Fairtax4me

If its already rounded out you could try a big pipe wrench or vice grips. You may have to just leave it.

Passenger side of the dash to the right of the glove box. Look up from underneath and you should see it.

Coolant + steel + aluminum = major stuck. Soak it in PB, clean the crud out of the center, use a half inch drive socket and breaker bar. Put pressure on the bar and then smack the bar with the 3lb hammer about 6" from the socket. Do that a few times and make sure the socket doesn't slip out and round out the plug.

Check the fuse for the blower fan. Probably a bad ground or the switch, but fuses are easy to check and cheap. Tap on the motor with a screwdriver handle while its on to see if that makes it start working. If so, the brushes in the motor are stuck or worn out.

250 - 300 is normal for a good battery and good starter. Pull the plugs and crank it over. Should only take 10-15 seconds for the light to go out. Make sure to unplug the fuel injectors and the igniter. Don't need fuel spraying out of the cylinders and getting lit by the plug wires arcing.

Was the bearing replaced 2 years ago? If yes, the knuckle is probably deformed which could have caused the early failure. In which case you will need a new knuckle.

You need a new wheel bearing. Those are not designed to come apart, and will not separate unless they're damaged.

Best lace to start is with a tune-up if it hasn't had one recently. Plugs, wires, PCV valve, air and fuel filters. Check all of the hoses for the breather and PCV that run from the valve covers to the intake tube and to the manifold. If you never use fuel system cleaner, a bottle of the Lucas stuff works really well for the cost. (I usually buy a couple bottles when its on sale) Also get a can of throttle body and air intake cleaner and spray out the IAC valve, and clean the throttle plate and bore.

I wouldn't give up a known working and reliable car right away for something new-to-you and 18-19 years old. SVX had issues with the transmission, even if it doesn't exhibit symptoms right away. You never know if the seller dumped a couple quarts of Lucas in it to make it shift smooth. Probably a good buy at $2,000. Certainly a worthy car if the body and interior are decent. Not much trouble with that engine from what I've heard. Just as solid as the old 2.2s. It's the transmission that throws up the flag. If you have another car that you use as a daily then yeah I'd say to for it (as long as it test drives ok).

It does appear that at some point they switched it from the manifold to the block. Not sure why. Keeps the crud out of the hoses? Maybe less likely to clog?

Probably the contacts in the starter solenoid. This is a common problem on the 4 cyl models, and the contacts are easily replaceable on those. Not sure how different the starters are on the H6 engines, but I imagine they're similar enough.

Rear suspension changed entirely in 05, so I think the 05+ rear subframe would be just different enough to not work. Cheapest option would probably be to have one shipped from the west or the south. But if worst comes to worst, its only about $400 for a brand new rear subframe from a dealer.

Should be the uppermost relay way up in the corner. There are 3 or 4 relays and the main should be the very top on. IIRC it is the one with the largest wires as well.

There were differences in the flexplates between 2.2 and 2.5 engines. If your original trans was mated a 2.5 and you have a 2.5 flexplate it should be fine. Did you put all 4 bolts in then tighten 1, leaving the heads of the other 3 bolts sticking out? Can you spin the torque converter freely a full turn if its not bolted to the flexplate? (Might have to remove the starter to get your hand/finger in there to spin the TC) Can you spin the engine a full turn freely if its not bolted to the TC?

Someone here had rings seized so bad they completely lost compression on one cylinder. MMO cleared it up and brought back compression. Worth a shot for the $8 for a bottle. Use a half quart now and the other half in the next change.

They can be easy to install, or they can be a nightmare of rust. Why does the shop say you need this sensor?

Replace the PCV if its old, even if it rattles the valve mechanism can still be bad. If the oil changes were neglected at some point in the past the oil control rings may be seized, and could take some time to free up. Might try running some MMO in it and drive it easy for an hour or so, then change the oil again.

Did you use RTV on the oil pump?

You should test the solenoid first. Make sure the vacuum lines are in good shape. Start at the sensor, check the line to the solenoid, then follow the line to the engine. On some it goes straight to the engine. Others it goes to a T which splits to the intake manifold and to the fuel pressure regulator. Some have a line that goes to the Evap solenoid under the intake on the passenger side. The line to the solenoid usually has a white filter in it. The filter is to prevent condensation or fuel vapors from getting to the MAP sensor. Make sure you can blow air through the white filter. If no air goes through it, replace it. Couple bucks at a dealer. Under the dash by the steering column are two green connectors. Plug those in and turn the Key On. (Do not start it) this sets the ECU in test mode and cycles all of the solenoids and relays on the car. Make sure the solenoid by the sensor clicks. Then blow air through the port that goes to the engine to make sure air moves through the solenoid. Air should flow then stop in correlation with the clicking on and off of the solenoid. The solenoid is good. If no air flows, the solenoid is bad or clogged. If air flows all the time the solenoid is stuck partially open by carbon or dirt. Either of these conditions present, replace the solenoid. The port that goes to the sensor is open to the engine or to the small black filter on top, depending on if the solenoid is open or closed. Cover the port that goes to the engine with your finger, then blow air into the port that goes to the sensor. Air should flow out through the black filter on top, then should stop in correlation with the clicking of the solenoid. If no air flows, pull/twist the filter off and try again. If air flows now, the filter is clogged. You may be able to clean it out with some compressed air. If no air flows after removing the filter, the solenoid is bad or clogged. Replace the solenoid. MAP sensor testing is easy with a digital voltmeter. Just need a small paper clip. Straighten the paper clip and stick the end into the back side of the connector on the MAP sensor between the wire and the small rubber boot. (The connector is still plugged into the sensor) Set the voltmeter to DC volts, start the engine. Touch the red probe to the paper clip, and the black probe to a good ground. The negative battery post is best if you can reach it. If not, wire brush the top of one of the strut bolts and use that. One side of the MAP sensor connector will be the 5v feed from the ECU. Anything less than 4.5v on this pin means you have a connection problem between the ECU and sensor. The opposite side will be the ground for the sensor and should read 0 volts or very close to it. Up to about 0.1V or 100mV is fine. Above that means you have a bad ground connection between the sensor and ECU. The center pin of the connector is the signal pin. Connect a vacuum hose straight from the engine to the sensor with the engine running. With vacuum attached to the sensor you should have between 1.5 and 2.0V on the center pin. (Or something close to that) Remove the vacuum hose and you should see voltage jump up to around 4.0V. This means the sensor is good. If the voltage stays low, you could have a poor connection, bad sensor, or bad ECU.

If you rip the foam blocks off the bottom of the cover over the spare does it sit down low enough? I put an outback size spare in my 96 and it fits pretty close. Had to re-arrange one of the tabs at the back that holds the spare cover up. A 195-70-14 should be pretty close and still fit in the spare tire well. Tire size calculator here: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires=205-55r16-195-70r14

If the cover can be installed in more than one way, then it doesn't matter. They generally recommend re-installing a cover in the same orientation to the flywheel if you need to remove it for some reason other than to replace the clutch. This is so that any wear of the components does not throw off the balance of the assembly. In this case you would just make a mark on each and reinstall with the marks lined up. If installing an all new clutch and cover plate, then it doesn't matter because the parts are balanced individually, and ideally you would have the flywheel resurfaced which should work out any imbalance. Most machinists re-check and adjust balance after machining a flywheel.

Synthetic oils do not thicken as much as conventional oils when they are cold. Synthetics often have better cold cranking viscosity ratings, which means they are more easily pumped through the engine, even if they appear to visibly flow the same as a conventional oil. Bobistheoilguy.com is a great resource for learning about the various tests that motor oils are put through.

The yellow 9 pin connector is the test port for the Subaru SSM. All you did was short the 12v supply wire on that connector. The two open pins in the harness are just ground Afaik so hopefully you didn't fry anything major. Check all of the fuses, and check the fusible link in the under hood fuse panel. The fusible link just looks like a wire with black insulation around it. If it looks melted its fried and needs to be replaced. If it doesnt look melted, pull it out and tug on the ends, if it breaks its fried. Do not replace the fusible link with a wire. If there is a junkyard nearby go grab a used one (or three). If not a Subaru dealer is the only source for new. Or ask here as there may be a few members on this board near you with spares they could send you.

The only better option would be a synthetic 0w-30 or 0w-40 oil, which tend to be very expensive. A 5w-30 synthetic will flow better than conventional 5w-30 in the cold, and still provide the proper viscosity at operating temp, without breakign the bank.

Map sensors almost never fail ad are very easy to check with a voltmeter. Check the vacuum hoses to the sensor, check the solenoid next to the sensor for proper operation. Since these never to bad you can gt a used sensor cheap. There are tons in the U-pull junkyards.