Fairtax4me

Nah that's fine, it doesn't look like coffee yet. J/K I've seen much (much much) worse. Truthfully that should have been changed a long time ago.

Clock spring can be checked with a powered test light, or just a continuity/resistance check with a VOM. Connect one lead to the horn contact in the wheel, find the wire for the horn that runs up the column. Should be a connector for it somewhere under there. Connect the other lead to that wire and see if there is continuity between the two. High resistance or no continuity indicates a break (open circuit) in the ribbon cable. Also check the reading while you spin the steering wheel, if there is a break in the ribbon cable it may connect for a second while he wheel is in motion and give an erratic continuity reading. A meter with an audible beep to indicate continuity can be useful for this.

Cool. Another week or so I should have some $$ to get this done. (I hope) Do you also sell the flanges that go on the cats? The ones on mine are warped from the rust in between them. I think the cats are still in good enough shape I can get the old ones cut off and have new ones welded on if I can get my hands on new flanges.

Closest FSM I can find is for 03, which should be pretty much the same for this. http://bustedfingermotorsports.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=174 Section Leg3_Chas_12 is the parking brake.

Subaru park brake drums are way simpler than POS ford focus rear drum brakes. I know people don't use the park brake in cold climates because it freezes, I suppose if you're in a mostly flat area it probably doesn't need to be used very often either. Where I live if you don't use it you come out of the house and your car is buried halfway in someone else's trunk, or it's in the ditch at the bottom of the mountain. :-P

Probably could have done better on parts, but having help like that is invaluable! That's gotta be one swell guy to hang around that long and help you work on your car! Lets see some pics of the teardown and the fixed version!

So the inner sidewall is rubbing against the frame? Can you turn the wheel to full lock when sitting still without it touching?

Occasionally the bushings in the ends of the rack housing wear out and allow the rack to move around a little bit. Usually only noticeable if you go over successive bumps in the road or hit a pothole just right while turning, that sort of thing. In general the inner tie rod joints are MUCH more likely to be worn than the bushings in the rack. Also if you've EVER had an oil leak, the rubber bushings that hold the rack to the lower cross member will fall apart. that lets the rack walk around in the mount brackets and cause all sorts of strangeness in the steering. Other things that cause funny feeling steering, the rear control arm bushings, Subaru calls them transverse link bushing, are silicone fluid filled, and when they get old the rubber splits, all the fluid leaks out and they move around all over the place. Make clunks when braking or when accelerating, and will cause a "wandering" feeling at higher speeds.

Spacers may help, but I'm thinking in your case they will make it worse. The outside tread of the tire is rubbing? Adding a spacer increases the distance from the knuckle pivot center to the wheel, which makes the turning area circle of the wheel wider. The outermost edge of the tire will be further forward/ back when turned to full lock. If its the inside tread thats rubbing a spacer will help, but you still have to worry about adding too much spacer. And any time you add a spacer you risk breaking lug nuts and losing a wheel. I would consider a wheel with a slightly different offset before going the spacer route.

If it got wet inside the magnets that surround the motor might have rusted and fallen off of the case and jammed against the rotor. Smacking the motor with a hammer can cause the same thing. They're not hard to take apart though and see, good luck getting the rotor out of the can though. :-p

Ask Sube101 if he can make you one. That guy does some seriously amazing weld work! Pics in here -----> http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=124321

$300 still the current price on Stainless? I need to hurry up and order one of these. My exhaust system is literally falling apart. Every day it squeaks and rattles a little more! :-p I need to source a new cat-back & muffler too. Damn car is gonna break me! $$$$

Running lean is REALLY bad for a turbo engine. If a turbo engine leans out you get holes in the pistons and/or rods through the block. I'm thinking it's leaning and the ECU is cutting everything to avoid rearranging the scenery under the hood. (pistons goin "I can see the light!") Fuel pressure could be low. Filter could be clogged. Injectors not spraying properly. Maybe check fuel trims and see if that offers any clues.

Either the relay went bad, and then the pump did, or the pump is just bad. Not uncommon for a pump to be intermittent when it fails. 2 larger (somewhat) wires at the pump. One is 12V (possibly Brown, possibly Black/Red). The other should be Black, is chassis ground. Could just be a loose connection. The fuel pump wires come into the car somewhere under the back seat IIRC, and there is/might be a connector there.

Maybe, but they don't always know that. :-p

Well first off you'll have a turbo in the way and a LOT of associated piping and hoses. 08 bellhousing has 8 bolts. Biggest thing is the turbo trans uses a pull type clutch release lever (it pulls against the pressure plate rather than pushing it), research how to disconnect that before you can separate the engine and trans. Otherwise you will pry at the bellhousing all day and the most you will get done is wear out the prybar. The crank pulley should be the same or nearly. If it isn't there are plenty of other ways to hold the crank still. The rest should be similar enough I would think.

I haven't been in a situation like your specifically but whenever I need something done double quick no questions asked I call and just ask right off the bat for a manager or owner. If I get anyone else I give them one chance before I hang up and call again later. And the conversation pretty much goes "this is the problem I'm having" - explain problem - "this is what I need YOU to do". Not someone else, not "let me transfer you", YOU. This WILL be resolved or there WILL be legal consequences. (just gets their attention) You have an ebay receipt with an ebay sale number and your name. If they can't look it up you email it to them while they are on the phone and confirm with the person on the phone that they have received it. Usually if you get an owner on the phone it doesn't make it that far, because they'll immediately do what it takes to keep your business if they care about their customers at all.

That's pretty much how it works. One end spins faster than the other, makes heat, the other end gets more power as the fluid thickens. It's no so much about how many turns of the wheels it takes, but more how fast they spin. With 2 wheels off the ground (on the same side, drivers side for example) and the transmission in neutral the rear wheel (spun by hand) should turn the same direction as the front wheel at the same time and roughly the same speed or just slightly slower. With ONE wheel off the ground (doesn't matter which) the wheel should be able to spin but with a fair amount of resistance if you try to spin it fast.

The way the manual AWD trans works the fronts can spin independently of the rears, provided the speed difference is very little. With you cranking the engine by hand and the trans in 5th gear (as an example) your output ratio is going to be about 3.04:1 (assuming 3.90 FDR and .78 fifth gear). Which at the almighty hand-crank speed of lets say 15 rpm works out to... 0.1072935227269294 MPH. Roughly. If I did that right. :-p Point it, the difference in shaft speed from front to rear is not enough to create the fluid reaction needed to "lock" the center differential. The limited slip unit in the center diff is basically comprised of a series of plates with blades on the outer perimeter similar to a big windmill fan like this: The plates are put close to each other, and if they move the fluid around them (which is a heavy silicone based oil) moves with them. If they spin at different speeds the fluid is pushed by one set of plates, into the other set which creates resistance. The fluid reacts to heat and as it gets hot it actually thickens, which makes more resistance as the blades try to move through the fluid. If they move slowly, the fluid does not react, and doesn't push against the other sets of plates. So the wheels can spin and have the feeling of being separate from the rear wheels, even though they aren't. Howstuffworks.com has a page about Viscous couplings. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential5.htm

Al of those plugs are AC related I think. The plug at the front would be for the compressor clutch I think. That back corner is where the Accumulator/filter drier would live if the car had it, and the low pressure switch is right on top of that. There is also some other gadget over there that has to do with cruise control IIRC. Which it appears you also don't have.

Yeah charge it again. Lead acid batterys do not hold a charge for very long when sitting idle, even if they're in good shape. A weak battery can lose a charge in just a few hours. Marginal could mean a few days. But if used every day the battery may still work fine for several months or years.

Battery FULLY charged? Connections on starter and battery clean and tight?

2.5 heads on a 2.2 block will lower compression and make less power. For less Friction get a set of roller rockers with solid adjusters and matching cams from a 97-99 2.2. Send the cams to Delta for a Torque profile grind. No point changing pistons unless they are damaged. 2.5 pistons are coated in an effort to reduce piston slap. The old 2.2 doesn't have that problem.

Nope, trans is done. The mainshaft roller beating is shot. Popping out of gear is not a sign of a bad clutch.

A leaking injector should be evident if the fuel system is primed with the spark plugs removed. You can also check for that with a fuel pressure test.