Strakes

Are the wheels aftermarket? Even with the proper tire size, the wrong wheel offset can allow the tires to rub. A friend of mine had this happen to him when he bought a used Impreza with 205/60R15 tires on aftermarket-probably-meant-for-a-VW-or-something-wheels with a 35mm (iirc) offset.

And...a car that is paid for drives much nicer than the one with payments!

ask Andyjo and take a look at his writeup: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50268 Oh, I've replaced struts on various cars and after one precarious incident when the tool slid to one side and made the spring bow out like a slinky made me rethink what kind of compressor I would use in the future. Thank God I didn't end up with a lobotomy. There are many available, but the one I like have hooks with a lockable pin to hold it in place. Like this: hope that helps and good luck!

Have you checked the transmission fluid level...is the fluid level low?

I used to pick up and deliver mail and packages from the US post office mail room at the airport when I was working as a baggage handler. Not many in the mail room were as nice to the packages and took pride in their work like tcspeer does. They need more like you in the entire US post office system. To this day, I get a little wary shipping fragile or expensive items via US post office.

The stock plugs were regular. I've replaced mine with regular NGKs the first time around and then because it's such a pain to replace them, I switched to NGK Iridium IX for longer change intervals so I wouldn't have to replace them so often. I would stick with NGK or Denso brand plugs in whatever flavor you choose keeping in mind that regular copper plugs need to be changed more often (30K miles) than the Iridium or Platinum (60K miles maybe more). I have personally had a bad experience with Bosch platinum +4s in my wife's 93 legacy. Some guys have run Bosch with no problems, but for some weird reason, the Bosch platinum +4s act funny in a lot of Subaru engines. My wife's got standard Denso plugs in hers right now and they run great as well.

Actually, I was the kid with the kerosene and matches

That's awesome to have your battery last so long. My Johnson Controls J5 battery went out on me just recently...at the 4 year mark. I think it was my car's way of telling me what she wanted for her 4 year birthday. If you have diffiiculty believing that it lasted 11 years, maybe the previous owner had only the Subaru dealer work on it and had them replace the battery with a Subaru battery when it went out just before you got it?

I don't recall what the Haynes manual recommends, but you can use any of these 3: Threebond 1215 3M T-3 Silicone (black) #08670 Loctite-Permatex #599 Ultra Grey <--I've found this at PepBoys

Along with what Andyjo said, don't use anything electric powered (while a Dremel) or anything that can cause a spark when sanding it down either.

+1 what Legacy777 said. As well as NASIOC, you can find a lot of late model Legacy enthusiasts at SLI: http://sl-i.net/FORUM/index.php I bet a classified ad there may get you a lot more interest.

The top piston rod locknut requires a 17mm offset wrench like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=32042 I've seen them for sale at sears and at Lowe's as well. If you buy KYB GR2s, they come with a new lock nut and are a larger 19mm. Hold the piston rod steady with a 6mm allen while you loosen/tighten the locknut with the offset wrench. Also check out Andyjo's writeup: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50268

Sorry, didn't think you'd want my '02 settings to apply to your '93 since my car is a wagon and has a rear multi-link suspension and your's is struts all the way around. IIRC, the guy gave me about 1 degree toe-in in the front to compensate for the negative camber that results from lowering my car, also, he installed a camber adjustment bolt on each side of the upper rear control arms and gave me a little less camber than what resulted from the new springs. Maybe someone else can pipe in for your particular model year.

After I lowered my wagon and put on new struts, I went to a great alignment shop in town. They worked with me and got the alignment just right. Only advice I have is, please don't go to a Firestone or Sears where they let someone who's been given a 2 hour crash course on how to align all cars touch your car. Go to a real aligment shop that specializes in custom aligment settings. The one I went to specializes in aligning cars after major work like frame straightening and/or modification. Tell them what you've done, and go out there with the technician and he should be able to work with you on what you want to accomplish.

That blasted silicon detail spray those guys spray on used cars...all it does it let dirt stick to it after you start driving it. I hate that detail spray, but that sounds legit. The documented fender-bender and the long-time on the lot is probably why the price is lower than similar cars without a damage history. The carfax report is probably why it's been sitting there forever. As a result, they are tired of it not selling, and it's fast approaching the no-profit zone because the payments are eating away at the potential profit. The powertrain warranty is a plus. If you are unsure the fender was repaired right, tell them you'd consider it, if you can have a trusted Subaru mechanic look over it at his shop. A properly repaired fender isn't something, I'd worry about. Frame damage hidden by a shiny new fender is very serious and can usually be found out by a good mechanic or even collision center. If that's the case, run away. If the repair is proper and checks out, and you don't mind that later re-sale of this car may be harder with a carfax record, then it may be good for your situation. Do you care about re-sale value? Are you the buy it and run it to 200,000 miles and re-sale value won't matter kind of guy? Deep down, what's your gut tell you?

If its a wagon, maybe a cargo tray/cover put on top of the carpet would solve it? like this one: https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/product_info.php?cPath=31_44&products_id=190

The oil pan seal IIRC is just permatex ultra grey. I've got Fel-Pro valve cover gaskets on our 93 and they are quality gaskets.

Biltz, thanks for that great link. I can't tell you how much I dislike slowly pouring coolant into a Subaru just to avoid those darn "air pockets". Have you used that Lisle coolant thingy? Do you like it?

http://www.clutchmasters.com/

I've got a subaru spt muffler on mine. I like it. However, many recommend Stromung. http://www.stromung.com/ You may need a $20 CEL delete thingy to attach to your O2 sensor if you go with the full system. Also, the guys on http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/ have done numerous variations of custom CAT back exhausts. You may want to ask that question there as well.

Yes. A paint and body shop usually can prep and respray the wheels for you. It works best to refinish with the tires removed. You can save on labor by preping them yourself. Also, depending on how rough the old wheels are, there are a variety of new affordable aftermarket alloy wheels if you search places like the tirerack.com

Ask the tirerack guys which tires on your short list have the rim-protector on them. It's just an extra thick piece of "meat" around the rim flange area. They actually do a lot to avoid most rim scrapes that happen in the parking lot. The ASX that I have (215/45R17) have a very small one, but my friend's Avons have a lot thicker sidewall. I think some Dunlop's (SP5000s in particular) have a really thick sidewall/rim protector band.

Does this link sound like what's happening to you? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56130 If it's not fuel related, the pesky coolant temp sensor may be suspect. About $20 for a new one, super easy to replace.

Sometimes the leak (if you used certain types of coolant with higher sulfates) looks like a white powder deposit near the leak, sorta like battery acid corrosion on top of an old car battery. However, your Mom's car is still under the powertrain warranty. Therefore, I would take her car to the dealer and have them put a dye in it, and look for the leak. Then have them fix it. If it's a hose, then you may have to pay for it because I think that is covered to 36000 miles. However, if it's the head gasket, then they should repair it because you'd be under the 60000 mile engine/powertrain warranty. Good luck, and let us know how it goes and what you find out.

I am going to say that there maybe a hard to find coolant leak somewhere around a hose or elsewhere externally. I know that you have looked for external leaks, but sometimes they can be really hard to find. The clamps that Subaru uses around the large radiator hoses can dig into the hose and create a small leak if tightened to tight after the hoses get older. Even though it may not apply to MY2003, did you add the Subaru $1.50 bottle of conditioner when you flushed it last?