Fairtax4me

Belt is loose. Possibly the bearing in the tensioner is going bad. If the belt has been squealing for some time, its probably glazed now and will need to be replaced.

How long did you drive it? These can take 30-45 minutes of driving to pump up. Did you reseal the oil pump? Check the screws on the backing plate?

Open deck. Also compression is too high. Can't run any more than 4-5 psi, and not reliably even at that. You can swap 2.5 heads onto it to lower compression, but still need to upgrade bottom end bearings to get any longevity out of it.

Cars101.com Look in the archives section

You may be in luck. I don't see a similar part number between Foreser and Legacy tanks. BUT... the early Legacy and Impreza tanks DO have the same part numbers. And it looks like 98 Forester and Impreza tanks have the same part numbers. Not totally sure on the difference between them but it seems like they should have at least the same shape. Possibly some of the evap hoses are in different locations.

Look in the trunk right behind the rear seats under the carpet. Theres a plate on either side that comes up to get to the sensors for each half of the tank. Check the wiring and the connector on top of the tank first. Mice like to get up there and chew on stuff. The terminals in the connector can also corrode and cause poor connection.

Oooh. I'd be more worried about getting the old tank out. Have to pull the rear diff hanger down to get the tank out. Possibly the rear cross member. Lots of chances for broken and seized bolts!

Not uncommon to have a slight whine from 1 and 2 due to the size of the drive gears. I wouldn't worry about it too much for now. The fluid can look pretty grey if its been a while since it was changed last.

ABS will not apply the brakes. It only releases pressure to keep the brake from locking. Sounds like the brake caliper locked up and was dragging. Could have easily cooked the wheel bearing. ABS tone ring is bolted to the back of the hub (round part with the lug studs). Visible with the brake rotor removed. You need a 95-98 knuckle to get the correct hub w/tone ring. I hope you didn't pay much for this car. If the drain plug on the rear diff was loose the fluid was probably very low. Fill it. Check the front diff oil and fill that and drive it some. Front diff dipstick is on the passenger side. Drain plug is just above the joint of the Y-pipe. Change both in about 500 miles and look for large metal particles. Some glitter/ sparkle is normal.

Yes, crank sensors will affect fuel and spark. The ECU uses the sensor to determine crankshaft angle so it knows when to pulse injectors and when to fire the coils. Without crank sensor input, it has no clue where the crankshaft is in relation to the firing order, so it can't give the commands for proper fuel and spark timing.

Shuddering could be any number of things. How many miles? Auto or manual trans? Is the Check engine Light on? Is it flashing when the shuddering occurs? Any other recent work? Spark plugs? Wires? Air filter? PCV valve? Was the shuddering occurring before or after changing any of these?

I'm not sure this is the kind of trip that's smart to make 1. with a car that's new and largely unknown to you. 2. you've never been offroading 3. By yourself. There are a lot of things on a car that can break and leave you stuck out in the bush. People who off-road regularly will literally take half a car along with them in case something breaks. Axles, suspension parts, starter, alternator, all of the various engine sensors, belts, hoses, spare timing belt parts. Enough oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, etc. to completely fill the engine if they spring any leaks. Spare fuses, wires, cables, etc. for making electrical repairs. And you really need to know your vehicle inside and out so that you can pinpoint a problem and repair it. Also need to have the tools necessary to make the needed repairs. It takes some time to get to know a vehicle on that level. Know what to bring along and what can be left behind to maximize available cargo space and minimize weight. I certainly wouldn't want to have my car break out in the middle of nowhere in an area that I'm unfamiliar with and not be able to fix it. Especially somewhere like the desert. I would either limit travels to within walking distance of a populated area, or try to find a group of people traveling the same area and try to travel with them.

PB won't wash the cylinders down. It's still oil, though not ideal. But it will also help loosen and remove any rust. I recently helped a friend of mine get an Acura running that had sat in a field for about 6 months. Battery was dead so we had to jump it. We had spark and fuel but not enough compression to get it to fire. Loaded up the cylinders with PB (it was the only oil I had) and let it sit for an hour or so. Put the plugs back in it and it fired on the second stoke.

There's a drain hose for the heater/evap core box to let water out when the evaporator defrosts. It sticks out of the firewall about halfway down on the passenger side. Make sure its clear. If it clogs the box will hold all of the water from the melting evaporator core and you'll get lots of moisture on the windows.

Well that's a new one! I guess the worst that could happen is a piece could get stuck under an exhaust valve and hang it open. Maybe some PB would melt it?

That is awesome!

Are you positive you have the correct mark on the crank? A loaded cam means its holding the valves open. The spring pressure of the valve spring is the load. Unloading the cam is when the valves close. If you need to turn the crank counter clockwise, turn the cams counter clockwise slowly with a wrench or breaker bar so you can control the rate they turn. Set the crank, then slowly turn the cams back.

Blackstone is good. Oil Analyzers Inc is the one I've used several times in the past. Usually costs around $25 including postage.

There is a bearing in the strut top mount to allow the strut, spring and, upper spring perch to rotate. On some strut designs, just below the bearing is a cone washer which has to face with the small diameter of the cone towards the inner race of the bearing. If the cone washer is flipped, the large diameter side of the washer will make contact with both races of the bearing and prevent it from spinning to allow the strut to rotate. A common mistake when assembling struts is to flip the cone washer. It's also possible that the bearings in the strut mounts are just bad. These are usually a ball bearing design and do not last forever.

I might send an oil sample for analysis and to see if they find high levels of wear metals. Takes a few days but you'll have a good idea if the short block is worth a re-gasket or if you should spend the money for a "new" one.

Ive been running purolator filters on my car for a long time. I buy 5w-30 Valvoline at Walmart and get filters at the parts store. I buy 2-3 filters at a time since I have multiple cars using the same filter.

Oil pressure will be low if the engine is running hot. But down to 6 psi before the guage starts going up... Probably a good indicator something was going on for a while. Likely the coolant level was low and the block was running hotter than normal. So the car is home now. How are the fluid levels? Any mixing of fluids? Have you stared it and let it warm up? Any steam blowing out of the tail pipe or bubbles in the radiator/overflow?

How blown'd is it? Did it overheat? Badly?

Arrows can't be used for timing. Have to use the hash marks or the cams will move all over. Crank keyway should be straight down. The mark to use is on the rear of the sprocket on the reluctor tooth. Cams have a small notch mark on the front on the outer ring. Drivers side cam notch should be half tooth to the outside (towards the drivers side) of the mark in the timing cover.

Outback brake hoses are about 2" longer than L hoses and are a direct fit. I recommend swapping those if you want to do more lift.