Rooster2

The ATF dip stick is indeed hard to read. The low to high mark is only a pint of fluid, and new ATF is hard to see on the dip stick. Suggest you change your ATF another two times, as you are only changing half the fluid content per each change.

Do the cats and exhaust system need to come off the car or can a competent welder do it with the car on a lift but everything still in place? I have not done the welding work, but watched my local cut/chop/weld muffler shop work. They work with the car up on a lift, with the exhaust system attached to the car, then use a support post to hold up and support the pipes in place for welding. The support post works just like a jack stand to hold the pipes up. The welder does have water available to spray around the welded area to cool things off, should the bottom of the car get too hot.

Since you have the EJ25 out of the car, and really don't know its reman history, it may be better to replace the HGs and pulleys, so you know everything will be good. No better time to redo the HGs then when the motor is out of the car.

Reminds me when I was a kid. I wanted a loud exhaust system, so people could hear me coming. Like mentioned, a straight through system will give a little noise, without being super loud. Suggest not buying one of those extra large chrome mufflers attached to the exhaust at the rear bumper, sometimes known as a "fart can." All they do is magnify the exhaust sound, and what comes out just sounds extra loud and really boomy. You prolly have seen and heard them before. Their racket really attacks the cops. Be sure to tell your son that, even at a young age, he will realize that he doesn't want to be attracting unwanted attention from the cops.

I can understand your logic using expanded foam. However, treating the metal with chemicals before body assembly is more practical. I have owned two Audi 5000s from the 1980's, and they simply don't rust anywhere. Pulling off a door panel, reveals massive rust proofing that is not found in Subarus. At the time, I lived in the Cleveland, OH area, and they use plenty of salt on the roads there. I don't know what Audi uses, but they found a way to make cars totally rust proof.

Prolly just coincidence. I can't see how anything you did could of cause the separation. A good weld job should fix the separation. Good luck on the 2.2 swap out.

I certainly understand your frustration regarding DFE. I am the guy, who wrote this original thread. I am not bragging, but so far Trans-X has continued to work well for me after 2 years and 30K miles of driving. You talked about draining and adding new ATF. Did you add and drain three times, with maybe 5 minutes minimum of driving between ATF changes? I ask this, because a single drain of ATF, only drains about half the ATF from the system. The three drain and fills does a better job of getting rid of old ATF. Maybe it is worth trying that, and adding a 15 oz. bottle again of Trans-X to your trany. If you trade, I hope you consider another Subie. The DFE only affects cars in the late 98 thru 2000 model years. After that, no trany problems.

Yea, too many shops want to convert a $50 repair job into a $500 repair job. They just don't want to let any customer out the door without paying hundreds, no matter what the job to be done. They even try hard to find something else that they want to fix. It seems worse at dealerships, or chain operated shops. It is all about greed, and covering expensive over head. The worst seem to be Firestone and Goodyear auto repair, and Midas muffler shops.

If you are wanting to fix the exhaust system, so it passes inspection, so you can sell it, then I would suggest going to a muffler shop (usually family owned) that does cut and weld. I recently had similar problem, shop used a saws all to cut out the rusted pipe that had a hole in it, then welded in a new pipe. Cost out the door was $46. They should be able to weld the pipe to the muffler with no concern about the condition of the flange.

Yes, the AT tranys are reliable. Just remember the car is for your wife. If it makes her happy, then it should make you happy. $6,500 is a whole lot of money for an 11 year old car, even if low mileage, and very clean. Suggest you check Edmund's, NADA, or even Kelly blue book pricing guides to see what car should be selling for. Info is available on line.

I have used the anti-seize on the slide pins and all threaded bolts for a few years now. It seems to work, and holds up real well. It also works as a lube to help bolts and nuts thread on easier. Works great even on the lug nuts. They tighten up real smooth and nice.

If it were me, I would add a bottle of Seafoam to the gas tank. That product does a remarkable job of removing carbon build up inside the engine. The carbon build up is most likely the source of your ping.

Yes, I realize it was not you that caused the problem. You are just the poor SOB that is now having to put up with someone else's prior poor workmanship. My post was to advise others how to avoid these problems in the future.

How can you tell that the part is starting to short out?

To prevent stuck caliper pin/slide problems on future brake jobs, I lube up the pins and bolt threads with anti-seize. I even put it on the facing of the rotor that meets the back of the road wheel, also on the threaded studs for the lug nuts. It doesn't take much extra work to do this, but eliminates in the future all the stuck pins and bolts headaches you guys are describing.

keep us posted on your progress! It is gonna get interesting.

Suggest pulling the caps off the battery to see if the water level is full in the battery.

A lot easier to quiet the heat shields as written above, however, if you don't ever park in high weeds that could catch fire from touching the hot exhaust, then don't be concerned about having metal heat shields at all. That is all they do, is prevent grass fires.

Glad you got your Subie back. Lucky it wasn't beat to sh**. All you can do is put the trip, and the whole experience behind you, and move on to better days.........Rooster2

If you have any wire arcing, then your wires are bad. Subie OEM wires are good, but not impossible to have them go bad. I use Bosch wires on my OBW. They have been on the car for 4 years, and still performing well. I bought them at an auto parts store, which is a lot closer to where I live, compared to going to the Subie dealer. Avoid the cheapie wires at the parts stores, they just don't hold up.

Subie speedometers seem to read 2-3 mph higher then actual speed. I think most car manufacturers do this. Yes, going to a slightly larger tire will make the speedo read 1-2 mph slower, and be more in agreement with your gps mph reading, which is highly accurate.

My guess is that with 215K miles, your trany is getting old and tired. You might try adding a bottle of Lucas auto trany additive to see if that helps. Product available at most auto parts stores.

My guess too.......low refrigerant level. You prolly need a recharge, and find source of leak. I bet your A/C has not been putting out really cold air for the past week or so?

What a joke they have for a police force. Next thing you know, they will think you had something to do with the armed robbery, since it was your car used as the get away car. I can't think of any better advise, except to keep calling them. Somehow, you need to find the right person (mentor) in the police department, who can move the paper work, so you can get your car back.

Call the PO after midnight?? They gotta be kidding. This can't be standard operating procedure. Suggest you call back, and talk with PO's boss, or better yet, go down to police station to end the run-around...........Larry