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You get heat in the cabin on warmup or is it delayed or just cold? Bubbles gurgling in the dash? Exhaust gas testing is unreliable for head gasket issues.

For what its worth, 205/55R16 fits my 96 outback wagon. 225/55R17 tire does not fit on rear, rubbing strut. 225/60R16 also does not fit either the front or the rear.

crank seal doesn't require engine removal. just follow steps for timing belt change. while you're down there consider pulleys, water pump, belt, etc. dealer only seals, japanese pulleys, aisen water pump, and mitsuboshi belt. good tbelt kits on ebay.

spec for 2007 subie is 142-171 psi, engine warm, fully open throttle. ymmv. I usually check engine cold, just prefer not wrenching on hot engine.

try this site for factory specs. the numbers I gave you are typical, from legacy outback 2.5 4 cyl 2007-8. my lowest reading is 165, I read at peak after 5-6 cranks. https://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?18087-Subaru-Factory-Service-Manuals-(FSM)-Every-Model-USDM-EU

120 on all cylinders? Downright unusual to have bad rings on all cylinders and no oil consumption. Most if not all subaru's of this vintage will consume 'some' oil. Something is strange. Buyer beware. cylinder compression should be 180-210. Probably oil in the spark plug tube from bad plug seals, easy fix with dealer parts. Anemic performance is consistent with low compression. Blowby isn't a precision thing. Can have blowby and still good cylinder compression.

Well the subie is finally running and NOT stalling What fixed the stalling? Not sure but possibly something in the throttle body. I did a JDM engine swap, long block only. Kept the original intake. Still stalling in hot weather. Put the JDM intake on it with the original injectors and new oem seals, and changed/swapped some other bits that were incompatible (fuel rail, intake harness, coolant crossover pipe temp tensor, passenger side AVLS solenoid assembly, airbox hose to the block next to the pcv, plus longer brake booster vacuum hose to get to the right hand drive fitting on the intake). jeepers, this is why everyone keeps their intake. No stalling. Its been about 3 weeks of driving, city/highway in 88+ degree weather. Unless the mech at subaru changed them, the only two unswapped parts are the throttle body and the EGR. Everything else on the intake was swapped at some point. I'm cautiously optimistic. And maybe the original long block is probably fine as a spare if the rear main seal and head gasket(s) are redone.

my 96 obs 2.2 has a four wire oxygen sensor that plugs into the exhaust below, the white connector tees into the harness on the passenger side behind the engine just like your picture

If you have the space, a 20 ton press from harbor freight is handy for older wheel bearings, I've done a few. There's a used KD hub tamer on Ebay, might be missing the two-jaw puller, same set also on CL for over a month, but I've not used one before.

What happened after you pulled the ABS fuse? Maybe the ABS pump relay is stuck closed, and/or the motor is dragging the system voltage down. What voltages are you getting when the pump is running? My 96 impreza had a continuously running ABS pump even with the ignition key off, and pulling the fuse fixed it, just no ABS system now.

Yep. I've started using subie OEM axles for my daughter's 07 OBW, worth the peace of mind. Hate spending $340+ for a single axle but my rebuilder is having reliability issues and I refuse to use aftermarket. Like has already been said, used OEM axles and rebooting kits from rock auto way cheaper, and messier. I've had good luck with removing the axle and rebooting. Never tried the split boots. I like to keep a couple of used OEM spares on hand for my daily driver.

Installed an 02 H6 four years ago, had issues with engine harness that were solved with using bits of the stock harness. No engine issues since then after 60k miles. Didn't touch the JDM head gaskets. Alt failed a few months ago but just normal wear. Swapped the stock intake over to the donor. There's a writeup on here somewhere for the whole job. I also have an 07 H4 JDM on a pallet waiting for me to put it in...I'll probably write that one up too. The only issues I've had with JDM engines is finding supply, and shipping damage, stock is low. Unwrap the engine completely and put some eyeballs on it before signing the delivery paperwork or that shiny creampuff is yours, damage and all.

Up and running with the DB alt. Windings of the reman alt look blackened. So wondering if a winding shorted out since it was charging for a few minutes.

Yes, DB is in Kingsport. I supported my local parts garden and scored an H6 alt. While the H6 and 2.5L alts both have a 3 pin connector, it appears that only the H6 uses all 3 wires in the harness. I noted that a 2006 Forester 2.5L 3-pin green alt connector only has two with populated pins on the harness pigtail. That being said, I wonder if the H6 alt could serve as a spare for a 2.5L model? Parts store says they will take the reman alt back.

Ok. I had heard about H6 alt needing ECU input so thx for confirming. This alt is already aftermarket so must have gotten lucky in the past. Local yards are pretty picked over but might try my luck again. This was a sunday night save the day job or so I thought. https://www.maniacelectricmotors.com seems to sell rebuild kits. Haven't been able to get enough heat to disassemble the electrics. Local alt rebuilder hasn't updated FB page in 5 years and phone is disconnected If anyone knows a rebuilder in Nashville lmk. https://www.dbelectrical.com ships overnight. looks like my best option for the H6.

2002 Outback H6 Sedan suspected alt failure. Can I swap out a known working OEM alt from a 2007 Outback 2.5L after swapping the pulleys? Looks like output current is about the same 100 on the H6 and 110 amps on the 2.5L. Connectors look compatible. The background. Batt and brake lights lit on dash on a road trip, driving fine otherwise, headlights shut off (at night of course) and car dies about 30 min later. Presumed alt failure, is a reman unit, about 5 years old. Battery is 2 years old. Charged battery to 12.8v using external charger. Installed a reman unit from parts store. Car starts and alt charging at 14.x volts, dash lights back to normal. At some point during 10 minute idle, alt stops charging. Batt voltage drops to 12.x volts and headlights (normally on while car running) turn off. Batt and brake lights on dash as before. Battery/alt/starter harness replaced about 5 years ago. Could there be some other failure that killed the new alt too? Going to bring failed alt to parts store and get it tested, get replacement if possible but if that falls through I have a spare alt from the 2.5L.

Pulled the driver side head off. All the bolts creaked and some thread shavings on at least one bolt. Visible fluid trail on the cylinder walls of #2 and #4 at 6:00 (bottom of cylinder). Looks like oil and coolant mix. Same section of the head (bottom) is oil stained. Heads look different from when it was an obvious coolant leak (prior job). Exhaust valves were clean before, now they are carbonized/oily. Don't think its bad rings. Compression and leak down test was ok. Could be from the oil galleries? (low pressure) or from the oil high pressure side on top? (the high pressure section of the gasket looks suspect to me). I used subaru turbo multi level steel (mls) gaskets. Wondering about flatness of the block. Heads were decked previously. Going to clean the block and head with 3m 120 grit white abrasive disc. Waiting for a decent mech straight edge. I don't trust my old straight edge anymore for assessing the flatness of these surfaces, but there is light showing through.

+1 head gasket. Less heat in cabin. Coolant overflow tank rising. Temperature fluctuations. Listen for gurgles in the dash. Exhaust gas in the coolant. All +signs.

I think a lot of the oil down under is due in part to a bad oil pan seal (done by po) and the drivers side head cam retainer plate (I call this a cam cover??) done by me. And yes I sealed it but looks like I need to rethink how I did it. I think the cam retainer-cover leak is getting oil all over the drivers side exhaust gasket. Valve covers are leaking a bit.

Pulled the engine, tb covers, intake, drivers side cam and inner tb covers. Crank seal is wet but not leaving a huge trail. Cam seals are both dry. Plugs #2 and #4 are wet with oil. Crank pulley has all its teeth, maybe some of them are need a good brushing tho. Cam sensor is shiny goodness. Still digging. Have to pull the drivers side head. Not sure how far this is going.

There IS some gunk on the crank sensor. Way back I swapped this sensor out, no happiness. Not saying it isn't playing a factor....will clean it for sure.

Just took possession of the car, after a solid 6 months at the subaru dealer. I'm embarrassed what I paid for the diagnostic fee. Incidentally the car behaved itself on a 20 minute drive city/hwy. Idled in the driveway like nothing was wrong. No stalling. No misfires. No cel. Blowby was present on the oil cap several years ago, so I presume it is no better. I'm sure it is burning oil. Crawled underneath. Lots of oil, mostly from the timing belt cover. This isn't new, and I thought it was from either bad crank/cam seals (all replaced when I did the heads but probably not oem, my bad) or the oil pump needs a reseal. Head gaskets are dry both sides, top and bottom. Coolant overflow is a bit lower than typical (I like to keep it filled 3/4) so its possibly consuming coolant. Rad is full. Also, maybe I'm reading into this and searching but there is a faint thump/knock sitting at idle I can hear in the cabin. Can't hear it in the engine bay. I don't recall hearing that before. Mechanic said he did a leak down test and all cylinders were "low" but he said was normal for age of car. The car has had oil consumption ever since I bought it. I'm kinda used to that with subarus, but this isn't "normal." Recall this car had a clogged cat a while back, after I did the heads. That was fun to figure out. Not sure if its related to internal oil leaks. Someone help me get this engine on the catapult.

Using a LOT of oil. Maybe a quart every 2-300 miles. Oil turns dark quickly after a change. Not using coolant or the typical gasket problems you would think of like gurgles in the cabin on startup and acceleration from exhaust bubbles being piped through, or coolant overflow tank rising and radiator level dropping, with no transfers into the rad on cooldown. None of that. Trust me I had all of that in the initial HG failure. And burping doesn't fix it. That gurgle gives me the shivers lol. I don't recall problems with oil on the first HG failure. Not overheating now. Some oil smoke on startup from oil in the chamber but that clears. Regarding the torque specs, just relaying what the mechanic told me. I sent him my 2007 and 2008 fsm head bolt specs. He claimed he had never seen the 2007 specs I sent him and thought I was using Haynes. During work on the exhaust I noted wet oil on the exhaust port on #2 after dropping the front cat. So there is likely a lot of oil in the chamber mucking things up. When I did the head gaskets I didn't tear down the heads to the point of replacing the valve seals or lapping the valve seats.

He says compression is good, presuming he means when cold. The suspicion is that the head gasket fails while operating and causes loss of compression. I asked him whether he verified loss of compression when hot and he said he didn't check that.

Car was new to me when I did the heads in 2018. Previous owner didn't even own it long enough to get the title in his name. I think he figured out the car had issues. I quizzed him at length on potential head gasket problems, even did an coolant exhaust gas test (negative of course) before buying it. You know how that ended. I prepped the block surfaces with scotch brite and a blade where needed. put a flat edge on the block. There is a long post on the first head install. Basically the first machine shop messed up the heads (sanded them) so I had a coolant leak and it wouldn't hold pressure after I bolted them down and filled the block with coolant (prior to engine install, was just basically being super cautious). So I took the heads to another shop. Strangely enough the engine has glued on pop-up temperature sensors on the firewall side of the heads. Like the kind that indicate an engine has overheated. Mine are not popped up. Maybe the engine was replaced during the previous previous owner's ownership and somebody thought to add the sensors for liability/warranty coverage?