heartless

eh, i drove my 95 Legacy L with Forester struts under it for a couple of years before i passed it on. Never had a problem with suspension or axles also ran the Forester wheels, with tires close (very slightly larger) in circumference to the stock Lego size so as not to screw too much with the speedo/odo

yeah.. similar setup on the other half's 06 we had to change the pump on his.. major whining when running.. did not even have to be turning the wheel.. just running. had a heck of time trying to bleed air out of the system.. turns out he buggered that o-ring when installing - put another new one on (we have a couple of o-ring kits here) and problem solved

have you tried here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

yeah, i will probably just disable the hill holder completely and be done with it.. don't have that big of hills here, LOL, and I do know how to handle what we do have without the hill holder setup had an old 67 Ford pickup that was a manual.. no fancy hill holder gadgets on that. LOL just been a while since i drove a stick.. the last manual Subaru I had was the old 89 GL wagon that got retired in 2007 or so.. and sold the old truck in 2011

OMG.. been so long since i have driven a manual Subaru, I had completely forgotten about that option. Will look into that asap. THANK YOU!

the new to us Forester has been going along pretty well... except for the one brake locking up from time to time.. usually only happens after being stopped for a little bit - start car again, put in gear (does not matter if forward or reverse) and the darn thing wont move.. jab the brake pedal a few times in quick succession, and it will usually release ok.. if it does not release the first time, do it again.. until it does release, then everything is fine.. does not do it while driving, only after being parked, and usually when parked for less than an hour. Was told the left front brake caliper was replaced shortly before we bought it due to the slide pins being seized up - and we were told about it "locking" like this periodically, so not entirely unexpected... Have checked the brakes over, and everything looks to be in order.. slide pins are moving easily, pads look pretty good, caliper is obviously pretty new.. brake fluid is at proper level... hard lines look good.. flex line looks ok.. but I also aware the inside could be at issue? at a loss as to what could be causing it to lock up like this?

Opposed Forces shows basically the same images for the 6 and the 4 for MY04 - images for MY05 the H6 has a very different manifold - 3 individual ports vs a single oval I kinda think the only way to know for sure would be to get your hands (or eyes at a junkyard maybe?) on a used H6 exhaust and physically match it up - verify measurements, etc

yup, either stock outback struts & springs, or stock early Forester struts & springs and for a first gen Legacy, you want to use the first gen top hats for simplicity of install on the car. either one will net around 1.5-2 inches of additional ground clearance and allow for larger wheels/tires much beyond that, and you could run into problems with axle angles and you do not want to go there.

probably a few if i had to guess.. good job getting the info and hope the reseal goes well for you!

to change just a bulb, no, you should not need to pull the bumper cover to change the whole housing, yeah, you probably would need to.

i would suggest starting with downloading the Factory Service Manual (FSM) for your car from here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ and look for diagnostic stuff related to a) starting and/or b) shift lever operation this kind of sounds like an inhibitor switch issue to me.. but i am no expert.. having the FSM and a good multimeter for testing components is a good place to start... and checking battery cables would not be a bad idea. Salt air can do strange things.

your automatic has a neutral safety switch... amongst other things try moving the shift lever to the neutral position to start.. insert key, turn to "On" position... move shift lever to neutral... attempt to start car also.. and i know this might sound like a silly question, but how easy is the lever to move? is it stiff? or easy? can you move it all the way to the 1 position easily? or is it difficult? Reason I ask is because the shift cable that goes between that lever and the transmission actually broke on my 2002 Forester... i could shift from Park to Drive without too much effort, but it was stiff, anything lower than that was damn near impossible. 1 was pretty much impossible If it is at all stiff, or you can not get it to shift all the way down to 1, I am going to suggest that you get a new shift cable asap. not terribly expensive, and pretty easy to change IF you do it before it breaks, LOL

possibly headgaskets how long have you had the car? have you ever noticed it getting warm before this? you say "shut down" - did the car die on its own, or did you turn it off? if it shut down on its own, hate to say it, but that engine is dead

I am not assuming anything.. I am just passing on the numbers and those numbers do not reflect a lot of difference. the first gen Forester struts on a 95 Legacy netted about 1.5-2 inches if lift max.. I can not imagine that his would be that much different - but. you are correct that i do not know the lengths of the struts, or where they sit in the vehicle itself and having old, worn out components CAN make a big difference in how things sit... proof here.. old worn out Forester strut & spring with all brand new next to it.. fair bit if difference, don't ya think? new stuff is KYB strut & tophat, OE spring

Not MY math.. that is from Subaru directly.. owners manuals and service manuals in the "specifications" sections. Dont believe me? go look it up yourself

typically the measurement is taken at the lowest point under the car.. whatever that may be.. might be rear diff, but might be something else.. like cv joints of the axles, or exhaust maybe.. I dont know where they take the measurement from exactly as they dont say. and yes, tires do play a part in all that... the stock size for the 04 forester I am driving right now are 216/60x16 (26.2") - your 65 is less than half an inch taller (26.5") than the stock Forester tire size you can compare here: https://tiresize.com/calculator/

i had a 2002 Forester - EJ251 - that had 214K when I bought it.. i did find (after purchase) that it did have the hg done at about 85k. Just recently sold it on with 267k and to be honest, i think she was starting to lose coolant again.. during periodic checks of fluids (about once a month) the overflow bottle would be nearly empty - radiator was always full tho.. Just picked up a 2004 Forester with EJ251 & about 185k... no idea if gaskets have ever been done.. so far fluids are staying steady. Both cars were reasonably clean for their ages, and appeared to be well maintained over the years. General appearance can be quite telling - wear and tear on upholstery, engine bay, general condition of the exterior and so on.. interiors will tell you more than anything else. a local to me independent shop that i occasionally use called me one day with the offer of an Outback - dont remember exactly what year - current owner did not want to pay to fix it.. I went to look at it.. the interior was just FILTHY - sticky goo in the cup holders, with change & other debris stuck in it.. mileage was kinda low for its age, which is why the shop owner called me to offer it.. he knows i like my Subarus. =) after a quick inspection of the car i told him thanks but no thanks.. that car had been seriously abused and i wanted no part of it.

that part is for an Impreza, not an Outback - probably wont fit. that said - anytime you can get OE parts they will be far superior in fitment than anything aftermarket.

i doubt it is that much, to be perfectly honest.. it just "feels" like it. probably had worn out struts when you got the car, pre-lifting.. if so, it would sit a lot lower than it should have. after installing good struts and associated springs, yeah, it would "feel" a lot higher Per owners manual/service manuals for a 96 Lego, and an 04 Forester... ground clearance for the base Lego is 6.1 inches (for an Outback it is 7.3) ground clearance for the Foz is 7.9 inches there is not that much difference there - a maximum of 2 inches in difference...

size of the job is directly related to how rusty things are underneath, lol

the 98 i had here, and the 2002 both wore 15" wheels (yes, even the alloys), with the 2004 i now have wearing 16s... but all of these have been base models, not higher end.

not necessarily - bolt pattern of the top hats does vary a little between yrs & models.. if you can verify the bolt pattern will work, then by all means, have at it and yeah, i am driving an 04 Foz right now, and it does seem a tad taller than the first gen.. but been awhile, so maybe my old brain is playing tricks on me? lol definitely has bigger wheels.. the earlier models used 15" wheels, the 04 has 16" so makes sense that there would be some minor changes to accommodate the larger tire/wheel combo

basic copper core plugs are all that is required by that car (owners manual lists BKR5E-11 or BKR6E-11), you gain nothing by using the iridium plugs except a lighter wallet gap is a little bit high.. spec is 0.039 - 0.043 - i usually set mine closer to the lower end.. typically about 0.040 - gap will slowly increase with age and wear... the plug wires you purchased are the correct set for that car, just make sure they are fully seated at both ends. and definitely check all the plumbing to the air box, and all vacuum lines..

i did not do anything with the trailing arm - yes the tires were slightly off center in the wheel well, but I had no issues running it like that. there are camber bolt kits you can purchase to adjust the camber on the rear.. the shop i took mine to for alignment used one and got it set pretty good. (yes, i paid for an alignment after putting in all brand new struts, springs and tophats... it was worth it - less than $70 for a full alignment job)

i did 98 Forester struts on a 95 Legacy and had 0 problems with it.. Drove it that way for several years. the trailing arm thing is strictly cosmetic, there are no problems by not doing it (i didn't)