Caboobaroo

Use OEM parts. You'll thank yourself later for that. Also make sure that if the spark plug tube seals are leaking and have oil soaked the wires, to replace those too. As for the valve adjustment. Make sure the came are in a relaxed state (can make on driver side pointing down and passenger side pointing up). You will need a set of feeler gauges , a 10mm wrench and a flat head screwdriver. Upper valves (intake) get a .008" and bottom valves (exhaust) get a .010"

It will not plug into the '87s, Miles. I have an earlier bumper on my '87 coupe and I had to change the plugs on the turn signals. Everything else is the same.

Unfortunately the aftermarket axles are what making the vibrations. The differences in machined tolerances inside the joints make it bind. Original Manufactured Equipment or OEM, are built the best and as long as new boots are put on when they tear (part of vehicle maintanence is to check them every once and awhile), I've seen them last over 300k miles. But if you can deal with the vibration, its still OK to drive. Since you said the other side was replaced awhile ago, I suspect that one has gone bad.

I can do them as well. PM me if your interested.

The one with the die and rod. Got a nice 3.3lb hammer I use You can also use a 2x4 too. I used to them that way. Also make sure to pack the bearings good too.

Yes it is truely that easy. Once I get the knuckle off, I use a brass drift and a hammer to pop the bearings out of the knuckle. Then I use a bearing driver to push the new ones in. One tip though, leave the spacer a bit loose (don't press the bearings in all the way, leave one out about 1/32" if that) as it will make getting the axle through easier.

Since I'm a professional Subaru mechanic, I'm going to see what it would take to make an EJ box capable of putting the dual range in it... We'll see

Unfortunately for us, we never got a dual range EJ transmission and it appears that's what case he used

Now that I have specs I can help out a bit more. For those of you that don't do alignments for a living, this will help out. I've done several of these cars from wagons, sedans, coupes and even a couple XT6s. There are adjustments but most alignment guys either don't know about the adjustments or realize how much of a pain they can be to get right. You can use a tape measure but if its tire wear you're concerned about, that's not my suggestion. The reason why they are such a bear to align is because the alignments head has to be attached to the wheel but the wheel has to be removed in order to get everything loose and to shift it around. I find it's easier on cars with 5 lug conversions and that are running a 17" wheel. Now, the actual adjustments are just a loosen up and shift around but camber and toe are both effected by them. From the looks of it, you probably have a bad spring so fix the broken parts and find someone to do a proper alignment. Toe and camber can both be fixed in your scenario if everything checks out and nothing is bent/broken.

LOL! Rob, we need to get mine going so we can do a shoot together ;-)

2 things will make it sit like that. Either a shock with a busted spring or a bent/rusted out trailing arm.

Unless you plan to part it out, I wouldn't worry about fixing it. After its been sitting for over 2 years, it will need more work then just the engine. All the fluids will need to he changed, the radiator might be rotted out on the bottom, the fuel tank will need to either be replaced or removed and cleaned, the fuel lines will need to be cleaned out..... I've been down that road. Not worth the trouble but that's my opinion. You'll end up spending way more then you originally anticipated.

Granted my '87 fwd 3AT coupe had cruise but it was dealer installed I believe. The harness for the cruise is completely separate from the rest of the vehicle harness. I'm actually going to take it and use it in my '89 RX as it doesn't have cruise. It'll also work with any EJ swap too. Just need the electrical harness, the box behind the drift side kick panel and the underhood items.

You need to post up specs where the vehicle is on an alignment rack. Sounds like you have either negative toe, negative camber or both. Unless there's worn out parts or bent parts, its all adjustable in the back end. Just have to find an alignment tech willing to take the time on it. Only thing that could be bent to cause that wear like that would be a bent trailing arm.

I use a slide hammer to pop the hub out of the knuckle/bearing assembly while its in the car. Then I remove the ABS ring, use a press and a clamshell to press the inner race off along with the bearing from the knuckle. Only time you need to replace the hub is when the section that presses into the bearing is damaged, either from removal or from the inner race spinning on it. If you can get the knuckle off, some shops don't charge that much to press them out and in. Most labor time comes from removal and installation of the knuckle. But don't forget you'll need to get an alignment afterwards as you'll be messing with the camber adjustment.

With 78k miles I'm willing to bet the headgaskets have never been done and are leaking oil. That would contribute to the low oil level which took the engine out.

It could also be two different problems. The oil could be from the A/C compressor as that is also on that same side of the engine. Also peek down the passenger side behind the engine and look at the inner axle boot. It could be split, slinging grease onto the catalytic converter.

I wont be back at the shop until Monday and I can check alldata for you on the correct tcu code procedure

Subarus use oil and whoever gave you the claim they didn't, is lying. I work on these for a living. I just recently did a rebuilt shortblock in a 2003 Forester that the same thing happened. 3 years ago this customer ran it out of oil and the shop I work for put a low mileage engine in it with new headgaskets and all the other needed work. Then just last month he went 2500 miles over his oil change and the #1 rod bearing started knocking. Cost $4500 for a rebuilt shortblock with labor. Don't forget to check your oil and do regular 3k mile oil changes.

I would personally go for the shim over bucket EJ25D heads myself but that's because I have more experience with those. Most higher mileage 4EATs have a harder shift from first to second. I've even done a rebuilt transmission in one and the first - second shift is almost as hard. If it's not slipping then it should be fine. Just make sure the head surface is flat on whatever heads you use.

IIRC... If I Remember Correctly You can also rent a tool usually from local parts houses that will help screw the piston back into the caliper. I would do the vented discs though, Better heat dissipation and easier to find parts for it for now...

Yup thats where I work! Unfortunately the exhaust I have won't fit as its for the EA82 3-door coupe. I bet Turbone has something lying around lol

I got a great machinist that we have do all of our work. We usually have 1 - 2 pairs of remand heads in stock which can make it easy for me being a tech.

All righty. Got this car finished up Tuesday of this week but its been super busy so I haven't been able to post up my finding with a pic. So the driver side head had two dropped valve guides, one was dropped to the point of keeping one exhaust valve open for the 100% leakdown. Here's a pic of how far the valve actually was sticking out... Had another Forester come in Thursday with a a rough running engine and a check engine light for a #4 cylinder misfire. I checked the sparkplug, swapped the fuel injectors on #2 and #4 and it was still there. Did a compression test and it read 50psi. Did a leakdown and it was at 100% with the air coming from the exhaust tip.

The rubber valve stems on the steels (if it IS a rubber stem with the sensor bolted to it like shown above) are the same size as a standard rubber stem BUT you have to use OEM (or equivalent) stems. GM also used the same system in some of their newer cars. Subaru also did a hard mounted TPMS sensor where its built into the valve stem but those are metal, not rubber. Both of which should technically fit into aftermarket wheels.