Fairtax4me

Sounds like a bum starter. I'd consider that the prime suspect if it is a rebuilt or remanufactured part. The contacts in the solenoid wear, and often don't get replaced on rebuilt units. If it functions correctly during the testing they slap a coat of paint on it and stick it back in a box. As for weak ignition switches, these are incredibly easy to replace, and fairly cheap. I don't see why adding a relay or push button is necessary. To me that sounds more like a work-around rather than actually fixing the problem.

It can be done at home with a hub tamer kit, and a bearing splitter or large 3 jaw gear puller. Some people just go to a junkyard and get a whole knuckle with bearing and hub and swap it.

Wheel bearing. These will make noise for thousands of miles before there is any play in the bearing. If you pull the axle out of the hub and spin it you will feel the grinding of the bad rollers. You may be able to spin the wheel fast enough to hear the bearing make noise if you listen to the knuckle with a mechanics stethoscope.

Take an 8" C clamp with you to compress the tensioner. 22mm socket for the crank pulley. The rest is basic stuff.

Welcome to the board! Sounds like you got a decent deal on the car. It looks clean enough in the pictures, hopefully the rust hasn't got to it too bad yet. On to the issues, jerking/stumbling under acceleration often is due to old spark plugs. Have the CEL scanned at the local auto parts store. Most do it for free. You may just have misfire codes, or something else that could be causing issues. Typically misfire codes will clear themselves after one or two starts, most other codes will keep the light on for longer periods. Some jerkiness is normal in these. But there are some bushings in the suspension that can cause issues with ierking around and clunking. The front bushings on the rear trailing arms wear out and can cause the rear end to move around a bit. The mount bushings on the rear differential can wear and allow the case to twist/flop around in the mount. The bushings on the ends of the diff mount outriggers wear and allow the mount to move around. Engine and trans mounts are usually not bad but its worh checking them and the pitch stop mount above the trans. Front control arm rear bushings, aka transverse arm bushings, are fluid filled and when they go bad will allow the arm to flop around some during cornering or hard acceleration or braking. When they go bad the dark grey heavy silicone fluid leaks out. Squeaking from the rear. That model had some issues with the rear subframe and rear trailing arms rusting out bad. Check for rust first. If it looks OK start looking into worn bushings and such. Burning rubber smell from the vents could be a ripped axle boot that has flung axle grease all over the catalytic converters. The passenger side axle is famous for that. Worth it to check tension on the belts anyway, since they did not have automatic adjusters yet on that engine. Clutch slippage. If its original (good chance), then its just worn out. Daikin Exedy makes OE clutches for Subaru and makes very good replacements as well. Funny thing, I just replaced the clutch in my 85 Ranger at 135k miles. Original parts (Ford emblem stamped on them) and right next to the Ford emblem was the Daikin shield emblem. Disc looked great, still had plenty of material on it. The pressure plate had just lost its clamping force after 28 years. Anyway, back on topic, you're overdue for a timing belt change. Unless it has service history that says it was done recently, and even then I would be skeptical. The belts almost never fail, it's the idler pulleys and tensioner that fail and take out the belt with them, then you end up with bent valves. TheRe are a few good sources for timing kits on eBay that include the tensioner, all idlers, water pump, and the belt (some even have cam and crank seals) for around $200.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FPYW4K I bought one of these several years ago and it has worked for almost every seal I've replaced since then. The exceptions were a timing cover seal on a Chevy 350 (ancient seal that was rusted into the steel cover), and a crappy after market front crank seal on my 95 wagon that was glued (yes glued) to the oil pump. Had to pull the pump to knock that one out. I've done at least a half dozen other Subaru front crank seals without issue, it pops them right out. The oring on the tube in the oil pan seals the drain tube from the oil separator. It's not a necessary replacement as it will just leak oil into the pan anyway, and its a fairly expensive seal from a dealer. I've just re-used the original whenever I've had an oil pan off.

An 05 should not handle much differently that the 01 did. If it feels like a bulky SUV, I'd recommend new struts and an alignment. Also what kind of tires are on the 05? Those can make a difference as well.

Subaru OE thermostat or an aftermarket cheapo? When you refilled the system after replacing the radiator how much coolant did you put in? If any less than 1.5 gallons it isn't full. Very important that the system is completely full or you will have overheating problems. You have to fill the engine through the upper hose before filling the radiator. No thermostat may cause the engine to run cold which will increase wear and waste gas. With no thermostat let the engine run to operating temp then drive around the block once or twice. Look in the overflow container for bubbles being pushed out of the radiator. Bubbles in the overflow are an indicator of bad head gaskets.

Crank may have jumped. If you can find it, there is a mark for TDC on the crank pulley. It may not be easily visible though, in which case, unbolt and remove the crank pulley and set the arrow on the face of the sprocket at 3 o'clock. Keyway should be at 6 o'clock. Even though you can't see the mark on the rear of the sprocket, the crank will be at timing position. Then check cams for proper alignment.

I've seen these wrapped over the larger harness that the wire comes from and pulled tight to the starter which could cause it to pull off if the engine twists the other way under accel/decel. Make sure it has plenty of room for the wire to flex to allow for movement of the engine. Also there is supposed to be a detent in the connector that locks it onto the spade on the starter solenoid. If that has worn out or is stuck the wire can easily slip off.

What Gloyale said. He probably has the crank 90° off time. Timing mark is on the back of the crank sprocket on the reluctor tooth. Luckily this particular engine is non-interference, so no damage done. Hope you get it running! Definitely a good deal assuming the "mechanic" didnt hose something else.

Need to know year and model to help with specific location or FSM wire diagrams/download.

Interesting, I thought they stopped using the cable clutch in 97. But it appears it was available on the L models only and still had the hill holder until 99. The hydraulic clutch was phased in only for the 2.5l engines in 97. And those did not have the hill holder. So by that logic that MC should match any manual trans equipped L model Legacy from 95-99, since the hill holder was standard on the L. I'm intrigued by mysterious parts such as this, so tomorrow ill have to take a closer look at the MC in my car and as what the difference is.

Burning clutch can smell an awful lot like melting electronics. I never thought burning axle grease smelled like clutch though.

Is yours a manual transmission? I'm not aware of any automatics ever having a hill holder, and I though the hill holder was done away with in the manuals when they made the switch to hydraulic clutches.

Overfilling is the usual cause of aeration of auto trans fluid. This would cause slipping of the clutches because the proper pressure does not build in the pressure lines. Usually a damaged fluid pump will create slow gear engagement and immediate slipping because of low line pressure. This won't last long and the pump will destroy itself, then you basically have no line pressure.

Well that's a setback for sure. Get a tube of Anaerobic sealant for the oil pump. RTV can be used SPARINGLY, but the anaerobic is much better and does not set until the parts are bolted together. It also will not dry into little globs that can clog oil passages like RTV will. Toss the gasket. It will cause a leak.

Same thoughts here. Probably sway bar end links. Glad the rattle was an easy fix. Good to hear it wasnt a major problem.

These cars aren't exactly the quietest. The Imprezas are much less insulated than the Legacy or Outback models. You should test drive an actual Outback to get an idea if it will be quiet enough to suit you. Having driven a few of them myself, I do know that the new Outbacks are quite a bit quieter than your 96. There are some options for making your current vehicle quieter, but it means pulling the entire interior of the car out to lay down sound insulation material. It's a day or two of work, and would cost several hundred dollars for the materials, plus labor if you have someone else do the install.

Auto trans or manual? There is an interlock relay somewhere under the dash for the starter. Auto trans, did you try starting in neutral? Manual trans has a funny issue with the clutch start switch where if you don't push the clutch pedal far enough it may not properly ground the interlock relay. Then you get no power to the starter solenoid. Another option is just the contacts in the starter are worn out. But you will at least still get a "click" from the solenoid as it engages.

Probably m5 or m6 x1.5. They should be fairly easy to find if its the ones I'm thinking of.

A puddle of gas would not come out of the tailpipe. That's just water. If the plugs are carbon fouled you should remove them and clean them at the very least. New plugs would be better but might just foul again. So you're gettin fuel, the question is how much? Low fuel pressure can still carbon foul the plugs if the injector spray pattern is weak. High fuel pressure sprays too much fuel. Still think you need to put a gauge on it and check fuel pressure.

The big question is, is it a Subaru extended warranty, or just a third party warranty offered by the dealer? That's a really low price, which makes me think its a third party, and probably won't cover many repairs, or may only cover the cost of parts, but not labor costs, or vice versa. Find out the name of the warranty company and do some research online. Check out their BBB record, and other reviews to see if others who have bought plans through that company are happy with the service. What does the warranty cover? Engine parts and replacement? Transmission parts and replacement? Are any normal wear items covered, such as ball joints and tie rod ends? Suspension parts, springs, struts, bushings? Will it cover rust?

I've heard VHT is good stuff, never tried it myself. I like the stainless steel approach, which is to replace the whole exhaust system with stainless steel parts, but that can cost over $1,000. There are some paints that have zinc in them which will act as sacrificial anode in salty areas and prevent galvanic corrosion of the steel parts. I'm unsure if any of these are suited for use on exhaust parts though.

Could have something to do with the way newer pumps vent fuel vapors. Seems strange that the type of pump would affect that. Either way, the filler neck should be replaced because eventually the rust will cause it to deteriorate to the point it will leak no matter which pump you use. You also will be venting hydrocarbon vapors to the atmosphere, and any fuel or fuel vapor leak poses a fire hazard. Oil changed at Walmart? Do you check the level of the oil after they do the change? Excess oil consumption could be due to a clogged PCV valve, which is a popular topic recently.