edrach

Shipping might be prohibitive from this source, but I buy most of my upgrade stuff from Paul Eklund at Primitive Racing in Tigard (near Portland) Oregon. Paul is a competitive stage rallyist and can advise (and sell) whatever you need to upgrade your Forester. I certainly don't want, or need, a stage rally capable car but I found good advice from Paul based on what I want out of my Impreza wagon. http://www.get-primitive.com/

This might be helpful: http://opposedforces.com/parts/forester/us_s10/type_13/intake_and_supply_system_turbocharger/fuel_piping/illustration_2/

I wonder if a failed one of these is the root cause of my P0440 CEL?

When you decide to upgrade drop me a PM. I have a number of the square connector alternators. Used from Pull a Part; tested in my Impreza for a month or more and then put on my "spares" shelf for use if one of mine fails (I have a '97 Impreza and '99 Forester) unexpectedly. $40 plus shipping if that works for you. I think it might be time to grab a few cables; don't need them in my cars, but it would be handy for those wanting to do an upgrade.

Most of the Subaru alloy offsets are 53 to 55 mm. If you check the back of the wheels you'll find the size and offset molded in the aluminum. I'm pretty sure they are the same for all the WRX and OBW models. Beware of after market wheels that are 35 mm offset. That's a pretty good price for a clean set of WRX rims; I'd snap them up soon.

Somewhere I thought I saw a $22K number floating around for a base model with a 5MT.

Makes me want to re-consider my aversion to buying a car in its first model year. Actually, has a diesel engine option. What's not to like? http://www.motorauthority.com/pictures/1074413_2013-subaru-xv-crosstrek-set-for-new-york-auto-show-reveal_gallery-1#100386148 http://wot.motortrend.com/welcome-to-america-2013-subaru-xv-crosstrek-makes-stateside-debut-in-new-york-182483.html

'98 models have the DOHC engine which I've heard is prone to problems. In '99 Subaru went to the SOHC engine to resolve some of them. All the '98 to '02 Foresters can be prone to head gasket issues but that's not a deal killer in my book. We bought a '99 four years ago with 105K on it and a rebuilt (maybe) engine. 50K miles later it started loosing coolant and ultimately the head gaskets failed. In having it repaired I found that the engine was previously rebuilt by someone who obviously didn't know what he was doing. In spite of that we still got 50K out of that engine and replaced it with a long block. I'd do it again since the model is basically sound; my wife loves it and I can't blame the car for the failure it had.

There's an outfit in Portland that rebuilds distributors. The name escapes me but General Disorder will remember the name and would know if they are still in business. I know I posted it a while back but GD would likely be able to save you some long and involved searching. Most likely your jumpy tach is the result of a worn main shaft bushing. If the shaft wobbles it really screws up the timing and the tach doesn't like it.

I went through at least 6 of the aftermarket bluetooth devices and all of them sucked big time. I finally bit the bullet and had a Kenwood car stereo installed. I'm liking it for the bluetooth; it interrupts whatever is playing on the radio if there's a phonecall coming in and audio at my end is perfect. I don't have a particularly loud voice but I don't get any complaints other than I should talk louder. I have a Kenwood model #KDC-X994 which cost me just under $300 installed at Car Toys. I love the radio and the bluetooth feature; it has some of the best sound I've ever had in a car stereo (remember this is the most expensive aftermarket radio I ever bought). However, there are some caveats to consider. Radio must have an external microphone; the microphone in the front face is absolutely worthless since it'll pick up more interior noise since your face is so far away from the mike. Next, get a unit which uses the Parrot firmware for the bluetooth; from all the research I did, this is the best for cellphone use. Lastly, except for the simplest functions the front panel controls are exceedingly complicated and not the least bit intuitive. Kenwood has decided that the radio must do everything so the controls become increasingly complicated. Aside from answering the phone, adjusting the volume, and selecting a station for music there's nothing I can do while driving the car! There is a feature for voice controlled dialing of a number but I haven't figured this out yet and likely won't since I don't call out from the car when driving. Oddly enough, my two sons (more techie than I am) both bought the same radio for their cars without consulting me. My youngest got in my car one time and fiddled with the controls (he doesn't like my taste in music--it's a generational thing) and he started to play music stored on his iphone which communicated with my stereo via bluetooth. A function I never even considered.

With a cable clutch, a little jiggle is just right. I'd have to look at my Forester to see if a little bit of play is normal for a hydraulic clutch. I think it is normal since without any play at all, you might still have the clutch partially engaged which could lead to premature clutch slippage.

I thought I had already replied to this topic but I guess I didn't save it. I'll try again. What kind of mileage do you have on your 2005? I've got 228K miles on my Impreza wagon and have never had issues with a power steering leak. It may be as simple as a loose hose clamp. Where is it leaking from? If it's leaking from the power steering pump, the kits (2) from Subaru are about $40 each with about an hour's labor. Leaks around the rack & pinion gear are also repairable for lots less than $1K. I'd shop around for another opinion; an independant Subaru shop or maybe even a dealer.

How about storage in the car. I used to carry about 150 pounds of tools and parts in my car; it does really affect the fuel consumption.

Just because Subaru projects the image of the Outback as an off-road vehicle, that doesn't mean it really is. Outback has a smidge higher ground clearance but is essentially the same as the other models of the Impreza. You can get a ton of information about the differences between models, years, and trim from a dealer (Joe Spitz) here in Washington state: http://www.cars101.com/ Just check out the year of the Outback you are looking at and compare the specs with the other Imprezas for that year. Archive for the older models a bit hard to find (if you're as computer challenged as I am); here's the link: http://www.cars101.com/impreza_archive97_98.html#1998 Impreza

Rack and pinion replacement on a 2005? How many miles have you got on this? I have 228K miles on my '97 Impreza wagon and have yet to be losing any fluid. Only time I had issues was with an earlier model where I rebuilt the power steering pump myself; two kits from Subaru came in at around $80 for both. Where is the leak coming from? It could be as simple as a faulty hose clamp. It's been a long time since I needed to do this, so I'll defer to anyone who's more experienced at this than I am.

Article from Autoweek; a good read. http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120315/CARNEWS01/120319893

I don't have anything against the HID conversions but from what I read, just replacing the bulb is not the best idea. Until I find a conversion that includes a headlight assembly designed specifically for HID that fits my Impreza, I'll stick with higher current H4 lamps. I have a '97 Impreza with the plastic lenses and got tired of polishing them every three months, so I installed earlier headlamp housings from a '93 to '96 Impreza to get a glass lens back for its clarity. I needed to install the early grill since the earlier headlamps don't match the grill. Looks a bit funky but I don't care. Secondly I have long had a high current relay wiring harness installed in my car allowing me to get the maximum voltage to the H4 bulbs I use. Originally, I was using 55W-100W bulbs, but for better lighting I recently went with the 80W-!00W bulbs. I've had them on the car for 4 months now and haven't yet had anyone flash their high beams at me while I was on low beams. And I see much better now on the low beam setting. I bought everything I need from a rally supplier I've dealt with for over 35 years: http://www.competitionlimited.com. Not the best prices, but everything he sells is quality.

Well, today as I was running up the rest of the miles on this tankful, the check engine light came on! Pesky P0440 error. Looks like we'll have to drop the rear cross-member and inspect that hose.

Thanks for the good wishes. Passed the OBDII check. I had logged 223 miles since we re-set the CEL after installing the used emissions parts. I chickened out last night before I ran the tank down to half, so I had topped it up to be sure it wouldn't fire off a CEL in case the used parts didn't clear the problem. I'll report when this tankful is replaced to see if the CEL is really cleared.

Final results are in: http://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/2012-alcan-5000-rally-news-and-some-final-results/

I've been living with a P0440 code for a while ('97 Impreza) and now it's gotten significant since I have to re-new my registration in March and this year requires an emissions test via the OBDII reading. I had picked up all the obvious pieces from another Impreza wagon and had them installed recently (my son works at an independent shop). It looked hopeful when he pulled the charcoal canister and found charcoal coming out one of the fittings if you turned it upside down and shook it. After cleaning out the hoses leading to the canister all the parts were installed, the CEL was re-set and I starting driving it to rack up the 200 miles required to pass the OBDII test. In my reading up on the P0440 code, I had found it would trigger when a full tank of gas got down to 9/16th full if there was a leak in the system. Numerous tankfulls confirmed that for me. Last evening I got to 150 miles since the re-set and I was getting close to the half-way mark on the fuel gauge. No CEL yet, but I topped up the gas tank to be sure it wouldn't trigger on this test cycle. Got home with 202 miles since the last code reset. I'll be going to emissions testing as soon as they are open this morning. Wish me luck.

...there are some great reads out there from competitors. http://nonostravels.blogspot.com/ http://dolmageadventures.com/author/daviddolmage/ http://rallyroadie.org/wordpress/ http://www.waflracing.com/ http://www.gotorgans.com/ And a scores update: http://www.teamd.org/2012/02/27/winter-alcan-score-update/

Yes, thank you. A slightly more checkered past than I expected. Unfortunately it spent most of its life on the east coast. Not the dry, rust free NW car that I was expecting.

Didn't work for me; gave up finally.

I'm thinking of upgrading my '97 Impreza (sigh....). It doesn't need it yet, but I need to start looking at newer alternatives. One that I found could use a carfax/autocheck report. If anyone has that feature available and could run it for me, I'd appreciate it. If you need my email address, please PM me. I'm looking for JF1GG68545G812371. Thanks.