1 Lucky Texan

if you want to hassle with further diagnosis - swap axles left-to-right and see if the problem follows. factory manual says not to torque axles nuts with weight on the wheel - in the air, put a big screwdriver in a rotor vane and buck-up against the brake caliper, or, find some way to torque axle nut in the air.

it's so old, I wouldn't necessarily expect original axles on the front and you said it clicks so, get a green-cup axles from car-part.com or maybe LKQ w'ever, regrease and boot it if you want . (subaru boot or, maybe, beck-arnley kit) coin toss risk would be a new aftermarket axle like FEQ or maybe EMPI a real roulette wheel spin risk is typical parts store rebuilts. I'd only run one in a dire emergency.

have the battery tested? use an ammeter to check for 'dark current' - if it's high, pull fuses to find the system causing it. Might be a stuck CD in the head unit or bad wires in the hatch boot or ??? interference engine and you probably have original timingbelt - books says 105 months or 105K miles so, it's due. you WANT all japanese parts and to do rollers and tensioner with the belt.

you probably have as good or better ideas as I do then. certainly on the mechanical side. but seriously, tint and other little things that make the interior more comfortable can really make the difference between a road trip being nice vs a chore. Even finding some decent sunglasses - I'm partial to the 'blue blocker/shooting glasses' type of color. Keeping the a/c in good order, etc. maybe other folks searching in the future will find a good idea in this thread. let us know what you buy and how you mod it.

the engines have good torque I think so, even loaded, they do OK. Even my 03, while slow off the blocks, has great highway passing power. the maintnance schedules have a TIME side so, if the car doesn't get used much between 2-3 long trips, it still needs servicing. you MUST take care of your tires and drivetrain. don't let yahoos monkey with the car - fairly easy for inexperienced folks to drain/fill the wrong fluids. The front diff throws foks off, the need to keep tires identical gets lost over thime/thru multiple owners. The thermostats are different from many aftermarket parts listed for the cars, NEVER let it overheat, , synthetic/upgraded lube in the front and rear diffs might be a good idea. use the fuel recommended in the manual - my 03 has only had premium. Subaru has dropped the ball on headgaskets for a decade or so from late mid-late 90s thru early 2000s, shop carefully, and wheel bearings seem to be a weak spot I guess. Dunno what generation you're looking for - the 5EAT seems to be a great transmission so, maybe a gen3 ? there are many 300K miles Subarus, and, Subarus are often the only cars that go out in conditions where other cars stay parked so, they are tough in a general sense. others will have good ideas I guess - the older a car is, the less the brand matters, it becomes IMPERATIVE to cherry-pick because of prior maintenance, certainly a one-owner cream puff with meticulous records is going to be much less risky for cross-country jaunts. shop carefully.

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.