Rooster2

Suggest drain and fill 3 times on the ATF, as only about half the ATF will drain at one time. The remainder stays in the torque converter, and won't drain out. Drive 2-3 miles between drains to get a good mix of new and old ATF available to drain. The old AT pan gasket will be nasty to remove. It really needs to be ground off, but be careful not to grind metal off any surface. Maybe removing pan dent and adjusting linkage will help. Did your tranny problem start immediately after hitting the rock? Crazy radio sounds like a wiring short. Pull out the radio, and check power wire going to the radio, maybe it is loose or frayed. Also, maybe the radio has just gone a bad with an internal short. You can prolly pick one up for cheap at a wrecking yard.

With the zinc plating removed, you are correct in that the bolts and nuts will rust in no time flat. I am thinking it would be better just to replace the rusted bolts and nuts with new ones. Ace hardware store has a complete line of metric nuts and bolts for replacements. They don't cost much. I use antisieize cream on all bolts that I think may want to rust and seize up, that sometime I may want to remove in the future. I use antiseize on the lug bolts and on the facing where the alloy road wheel meets the hub.

I own both a 98 and 99 OB wagons, and do most of the maintenance work needed on both of them, so I know exactly what your car is. Maybe my repair experience can help you. A/C.........if leaking 134a refrigerant, replace the O rings on both the high and low ports at the compressor. That's where the refrigerant typically leaks out. That is very ez to do. Replacement O rings available at Auto Zone and other parts stores. Both my OBWs developed exhaust leaks at the resonator. It doesn't seem like coincidence that both my cars had exhaust problems at the resonator. I am thinking that is a weak spot in the exhaust system. Maybe it is where your car exhaust is leaking as well. I went to a cut/bend/weld muffler shop, where they cut out the resonator only, and replaced with a welded in length of pipe. This fixed the problem perfectly for about $50. This did not make the exhaust sound louder, which surprised me. Car sound perfectly stock. I think Autozone sells replacement key fobs, prolly other parts stores do as well. So, you may be able to bring the security system and fob door lock system back to life. Somehow, they are able to match a fob code sender signal to the car security system receiver frequency. don't know the cost. Other small stuff like tail light lens etc, can be bought on the cheap at a wrecking yard. You prolly already know this. Prolly worthwhile to check the brake pads, and replace if necessary. Also, bleed and replace the brake fluid. I bet the brake fluid in your car is the color of iced tea. I know on my car it was. Rubbing compound, or tooth paste used with a wet paper towel can help clean the oxidization off the headlight lenses for brighter light on the road. I recently bought tires, and increased the tire size from OEM size 205X70X15 to 215X70X15 for very little extra money. The tires don't rub. It increases lift by nearly an inch, and ride, handling, trany gearing seems better. It also puts a little more tread on the pavement. I recommend the larger tire size. Still, at $600, you got a hell of a deal. With a little bit of time, effort, and love, you should be able to turn your 98 into a nice daily driver. I don't think cost will come close to $2K investment, if you do a lot of the work yourself. Just my 2 cents worth of advise and experience. I hope it helps. Keep us posted on your work........Rooster2

That crud could be what is left when PO added a stop leak product to fix a leaky radiator. I wouldn't worry much about it. Just clean it out, and continue your rebuild.

Watched your video........glad to see you got the timing correct, and now the motor runs. You are on the way to putting this car back on the road. Way to go. There is a thread somewhere describing how to replace broken driving lights with low beam sealed beam round head lights that cars used back in the 60's. Size wise the sealed beams are a perfect replacement size. Cost is cheap.

Yes, a bad H/G will allow exhaust gas to enter the cooling system. That causes a big bubble of hot exhaust gas to form, which interrupts the flow of coolant through the water pump. This further enhances over heating, so coolant and exhaust gas exit out the over flow tank.

If it runs, then the timing can't be that far off. Looks like it needs a rear light lens, and a front fog light. Must have been parked by ear. Hear a noise, then time to stop. Good find for $600.

I think having p/s is a lot more enjoyable driving experience then not having p/s. There is very little weight savings, and very little drag down on the engine with the power steering. You won't notice a power gain or gas millage gain without p/s. If it were me, I would continue using the power steering. Sub power steering units seldom fail, so there is little demand for them. You will have trouble selling the unit, and if so, for very little money.

All used Subies made before 2000 generally sell for $3,000-$4,000 here in Indiana. Even low millage cars, don't bring much more. It shocks me to hear about a 99 offered on CL for $8K. WoW! That is why I said that the Impreza you are looking at, I would offer not much above $3K. Hey, how about flying into Indianapolis this weekend? Take in the Brickyard 400, buy a nice Subie here for $3K, and drive it back to the NW.

I have an electric impact wrench that I bought from Harbor Freight. It works great. It uses half inch size drive sockets. Pretty cheap, I paid maybe $50.

I just bought mine from AZ. Seems to work just fine.

I have had good luck using the monster pipe wrench slid onto a wrench, or if there is enough room slide the pipe wrench onto the handle of your drive or breaker bar. The longer bar gives amazing leverage. I have broken wrenches and drives doing this, but I didn't care. Usually, this approach gets the nut to break loose. Having PB Blaster work its magic over night helps too.

If it were me, I would take the car to my mechanic, and have him put it up on a lift, and look closely at the underside to see if anything looks bent, or if subframe looks rewelded. If the inspection shows a lot of rework, I wouldn't be so interested in the car. If it looks good after inspection, and I was still interested, I would prolly try to buy it for not much more than $3,000. Rebuilts consistently retail for less then cars that were never wrecked. BTW, I am selling a car for a friend that is a rebuilt. It was broadsided, and cost $10,000 to rebuild. The subframe had to be straightened. The car looks great, and drives great, but still my asking price is several thousand dollars less then same car not rebuilt.

Suggest you do a "search" on head gaskets on this forum. There is a lot to read. Most has to do with the 2.5 litre motor in 96-99 model Subies. They are prone to blow head gaskets. Your motor is the 2.2 litre motor. It has a reputation of being nearly bullet proof in longevity and reliability. Not many head gasket repairs needed on the 2.2 motor like the one that you have. One trick that others have done when encountering a Subie motor that wants to over heat, is to loosen the plastic plug at the other end of the top of the radiator. It is at the opposite end from where the radiator cap is located. If exhaust gas is inside the radiator, the loosened plug helps to vent off some of the exhaust. It is not a cure, but it helps to cool the engine a bit. When my head gasket went bad on my 91, my wife was using the car as her daily driver. I don't know that she ever paid attention to the temp gauge. Her first report of trouble to me, was that the radiator was leaking. So, I replaced the radiator, which come to figure out later, had built up so much heat and pressure, that it burst a seam on the radiator to cause the leak. Only a little later did I figure out I had a HG problem, as overheating continued. I don't remember repair costs, but you will find that info in your search of the archives. How many miles on your 91?

Could be the dust protector is rubbing on a rotor. It produces a scrapping sound, and does get louder when turning. Use a screw driver to pry back the metal dust protector away from the rotor. Brake pedal going all the way to the floor is not good. I think the master cylinder is bad.

I had a 91 legacy that blew a head gasket. It would drive maybe 5 minutes from sitting cold over night without a problem, then the temp needle on the dash would spike to HOT in a hurry. When Subarus blow head gaskets, they generally let hot exhaust gas enter the engine cooling system. You won't see oil and antifreeze mixing. Next time it begins to over heat, check the radiator over flow container. If you see bubbles, then that is a good sign that you have a blown head gasket. The bubbles is actually exhaust gas being pushed out of the cooling system. Hopefully you have turned off the motor upon seeing that it is beginning to over heat. Otherwise, driving with an over heated motor really causes engine damage.

I just changed my o2 sensor, and the CEL turned itself off. You may want to purchase an o2 socket that has an offset where your drive handle would attach, as there is not enough room to attach a drive handle to the end of the usual o2 socket.

Anybody know a cheap and easy way to gain some height on a 99 forester? Larger tires on stock rims. I gained prolly close to an inch going one size larger on my 99 OBW. Just have to make sure larger tires don't rub suspension or body work on your Forester.

Did the guy doing the testing at Advance Auto check the water level in all cells?

I recently had a similar problem with my RV battery. I would charge it up, and within a week it would be dead. I was thinking that I had some sort of battery drain in the system. I even disconnected the + cable at times, but that didn't help. I did notice that it took several hours longer than usual for my battery charger to charge the battery. I did think that was odd. The battery was only 2 years old, but upon testing I was told that it had a bad cell. I replaced the battery, and now all is well. So, don't think because the battery is relatively new, that it is absolutely good. Even newer batteries can and do go bad. Also, check the water level in your battery. If the water level is low, that can cause trouble.

On my 99 OBW, I recently upgraded one size going from 205X70X15 to 215X70X15. Rides almost an inch higher for a little lift. Tires run great, no rubs.

Vendor is CNS Auto Parts, South El Monte, CA. I bought there best, most complete kit, but I am still unsure what they sent. One poly bag contains three seal, but only part number is marked on each seal bag. I emailed CNS asking for a description of contents, but got no response. On the receipt, it says three kits are enclosed in the shipping box: TBS277A, 160-1120, and ET719C1. Anyone bought these kits, and know contents?? Guess I have everything. I can identify the TB, water pump, an auto tensioner, and 3 other tensioners, also an Eristic Gasket. Thanks for any help.

I just replaced the front O2 sensor, in my 99 OBW last week. Sensor cost $61 from e-bay. Does your car run poorly from the bad oxygen sensor? Don't know the answer to your 2 codes question. Muffler rattly buzzy noise most likely from loose shrouding around the exhaust pipes.

Do the timing belt kits sold on e-bay for the 2.5 DOHC for a 98 OBW, come with a cam seal? I bought the $250+ kit, but unsure if their is a cam seal. I read not to use the water pump seal provided. Something about using an anabolic seal instead. Is that true?

If the system is low on 134a, the addition of a can of refrigerant will automatically start the compressor to run. When adding 134a, turn your A/C, with controls to max cold, and highest fan setting. Don't be concerned about adding oil to the A/C system. Seldom do you ever have to add oil. If you have just a slow leak that causes the system to loose refrigerant, it will loose refrigerant only. No oil leaks out in this situation. Just be sure that you know which A/C port is the 'low" side. That is where you want to add the refrigerant. Sometimes, the port plastic cover cap is marked with an "L" on the top of the cap, indicating the low side. If you don't feel confident in doing this job, ask a knowledgeable buddy to help you, or take to a shop for a recharge. If you are a first timer doing a recharge, it is very advisable to find someone to help you that knows what they are doing. It is easy work doing this, but you need to learn from someone, who knows that they are doing.