Rooster2

The 2001 Forester will have the 2.5 phase 2 motor. Yes, it can have head gasket problems, but they are not necessarily severe. From what I have heard, it results in coolant loss at the corners of the head gasket that runs down the outside of the block and onto the pavement. Subaru dealers put an additive in the cooling system to stop or prevent the coolant leakage. It is the earlier 2.5 phase 1 motors (1997-1999), that when they blow a head gasket, the driver gets stranded on the side of the road with an over heated engine. You won't have this problem with the phase 2 motor.

Noise from the rear end may not necessarily be from bad bearings. It could be as simple as a tire that is out of balance to create "howling" or "thumping", so check for unusual rear tire wear. Subaru bearings generally don't go bad at 84K on the odo. Hope the Forester turns out to be a good one!

any one have a rule of thumb for how tight to make it??? The rule of thumb that I heard long ago, is to tighten a belt, so that if twisted in the middle at it longest distance between pullys, the belt can be rotated 90 degrees using your finger tips with firm tension. It is really important to buy a good quality belt, either dealer OEM, or from Gates, or a Goodyear Gator back. Buying a cheapie belt will stretch and start slipping and squealing in a matter of just a few months. BTDT.

Funny that you should post this at this time. I just took my wife's 98 OBW to a private garage last night to have the front driver's side half shaft replaced. The inside boot broke, and threw out the grease. The best way to fix is to buy a replacement half shaft. My mechanic lets me bring in parts. My cost $59 for a rebuilt half shaft, $138 for my mechanic to install, to give you some idea of repair cost. Simply replacing the half shaft should be all you need to fix the problem.

I have bought and used several rebuilt Subaru starters from parts stores. One lasted many years, a couple of others have lasted only a year or two. The nice thing about a rebuilt starter from a parts store is that they are generally sold with a life time guarantee. The starter is a pretty simple "diy" type job, so no big deal swapping out a starter for free using the guarantee. I bet if you install another rebuilt, your problem will be solved.

Thanks for the advise.

I use the PH3593A on my 98 and 99 Outbacks with the 2.5 phase 1 motor. Your 05 has the 2.5 phase 2 motor, so your engine is a little different. However, I bet the PH3593A will work just fine on your engine.

I had used Fram filters for years, until I started reading a lot of negative chat about them. So, I made it a point of cutting open a used Fram that I was replacing at oil change time. Upon ripping open the metal case, I didn't find much filtering media inside. After that, I make it a point of not using Fram again.

I don't think it is going to help to crimp the clamp tighter. A lot of grease was thrown out, so I think I need to remove the crimp clamp, retract the boot, and add more grease before using a hose clamp. I bought several sizes of hose clamps thinking something will fit. Thanks for the idea of using several smaller hose clamps joined together. I will keep that in mind.

Thanks for the advise, now to remove the crimp clamp without damaging the rubber boot.

Like you say, that is a lot of miles. IMO, better to spend a little more on a car with less miles.

My outer half shaft clamp is loose and throwing grease out of the boot. At first I thought the boot was ripped, but no, it is the crimp clamp that is loose. With a screw driver I can rotate it around the boot. I went to a parts store for a clamp, grease, and advise. The counter guy said to use a screw down hose clamp as a replacement. Was that good advise? Will this type of clamp work on a boot application? If so, what is the best tool to use to remove the crimp clamp without damaging the boot? Thanks for any advise!

If you look at the exhaust system diagram as first post, it is the resonator, not the cat that is the problem. A muffler shop will not have a problem of replacing the resonator with a piece of straight pipe. Yes, you are right, if it had been a cat, then the shop will not replace the cat with straight pipe. If caught doing that, the repair shop can get hit with a major fine of thousands of dollars by the EPA. A friend of mine who was in the muffler shop biz even got fined for misstakenly replacing a cat with a wrong cat. Don't even think about messing with the EPA at a shop level, they are nasty!

I just had the same problem on my Leggie 98 OBW. Mine broke at the same spot, right at the resonator. Only thing holding the pipe together was the shroud. As mentioned earlier to this thread, it is just easier and less costly to go to a muffler shop that cuts and welds in replacement pipe. Cost me about $65 total. I can't hear any difference in exhaust noise level with the straight pipe replacing the resonator. Don't let some muffler shop talk you into a complete new muffler system. Cost would be astronomical.

"carpet under brake pedal worn to the floor board"...............hard to imagine that much wear on an 02 with only 47K miles. You say lots of rust, dust and dirt? None of this sounds good. If it were me, I think I would pass on this Forester.

misfire generally caused by a bad spark plug or plug wire, in case you don't already know this.

If it runs good, and has decent tires, and a fairly clean interior, I would offer $700 because of the bad door, maybe pay $800, If it were me, and the door wasn't damaged that bad, I would leave the door as is. As someone else wrote, it would be a good to replace the timing belt, tensioner, oil seal, and water pump. Adding new spark plugs and plug wires would be good too, if existing ones look old. Once this work is done, you should have good dependability with the car, and it will start when the outside temp is 20 below zero. Let us know how you come out.

Way to go!! Glad to hear that your problems is fixed. Sounds like doing the work yourself was a lot better then spending the $600+ that was quoted to you by a repair shop.

I have the same thoughts as others. IMO, you would be a lot better off swapping in a used engine with a lot fewer miles. Find a car with the 2.5 phase 2 motor that was hit anywhere, but in the front. I have always heard to find one that was hit, because more than likely, it was running at time of accident. Good luck on this project!

Good score on the EJ22T. I hope the motor is a good one. It has to be fun working with your brother on projects like this. I have done the super glue trick to close up a nasty cut when away from home. It really works pretty good, but the glue comes off in about two days. However, by then, the cut/gash should be sealing up. I first read about using super glue like this on a website written by an MD who cut himself on a ski trip. He talked about using super glue in a pinch. So, figured if an MD used it on himself, it had to be okay. Still, I hope when you did a thorough job of cleaning the wound to lessen the chance of infection. Let us know in the future if the EJ22T is a good one.

From my own past experience, I had a master cylinder go bad. It has been years back, but I seem to remember that the brake pedal had to be depressed near the floor to stop the car, pretty much as you have described. Then and now, I am not aware of any specific way to test a master cylinder to see if it is working properly. I just figured the mc was bad, so replaced it, and it cured the problem. You spoke of your calipers being rusted. I assume you are speaking of the cylinder bores being rusted. If so, then the calipers need to be replaced, because the caliper piston are not releasing pressure completely from the brake pad when your foot is off the brake. Constant pressure on the pads will wear them out faster than normal. Is this what you have been experiencing? If so, then your calipers do indeed need replacing. The torn guide boots are not good either, so yea, I can see why your mechanic is recommending caliper replacement. Swapping out calipers is an easy do it yourself job. Sounds like you are thinking about doing this yourself, since you have already broken loose the brake hoses. Replacing the mc yourself is also an easy job. Parts don't cost much either. Keep us posted on how this project progresses. I would like to hear what fixes your problem.

First thing I would do, is "bleed out" the brakes at all four wheels. It is still possible that air was pulled in the system, when the fluid level was low. If that doesn't solve the low pedal problem, then I would suspect a bad master cylinder. I don't think that front brake calipers can cause a low pedal problem.

Correct me, I may be wrong, but I remember the '00 Subie models being 2.5 phase 1, not phase 2 motor. If so, phase 1 bad head gaskets present themselves with good compression, while bleeding exhaust gas into the cooling system to cause over heating. If the Amsoil you are considering is a synthetic, and you are using regular dino oil, IMO, I would be reluctant to switch when it is a high millage car car. That can cause oil burning, when the engine deposit are cleaned out. However, using Amsoil after a complete engine rebuild is prolly a good idea.

Have you contacted Crutchfield Electronics? They sell car radio wiring adaptor kits that plug into factory car wiring, then plug your after market radio into the Crutchfield wiriing kit. Works really slick. Takes all the mystery out of what wire goes where, plus you don't have to cut into factory wiring. Do a google search to find Crutchfield Electronics. Their guys working the tech service desk really know their stuff, they are great. They have helped me out of a jam several times. Give them a call on their 800 nimber. Hope they can help!

Surprise, surprise to see record auto sales by any manufacturer in this tough economy. Great to see Foresters are selling well. Our neighbor loves their new Forester. Tribeca sales are in the dumpster. I don't think it will ever be a sales success.