The Dude

FWIIW, we really enjoy my gf's 2012 Impreza Hatchback. It is a huge improvement over the 2009 Impreza that she traded in. EVERYTHING is better on the 2012, including the gas mileage. I advised her to get the 5 speed MT, which she wanted anyway. I don't want to be the guinea pig for the CVT. I remember the last time Subaru came out with a CVT (Justy) and it got extremely ugly. One big plus for the new 2.0L engine is that the water pump is OUTSIDE the engine and belt driven. When the water pump driven by a timing chain and fails it can get very expensive. Don't ask me how I know this.

I can see heavy condensation (water) inside the driver's side headlight assembly. Any advise on how to deal with this problem would be appreciated. Thanks.

You're in a much better situation than the average used Suby buyer. A lot of used car sellers are trying to dump a car that requires expensive repairs. That's why an average used Suby buyer might want to have a professional mechanic go over the car before they buy it. If you get stuck with a car with undisclosed, expensive repairs, you're in a position to mitigate the damge. You have the experience, tools, heavy equipment, and used parts connections to repair a "dumped'' car at miminal cost.

Good question. Conventional wisdom is that an automatic is better in the snow and on ice than a manual. One big plus for an automatic is the ability to multiply torque, with a manual you just burn the clutch.

Do the headlights dim when you turn on the blower motor? Automotive CPUs are desigend to be very resistant to interference from EMF, but you might give this try. Turn your car radio to an unused spot on the AM band, the FM band will not do. Turn on your blower motor, do you LOTS of VERY loud static?

1.5 (Euros)x 4 (approx liters per US gallon)x 1.3 (Euro/USD)=$7.80 USD

I called Crutchfield for a radio installation kit for my 2012 Impreza, I was told that one was not available. That's not good news, Crutchfield probably has off-the-shelf installation kits for thousands of different model cars. I removed the factory radio from the Impreza and it sure looked like a non-standard set up. Thin, strangely shaped stamped steel mounting brackets that attached the factory radio to unusual mounting points. Anyway, I "hacked' a Crutchfield installation kit for a 2009 Impreza. It kinda, sorta works. I ended gluing the covers and trim in with RTV. It's a not a real pretty installation, but it seems to be holding. The factory radio really wasn't all that bad, if it had had an USB port, or at least a front aux jack, I may have left in.

No, the reason for connecting the negative jumper cable to the engine bracket is to keep any spark as far away as possible from the battery. Batteries can generate hydrogen gas which is explosive!!!!!! If your battery explodes sulphuric acid will go flying everywhere, including your eyes!!! People have been blinded and disfigured from battery explosions. A full face shield should be used when installing or jumping a battery. At the very minimum wear a pair of safety glases and maybe you'll at least save your vision.

Any "maintenance free" car battery three years old, or older, is suspect. Your friend's battery should have a warranty label on it, which will date it. A "maintenance free" battery older than three years is justing looking for a place to die.

Another consideration, higher wattage bulbs give off a lot of heat. Be certain that everyting in proximity to the headlights can stand up to the higher heat.

Of course, the need for premium fuel will detract from any other savings. Plus I already simmer spaghetti sauce, I draw the line at simmering an entire car.

It's well known that you flinty New Englanders tend to be on the tight side. Get off your wallet, and buy your poor hard working Subaru a set of new plugs every once and while! BTW, what you going to do now that "Car Talk" is going off the air?

I'm just asking, I thought that Subaru heads had steel thread inserts for the spark plugs. Are the spark plug threads really nothing but aluminum? If so, that would make using anti-seize and torque wrench even more critical when changing the spark plugs. You could also try stretching out the recommended 30,000 mile spark plug replacement interval. I would think that at 350K+ this engine has had the plugs replaced at least six, or more, times.

I'm glad that something can be done. But in all honesty, that's way more than this shade tree mechanic wants to get involved in. I wonder how much a dealership would charge for a job like this? There's a good chance that a dealership might not even take job like this. My point is that with the chain wrench method you avoid even the slightest possibiltiy of this scenario.

I'm sure that there are lot of people on this board that have used the "screwdriver" method without any problems. On the other hand, there have been reports of the screwdriver tip breaking off while still inside the bell housing. Just last week, one poster forgot to remove the screwdriver BEFORE starting the engine. So, done properly the screwdriver method is unlikely to cause a problem. But if anything goes wrong you can find yourself really out of luck. If you can't rotate the flexplate you can't get to the flexplate bolts. If you can't get to the flexplate bolts you can't separate the tranny and engine. If you can't separate the engine and tranny you can't get to the screwdriver tip that is stopping the flexplate from rotating. That is a true nightmare catch 22. At that point I would probably just buy a new car. I opted for the "piece of old accessory belt and chain wrench" method. At least you can see what is happening, and if anything breaks it's on the outside of the engine and easy to fix.

I would avoid any Subaru with a 2.5L engine manufactured before MY 2002. Why? That leaves out all the DOHC 2.5L engines, which were plagued with internal head gasket failures. That also leaves out the early SOHC engines, many of which had a probelm with less serious external head gasket failures. The trouble with a used Subaru is you that usually don't know how the previous owner responded to a head gasket failure. Did he immediately pull off to the side of the road and have the car towed to the dealership where the car was repaired with genuine Subaru head gaskets. Or, did he repeatedly overheat the engine and try to "get by" for as long as he could? ALWAYS BE SUSPECIOUS OF A FAILED HEAD GASKET WHEN BUYING A USED SUBARU. It's often very difficult to tell when a Subaru has a blown head gasket. Very often, a test drive will NOT disclose a Subaru head gasket failure. Tons of people on this website have been tricked into buying a used Subaru with a blown head gasket. Carefully inspect the engine block for coolant, or oil, leaks. Run the car for an extended period and then test the coolant for exhaust gases.

Here's the thing with a VC, you frequently don't get any warning. When you notice a problem it's too late, the permanent damage has been done. And MEASURE the circumference of all the tires, especially the replacement tire. I think the spec is only 1/8", which is very, very tight. BTW, if you had an AT, you could just slap a fuse in the engine compartment fuse box and run the car indefinitely in AWD. MTs have advantages over ATs, but not always. You're going to need new tires anyway. I would buy them now and not even have deal with the possibilty of an expensive VC replacement.

In most cases a "lifetime" warranty is absolutely worthless. In earlier times, a "lifetime" warranty meant a warranty for the lifetime of the human purchaser. Now, a "lifetime" warranty means for the LIFETIME OF THE PRODUCT BEING SOLD. The "lifetime" of particular product is ill defined, dependent on many factors, and leaves an almost infinite of "wiggle room" for the seller to deny a warranty claim. "We believe that you took your car off road. Off road use shortened the "lifetime" of our (name an automotive part), therefore your warranty claim is denied".

The short answer is yes, but removing the timing belt covers is the least of your worries. On my car, a 2006 Forester AT, I would need the following items to tighten my crank bolt: 22mm hex socket, do not use a 12 pt Piece of old accessory belt Chain wrench, the chain wrench everyone used to use is no longer available to Habor Freight 10mm, 12mm sockets and ratchet to remove drive belt And the biggie: A torque wrench capable of measuring around 130 ft-lbs. There's limited room the Forester engine compartment. I think I might have to take out the fans to make room to put a torque wrench on the crank bolt. If you have a manual you may not need the chain wrench. Some might argue that you don't need a torque wrench, but I would say that you do. It's impossible to estimate 130 ft-lbs by hand, and it is a CRITICAL torque setting. Hogging out your crankhaft is not a desired outcome. Depending on the engine, and MY, the crank bolt torque value may vary. One of the popular repair manuals incorrectly speced the crank bolt torque at only 70 ft-lbs. But wait for one of the uberwrenches on this board to make a post. They might know an easier way to handle this job.

Well yeah, Davie, the condition of that connector is key to your problem with the new pump. It's unfortunate that you didn't disclose this vital piece of information at the beginning of this thread. That connector is VERY badly burnt, it is likely that it will no longer conduct electical current. That connector must be replaced. My guess is that your old pump started drawing a huge of amount of excessive current, more current than the rating for the connector. BTW, while we're at it, what does the other side of the connector look like? Any wiring burnt, or badly discolored? No offense intended, but do you feel experienced enough to handle this repair yourself? There is no margin for error where gasoline and electricty are concerned. I do 90% of the mechanical work on my Subaru myself. That remaining 10% I gladly pay a professional, full time mechanic to handle. I like to think that I'm pretty good at mechanics, but I know, and respect, my limits.

Once you pull the connector off the modulator you can run a jumper wire from the yellow wire to ground. Running a jumper without first removing the connector from the modulator will probably destroy the modulator. However, you shouldn't need to run a jumper. Just remove the connector from the modulator, that will take it out of the circiut. Without the modulator, the fuel pump should run as long as the key is in the "run" position. Only power the pump for as long as it takes to test it. If the pump still doesn't run with the modulator out of the circuit, you can leave the connector disconnected and run the jumper from the yellow wire to ground. At this point you should have 12VDC on the blue wire, and a good ground on the yellow wire. If the fuel pump still doesn't run, brand new or not, you have a dead pump.

You need to things to run a DC motor like the fuel pump. You need a voltage, in this case 12VDC on the blue wire, and you also need ground. When you turn the key to "on" the fuel pump relay supplies 12VDC to the pump on the blue wire. After a few seconds the CPU signals the modulator to remove ground from the pump. Pin 1 at the modulator, the yellow wire, switches from ground to 12VDC. At this point there is 12VDC on the blue wire, and 12VDC on the yellow wire. Both these wires go directly to the fuel pump. With 12VDC on both wires supplying the fuel pump there is no voltage difference across the pump, no current will flow, and the fuel pump will not work. The resistor is in the circuit so that when pin 1 on the modualtor switches to 12VDC it does not short directly to ground. I know how to read a schmetic diagram, but I am not experienced on your particular model. So, wait for Fairtax4me to comment before trying my suggestion. I am wondering if you could just remove the connector from the modulator? With the modulator out of the circuit, the fuel pump should continue to run with the key in "on". There is a return fuel line, so I don't think it will hurt anything, but I am not certain. If you remove the modulator from the circuit and the fuel pump runs, you can be fairly certain that the modulator is the problem.

I'm assuming that you know how use a voltmeter, and that you know enough about basic electricity to keep yourself out of trouble. Don't do any electrical testing if you have pulled the fuel pump out of the gas tank. Electrical sparks and gas, especially gas fumes, do not mix. There's a fuselink, no.2, that supplies 12VDC to one of the contacts in the fuel pump realy. Have you checked that fuselink? I'm using the schematic provided by Brus Brother. It looks like there's a two pin electrical connector coming off the fuel pump. I'm assuming that connector is inside the car interior and NOT inside the fuel tank. THE BEST WAY TO TEST. Leave the connector connected. See if you can get your test lead probes into the backside of the connector. You need to be touching the metal wire crimp inside the connector with your probes. You want the red test probe on the blue wire. You want the black test probe on the black wire. Energize the fuel pump relay. You should have about 12VDC. If you have about 12VDC and the fuel pump is not pumping then the fuel pump is bad. If the fuel pump connector is not convenient, you might be able to put your red test probe on the blue wire where it is connected to the fuel pump relay. You can put your black test probe on any piece of metal that is connected to ground. If you don't have about 12VDC on the blue wire when the fuel pump relay is energized just post and we'll trace the circuit back.

Yes, a relay can click, and still be bad. A single pole, single throw relay consists of an electromagnet, which closes the contracts when it is engergized, and the contacts themselves. The "click" you hear is the electromagnet energizing, but the contacts could be worn or misaligned. But FIRST, I would try to find a wiring diagram for the fuel pump. You have know the purpose of all the wires running to the fuel pump to be able to troubleshoot effectively. Troubleshoot using a wiring diagram and a voltmeter whenever you can, parts substitution can be a very expensive way to solve a problem.

I know exactly what your are referring to, the Haynes Manual instructs you to place the engine at TDC for cycl 1 before removing the drive belts. That step is NOT necessary.