GeneralDisorder

You can modify the factory airbox to fit the Weber. Then just paint it black or something to hide it. As long as it's tuned properly and put together right they won't be able to tell. GD

What's cheap about it? It's a 3 hour job *at least* to do it right. The average for non dealer shop labor (as of a few years ago when so last checked) is $97 per hour. My shop is $99 per hour. Then you have parts (about $100 give or take for an OEM pump or equivalent Japanese, about $60 for the belt) then anti-freeze, etc. We will install customer supplied parts sometimes. With the caveat that we can't warranty what doesn't come from our suppliers. Any import mechanic that uses Carquest (or AutoZone for that matter) parts on a regular basis is not to be trusted. For one thing, real shops have wholesale accounts and Carquest owns Worldpac who has much better pricing and not the cheeeeep Mexican garbage they sell in the retail channels. GD

Weber = yes. Delete the air injection system and plastic silencers that melt into the carb. GD

There is no need for marks. They already exist on the sprockets. You can use chalk to brighten them if you need. Put all marks at 12 o clock. That is all. GD

WD-40. GD

You can check cat operation with a thermal imaging camera. Chances are you will need a new exhaust header/cat. The cat should be about 100* F higher on the outlet than the inlet if you hold the engine about 2500 RPM. Throwing sensors at it is mostly likely a waste of money. The ECU can detect bad or slow sensors. If it's decided the cat is bad it means it's seeing the secondary O2 signal cross counts are too high. Sensors fail to slow, not fast response. GD

Nothing. Diagnostic connectors. GD

Seriously - swap the carb to a Weber. The old Hitachi's can act like that and you can't tune them. The engine wants more fuel on tip-in and even rebuilt Hitachi carbs are prone to this bogging. It's a waste of time and effort. The car will be much more driveable with a Weber. GD

Wait till it does it all the time or buy a chassis ear.... or take it to a shop that has one. GD

Search the forum. It's been posted (by me I'm pretty sure). Mind you, they are not supposed to require adjustment. GD

No it's too common for that. The dealer stocks three of these diffs at all times. I just tore down a 99 outback with a failed diff. Not a turbo model and not beat on. GD

On the early warranty claims they did replace rings. But as the program ramped up they switched to short block replacement instead. It's faster and less chance of a screw up. GD

The dealer should have a select monitor and someone that knows how to use it. They should be checking things like the coolant temp sensor and throttle position sensor live data while wiggling the harness and connectors. Injectors do not need to be replaced - they can be TESTED for proper operation and only the o-rings and insulators replaced. They are "troubleshooting with Visa" and it definitely shows. This is not how it's done. I don't know where you are located, but there are people around that can watch live sensor data on these cars. You need a special SSM to USB cable, a laptop, and the EVOScan software and you can do the important things that a Subaru Select Monitor can do. GD

The center diffs do fail. They have a tendency for the pinion gears to seize up or their thrust washers to disintegrate and end up being sucked into the transfer gear train. They can cause binding, OR they can strip some spines from some of the plates in the VC and end up not being able to turn the front wheels at all. Seen both failures many times. GD

Mostly I'm talking about splitting the case. Rings are not too difficult. Still a lot of places for the un-initiated to screw up. But yes the biggest mistake you can make is to "hone" the cylinders. Just clean the pistons and install some quality rings. The first FB motors had problems due to the rings being a low force design and not controlling oil. Most were fixed under an extended warranty. Replacing the rings on an FB is a very involved process. VERY. INVOLVED. GD

That's really cheap. Too cheap for quality work and quality parts for sure. My cost on a decent water pump is about $50 and then you have anti-freeze, used fluid disposal..... And realistically that's more than 3 hours of work. Beware the cheap chinese water pumps - they are often worse than leaving the old factory one on there. I've seen "GMB" pumps fail in a matter of months. Garbage.... GD

I think he means the 5 speed turbo trans tapered roller bearings. I'm fairly sure you could swap them in, yes. I have not done it. It's usually unnecessary because by the time the trans fails for a second time the car would have so many miles on it that it wouldn't be worth the investment. Usually those transfer section bearings only fail when the center diff grenades into them. GD

In cases such as that we usually just do the rear input bearing, the thrust plate behind it, and all gaskets and seals. Being a 99+, get a new center diff. Those fail on the regular so you should just do it now. Yes they are $586. No way around it unfortunately. GD

You put a heli-coil in the trans, and use a stud. GD

There is no significance to the cooling passage alignment. The factory uses gaskets that partially or completely block passages all the time. I have NEVER seen an issue due to gasket/head cooling passage mismatch. If it's for an EJ engine, has the right bore diameter, and the thickness you are looking for then you are OK to run it. GD

It's usually around $100 for a shop to vac and charge. Or you can buy a vacuum pump. They aren't too expensive anymore. GD

You disconnect the hoses (replace the o rings) and then you put them back on. Pull a vacuum, then charge it with the ounces listed on the core support sticker. It's pretty simple. GD

There is no waiting time for the three bond. It is ATF rated as well. The Subaru pink stuff has been discontinued. GD

Best year. They fixed the HG issue and then in 2011 they went to the FB engine with bad rings. Great choice. GD

Lol. Get a Toyota truck if you want low range. The Subaru low range isn't worth beans. I've had dozens of them. My lifted hatch has a Nissan transfer case in addition to the Subaru 1.59 low range. If you want to wheel in a Subaru you either do it with a truck transfer case or you get an auto. End of story. 1.59 IS NOT extreme. 4.00 is extreme and a lot of the Toyota guys run 6.00 and double t-cases. The auto also can be locked into 4WD. The manual cannot. It's a better, smarter, longer lasting transmission. And it's real 4WD not AWD with a visco coupler that will also fail on you. The center diff for the AWD 5 speed is a very common failure - they are $586 from the dealer. Do the math. As you said - you are FAR from well informed. Well I am well informed.....You're about to do it wrong. So now you are well informed too. GD