Fairtax4me

Yeah it sounds like the 1-2 shift solenoid is slow. Change the fluid again, and put in a bottle of TransX and that should help it. These typically shift slow when cold. It's just normal for this transmission. The TransX additive helps with the shift delay, and will help smooth out the "jerk" when it shifts. Autozone won't be able to help you unless you have a Check Engine light on. They can scan engine codes, but won't be able to tell you anything about the transmission. Knocking noise started after a wal-mart oil change? Change the oil and filter again. I use 5W30 Valvoline Max-Life and Purolator filters on both of my cars.

I think I saw that car on craigslist. Was it in the DC area? Depends on what part of the exhaust has the hole, $800 could be cheap.

No but just connecting a jumper wire to the starter won't make it engage. Still needs 12v on the small wire to kick the solenoid over. Burnt out fusible link, could be a burnt out relay or two along the line as well. Anywhere between the ignition switch and starer that is making poor contact or is corroded/burned out. Or between the battery and ignition switch, same deal. The click he's hearing might not even be the starter, it could be one of the relays under the dash clicking over when it gets power.

Subarus can tend to knock a little. Have you changed the oil yet? That's always a good first step. A transmission fluid change should be done as well. Do that three times and drive 100 miles or so in between changes. If it still shifts weird a bottle of Trans-X might help. Fresh fluid makes the biggest difference though.

If you can turn a wrench you can put a brand new CHRA in it. A couple places on Ebay sell them. Cheaper and much more reliable than a rebuild. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Subaru+Forester+turbo+CHRA&_sacat=0&_odkw=Subaru+Forester+turbo+CHRA&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

Spark plug wires are notorious for causing misfires on these. If the plugs and wires haven't been changed recently do that. Get NGK parts or Subaru only.

I forded a creek that was about 8" in some spots. Any higher than that I would be a little nervous. The intake box in the fender is looped around so the air comes in through the top, but it does have a drain hole in the bottom. There's a check valve in the drain so hopefully water won't go rushing in, but the bottom of the assembly is only 14" or so from the road.

I remember reading in an old thread someone talking about the procedure for setting the IAC position. You can check the duty cycle with the Subaru Select Monitor. Here's what the MY1995 FSM has to say about the valve: FSM does not say how to adjust the solenoid. Just putting it back to the clean spots under the screws will get it close enough to work correctly without screwing up anything else.

A burned Fusible link is not a good sign. Do you have a multimeter or even just a test light so you can check that the starter wire is getting 12v when the key is turned. Also, did you ever test and/or charge the battery? Made sure the negative cable is tight on the engine end?

There's even a forum for it already. http://www.subarubrzforum.com/ All the freshest info on the BRZ is there.

Yeah if you can get the intake tube off the turbo you can just stick your hand in there and try to wiggle the shaft. If you feel any play it needs to be replaced. Yes I believe there was a screen in the oil feed line for the turbo. I've read about them having trouble on the Sti and I believe the Forester engine is the same. I looked on cars101.com and they say the Forester XT turbo got some form of variable valve timing in 2004. I assume it was the early version of the AVCS system.

Kinda sounds like a dead turbo. Check the shaft for play. The codes could be related in a round-a-bout sort of way. There are some issues with these clogging ports from what I've read, the screens in the banjo bolts on the turbo clog and starve it of oil. Also the actuators for the camshaft timing advance get plugged up. Well not the actuators, but the ports for them. Then the actuators clog because the oil in them cooks into sludge. That may not apply to your year vehicle, I thought they didn't have the AVCS until 05, but the Forester seems to always be the first to get the new engines.

Wrong connector. That's the evap purge control solenoid. Look lower. It's that greyish one attached to the brass fitting down behind the wire harness about mid-left in that pic.

I plowed through about 6-8" of ice slush water (big chunks of ice) at about 45 mph a few winters back. Snow had blocked a storm drain and the melt water flooded the road in one spot. Couldn't see it because it was around a curve and I just couldn't do anything about it when I got to it, there was a dump truck in next to me in the left lane. So 50 feet later I had probably moved about 100 gallons of water and ice chunks from the road up and into the back of that truck, and another hundred the opposite direction. Car kept running just fine.

Yeah definitely remove the dogbone if you haven't done that. Getting that out of the way will allow you to lift the engine much higher. No need to mess with the trans mount.

I'm not sure who makes the OEM seal, I know Fel-pro makes several gaskets for Subaru. I always get the rear mains from Subaru. I just replaced one on an EJ253 that looked like it wasn't that old but it was seeping. It was also black, all of the OE seals I've seen are brown.

I should ask, because I assumed the LSi had a 2.5, but now I'm thinking... 96 would have had the more reliable 2.2, which engine is in that car? If it's the 2.2 then just fix the leak, it's probably just a loose hose, but the plastic ends on the radiators can crack and only leak when the engine is up to operating temp. If it's the 2.5 do that block test. The DOHC 2.5 likes to eat head gaskets and they leak combustion gases into the cooling system. This will cause higher than normal pressure in the cooling system to push coolant out wherever it can escape.

I got a Bluetooth do-hickey for my iPhone called Blue-driver for $40. Seems to work pretty well for just reading codes, but I haven't paid the extra $$ for the full version yet to use the real-time features. It will record live data, display freeze frames, DTCs, pretty much anything a decent scanner will show, stores the info and then lets you email it to yourself so it can be reviewed more thoroughly on a computer. You can see all of the info on the phone, it's just not easy to see multiple parameters at the same time.

Is it clicking close to the radiator or close to the engine? There could be a flap of rubber inside the hose getting knocked around by air bubbles. Or it could jut be the sound of lots of air rushing through the hose. Have your friend do a block test to check for exhaust gases in the coolant. And go get those new radiator hoses back. If it passes the block test, put a new thermostat in it (Use the part number mentioned in the sticky thread at the top of the forum page), and put those new hoses on.

The adjustment on the IAC is to be made only with a scanner that will show the duty cycle of the solenoid. The solenoid affects running conditions as well as idle speed and air/fuel mixture. Set it back in it's original position, and start looking for the vacuum leak that's probably causing it to run that way.

That's getting about the same mileage that my wagon gets. I've never got better than 25mpg on a trip out of that thing. I only seem to get about 15 in town though.

From what I have read the ECU doesn't care what engine is in the car as long as the wiring plugs in it will work the same. I'd look at tune up items, plugs, wires, filters first. Check vacuum hoses. Mechanical issues could be timing related or something stupid like a ruptured or stuck fuel pressure regulator.

It could certainly be the separator plate if you didn't replace/reseal that. This is usually not a very large leak, it tends to take a few minutes for the oil to drip down the block. Split rear main seals can pour oil out like a faucet.

These engine mounts are a PITA to change with the engine in the car. Like OC said, remove the airbox and reach down from the top, you have to do it by feel. If you have one of those round mirrors on a stick that can help.

As far as I know the original torque sequence is still recommended. I don't know of any tendency for these blocks to crack, but you should ALWAYS have the heads machined and magnafluxed to check for cracks. Did you drain the old oil from the engine after removing the heads or before? If before, did you leave the drain plug off to let any other fluids that get in the block drain out? The rear main is tricky, but must be installed to exactly the same depth as the original seal. There is usually some buildup on the edge of the crank, that can often be removed with some brake cleaner n a rag and a little elbow grease. Scrub it all off before you try to install the new seal. Coat the whole seal inside and out, especially the lip of the seal that sits against the crank, with fresh motor oil, coat the end of the crank in oil as well, then press the seal on and twist slowly until it slips over the crank and into the bore in the block. Then work around it with a rubber mallet to tap it into the bore, then with a flat tip punch to get it seated the rest of the way. I've done several of these that way. Cross my fingers, I haven't had one fail yet.