Fairtax4me

The only major one is on the release lever pivot bolt inside the bell housing. The rest of the cable system doesn't move much except for the cable itself, and you can't lube that. I suppose you can hit the pedal pivot with some lithium grease.

Those are actuators for the VVT. I believe they control oil pressure to the advance mechanism. Timing chain is a plus. The cat just beneath the engine will be a sludge maker, just like the Saab 9-3. The cat is too close to the oil pan, the heat cooks the oil which deteriorates it faster and causes it to clog the pickup and other oil passages. I know the idea is that the cat warms up faster, decreasing emissions at startup, but it's a fatal flaw for the 9-3. We'll just have to see how that works out for Subaru.

Of the ones you have seen do they have the same head/cam design (sohc vs dohc) or is any type susceptible to this? I also wonder if there is any correlation between head gasket failure and if it may contribute to deposits forming/landing on the valve seat.

Oh yeah, I love a good strip show! Did the hood have one of those big cowl scoops?

It's a Subaru, it leaks oil. The stop leak stuff is usually just thick gooey oil... stuff. It helps increase surface tension which makes the oil less likely to work it's way through the small holes that are the source of leaks. I certainly wouldn't use it on a turbo engine for fear that it may impede oil flow to the turbo and cause damage to the bearings. (which would then mean she'd need a new turbo) I'm quite familiar with bad turbos working at a Saab dealership. We see one at least once a month. They usually blow a greyish blue smoke screen so thick you can't see the car for the smoke. And it hangs around for a LONG time too. It can start out small in some cases. You might only see some slight smoke when coming off the throttle or sitting at idle. But that only lasts a few days to maybe 2 weeks at most depending on how the car is driven.

I was 40 bucks short of buying a set of the two piece headlights and corner lights off of a 99 outback in the yard last time I went. I had the idea that the newer lights might fit my car, which has the one piece lights, with some slight modification, if any. Just didn't have the cash at the time. Not sure when I'll end up back down there and by then they might be gone. The bodywork around them is the same, the only tings I could see that might be different were the mounting points, and maybe part of the header panel. But the thin metal right around the back of the light housings can be trimmed/cut easily and will not harm anything structurally.

Any type of Moly grease will work. Though parts stores usually stock pre measured packets of grease usually listed as CV Joint Grease. I've seen it on the shelf at Napa.

Same as the early legacy stuff. Radio shack sells them cheap. #7219, 12V, 60ma, Micro Lamp. They come in packs of 2 for about $1.79 a pack.

Sometimes the ECU doesn't pick up on a bad o2 sensor right away. I the sensor is still responding in an expected manner the ECU will just adjust the fuel trim and go with it. The sensor output has to be out of spec or the frequency of change in the output has to be below a certain threshold before the ECU knows there is a problem. The heater circuit code may indicate there is a short or broken wire going to the rear O2 sensor, or that the heater itself has burned out. Either way it's not a huge deal. The sensor will still work normally once it reaches operating temperature. The heater is just there to hasten warming of the sensor so it produces a signal sooner.

The last time I wet sanded a large section on a car (had to sand and buff out a 2 foot long scratch on black paint) I draped a water hose over a large box and let it run constantly across the panel while I sanded. Turned out great, most "even" sanding I've ever done with 2000 grit, but I probably wasted 15 gallons of water, and my fingers were numb when I got done.

$6-8 for a gallon of PP concentrate vs $5 for a 16oz spray can of Engine Brite.

That's the idea. It scuffs the surface to help the clear adhere better to the paint. The paint will be dull but the clear coat should fill in the sanding marks and come out nice and shiny. That's the idea, I've never done it that way, but I've only cleared 1 or 2 things I've ever painted. Usually I just prime, paint and be done with it.

Could a bad exhaust gasket on the head cause an air leak and possibly cause the valve to burn? I know these cars have issues with exhaust leaks, not sure how commonly that particular gasket goes bad though. I've heard of this before and am also interested to know exactly how it happens. My suspicion is varnish/buildup under the bucket.

What do the motor mounts have to do with it? Doesn't look like the engine is moving too much in the vid. Are they flat/crushed out? If you suspect a fuel injector is bleeding pressure down after shut off, get the engine warm, pull the spark plugs and turn the key ON. That will prime the system and any injector that is leaking will mist/vapor out of the cylinder.

Rear sensor... That shouldn't affect mileage at all. A failing front sensor may be to blame for the mileage drop. The rear sensor is just a monitor and doesn't have any dealing with fuel consumption.

Seems to me that idle fuel pressure should be something like 32-35 psi. (might be wrong on that) So that might be a bit low, but I dunno if it's enough to worry about. Pretty sure I've seen you mention that you've replaced the filter. You could try a new FPR if you want, or grab 2 or 3 out of the junkyard and see if that changes it any. Idle did seem a little rough. You ever used seafoam?

Differential noise could have been unrelated, but failure could have still been possible in a short time. I don't see why they would have suspected the differential for a constant noise though. Constant reverberating noise is almost always tires.

Go buy a gallon of purple power and spray down the whole bottom of the engine and car and transmission really well, let it soak in, spray it some more, spray it all off with a regular water hose (helps to have the front end up on jack stands or ramps, or on a lift if you have access). Spray it all down multiple times if you have to and get it as clean as you can. Let it dry, park the car on a level surface and just let it idle for a few minutes and watch for drips under the car. Try to track down where the oil trail(s) originate.

I can't find a definition for P1041. P0141 (in case that was a typo) is the heater circuit for the O2 sensor which could affect mileage significantly if you only make short trips. There are some other things that can affect fuel mileage. A faulty coolant temp sensor for example, but people usually encounter driveability issues when those go bad. What year, engine, and mileage?

Which engine do you have? On the 2.2 there is a seal on the rear of the passenger side head that leaks like a sieve. But all the leaks on subaru's tend to end up dripping down to the jack plate. Can't rule out a bad oil pan seal, but those are sealed with Threebond RTV at the factory and are rarely the actual source of a leak. People see oil around the pan sealing surface and just assume it must be leaking. But it could be a front crankshaft seal, front cam seal, or oil pump seal.

About 18 - 20". You can put the front end on a set of ramps and it will clear.

I replaced the shift selector seal when I did mine. It's really easy if you have the tailshaft housing off of the trans already. Sand down the rust on the selector shaft before you slide it back into the new seal. I coated the shaft with anti corrosive grease to help prevent further corrosion. Petroleum jelly also works well for that and is easily available.

I replaced the shift selector seal when I did mine. It's really easy if you have the tailshaft housing off of the trans already. Sand down the rust on the selector shaft before you slide it back into the new seal. I coated the shaft with anti corrosive grease to help prevent further corrosion. Petroleum jelly also works well for that and is easily available.

Seems to me the main shaft roller bearing going bad allows the main shaft to move fore/aft which will cause it to not engage certain gears correctly. This would also explain the heavy glitter in the oil. Rebuild or new transmission time! Make sure you get the right diff ratio.

Get 'em at the hardware store for like $2 for a pack of 10. I didn't think it was too hard to drop the trans. Took about 3 hours to get it out and I was in no hurry. But I did that because I needed to take the trans apart. Still haven't pulled an engine out of one of these but I figure it would take about as long first time.