Rooster2

Have the code pulled again. You should get a much better description of the problem. Ask for the code read number. Post it here, if the description given to you is not any better. Codes don't advise routine maintenance like tune up and oil changes. Most codes are advising problems with pollution control.

Suspect my major oil leak is from the valve covers. If not, then somewhere else near the fire wall. How do you remove the valve covers?? Is a cork gasket used, or Permetex or similar?? Not necessary to stop every leak on my old car, a few oil drops on the driveway is acceptable. If uses gaskets, where is the best place to buy?? gasket kits available on e-bay or auto parts stores?? Thanks for any help!

Yes the 95 model with the 2.2 motor was one of the best ever made. However, if poorly serviced, and run into the ground, it can be a "bad" buy.

FarmerBob, Welcome to the USMB. I live on the north side of Indy, and do a lot of my own Subie repairs. I also have a friend, who does good mechanical repair work at his home garage for $20/hour. He drives a Subie, so he has good knowledge of how to keep a Subie going. Let me know, if I can be of any help. Larry (Rooster2)

Yes, 25 mpg can be expected with a Forester. That car should be very reliable to include the tranny. Suggest you do some tranny maintenance. Change the external spin on filter. I am pretty sure that model has one.Don't drop the tranny pan. Nothing in there to maintain. Fill and drain 3 times with short drives between drain and fills, to get old tranny fluid out. Half of the tranny fluid stays in the torque converter and cannot be drained, so that is the reason for the drain and fill 3 times.

Not so necessary to change the crush washer on the oil drain plug. It is a good idea, but if you find yourself without a new one, using the old one can still work. Just make sure the bolt is tight.

Also, a good application to use thread locker on that bolt.

Maybe a bad half shaft. I had an Audi that would drive great, but once warmed up,it would vibrate like crazy to really undriveable. Took to a shop, the next day, the test drove it, and couldn't find anything wrong. Finally, figured out, it was a bad half shaft. Might be a source of your trouble.

buy the 02 sensors that were made for your car. Avoid the "Universal" type 02 sensor, where you splice on your connector to the wiring. That never works out well.

don't be surprised that it turns out the starter is bad. I just replaced the starter on my 99 OBW. It would "click" once when turning the key, then "click" again when turning the key, then start on the third time of turning the key. It started doing this more and more. Replacing the starter fixed the problem.

WOW, you have far more patience then me to spend so much time and effort doing that tap work. Congrats! on a job well done.

Are you getting a "click" sound when turning the key to engage the starter??

A 99 Legacy will have the ej25, not the ej22. The electronics is the same. Pretty much plug and play, with a change needed on exhaust header, as they are not the same. But no big deal. Yes head gasket problem is a potential problem on a 99 model 2.5 motor. All Legacy motors 2.5 from 1996 thru 1999 are the same design, so head gasket problem is there for all Legacy cars during those years.

Price is way too high. Check with auto parts companies on line for cost estimate. That being said, I agree with statement above that cats on Subies rarely fail.

I need to replace the pads, which I have done several times in the last 10 years. Only now realize that lubing the slide pins with ant-sieze isn't a very good lube. I have had the slide pins freeze up. Would white lithium grease be a better lube, or are there other lubes that would be better?? Thanks for any advise.

Don't know anything about the gates kit. I would be concerned that the O-ring is the wrong size, and could be your problem. The kit I bought at the Subie dealer worked just fine.Don't remember cost, but it was minimal.

Have bought and sold vehicles via local Craig's list, and have done well. You just have to keep your head about you, and don't fall for scams.

Anyone buy ,or bid on Subarus for sale on E-Bay Motors?? Appears cars are up for bid from dealers all over the country. Would be interested in hearing about your experience. Thanks

Learned something.............Thanks..............Rooster 2

Last line from above............What's meant by "throw away the caliper pin bushings?"

Just hit "enter" a couple of times on your keyboard to double space to form paragraphs.

When a 99 Subaru Leggie with the 2.5 motor develops a bad head gasket, it starts out as a "some times" over heating problem. It was that way on my 99 OBW, which has the same engine as yours. Your best head gasket test is to immediately look for bubbles in the radiator over flow tank, when it begins to over heat. If you see bubbles, then it is certain that the head gasket is bad. Be aware, that you may not see bubbles when the motor is running, but not over heating. At that moment, your bad head gasket is not leaking, but only waiting to rear its ugly little head to cause you a problem in the near future. As I have read, the problem is that Subaru designed the motor, so that the pistons actually raise up just slightly above the block at top dead center. So, to address this, Subaru made a super thick head gasket to seal the heads. However, over time, the thick head gasket becomes defective to allow exhaust gas to enter the engine cooling system.to cause over heating. Again, I read that Subaru has over time designed three different upgrade head gaskets to fix the problem. The latest and greatest head gasket design has held up for me for the last 3 years. Opinion on this forum, is that replacing the head gasket should solve the problem for 100K miles. Beyond that, it may be time again to replace the head gasket, if it starts acting up again.. I am not aware that a vac tool, or hydra carbon strips are much help in diagnosing bad head gaskets on a Subaru, maybe so on other makes of cars .Doubt that your radiator is bad. If so, you would have a constant over heating problem. You don't seem to have that. After 1999, Subaru redesigned the 2.5 engine to fix the problem.

WRX and STI Subarus have an unequal length exhaust header to give it that Thump Thump Thump sound. I have heard that cheap after market headers are available on the cheap, but don't know from where. Others here may know. Going to a glass pack muffler will not make a better sound, it will just get loud.

Next move I would suggest, is to pull off the trim piece, and prolly pull out the CD/radio unit and disconnect the wring harness going to the CD unit. Maybe the radio uses separate wiring, and will be unaffected when the CD unit wiring is disconnected (unpluged). Don't think much work will be needed to do this. I have bought car radios from Crutchfield. Got good quality radios at a good price. Also, their phone sales people are very knowledgeable about installation work needed to install their after market radios in cars. Well worth working with them.

I buy and use the house brand ceramic pads sold by Advance Auto Parts. Price is good, and quality is fine. No problems, Would recommend ceramic pads. Stop great, with no brake dust on road wheels.