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I replaced the radiator and found the plastic had corroded where the upper hose joins. I was happy to see that. Replaced the upper and lower hoses as well. I did look up how to burb the system correctly and I'm 80% sure I did it right. I took it on two 15 minute drives and after the last one it looked like the coolant level was the same under the cap, but might have lost a bit in the reserve. No signs of coolant and oil mixing yet. Thank you for your responses.

before you go trying to change that hose, wipe your finger across the wet and see what color it is... if it is not red, it is not that hose leaking.. honestly, that looks like coolant to me that is probably dripping down from somewhere else - it does not look like tranny fluid

Hey friends! ... ... Thank you all for writing!!! The thread suddenly felt more familiar I really appreciate that. I found the enthusiasm and the guts to dare to do this repair, in my Father. He was alive then and encouraged me to do so, saying that the transmission could never get any Worse... also said that if I fail, he would buy an used automatic transmission from a junk yard, for me; that was my "plan B" just in case... He taught me how to repair things (not only cars), he said that it was a great Challenge for me, that I will learn lots of things from such experience, and he was right. I lost my Father on november 2019... somehow he liked this li'l sedan to do errands and used to borrow it from me, sometimes. Greetings from Honduras. JesZeK

Those are the transmission cooler hoses.

That's awesome. I was surprised how often tapes were mentioned regarding spacecraft. I didn't realize for a long time how quickly space craft went from tapes to SSR, skipping right over platters, flash drives and other forms of computer memory which were the standard for personal PC's for decades. Spacecraft were the reason SSR was developed and refined. Now it's been 20 years of solid state recorders with slick read and write manipulation, ability to isolate problematic areas and retain full functionality. And they're now available in home devices.

Yeah we did! Our govt didn’t tax vehicles with dual range gearboxes like the states did - this is apparently why USDM Subarus were single range only after the L series/EA82 Subarus. We have a 2002 Forester auto in the family EJ251 with ~350,000km on the clock, still going strong. My sister’s 2000 Liberty RX with EJ251 and manual has well over 400,000km, still going strong but on a second hand gearbox due to bearing failure on the upper layshaft. It’s still running its original centre diff. My L series has 530,000km on the body, is highly modified and has no original drivetrain as a result! Cheers Bennie

i think it is the back one, but dont quote me on that.. hopefully someone else will chime in shortly

It's not uncommon to encounter mounting points that are open to cooling jackets. On Chevy Small Blocks for instance, ALL the water pump mounting holes, and ALL the head bolts are open to the cooling jackets.... by design. That's just how the castings are made. So you apply sealer. Most guys use Permatex teflon thread sealant. When that is even troublesome there are some things like the Subaru Coolant Conditioner that can help seal them from the inside. It works a LOT better than you expect it to. GD

used to load test programs from an ASR 33 tape reader into an Raytheon RDS-500. First models had mag toroidal memory. Occasionally fixed them by changing sense amplifiers. I remember bulletin board services. First video I watched from the net took 20 minutes to load, was displayed about the size of a half-dollar. It was 'crab vs pipe' (still around-try youtube) "The only thing more terrifying than a technician with a slide rule, is an engineer with a soldering iron."

Nearly anyone would have assumed it was a common example of “more is better” exuberance. Sounds conspiratorial to be convinced that excess sealant means some outlier odd block problem. good luck - I hope the next round slams dunk this beast! Let us know.

Thanks! Does coolant run through them? Or transmission fluid?

wow, I dunno if I'd have half the self confidence to attempt that. hat off to you Sir!

Very interesting, thank you! Your write ups are very informative and complete..very easy to follow and understand. Many of us here have at least some knowledge of how cars (and components) operate, and your explanations make simple a job that I, for one, would never attempt. Transmissions, especially. Particularly automatics! I've done a few clutch jobs, but have never worked on transmissions specifically..they are too complicated for me! Congratulations on successfully solving both problems with your car!

As only as there isnt belt hanging off the back of the pulley its fine. On cheaper belts I've had to flip them to get it to ride well, because they arent square.

Jes, Thanks for sharing these photos and story! I had a transgo kit installed in my Legacy back 2002 when it was automatic. It did help the shifting issues similar to what you described but maybe not as pronounced.

If the case looks the same as yours, it should work.... I did discover that there are at least 2 versions - but I don't know what years they were from. Most of the ones I have look the same, 2 have a different metal case, slightly different wiring.