GeneralDisorder

Seafoam will likely cause external leaks as Mike104 mentions. It will wash the non synthetic sludge out of gaskets and seals and create leak paths due to the shrunken seals that are only now sealed due to build up. Additionally, it will do exactly nothing for oil control ring carbon build up. Insufficient amount of it will reach that area and the carbon is so tough we have to use a drill bit to remove it from the skirt drain back holes. Seafoam won't touch it even if you removed the piston and soaked it directly in pure seafoam for a month. Waste of time. GD

That's the sound of all the money in your wallet being sucked into a black hole while you attempt to daily drive a 30+ year old car that's been sitting. GD

Piston slap isn't a thing on 2009's. GD

Never get into a situation where you are returning a vehicle you have bought to a used car dealer for "repair". Even if they "fix" it, they will do the absolute cheapest job possible since every dime they spend on the repair is lost profit. The worst thing you can have is a botched head gasket replacement - that's worse than just letting them leak and dealing with the smell, etc. We have seen them blow out and overheat, we have seen them strip the heads on the block, use the wrong parts, put the head bolts in the wrong holes, etc, etc. It's a bad situation to be in. Sounds like they did a crap job with crap parts. GD

You can buy the speed sensor for a different year 5EAT separately IIRC. Some years it's sold as part of the entire transmission wiring harness (requires R&R of valve body), and some years it's sold on it's own. GD

Mileage isn't so much the problem as age compounded by environment. A garage kept car will be less likely to suffer the extremes of temperature, and humidity. Also where in the country the car lives, and there's a significant amount of luck involved. But the solder used and many of the components like electrolytic capacitors will eventually fail. It's only a matter of time. The ECM in my 86 Trans Am worked fine when it was parked but 11 years later when I pulled it from the back of my friends property to resurrect it the ECM would barely function at all and had to be replaced. It wouldn't pull codes, and though the engine would run it wouldn't idle most of the time and smacking the ECM housing would result in better/worse operation depending on the moon and the stars. GD

Head gaskets are a big job and need to be done by a shop that is skilled in these engines. We see a LOT of botched head gasket replacements. GD

You'll have to have them made. A1-Coupling in Tualitin makes lines. Or Oil Filter Service Co. In Portland. GD

It is not called out on the maintenance schedule. We recommend replacing them every 30k or so. GD

Troll. Someone delete this .... GD

Exactly. The automatic is THE answer. The best answer. It's right there in the name. "Torque Converter". Couple that with a low range and some V8 power and you have the answer for crawling. Thus why my K5 is a built 700R4. Excellent freeway manners with TC lock and overdrive, and really low 1st gear with a 4WD low range t-case. And 350 HP to turn 35's. Plus you can get parts at ANY parts store in the middle of nowhere because if they carry anything at all - they carry Chevy Small Block parts. Scooter and his cousin Skillet have to be able to get parts for their farm trucks Crawl ratio on my Nissan t-case hatch is about 46:1 and that's just about enough for the 30's it runs. It could use more, but it's pretty ok. It struggles to do even 60-65 on flat and level freeway though. 40-45 on mountain passes is all it can manage. In comparison my K5 will do 80+ up.... well anything pretty much. Though the suspension is pretty squirrelly. GD

No one will touch the 4 speed. Can't get the parts to rebuild them. And no one has the special tools like the 35mm thin wall socket required to take them down. I rebuild 5 speeds all the time. I tore down a 4 speed once about 20 years ago and nope'd that right into the dumpster. Even made the special thin wall 35mm on the lathe. I wouldn't touch the inside of a 4 speed unless there was $5,000+ involved in the contract. Maybe not even then. It's pretty trivial to make $5k so likely my answer would still be nope. It's not worth your time. The brain drain and lack of parts on these makes them essentially dead. It's like asking NASA to launch a Saturn V again.... Not gonna happen. No parts, no knowledge, no willingness. GD

The dealers don't pour the oil from a bottle. They use a gun that pumps in a specific quantity from bulk containers. The dealer is THE WORST place to get an oil change. Possibly worse than Jiffy Lube. They hire the same high school kids as every other lube joint and they replace plenty of engines due to drain plugs falling out, etc. You aren't getting an actual technician to change oil at the dealer. Are you wiping off the dip-stick and putting it back in for a proper check? As with many things - either pay for a proper shop with actual technicians that change oil or do it yourself. The dealer is not the hot ticket for anything other than free recall repairs. GD

Too many computers and modules on anything 05/06+ (once you hit the CANBUS era). The long term reliability is the biggest concern. It's very easy for Subaru to essentially orphan the cars. All the software is closed source and after about 10-15 years the modules start to go NLA and failures are relatively common. And used isn't an option for many of the modules as they can only be VIN coded and programed one time, etc. Once these cars start to have intermittent CANBUS communication errors it's pretty much over. The problems are numerous and intermittent and are extremely hard to resolve. In some cases basically impossible due to the value of the car, inability to acquire programmable (new) modules, and the massive troubleshooting labor due to everything being immobilized, encrypted, etc. Manufacturers are so worried about their intellectual property being stolen, reverse engineered, etc that they don't allow any insight into the communication codes the modules will throw at you so there's virtually no way to troubleshoot it. I have a 2012 Outback at the shop that is essentially non-repairable due to a complete lack of any feedback from the computers to tell us why it won't crank and why we can't communicate with the immobilizer in the BIU. It's likely going to get scrapped. GD

https://www.billsautofab.com/ It's for the EJ engines. And it requires a LOT of fab work. It is essentially the replacement for my Nissan t-case swap. With the toy trans you need a rear diff in the front and a complete 8"+ sub frame to accommodate it. The Subaru rear diffs don't last well when run in reverse 100% of the time up front, and the power, gearing, tires are much more than the suspension, gearing, steering etc can handle for long. That's why I don't wheel my hatch - it eats steering racks, front diffs, 5 speed transfer gears, ball joints, struts, shocks, etc, etc. It's a parts whore. GD

Fuel injection wont make any more power. Weber swap has better throttle response than the EA82 SPFI. More power will just destroy the 4 speed. You would have to go to a 5 speed dual range for an EJ22. Parts are getting difficult to go this route. Mostly clutches, etc. The suspension is not up to the task of more power either. Doesn't have enough dampening and if you go fast with a lot of power (because no gearing) you will bend the front struts. Don't ask how several of us know that. And front EA struts are a difficult item to find. GD

Over here, we used to swap in Nissan transfer cases as part of an 8" to 10" sub-frame lift. Such as my hatch has. Has 20 forward gears and all the crawl ratio you could ever want. Alas the parts to reliably wheel it just don't exist and if I take it out I'll just break stuff I can't replace so it's just a nice ornament at my shop that people occasionally offer to buy. And yes. In any case my 1984 K5 Jimmy with 35's and 350 HP will wheel circles around any Subaru including my hatch and you can get ANY part you want for it including any gear ratio. Not that I need it with 350 HP and an auto....' So yes - buy a truck. You'll just break that poor EA81 and you can't get any parts to fix them anymore. Sadly it's a dead platform. GD

AC relay's.

No.

Yes the switches are bad. They often leak from the electrical connector. Replace both as they can fail and leak an alarming amount of oil in a short time. And it's not VVT. It's VVL. MAF cleaner isn't necessary. I use brake cleaner all the time. But you need to scrape the elements with a pocket screwdriver. And sometimes they still need to be replaced. Check your live data MAF grams/second - should be around 3.2 at idle. GD

Here's a decent video: GD

Check for power to the injector, and check that you have ground from the driver in the ECU. GD

You have a vacuum leak or a bad MAF/O2 and a bad AVLS pressure switch (not the solenoid). Replace them both they are prone to failure. Clean the MAF (you have to scrape the elements), and check the fuel trims. GD

That engine needed synthetic from day one. The use of non-synthetic has plugged up the oil control rings. There is no fix for this but to replace the rings and clean out the piston skirt drain back holes behind the oil control rings. GD

No. The H6 is also now discontinued. Sell it and buy a truck. Don't torture a Subaru CVT with towing. GD