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http://www.subarupartsforyou.com

Makes perfect sense. Thanks!

Rebuild novice here, I've never torn an engine apart. I've been following this thread because engine rebuilds are always interesting to me. Can someone please tell me why the cylinders become worn in an oval way? My logic tells me it's because in a flat engine, maybe gravity takes a toll and the "bottom" of the cylinder wears more because of the weight of the piston? Is this a good guess or am I completely off track? Thanks.

I'd like something that holds my phone securely other than the cup holder. It would be nice if it was high enough to be easily visible. I've tried a number of things and to some degree they all suck.

If the ball joint doesn't need to be replaced, just leave it in the knuckle and pop it loose from the control arm. Much easier.

Yes, that's the remanufactured one. I have that one on my driver's side and it's good. However, I've also had to replace the one on my passenger side and when I went to Autozone for that, they were out of the remanufactured and only had the new. So I bought it. It's 7336N. I used it, and it's been fine also. Time will tell on both of them.

I misspoke in my last quote and was too lazy to go back and change my post. Sorry for the confusion. I meant to say it's not a tool for getting the hub out of the steering knuckle. I didn't try to just change the bearing. I've done this before, I know the setup. And I did beat that thing to death with a five pound maul, using a can of PB Blaster and then tried it with a torch and it was not budging out of the knuckle. Even after I changed the knuckle I continued to fight it until eventually the bearing itself fell apart and all the balls fell out. It was just just totally frozen in the knuckle. 180K of Maryland winters will (apparently) do that. I have one original bearing left on this car.

I don't think the tool pictured is for getting the hub out of the steering knuckle. That look likes it would work for getting the axle out of the bearing/hub.

Axle. I used a subaru hub/ bearing. Ended up needing to get a new dust sheild and steering knuckle also because the old hub was totally frozen in the knuckle. No amount of hammering, penetrating oil, or torch heat was budging it.

I put an autozone duralast reman axle on my 06 a couple weeks ago because a CV boot had split. No issues and so far so good. I've used them my bmw and no issues either.

Coolant system maintenance is very important on subaru vehicles. They are known to have potential head gasket issues and the flat engine creates special challenges because of the temperature differences between the heads and the blocks when it's not all close together. Add the subaru coolant conditioner and change your coolant frequently using the subaru coolant and you buy yourself a little extra insurance. I don't understand why anyone would want to save a whopping $10 - $20 when it comes to this. And 11 years is way too long between coolant changes.

Just did the driver's side on my 2006 5MT, with 182K. I removed the nut off the tie rod end, and then the two strut tower bolts. Since I just replaced the wheel bearing, hub, and steering knuckle about 10K ago, I felt most most comfortable with the strut tower. Marked the position of the camber bolt. I had both front wheels in the air, and didn't lose any tranny oil. Used a rebuilt axle shaft from autozone, $69.00 after core trade, and that came with a new axle nut. Overall, not too bad, and everything came out and apart pretty easily. I'm sure that won't be the case on the other side whenever that goes, since it's all completely original over there. When I did the new bearing and hub 10K ago, the axle was much harder to get out of the hub, and the hub was literally frozen into the steering knuckle. Made me long for VW days when nothing lasted long enough to rust or seize together.

Replacing a front bearing on my 2006 2.5i with 172K. I've removed the bolts holding the hub on, but it's completely frozen. The axle is loose, but it's frozen to the steering knuckle. I hit the darn thing so hard that the bearing actually came apart. Any ideas how I can get this thing off?

There have never been any pictures from 06'. But the 05' pictures essentially look the same.

But it's just the center electrode that's iridium, not the ground electrode. You never touch the center electrode to gap a plug. The Denso website says you can do it. I hear what you guys are saying and I know you're being extra careful and all, but it is just a spark plug. <ducking to avoid the rotten tomatoes being thrown>

Please don't take offense to this, but it's really not that hard to gap a plug.

This would make me somewhat suspicious that they were not the OEM plugs.

I changed my coolant for the first time in my 2006 last weekend. I bought the green stuff because that is what was in there and that is what they gave me at the dealership when I told them the year. And I added the "special" Subaru conditioner which I'm sure is re-branded something or another. Old coolant had 65K on it, and was pretty clean when it drained. Overall, a super easy thing to do on the Legacy, cheap, and uneventful. I might change it more often now that I've discovered out how easy it is. I'll probably shoot for 50K intervals starting at 100K for that and the plugs since I did the plugs at 50K and they looked almost new.

I replaced mine on my 2.5i with the standard OEM platinum plug at 50K, and the original ones looked great. I had no troubles, and continue to have no troubles, and so that is what I would recommend.

I would recommend the boobs. After all, it is a stimulus package.

I've heard this kind of thing off and on for years, about all different brands of vehicles and oil. I think it's amazing how misinformed people are and how many people cling to old rumours just to instill fear in people. It gives them some sort of feeling of power. Refer to your owners manual and if Subaru doesn't specifically say to not use synthetic oil, then go ahead and use it with confidence that you know it's better than conventional oil.

Based on reading your message, I'm betting it's not something you can fix yourself. Obviously the coolant is not circulating through the engine, but since it's possible the problem could be with the hoses, radiator, thermostat, gaskets, and water passages in the engine, it's impossible to tell you where to start.

Well this is my first Subaru, so I'm not that familiar with the difference vacations a year apart can make. But if it's generally accepted that a 2005 vacation would be almost identical to a 2006 vacation, then I guess I'm good. In 25,000 happy miles so far, I have not actually "needed" a vacation. I'm just "preparing" for a vacation in the future. And I'm certainly happy to share whatever vacation time-share I end up aquiring or purchasing in the future.

I've been subscribed for over a year, hoping to see some pics from 2006. If anyone has taken a vacation specifically in 2006 and has pics, I'd love to see them. Also, I'd love to help others here view them and I'd be happy to display those pics on my website where I have tons of bandwidth. Posting good vacation pictures is a great idea and I'd love to help out and do my part if my bandwidth could help display pictures.