Fairtax4me

Score! :-P Oil starvation is a beach. At least you caught it before the car was out on the highway somewhere on the side of the road with dangly bits of camshaft and timing cover/gears/chain.

The main thing is they have to be oil resistant. You can get them at a dealer for a couple bucks. Part number 13396AA000

Kinda depends on the cam profile I guess. On some engines if the lash clearance isn't exactly perfect it will run like crap. Others it doesn't make any difference if it's a little tight. On the Ej25d the exhaust valve lash clearance closes up because the valve face wears, but it runs perfectly fine right up until it burns the valve.

The center bolts on the rocker assembly don't seat on a machines surface like th ones on the ends so oil seeps into the threads slowly. Makes a bunch of sludge. Did you check to see if there was any clearance between the lifters and valves?

I have an obd2 scan tool that connects and reads from my 95 wagon just fine. Also have a Bluetooth adapter and app for my iPhone that works perfectly fine on the 95 as well.

OEM idlers are NTN and NSK. You can order a set of these from TheImportExperts for about 1/3rd the price of dealer parts, and they're the same thing, just without the Subaru logo on the box. They also sell Mitsuboshi timing belts, which are the OEM belt. I'm not sure if they sell the OE brand water pump,(pretty sure it's Aisin) but pull the right strings at the dealer and you can get the OE pump for around $70 or $80. Or if you wait a few days, you can order a kit from Mizumoauto on eBay with an Aisin water pump, NTN and NSK bearings for about $170 shipped. It comes with cam and crankshaft oil seals as well.

Got part numbers for those contacts?

Got a picture of it?

I use a small pick under the edge to pop them loose, once the O-ring is unseated they pull out easily by hand. Kerosene works well for cleaning gummed up lifters.

If you're going for a turbo setup yes lower compression is what you want. But the ej20D was a higher compression N/A variant for the European markets. It never made it to the US. I'd be interested to know if the OP ever did this swap, and what the results were.

That is strange for sure. Dieseling in gasoline engines usually occurs when the engine is hot or if the ignition timing is way off. And at that, you have an electronically controlled ignition system which should not be creating spark once the ignition is off. The proper lean mix of fuel with just enough compression will combust on its own with no spark. I would suspect a leaky fuel injector at the least.

I've seen it in the 95 FSM but it's well hidden in one of the wire diagrams. You can get the Fsm for 95 here: http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/ Or you could try searching the Bustedfingermotorsports FSM archive for a pinout.

You're still blaming a dealer for WORK THEY DID NOT DO! Bottom line. You paid for a multi-point inspection and MIL diagnosis, which means they checked your tires, brakes, belts, hoses and suspension, and hooked up the computer to see what the fault code was. The dealer recommended a repair based on Subarus diagnostics and repair procedure for that code, which is to replace the Duty C solenoid and Inspect/replace the transfer clutch pack. You declined their repair and left, that's the end of their involvement in the issue. It's not uncommon for a dealer to service multiple manufacturers in the same shop. But they are bound by certain rules set by the manufacturer, your car was inspected by a Subaru technician. Here is what you need to do, go back to the dealer and BE NICE. None of this cry and piss and moan ************, ask them why the course of service they recommended did not fix the problem. IF you're capable of keeping a level head, assuming they even let you in the door, they MIGHT consider looking at the car again to figure out if there is an issue with the transmission control unit or other parts that may be preventing the Awd from working. Otherwise, take the car back to the shop that did the work and ask them NICELY if they can figure it out. But here, you paid them to replace parts, and that's what they did. Either way, you just have to get it through your head that you're not going to get this fixed for free.

To get in the $4k range you're looking at 2002 and older unless you want to buy one that needs work. I would aim for a 98 or 99 that has been either well maintained or has had recent work done including timing belt, water pump, oil seals and head gaskets. Engine wise the Forester has the same troubles as any other Subaru from the same era. The 2.5 head gaskets like to leak coolant, they all leak oil, and timing belt maintenance is a must. They do seem to wear out wheel bearings, but so do other Subarus of that age.

Some of the early 95 ones might have still had flat tappet rockers.

A case of easier said than done. Good to know.

It rhymes! A loose air intake hose or air filter housing could make noise. Could you elaborate on the chemical smell?

Right, using a multimeter you can check for resistance across the terminals on the back of the fan switch. You'll either get 0 resistance or infinite resistance. Infinite resistance meaning the switch circuit is open, thus no power is able to flow through, thus fan doesn't work. The harness plugs straight into the back of the switch, and the large black wire is the ground.

Absolutely not. The park/neutral switch, also called the inhibitor switch will only affect engine STARTING. The switch provides a path for current to flow to the starter solenoid from the ignition key switch. If the inhibitor switch fails or is in the wrong position, the starter will not work, so the engine will do nothing when you turn the key. It can not affect an already running engine. It certainly will not affect a vehicle that does not HAVE one, a manual transmission car does not have a park/neutral switch. Your car has a neutral position switch, which simply tells the ECU whether the transmission is in gear (doesn't matter which gear) or in neutral. It's a very simple switch, and has nothing to do with starting. And your car has a Clutch start switch, which prevents the starter from getting power unless the clutch pedal is depressed. The clutch start switch will NOT affect an already running engine, it is used ONLY during starting. P0519 Idle control system malfunction. This can be caused by a few things, least of which would be the valve being dirty. This will also not cause the engine to stall while driving at a steady speed. This code could be related to the neutral position switch, as it does play a part in telling the ECU when to keep engine speed up for idling. This cycles the opening/closing of the idle control valve in different manner when the engine is idling, than when it is driving (your foot is on the pedal). Most of the time a stall due to a faulty neutral switch should occur during a gear change, or when slowing to a stop. With a random stall, especially when driving at steady throttle, I think the code is an effect of the stall, but does not point to the actual cause.

What were the dinosaurs like? :-p

Bumper cars is the only answer sometimes. Kinda nice to leave a little chip scrape or gash in the bastards car while you're at it. Imagine playing bumper cars in a Chevy Caprice. You can do some real damage with big steel chrome bumpers! I used to push Volvo and Lexus Suvs out of my way on a weekly basis.

Man those wheels look huge for 14"s. Must be because they're white. Looks good though! Like a tonka truck!

I'll third or fourth or fifth or whatever number that Monroes suck. Don't even waste your time. You're better off with worn out leaking factory struts with 275k miles on them. KYB makes the stock parts. Brand new struts from Subaru even have KYB stamped in the case. Their replacements are equivalent to how the car would have rode when new. Otherwise there is Gabriel, they make quality parts. I don't know if I've ever read of anyone using them on a Subaru. A friend of mine needed shocks for his Volvo 240 wagon several years ago. Put a set of Monroes on it and they made the car nearly undriveable. A set of Gabriels made it ride like it was new, and they are still on the car now about 90k miles later.

Yes, that is correct. Just tell the parts stores it's a 96. Most will not believe you if you tell them it will still work. I had a guy try to argue with me that their scanner wouldn't work because my car was a 95. Even after I had used the scanner at that store several times before on the car. I just flagged over one of the more experienced associates (that knew who I was) and got her to give me the scanner instead. These are difficult to fill the coolant. You have to fill the block through the upper radiator hose first, then fill the radiator. Remove the bleeder plug on the top of the radiator on the passenger side while filling the radiator. Also, if you didn't buy an OE style thermostat, i'd suggest you get one. There is a sticky link at the top of the forum page with a part number available at some parts stores. Otherwise get one from a dealer.

I would guess the switch is broken. If it was jammed and you forced it to turn, then it probably broke internally. The switch can be removed from the climate control assembly but it's easier to just replace the whole thing with a junkyard unit. Only takes a few minutes to remove it and you can check the switch for continuity to confirm before replacing.