Manarius

If you're not going over 45, then leaving it in 3rd is fine. The car won't be jumping in and out of TC-lock (which is what you describe) and your gas mileage won't suffer (since locking the TC at that low speed won't affect your MPG). Is there a way to fix that? Less gas pedal and the car won't jump out of gear as often. Although, with the 4 there isn't much torque to be had which is why it jumps so frequently. Personally, I think shifting the tranny manually when it's unnecessary is bad for the car. The transmission already shifts down to 3rd for you when you slow down in order to get some engine brake, but because of the amount of flex between the engine and transmission, a "real" engine brake scenario would most likely be impossible or very hard on the auto since it wasn't designed to be shifted like a manual.

For your ABS problem, read the attachment in this thread: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=54156&highlight=abs I'll take safe over sorry and I'll keep my ABS fuse in and good tires on my car.

At idle, try pulling the injector wires 1-by-1 to see if removing one of them doesn't change the idle. Then you'd know which injector is sticking/stuck.

Having been in both situations, I would gladly take ABS over no ABS. Lack of ABS put me into a guard rail with good tires. ABS and crappy tires kept me out of the side of a public safety officer. Mid 90's ABS isn't as good as it is now, but it sure is faster than I am in a panic situation. Generally, my thought when panicking is "OMG HOW AM I GOING TO STOP!?", not "Okay, first I need to pump really fast and then pull on the e-brake". When I'm sliding into an object, I'd rather focus on how to get away from that object, not how to pump the brakes and hopefully pull the e-brake in time and hope that the e-brake doesn't trash my transmission in the process.

I can help you with 1 and 2. 1. Fix a flat works as long as the hole is fairly small. It lasts as long as the tire lasts. It's not bad for your tires, just nasty for the person removing the tires when you replace them later. If you can find the hole, you could patch it with an internal patch, that would last as long as the fix-a-flat. 2. As the auto ages (I'm assuming auto), the valve body starts to work a little slower. Simple solution is give the car an extra 30 seconds to warm up and then shift into reverse. In addition, don't immediately give the car gas until you can feel that it has dropped into gear. That should eliminate your clunking issue.

Seeing as 99% of Platinum plugs come pre-gapped, there is no reason to stick the gap meter to them and you will damage the electrode by doing that.

The problem is that the Coolant Temp Sensor has nothing to do with a stuttering engine. Every failure I've read about and seen that was a result of the CTS failing caused a warm no-start condition. I've never seen a dead CTS cause a stutter problem. Since you have a warm stutter problem like I do, I wonder if you have a stuck/sticking injector. When the car is cold and mixtures are really important, a sticking injector makes the car run really rough but when the car is warm and mixture isn't quite as important, the sticking injector's problem is more hidden. I have basically the same problem with my SVX and I've replaced coils, fuel filter, CTS, MAF, air filter, etc. The only thing that fixed my car, albeit for about a day, was having the injector service done at the dealership (I had Subaru bucks to pay for it). Unfortunately, their cleaner ran out and the injector started sticking again, so now I'm going to replace injectors until I get rid of this stuttering problem.

You can either adjust the cable at the handle or adjust the cable at the brakes themselves. In some of the Subaru's, theres a little plate on the driver's side of the console that you can pop open to adjust the cable at the handle.

At least in 90's Subaru's, the intermittent part of the wipers is controlled by the stalk itself, not by some other modulator. I know that in 90's Legacy's the stalk is swappable. However, I don't know if you could swap one from an SVX which has intermittent rear and front wipers (variable front intermittent as well). Although, getting a hold of one from an SVX would probably be more difficult than trying to swap one from an up-model Legacy.

What year and model car do you have? A lot of the 90's stalks are swappable between model and year. I think the SVX has intermittent rear, but not variable intermittent.

But, since the injectors are run based on readings from the throttle position sensor, I would assume quite the opposite. That you putting your foot to the floor causes the ECU to throw more fuel at the start condition. If my Subaru won't start for some reason, usually putting my foot to the floor and cranking it will get it started. Has anyone mentioned the fuel pump? Maybe these cold conditions are causing the fuel pump to freeze up. Have you determined whether or not the pump is running by listening for it when you turn the key to the on position?

Pfft, who puts shims or anti-noise grease on. I've replaced many brake pads at this point and the presence of shims/anti-noise grease or lack thereof has been irrelevant to brake noise. If I have shims, I use them. If I don't, then I don't. I'll never buy that stupid grease though. Wasted money as far as I'm concerned.

This right here. HLA's and interference do not mix. So, check the valvetrain and that will tell you your answer (provided that it's the stock valvetrain).

With rear pads, I imagine that the chances of warping would be little or none. I could understand using high quality front brakes, but back brakes receive little wear. I put Napa front rotors on my 191k SVX; they'll probably be on there until the car rusts out (and probably won't be warped). The originals lasted 190k.

What kind of car? Did swap MAF's with someone? Did you check the CEL code? Can you narrow it down to a certain cylinder by unplugging the injectors one-by-one and seeing if the car runs rougher on a certain one? Did you check the O2 sensor?

Definitely not.

This post. Right here. This is why the vibration happens. The TC's stall speed is exactly the issue. I disagree that axles can vibration at stop (axles don't move when stopped, so, why should they shake). Every AWD car I've owned has had this mild vibration when stopped and in drive. I just put the car in neutral. Even at 191k miles, I have no problem popping the car back into gear, waiting a fraction of a second, and then going again. It's not even a minor inconvenience. It makes me feel like I'm driving a MT

Definitely. If you're having misfire, the engine is going to hang as though the transmission is slipping even though in actuality, cylinders are missing causing the lack of power you could perceive as slippage. If the CEL throws an ignition code, I would most certainly address spark plugs/wires/fuel filter/injectors.

Sounds like a failing Mass Airflow Sensor to me. When that sensor fails, the car can have all kinds of weird behavior; poor throttle response included.

If you didn't torque the plugs (by that, I assume you mean tighten), why would you expect that the car would start? You haven't sealed the combustion chamber.

You could never move a porker like the Tribeca with just a 4-cyl; even if it was the 300HP STI one. It would be slow as crap from the start.

Disagree. It's easy to get the TPS back again. Just tap the lines and set it to the right voltage. I've removed and cleaned/replaced mine a few times.

All of Subaru's cars are on the same platform; Legacy, Impreza, and Outback. So, really it's just a raised Legacy.

Well, seeing as the 2005-6 and newer models have the immobilizer system, maybe the battery on that key went dead (although, I thought the immobilizer system keys didn't have batteries at all so....). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(lock)#Transponder_key http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immobiliser

The low fuel light on my car comes on with 5-6 gallons left in the tank