Fairtax4me

Hmm, I can think of several things that all require the trans to be opened up. Check the linkage under the car, but most of that wouldn't cause this sort of problem unless the roll pins sheared off or broke and the linkage knuckle fell off the input selector where it goes into the back of the trans.

That is a way blown head gasket if its putting enough pressure in to push coolant out of the radiator. I'd at least pull the engine and check the block and heads for warpage. If you find something like severe cylinder wall wear, or guttering of the block surface under the fire ring of the head gasket, then you might consider a new (used) engine. Otherwise, have the heads machined, or try the Post Apocalyptic Machine Shop head machining technique (there's a thread titled that floating around here) and pop some new head gaskets on it.

NGK V-power plugs have a V shape notch cut in the end of the copper electrode. This is supposed to help direct the spark in a certain way in order to improve the spark discharge. They also have a standard copper plug without the V notch. All the seemingly random numbers actually indicate specific characteristics of the plug. http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/partnumberkey.pdf

Two things that you first want to make sure of. 1 make sure it has a Subaru OE or OE style thermostat. Many of the aftermarket stats are much smaller and do not react properly which causes overheating. This can be especially true in colder weather, which seems bass ackwards, but it happens because of the design of the cooling system. There was a thread here just the other day with comparison pics of an OE vs an aftermarket stat, that should help with identification. 2 make sure the coolant level is full. The Forester doesn't generally have issues with air pockets in the system but it doesn't take much of a pocket to cause the coolant to stop flowing. One other things is to make sure the radiator cap is new and has the proper pressure rating. A blown head gasket is possible, but make sure everything else is up to snuff before tearing back into it. Once all that is covered, check for any bubbles in the overflow tank when the engine is warm and running, such as just after a short drive. Bubbles mean head gasket.

Could be a damaged reverse check mechanism, or one of the shift rails somehow got bent. Is the shifter physically stuck? Can it be moved side to side or forward/backward at all?

Most likely the coolant level is low. The thermostat will not open if the coolant is low.

Those things are rubber that harden over time and turn brittle. They break often, and are usually discarded since they no longer stay in place after removal. The little bits that fell in won't hurt anything. They'll fall to the very bottom and sit there. If one does happen to land in a narrow area it will simply be pulverized the first time the engine spins over. It'll be ground to dust.

No fluid filled motor mounts on the 95. Check the control arm bushings. It's usually pretty obvious if they've leaked all their goo out.

Those bulbs burn out all the time. RadioShack carries them. 7219 Micro Lamp 12v 60mA.

Just the big bushings at the rear of the front arms. They're filled with heavy greyish silicone. What kind of fluid did you put in the rear diff? Subaru recommends 80w-90. I've used 75w-90 and had good results. 75w-140 is fine for wear protection, but its so thin it doesn't cover up the noise of the hypoid gear set. These diffs tend to make a bit of noise anyway, I'm tempted to say its normal and you won't ever have any trouble out of it. But if the noise bothers you make sure you have some 80-90 in there. Add some Lucas oil stabilizer if you want.

High pitch or low pitch whine? Clunking could be an inner CV joint on the front. Squat and dive don't typically cause sway bar clunks. You migh get a creak or groan sound from the frame bushings. One other thing you might want to check is the lower control arm bushings. If the fluid has leaked out of them they can clunk on heavy acceleration.

Continental just came out with a new low rolling resistance tire called the PureContact. A friend of mine has them on his accord and they are NICE! Very quiet, especially noticable over expansion joints and the gaps betwen road surfaces. He also picked up about 2mpg over the old tires (they were some off-brand cheapos). Excellent rain traction and a very high treadwear rating as well. And they were only about $85 each.

Spoke too soon I guess! $800 is a good chunk of change, but if you need the car for winter, that's not much more than a good set of snow tires. When considering an engine swap into another car you have to weigh what that car will cost to buy, and what will need to be repaired on it, plus what it will cost to have the engines swapped. 96-99 Outbacks are good candidates for 2.2 swaps when the DOHC 2.5 bites the dust, but you really want to use a 2.2 that has EGR, otherwise the check engine light will always be on.

Perfecto! The left side is often half a tooth either side of the mark in the cover. In this situation you want to advance the cam slightly clockwise. As the belt ages and stretches the difference will be made up. Fire it up!

These are balanced internally, unlike old American engines. Don't even need the harmonic balancer or flywheel to be in balance.

Rust is a beech. Physical damage isn't likely or there would be a definite wear pattern. That's just flaky chunky rust. The deep down, ground-in kind like the catalytic converter flanges get. I would think that whole knuckle was replaced with one from a junkyard car that saw some heavy salt in its day. Possibly was parked in the ocean for a month or so before it went to the junkyard.

If you're only looking for one more winter, put some Lucas in it and ride it out. If it isn't popping out of gear yet, it isn't ready to go.

If they are available from Cometic, I would trust those. Otherwise... How soon do you want to do it all again?

My guess would be the car has been fitted with a quill sleeve. The quill on the transmission wears and causes the TOB to bind as it slides, causing clutch engagement issues. The fix is to install a hardened steel sleeve and a TOB with a slightly larger bore to fit the sleeve. A standard replacement TOB will not fit over the sleeve. Is there a part number or other manufacturer info on the sticker?

Yes, same part.

None. Removing the water separator makes no difference. You get a little more intake noise. Some people think you get more power on the top end, but I just think it makes more noise. You're thinking of the J shaped baffle chambers that stick off of the actual intake tube between the MAF and throttle body. Those can make a difference if removed. The water separator is before the filter and makes no difference.

I would have to say yes, that is the reason the ABS doesn't work. Are the other tone rings are similar in condition?

Right. Keep the factory stuff from the filter to the throttle body. That's all the MAF cares about. The box inside the fender is a water separator. Its a decent design for filtering out splashes from puddles and stuff, but if you need a snorkel then it becomes a source where water can get in. Just pull that out, and then you have the perfect spot to connect the snorkel pipe to the factory filter box.

Speed sensor is on the passenger side about midway back. It has a small black 2 pin plug and its easy to miss when plugging everything back in. It plugs into the harness up near the other small plugs for the reverse and nuetral switches, but the speed sensor plug is usually hanging down off the bottom of the harness.

I've used blue devil also and I can say it does work, but for how long I have no idea. But I'm not a proponent of the head gasket in a bottle products. Yank the engine and put some new head gaskets on it.