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ok, meant to update this a few days ago, but other issues have taken priority (health related, not car related, lol - and no, not covid) anyway, i can confirm the boot DOES just snap in from below the plastic surround... I did not even have to pull that trim off.. just angled the bottom of the boot down into the hole, lined it all up and gently pulled up on the fabric around the edges, and "snap" she just popped into place!! yay!

Exactly. If I can't buy it outright I don't buy it. Same philosophy with my business. Only debt I have is my commercial property and I'm paying that down as rapidly as possible. And to heck with all the new stuff - anything made after 2004 (in terms of Subaru) is dead to me. Just watched a video of some guy that bought a Tesla and saved about $13k in fuel costs over the 75k miles he's had it..... no mention of the cost to purchase said Tesla, or the environmental cost of manufacturing said Tesla. Everyone wants to Recycle and forgets entirely about the REDUCE and REUSE that is much more important. We can't just keep making things and replacing them every year or two. What happened to durable goods you could hand down to the next generation? GD

That ended up being the issue; the plug was faulty on a continuity test. So went to two junkyards, in 2003 they changed the plug, fatter mating surfaces. So I found an 11/2001 Outback with a compatible plug and changed it which resolved the CEL code.

@laegion - we were talking about the 5 speed automatic.. not the manual, lol the 5spd automatic is not a good tranny for off road use.. maybe a little trail riding, but not real off road. manual not ideal, either, but that is a different topic that would be comparing apples (autos) and oranges (manuals) to be honest.. both considered fruit, but vastly different

I understand where you’re coming from if that’s where you land. I’ve heard all that garbage before too. But it’s not true for 4EATs. I have no idea about nonsubarus so maybe this concept is borrowed from other manufacturers and/or eras (my guess - the 1970s and 1980s like other similar archaic shop ideologies) or manufacturers. Multiple things are happening that create this mindset that’s been around for decades. It may be true of other manufacturers or eras (older 70s and 80s trans). That doesn’t mean it’s true for this specific transmission. Also it’s possible new fluid could amplify already existing issues. Got a weak transmission. Change old fluid. New fluid routinely can help a transmission shift better. On a trans with issues it might make the pre-existing issue more pronounced. It didn’t cause the issue - but it seems like it to someone unfamiliar and desperate for it not to need a new trans. cost/desperation. Engine and trans are expensive. People go through the 5 stages of grief like Homer Simpson when these two topics come up. You can see it on the forum here and other forums. People desperate for some other explanation, eager to blame Subaru or a shop or dealer or fluid. Extrapolate that through these other social realities The only people who “change old fluid with tons of miles on it that shouldn’t be changed” are people who don’t change fluid. Lmao. I’m almost not joking. I’ve seen and know how it happens. They don’t change fluid…until something prompts them too. Most of the people I’m around every week never change the trans fluid in their vehicles. “It ain’t broke don’t fix it” even though they change oil every 3,000 miles. So - They don’t change jt until they suspect there’s an issue and they hope it fixes it but it doesn’t and the trans quickly dies. Keep in mind - Some of these people actually forget the original symptoms, forget the trans was initially problemstic before the fluid change. it was slight and they weren’t certain it was the trans but a noise or shake or shift made them think about it. So they had the fluid changed along with many other things over time snd the details got lost in the mix. They hear someone regurgitate the “don’t change old fluid” mantra - and the light bulb goes off “Oh no I did that and the fluid killed my trans”. Revisionist history sometimes accidentally. Ive even done this accidentally forgetting stuff before but not with transmissions. Something reminds me months later that my assumption was wrong in the first place. And I’ve seen it in other people/vehicles, it’s not uncommon. People buy a new to them used car and change the fluid and the trans dies. Well it was on craigslist for cheap because the previous owner had trans issues. Seen that before too. correlation doesn’t mean causation, but that’s not a skill for most people. We are psychologically programmed to hate uncertainty, gravitate to simple explanations and avoid cognitive dissonance like a crazy ex friend Trans shops don’t rebuild ***4EATs*** and if they do, they shouldn’t or you shouldn’t have it done there. 4EATs done at trans shops are likely to need warranty work. Why - I don’t knew I imagine most arent set up for the scope of the tooling and process but in the end I don’t know. GD probably knows why. I’d install a jdm or used 4EAT with tons of miles before getting a random local rebuild (a major source of anecdotes like this). Some shops want to blame something else or make excuses. That’s a surprise to no one and they will also be more vocal about it. anecdotal - no one saying this as an original source has extensive subaru specific experience or knows the 4EAT very well. Or they’re an outlier. If the internals are so dirty that fresh fluid causes catastrophic contamination that trans was one Jack in the box full of garbage and ready to fail quicker than a plastic nuclear reactor before the fluid change. i have no problem changing 200k old fluid in Subarus. None. it’s because I’m the best Subaru mechanic in the Eastern US….oh wait that’s a correlation not a causation…my bad. Lol In any event - there’s a decades long track record of these ideas getting reinforced to perpetuate this throughout the DIY and shop world.

yeah, we also have battery powered hand tools, and the other half picked up a battery powered push (self propelled) mower this summer, when the big rider was having problems.. we had to do something, poor dog was being engulfed by high grass when we let her out to go... =P taller than her, and she is a tallish medium sized dog but a battery powered car, for us, is not practical at all.. we live too far out for it to be, and with a harsh winter climate too (notoriously hard on batteries of all kinds)

Rear Seals are usually NOT the leak source. The seperator plate on the back of the engine needs to be resealed. If it's the plastic one, Subaru has a replacement metal plate. Early ones were aluminum. Don't touch the rear seal unless it damaged or you can confirm it's the source of the leak. Most folks have more issues after replacing the rear seal. Having the sleave kit is nice. No way to tell if you need it until the engine/trans is pulled. The belt should be fine, another 20K to 60K left on it. Did you change all of the idler pulleys on the T Belt? if not, I'd to them now while the engine is out. Valve cover gaskets. Oil Pump reseal and rear cover plate screws torqued properly.

the EJ series 4EAT is a very robust transmission... the old EA series were eh.. lol, but yeah, totally different beasts I have owned a 1990 Legacy, a 1995 Legacy and a 2002 Forester with the 4EAT - all great cars with no problems out of the trannies ask GD about the 5spd auto, LOL

oh yeah.. remember, where ever it hits sitting still, will be a bit lower at highway speeds, LOL

actually, no, the 5spd auto is not better.. they are the weak link here.. the 4EAT would be the better tranny for durability. the only place the 5spd beats the 4 spd is on the hiway - lower rpms at speed, better fuel mileage... but that is the only advantage