Caboobaroo

Pull the driver side timing belt cover and peek in. You should be able to tell but I'm almost 100% that it should be the newer tensioner.

Yes, the front bushing has to be changed out. The STI runs a 61mm long bushing where everythin else runs a 55mm bushing.

It's a clean little car. I work only a couple blocks from them and have done a few repairs for them. They have had it for a couple years at least.

A few issues that haven't been mentioned. Being a 2001, it's a first year of that engine and transmission combination. Unfortunately the 2001 have issues with the transmissions which was remedied for 2002. You might be able to swap in a 02-04 LL Bean transmission but I feel like there was a difference in TCU. Second issue. The EZ30D have problems with the Throttle Position Sensor and potentially the electrical harness going to it. The symptoms are slight chugging under load, a flat spot in the RPM range, and general sluggishness up hill without changing of the throttle.

Did you replace the inline filter that goes to the monitoring portion of the EGR on the passenger side strut tower?

With this era, I will always recommend doing the ignition wires with the plugs. I have seen many issues with reusing them and have also had issues with them new from Subaru. I only run NGK ignition wires on this era with almost no comebacks. When you clear the engine memory, there is a possibility it will not relearn the idle (drive by wire throttle). If the idle is low and feels doggy off idle, remove the torque box and clean the throttle plate and body really well.

Sounds like a case of a blown head gasket. A faulty thermostat won't allow coolant to circulate but won't push coolant out of the overflow bottle.

Like I tell people at work. Start by running a good quality top tier gas, either plus or premium. Next step is to check O2 readings and replace the front sensor IF everything else is square. IE no vacuum leaks, spark plugs are good quality and within gap spec and no exhaust leaks. If that still doesn't fix it, then probably time for a new catalytic converter. You can do the anti fouler trick but it's more of a bandaid then anything.

If the axle has been replaced with a subpar part such as a "new aftermarket" or bad remand, it can have excess slop in the joints. This causes vibration sitting idle in Drive because of the joint play. It doesn't do any damage if it's driven like that but it's more of an annoyance and can eventually cause vibration while driving.

Yes. It's physically larger then the EA82 bushing.

Gary, the FWD Impreza runs a smaller rotor then the XT6. I found out the hard way once. Maybe look into an AWD Impreza caliper bracket?

So they're going to build you custom coil overs that mount to a Legacy knuckle? You do realize that if that's what they're doing, you can buy some for a 2000-2004 Legacy fitment. You will need to drill 3 new holes in the strut tower but they bolt to the Legacy knuckles. The rear, being a coil over shock, is similar to the same era of Legacy (00-04). The top hats need to be played with with parts from the original suspension to make them bolt in. It's been done before, with Tein, BC, Cusco and more. Don't let them con you into selling "custom" coil overs for more then the off the shelf ones.

If the boot on the axle has been open for awhile, it can cause the joint to stick, which creates a vibration like you're describing, especially a cheap aftermarket axle. Including the wheel bearing, that's where I would start.

I believe the combination for the front XT6/EJ knuckle is a first gen NONTURBO Legacy single piston caliper bracket and the XT6 caliper. The turbo Legacy runs a twin piston caliper which is physically bigger then the single piston on the L/LS/LSI.

I've seen the head gaskets fail like this and can tell they've never been done. I see it mostly on the 2006-2009 era cars, usually Legacy and Outbacks.

Unfortunately, that appears to be a head gasket leak at the high pressure oil passage that runs from the top of the block into the top of the head.

I've diagnosed this issue before on an STI. The ECU needed to be replaced and then remarried to the car and immobilizer with the factory scan tool. If you don't remarry it to the immobilizer and body integrated unit, it will not start. Not a fuse issue or a wiring issue.

First off,you really need to secure the air flow meter a bit better. They do not like heavy vibrations from the road. Second, yes the intake should pick up in the fender. The box inside the fender is actually a muffler to help with intake honk. Do not use PVC as I believe the fumes it let's off when it warms up, is not real good at mixing with the aluminum. Years ago, I adapted a AEM cold air intake from a 2002 WRX onto my first RX. The filter was inside the fender, I had to drill a hole to mount it to the car and widen the hole where the tube comes out. I used a Nissan MAF adapter and the AEM silicone coupler to attach the cold air intake to the MAF. Then a silicone adapter to drop in pipe size, some aluminum pipe and a couple 90 degree elbows to attach it all to the turbo. Granted, your car isn't turbocharged but it's the same principle. I think with the exception of the cold air intake (picked it up used) and the adapter (another board member had an extra one), I bought the hoses and pipe on eBay.

It depends on where and why it's leaking. If the drains are plugged at all, it can cause the assembly to overflow and leak. The assembly itself could be leaking at the seams like I thought mine was. Tured out, it was leaking between the glass and the perimeter seal. Swapped the glass section over and it's been fine since. The sunroof drains come out behind the fender plastic behind the front tires. The rear drains come out just behind the rear tires. Usually compressed air is necessary to clear them but sometimes you can get lucky just by cleaned the dirt away from the ends of the drains. After that, it's a new assembly and/or new glass.

Couple more pictures. Installed a good alternator, picked up an almost new set of tires off of Craigslist, and cleaned all the trash and vacuumed the carpet and seats. Definetly needs to have the seats and carpet removed to be cleaned but no tears anywhere. I have yet to give it a proper wash but the weather hasn't been the best. I still need to get the exhaust welded up so I can take it though DEQ and tag it but after that, I have another project ahead of this one. This sedan looks nice but it needs a lot of mechanical work. Brakes, tie rods and boots, ball joints, struts and shocks, radius rod bushings, axles, an engine reseal, transmission reseal if I don't swap to a manual, and a carb rebuild.

There are two sides of the EGR system, the mechanical side and the ECU monitoring side. If I can cycle the EGR by hand while the car is idling and it acts like it's going to stall, then the valve is working. I will always start by replacing the tiny in line filter that is in the vacuum line going from the intake to the passenger side strut tower. At the same time, I will replace the BPT mounted above the EGR valve. If the code returns, it's likely the vacuum solenoid the ECU triggers to open the EGR valve, is bad.

Not always. If head work has been recently done and some of the oil galley plugs were not put in, it can cause a misfire on all 3 cylinders on one bank without throwing any VVT codes. I've found out from experience on that one. How many miles are on the car? When was the last time the spark plugs were changed? What brand and grade of gas is typically used in this vehicle? What is your oil change intervals? The second generation EZ30 are known for cracking heads from the cooLing system into the combustion chamber as well. Have replaced a pair of heads on one engine, replaced a head on another, and replaced an entire engine because of this problem.

Impreza changed in 2008, Forester changed in 2009.

I would start by making sure all the main grounds on the intake and body are tight. The ECU grounds directly to the top of the manifold on the passenger side. If these are loose, it will throw multiple codes with no indication where to go next.

I would stay away from the pre 99 5-speeds. They fit in the same spot as the original but the internals aren't nearly as good as the phase 2. Also, 99-02 Forester 5 speeds seem to have issues in the tailshaft housing more often then the others but they can all make noise if they're not serviced. If you decide to go to a 2005 transmission, the axle designs changed and yes you can swap axles to the newer style or add in the stub shafts in the transmission but it's a lot of extra work.