Rooster2

You may need just a new gas cap. That is how I got rid of my code.

Since you live in N.H. you may want to consider winter tires, depending how much you drive in heavy snow. Subaru all wheel drive is great, winter tires would make it better.

I see that I've got sand in the fuse/relay box, this car came from Rhode Island near the shore I suspect through the years it's just made it's way in there! From your above quote, I wonder if this car has suffered flood damage??

You can count on your 16 year old daughter adding a few more body boo boos to her car. When my daughters were new drivers, both had fender bender wrecks for dumb reasons. One ran into the back of the car in front of her's. The car in front slowed down for a traffic light, while my daughter began adjusting the radio.......result in a rear ender. Other daughter wasn't paying attention, and slowly drove off the pavement into a mail box. Kids do just dumb stuff as new drivers.

+1...........I totally agree.

Maybe it is a timing issue. I don't know the proper line up points, but have heard that the points can be confusing. Maybe someone here can define what the line up points are for correct timing.

Be aware that the 2.5 motor in the '99 is prone to head gasket failure, and the auto tranny can develop delayed forward engagement when changing gears from reverse to forward. An additive to the tranny can fix the problem. Ask if the HGs have been replaced, and if so, view the receipt if available. Other then those two issues, my 99 motors on as a good reliable performer.

All the plugs on a DOHC 2.5 are a PITA to change. Been there........done that more then once. I am thinking that new plugs, and maybe new wires will correct your problem. Unless you spent about $50 for Subaru OEM wires, or $50 for high end end after market wires, you are likely to have plug wire issues. Subarus do not like cheap plug wires!!

Welcome aboard..........Lots of good people here willing to give you good advise. As heartless said, replace the timing belt if records show that it has been 100k miles since it was last changed. Not keeping up with T/B replacement opens the door for the T/B to break. If that happens, it damages the valves, and that gets costly. Mostly keeping the oil changed on a regular basis, and inspecting the boots on the half shaft for tears is most of the maintenance. Subarus are well engineered, and well made. Just yesterday, I toured the manufacturing plant in Lafayette, IN to see Subies being made. I was impressed with the attention to detail, and the clean conditions during assembly. Subaru works hard to make a good car.

+1 on Fairtax quote................for what it is worth, just a couple of days ago, my 99 OBW threw a CEL. I had the code pulled at an auto parts store to learn that the gas cap was bad. To make sure it was simply a bad gas cap, I cancelled out the code by pulling the negative cable off the battery, and waited about 10 minutes re-install. I then put the gas cap from wifes 98 OBW on the 99, and drove around for a bit to see if the CEL would reappear. It didn't, so bought a new gas cap, and now all is right. So.....if you don't have a code reader, pull the battery cable to clear codes, and go from there. I hope the dealer had less costlier ideas then just throwing on a new cat converter for 2500 big ones???

Eva, I have heard that a good Subie engine tech can look at a 2.5 motor like yours, or the one from a 98 model, which is the same as yours, and look at the end corners of the HGs. If they have been changed, the appearance of the new HG will be different. The 98 motor will bolt into your car with no modification Here in the U.S. many time a 2.2 motor from a '95-97 will be used to replace a 2.5 motor. That is what I did on my 98 Outback. I installed a '95, 2.2 motor with no modifications. I am happy with the result. The 2.2 motor is super reliable, with minimal head gasket problems. Hope you find a good solution to your engine problem.

Did you check the water level in the radiator?? Did you check the oil level with the car on level pavement, and engine not having been run for a while?? Does the motor run well with the tranny selector in Neutral?? Did you check the fluid level in the automatic transmission??

Old gas in the gas tank, or water in the gas??

If you don't have a code reader that can remove a code from memory, you can simply remove the negative battery cable, wait about 10 minutes, and re-install. That should clear the code, unless the code is "set off" again. Not sure, but I think all the doors can be adjusted by loosening the bolts where door mounts to the body. Also, the door latch stricker can be adjusted the same way.

Since you live in St Louis, wrecking yards in your area should be able to provide a good used hub for you. The last one I bought at a yard in Indy cost $75, complete with bearings and seals. Don't know, if when you buy one from a dealer at a cost of $150, if it is empty, or complete with new bearing and seals. Any one on this forum know the answer?

I have a 99 OBW with auto tranny. The down shifting seems odd when going down hill, usually the down shifting is called for when going up a steep hill. Suggest filling and draining the tranny 3 times with short drives between drain and fills. On last fill add Trans-X, but be sure not to over fill. The dip stick for the tranny measures only a pint from the low to the high mark, so it is very easy to over fill. Try this first before doing anything else to the tranny. I wrote the original post on using Trans-X some 4 years ago. The product still works fine for me. I have to do the drain and fill routine once a year to keep the delayed forward engagement gremlin at bay, but it is a lot cheaper then replacing the tranny. Otherwise, my tranny works just fine.

Yes, eventually get this fixed. The standard fix is to replace the front axle, known as a half shaft as a complete unit including new boots. Otherwise, the grease gets thrown out the split boot, and road crud with road salt gets thrown into the open boot to eventually damage the bearing. This could take a year or two to happen, but you don't know how long the boot has been split. It is not a safety issue, or a break down issue that would leave you stranded. When the bearing starts going bad, it will start making noise.

I smear on anti-seize on the hub, when installing a road wheel to prevent the gauling that you described. Makes it a lot easier in the future to remove the road wheel.

No, rattling heat shields don't trigger the knock sensor. Suggest just keep on driving, if the CEL for knock sensor stays off. Did you clear the code, or remove, and re-install the battery cable after a 5-10 minute wait? Sometimes, no code clearing is necessary, if the knock sensor is working properly. Also, I seem to remember that new knock sensors are available on the cheap on e-bay or Amazon.

Could be better off searching for a new engine or getting a different car altogether. Such a shame, it was the nicest car ive ever had only got it in Feb If I were you, I wouldn't give up on your car. Repairing the engine, or replacing the engine with a good used one from a wrecking yard, is still less money then buying another car. There is a lot written here on this forum about replacing the 2.5 motor with an earlier 2.2 motor from years 1995-1997. The 2.2 motor produces a little less power, and has a reputation of being an almost unbreakable engine with no head gasket troubles. That is what I did with my wife's 98 Subie, I replaced with a used 2.2 motor. As someone posted earlier, Subaru offered a somewhat different selection of engines in the AU verses the US. There are a number of Aussies that I have seen post here on this USMB forum. Maybe they will post what they know about engine selections in the AU.

Eva, you are quite knowledgeable about cars to consider "engine pressure testing" for head gasket evaluation. Unfortunately, Subies will pass the engine pressure test with flying colors, but still have a bad head gasket, because Subie head gasket break in such a way to allow exhaust gas to enter the cooling system. The engine pressure testing won't test for this malfunction. The best test is to get the engine up to normal operating temperature, and look for bubbles in the radiator over flow tank. If you see bubbles, like bubbles in a home fish aquarium from an aerator, then you know for sure that it is bad HGs. The bubbles are from the exhaust gas entering the cooling system, and finding their way out of the cooling system via the over flow tank. Have your good backyard mechanic look for this. Let us know the result............Rooster2

The 96 to 99 year Subies had the 2.5 motor, which has a head gasket weakness. This doesn't make it a bad motor, just a weakness in that area. New head gaskets have been re-engineered by Subaru in recent years to be better, and last longer for greater reliability. Figure new head gaskets lasting at least 100K miles. I just realized you are an Ausie, sorry, I don't know how to convert miles to km for your benefit. Keep us posted on your repair progress. We are here to help you..........Rooster 2

Eva, just calm down............your Subie is just a car.........not the end of the world!! You did the right thing by pulling over when the temp gauge got to 3/4, and letting the engine cool down. Since Subaru does not have an idiot light flashing when engine over heats, you were observant to see the temp gauge showed the engine was beginning to heat up. Head gaskets and warped engines don't make any noise, so grinding noise was something else, perhaps the bearing in the water pump. Doesn't sound like you ever got close to over heating the motor for an extended period of time, so I am thinking the engine isn't heat damaged. Suggest replacing the water pump, timing belt, and perhaps the tensioners. If still over heats, then it is prolly the head gaskets. I had all the above done on my 99 OBW, with same engine as yours. I have since driven 10K miles with no issues. Car now has 209,000 miles on the odometer, and I feel comfortable that I will reach 300K miles with no HG trouble. If possible, avoid going to a dealer to have this work done. An independent mechanic with knowledge of Subarus should do competent work at a lower cost. Ask around, if you need to find a competent independent mechanic in your area. They aren't that hard to find.

My vote, is............... it is still the heat shields on the exhaust system. Banging on the exhaust system, or the heat shield won't necessarily produce the shrill zinging sound that you are attempting to hear. In my experience, the sound is tied to the engine rpm, which will vibrate the exhaust system at certain rpm's. My fix has been to find a good size bolt to hammer in as a wedge between the shield and exhaust system to stop the shield vibration and noise. If the shield is broken at multiple tabs, or rusted badly and floppy, then I tear the shield off to stop the noise. I don't park in high weeds with a hot exhaust system, so heat shields to prevent grass fires are not a concern to me. Suggest trying either of these fixes, before doing anything else. Also............... Some guys have also attached a large screw down hose clamp around the shield to prevent the shield from vibrating.

Having blown head gaskets on two Subies with the same engine as yours, it is pretty likely that you have a blown head gasket. The bad head gasket in a Subie always presents itself as an over heating engine. The head gasket breaks in such a way, that exhaust gas gets pressurized into the cooling system, causing a big hot air bubble that over heats the motor causing coolant leaks. With one of my cars, the high hot air/water pressure caused the radiator to spring a leak, resulting in having to buy a new radiator. Subie head gasket leaks don't result in water vapor out the tail pipe, or water mixing with the crankcase engine oil, as happens with other makes of cars. If your car engine was severely over heated for like 15 to 20 minutes of driving, then the problem becomes warped aluminum engine surfaces, and damaged crank bearings. At that point, a replacement engine is needed. If over heated just only once, or few times minimally, then installing new head gaskets will fix the problem.