OB99W

What do you see when checking the front differential oil?

Great! Radiator caps can fail in a few ways, and a cap that holds "vacuum" doesn't necessarily hold pressure. The lowered pressure can be from a damaged seal or loss of spring tension. If there's just a slight pressure loss, the reduction in the coolant boiling point could make the situation marginal. Boiling might only occur at hot-spots in the engine, not overall; that can tend to cause smaller bubbles that could be mistaken for other problems. It could even be dependent on the coolant concentration, since "antifreeze" of course elevates the boiling point as well as depresses that of freezing. Anyway, congrats on the apparent fix; I hope that $10 did cover it all.

It might also be subject to the whims of the local rodent population; around here at least, they sometimes like to build nests in nice warm tailpipes.

Without knowing exactly what you did, it would be hard to say for sure. Certainly if any wiring is being stressed or could be chafing against something, that might explain some of the problems you've mentioned.

The "valve relay" is the relay in the ABS control module that controls power to the inlet and outlet solenoid valves for all of the wheels (those are what cause, by rapidly opening and closing, the brake pulsation when ABS is activated). The FSM tests are first for good ground and power supply; if necessary, harness or connector contacts are to be repaired. If those check okay, it's apparent that Subaru doesn't want anyone to go inside the control module or hydraulic unit, since the procedure otherwise leads to "replace ABSCM&H/U".

See my response in the previous thread covering this topic: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81534&page=2

"Vacuum" and "pressure" are relative terms; when discussing cars, we usually reference them to atmospheric pressure. So the "vacuum" in your cooled radiator is just somewhat lower pressure than that of the surrounding air. That few inches of "vacuum" in a cooled radiator exerts quite a bit less force than the hundreds of pounds of cylinder pressure, so "holding vacuum" isn't very telling. Besides, even if the forces were equal, reversing direction can temporarily seal openings that occur when applied the other way. Assuming the new radiator cap doesn't help, the best way to diagnose this is probably to determine the source of the bubbles. They can only be from three sources:1) Air, due to incomplete filling of the cooling system. 2) Water vapor, due to boiling of the coolant; this can be caused by a localized hot spot, so may not be obvious. 3) Exhaust gases, due to the dreaded leaking HGs. If HGs are suspected, a hydrocarbon test often makes the determination easier. If the bubbles are significant enough, you might even be able to smell exhaust at the recovery tank.

Did you verify that there isn't a fuse installed in the FWD holder? Normally that should cause the dash "FWD" light to come on, but perhaps it's burned out or has been removed.

The PCV system has to deal with both engine blowby and moisture from condensation. It's not surprising that there's some buildup after 60,000 miles. Servicing the PCV is something you should expect to do; it may be needed slightly more frequently as the engine ages, but as long as nothing else seems to be wrong I wouldn't be concerned.

Welcome to the forum. With that much mileage, there are a few possibilities. It certainly could be that the front calipers are sticking, and should be inspected. However, the fact that a "tap" corrected the problem has me thinking that the rest of the hydraulics, including the master cylinder, should also be looked at. There could be contamination or other issues; when was the brake fluid last flushed?

So many thoughts go through my mind when looking at that, but the most prominent one is "What's wrong with this picture?".

More, not specific to 2.5: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Valve07MayEW.pdf http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/Welcomeinfo.pdf

Since there's a code for cylinder #2 only, the problem may be restricted to that cylinder. I'd suggest throwing a vacuum gauge on the next time the problem shows up. Get a general idea of the reading and how steady it is; pay particular attention to any rhythmic change in the reading.

Don't take this personally, but lots of people have installed timing belts on Subarus using the wrong marks; it's the notches/lines not the arrows. Following are links to articles covering timing belts on the 2.2L. http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.2SingleOverWin01.pdf http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.2Liter.pdf Motor Magazine series; starts with 2.2, then moves on to 2.5: http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdf/072001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdf/082001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdf/092001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdf/102001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/MAGAZINE/Pdf/112001_08.pdf

Disconnected tubing going to the EVAP purge control valve is a common cause of P0441 (especially after work in the area). It's good that it was a simple problem after all the rest.

You're welcome. If questions come up while you're studying, just ask. (Most of us here won't even hold it against you for not already understanding something. ) But do try to figure things out for yourself a bit first; in my experience, you'll learn more and faster that way.

If you don't mind learning about cars from a site that has a Toyota slant, check out http://www.autoshop101.com/autoshop15.html . The electrical articles should help a lot in understanding the diagram that porcupine73 posted.

Yes; without paying for a report, CARFAX says: VIN JF1GC2249PB512748 Year/Make/Model:1993 SUBARU IMPREZA L Body Style:SEDAN 4 DR Engine Type: 1.8L H4 FI 16V Manufactured In: JAPAN Search Results: 20 records found in our database What is a Record? IMPORTANT! The 20 records on this 1993 SUBARU IMPREZA L may confirm a clean title history or uncover potential problems. Find out by ordering the complete CARFAX Vehicle History Report.

Somewhat interesting/related reading: http://www.oramagazine.com/pastIssues/0411-issue/041102t-finesse.html Don't skip the last two paragraphs.

Let's put it this way -- most auto insurance companies seem convinced that ABS is beneficial, hence they apply a discount to the policy if the car has ABS. How do you think the company will react if they find (especially after an accident where they might otherwise have to pay out a large sum) that you've installed a way of defeating it?

With the P0441 code, I was thinking more in the way of loose/damaged tubing going to the valve, not electrical problems. (P0443 would be one that signifies an electrical disconnection to the solenoid.) It's probably worth a quick peek under the manifold. So the soundhole carving isn't an insert - impressive! I do own a couple of classical guitars, but they wouldn't be considered "vintage" (yet ).

That approach leaves the circuit with no fuse protecting it. Even assuming that after an accident you were uninjured and remembered to do this, perhaps that time should be spent checking whether your passengers or people in any other vehicles involved were okay.

in this case ABS is a POS.Which is why I said "under certain road conditions". I live in a hilly/often-snowy section of central New York, so I'm hardly a stranger to the conditions you've described. I didn't say ABS is perfect; it has its good and bad moments, and I've experienced the bad myself at times. It's easy to condemn ABS for the bad, but I'll repeat what I said above concerning disabling it:

The purge control solenoid valve is mounted under the intake manifold runner for cylinder #3. You could check that things didn't get disconnected or damaged during the other work. Nice work! Do you do your own soundhole/cover carving? (Yeah, it's off-topic, but after a thread so long, what percentage does this add? )

I realize that this might not have applied to the original poster's problem, and that his troubles have been resolved, but anyone reading this thread due to tail light problems may want to also read http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ErraticInsideNov07EW.pdf .