OB99W

No, the tooth count given in that article is not for the engine in question.

Believe it or not, the spec given in the FSM is 46.8 and 43.7, as if you could easily tell that precisely. Assuming the cams and crank seem to be in the right places (which is really the point; tooth count helps verify positioning, and vice-versa), you should be okay.

Of course we are. Watched pots never boil (although at 8050 feet, a lower temperature by several degrees will do when you aren't watching). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_%28physics%29

Are you suggesting that bolt pattern makes all those wheels interchangable? There are several parameters besides how the lug holes are positioned that determine if a wheel will work correctly in a particular application. Even if width is appropriate, and properly-sized tires are chosen to match wheel diameter and so that the speedometer/odometer calibration aren't affected, what about centerbore and offset?

I'm sure that understates the percentage of USMB members who are or were amateur radio operators. Besides, 42.42% of all statistics are made up on the spot. To R. Dial/AA8JZ: 73, OM.

Yes, the optional "winter package" included heated seats, mirrors, and wipers.

Yes, on both the 2.2L and 2.5L -- see http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdfs/092001_08.pdf .

From your description, the responses to throttle seem about right. I'd normally expect 20-22 inches with a warmed engine in good condition at sea level, but since about one inch is "lost" per 1,000 feet of elevation, the 15" reading is probably okay for where you live.

Do you see a fitting directly behind the ignition coil pack?

Don't cut any engine vacuum hoses, just disconnect an end of one of them. Attach a small length of additional hose (it could be just a couple of inches or so) between the vacuum fitting you're going to use and one connection of the "T". Connect the gauge and the hose you pulled to the remaining "T" connections.

I knew this would somehow become Subaru-related again.

The use of "x" to replace a portion of a word (at the beginning or the end) isn't uncommon, although those not familiar with the abbreviation might find it confusing. Amateur radio (ham) operators, for example, especially when communicating via morse code (CW), use "xmtr" for transmitter, and "xtal" for crystal. The aviation industry likes to use the "x" at the end -- "pax" for passenger, for example (just ask forum member aircraft-engineer ). EDIT: http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/XMSN

Okay. I asked because slight brake surface irregularities can lead to significant vibrations when you throw in some front end looseness. If the problem is still there once you've verified that significant rotor runout isn't a problem, make sure that ball joints, tie rod ends, etc., don't have excessive play.

Actually, Nipper was suggesting the exact problem when he said "Start the car and look at the bottom pulley. Does it have any wobble in it? If it does don't drive the car and have it towed to the mechanic." The crank pulley is made of two pieces of metal, with the rubber between them. When the rubber fails, the problem you're having can happen.

That makes it very unlikely wheel balance or other tire issues have anything to do with the problem. Please define "all new suspension". Exactly what was changed? Was the problem there before that time? I agree that any dirt/rust between the hub and rotor will lead to rotor runout. You can feel as little as 0.001" of runout, and 0.002" is really too much.

Loss of one VSS can certainly cause the speedometer to stop reading, so I'm not dismissing the possibility. However, that doesn't typically cause the stalling that was reported by Bmm001. As to the burning smell, as McDave said, "Kinda hard to say over the internet". Alternators can fail in various ways, and they don't always light the dash charge and brake warning lamps. The '98 Legacy had a recall for defective alternators -- see the second entry at http://www.automallusa.net/1998/subaru/legacy/recalls.html . Sometimes the problem is intermittent before complete failure, and depending on the exact failure mode can take out other circuits. It still might be worthwhile having the charging system looked at.

Alternator failure sometimes causes seemingly unrelated problems.

Capturing freeze frame data is a good idea, if possible -- see post #23 of http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=85794&page=3 . Before you get longer hose, etc., just warm up the engine and do some basic testing using the gauge with the car standing still. Measure the vacuum at idle; record the reading and note how steady the needle is. Rev the engine, slowly and rapidly, and see how the vacuum changes (check online sites for how to use the gauge and interpret results). Let us know what you find. I looked back at the threads (beginning late last year) covering your P0303/P0304 problems with both the previous engine and the current one. In rereading, I noticed that there seemed to be two "triggers" for the codes that you mentioned -- rough road surfaces, and deceleration after high speed running. Does a rough road still trigger the codes? If so, there may yet be an ignition-related connection issue. While the cylinder #3/#4 combination of misfiring (due to the wasted spark ignition) often points to ignition problems, ignition trouble isn't always the cause. That's why it was good to swap the injectors, in order to eliminate them as a potential factor. Deceleration causes high intake vacuum, and a leaner mixture. It's a condition when misfire can occur if the mixture is sufficently lean. A vacuum leak could make things worse, and that's one of the reasons checking intake vacuum is useful. It seems you've eliminated most of the components relevant to P0303/P0304 that are ignition-related by replacement, and swapped the injectors, so those two areas are becoming less likely to be problematic. If vacuum checks don't turn anything up, consider that there's another system that can cause misfires -- the EGR. Because of the way it's tested under OBD, some EGR problems don't cause a code pointing directly to it. A slightly sticking/leaking EGR valve might only result in misfire under rare circumstances. Note that it's not just the valve itself that can cause problems. For some info, see http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Emissions.pdf .

Yes, good point -- the engine should remain running while the ATF level is being checked. (Although I didn't say anything about turning the engine off, I guess one shouldn't make assumptions. )

When you do it, try a few times, using different rates of turning the steering wheel. Don't hold the wheel at either lock for any significant time. Turning the wheels while the car is stationary puts a lot of stress on the power steering, so if the noise is never evident under that condition, it's unlikely the problem is due to a PS problem. (Of course, the intermittent nature of the noise occurance has to be taken into consideration.)

Do you hear the noise if the steering wheel is turned from lock to lock with the car not moving?

It sounds like you knew when to stop, got good advice from your buddy, resolved the problem, and did the right thing by changing the oil and filter. Since the engine seems to be running/sounding okay, it's reasonably likely that no damage was done. It makes sense to use the car, see how things go, and then let us know what (if anything) changed after the injector swap.

What I'm about to describe is based on what Subaru suggests and my own experience. The first step is to get the trans up to "operating temperature". How long a "run" that takes depends on whether the car is being driven or just idling, the ambient temperature, etc. It could be a few minutes of highway running, or 30 minutes idling. (You probably had it sufficiently warm, going by what you wrote.) Once the fluid is at the correct temperature, you should step the selector through the gears, and back to Park. Pull the dipstick, wipe it, and leave it out for about two minutes. That allows any fluid in the dip tube that has "wicked" up the dipstick to flow down, and for the fluid temperature (and excessive expansion) to "normalize" if the car was just driven very hard. Then insert the dipstick fully, remove it, and look at both sides of the stick -- you may find a different level indicated on each side. If there's a difference, the one indicating the lower level is probably more accurate. Even if the level seems correct, if you see a significant number of bubbles on the stick, the level may actually be low but the fluid has become aerated. I'm not saying that the trans in your car isn't past the point of ATF level being the problem, but perhaps the above might be useful with a replacement trans in that case.

The info is there, Gary, just not as nicely presented as it could be. For the bleeding order, see the diagram labeled "Brake fluid replacement sequence" in either of the End Wrench PDFs. (The order shown is: front right, rear left, front left, rear right.) Before doing the ABS sequencing, check for a sufficiently hard pedal. If it's okay, find a place you can safely verify the ABS operation (gravel road?), and then recheck for a hard enough pedal. If it's still okay, you're done. If the pedal remains spongy, there might be air trapped in the ABS hydraulic control unit. The ABS HCU sequencing is done to open and close valves in it and "agitate" the fluid a bit to free the air. Once it's sequenced, you'd need to rebleed at the wheels. By the way, the reason some procedures have you do the ABS sequencing before bleeding is in the hope that you'd only have to bleed the system once. I can't help you with that.

See these: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/BrakeFluidSumm02.pdf http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/BrakeSystemWin01.pdf