Fairtax4me

IMO , you're much better of with the old cylindrical roller bearings than with the new ball type bearings. Weight distribution across the bearing surfaces is better with the old style because there are 3-4 times as many rollers. The larger contact area makes the bearing last much longer.

The bearings in the rear case can make noise that goes away when the clutch is in, since that takes some load off of the bearings, but those will generally make a constant sound that varies with wheel speed. Faster you go the higher the pitch or louder the growl is. The input shaft bearing makes noise based on engine RPM. It will not change pitch with wheel speed. If the growl you had changed pitch each time you changed gears, that's a bad input shaft bearing and you may be better off to find a used trans to put in the car.

I don't know what plug is recommended for your car. The heat range for the iridiums listed above is 5. Look in the owners manual, or on the emissions label under the hood and find the part number for the recommended spark plug for that engine. If you still have the original plugs you can check the part number on those.

The VIN will be on a plaque at the bottom corner of the windsheild on the drivers side. It will also be on the door jamb sticker on the drivers door, assuming the door has never been replaced.

Can you explain what you mean by "hear the knock sensor kick in"? You won't "hear" the knock sensor because it doesn't make noise. If the engine is pinging that could be the whole issue since the knock sensor is listening for the engine to ping. It sends a signal to the ECU, and the ECU will dial back ignition timing in attempts to prevent the pinging. This will be noticed as a lack of power or may feel like a hesitation followed by a surge of power in the upper rpm range. In this case the sensor is responding to an engine condition. Pinging is most often a fuel mixture problem, but can be caused by many factors, including spark plugs with the wrong heat range. If the sensor housing is cracked, the sensor should be replaced, eventually it will corrode inside and either stop responding, or will start sending false signals.

Your compression numbers are far too low for a running engine, those only indicate the compression test may have been done incorrectly or the guage was faulty. The engine you have doesn't typically leak coolant internally. That was a major failure mode on the 96-99 EJ25 engine, but 2000 and later tend to only leak externally. Minute cracks in the combustion chambers are nothing more than casting marks from the sand or foam form used when the head is manufactured. Is the misfire constant? A constant misfire will generally make the CEL flash. If you were to unplug the injector for cylinder 3 does it change the "shake" of the engine at all? How about for the other cylinders?

Go over the basics again. Check all fuses, check anything that was disconnected unplugged or removed during the work. Do you remember which wires (colors) got crossed on the O2 sensor? Did you look to see if the wiring was damaged or cut up in the harness?

The R just means its a resistive plug, the iridium plugs are still R type plugs, they just don't have it marked on the side because it's easier to market fancy plugs with a fancy IX printed on the side instead. Most ignition systems are optimized to use a certain spark plug which the engineers who built the engine have found works best with the engine design. Check the emissions label under the hood if you don't have the owners manual, the recommended spark plug part number may be there. What you might have done is put in a plug with the wrong heat range. The temperature of the spark plug makes a big difference, and can cause sluggishness, hesitation, or stuttering. Often the plugs listed at parts stores will fit physically, but have the wrong heat range. Just because it threads in doesn't mean its the right plug.

It's not something you can just poke your head under the dash and look at. The rust happens inside the booster. You may be able to see some by removing the dust boot around the pedal pushrod, but you probably won't be able to tell if that's definitely the problem. The best test is probably to unbolt the master cylinder from the booster. Loosen the bolts or nuts and pull the MC out away from the booster about 1/2". Then try to push the pedal again and see if it moves that 1/2" or so. Typically the booster can be removed without having to remove any brake lines from the MC. Just unbolt the MC and pull it forward a few inches. Then unbolt the booster from the firewall (usually bolted from the inside) and pull it up and out. It may help to remove the pedal pushrod from the booster if possible. Sometimes it just pulls out, other times there is a snap ring or circlip that needs to be prised out, and it's not worth fudging with.

Be prepared to have to ream the old one out of the housing with pliers and a punch. They can get corroded in there pretty good over the years.

I've replaced 5 radiators in the last couple months, all due to split end tanks or leaks at the seams. It's the most common failure mode for a radiator. Sometimes you have a small leak for a very long time before it finally splits open and becomes evident, sometimes it just blows out all at once. Just depends on your luck that day.

Probably not the MC. Much more likely for it to be rust or some obstruction in the booster servo. The pedal pushrod doesn't actuate the MC directly. It pushes a cylinder inside the booster, the booster pushes the MC pushrod. The boosters on these are known to get moisture in them which freezes in winter weather. Moisture also means rust.

There's no performance loss from a crank or cam sensor issue. If the ECU loses either of those signals it can't determine ignition or fuel injection timing and the engine will just stall flat out. Usually you get a code for those sensors right away though.

There's only one wire that goes to the buckle. It may have been cut when you jammed the vacuum nozzle down between the seat and console. Unfortunately you'll probably have to remove the seat to fix it.

On AWD cars there's a second level sender on the drivers side. There is an access plate just like what's over the pump.

Pull the wheel well liner out and you'll be able to get in there to the attaching mechanism. On the older cars there were bolts or screws there. Newer stuff has plastic latch-tab things that require you to slide this way, hold your mouth just right and stick out your tongue and it will pop loose. I don't know specifically what a Legacy of that year has, but it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out once the liner is out of the way.

Could be a poor/corroded ground connection, or high resistance in the signal wire between the sender and guage.

You see this from time to time on rebuilds. Doesn't hurt anything as long as it's still in balance, but those edges do look pretty rough.

You'll see that TPMS light a LOT during season changes. When outside temperatures are changing from high summer temps to moderate and low temps (and vice versa) the air pressure in the tires changes drastically. The best thing you can do is check tire pressures at least once a week in the morning while the car and tires are cold. Keep your pressures 2-3 Psi above the recommended pressure on the door sticker to help keep pressures between checks and avoid having the TPMS light turn on.

High octane fuel could have certainly been a factor. There must be something else going on as well, because by itself I don't think the fuel would cause this. The fuel trim shouldn't be thrown off that much over the course of 7-8 miles. But you say that's on the way Down the mountain? Which side?

What wheels are the 16" tires mounted on? Pretty much any Subaru wheel should have plenty of room and no issues with rubbing. If it's an aftermarket wheel or from another manufacturer, how wide are they and what is the offset? Incorrect offset could cause them to rub. With a Subaru wheel, a 205/55/16 will fit fine.

Great to hear!

The line size will not be the same as the hex on the fitting. IIRC these use a standard 3/16" line. The flare fitting may have a metric thread, but can be matched up at any auto parts store.

Forster is smaller sizewise, but it sits higher off the ground. The higher stance brings fuel economy down by 2-3 mpg. Forester also has a slightly stiffer ride and will be noisier due to less sound insulation. You may want to consider something significantly newer if MPG is a major factor.

For a. 2013 your dealer will probably be the only source for a missing body part. There is no aftermarket demand for body parts on most cars until they've reached 10-12 years of age. A used part will be difficult to find since most salvage yards consider that to be part of the bumper and would not likely sell it individually. Take the car to a dealer and they can correctly identify, order, and install the replacement part.