Numbchux

Yep. I had the first AA lift, which didn't drop the rear crossmember like the BYB/PJD ones did (woa....I think that was 18 years ago...yuck). The rear suspension pivots around that front bushing, which is basically right at the front lower corner of the bodywork. So the tire swings forward from the centerline of the wheel well, but I don't think it gets any closer to the sheet metal. But maybe a not-rusty rocker (what's that?) would stick down a bit below that bushing and be a problem. I can't quite picture how it would all work

The 3 bolts between the outer and inner trailing arm can be loosened and adjusted to adjust toe and camber, so it is possible that it is adjusted differently. Might be worth a tape measure alignment. Or, a worn bushing could change the goemetry. I'd get under there with a tape measure and see where the discrepancy is.

It doesn't need an engine. It needs valves. I don't believe for a second that a $650 used EJ25 is "good". Especially from a quality source willing to stand behind the product. Unless the COMPLETE history on that used engine were known, I wouldn't just drop in a 20 year old engine. I would do MLS head gaskets and timing stuff. At which point, just fix your engine.

Even just a compression test Definitely throw a belt on it and see. But I bet there's a dead hole or 2.

I've seen them skip without damage. But broken while running, I'd bet on bent valves. Head gasket job, plus take the heads to a machine shop for pressure testing and valve replacement as needed.

Nope. If you had an XT6 FT4WD transmission, you could gut them both and make a FT4WD EJ transmission. But it's a big job, for worse gearing and differential. Any driveline shop can modify the driveshaft, though. Extra couple days in the process, but drop the engine and transmission in as soon as you can, measure the driveshaft, and it'll be done before you can get the wiring done. 4EAT shaft is likely a bit too short, and 4WD MT shaft is too long (you are correct that EA82 and XT6 use the same length shaft). Easier to cut down one that's too long, than lengthen one that's too short (it's metric tube, to they'll have to machine the factory flanges to fit standard tubing).

No. The AWD tailhousing is longer than the 4WD one. The splines are the same, but IIRC I had to have about 4" removed from mine. Also the bellhousing is different, so unless you're doing an engine swap, too, you'll need to swap all the internals into the XT6 case.

Maybe just throwing a new radiator at it would have done it. But I feel much better having flushed the engine and heater core, too. Circulation through the heater core is crucial for thermostat operation. I don't think anything is bad, per se. I used Gunk, and we use Wynn's at the dealership where I work.

My '04 VDC started doing that a couple years ago (~250k miles), and eventually got bad enough to require significant change in driving style to keep it from getting dangerously hot. I used a Spectra aftermarket radiator when I repaired the crash damage it had when I bought it (at 133k miles). A serious cooling system flush solved it. Put a flush chemical in it and drove it for a few days, drained, filled with coolant and flush, drove for a few days, then drained, removed the radiator so that it could be intensely flushed inside and out, and the condenser could be sprayed out from the engine bay side. Then disconnected and flushed the heater core, and then engine. Temperatures stay perfect, now (I put the 100+k mile aftermarket thermostat right back in with a new gasket).

IIRC, there are 6-8 solenoids in the valve body assembly, so generally you'll throw a code and have a circuit to test. I do remember seeing a few that had other solenoids fail. But the lockup one was the most common. Converter and transmission itself will generally lead to physical symptoms (sound, lurching, slipping, etc.).

The most common "valve body" failure that I've seen is the torque converter lockup solenoid, but the solenoids are not sold separately. On my mom's 2012 Impreza, it threw a code for the lockup solenoid, ohm'ed it out and it was either open or shorted (I don't remember which). I bought a chinese solenoid on Amazon, which worked for a few months. Then I got my hands on a used Valve body, the torque converter solenoid is identical to 2 of the shift solenoids, but the torque converter one is used almost constant 100% duty while driving, so I pulled the shift solenoids and used one in place of the failed converter solenoid, which worked great. Of course, about a year later, the transmission started slipping, bucking and lurching, and being a salvaged oil burner, it now sits in my yard awaiting partout.

That might be possible, but you'd have to reverse engineer all the information on the CAN data stream, and then begin to experiment to see what the ECU needs to run without throwing codes. Frankly, the fact that you're asking these questions means you probably aren't up to the task, it requires several orders of magnitude more knowledge of the car and it's systems than knowing which harness goes where. AFAIK, there is no "prebuilt" emulator to do this. There are prebuilt universal emulators/loggers, but they'd likely have to be custom programmed.

Yea, being a CANBUS car, you would have to get Every. Single. Module. in the whole car. And you have to make every single one happy. Or none of it will function. The most current information you'll find will be on the "Six Swapped Subarus" Facebook group. If someone's figured out how to crack one of the ECUs, it'll be there. But if the software's been modified, it likely still won't pass smog.

I've seen many aftermarket belts tear apart like that. Mitusboshi belt, NSK pullies, AISIN tensioner, make sure there aren't any seals leaking oil on it. Have the heads checked. And you'll be back on the road.

You used to be able to get a JDM engine with ~65k miles on it for about $800. Now it's closer to twice that. So the climate has changed a bit. Labor to do head gaskets on an EZ is considerable. The timing chain cover bolts alone can be a huge nightmare. And then you have all the time into an engine with completely unknown history. Sure, it runs fine now, but how long will that last?

I'm sure it would be possible, just a matter of removing the tensioner and finding the right size belt. Not sure why you'd want to. They're more expensive, and can't be reused. IIRC Subaru only used them for like 2 years.

Are you asking about replacing heads because the belt broke? If so, just have a machine shop replace the bent valves. The heads are fine.

That was how my mom's 12 Impreza started. I think it made it about 8k more miles before it was terrifyingly bad. And now it's parked in my yard awaiting partout. I hope your experience goes better.

Pretty common to have issues with the solenoids (usually torque converter) in the early CVTs. Subaru does not sell the solenoids separately, and the chinese solenoids you can find on Amazon and such only last a few months. I got my hands on a used valve body and used the good solenoids (there are 3 that are identical), which worked great for a year or so until the rest of the CVT gave up the ghost. That was with about 220k on a 2012 Impreza. I really should start parting out that car.... good news is the valve body is on the top, accessible right below the airbox. Really not too bad of a job. But consider that the best case scenario, and assume the worst. Good CVTs are expensive.

I ran all mine right off the ignition switch just like factory EJ. IIRC the EA coil was powered the same way.

The flat washer between the cone washer and the nut, is not flat. It is concave on one side, and convex on the other. Convex side needs to go to the cone washer, if it is backwards, the assembly will not tighten correctly, and the hub will strip. I never had an issue reusing the washers...

Nope, assuming both are USDM cars with original equipment (you give no reason to suspect otherwise), they will be 23 spline 3.9 ratio rear diff. 25 spline and 3.7 were reserved for Turbos. I don't know about the shifter stuff. I put a GL console in my Loyale, but I used a Legacy ebrake handle.

Yea, absolutely. Transverse inline engine changes things from a longitudinal boxer, but IMO it's just different. Spark plugs are easy, alternators suck. etc. And as with all newer cars, they are getting very complicated.

It's kind of cool, the standard AWD has a electromagnetic coupler on the pinion of the rear diff (no center diff, driveshaft spins at the same speed as front pinion), which allows the rear pinion to slip a bit. Then there's an open carrier in the rear diff. The torque vectoring system has a locked carrier, and has electomagnetically actuated clutch packs on either side, meaning the torque limit to a single rear wheel is dictated only by that clutch pack. Honda has been doing this on the Pilot, Ridgeline and MDX for some time. Theoretically, a person could supply a full 12v to each clutch pack, and essentially get true 4WD with locked rear. The Honda service manual actually describes this for a diagnostic purpose, but only for a few seconds at a time (I'd wire a momentary button to a timer). We replace the standard coupler fairly regularly, but I don't think we've had to repair any of the VT ones (admittedly, they're far less common and only a few years old, but still).

I don't drive them, almost ever, so I haven't had a lot of experience. We test drove an XLE, and I didn't notice it feeling echoey, but I don't have much to compare it to. It felt less tinny then her 12 or 18 Impreza.... Yea, she drives like a little old lady, and with 4 fluid changes with OEM fluid, and 2 torque converter solenoids the transmission is junk at 220k miles. And with a salvage title and an oil burning engine. It's not worth anything. I'm not hopeful about this 2018, it's still a TR580, I don't know how much better it could be. The Corolla Cross has a CVT, but it has a conventional first gear to take the strain off the CVT band (no load on it from a stop, also it needs a much smaller gear ratio spread). There's been a long wait list for those, but we had one last fall that a customer ordered, and didn't even take delivery as they thought it was too small and bought a Rav instead.