GeneralDisorder

It's all here in the forum all you need do is use the search function. Whole PDF documents have been written on the subject.

The SPFI is quite reliable. I would adapt it to an EA81 if you have the engine and spare parts to do so. It's been done and documented 15+ years ago. GD

They usually paint mark the drain plug and put a tamper sticker over the dipstick - thus you unbolt the TUBE and lift it and the dipstick out of the pan and suck out an (alarming) amount of oil and then take it in. Instant short block replacement on Subaru's dime. In no way is this an admission of having done this or assisted in doing this I'm ex-military. Someone says "Test" and my brain instantly starts down the path of how to rig the test. Especially when they send me out unsupervised...... all the tests in the military were open book. If you can't pass that kind of test you aren't trying at all. GD

Disconnect it and ground the lead - does the gauge go all the way to hot? You got the right thermistor. If it doesn't try the other one. If it still doesn't you have gauge or wiring problems. GD

I would have had just pulled the dipstick tube out of the pan and vampire pumped a quart of oil out of the thing for their stupid test. They want results.... no problem I got this. Hold my beer. GD

Can you post a video of the noise in question? Valve guides can drop and stem seals can leak - it's certainly something we do see. Generally doesn't make noises though....... More prevalent on the later EJ engines - 2006 to 2012 engines seem to drop guides on the regular. We have seen some of the early FB25's that bend/burn exhaust valves due to this behavior. Just replaced the engine in a 2013 Outback that suffered a burnt valve from severe oil consumption (bad rings). Rebuilt the heads and replaced the short block with a reman from Subaru. The reman engine lasted 13,000 miles and then threw THREE rods. Subaru replaced the engine for free on that one. The customer elected to install a low mileage CVT transmission which unfortunately came with the pilot stub cut off the torque converter by the junk yard so he had to buy an additional $700 TC for it. We just delivered it back to him after it lost all the front control arm bushings and both rear wheel bearings at 164k. Super nice guy and doesn't deserve the grief that POS has put him through. GD

Yeah everything has been increasing in price. Biggest difference is these engines rely heavily on RTV sealant. Parts of the head gasket require it, the entire timing chain cover system requires it, etc. It is labor intensive to clean all the old sealant off and it must be applied correctly - if it's not done properly on the HG's you will get oil in the radiator and milkshake in the oil. The early FB engines including your '14 Forester also had some unfortunate engineering issues with the machining of the front timing cover. We have had several occasions where we have had to get shim kits and re-shim the cam sensors after doing HG's on these early engines after they exhibit stalling, idling problems, misfiring, etc and start throwing bunch of codes after we take them apart and put them back together: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2014/SB-10052498-5734.pdf Starting to see why we don't like this junk? GD

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Used engines are a huge gamble for those years. They all had bad rings so unless you can verify from the VIN that the engine block was replaced under the oil consumption campaign..... not worth the gamble. Honestly a new short block from Subaru is only about $1800 retail. Best option by far. Do a head gasket job and swap in a new block. Typical cost is about $6500. Rebuilding is WAY not economically viable given the costs of labor. And there are zero performance options. Not a thing for NA powered Subaru's. Wouldn't be a good idea if there were - glass transmission and all. And then you have to consider what happens when the CVT goes out. Just did one on a 13 Outback. 134k - total catastrophic failure. Wouldn't move forward or back. Replacement cost about $7500 with a Subaru reman. GD

You don't seem to get my point at all. Your perception of a "Toyota Driver" is irrelevant. It has no factual basis in reality, and is not a comment on the suitability of the product, it's quality, or reliability. It's entirely non-sequitur. This type of thinking will make you poorer. Are you ok with that? You are aware that Toyota owns a controlling interest in Subaru right? You pretty much already are the guy in the Toyota that you think is an A$$hole..... Trust me everyone that drives anything but a Japanese car sees you exactly the same as a Toyota, Mazda, or Infinity driver. While each year and model does need to be judged somewhat on it's individual merits, the whole Subaru product lineup has gone in the trash starting gradually in about 2005 and accelerating to terminal velocity after about 2010. The FA/FB engines are junk with worse problems than the EJ's, and the CVT transmission problems have cost of ownership far in excess of their fuel economy benefits over the life of the product ($8,000 transmission replacement buys a lot of fuel). And now Subaru has dropped the STI - about the only thing they had that was unique - and Toyota is eating their lunch with the Corolla GR. Once all the manufacturers go near fully EV Subaru will be left in the dustbin of history. Gone is the boxer engine, gone is the symmetrical AWD (all EV's with wheel motors already have this), and now they are going to lose what little credibility they had left with the long heritage of the STI and it's huge following. Honestly I think Toyota means to turn them into a puppet brand where they just badge engineer a Toyota as a Subaru and milk any remaining brand loyalty out of the husk before they toss it. GD

It's not about being a loyalist to any brand. And Toyota's hold their value in the US as well - at least some of them anyway. Avalon's are cheap because no one looks at them. Camry's and 4-Runner's are expensive. Like I said though - do you research. Every make has problem children. Every model has problem years. Don't buy the first generation of anything. Stick with older stuff that has been proven. GD

You can run anything with a LINK - including that TT. That said, I would suggest ditching the TT's for a single. Turbo technology has come so far since they made that junk it's not worth the trouble. Just get a larger single and simplify your life. GD

I am continually amazed at (and derive exceptional levels of profit from) Name Branditis as I've come to call it. Lets get this straight: 1. Subaru is a Corporation. Not a person except in the eyes of the law where it is a special person which has no body to imprison nor soul to save as the saying goes. Corporations are ONLY interested in profit. 2. Profit is nowhere to be seen in fixing your 2014 Forester - especially if people such as yourself continue to "love" a corporation (a statement I would consider profoundly uneducated in the least) despite being handed a bag of $hit and being told to suck it. I think you should re-evaluate your brand alignment. In fact I would suggest you make every attempt to disregard brand entirely and judge each product on it's individual merits and known historic statistics with regard to reliability and cost of ownership. Honestly anything made in the FB era is hot garbage and that includes the CVT's, etc. I would look at Toyota who is eating Subaru's lunch in pretty much every category. GD

You're in New Zealand - the home of LINK ECU. Get a LINK ExtremeX or P&P board and ditch the stock ECU. GD

Once it starts down the path of eating the gears - no amount of setting the lash is going to fix it. You would have to get a new ring and pinion and that's not economically viable. Replace the transmission with a used one. GD

Non sequitur, Your facts are uncoordinated. What is the voltage at the battery and what is the voltage drop when you engage the starter? GD

Aftermarket parts...... GD

Probably will eat the front differential. Best to replace the transmission. GD

Dead battery, bad connection, bad starter, seized engine....could be many things. What's the voltage at the battery and what does it drop to when you turn the key to engage the starter? GD

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Not at all. Never owned one (other than a few dozen I've fixed/upgraded and sold). Build them all the time to 500+ HP though. Also junk and I wouldn't own one for keeps. I'm a "things that make sense" guy. And my decisions in that regard have made me a successful business owner - one of which is that I work on Subaru's because they are plentiful in my area, often broken, and they have qualities that endear them to people who put way more money than they are worth into them - that equals profit. I don't actually drive the silly things other than test drives..... that would be silly. LoL. As to how I "feel" about the motor. I've been doing this probably longer than you have been alive and trust me it's not a "feeling" guy. These are hard-earned facts and statistics. That engine is absolute $hit. Wouldn't take one or a dozen of em if they were free.... I would have to be paid to remove them. GD

I would turn it back in and not deal with any of that foolishness. Buy a Toyota or Lexus if you want something newer that has a hope of being reliable is my suggestion - do your homework carefully on any model you consider from any manufacturer though..... The FB cars are garbage in my opinion. Or do as many of us have done - forget newer cars and get something from an era when things were made to be repaired and complexity being the enemy of reliability wasn't such an issue. GD

If you have to ask - too hard and too expensive. That engine was a pile of feces with the factory turbo and all the engineering Subaru could throw at it. Why do you suppose some dude in his garage that has no clue "how hard it is" to install one would have better luck? I would dismiss a customer with a laugh if they asked me to do such a thing and I actually could accomplish it and make it as safe as could be reasonably expected considering age and condition. An EJ22 swap by comparison is much simpler. GD

It was already fairly wrecked after the riots and homeless camps.... no one really noticed it missing GD

It was "fine" back in 2010. Unfortunately physics and reality have warped significantly in 12 years and now it is possible to annihilate the visible universe if you do this. It's actually quite dangerous - an intern at my shop accidentally destroyed a good part of the city of Portland a while back when the cam slipped about half a tooth and he put it back...... he was summarily dismissed and things got better after a few days. I'm told he still has a severe hangnail that's stubbornly remained untreatable despite visits to numerous specialists in Austria. GD