Olnick

That would be my first thought too, Cougar. But he said the starter had been replaced 3 times!

So you bought it--congratulations! Hope you got it for a good price. Hopefully the "bit of oil" is no big thing, but you really won't know until you drive it awhile and see how much oil it uses. A little oil leakage may not be a big concern (it's kind of a Subie "thing!") I think you'd be wise to replace the timing belt as soon as possible. Also replace the crank & cam seals, reseal the oil pump--maybe even replace the water pump as a preventative measure. Search the forums--there's plenty of good info on here. Shame you didn't catch the oil situation before you bought. It might have been a good bargaining point on the price, maybe worth a few hundred dollars. Am still curious--what year is it? AWD or FWD? Best of luck.

[i think frag's right--should be 15.8. Fixing/cleaning/replacing sender unit is a good idea. Don't know about '94, but from '95 they are notoriously bad. But the "Low Fuel" light is a life-saver. A suggestion--carry a gallon or two with you in a fuel can, then drive it as far as you can, that way you will know if your "Low Fuel" light is working (if you have one!) It'll give you a sense of security for your everyday driving!

You make an excellent point, sconnyite. Regardless of how any of us feel about the Tribeca design, Subaru, in its attempt to move "upscale," seems to have turned its back on the core values that made us love the car. That and their basic dishonesty in not facing up to the whole headgasket issue do not bode well for the brand's future--at least in my opinion. But if they plant sour grapes, that's just what they'll harvest. Do they have the right to do what they're doing? Sure. Do I have a right to look elsewhere for my next car? Sure! Unfortunately it's a dilemma I wish I didn't have to face.

Car looks very nice but I'm not too familiar with Imprezas. What year is it? What kind of tranny? AWD or FWD? Do they have any history or service records? Be aware that if it's a post '96 2.2L it is an interference design, thus the timing belt must be changed religiously--it ain't the bulletproof 2.2 of old! But definitely don't get "emotional" about the car, offer them less, let them know how to reach you or that you'll check back later--then walk away for a day or so! Good luck! (Ooops, sorry. I just noticed that you said it's a 5-spd.)

Are you getting a CEL? Have you checked for codes? Yes, a knock sensor can go bad--but remember it doesn't control or regulate knocking, it simply senses it and reports it to the ECU. Of course, if the KS is bad and doesn't report it the ECU won't know to correct. Hmmm! Hope someone with more knowledge than me will chime in. Good luck.

Forgive me, jayhawkroy, I wasn't trying to be mean. In fact I read the thread several times during the day before it struck me that something didn't sound right, had to grab a calculator just to see. Then it struck my funny bone--wonder who drives the 1/4 Subaru? Thanks!

Wow, right on! I just went out and checked my notebook--changed mine at 101k.

Jayhawkroy--how many were there last year, 2.25?!!

Welcome, woody. Josh (Legacy777) did a nice writeup on cleaning headlights a while back. Use the search function and you should be able to find it.

Welcome to the board, renyo. You just experienced "Ultimate Subaruism" at its best! You'll find the people here are helpful, pleasant--and your best resource. Would suggest you replace that belt asap--it's cheap insurance and you can certainly do it yourself. As far as MAF sensor goes, check your electrical connectors and all the air/vacuum tubes. If you really feel you have to change the sensor itself, check local salvage yards--a used one would be a lot cheaper than new and would proabably last you a long time. Good luck--and don't be afraid to ask for help or guidance.

Sounds like a classic case of worn starter contacts. Easy, cheap fix--remove the starter and open the pentagon shaped plate at the back of the solenoid. You'll see two "L" shaped copper contacts that are probably pitted and half worn away. Local auto-electric or starter rebuilders should have replacements for a few bucks. A suggestion, take the old contacts with you to compare--there are at least 3 different configurations used in various Subies! Good luck!

No, I don't think he'd have ever used the 9125. But I'm sure it's a fine unit--as I said, Actron has a good reputation. I believe Cookie got one and liked it. (Hey, Cookie, you out there somewhere?)

Not avoiding you, 1phtram. Your earlier post has been driving me crazy since last night. Immediately grabbed my Haynes and looked up code 24--sure enough, "Air Control Valve" with a suggestion to "see Section 4," which I did. Nada/zip/zilch. No further mention of such a valve. Typical Haynes! (Okay, I'm off my rant!) The nearest thing I can think of is the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV). It's located just under the Throttle Body, reachable from the passenger side. It does affect your idle and often gets gunked up. Do a search and you'll find a few write-ups on cleaning it. New knock sensor may or may not help. Same for TPS and maybe even O2 sensor. I'd first try cleaning the IACV, the MAF sensor (but be very, very careful in there) and the Throttle Body. Anyway, good luck. And if you have questions just ask!

As far as I know, any OBDII scanner should work with a '95 or newer Subaru. On the advice of a mechanic friend I bought an Actron 9135 and have been quite pleased. Actron has a respected name. Got mine off ebay at a great price. But search around the board--there are a lot of good opinions and suggestions here. Good luck!

Welcome, Dave A. You've found a great place to roost!

Welcome aboard, swoosh! How many miles in that 3 years?

It could be as simple as worn copper contacts inside the starter solenoid, a common problem--not too difficult to replace and not too expensive. Do a search here on the board, been discussed often.

Thanks, NorthWet--I appreciate the excellent explanation.

WJM, NorthWet, Blitz, anyone--care to offer a quickie little tutorial for those of us who are less "literate"? Do the bottom lines represent torque and the top, horsepower? What are the big drops @ 3500 and 4300? What's the peak @ 4900 mean? How are you seeing detonation? The squiggiliness? I don't expect a lot of detailed explanation, but I'd love to know what you're looking for and what you're seeing!

MiniTransAm--by "flush-and-fill" do you mean to disconnect the ATF return line from the radiator and put it in a container of fresh fluid, putting a "disposal" tube from the radiator's output and feeding it into a clear container, then running the engine until the fresh, clean fluid starts to come through? Never tried it since my Legacy is 5spd, but remember reading about it on some other board awhile back. Does this system work on a Subaru? Seems like a good idea--especially if your swapping to a high quality, more expensive fluid.

Brilliant, bjwirth!

Well, there goes the neighborhood.

Another suggestion--use the search function. Topic has been discussed a lot in the past year.

Juan--FYI, FHI, the parent company of Subaru, began as Nakajima Aircraft back around the time of World War I. Was perhaps Japan's most innovative designer and builder of airplanes. They created the "Oscar" fighter used in WWII and a wide variety of other fighters, bombers and transports. Also built Japan's first jet fighter, the "Kikka", based on concepts and plans provided by Messershmitt in Nazi Germany. The jet made its maiden flight over Tokyo Bay in August 1945, just days before the atomic bomb was dropped ending the war. All miltary work ended immediately. of course, and Nakajima eventually arose from the ashes as Fuji Heavy Industries. And the rest--as they say--is history. But how that ugly grill "represents" their aviation history is beyond me!