1 Lucky Texan

send it back? at minimum, inspect inside for damage - very little clearance inside there.

not everyone needs all season tires. check into Touring tires. I might consider a supplemental trans cooler. suspension (including often overlooked strut MOUNTS) and steering gear/bushings need to be in very good condition. window tint with a 'visor' strip can help clear bra to reduce gravel pitting? upgrade the radio head unit? some folks like to play their spotify songs or listen to podcasts, etc. keep glass clean in and out? I dunno, interesting question

1 & 2 or 1 & 3 ? 1&2 would seem to point to the coil....but, it's been changed when was the timing belt last serviced? has the car's oil been serviced regularly? decent brand oil filter? odd

any maintenance need catching-up? sparkplugs? check plug wire boots for oil - VC gaskets may be leaking. that leads to misfires. live data could be helpful here, maybe vacuum leak is causing the ecu to dump in more fuel or ????

he has this awesome thread; Might touch on block prep somewhere in there

yeah, I saw a dodge/Mitsubishi manual once that listed operation in ambient temps above 90*F as severe duty ! that's an area like, what/, 1/3 of the contiguous US ?

doh! i'm an idiot - nvrmd

scan for pending codes live data might help any oil on the plug wire boots? when it's idling, try squirting a small amount of starting fluid in the intake - if it smooths out, could be (???) dirty throttle body or IACV issue. If it gets worse....?bad injector?......misfire or ? hope others with more experience reply

there might also be spline count differences. That might be easier to check in the yard. If you can't find the data online, wonder if a parts store (NAPA, Advanded Auto, etc.) would let you check some axles?

who replaced the strut mounts? There is a spacer than sometimes gets flipped and causes dragging. u-joint on the steering column could be seizing I guess.

howdy!

pretty sure the narrower track means those cars' axles are too short. good idea when swapping to check the old axle's compressed length with any replacement you are about to use - compare the axles side-by-side, just a double check.

check for slipped timing. I THINK you also have a lage-ish tube from the IACV to the intake - sometimes they are loose at the intake end. code 440 could be holes in the fuel filler neck.

checked www.car-prt.com and LKQ? might be a JDM source too (?anyone)

chris - folks here will need more detail to help you. car new to you? how well maintained in the past? any recent wrecks or work done? is the CEL on? what code(s) are stored? How quickly does the oil or other fluids drop in volume? 5spd or auto trans? miles on car? how does it run and drive? etc.

frankly, I have more concerns about stop-start and electronic parking brakes than the CVT.

gd - is this one of the engines that could use an oil pump upgrade? I can never remember the years involved....

how much does a used CVT from car-part.com cost? The demand for replacements might say a lot about failure rates.

seriously doubt a 'downgrade' is practical - wiring harness and computer issues would be horrendous to work around.

driving on or offroad with a dicey engine is a worse plan, IMHO, than driving for a while on sloppy suspension with a decent engine - but yeah, you have to pick your battles with limited funds. If the car has components that make it unsafe to steer or brake - those must be addressed of course. LOTS of cars are on the road with bad shocks and springs and 'iffy' bushings, etc. The cars with bad engines are in the junkyard. It may depend also on what tolerance you have for risk, if you offroad with buddies that could rescue you vs alone ,how far and how crazy the offroad adventures are, you have other transportation, what time-frame you have to get the car up and going, etc. many folks here have plenty of experience to help you with specific questions, and much more experience than I do. good news on the underbody rust issue, still, you will want to spray PB Blaster on a few spots for a few days before tackling some of those suspension and brake and steering connections.

look at the intake tubing end of the hose from the IACV

how much rust under the car will you be dealing with? that could get frustrating quickly. engine is critical so, I'd approach it from getting it road-worthy/reliable first.

wow, well, good catch on that cam pulley. um, I guess start checking oil, trans, and cylinders and ? for the coolant....not sure what to say on that.

If no, or limited info here, check over at subaruoutback.org several posts about H6 work there.

GD - does the swaybar endlink come off too? axle; new or re-booting a used OEM axle is best new aftermarket is a coin toss (FEQ, EMPI, etc.) typical rebuilts from a parts store is a roullette wheel spin! - don't get suckered by the lifetime warranty.