Numbchux

No. Never had an issue with fast brake wear. Our '03 Outback we had for almost 50k miles, and I did have all the pads wear out while we owned it, but I had the receipt from when the previous owner had them done at 80k (we had it 110k to 155k). We've had our '04 Outback for about 15k miles, and I just put rear pads on it. BUT, I have had issues with brake hardware sticking. I'm extremely attentive to slight noises or vibrations, and have pulled off the freeway (engine braking as much as possible) just to feel if any of the brakes are dragging and getting hot. If you do this, be very careful, if done right and everything is working properly, the brake components usually are only warm to the touch, but if one is sticking it will be VERY hot. I have cleaned, and lubed slide pins with new boots a few times, and replaced pad clips mid-life. I seem to get more life out of things with permatex ceramic caliper lube. I always replace pad hardware, which doesn't always come with new pads. Pin boots and pad clips. I always wire brush and/or file the areas on the caliper bracket nearest the pad, so the pads can move freely. I hit the pins with the wire wheel to clean off any rust. The lower slide pin has a little rubber isolater on the end, if this gets dry, it will seize hard. I have left that isolater off without ill effects, but as long as they stay lubed, they seem to last. I also flush a pint or so of brake fluid through the system, to help prevent contamination and rust in the calipers. OE pads are awesome, but expensive. MSRP is usually $85.95. Aftermarkets tend to run $15-$40. AutoZone is awesome, as all but the cheapest pads have a lifetime warranty, which is good for wear as well. I usually run their Duralast gold pads in the front and regular Duralast on the rears.

I've heard mixed reviews. There are those that love them, and those that hate them.... Either way, we really don't have anything here. VW is pretty much the only manufacturer that brought small turbo diesels to the US, and now most of those are being recalled...

I would definitely crank it until there is some oil pressure (oil light goes off, if hooked up, but even a multimeter to the oil switch can work temporarily) before allowing it to fire. I usually do this on my vehicles even just when changing the oil, unplug the coil and crank it until the light turns off.

Subaru has never sold a diesel in the US. The EE20 has been available in Europe since 2008. More than a few have been imported and swapped into various things, Boxeer has done many, including running pikes peak in a GC Impreza with one a few years ago, and driving to the southern tip of South America and back to Tennessee in an EE20 Vanagon Westfalia Synchro.

Man, it's been covered so many times. Here's an 11 year old post in the USRM, that quotes a post which was old then. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/47998-5-lug-conversion-list-plus-tips/ Anything that says "GC8 Impreza" on there can come from any EJ car The oversimplified list is XT6 control arms, EA81 tie rod ends, and then you can use EJ suspension assembly from ball joint to strut top, including CV axle. For the rear, you'll need XT6 hubs, and then you can run XT6 brakes, or EJ (redrill the EJ backing plate). I have typed essays on here about different 5-lug suspension options, and posted dozens of pictures. And I'm not the only one.

The easy answer is no. The suspension is very different. What are your goals with the car? There are a number of recipes for a 5-lug swap that can use EJ front suspension/brakes and EJ rear brakes (although that '95 likely has rear drums). But you'll also need XT6 parts to do it.

Sounds like you got it, but for future reference.... I've fought with those many times. So bad on my Brat (before it was mine...but whatever, I was working on it), we pulled the diff with the axle still on it, and beat on it with a good size hammer to the point that we broke the stub axle off. At which point, we replaced the stub and axle, and it's still going strong, no evidence of other damage. Yes, there's a little bolt that holds the stub into the diff. It requires a deep offset, external torx (I forget if it's 8 or 10mm...) socket. If that bolt breaks, I think you'd probably have to disassemble the diff to get at it, but even after breaking the stub axle, that bolt did not appear to have sustained any damage. I later discovered that if you disassemble the DOJ on the diff side, there's a little cap in the bottom of the DOJ cup. This can be removed (in my experience, by destroying it...), and through which the stub can be unbolted from the diff. After removing it, I was able to put some serious heat on it (without worrying about damaging seals and bearings), and pound through the axle cup right on the stub with a drift so that I could salvage the stub, but the axle cup was pretty ruined.

IMO, it depends on your definition of "offroad". In some shallow, greasy mud, it might be a decent help. I certainly notice the handling difference in the snow and ice (LSD equipped car oversteers more predictably and will axis spin, I can definitely tell that our Outback VDC doesn't have it), but for real gnarly offroading, it's probably not going to get you much further through an obstacle. I've used the comparison for the old-gen clutch type LSD that when you really needed it (lifting a front and a rear wheel), the LSD was like having a couple guys pushing on the back of the car. It's a help, but not a true traction device. And by design a Viscous is going to be even less powerful in that situation than a clutch type....

Impreza/forester chassis changed in '08 I have compared an '04 Outback rear shock mount to a '13 Forester one, and the newer one was different (larger, IIRC). I assume this will be true of all the '08+ Imp/Forester and '10+ Leg/OBK.

Yep, go to your local dealer. If they are largish, and/or have a very good parts guy, they'll probably know exactly what you need, as there's a decent list of gaskets and such that are typically needed. Have them print out an estimate with part numbers and punch them in online. Unless they're EXTREMELY helpful, I wouldn't pay more than MSRP...

Tone wheel is likely on the CV joint on the '03. Certainly is on an '03-'04 Outback. Rear disc conversion isn't hard, just requires parts. While everything from your Outback will work, you may not want to reuse it.

Yea, should all work. Obviously engine, transmission, driveshaft, possibly rear diff, won't be of any use to you, but suspension and brakes-wise, yea. I think it all should be the same. Off the top of my head, it is very close to the front axle change, as you've mentioned, so you'll have to grab axles with female inners. There are a couple different configurations of rear axles, too, but I think you should be good there. There have also been many variations in ABS wheel speed sensors over the years, but I think as long as you have matching sensors and tone wheels, you should be good. The front rotors will likely be the same size, mid '03 was a changeover in pad style. Depending on the trim of the Forester. It might have rear drum brakes, and not have a rear sway bar. There are ways around this, too, but involves either reusing more parts from your Outback, or buying more parts.

My mentioning of the fuse box was an example, not a diagnosis. Refer to my previous post, buy a multimeter, and pick a symptom.

205/55r16 is considerably smaller than stock on your car. 225/60r16 is OEM

My '04 Outback VDC came with 225/60r16s, I've stepped to 215/65r16s, which are a hair taller. Still plenty of room, could probably go a bit bigger, but the sizes I was looking for did not offer much selection.

My '04 Outback H6 has had a failed primary radiator fan, I suspect since I started driving it about a year ago. The only time I noticed was offroading on a tight and technical trail, so about an hour of driving with zero airflow other than the secondary fan, under a load, in 80* weather. I bet you have a tiny coolant leak, causing the water pump to cavitate under certain conditions. Could easily be the overflow tank. I would put a UV dye in the coolant, that would make it pretty easy to pinpoint the exact leak point.

I think most of what you're listing is pretty common across the industry, in my experience. There's been a huge push for lower fuel mileage. A huge attempt to reduce friction in the engines has reduced their longevity. I completely blame the oil consumption on this, and I've heard that running synthetic 5W30 in those cars has drastically reduced the oil consumption, at a direct cost in fuel mileage. Manufacturing processes have changed, and parts are made with as little extra material as possible. Probably both in an attempt to reduce weight for mileage purposes, and cost of manufacturing. But in trying not to overbuild parts, manufacturers are making them more prone to failure. In the last 15 years, the internet has made it SO easy to compare cost, safety rating, and fuel mileage of new cars (and almost anything, if you can't compete out-of-the-box, you're going out of business, almost regardless of longevity), and has made the competition completely cut throat. But evidence of reliability is far less easy to research, and highly circumstantial. A warranty can help ease that comfort to the buyer, but you're still only talking about 60-100k miles.... The addition of systems like traction control, immobilizers, TPMS, etc. have only driven up costs and complexity. I also think that in this day and age, the average owner does less and less preventative maintenance. Over my years working in auto parts (now at a fairly large Subaru dealership), I've had several customers tell me they don't know how to turn on their headlights manually. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume they're not checking their oil.....ever. And with recommended oil change intervals climbing towards 10k miles, the chances of catching a problem before it becomes catastrophic are slim. We see so many engines come in here with obvious signs of neglect. Turbo vehicles are higher maintenance, and I do not consider turbo-gas engines to be an indicator of longevity....150k miles is a lot for them, regardless of manufacturer. Pick your source, cost of repair for Subarus tends to be on the inexpensive side. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm (The only examples in the "high cost" column are turbos) https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/the-most-and-least-expensive-cars-to-maintain-by-maddy-martin https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/total-cost-of-ownership/?r=963483507881576000 (I immediately see the Legacy, Outback, Crosstrek, and BRZ in the top 5 of their respective catagories, although this consider depreciation as well)

Not much market for them. I've purchased a couple Part Time 4WD dual ranges for $100ish from local junkyards over the years. And I didn't even have to pull them. Make sure it's actually a 5-speed (and therefore an EA82. EA81s were made in the same year, and are considerably different, but the 4WD EA81s would be a 4 speed). The non-turbo cars put out so little power, they really don't fail too often. So the above-mentioned methods of checking for issues should be pretty reliable. The drain plug is magnetic, so expect to see some "dust" from the syncros as they wear, but chunks are a bad sign. And yea, if the gear oil is badly discolored, you'd probably want to walk away.

If you have worn springs and no bump stops, you are ruining your struts. You are correct, you probably won't need them with stiffer springs, but it's a good idea to prevent strut failure.

Also, I think I remember from my research several years ago that all the leather cars have side airbags (built into the seat), and all the cloth ones don't....I might be wrong on that, but something to look into. I looked up the OEM assembly, MSRP is like $400.....surprise surprise. Try car-part.com. They may even ship it to you. I know I've purchased seat parts (for work) from junkyards that needed to be shipped.

The low fluid switch is definitely normally open. Unplugging it will disable it. I know on one of the Subarus I had, low fluid disabled the DRLs. Don't remember which one. Although a quick look at my '04 diagrams, it's definitely the same wire from the parking brake switch, both just switched-to-ground and there's no diode, so I'm not sure how the DRL module would have any way of knowing which switch was activated.

bump stops? I'm assuming they're bottoming out, and don't have bump stops. That's about the only thing that I can think of that would wreck them so quickly.

I'm not super familiar with the differences between the EA81 and EA82 clutch kits.... BUT, I know that '85-'88 is a very difficult year range, as the EA81s and EA82s overlap, and don't have different model names, so it has to be done with body style descriptions. A hatch is fairly clearly a hatch and is an EA81, but a "coupe" also has a large hatchback, was made at the same time, but was an EA82.... When I have needed EA81 parts, I look them up for an '84 Brat. And usually when I need EA82 parts, I look up for an '89 GL or '90-'94 Loyale.

Yes, the sender *should* give a very linear resistance range through the temperature range. It is the gauge that tries to compensate for minor fluctuations and only read major problems. If you want more resolution, it'll need to be an aftermarket gauge of some sort.

That light is connected to a switch on the ebrake lever, and a level switch in the reservoir. Usually it just means slightly low fluid level. But the switch can be faulty. If the fluid is definitely full, unplug the switch on the reservoir. If the light no longer comes on, it's that switch.... Switch alone is part #26456AC000, It is discontinued from Subaru, and no dealer in the US shows inventory. However, it looks like you can get one straight from Japan through Amayama: https://www.amayama.com/en/search?q=26456AC000