod knock...

Not really. Battery draw is caused by a live circuit. Easiest way to figure out where it is, disconnect the battery ground and put a DMM (on DC volts) between the battery ground terminal and the negative cable. This should display a voltage reading of right around 0.2 volts with the car off and key off. If it's more, start pulling fuses and watch for voltage drop. This will help figure out which circuit it's on and you can go from there. Make sure all the grounds are clean and tight, add a few more if needed. I had a headlight issue on my '78 Brat and I ended up putting in a new, larger power wire instead of the original, cleaned all the grounds really good and they worked perfect after. I might have also put a new inline fuse in the power wire as well but I don't recall.

Also make sure you're not buying old tires, like 10+ years old. They have a tendency to separate after you start driving on them. If you're not sure what year they were made, the DOT code will tell you.

In 2005 Subaru started using a drive by wire throttle. When the battery goes dead, is disconnected or the ECU memory is cleared, the ECU needs to relearn where the stepper motor on the throttle needs to be for it to idle. I deal with it everyday and have multiple people ask me about it. I'm hoping to get some time to write up a thread on it and either have it stickied or put into the USRM. I have a specific procedure I go through to help with the relearn procedure but ultimately it does take a couple days for it to relearn fully.

The fuel doesn't really have an effect on these engines however there is a noticeable power and exhaust note difference between running the regular blend E10 and nonethanol premium. Every once and awhile I will fill my XT6 with the nonethanol stuff and I can tell a difference in how smooth it idles, better throttle response, and a different note from the exhaust. I would let you know what my mileage would be if I could keep my foot out of it...

It should be a single sending unit, located in the same spot as the older cars, like it's shown above. Try replacing it and see if that helps.

Anytime the ECU power is disconnected or the ECU memory cleared, the ECU has to learn from square one. Since 2005, they've been using a drive by wire system and the ECU has to relearn where the stepper motor needs to sit at idle. Here's what I do... After disconnection or cleared, turn key on, wait for gauges to sweep, don't start the car, shut key off and remove from ignition. Do this three of four times and give yourself 30 seconds between each time to key off to key on. Start car and don't touch the throttle. Let it idle for 20 minutes and take it for a drive. During test drive, pull over, shut it off, pull key out, wait 30 seconds, key on, gauges sweep, start car. Might have to do that 2 or 3 times.

I do tons of wheel bearings on Subarus. The ones I have with rust and a non moving lateral link through bolt, I just remove the knuckle with both lateral links still attached from the subframe. It seems like it might be a PITA but better then cutting and grinding and the frustration you have to deal with.

I'm actually about to tear that engine down since I now own it. Has a blown head gasket on #1 and is full of coolant. Hopefully I don't have any pitting in the cylinder but if I do, I will let you know what I end up doing.

This particular era of car has known radio issues. I've had them turn on by themselves, had the volume go up and down by itself, change stations, etc. Only way to fix it is to replace the unit.

The driveline technically has nonserviceable u-joints as they are staked in. A used one will work, has to be from an Outback wagon with a 5-speed automatic. If it does break, it can potentially take out the back end of the transmission where the clutch pack for the all wheel drive is at. Check out www.car-part.com for a driveline.

I used a Whiteline rear diff outrigger bushing kit for an impreza in my XT6. This kit here... http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_detail4.php?part_number=KSB751 I used the original hardware minus the factory rubber bits on the mount and washers. I put the thin ring between the mount and the mustache bar and the thicker ring between the washer and the mustache bar. I still have some drivetrain slop but I think part of it is due to excessive backlash in the rear diff.

They probably have a shared ground under the dash. I remember there being one down by the hood release handle that can make the gauges act funny.

This site I used for all my MegaSquirt stuff has been www. Diyautotune.com. They have been outstanding with customer service and promptness on getting orders filled and out quickly. I still like the headstud plan and with looking into timeserting the holes in the block, with studs and the needed timesert kit, I think I came up with ~$500 for the whole thing. I've done a few timeserts in blocks before so it's not my first rodeo with it but it can be real easy to mess it up. I'm half tempted to have the machine shop do them... Oh and if you are looking for ER27 parts, I might be wiling to get rid of some. Only have 4 complete engines currently...

Funny you should mention Megasquirt, I'm in the process of assembling a MS2 3.0 myself! I've made a run to Pick N Pull and scored a Ford EDIS6 coil, module and crank sensor but I don't think it'll work for the generic trigger wheel I have. Should be close to getting it finished and hopefully installed in the car. And hopefully it stays drive able as it's currently my DD...

I don't plan to turbo mine, I'm looking to keep it looking stock so NA it is. I was supposed to get measurements for ARP a few months ago but never had the time so I'm intrigued into the slightly larger ones you found. Oh and the MLS gaskets are perfect, you should shoot me a PM on the cost... As far as the oil pump, from what I can remember, the spot for the outer ring is larger and deeper then the EA82, and I think the bolt pattern is slightly different. I might be able to get some pictures this weekend of one of my spare engines.

This is a great thread guys, lots of good information! I've been playing around with doing some of this to my ER27 as I have a decently built shortblock and a couple heads with port work and Delta cams. Keep up the good work!

The second one had just under 100k miles. I have seen them seep from the outside and blow on the inside. My 2004 currently has a dried layer of coolant on the bottom of the passenger side head but it's not actively leaking and no coolant loss between oil changes that's noticeable. I've also seen them seep oil at the same place. Now I want to update that after tear down on the first 3.0 Outback I looked at, found a cracked head between the intake valve and exhaust valve seats on the #3 cylinder.

And today, had a twin to said Outback come in for an overheat issue... Has a breeched head gasket as well!

I have a '06 Outback 3.0 in the shop with a misdiagnosed cylinder 3 misfire. Another shop put a coil pack on it and said they "fix it" but it came in on a flatbed. Did a leak down test and had rolling coolant in the overflow bottle because of the breech. It has 103k miles on it too. Do get a second opinion on it but it is plausible for it to start failing.