Leaderboard

Thanks, it was the wire connector under the drivers seat, found the yellow wire, and pushed it back . Air bag light went out!

Check the reservoir after turning the steering wheel a bunch and hearing noises - do you see bubbles and foaming in the fulid? Hoses and clamps are all stock, clean, and tight? Are you sure it's power steering related? Use a stethoscope to isolate and verify the noise. It's not the fluid type unless you put something in there that's not supposed to be. How many lock-to-lock turns have you done - make sure you do like 100. Subaru's self-bleed very easily but make sure it was given more than 4 turns. If all of those things check out then you need to differentiate between a rack issue and pump issue - if it's a new aftermarket pump then that could easily be the issue, they're frequently problematic. I'd install a used Subaru OEM pump before a new one from a parts store. Or price out the Subaru pumps - they're expensive but less problematic.

Right click (right mouse button) on the posted link and then left click on "Save Target As". Select a folder and Save. Then open it with (updated) Adobe Reader DC.

Awesome man please do keep this going! I have a feeling I'll end up in the same boat one day soon and this thread and especially videos will be appreciated.

I found the image of what I did with the angle change I was talking about: https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img401/9123/p7281486.jpg This was over ten years ago and I’m still running the same engine mounts. The EJ18 flywheel won’t make a difference, it’s still the same diametre. It might be lighter though. Glad you got it sorted! Cheers Bennie

Right , thanks for straightening that out. 2wd save for the 70’s cars. Lol

Have you tried replacing the drive belt? Is it at the proper tension? Take a look at the metal pipes on the steering rack to see if any of them are kinked or squashed.

You’re after a 4wd rear disc setup. The2wd rear disc hub won’t fit the 4wd. Everything else is basically the same. The 2wd backing plate is only different in the hole for the bearing to pass through. The key is the 4wd rear disc hub. Cheers Bennie

it's easier to fix than it seems. i've fixed that same scenario before - recent engine/trans work and that access plate is bent/loose. loosen the two lower 14mm engine mount nuts and lift the engine a little bit and see if you can get enough clearance to access the bolt heads without doing the whole radiator hoses, exhaust, etc. maybe drop the front exhaust headers too if you need another inch or so. also 14mm. rust issues being typically far better out there, this actually could be really easy and take less than 15 minutes with a good jack and tools.

Sucks to hear about that. Definitely sounds like a botched head gasket job. If you can't work on it yourself, how much can you spend? There are a lot of options...depending on your budget. Pay someone to do the work with the risk of finding bigger issues? If there are no major issues then your probably looking at $1500-$1800 for the HG replacement. Or maybe buy a JDM engine? (~$2000 delivered) and pay someone to install it? Maybe $3000 total all said and done but know that you have a reliable engine for the next 100k miles. Or maybe try to break even and sell the car as is for $1000 (probably less) and buy a beater to get you buy for $1000? I live in Colorado (Red Feather!) and haven't had to take my Subarus to anyone yet, but if I did, I'd probably take them to this guy. An independent Subaru specialist....Right in your neighborhood! Maybe he'd give you a free quote and help you make your decision. And if you need a machine shop, Jeff at US Automotive Machine & Performance, also in Loveland, does great work. He's a serious engine builder. He's machined two sets of heads for me. Which brings up another hidden cost....Both times he told me I needed to replace my exhaust valves, which I did. That adds about $500 to the bill. Good luck man!

Read my lips: H-E-A-D G-A-S-K-E-T

I would suspect one or both of the fans. Once the motor brushes wear down and the copper wire it is attached to will contact the commutator and sparks fly. You won't see them because the motor is sealed. Unplug the fan that is not working and see if the fuse still blows. I would check the fan operation without running the engine to get it hot this way. Remove the panel under the steering column and look for two green connectors. Plug them together, but do not make them click (they are hard to separate). Turn the IGN Key to run (NO START) and watch the fans. This TEST MODE will operate relays, solenoids, fuel pump, A/C compressor clutch and then run both radiator fans on low speed then high speed then off, and repeat the cycle until you turn the key off. Let it run through several cycles. You will have the one fan unplugged, so only one fan should run low then high. If the fuse blows when it switches to high, then that fan is bad. If that fan cycles low and high, turn the key off and plug the other fan in and turn the key on and see when the fuse blows. Don't forget to unplug the test connectors. Personally, I would replace both fans. 305k is a lot of run time for those little fan motors. I use Dorman and they seem to hold up good. One fan is listed for cooling and the other fan is listed for A/C. If you end up getting two with the same shroud, just swap the new motor and fan to your old fan shroud. Let us know what happens.

It means there is a detected issue in your airbag/ SRS system so it is diabled. Also, in many states it will fail inspection. Just had this issue on my '98 Legacy and in my case, the clockspring, which is behind the steering wheel, needed to be replaced. Also a common cause is if the wire connector under the driver's seat gets loosened by someones foot (in on our Forester a water bottle rolling around under there. With the ignition off, I would unplug and replug this connector a few times to see if that makes the light go off. If that doesn't work, there is a procedure out there to read error codes, but on our older Subaru's, the codes are fairly generic and not that useful. My mechanic had to use his scanner along with the older wiring harnesses to read it and diagnose the problem.