1 Lucky Texan

either the misfires are letting too much unburned fuel through, or leaky injectors or too-high fuel pressure or ??? is flooding the car causing the misfires. (some kinda air/fuel ratio problem - many possibities including MAF and O2 sensor. might try running with the maf unplugged to see if the default map makes the car run better.) You probably want to examine the coil pack and wires for age cracks/arcing first. If the wires are bad, don't get cheap replacements. Denso or OEM seem to be preferred.

IIRC he had bias ply on the front and radials in the rear - we were all headed to lunch from work, decades ago, and I almost told him to take me back cause I didn't want to die! But it wasn't speed or bump related. maybe check the upper mounts for the shocks for stripped nuts or ?????

one of the oddest feelings I ever encountered with a car's handling was once riding in the back seat of a co-worker's wagon that had put bias ply tires and radial tires on at the same time. It felt like the rear of his car was riding along on a giant bowling ball. It felt very dangerous!

i'm sure this is no help but, checked the lug nuts and the wheel bearings? seems weird it takes a bump to show the problem yet, you have new struts/springs and have checked the sway bar. I guess the sway bar mounts are also good? weird

wonder what the ratio is on the rear diff - it's a torsen-type!

I'd guess the problem with compressed air or other pressurized substance ,could be bad for seals. Certainly you want the least pressure that 'might' work.

DOH! Is the OEM part for those cars the same as aftermarket? I admit to being ignorant about the older soobs. Dunno how I got in this thread - I'll just go back to lurking.

I would think with the entire rear on jack stands, any slight offset after one side is connected could be lined-up with a floor or scissor jack under the 'low' side to lift it slightly (be careful). But I haven't done it yet - but that is likely coming up soon. Long story but, if Service King doesn't install my Kartboy links on the front sway bar, I'll do it when I get my car back.

I think that's the one I bought - I haven't got a tool yet for the band though. i plan to put it on the oem axle I took off, then keep that axle for a spare. (I was stupid and let the first one off her car go.) any band crimping advice?

I think I asked before but, where do you get your boot kits? or, which boots would you stay away from?

dang! beat me by 1 minute! I think EMPI have a lifetime warranty too. probably excludes the boots though. not sure???

that rebuild price seems quite high if you're talking about boot kits to install yourself. Anyway, the 2 EMPIs I've installed seem OK - but they have very low miles on them. Both here and at another forum, they seem to have a good reputation. MWE only rebuilds OEM axles and they have a great reputation. Some folks like Raxles.com and they have a good rep. with the VW community it seems. if you can just avoid 'typical' rebuilts where they just grind the grooves and fit larger ballbearings, you have a better chance of longterm success. The grinding removes the case hardening on the wear surfaces.

yeah, because of screens in the banjo bolts, avvl (and turbo) oil supply really needs to be CLEAN and , likely, synthetic oil. That should help with bottom end lubrication too. and my 06 WRX is DBW, there's no more throttle 'lag' than any other fuel injected car I've driven, and less than some. that's about the limit of my help on a project like this, sounds fun!

nvrmd

EDIT !; please ignore my posts in this thread. I have little knowledge and no experience with older soobs. this is the Stant Xacstat #48457 that is supposedly built like a soob unit NOT FOR EA SERIES THOUGH _ MY MISTAKE !;

good point. I've also read that flakes of rust or other debris could prevent a rotor from seating flat on the hub.

seems unlikely you'd get cool air AND a low temp reading, and it NOT be something common. Air bubble, bad flow, open t'stat w'ever. Maybe pull the t'stat and test it on the stove - should open at 170f. and of course close again.

I'm in NO position to offer a critique, I'll leave that to the real mechanics, but cardoc on 'another' forum has tried to put together a post and a video to hlep folks with 420 problems. fyi http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/49537-p0420-diag.html

I always wondered how that would work, any pics around of this process. I never wrenched that deep on a soob engine - yet.

at 160K, it's worth double checking ball joints, tie rods, steering rack bushings, lower control arm bushings, etc. but the 2 most common causes are, uneven pad deposits (so-called 'warped' rotors) and bad tires. (the worn tire itself may point to a problem with toe/tie rods or ball joint) maybe try (in a safe location) 30 medium-hard stops, from 30mph, with 30 seconds cool-down cruising in between each stop. If that makes things worse, you need new rotors. If it doesn't make things better, and all the other parts/tires are known good, try a more agressive 'bedding-in' procedure (check the technical white papers info at stoptech.com). if a hot brake/panic stop has ever occurred, followed by sitting still with the pads clamped in one spot, rotors can get permanently altered spots in the alloy and turning them will only help for a very short time.

blackstone might still be able to do something with your filter. call or email to find out regardless, it sounds bad - like something too dense to get carried to the filter settled to the bottom of the pan.

I thought I had read of some holes in the flexplate that can be used to hold the crank still. also, what about a 'starter bump' for loosening? anyone try that with the H6?

this has been coming up on some Forums lately so, thought i would ask here; Is there an aftermarket lightweight pulley replacement option like the Impreza guys all have?

Yeah, often, cars that have poor reliability reputations are better as used cars as the issues have been worked out. fun costume! (I'm a fan of old school sci-fi/fantasy. The wife and I went to a Fathom Event last wednesday and saw Franenstein and Bride of F on the big screen. - fun, check here; http://www.fathomevents.com/ , also, I recently attended a Tugg event to see Iron Sky , but I noticed among the other titles they have, one that I am considering sponsoring myself - Jason and the Argonauts. http://www.tugg.com/ , I wish the website worked better there. ) I have one of those creepy horse masks I may take to work on the 31st;

definitely the downside to to mailorder biz - you can;t just drive back to the store and get an exchange. that sucks. What brand? maybe the factory just boxed 'em up wrong? (we've done that where i work - with embedded industrial computer boards!)