Fairtax4me

When did this start? Does it do it with the hazard lights also?

It would help to put what state you live in in your Profile Location. You likely won't find a center diff for sale at an online parts supplier unless you buy from a Subaru dealer. Most places will not take apart a transmission to remove the center diff assembly. It's much cheaper to go to a U-pull-it type junkyard and get one yourself. I seem to remember seeing someone selling a couple center diffs in the classified here. Let me see if I can find the listing.

I would go to your local dealer. Take your VIN with you and get a price quote for a new filler neck. Then you'll have a part number you can cross reference. Those things changed so often, you really need to make sure you get the right one for everything to fit back together right.

Belt probably just isn't tight enough. Won't hurt to spray it down with brake cleaner if you think it's because of oil.

I thought it had to be WOT for it to switch back to open loop. (I certainly could be wrong though) Does the TPS signal indicate WOT when this happens?

If you don't feel like working on it I can put a timing belt on it for you in an hour or so. Chances are if the belt was changed at 300k it probably doesn't need immediate attention. You might just throw a set of plugs in it, check the condition of the belt and call it good.

Well the mark that concerns me is inside the cylinder right between where the compression rings would sit at the top of the stroke. Its about the size of a small pea. I thought about re-ringing that cylinder but I don't think that spot would hone out. Not to mention the cylinder certainly isn't round anymore. I suppose I could try it. Not like I can make it any worse. Think I'll have to ream that edge before I can get the piston out though? Any tricks for that? Or do I need to just get a reamer?

:-\ So I'm cleaning up the block a bit getting ready to put my heads back on. Wiping out all the cylinders I notice this stuff in cylinder 4 won't come off. I can run my finger across this area and it feels different than the rest of the cylinder. Not quite as smooth. To top that off I noticed a small mark at the top. And it feels kinda like sand paper. The pics of that are HERE, and they're HUGE so you can see more detail. I'm guessing these markings are due to corrosion from the coolant getting into the cylinder. And will result in ever decreasing compression in this cylinder. Now I get to either rebuild or replace. I'm liking the replace option, since it's cheaper, and easier. Hmmm... maybe it's Franken-time? Should have taken your advise before John! You can say "I told you so", and at my misfortune and pigheadedness. (for there to be misfortune, does fortune need to first be?) Out of curiosity though, has anyone here rebuilt a 2.2? What did the major parts cost (bearings, rings, pistons, etc.) and where did you get them? Other than that: Earthquake!!! 5.8 magnitude. The epicenter was only about 30 miles from where I live. Luckily, it appears that no-one was seriously injured or killed. But plenty of people along the east coast felt it. Just felt an aftershock while sitting here typing. Also felt one earlier that registered 4.2. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Maps/US2/37.39.-79.-77.php

Yeah I wouldn't worry about it too much. The springs are only about an inch longer when uncompressed. That much won't make any difference to the suspension.

I know. You unplug it with the engine off, then start it and you can drive. All 2.2 Auto trans after 94? have EGR, 2.2 manual typically doesn't until 97 or 98, then all 2.2 also have EGR AFAIK. And all 2.5 engines have EGR regardless of trans type.

Water in what? The cylinders? Smoke/steam is normal after major engine work because there is grease and crud everywhere and all over the exhaust manifolds that has to burn off. If it keeps smoking after a day or so look around really close for leaks.

Sounds like a good test to me. Wiggle the wires some just to make sure it's not a wire issue. You could also unplug it and drive the car around the block a few times (it won't be happy, but it will still go) to see if that makes a change. Other way around. When the valve opens it lets exhaust gases into the intake manifold. This creates "dirty" air which decreases the effectiveness of combustion. If the valve is opened at idle, it also creates essentially a very large vacuum leak in the intake manifold. With the drop in vacuum, plus sucking in exhaust, the fuel air mixture entering the cylinders becomes almost impossible to ignite. But at higher Rpms when the valve opens the change is barely noticeable. When the valve is closed (whether it's stuck, welded, blocked off, etc.) there is no change in vacuum, no exhaust gas entering the intake stream, thus no effect on running condition.

Only if it gets stuck open. Usually a stuck open EGR valve will flat out stall the engine at idle. If it's partially blocked or carboned up really bad it could hang open just enough to mess with things.

Don't think we'll get much out of him. The last time he was on the board was in November 2009. That's the last time he was logged in anyway. If you dealer can't figure it out, you might try calling SOA and ask if there are any Technical Service Bulletins out for this problem. The odds that this is a common issue on newer soobs seem pretty high if you ask me.

I'd guess a bad half axle or a worn out wheel bearing. Bad ball joints, bad tie rod ends, and worn bushings can cause vibrations as well, so you may want to check over the whole front end to make sure nothing is loose.

On a manual transmission the only way to fix that is to replace the viscous coupling. It's easiest to grab a whole center differential assembly from a junkyard car. The viscous coupling by itself can be replaced though by disassembling the center diff.

It is the rear. Don't know what I was thinking.

Honestly, I would just replace that rear cat. With the amount of rust that is on there it won;t be long before it breaks at the other end and you'll have to pay again to get that patched up. You can replace the cat yourself and save some $$ over paying an exhaust shop. It basically just bolts right in.

Plugs can show all sorts of colors when there is a running problem. But since you mentioned the FPR, did you check the vacuum line for gas? A ruptured FPR will make it run very rich. Should be. Just match up the part number on the sticker on the side. It's probably a 22680- AA160. I got one for my 96 out of an older gen Legacy and it worked great.

Yeah they have to be tightened at least another, but no more than, 180 degrees, 90 degrees at a time. A torque angle gauge helps for this.

Yeah you need to change the valve cover gaskets again. I'd suspect an unclean sealing surface to have a repeat failure that soon. That or a cheap gasket. Both mating surfaces should be shiny clean before you put the new gaskets on.

I really don't know which axles will fit what. I know there are some that stick into the diff, others have stubs in the diff that the axle slides onto, but I don't know which years or cars had which setup. I do know that you can not swap stubs from one type to the other because of differences inside the diffs. So you have to get axles that fit the diff, or at least the inner cups. 93-04/05ish? Impreza axles SHOULD be the same as 2nd gen Legacy (95-99) axles, or at least have the same spline on the hub end.

There were a few of those cars at Chesterfield Auto Parts last time I was there. AWD transmission there is like $125 plus a $20 core. Looks like the Doc has you set up though.

Not much for ideas beyond what you already said. Are the wires cheapo wires or Subaru?

Pedal faster dude we ain't gonna make it! If you know where/how everything goes it might save you some $$ to disassemble the head before you take it to the machine shop. Leaving the valves in won't matter, but the rest it helps to have out. My local shop didn't even bother, I had to take it all apart later to clean the shavings out. But it wasn't a big deal since I had to take it apart anyway, then found out something pretty important was missing all along.