idosubaru

Are you saying it's on one side? If so then replace that one rear wheel bearing. That has nothing to do with the diff/trans. That's normal for wheel bearings, particularly OEM ones, they can take a long time to get worse when they first start. Eventually they start getting worse quickly. I routinely drive wheel bearings thousands of miles while humming/groaning. Got one right now, not worried about it, just did a 500 mile road trip this weekend. I like to turn the steering wheel rather sharply momentarily at higher speeds, like 50 mph, (tough to find good road conditions to do this) to change the loading, you'll often hear the noise momentarily disappear. This guarantees it's a wheel bearing. If you don't think it's on one side or think it could be something else, drain rear diff fluid and check for metallic discoloration of the fluid.

Absolutely. I've done it. Massive vibrations, had to vary the speed constantly basically undrivable, rear view mirror shaking so bad you couldnt' see out of it. Regrease, good to go. I think Marshall from MWE used to get some new parts, unless I'm just mis-remembering. I heard him say something over the phone to me one time about new parts 20 years ago, so there's a lot that could go wrong in that recalling? I haven't heard of people really rebuilding with new so I assume they don't exist now or it isn't cost effective. Axles can wear without breaking/exposure. Usual suspects - high mileage, type of driving, etc. I doubt it. If wheel bearings are vibrating I don't think they're mechanically forgiving enough to tolerate being out of spec like an axle. I think they have very limited lubrication, they aren't sitting in a huge cavernous supply of grease like an axle. There's more ball bearings, less grease, in a tighter area that's not designed for any play or articulation like an axle. They're not going to click for 50,000 miles like an axle but still work fine. They're going to get worse quickly and fail. I doubt they have some phantom vibration unless it's escalting over time. I think Fairtax (username) had a troubling vibration on his EJ vehicle that he couldnt' figure out for years replacing multiple items. He ended up accidentally repairing the issue when he replaced....i think it was the steering rack...for some unrelated reason. If you can find that ancient thread, that might be worth looking at. Fairtax 4 me or something along those lines.

Has the car ever been wrecked? Rust? Alignment good? Definitely do not install any aftermarket bearing. They fail all the time, no matter what brand. I can't exaggerate what garbage they are. Anyone that says "I used this brand and didn't have issues" has replaced very few wheel bearings, so that's why you'll find "success" stories if you look. Anecdotal. At scale, aftermarket bearing suck. *Except in instances where aftermarket companies use OEM parts just to fill their catalogs. So sometimes you can buy an aftermarket bearing and receive an NTN/NSK Japanese original OEM wheel bearing. But that's inconsistent since companies can change that from year to year. Replace only the bearing that's failing - do not replace both bearings in pairs if that's what is meant by "we have replaced rear bearings twice". Modern wheel bearings are more prone to failure, I have no idea why. but it's wasteful considering older bearings didn't fail as often. Even Honda's have more wheel bearing issues than they used to. It's the new normal unfortunately.

Yes it can matter. You can swap axle guts or side to side to change loading and material wear internally. I knew a local Subaru guy 20 years ago who was doing that with Subaru axles. Often it doesn’t because OEM axles have so few issues. But it can. So if you have the option change the loading. MWE used to be a well known reputable axle rebuilder in Colorado. I’ve bought axles from Marshall years ago when I’d drive through CO. Great guy and axles. Some (all?) of them were painted blue. I doubt that’s the clamps you’re seeing but it’s the only blue axle related thing I can think of. Probably more likely just a local store had a brand with clamps like that.

It depends how badly it’s damaged of course. One atomic particle missing is different than a a huge gaping wound. Too much work I’d just get a new subaru seal. But yeah add sealant if you’re okay with some risk. I’d use The Right Stuff or something beastly like that instead of regular RTV.

1996 still had FWD. 1997 was the first year that FWD was not available.

My "autocorrect" comment was a joke trying to make fun of these asinine changes Subaru made. the codes very well may have went away, I don't know enough about it to guess if it could have been the nonfoulers. I've got some nonfoulers laying around and my 06 tribeca has P0420 but after all these years and 250,000 miles I don't think I want to touch the sensors....

There are title and VIN plates continuously listed for sale on ebay. VIN swaps aren't prosecuted unless they were done to further some other criminal activity like avoid lien's, "authenticate" stolen vehicles, etc. it's illegal to remove catalytic converters, work around emission laws and CEL lights, and modify safety equipment....all of which are ubiquitously discussed on forums with people even providing free code to upload to ECU's to intentionally remove P0420 emissions code and remove the CEL. AZ just passed a law making older cars with problematic title/VIN issues easier to register and I think even allows some types of VIN plate changes in certain situations for older vehicles.

Autocorrect changed your message, you must have typed "imbecile" or "annoying", because it is. 2005+ leg/OB is also when you can no longer swap an engine/trans due to CANBUS.

same engine. Subaru had a 100k extended headgasket warranty from 00-02. they install new headgaskets and add a bottle of coolant conditioner as part of the warranty/ TSB. if any work or coolant change has been done since then it may not have added the coolant conditioner. if it's leaking coolant buy a bottle from subaru and follow the directions. and reminder always avoid these snake oil gimmicks in bottles, but here's one rare case where it has a reasonable application if you use your head.

Aftermarket are garbage. Avoid them at all costs. 20 year old Subaru axles all day long. You'll be fine. Reboot with Subaru boots and high quality grease. The 2000+ OEM subaru boots are high quality and last a long time. Aftermarket boots don't last as long particularly if they're seeing. When i started using Subaru boots I quit ever redoing boots again - do them once and they last the life of the vehicle. When I was using aftermarket boots years ago invariably I'd have to replace one here and there.

That doesn’t work on 2005+ legacy and outback’s due to changes in the ECU.

I assume no one looks at this subforum and I’ll ask my local welding supplier. But how do you get a small heating flame for rusty parts in tight places? When I’m torching a ball joint bolt the blue focused flame licks up into orange tentacles up the knuckle and catches ball joint boots and sway bar links on fire and risks the CV joints. Now I’m looking at some Tribeca rear control arms with bolts way up under the vehicle I’d rather not see wild flame-age. Am I using too big of a rosebud ? I don’t know the size. Can they make real small heating circles?

That’s a great price for that year and model Subaru with that maintenance history. Around here any old beat up subaru with no records and 200k miles would sell for $2k quickly. If it was local I’d buy that for a guy I know that’s looking. Id buy it and install a new Subaru timing belt, Subaru lower cogged idler and run it. Those are the two most failure prone timing components that lead to bent valves if they fail. 1. Headgaskets. 2003 is 10 times better than a 98 forester engine. Thats the single worst year forester engine by a long shot. 2. The 2003 original gaskets will usually start to leak coolant externally *very slowly*, gets worse over a long period of time (years), and causes no drivability issues. Sometimes oil, also externally, but usually coolant. You can literally top it off with teaspoons or coolant for many years and 100,000 miles usually. When they first start leaking it’s just “seeping” out, causing the metal to get discolored, not even pooling up or running or dripping. Most owners never notice it but a shop points it out. So these aren’t alarming head gasket leaks. * what you don’t know is if they’re original gaskets or how long it’s been leaking - but these are forgiving and not prone to catastrophic overheats or engine engine. 3. If it’s external coolant then immediately go to Subaru, buy a bottle of Subaru coolant conditioner and follow the directions. That stops every single initial leak of the factory installed headgaskets 99% of the time. We don’t know that these are original factory gaskets or if they’ve been leaking a long time, or even if it’s coolant or oil, but if it’s coolant (usually is), it’s worth a try for $5. Additives in general *suck* and should be avoided. And this Subaru conditioner should be avoided too on an ill running, questionable cooling system. but this one sounds in good order and a proper use case for Subarus coolant conditioner. bottom line these engines are very forgiving if it’s original gaskets or they’re properly replaced. And they usually give you many 10s of thousands of miles to plan a repair. Usually an owner wants to repair it because it’s dripping and staining garage floors or smoking off the exhaust, not for overheating, engine damage or getting stranded. Id wait to see how bad the leak is and wait to replace headgaskets until you have symptoms that warrant it. A 2003 with a seeping gasket is no big deal, if it’s worse then yeah start planning. Make sure it’s done right with Subaru gaskets but it sounds like you have that covered Valve covers are easier than timing belts so you can easily do those. Have a ratcheting 10mm wrench for the rear lower valve cover bolts.

Interesting. Was just curious as a data point if there was a “pattern”. Same side is interesting, youre right, on a Subaru valve risk is about zero here.

1.5" high on the dipstick isn't that much over filled oil and not a big deal. It's a 4.2 quart oil capacity, the shop probably added closer to the ubiquitous "5 quarts" which isn't enough to cause issues on those engines. You got .8 quarts of free oil, I would have just ran it. Why did you drive 20 miles then check the oil? Did you not want to check it before you left and be seen by them? It's not "bad gas" - that's such a ubiquitous saying, like "check your gas cap", that people think it's far more common and wide spread than it is. It's like assuming a hole in your yard was created by an asteroid instead of a squirrel, it's possible...sort of. Many CELs are ripe for "suspicion often creates what it suspects" or good old anecdotal thinking. They treat the gas, change the windshield wipers, or wait until the next fill up and the light goes away so they magically assume it was "bad gas" or the windshield wipers. When in reality the CEL was going to go away no matter what they did....and will likely return sometime in the next year. Just like yours will. It'll most likely come back if it goes out. They do this routinely. It's the norm. First - you're definitely not screwed - you can drive the life oft he vehicle with that code one with no issues. It's immaterial to reliability assuming the car isn't puking oil, rusted to scrap, and overheating twice a week. If you live in an emissions testing area or absolutely want that light off or need cruise control then you'll want to explore options but you're definitely not screwed. P0420 is tricky, no way to tell what tripped it. your assumptions that it's not the catalytic converter have a great chance of being true. First steps are: 1. Clear it and note how quickly it comes back - immediately, one week, a month? Of course this can vary - it would come back immediately now but not come back for 3 months next time. But I like to do that for my first easy note taking. 2. verify absolutely NO exhaust leaks anywhere 3. do a tune up - you're already doing that, good job!! After that the options vary depending on your objectives and goals but they can drive for the life of the vehicle with that code tripped. It's not a big deal.

Where they all on one side or all front or all rear? I almost never see intake valves out, they don't deteriorate fast at all and safely assumed to last the life of the engine, so I wouldn't worry about those either.

Stats are in your favor to skip it - Subaru doesn't routinely resurface and they have a low failure rate on replacements. Flatness is 1970's shop talk. Resurface for proper Ra/RMS for aluminum and MLS gaskets which are less forgiving as noted by their tighter surface finish spec's.

I resurface the heads myself and H6s have always had more high and low spots than H4s. The hardest parts to get right are all the timing cover orings. check valve clearance. I grind the shims to adjust clearance and put the ground side facing down so it doesn’t matter. No way I’m playing that shim swap measurement song and dance. Theres no big gotchas. It’s like an H4 but larger, heavier, more parts and therefore more cumbersome all around. The upper forward corners of the timing cover/valve cover interface have a funny bracket that kind of “goes one way” to get off and back on but it’s easy once you look at it and it’s a really small minor part. You likely wouldn’t have noticed even.

If there's rust around you it's likely rusted up. I've smashed them so hard the axle nut threads were compressed and unusable. It will damage the threads on the axles if you pound it hard enough. Are you taking it off to repair the axle? If the boots are busted, you could try rebooting it without removing it from the knuckle. Drop the entire knuckle/axle assembly and just reboot it. If it's got green inner cups then it's OEM subaru and will be more reliable than a new aftermarket anyway. I've cleaned ad regreased noisy originanl Subaru joints and they work perfect. It's like a house door hinge - you generally don't replace the door or hinge when it's noisy you just clean it and lubricate it. Unless of course it's old, rusty, warn, and sloppy. OEM axles often aren't though.

Yep - I've cleaned and regreased vibrating axles, not a big deal if they're OEM. They're usually just lacking grease or the grease is contaminated or pours out like liquid. One that I did shook the rear view mirror and is still running on a USMB members car after many years. Talked to him last month. No big deal if they're OEM. Good grief! Were you able to fix it - sometimes those aftermarkets use odd shaped parts that don't interchange with other brands? Stuff like your missing circlip might explain why i've seen a few blow apart within a 100 miles. I always wondered what physical failure can cause multiple brand new aftermarket axles blow to pieces, when i've never even seen quarter million mile OEM's do that. And i've seen and used far more OEM axles than aftermarket. I've seen terribly noisy, sloppy, and vibrating OEM's, but never failure.

Yep. I should look at what sub forum before I post, EA axle supply is an issue. Can't really lump EA and EJ axles together like I used to. Gloyale said in his shop they pull apart all new aftermarket axles and regrease them before installing due to inconsistent grease on the new ones. He said this noticeably reduces future issues.

“Extended” - how long? Oil analysis is the gold standard for determining extended (keeping in mind the ambiguity of that word) oil change intervals. Monitor AT fluid temps to see if you need a cooler. Or get one with a thermostat so it doesn’t overcool, for example in winter.

Clear code - does it come back immediately? Check timing belt for looseness/installation. Check that cam/crank sensor connectors are fully seated and clean. Check that the sensors are installed and properly tigthened down.

Oh you need enclosed. I was thinking an open trailer, they'd be less weight, less expensive and probably better at resale. I guess stopping at hotels is problematic but is an open trailer and tarps an option? An enclosed trailer is heavy and pulls like a parachute. Neither of which are good for Subarus. They have to work harder for the extra weight and the drag inducing cross sectional/frontal area. The car will pull a larger trailer, just tossing out some risk assessment and options.