Rooster2

Don't know specific to Subaru, but some auto A/C systems are designed so the compressor won't activate when outside temperature is below 55 degrees.

check alternator belt and A/C belt for looseness. If cheap belts were installed, they will stretch and squeal.

I had same problem with my Legacy. I thought the fan motor was bad, but upon replacing the unit, it turned out that the blower unit was full of tree leaves and crud. Cleaning out the mess fixed the problem. It is easy to access the fan motor. Simply remove the glove box, and the unit sits there right in front of the firewall. Use simple hand tools to remove, and clean out. I am fairly confident this is your problem, particularly if you leave your car outside, and park under trees.

I once had a conversation with a guy who used dino oil, and never ever changed his oil. He said, that all he would do is change the filter every 3-4K miles, and add oil when low. I thought, and still think, the guy was nuts to leave all that cruddy and sludgy oil in the engine. He said something that "oil never wears out, so why replace it." With that "know it all" attitude, I never even bothered to try to convince him of the advantage of changing oil. I have no idea how long his engines lasted under this crazy care, but I know for sure that I would never buy a car from him, that he had driven for a while.

built in!

Maybe I have just been lucky, but I have had no problem with Autozone rebuilt alternators. I am running one on my wife's car, and after three years, it is still going strong. Since your first one was bad from them, I would have had them put their second one that they sold you on their in store testing machine to verify amp output before installation on your car. Suggest rechecking your wiring. The odds of buying three bad alternators in a row suggest a wiring problem. Check your wiring again for damage or poor connections.

Is this a car that you can learn any history on? How long was it left in high water? Anyone attempt to dry it out immediately after being flooded? Was the oil and trany fluid changed after the high water? Does the car run and drive now? Any known electrical function caused by the water, that don't operate now? Does the car interior smell of mold and mildew?

Goodyear Gator back belts are good, but don't think I would buy the Duralast or a Kelly Springfield.

Low to High read marks on trany dipstick is about a pint measurement, so it doesn't take much ATF to hit the high mark. Unlike oil dipstick, which low to high reading is a quart measurement.

Good thing you got ATF, where ATF goes, and oil, where oil goes. Still, a bad idea to drive that car at all with way too much oil, even a short distance. If you have an oil catch pan container, it is not that much work to simply loosen to get slight oil drainage, but not remove the oil pan bolt entirely to drain out the extra oil. If you remove the bolt, it is pretty messy to reinstall the bolt, while oil is still flowing out the bolt hole, as oil will be squirting everywhere.

I think I would fix the head gaskets. Consider the figures of $1600 for repairs plus $1000, if you sold it..... you couldn't buy much of a car for $2600. The mechanic is charging the going rate to fix head gaskets. Another 100 for a water pump is reasonable too. Since you don't know this guy or his reputation, and if you do ask him to work on your car, I would ask him for references. Get names and numbers of his previous customers, and also where he worked before. A few calls should tell you if this guy is legit or not. You should also be able to verify with Subaru that the mechanic has his Subaru and ASE Master Certification as claimed.

Sorry to hear that you drained ATF instead of crankcase oil. It is an easy mistake, if you are not familiar with Subarus. Like others have said, DON'T DRIVE THIS CAR, UNTIL YOU HAVE THE PROPER LEVELS OF OIL AND ATF. OTHERSWISE, YOU WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE BOTH THE TRANY AND THE ENGINE. I assume you have an automatic transmission. When draining the trany, only about half the ATF can be drained at one time. The remaining half stays in the torque converter. So, to get a good clean change of ATF, it is a good idea to fill, drive at least 2 or 3 miles, then change ATF. Repeating this process three times eventually gives you good clean ATF in your automatic trany.

My understanding regarding putting in a used engine is advantageous, because his existing engine is super high millage at around 325K miles. At that millage, it is reaching the end of it's useful life and reliability. A used 2.2 in good shape for $200-$400 is a better value then considering a partial or complete rebuild on the existing engine.

Wow, interior condition and seats in excellent condition. Like how you yanked interior out for a thorough cleaning. I am impressed! Have you thought about doing detailing road trips? My two OBWs could use your cleaning expertise. I am in Indy, if that is not too far away.

All above is good advise. The trany drain yields about 4 and a half quarts in my estimation. I would suggest adding a pint size can of Trans-X after the third drain. Also, the trany dip stick measurement level from L to H is only about a pint quantity. It is good to know this, so you can avoid over filling.

Others smarter than me can tell you if it is an ez swap or not. Surprised the owner wants $800 for what is a 11 year old parts car. For what it is worth, in my opinion, he is about $500 too high, but I bet you already realize that.

Maybe a couple of hundred max. Depends if tires and wheels are good. Wrecking yard will prolly give you $50 to $100. Like you mentioned, list your car on Craig's, and other forums as a parts car and see what response you get.

HEAT is what makes a cat operate efficiently. If you have an exhaust leak, even a minor one, up stream before the cat, then there is less heat for the cat. As someone else wrote, fix the leak, and I bet your problem will be fixed.

Nice looking car, should be a nice ride. My neighbor has what looks to be same car, same color. Enjoy yours!!

Years ago, I was able to clear sun roof drain tubes with a compressed air hose with a long wand at the end, that shot out a high pressure air spray upon pulling on the trigger mechanism. This I did at an old fashion gas station, where they actually did mechanical work on cars, like changing tires and such. Now a days, going to a retail gas mart with an air hose to fill tires, won't have the wand chuck. Maybe going to a tire store, or mechanic shop will product the magic wand.

Prolly good idea to replace any clutch components if needed, since you have the clutch exposed.

I have changed plugs on the 2.2. It is way easier then the 2.5 DOHC. There is more room to work. Nothing special to watch out for. Ditto on treating the threads with antisieze. Sure makes plug removal and replacement a lot easier.

Good luck, Guy, I hope your newest Subaru gives you great service....Larry

With such a high electrical charged current sent to the plugs, gapping a plug is not that critical. I suspect that your spark plug wires may be causing the occasional "miss," if they are old. Best to replace with high quality wires, either Subie OEMs or Bosch. Not the cheapie "house brand" wires sold at parts stores. The cheapies just don't work well or for long in a Subie.

There is an external automatic transmission filter on your car that I recommend you change, but don't drop the trany pan to replace the mesh screen filter. I don't think they ever need changing. In my experience, the Trans-X fix will be noticeable after driving the car about 10 minutes. Trans-X seems to fix the problem of delayed trany engagement, when moving the shift lever from R to D. Your problem of "slipping out of gear," may indicate a different kind of problem. Let us know if Trans-X is working for you.