Numbchux

Be prepared to cut the lower lateral link bolt to get the knuckle off. Possibly needing to replace the bushings in the lateral links as the bolt won't come out. You'll likely have $50+ in hardware at the dealer just to remove and re-install the knuckle. Also, FYI, there are 3 seals

This is the problem. Caliper piston should compress into the caliper fairly easily, otherwise the pads are dragging all the time. Rebuild or replace the caliper. Lube the slides with a good high-temp caliper lube (not just grease/anti-seize).

I don't know what the market is like up there. But here it would probably be cheaper to just have a muffler shop weld on a new muffler, than to find a pre-bent section and try to attach it to what's already there. Or, cut it off, and buy some ear plugs.... Also, I live in the first major town South of the Canadian border in this area, and it's very common for Canadians to come down here to do their shopping, because stuff is much cheaper here. We even get customers coming here to the dealership, even though there's a Subaru dealership in Thunder Bay. It might save you a good chunk of money to endure until you get across the border.

As much as I like the SVX, I can't recommend it for a daily driver, especially not with that long of a commute. They're heavy, and therefore get pretty poor gas mileage. As mentioned, parts are difficult to track down. The transmissions were better in the later years (I just picked up a '97 with like 270k on the original transmission), but the OBD II management stuff is even more rare.

Yep, wrist pin plug. OE washer is 803928010, MSRP $2.05

Good work. Keep it up, and keep us updated. I missed this... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/2001/Service Manual/

Yea, only major difference is the VDC cars.

Subaru ignitor is pretty rare, but that sounds like the symptoms I've seen on other vehicles when the ignition module begins to fail. If you have another, I'd swap it in. Is yours still bolted to the factory bracket? It uses that bracket as a heat-sync, so that could be the problem.

Possible? Maybe, but I doubt it. Certainly more work than just pulling it off. Make sure you use the OE-style metal gasket for the pump. It probably leaks because someone used an aftermarket paper gasket.

Jump on MNSubaru.com, lots of local guys, might find someone willing to help and/or recommendations for a cheaper shop.

Busy day today, didn't get a chance to check on the 6MT, I'll try again tomorrow. I deleted a few PMs.

Yep. The coil assembly has 3 wires. Power, 1/2 signal and 3/4 signal from the igniter. It's a yellow wire, IIRC the center of the 3 wires, but I could be wrong there. It's a fairly easy wire to miss when initially prepping the harness, obviously you've had it running before, so you must have connected it. The early harnesses I did (including my own), I ran it to the main relay. But before long I left the circuit in tact as it was set up in the Legacy, and powered it right off the switch in the new vehicle.

I'm not sure how you have it wired, but I'd be testing right at the relays (ASSuming you're using factory relays, brown 6-pin main, and green-connector 4-pin fuel). Both input and output side of the relays. I might even semi-permanently install a test light on those (after the relay) so I could watch them during operation. ECU signals the igniter/module, which powers the coil. It's wasted spark, so there's 2 signals, one for #1&2, and one for #3&4. Igniter failures on these are VERY rare. Coils happen, but typically you loose one or 2 cylinders, not everything. Factory power supply for the coil is right off the ignition switch, no relay. Might want to check that. I'm not 100% convinced it's power-supply related. But if you find those test points, and be ready to test them quick when the symptoms arrive, it's probably the easiest and free test you can make.

Rear rotor offset is different than other Subarus, so it won't be a bolt-on affair there. Decent chance stuff is different in the front. It's easy to get in the habit that Subaru brake parts are interchangeable, and the SVX is 5x114.3, so STi stuff will work. But it's a pretty different animal. Also, I bet there's a bunch of information on www.subaru-svx.net

I'm latching a little onto the symptom that it acts differently when you turn the key all the way off. I'd be testing very carefully your power supply wires. Make sure it's getting powered correctly when on and while cranking. Make sure the relays are working correctly. Make sure the fuel pump is getting good power when it should be. I can't quite picture exactly what part or what circuit is your problem. But it seems to me like it's power supply related. Relay, switch, or wiring....very likely where it was integrated into the VW harness.

As someone with real world experience. I'm telling you your blanket statement is wrong. I was VERY concerned about not blinding oncoming traffic, so I took note of the light pattern on the inside of my garage (I have a 28ft deep garage, so the garage door was about 6ft away) with the halogens immediately before swapping to the LEDs. They cast an almost HID/Projector-crisp light cutoff (see my picture in post #13 of this thread). I have driven probably 30k miles in that car, I've not had a single person flash their high-beams at me. I've driven in traffic in front of it while in my Celica and XT6 several times, and other than the color difference it's not any different than other cars (and I HATE poorly-aimed headlights). Yes, I'm sure there are LED drop-ins where the LED itself is not placed accurately, and is very obnoxious. Which is why I posted a link to the exact product I used, because I know it works.

I bought Spar Urethane, then mixed it with a thinner. Did it November of 2016, they still look fantastic. Per this write-up. http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/514132-post9.html

Yep, I did that, too. Wet sand, I used 4 or 5 different grits working up to 2000, and sealed with thinned spar urethane. Fantastic. If you're going to bother with the SilverStars, do the Ultras, they last SOOOO much longer. Or, spend half as much and get LEDs...

I just bought a '00 Outback to use as a winter beater. It's got 311,000 miles on it, and I will be receiving the cheapest parts I can find. It'll be getting those $40 LED headlights before it gets on the road, just like our '04. No, you probably won't noticed an increase in fuel mileage or anything by switching. But, reducing the load on the system helps prevent burned wires/connectors, and reduces wear on the alternator. LED lights turn on quicker. Use them in your brake lights, that extra millisecond might prevent getting rear ended. I'm looking at doing them on my Celica, but requires a little modification, as they use a switched ground system, so you have to set up relays to reverse the polarity, and the high-beam indicator relies on the draw of a halogen, typical fix is a 194 marker light bulb. Also, being a sealed beam, I have to decide on conversion housings and bulbs, or housings with integrated LEDS. It'll happen, too. And since my 4Runner and XT6 both use 6054 sealed beams, I'm sure they'll get the same. Also, every light in my house is LED, and most in my garage.

Subaru has pretty much discontinued refills. They did bring out a fairly nice hybrid style blade last fall when they started phasing out refills that's about $15 a piece, if you've got a dealer nearby, you could try those. My '04 Outback needs blades, and I'm thinking about trying those for it...

Dropping an HID bulb in a halogen housing is bad news, and there is no way to do it correctly with the same reflectors. LEDs can work great, when done correctly. Don't dismiss them on principle. Some are garbage, and some are awesome. I bought a set of cheap ones for the fog lights in my Celica a couple years ago, and I loved them so much, that I bought the exact same ones for the low beams on my '04 Outback. The ones I got are bluer than I'd like (6500k), but not crazy obnoxious. Step one is to make sure your headlight lenses are clear. Mine were very cloudy, so I started with a restoration (I wet-sanded, and sealed with some thinned urethane), which helped immensely. And then I swapped the LEDs in. Because of the design of the bulb itself, it was a bit tough to get it in the housing and locked down correctly, but it fit fine. And unlike many LED upgrades, these have a flexible braided heat sink that can be molded to the housing shape so you don't have to cut or drill a hole behind the bulb for the heat sink. Beam pattern is great, I've had them for almost a year and a half now, and I've never had anyone flash their highbeams at me. I've been followed by this car in traffic in my XT6 and my Celica, and did not find the headlights obnoxious at all. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012KF1XDA 20170106_194211 by Numbchux, on Flickr On my Outback, the low beam bulb is illuminated with a reduced voltage as the daytime running light. This would make the LEDs flicker, so I disabled the DRLs, this was easy on my car, but I don't know about yours. I don't know if it's something about the LEDs, or just the color, but the light from the LEDs doesn't seem to travel as far down the road, so I'm not a fan of using them on the high beams. LEDs use considerably less electricity, and should last longer. Of course, there's much more to go wrong, power converters, and sometime even cooling fans, so they do still fail. One downside to be aware of, is they don't generate much heat, so there can be an issue with icing in the right (wrong) conditions. But honestly, it's not too bad.

All EJs (in the US anyway, there may be an exception elsewhere) have ECU-controlled fans

What automatic gets better mileage than the equivalent manual?? Seems really strange to use a Subaru engine for effeciency. I love them for many reasons, but that's not one of them. I think I'd use a Honda or Toyota 4-cyl. Or a VW TDi. You might be able to get it out of a direct injected FA20, but that's so new it won't run on the stock ECU, so you'll have to run standalone, and completely start over on the fuel mapping. You'll have a huge amount of time and money into it, and you still might not have the efficiency. But, if you're set on doing it, get a BRZ/FRS/86 transmission. Bolts right up to the EJ engine, and is RWD. I've seen them for 500-1000.