idosubaru

I routinely - like 100 times - have removed the alignment bolt without getting an alignment. Mark the top strut mount bolt *head* and the strut body with a chisel. Take a picture of the marks on the bolt head and strut body for good measure before removing. Reinstall with marks in same position. Very easy.

Depends on parts. Subaru only: head gaskets, exhaust manifold gaskets, spark plug wires (or get NGK elsewhere), axles (used are fine), water pump gasket, wheel bearings, timing components, radiator cap and thermostat. Rockauto for brakes, and brake hardware, air filter, oil filters, and many other things you can tolerate shipping for Your favorite local retailer like advance, autozone Oreilly etc. NGK plug wires only KYB struts only

My lack of confidence has to do with EJ25 HGs generally, not your work. Haha. As GD said The radiator caps can have compromised gaskets. Also the radiator necks can having pitting or chips that prevent proper sealing of the cap gasket. Id just expect (maybe incorrectly) some other symptoms like coolant loss at the cap or improper levels/flow/bubbling in the overflow if that were the case. But I haven’t seen too many symptomatic radiator caps.

New subaru timing belt and pulleys. Those old school tensioners rarely fail and can be kept. While the timing belt is off, replace the cam seals, cam orings, crank seal, reseal the oil pump (one oring and RTV) and tighten the backing plate screws. Inspect or replace the knock sensor while the engine is out for the clutch job. Remove the 12mm bolt and look at the base - the rubber starts to crack where it sits on the engine block. In the past if I plan on the engine being around awhile I'd just replace it because over time they are the single most common sensor failure on that vehicle by a loooooong shot. New valve cover gaskets, plugs, wires, air filter If you want new headgaskets use Subaru head gaskets, resurface the heads, clean and lube the bolts/threads, and properly clean the deck (no wire wheel or sanding). They rarely need valve jobs, the valve stem seals and guides aren't prone to issues on those. The 97 legacy alternators I think work in a 1995 and are only $70 from Subaru: part number 23700AA211. They're still not as good as new OEM but still a great price and beats the local auto parts garbage. If you're in a rust prone area inspect or replace the brake pad clips. If they're original and not rusty and it will see salt then consider keeping them since new aftermarket clips rust much faster than the original OEM's. Or just get OEM pads if they're still available that come with the cilps. Subaru pads are excellent and last way longer than average aftermarket cheaper pads. Frequently cars that sit in salted areas will accrue rust around the pad backing plate and clips that creates easy hang up spots. New pads will hang on those rust ridges and compromised pad clips and wear out in well under a year.

Ah, got it. No need to pull the engine, timing marks can be inspected in half an hour.

I've seen those exact symptoms but of course rule out simpler things. Check coolant levels, I've seen cool running due to inconsistent coolant levels...though only in EJ25's with known headgasket issues though no overheating (external leaks). Can the fans run at the wrong times (flaky fan sensor?) causing over cooling sometimes and overheating others? Never seen it so it's just a wild guess.

Belt marks aren't needed as long as cams and timing cover marks are perfect. 1. Why did you have to use a new crank sprocket? Is there some damage or issue that might help us in this saga? A. Unplug the cam and crank sensor connectors, see if pins are compromised and ensure they're fully seated when plugging back in. B. Verify the correct timing marks were used and they're alignment is correct. C. Check the cam and crank sensors for damage to the sensor, connector, or wiring. If still striking out - verify the crank sprocket you swapped is the right one (there are two for that year).

Headgasket. check other things for proper function. Look for bubbles in the overflow while it’s running or after turning the engine off. If you had the engine apart it seems like bad water pump vanes would have stood out.

Be nice to know what actual CVT failures happen and what causes, or prevents, them. Granted this isn't the same, but I think it would take strong evidence to convince people that short duration 1 quarter engine oil changes are better than a traditional full change. So I'd guess a full change is *better*, but whether it matters or is worth the time is another thing. I don't think anyone knows the causative mechanisms behind CVT failure and what role fluid, if any, plays in it. Does CVT fluid degrade, get overheated, or get particulate matter in it?

I’m not well versed in grease so I don’t have a technical reason. But I use Valvoline synthetic and any name brand synthetic in the past. With seeing the old dried up nearly nonexistent grease chunk out in pieces, or old watery grease pour out of old joints when disassembled, it seems like having actual useable grease is more important than brand. totally makes sense just swapping in new axles. It’s ideal. Regrease is an option for unavailable options, keeping a back up, or for those already doing more than average axle work with lifts or off-roading.

Michelin cross climate II I guess your local snow maintenance is decent if you’re not asking about snow tires

On 2009 and earlier axles: Clicking while accelerating has been inner joint 100% of the time IME. Ive regreased a number of OEM and MWE (no longer an option) axles with 100% success rate. They were always dry or the grease pours out like water. A guy I know pulls both axles and swaps the joints left to right since load and wear shift “to the other side”. Though I wonder how much of that “success” is the clean and regrease required to swap guts

Yes, if it’s an oem or oem style pump there’s a sock inside the intake line side of the pump.

Did you test output in anyway - if installing another pump- run it before connecting the output hose so you can see it coming out and tell if it's muddy from internal tank rust. Was the sock on the old pump clogged at all? If a used fuel pump was installed then there's no telling it's any good. I swapped 3 used fuel pumps in a 1987 XT years ago and all three pumps weren't usable.

CARB converters are aftermarket converters intended to be equivalent to OEM and won’t give any performance gains for your engine. aftermarket converters are cheaper and not as emissions efficient as original converters installed at the factory (OEM). They use less of the expensive catalysts to make them cheap - and that’s why they can cause check engine and emission compliance issues. So CA requires CARB compliance which simply means aftermarket converters have to meet higher requirements, or are much closer to OEM specs. They’re more expensive because they have more expensive catalyst and ECON 101 supply and demand. There’s less demand for them. Ignoring all the converter stuff there’s practically zero gains to be had for performance efficiency in the exhaust of a *non turbo* engine. That 08 Forester will have unimpressive 0-60 times no matter what is done to it except forced induction. Entirely removing the converter will have zero practical performance gains. You can have a shop (or do it yourself, Ive done it) make a short section of straight pipe to bolt up to the exhaust. for that matter just unbolt it and run open LOUD exhaust one day to get “free flowing” exhaust and you’ll notice it doesn’t run any different. Happens in the rust belt where exhausts rust off. Those options will result in a tiny performance difference from hoping and pressing the gas pedal more aggressively. None of that is true for turbo engines. Completely different beasts. This can make it deceptive for those scouring online forums or listening to locals talk at work or Friday night at the bar. Just because Atticus installed a high flow exhaust and gained a bunch of power in his turbo doesn’t mean a non-turbo car owner can do the same.

What "part"? Axles don't have bolts, do you mean the 32 mm axle nut and threads it threads onto are damaged? Did you pound the outer CV joint threads that go through the hub and wheel bearing? As you found out, that compresses and damages the threads. Just the outer CV joint (with the 32mm threads/nut) can be removed and replaced, but it requires technique and a lot of force. But if the two axles aren't the made by same company I'm not sure they always play well together.

I’m unsure but it doesn’t seem like rod knock. Since it didn’t do it with the previous head then Occam’s razor suggests it’s probably something with the: 1. Used head 2. Timing belt components (since those were removed for the head swap) 3. Very unlikely it’s something that just happened to start making noise exactly when the new head was installed.

Ah I see that. Thanks. OP how do you know the fuel is good? that’s MPFI and requires more psi than carbed engines. starting fluid excellent suggestion.

88-91 XT relays are on the upper left of the photo you posted, above that brownish connector tucked agaisnt the side wall behind the fuse panel. But how can a relay fail and still allow the car to start and run for a moment? Sounds like a waste of time to me but maybe someone can chime in which relay (fuel pump?) and how they fail that allows them to prime and start but not run? I'd pull the fuel line first and see if fuel flows out like normal. Remove fuel clamp, point hose in bucket while priming and trying to start the vehicle. If you're not sure what the flow is supposed to look like video it and post a link. It should roughly look like a garden hosing flow water. Or of course even better - the proper test is to put a Tee in with a fuel pressure gauge.

Does it go to 3k immediately and die without running more than 2 seconds, or does it do it once you hit the gas pedal? Or randomly? Will it stay running if you keep your foot on the gas before it "drops to 0"? Have you tried "read memory" mode to see if there's more codes than just that one? Any modifications or recent work to the engine or wiring? 1. check/test/clean out the idle control valve - they get carbon build up and stick internally 2. Check fuel pressure. 3. Check the contacts/connector wiring of the CTS. The contacts inside the connector get badly corroded so installing another sensor doesn't help. It's also very common to need to replace the entire pigtail and some wiring if the corrosion has crept back up under the wiring insulation. This is very common on these. I've even cut a notch in the CTS sensor, cut the plastic connector off and soldered new wire directly to the CTS terminals to bypass bad old gen connectors and wiring. There's a common fuel injector plug that's a direct fit but I'm not sure if 86 differ in anyway from 88-91 I'm more familiar with. 4. The wiring on these old engines tends to "break" and have poor contact inside the insulation very close to the connectors on the engines themselves. And I've seen this happen with no trouble code/check engine light. Massage the wiring from each connector where it plugs into the engine and your way back about 4-6". Do this while the engine is running or trying to start multiple times. That's how I've found a few. If it changes while you're doing it or throws a code - you found the issue. CTS, idle control, throttle position. Oddly even though there are far more of them I've not seen/heard of it happening to injector connectors.

Pardon my dumb question I'm sure I'm reading this wrong but are you sure that's the right thermoswitch you're looking for? Since it has a pressure switch I can only imagine that being the A/C or transmission - is that the thermoswitch someone wired funny? Correcting custom wiring can be confusign when you don't know what the previous owner did. Can you post a larger picture of that same diagram? Or tell me what section and page it's on (I Have XT6 FSM's).

Call local Subaru dealer. Pin is the same as all legacy Outback Forster Impreza 1990-2004 and later so probably in stock. Message me an address and I’ll ship you one. Use a local UPS store address if you don’t want to give out home address. I wouldn’t use “any 6mm pin”. I’ve used a variety of things before temporarily but it’s been awhile so I forget what. So try something but I’d consider anything but OEM a temp fix. I wouldn’t something else to not fatigue or rust over time.

It beeps when you're approaching another object at a high rate of speed. If you have heavy feet on both pedals or are in congested areas it's going to beep a lot as you outpace the slower vehicles in front of you. It'll also beep if a vehicle is coming up behind you quickly around the blind spot and it receives steering input similar to a lane change. At first the side view mirror lights flash to grab your attention but ramps up to beeping if it escalates.

Wow, very nice. Why wouldn't someone buy that!?

Oh yeah. They can get seriously wedged in there. If it’s an automatic you can remove the axle from the hub first. Then yank hard on the axle and it’ll pull the stubby shaft out of the trans. It’s just held in with a circlip. bw careful when it comes out that you don’t damage the shaft seal in the trans then you can at least work at it on easier or ask a machine shop to do it. Ive had plenty of objects jammed in there and gotten them out every time on the vehicle. Use a proper sized punch and tap it back the opposite way it was jammed in there while wiggling, wriggling and cussing for a long time. They’ve always come out but often with a lot of effort and tools available. a drill bit can work but they’re brittle and break easily with impact. If you had to try one again use them backwards so the drill side which is flat is entering the cv joint hole first. If it’s a manual the shaft can’t be removed and you have to get that hole freed up.