Rooster2

hoses from any parts store will work well. If given a choice, spend a few extra bucks, and buy more towards the top of the line in what they sell. With hoses, it is more about price, not brand name. Last time I bought bottom hose, the parts store did not have the specific molded hose to fit my Subie. They offered, and I bought a flex hose. I have found they can work very well. Usually, that type of hose is a little longer then the molded hose, but doesn't matter. It just makes for a wider hose loop, when attaching both ends. I use the "air craft" type screw tighten clamps. Just don't super tighten down, or you risk cracking the plastic outlet on the radiator, that the hose slides over, or over tightening can cause the edges of the metal hose band to cut into the hose over time. Rather snug is how I tighten down.

spark plugs are really a miles thing. If they are not used much, then there is not much wear.

agree on $475 being insane. I hate to take my car to any shop for work. Just so easy to get screwed.

Don't think a faulty oxygen sensor can cause a no start problem. Sounds like an electrical problem, since head lights didn't come on, unless you cranked the motor until the battery was dead, or near dead. How long since spark plugs been replaced??

Glad you survived a near accident. Just last week, I had a friend install rear struts on my 98 OBW, only to learn that his work resulted in a massive brake fluid leak. I had to have the car flat bed hauled to a shop, where they replaced both brake lines to rear wheels. Was told they had to drop the gas tank to do a good job. Cost of $475 to do brake lines. I wasn't happy with the cost, but with cold and snow on the ground, and no place to work on it myself, I had to have a shop do the work. I agree, brake lines should be made of a material that does NOT rust. It could not add that much extra cost to the car.

Subaru Coolant Conditioner is simply a "stop leak" product. It does an excellent job of stopping minor seepage, that I surmise you are having. LOL regarding the amazon listing of Subaru antifreeze. List price of $77.XX per gallon, with then a huge discount. What BS. I have used Wal-Mart brand antifreeze for many years with no problems. Easy to pour in their 50 / 50 mix of antifreeze and water, instead of adding water to dilute the concentrate form of antifreeze. On the top of your radiator, at the opposite end of where you add antifreeze, there is a large crew, that is removable. Remove the screw to bleed out air from your radiator. Best to have your car parked nose up on an incline, or jack up the front end to encourage the air bubble to move to the radiator, and out the bleeder hole. Also, a good time to check the condition of the lower radiator hose at time of antifreeze replacement. I found my hose to be really "squishy," so thought the rubber may be breaking down internally, so replaced the hose.

cheap and easy to replace the fuel filter, that sits under the hood. I just replaced mine, and was surprised how much better my engine runs.

Don't know what you mean, when speaking of LPH?? What is that?? As far as which fuel pump, I think there is only one model for normally aspirated motor 2.2 motor, and another for the turbo model. It should not be difficult to specify a fuel pump for your normally aspirated (non turbo) motor. I can't recommend a specific brand, but if me, would not buy a fuel pump manufactured in China. Read the box carefully to see where manufactured.

Video of your noisy engine did not seem so noisy to me. Sounds like simple valve clatter, not anything serious like bearing rod knock. I would just drive on, it may quiet down a little on its own.

Pull the code to learn what the check engine light is trying to tell you. Auto parts stores will pull the code at no expense in the parking lot in front of their store. I wouldn't be surprised if the code relates to the fuel system. The rubber seal on the gas cap can deteriorate. Often replacing the gas cap will fix the problem.

Doubt that it is a clogged cat. I experienced that some time back. When clogged, exhaust becomes so restricted, that engine rpm would not go above about 2800 at any time. Also, when cat is bad, the media inside the cat breaks into pieces that create a rattle noise at idle. It's when those pieces clump together that trouble results. I suspect you have some fuel delivery problem. With a steep hill climb, you give extra throttle, but the system may not be able to respond to keep up with demand. I read that your fuel pump and fuel filter are rather new, but even "newer" parts can still fail. If it were me, I would replace the Autozone fuel filter with a name brand fuel filter. I suspect the Autozone filter is made in China, with who knows what quality. This may, or may not fix the problem, but it would be a good place to start.

I am not a HG expert. Suggest you create a separate thread to ask USMB members their opinions on HGs for a frankenmotor application.

From your parameters, a frankenmotor build up is your only option, as only a double cam 2.5 (which you now have, and don't want) from 96-99, or a 2.2 motor (which you don't want) from 95-99 will be compatible with your car's OBD2 electronic control system. From my personal experience, I have a 2.2 motor replacing the 2.5 in my 98 OBW. Yes, it is down a little on power, but still has acceptable performance to me. A stock 2.2 motor is super reliable, and runs smoother then a 2.5. Yes, a frankenmotor will develop more hp, but at the expense of requiring high test fuel, and prolly loosing some reliability. Just be sure to buy the very best head gaskets on building a frankenmotor.

I checked my receipt files. I have both a 98 and 99 Outbacks. I could only find one receipt, but not sure which receipt was for what car. I did buy the Dorman brand, and the product was good. Only thing.......when putting on the gas cap, I have learned not to tighten until it clicks. To do so, then requires pliers to remove the cap. So, now I just tighen up the cap until it feels tight before it clicks. I looked up info on the Dorman brand part # 577-086. I can't remember from looking at it, if it is the one I used. As I posted earlier, the one that fit my car was the one that was designed for the 2.2 motor, even though I have the 2.5 motor. About the only way to know in advance for your car, is to pull off your road wheel on right rear, then look at the filler tube, or even take pictures of the filler tube. You may even have to remove the plastic shield to get a good look at the filler tube. Compare what you see with pics of the filler tube designed for the 2.2 and 2.5 motors to find the one that fits your car. The fill pipes are very different because of vacuum hose attachments. The '99 model year Subies was a transition year. Seems like they cleaned out the parts bin with old style parts lying around, and also added new style parts on some cars that became standard on the 2000 model. So, who knows what you got.

Tom, Good tel conversation with u today. Enjoyed it. Good responses to your post. Responders give you lots to think about..........Larry

I read regarding the 96-99 OBs, someone on this forum reported they replaced the bulb using a head light sealed beam designed for cars back in the 60's and 70's. That is when cars came with 4 sealed beam head lights, 2 for low beam, 2 for high beam. It was the low beam bulbs that he used. These bulbs are still widely available at any parts store, and are very inexpensive. The report was that he was satisfied that the bulbs worked well as fog lamps, and with minor modification was able to mount the bulbs into the Subaru OEM fog lamp mount housing. If you do a "search" of the archives on this website, you may be able to find what was written at that time.

Just keep an eye on the pavement under the car where it is parked to see how much oil is leaking out. Also, check the oil level frequently. Sometimes, oil leakage adds up, and you find yourself 2 quarts low.

right now, diesel is selling for $1.00 more then low octane gas where I live in Wisconsin. Moreover, I believe that the cooking oil used in Asia for very poor people is similar to diesel so this is going to put real pressure on the diesel price going forward. So I wouldn't assume that diesel will be cheaper then gas in the future. It makes no sense that diesel fuel is so much more expensive then gasoline. Having worked for an oil company, I know that diesel fuel is much less expensive to produce. Far less "cracking" of crude oil is needed to produce diesel fuel. Selling price should be at least 50 cents less per gallon compared to gasoline price at the pump.

It is an industry trend over the past few years, as gas prices kept rising, and the fed government clamoring for cars getting better gas millage. Who would ever have guessed that gas pump prices would be as low as they are right now. Still, I don't think cheap gas prices will last for very long. Also, it is less expensive for a manufacturer to build a car's suspension for four cylinders only, and not have a different suspension components for six cylinder cars. Hyundai went this route in 2011 with a revised Sonata model. Personally, I am not sold on turbo chargers. Sure, the extra power is nice to have when needed, but It is an expensive item to replace, or have rebuilt on a car.when it breaks. I question how many miles a turbo engine will run, before major work needs to be done. It is not an expense I would want to face.

Suggest you replace the gas cap to solve your 0440 code problem Your current gas cap may not be sealing properly. This has worked for me in the past.

Glad to hear that you got your 96 to fire up. Something to consider.............if it has been a long while since the timing belt has been replaced, then a wise move would be to replace it. On e-bay motors, timing belt kits are available that include the belt, water pump, pulleys & tensioners, and seals, at a good price. It is good insurance and peace of mind to have all that installed at the same time. I did that on my 99 OBW, and glad I did.

+1.........same thoughts. Subarus seldom break requiring expensive repairs. I would not buy an extended warranty.

I have swapped in seats into my 99 OBW with seats from a yard. It is simply an unbolt and rebolt. Suggest you wrap duck tape around the seat "feet" on taking out the old, putting in the new. Without the legs taped, it is very easy to scratch the car body paint. It also helps to flip the seat back forward to make the seat fold up into a smaller package to exit/enter the car.

Suggest shopping at www.car-part.com It is a multiple wrecking yard listing of auto parts through out the U.S. Find a yard near you, select the pats, they will Fed Ex to your door at a good price. The system works well.

Are you sure the new battery was fully charged, when installed in your car?? Put a battery charger on it, if you have one. See if it will take additional charge.