motorbreath

So I have finally gotten around to starting on stage 1 of the build. However, given all that is going on in my life and my experiences doing relatively simple stuff with the car, I am looking into having a local shop specializing in Subarus do most of this work. I have contacted several local shops, one of which responded immediately that they could not help me because I prefer an open source tune and they only deal with Cobb APs...is that normal?

I have dedicated winters (General Altimax Arctic), have never had a set of all-seasons that performed acceptably in snow when braking. That being said, I am going to have my parents try out Michelin's CrossClimate all-seasons once their current tires are worn-out. They are apparently pretty good in the snow compared to most all-seasons. EDIT: My parents live in Maryland, drive in snow 2-3x per year, would not recommend anything but dedicated winter tires in Ontario

Did they provide a part number? I am no expert, by any means, but my understanding is the only part of the rear suspension that is adjustable affects both camber and toe. I installed a set of adjustable rear lower links so that I could get an alignment with both toe and camber in spec for the rear wheels.

Just out of curiosity, why didn't you go with the Stoptech coated rotors? Also, do you know if any brands that offer slotted only, not drilled and slotted?

If you think the rotors are already warped, it cannot hurt, but it's going to take more than two hard stops, and you definitely do not want to come to a complete stop. I went to an empty country highway and did 4x 40mph to 5mph in succession, as if I was bedding new pads. If I remember correctly, I ended up doing this several times a year that my wife was frequently driving the Outback. It also wore the rear pads faster than the front ones.

I had a problem with my wife's Outback where she was driving mainly in town and was very light with the throttle and brakes. On highway trips there would be significant vibration in the brake pedal. Replaced both the pads and rotors with relatively high quality aftermarket parts, within 3 months had the same problem. My friend is a mechanic, told me to drive it hard every once in a while. This solved the issue completely, also, was surprisingly fun given the size of the vehicle.

I have a 2010 LGT, had to remove the radiator fans, piping from the turbo outlet to intercooler, and two upper coolant hoses. I am not especially talented mechanically and was able to do it, so most people should not have problems if they take their time. Getting the new timing belt on with marks aligned was frustrating, but with the cam pulley tool and a mirror, I eventually got it. If I was doing the water pump too it would be a different story...

That is crazy that they would not replace the idlers, I ended up doing it myself after the dealer quoted me some insane number. I did not do the water pump and thermostat, though. My understanding is that Subaru water pumps rarely fail and if it ain't broke don't fix it I used the Continental kit and GMB tensioner, ended-up getting quite the shock when I pulled the timing belt covers off and found tons of rubber shavings. All of the small guides on the inner cover corners were digging into the existing timing belt. Readjusted all of them using the spacer tool provided for reinstallation of the main timing belt guide. I really think this is a reasonable DIY job if you have a few evenings to work on it. I did not need to remove the radiator, only the fans, and the hardest part was dealing with all of the rusty bolts.

I got the 13-14 springs from the dealer, quite cheap, but a long wait, 20380AJ10A (front) and 20330AJ10A (rear) and KYB everything else for 13-14. I did end up needing 1" spacers for the rear for some reason, but most people did not.

Excuse a dissenting opinion, but I suggest just buying the long life Hella or Phillips bulbs and calling it a day. LED retrofits tend to be a headache and lack long term reliability of most LED systems because of poor thermal management. I have yet to get less than 2 years from Phillips extended life bulbs and they are dirt cheap off Rock Auto.

Did the same with my 2010, rides great for a daily driver.

Agreed, but I have heard good things about the Michelin Cross Climate tires for occasional snow. Being in Canada, I'll stick with dedicated summer and winter tires, but for mild climate that we infrequent snow, they might be ok.

I have been using General tires for almost a decade, they perform very well for the price and the only drawback I have found is that they are a bit louder than other tires. So far I only have experience with their winter and all season tires, but I am a few weeks away from ordering their summer performance tire (G-MAX RS). HOWEVER, if you want an awesome set of tires for a mix of occasional track use and weekend driving, Yokohama AD08Rs have treated me well in the past (2001 2.5RS).

I just flushed my power steering fluid, hasn't done much for my noisy PS pump, but the steering has become noticeably lighter!

Where in Ontario?

I purchased both skid plates from Primitive Racing, both without any cutouts for oil filter etc. Stuff still gets into that area of the engine, but I also spray the underbody at least once a week with water. I do not have pictures of the Outback, sold it a few years ago, but I'll post some of my 2.5gt later this week.

With my previous Outback and current Legacy, I removed most of the heat shielding and added an aluminum skid plate.

I think (and hope!) that is less likely to happen with the hub buster, it pulls out AND down simultaneously, not straight out, so there should be a decent amount of force keeping the two sides together. I'll let you know when I start replacing bearing assembles

Here it is, https://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Removal-replaces-Tools-compatible/dp/B0885XWFWG/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hub+buster&qid=1616239771&sr=8-3 You might need to get M12x1.25 nuts with larger washers, there are several YouTube videos demonstrating its usage. In a few of them it doesn't work, but mostly it does, mostly...

I haven't done one yet, but there is a tool called the Hub Buster that I'm going to buy, bolts to the hub and let's you whack it with a sledge hammer until it comes off... might need an alignment after, though

The fact that they both failed simultaneously is suspicious, statistically it is not supposed to happen. What makes you think the DRL module is the issue? Could it not be a voltage regulation issue?

I work in Waterloo! A cruise sounds good once the weather warms up! On another note, do you have any experience with Autologix in Kitchener?

Hmm, I'll keep this in mind, so far I am having a hell of a time finding spacers in-stock from reputable manufacturers, so I have some time to think.

I am thinking about buying wheel spacers, running stock wheels and brakes my understanding from several other posts in the forum is the minimum would be 17mm in the front and 20mm in the back to bring front and rear flush. I am thinking about getting the Ichiba version 2 hubcentric spacers, any thoughts?

Failure at ~30k is definitely unusual, but from my family's experience with 6 different Subarus (2 Outbacks, 2 Imprezas, 1 LGT, 2.5RS) all over 100k miles on their original wheel bearings. We predominantly drive on highway and in rural/suburban areas, so maybe that has something to do with our positive experience.