With many key items removed and replacing it seemed it was time to just drive and enjoy the car. But my older aging Subaru had other ideas… What were these issues that came out to rain on my parade…? Let’s find out.

During the rainy fall season I had noticed that the wipers were working but maybe not in the best way., At the end of the top of the wipe it would start to slide into the A pillar. Then on the downward wipe it was smashing into the windshield cowl. Using my hand on the wiper arm I could see just how loose the linkage below was, there was 2-3 inches of play and so it was in need of replacement.

Wipers keeping it clean here but unfortunately on there way out.

You unfortunately can’t purchase just the plastic bushing caps that make up the joints of the windshield wiper linkage.. So it is either replace it fully from Subaru, find a used unit in the junkyard/eBay or hobble together your own set. I decided to go with the used route due to finding a full lower mileage set on another Forester.

To get this job completed you need to remove the two nuts that hold the wiper arms on. Next up you will find a handful of clips hiding under the windshield cowl seal. Once the cowl is removed the wiper transmission, linkage and motor can all be undone and removed. now it is just as easy as transferring the motor over. Now installing in the same orientation in the car and the deed is done. Double checking it for clearing the windshield without traveling to far off the side or onto the cowl.

Removing the front cowl will expose the wiper motor and transmission.

After losing count on replacing axles for developing vibration over time I decided to put a little more research into it. Looking through post after post I found that a few individuals had high hopes for a brand that offered a more rugged design and would hopefully be a savior to the lifted Forester community.

Testing out these new axles… with not so good results..

Under the car I had noticed the passenger side axle seal had started to seep fluid out and that wouldn’t do for me. So with my newly found information on axles in hand I decided to do both at the same time. Replace the leaky axle seal and also test out my newly researched Heri axles.

A photo of a driver’s side seal freshly replaced.

Up on the lift we go and out come the old axles and seal. New seal in and new axles in I was feeling pretty good. I also took this time to go ahead and double check that alignment.

Always a good thing to check that alignment after an axle swap or suspension upgrade.

Well it wasn’t even two weeks that we were traveling for Christmas that I could smell a certain aromy coming through the vents. Probably a smell that is easily identified by most turbo Subaru owners… The warm smell of CV axle grease roasting on a downpipe… Well that didn’t take long for a failure.

Just about two weeks is all these axles made it.

The boot had only lasted one highway trip and decided to split leaving the it open to the elements. So it looks I was back to the drawing board for these axles and the old axles would go back in for the time being… I was really hoping for this to be the answer for all lifted Subaru owners.

Next up as a little project distraction and fun I located a STi in the junkyard and decided it would be a fun project to dismantle the six speed without worry and see what else was salvageable from the carcass. It had been wrecked and looked like it may have started on fire near the rear of the car, to keep it from going completely up in flames the firefighter must have doused every inch of the car. What was left was a rusty hunk of corroded aluminum and steel in the engine bay. Having high hopes for the transmission parts I started the tear down.

With everything cleaned out of the way we find the front diff.

Stayed tuned to find out what axles will be chosen and where the next chunk of money will be tossed towards for no actual reason!

Keeping it rolling down the road one way or another!

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