Fairtax4me

Coolant isn't returning to the radiator because it's being displaced by air. The air doesn't allow the system to draw the coolant back when it cools, it usually just sucks the radiator hoses flat. With the engine running check in the overflow res. for a constant strea of bubbles rushing in. That's your head gasket allowing combustion chamber pressure into the cooling system. The best definitive diagnosis is to use a leakdown tester. When you find the cylinder(s) with the gasket failure, bubbles will start pushing out of the radiator.

Is it the square top MAF? Part number ends in AA160? Those are used on all the 95-99 legacy models that I know. The solder joints crack on the pins that run from the plug to the main PCB. If you can solder, you can cut the silicone and pop the top off and resolder the pins. It usually fixes this problem, and you can run it again or keep it as a back-up for when your replacement does it.

My first guess would be a loose belt, but if it has the same issue at speed there could be something going on with the pump. Is the fluid dirty or old? Has it been changed since you've owned the car? Make sure the belt is tight and in good shape.

I've never seen a set of those in any condition, broken or not. Post in the parts wanted section. Check in the for sale section, someone might have some. I'd bet you can find some for sale on some of the Impreza boards but they probably bring premium $$$. Your car doesn't overheat with all those lights in front of the grilles?!

This is common behavior for a cold 4eat. Does it still act the same when the trans gets warmed up?

Outback and Forester have the same final drive ratio, which is the most important part of the replacement. Final drive needs to match the rear differential or you end up with major problems. Year is another consideration because of changes in the electronics and such that run the transmission. Also with a vehicle that new, you need to make sure you end up with the correct number of gears, 4 speed vs 5 speed automagic. Check car-part.com for places near you that may have a compatible trans. Generally you can search within about a three year span and still be compatible. For yours 04-06 should work fine. Prior to 04 there were some major differences which prevent earlier years from being a simple drop-in replacement. The trans number doesn't tell you much other than its an automatic (TZxxx vs TYxxx for manual), the rest is much more difficult to decipher. Search by year make and model. If you have questions about a specific year trans, make a post about it and someone may be able to tell you definitivley yes or no. Something you may try on yours in the meantime is drain and refill a couple times with fresh ATF. Pretty sure DexIII was still being used in the 05 4EAT trans. The multi vehicle mixes available at parts stores work fine for that, and tend to cost the least. I've bought it by the gallon at Walmart for under $15.

Id suggest Valvoline High mileage if you're looking something to keep lifters clean. I've used it in the past and stopped due to financial reasons/cost. About the same time I switched to Walmart Supertech oil I noticed increased oil consumption, but I'm only using maybe a quart in 3,000 miles. Running the Valvoline, consumption was less than a pint in 3,000. This is consistent with both of my current ej22s.

Simple answer. Nope.

Just cut the tape back on the harness some. They usually have about 6-8" of length just taped up in the harness. Once you get them loose there's plenty of wire.

Happy thanksgiving everyone! Hope everybody gets to eat some good food, drink some good likkah, and watch some good football! Go Panthers!

No spark could be due to a dead crank or cam sensor. There will be a code stored in the ECU of either of those is bad. Search how to get OBD1 codes, that should give you some clues where to start.

If you've owned TDIs you should be familiar with turbo maintenance requirements, oil/fluid changes and driving habits and such. That's a plus. Brand new, the biggest hurdle you have is not getting screwed on financing. Come up with 8-10 grand for a down payment. Dealers are almost always running some kind of special finance offer, and they tend to get better during the holidays. Lots of people go out shopping for Christmas presents and such, the dealers get jealous because car sales tend to drop off.

9 years old thread, doubt you'll get a response on that. There is often engine oil in the intake manifold due to the nature of the way the PCV system works. The PCV sucks oil vapor out of the crankcase, and it tends to condense and collect on the walls of the manifold. Oil/gasoline vapors are generally not good for the MAP sensor, and can cause failure of the sensor with exposure. If there is an easy way to mount the sensor away from the manifold that can prevent future problems. GM and Ford often have problems with manifold mounted MAP sensors. Subaru MAP sensors seem a bit more robust, but as these cars get older manifold mounted MAP sensor failure is seeming to become more common. Subaru used to mount MAP sensors on the passenger strut tower with a long vacuum hose leading to it with a small filter. Those sensors rarely fail. 99% of the time when someone gets a CEL code for a MAP on those older cars, it's because of a split vacuum hose, which costs $2 to replace. If the PCV valve is old, replace it. Subaru only on that, aftermarket a can cause other problems. Another common cause of acceleration problems is a bad knock sensor. The housing cracks with age and allows moisture to get to the element inside, which causes it to corrode and send false or erratic signals. Easy to replace. Search for my knock sensor 101 thread for details on that.

Bottom corners or the condenser like to corrode and can cause very small leaks. Also have seen corrosion around the o-rings where the lines attach to the condenser. Sounds like a bad o-ring or corrosion around an o-ring since it holds vaccum. They get sucked in when the vacuum is on them, then pushed out when the system is charged.

Is it a high pitch or low pitch noise? Any recent work done?

If you're having an intermittent problem, it's possibly due to a chafed or cut wire to the duty C solenoid. If the trans was ever set down on the pan, there could be damage to wiring inside the pan. I don't know wha values the TCU uses to determine when to lock the transfer clutch. I do know that it based on TPS input or a speed difference between VSS 1&2, but I don't think the computer is smart enough to know that the FDR is different.

A lot of newer ATF mixes are clear. Some are blue. Even saw some that was green once. Fluid color doesn't really determine what it is, just depends on what color of dye the fluid manufacturer feels like putting in it. If the fluid is burned that's a problem. Doesn't sound like yours is burned, but old fluid can sometimes cause issues. A drain and refill + new filter isn't a bad idea, especially if the fluid has never been changed.

Unless every possible oil seal/oring/gasket on the engine is brand new, don't switch to synthetic oil. The stuff is like water and will pour out through any point where you currently have only minor seepage. Stick with regular oil if that's what you've been running. The reason short trips are bad is because of just what you have. 2-3 mile drives where the oil and other fluids don't get to full operating temp. A block heater will help, but Idling for 3-5 minutes will give you roughly the same temp increase when you start driving. Where a block heater really becomes important is during cold starting when oil is very thick, and the flow is very slow. PA gets cold enough that you could certainly justify using a block heater. It will make starting easier in the winter, as long as you remember to plug it in.

Sun damage. That's the usual cause and it happens on everything. This is especially common on vehicles that don't get waxed often enough (or ever), and no doubt you've taken care of the car since purchase, but I'm guessing you probably don't know the previous owners cleaning/waxing habits. Bumpers often get repainted and don't "look" like they've been, because they get kind of a rough life anyway, with getting bugs and sand blasted and such while driving. Normally of the clear on a bumper starts peeling, it will be on the sides or near a corner, or on the top side that is the most exposed to the sun. And obviously this also applies to the roof as well, since it's exposed to the sun almost all the time. The area around the sunroof tends to flex a bit while the car is moving, which can eventually lead to cracks forming that allow the clear to start peeling.

Check and clean your battery terminals. Cold weather can cause an already poor connection to lose contact and prevent sufficient current flow to the starter.

Its a MAP sensor. It's measuring manifold absolute pressure, which is any pressure above perfect vacuum (0 pressure). In your case it's only measuring manifold vacuum, which is still higher pressure than perfect vacuum. You could just have a vacuum leak. Check all of the breather and PCV hoses, and check the other small vacuum hoses for any splits or loose fit. There should be a diagram on the bottom of the hood, follow that to get an idea of where the hoses go. Another thing that causes rough starting, rough idling, or stalling is carbon buildup in the throttle body and intake manifold. Seafoam works great to clean that out. Don't touch the throttle body stop screw. That will just cause more problems.

Easiest check is to check for 12v on both sides of the fuel pump at the pump connector. Set up your meter with clips so you can watch it at Key On and while cranking. Need something like 12v going to the pump. (It will be less, but how much less depends on condition of the wiring in the car.) Good ground will show less than 1v on the ground side of the pump. If you have a bad ground it will show high voltage or even same as supply voltage on the ground side. I don't remember where it grounds, but if you have a poor ground you can cut the ground wire where it comes in through the floor under the seat and ground to a point under the seat. I think there's a ground point already on the far right side.

The mounting bushings for the rack may be worn out. They get covered in oil and grease and fall apart because they're just rubber. If the whole rack housing moves, it's probably the bushings. A set of polyurethane bushings costs about $40 and takes maybe an hour to put in. If the movement is internal, you need a new steering rack.

Usually see that sort of thing on rebuilds. Leakdown test looks good at only 5% leak. Some manufacturers specify up to 15% leak as normal. Not sure about Subaru, but 5% is pretty good on any engine.

Don't use EFI hose for ATF lines. Get actual ATF Cooler hose. It's much better suited for that job. With any engine swap there are things that need to be worked around. The only direct swap is the one where you take the old engine out and replace it with the exact same one from the exact same year as yours. Even then there are occasionally differences that need to be swapped.