Fairtax4me

It ran totally quiet, other than the usual piston slap, but that went away after about 2 minutes of running. Of course the sludge may have muffled some noise...

For most modern heads you want one with the removable collets on the spring end that can reach down into the head. There are some inexpensive kits on eBay that have several different sized collets for doing many different sized valves. The screw types take a little more time to use, but they're probably the easiest to set up and use. There are some air powered ones that work really well and are super quick, but are expensive.

Check the voltage getting to the motor and check the ground for it like gbhrps said. Should be the same motor as what the legacy has (though they may have changed the shape slightly, so im not sure they will swap) so if it's getting full voltage it should be just as fast.

Denso or nothing. Don't waste your time with any other brand.

Yes, lack of oil changes can lead to this. Poor crankcase ventilation is probably the biggest reason. Haven't pulled the separator plate yet, but I know its not gonna be pretty in there. Toyota had a big issue with this due to poor ventilation in the mid 90s. Saab had a major problem in their turbo 2.3L engines in the late 90s to mid 2000s. Have seen a few Saabs WAY worse than this. Some even went so long the stuff had hardened into a rocky asphalt-like crust. Google Saab sludge. Chrysler had problems in their 2.7 and 3.0 and 3.3 engines. IIRC. Some of the 4 bangers too IIRC. And VW has lots of problems with it, even in their newer stuff. The plan all along was to pull this one down to the rods at least and check those. Ill also be pulling the cams to check the cam bearing journals in the heads. Gonna take some work to get it sufficiently cleaned. If I can find a big enough container to drop the block in ill soak it in diesel and kerosene and try to get most of that shift out of there, but depends on how the rod bearings look. It may end up needing to be split, or shelved in favor of a junkyard replacement.

Not surprised... Sludge... fudge... Ok maybe a little surprised. I expect to see this sort of thing in a Toyota engine or a Chrysler or VW. Have seen a little sludge in a few Subaus, but nothing to this extent. The stuff was almost an inch deep in the bottom of the oil pan. Wheres that little smiley of the green face puking? Heads will roll tomorrow after work as long as I remember to bring my 14mm 12point socket with me.

Probably for the oxygen sensor. The other end is probably hanging under the car or fell between the power steering lines where they go down to the crossmember.

Weld it. You could add in some reinforcement welds. You can also heat treat it afterwards to help prevent it from cracking again. They crack because they're made of a very high carbon steel so the fork won't flex when it's under pressure. Problem is high carbon steel is more brittle, and over time it can become work hardened which makes it even more brittle. Brittle metal cracks.

Hill descent control X mode is only for controlling downhill descent on off-road surfaces. That's why it limits the speed to 18mph. Low on the shifter is basically the same as shifting any other car into 1st gear. If you start in low, the transmission will not shift out of low until you move the shifter back to D. The transmission control computer will only allow the trans to shift into low gear if you are going slow (like under 20mph). You can move the shifter over there going any speed, but it won't change if you're traveling too fast for low gear.

Possibly. It's not helping anything that's for sure.

There's no roll over/kill switch on Subarus. Not that I'm aware of anyway. But if it got crunched far enough to cause damage to the abs hydraulic module or wiring then it could have blown a fuse. Check all the fuses in both fuse panels, even the big green and red slow blow fuses in the underhood fuse box.

Torx Plus. I don't remember the size off hand.

A bad ground connection will kill the car regardless of alternator operating.

Not many reasons I can think of. Nothing important in that corner that would prevent it from starting. Is the car manual or automatic?

Usually this is due to corrosion or loose battery terminals. Have seen this happen a few times even on terminals that "look clean". Usually it's due to a layer of corrosion that looks like metal, but it's just crud. I've had to on several occasions use a dremel with a sanding wheel to clean terminals down to bare metal because the stuff was hard like concrete. I had a battery a few years ago that the post broke inside the battery and caused a similar issue, but it was only when the electrical system was loaded (lights on, fan running, brake lights, etc.). Had cleaned the posts and replaced the terminals and everything and still had the problem and then eventually had the post pull out of the battery when I was wiggling the cables to see if one was loose somehow. That's a rare situation, but double check the battery posts and terminals for cleanliness and make sure they're nice and tight. If it has replacement terminals, remove the cable end from the terminal and make sure there is no corrosion between the cable and terminal. I see that fairly often and it can cause many problems.

Back in the day Mercedes had a vacuum operated self closing trunk lid on some of their highest models. Talk about expensive to fix...

The slushy stuff that has melted and refrozen is usually the worst because it's more like ice than slush. Like Gary said a good set of all season tires normally will suffice on an AWD Subaru. Modern snow tires are more expensive and they do tend to wear much faster than regular tires. People have their own favorites, but usually if I decide to buy snow tires info for the least expensive options. You'll probably only run them for a season or two at most due to the tread wearing, and the cheaper ones tend to have chunkier tread which works well in those slushy situations. How long they last you depends on how you drive and how far you drive. I have bit of a heavy foot, and I tend to accelerate through most curves (but you can only accelerate so much with a 2.2 engine). My last set of dedicated snows lasted around 30k miles and I had them on the car for a little over two years, and they weren't completely worn out at that point. there was still around 5/32" of tread, but for snow tires they were done and IMO they weren't going to get me where I needed to go last winter. The tire industry recommends replacing tires every 5-6 years so they can sell more tires. Maybe the Chinese tires don't last that long and become a safety problem after 5 years, but any major name brand is going to last at least ten years IMO before rubber degradation becomes a problem. One thing I have found is that many newer tires start to perform horribly in the rain once they're more than about 1/4 worn. If you notice that the vehicle is hydro planing more than usual, then replace those tires asap.

Well good news is you only have to do that to the front passenger door. Rear doors will stay locked when you close them.

Pretty much any car 2010 and up I run full synthetic for 7500. I run Amsoil signature 0-20 I'm my sisters Hyundai for 20k. Tested every other change by OAI. I could run it longer by mileage, but typically change it at one year.

I'd start by checking any grounds in the area of the instrument cluster and center console/center dash. Bad ground causing a back feed of voltage on other circuits will cause all sorts of weird problems. Subaru generally uses brown for ground wires and there will usually be 3-4 of them or possibly more at each ground point.

Yeah that's a little odd for sure. On some newer cars the instrument cluster serves as a communication hub between the other control modules in the car, but I don't know if Subaru did that in 07. Is there any kind of aftermarket security or remote start system on the car?

If it's dog tracking a proper alignment should take care of that. What kind of lift is on it?

Does it have paddle shifters on the wheel? Sounds like the clock spring behind the steering wheel is damaged. Could be that or a poor ground connection somewhere in the dash.

In not sure it would run at all with the lines swapped, but it's worth checking. I'm wondering if the regulator is plugged with varnish or something. Might be a good idea to check the fuel pressure like crazy said.

Simplest test is next time it does it smack the housing of the blower motor with a screwdriver handle. If it starts working, it's because the brushes are worn or stuck in the brush holders. Sometimes the rear cover can be removed ( once the blower is out of the car ) and the brushes can be cleaned off with some electrical cleaner and a few shots of compressed air. If the whole housing is sealed then you pretty much just have to replace the motor.