Fairtax4me

That's an odd one for sure. The cruise was vacuum operated on most of the cars from that era. There is a small vacuum pump on the passenger strut tower kinda behind the AC drier canister. This will have a vacuum hose leading to a steel line that runs across the firewall over to the cruise actuator on the drivers side near the brake master cylinder. Check the hoses that lead to/from the pump and the actuator for cracks/splits and loose fitting. Also check the adjustment of the cruise cable at the throttle lever. Compare the amount of slack in the cable with the amount in the throttle cable. There should not be a lot of slack in either, but if the cruise cable has more slack adjust the lock nuts to take out some of the slack and see if it helps.

Knock sensor code could have been a stored code that was never cleared. If it comes back get a sensor from eBay. They're usually less than $20 shipped. You'll certainly want to get the cooling system flushed and I'd recommend replacing the radiator hoses since there's a good chance they are old and ready to blow up.

Yep. The oil filled bushings usually have a heavy grey silicone based oil. Eventually the oil will drain out and the bushing will be very loose. It may start clunking when accelerating or coming off throttle. You might check SubaruOutback.org to see if anyone else there has had this issue. They know a lot more about the "newer" cars and may know an alternative to dealer parts.

How about posting the exact code? (P0XXX) then we can look at Subarus service manual definition for that code and make sure were chasing the right goose.

I've always just gone to the dealer. The kits are always in stock. Usually runs about $35 for the plate and screws. I always end up getting a few other odds and ends while I'm there too.

Yes they can be replaced but you have to take the whole damn thing apart. You can get bulbs from radio shack. (Or at least you used to be able to) Someone here had a writeup several year ago with pics, but the pics may not work anymore.

Is it the front or rear edges of the door that stick out/in? Im not sure you can adjust the top and bottom of the door separately, but if its the rear edge there may be a rubber bump stop in the bottom corner that you can adjust outward a bit. The general fix for a door that doesn't close all the way is to loosen the strike bolt (body side) and move it inward a hair. It's possible the whole door or the dog leg (area of the body directly in from of the rear wheel) is tweaked because of an accident.

Yes to antiseize or some other form of anti-corrosive heat resistant grease. Be sure to coat both the wheel and the hub with the stuff. If you can get it clean enough you can paint the hub with a thin coat of rustoleum, then apply grease over the rustoleum after it dries.

I'd start by checking what few vacuum hoses it has for cracks and loose fitting. A vacuum leak would cause both low power and a shaky idle. If it has a MAF sensor (I'm not positive 04 had one) it may benefit from a cleaning with MAF sensor or electronics cleaner. One of the big power reducers on these cars is a bad knock sensor. Generally the housing will crack and allow the sensor element to corrode and cause false readings. They seem to be about 50/50 on setting a CEL code. I have a thread about inspection and replacement of the knock sensor. It actually popped up again just a few days ago. Called knock sensor 101. But speaking of codes, run it by autozone or similar and have it scanned for codes. Even if the Check Engine Llight is not on there may be stored codes or a pending code that could offer some clues.

Poking around at the rat shack the other day and lo-and-behold they have this little tube of goo called: Conductive Wire Glue Radioshack catalog number: 6400146 $5.49 I figured for that cheap I would give it a shot, and sure enough it works! I glued one tab on, let it cure, then tried to break it off again. It took quite a bit of force, almost enough to bend the tab, before it popped off. Glued it back, glued the other one back on. Measured resistance of the grid next to the tabs and got 1.95 ohms. Measured across the tabs and got just a hair flutter over 2.0 ohms. Calculated difference in amperage is only about 1/4 amp at 13.5v. Since vehicle electrical systems are almost never a steady 13.5v anyway, there will be a larger difference in amps through the circuit because of voltage differences than will be caused by the glue I used to stick the tabs back on. No mess, no heat. Clean the tabs and the area on the grid where they go. Apply glue to the tabs, press to the grid and hold for about a minute. Then tape the tabs in place with some masking tape for 24 hours for the "glue" to fully cure.

Loosen the lugs, stand back and kick the top of the tire. On the worst I've ever seen one tech held a wooden block (several feet long) on the back side of the wheel while the other swung a 3lb sledge at the block. Only took two hits to dislodge it, but they had already spent several minutes pounding around the front of the wheel trying to get it loose. Generally a swift kick will get them loose. Sometimes you have to spin the wheel and kick in a different spot.

Kinda depends on what's wrong with it. There were a few issues with the MTs around the 99-01 years. All of them have mainshaft bearing issues, from 1990 right up to current. The mainshaft roller bearing just doesn't get enough oil and will wear out, especially if the gear oil isn't changed every 30k like its supposed to be. Driving gear ratios (1st-5th) don't matter. The Forester trans typically has a slightly lower 5th gear ratio (.78:1 vs .825:1), which will give a slightly lower highway engine RPM. The one you need to look out for is the final drive (differential) ratio. If the trans FDR doesn't match the rear differential FDR you get torque bind because the rear driveshaft will be trying to turn a different speed than the front pinion shaft. Eventually it will destroy the center differential, but not before you have an interesting (bumpy/jerky) ride down the road. Outback and Forester both have 4.11 FDR in the Manual trans, so as long as you stick to those two you should be good to go. A Legacy typically had 3.90 FDR manual, which will give problems.

The new Impreza platform (including Crosstrek) actually has a LOT of room. Though cargo area is still a bit small compared to the new Outback. New Forester doesn't have a whole lot more cargo room then the Impeza since they're still built on basically the same platform, but the body design does increase usable cargo space wih the squared roof/tailgate. The Forester debuted the FB engine in 2011, (timing chain) and those are generally in the $15-20k range which might put it a little above your budget, but they would almost certainly be under mileage and still in great mechanical shape. To be within your price and mileage range you'll be looking in the 07-09 and maybe a high (above average) mileage 2010 model year range. If fuel economy is at all a concern, the Legacy platform gets a bit better fuel mileage, and would certainly have enough room and cargo area. But Legacy didn't get the FB engine until after the Forester.

The older ones were just rubber but it wouldn't surprise me if they switched to an "oil" filled bushing there. What color is the oil dripping from the bushings? Probably gonna be a dealer only item. The older ones were mix and match and worked on several different cars, but they changed the design of the diff outrigger in 05 so those bushings may be a different size.

You can run ATF in the oil for as long as you like. I has enough anti-wear additives that it doesn't harm anything. I wouldn't try to run it straight, but 1/4-1/2 quart mixed in with 4+ quarts of oil isn't going to hurt anything. Generally when I've used ATF in the oil it's been because an engine was heavily sludged and I change the oil after idling in the driveway for an hour and a quick trip around the block and it comes out black as tar. Change again after 50-100 miles and get the same thing.

Migh pull the sensor put and clean the threads. Sensor grounds through the crossover pipe, so it needs a semi-clean connection to work properly. No harm done by grounding the sensor wire, though its more fun if you have a long jumper wire that you can ground in the car (under the dash somewhere) and watch the gauge flip out.

Lots of clutch companies make higher grip clutch kits for the NA engines. Shouldn't be too hard to find a performance kit that will fit and work properly. Normally I would suggest avoiding the higher stage clutch kits, since they tend to wear quickly and are not easy to drive with street use.

The two wire sensor feeds the ECU. Has no connection to the gauge. The sensors should be right next to each other on the crossover pipe. I seem to remember having to remove one in order to get a wrench on the other one. It has been a while since I've had to change one though. The gauge sensor is small, only has a 12mm hex drive, and a single spade sticking off the end of the sensor. There is no connector plug like on the 2 wire sensor. The female spade connector in the wire harness is just insulated with shrink tubing. More than likely, the spade terminal just needs to be cleaned up. Corrosion on the spade terminal increases the resistance of the connection, which means lower current flow through the sensor. High resistance = cold temp. Low resistance = high temp. If you were to remove the wire and ground it to the engine block the temp gauge would peg way over hot.

Did you replace the 1 wire sensor or the 2 wire sensor?

Should be pretty much the same. Forester has a slightly better 5th gear ratio IIRC but other than that it should bolt right up and be fine.

ATF works well as an engine cleaner because it has all kinds of detergents in it. Much better than using diesel or kerosene.

The blower fan relay is probably the least accessible relay in the entire car. It's buried in the top left corner of the dash, over top of the fuel pump relay and the main relay. Next time it doesn't work, check for 12V at the fan plug. Normally there should be 12v on only one pin. But you will likely either have 0v on both pins, or 12v on both pins. 0V means its not getting power. Either the relay isn't being grounded, or maybe its just gone bad. Or there could be a break between battery power and the relay. The relay is grounded through the fan speed switch, so its only "on" when the speed switch is in an "on" position. The fan motor is also grounded through the fan speed switch. 12v on both pins of the fan motor plug means there is no ground path for the fan. This could be a break between the fan and resistor block, or between the fan speed switch and ground.

Should have done the water pump and the idler pulleys with the timing belt. There's really no reason not to if you've already got it torn down to replace oil seals and the belt. Most of the time failure of the water pump or one of the other idlers is what causes the belt to break. They seldom break on their own. Codes and symptoms point to a bad engine coolant temp sensor. Basically the ECU thinks its 40 below all the time (lowest possible temp the ECU can register) so it's flooding the engine dumping fuel into it. Cold air is much more dense, so the ECU has to add fuel when cold, otherwise the mixture would be too lean to start the engine. Problem is the air isn't actually that cold, so you have a mega cold air amount of fuel, but a warm air density. It means the mixture is way too rich to start the engine. Once its running it isn't a big deal, except that you'll use a ton of fuel. Replace the ECT sensor and you should be good to go.

Great to hear some feedback about the alternative mounting of the sensor. How long did you have the car before taking it to the dealer? Had it been pinging the entire time? Was there another issue that prompted the dealer visit? A check engine light or some other condition which would require the ECU to be reset or the battery to be unhooked? How long has it been since the dealer visit?

12.1 is low. Should be at least 12.4, and even that is only considered about 75% charged. However, plenty of cars start and run every day with battery voltages under 12v, so that shouldn't cause the no-start issue. I would definitely put it on a charger though since that low voltage will eventually drag down the overall potential of the battery. Which pins in the connector did you check?