Rooster2

There are companies that replace windshields, but unsure if they replace the hatch glass. Prolly worth a call to inquire.

I am concerned that oil passage ways are clogged up, so oil is not circulating properly. Is it possible that oil was not changed regularily in this car? If so, the old oil turned to a semi-solid crud, and preventing good oil circulation. I would advise removing one of the valve covers to see just how clean the inside of the engine is.

I have read that a clogged pcv valve can cause a motor to use oil. Checked to see if your is clogged. Maybe easier to just replace it, as they don't cost much. See if that helps.

If you have a lot of patience, then yes, you can install a new wheel bearing. I did it once, and swore I would never do it again. The last bad wheel bearing I had, I went to a wrecking yard, and found a good hub. IMO swapping in a hub is juist so much easier.

I have a 95, 2.2 motor like yours. My crank sensor went bad, but gave notice with an engine code, when a check engine light came on. It was difficult removing the old crank sensor. It had rusted itself, and and refused to come out. Even using penetrating oil, and PB Blaster, it refused to back out. I finally broke off the top of the sensor, then had to dig it out piece by piece. Still, as others have written, I think your problem is with the engine timing. The timing belt is not properly lined up on the correct marks. Re-do the timeing belt, and I bet it will start right up.

My vote is that your tires are creating the noise.

With 235K miles on the odo, I don't feel that there is a good reason to rebuild that motor. Just too many miles on what has to be a tired engine. Better off installing a lower mile 2.2 motor as a replacement. That is what I did on my wife's 98 OBW. Car runs great on a '95, 2.2 motor.

If you simply want to run at a lower temperature, then run without a thermostat. It may not idle well when the motor is cold, but as an off road "mudder," who cares.

If this 96 has an automatic tranny, then it has the 2.5 motor. If the belt broke, or tensioner locked up, then the valves are damaged, so no compression. That being the case, then I am sorry, but it is bad news. If on the other hand, the 96 has the 2.2 motor with 5 speed, then that motor is non interference, so valves are not damaged. Simply replacing the timing belt with new tensioners will put you back on the road.

Read all the above posts..........I am still thinking it is the tires.

Well this may be too easy a solution............is there a chance one of your tires is just a little low on air? If so, that extra resistance caused by a slightly low tire, can and does cause drift. Check tire pressure, make sure it matches Subie recommendations. On my 99 OBW, I simply put 37 psi in all four tires. Seems to work okay. Rides a little firmer, but I like it that way.

I find the same thing in Indiana.....driver's seat is worn out, especially the foam bolster portion of the seat closest to the driver's door. I have heard that the foam from the front passenger seat can be installed in the driver's seat. The passenger seats are always in much better condition in a wrecking yard. Guess the driver's seat is used maybe 75% more then the passenger seat.

I have a 99 OBW with the same problem, crappy seats. I found leather seats from a "limited" model, installed them, only to realize the driver's seat had bad foam. Latest I have done, is use foam from a "00 cloth GT Leggie seat, and use that to replace the crushed out foam in the original 99 cloth seat. This seems to work pretty well. It is not that big a deal to unbolt a seat, remove seat from the car, then disassemble seat cushion to install replacement foam. The foam for the seat is pretty sophisticated in design and shape, so you need to get foam from a Subie seat, or a replacement seat from a Subaru. Not hard to swap in new foam and tie off with nylon cable ties to replace the hog loops.

A couple of years back, I replaced the radiator in my 98 OBW. Cost about $100, bought it on line. Easy to replace. I think I removed the grill to get room to work. I, too, am not in favor of trying to fix a head gasket with an additive. I have yet to hear of a head gasket repair with an additive to a Subie that ever worked. I read that the 2.5 motor in 96-99 Subies, have pistons that ever so slightly raise above the block at TDC, so Subaru used extra thick head gaskets. This weakness eventually leads to a bad head gasket, where exhaust gas enters the cooling system leading to over heating. Strangely, the HGs never break so coolant contaminates the oil. Both my 98 and 99 Outbacks blew their head gaskets, one at 155K miles, the other at 195K miles. So, I know all about being a member of the "blown head gasket fraternity."

Agree, blower fan is a separate issue. When my blower fan quit, I went to replace it, and found old leaves and crud had washed down from the windshield to clog up the fan. Once I cleaned out the mess, the fan worked good as new. You would think the fuse would have blown, but no, the fuse was still good. Remove glove box to give access to the blower motor. Really pretty easy to work on.

My money would be on bad head gaskets. I had a 91 that did that, sometimes over heat, sometimes not. It had a mind of its own. Replaced the HGs fixed the problem.

I own a 99 OBW now, previously drove a 91 Leggie wagon, so I am familiar with both. The cars are similar in size, but I doubt if the panels are interchangeable. Guess you could buy the 90-94 panels from a u-pull wrecking yard on the cheap, and see what you could swap in. Maybe with some cutting and fitting you may get something to fit, but I doubt that it would look good.

If work was done at a dealership, a print out of work/service should be available from the dealership. Just call and ask for it.

Unless the water is leaking out so that you can see water on the pavement under the Forester, then the water must be going out the tail pipe via bad head gasket. Also, check your oil level to see if water has contaminated the oil.

I wish the AC in my legacy worked - heat/humidity are not my friend at all - but I cant afford to get it fixed - it is still an R12 system so there would have to be some necessary changes made before it could be operational again. I have converted a number of cars to operate from R-12 to R-134. Simply vac out what is left of R-12, then add R-134. All the talk years back about changing A/C components wasn't exactly true. Sure those changes would make R-134 work better, but I have gotten good results, just swapping in R-134, without doing any of the changes.

Yea, I agree that you need to redo the head gaskets. You can make this a dui job. Suggest loosening the engine mounts on side you are working on, then jack up the motor to give easier access to the side of the motor. Entirely clean off old gasket material to permit a good seal with new HG. Retorque head bolts. Use Subaru made HGs.

Thanks Grossgary. I have a buddy coming over Monday night, who knows what he is doing with the hog ring pliers. He redid my wife's leather OBW driver seat a couple of years back. Between either restuffing my leather driver's seat, or moving the cushions over from an 00 Leggie GT seat, I hope to get a seat that is comfortable to sit on while driving. Thanks for your advise.

Agree, if thicker oil quiets the motor, then it is rod knock. Guess you could replace the rod bearings, but with 177K miles on the motor, it would be better to replace with a known good motor. My 98 OBW lives happily with a 95, 2.2 motor.

Aba...........you are correct. I checked Kia specs on line. The 12 model was 6 speed auto, not CVT.

I would be surprised if Subaru had any more problems with head gaskets. The company sure has had enough time to engineer a fix on their new cars. I have not had experience driving a Subie with a CVT tranny, but have rented a Nissan Ultima and Kia Optima last year for long trips. Both cars had CVT trannies, and you could tell so by the way they drove. Both trannies gave you the feeling that the motor was connected to a variable belt drive for propulsion. There was no passing gear, just a drive feel that the "drive belt" was tightening up upon acceleration. It felt rather strange, and a little slow to respond, but after a while you get use to the uniqueness of the system. Both cars produced 38 mpg on the highway, which was great for mid size cars. I think the CVT tranny had a lot to do with the great gas millage. CVT tranny technology has been around for a while, so I am sure it has become reliable.