ferret

Starting in 97, all belts went to 105K. Different belt, different materials, unless you have the STI, that belt stays at 60K due to it's materials and tighter timing specs. Before 97, many Calif spec belts, once again a different p/n, were 90K or 105K. Calif made that manditory so all mfgr's had to step up to that spec. No reason you can't put the Calif spec belt on an older Subaru ( 90-96 ).

I would look closely at the coil. These are prone to cracking and then acting just as you described when damp. Wires are cheaper however and are not a bad 1st suspect. If they don't clear up the misfire, then get a new coil. I would get a Subaru coil only however. Did have a tough to find problem once with a coil that had no markings on it and I was certain was not a factory part. Same with the wires.

Dealing with Subaru's for over 25 yrs the following are my observations and opinions: Without tearing the engine down, you can't diagnose 'cracked piston sleeves'. I haven't to date seen a piston sleeve crack, however I HAVE see the cast iron piston sleeves shift and cause compression failures and leaks that resemble a damaged piston, like a hole in the piston. That was on the 90-94 2.2L and was rare. Your symptoms do resemble a head gasket failure ( not only prone to Subarus, but I have done many other manufacturers also ). My own recommendation, find a reputable mechanic to replace your headgaskets, and all the seals, timing belt, pulleys that surround that area while the engine is apart. Spending a few extra dollars now will prevent leaks and problems in the future. If that's not an option, get a CCR rebuild. I would stick with the 2.5L. It will drop right in with no alterations and does have a good track record. Also CCR offers the 3/36 warranty just like a new engine. In fact, better than a Subaru Re-manufactured one. They only offer 1yr/12K.

The engine is the same. Emissions and sensors are different. 99 is MAF, 00 is MAP hence the difference in the air cleaners. 99 on the fender, 00 on the rear throttle body. Other senors are different also. So long as you use all the 99 sensors and move them over, the mechanics of both are the same. Good luck.

When you replaced the coolant, did you add the Subaru Coolant Additive? It's for the 1999-2003 SOHC engines to prevent and seal small external leaks. Usually from the lower rear of the head just about where you describe. Pretty cheap to try, just stop by a Subaru Parts counter and ask for it. They all know what it is.

I would go back to the timing belt. Bet it's off by a tooth. This WILL cause a misfire on ALL cylinders as you describe. I would go back to where you had the work done and ask them to check it.

Mike, few things... MIL is set IMMEDIATELY if Misfire is continuous. MIL will also flash to let you know this. OR MIL is set after 2 driving cycles of non-continuous same cylinder misfire. Does the car idle rough? It can be spark but you already changes the plug, wires and coil. Also cyl 1 & 2 share the same coil as do 3 & 4 in the coil pack, so right now I wouldn't suspect the coil pack. Cyl 2 & 4 share the same fuel rail and it's common for these to exhibit misfires just after a fuel filter was replaced. We clear the code and that time usually doesn't return. Maybe dirty, leaky injectors? Cyl 2 & 4 share the same +12v power lead on that side of the motor. The ECM/ECU once again 'grounds' the other side of the injector to make it fire, so there are separate leads to the ECM/ECU for each injector. Could be a loose timing belt, not getting the proper signal from the cam sensor to fire the injector, or an intermittent cam sensor or fuel injector. You can swap them to the other side and see if the DTC changes. That's just a start.....know it's frustrating, but a misfire means the Crank sensor didn't see a pulse XXms after the cyl received spark, so it can be mixture, spark, timing, valves, almost anything that prevents a cylinder from firing......Good Hunting.....

P0133 is slow response on a sensor. Some aftermarkets have given this code. I know I'll hear from a few, but for the O2 sensors, the Subaru ones do cost a little more, but work properly. Like a Subaru Head gasket vs felpro or others I have replaced.

passenger side near firewall, down low....maybe blocked by some wires in the way.

Older Foresters ( 98-02 ) visors were not the same shape as the legacy/outbacks. Different length...different width. You have to measure your 04 against the one you want to use. Good Luck hunting.

Unlike Jeeps, Subaru's use CV joints not universal joints. I have never seen a CV joint with a zirc ( Grease ) fitting. They are covered with a sealed boot.

04 X and XS are Cable Operated ( Forester XT ONLY in 04 was drive-by-wire). Have the dealer check the Cruise Control Actuator. Under the hood, mounted on the right strut tower on the passenger side. A few of these have been know to fail. Short of that, yes could be IAC or cruise control module (still seperate from the ECU on the 04 X and XS). 05 Foresters all went to drive by wire. Here cruise was integrated into the ECU. Also a 2004 at 20K should be fully covered by the 3/36 warrenty.

Freeze Frame data is taken at time of the failure, car warmed up or not. If the failure happens during warm up, then the snapshot is taken then. Doesn't matter if it's during Open or Closed Loop operation. Some driving cycles may take a week or 2 to set as they are set over a variety of driving conditions. Some may not be set for months as they require the vehicle to maintain a speed over 55mph for a period of time. So driving a car around town may never set that cycle. Also don't remember if it was in this thread, but early Subaru OBDII cycles were reset when the ignition was turned off. This didn't present a problem until some states started using the driving cycle settings as part of their emissions settings. Mike, if you went after the wrong valve or solenoid, don't feel bad, Subaru has renamed these and refers to them in different parts of their own manuals by different names. Has happened to the best of us. Glad you finally determined your problem. Now just get out there and enjoy driving your car.

On the rear of current Subaru Radio's there may be up to 3 separate plugs. The standard Subaru 14 pin rectangular connector. The other 2 are for additional components. A rectangular 8 pin is for a sub-woofer and/or steering wheel controls. And the 13 pin din connector for external device inputs. The radios all will work fine with just the 14 pin connector plugged.

Mike, his is similiar, The ECU sees the vent valve electrically is operating, but the other sensors in the tank do not indicate any 'venting action'. Page 1 is the same as the attachment in the P0446 thread. But your symptom is related to a blockage in the hoses, valve and filter that the vent valve controls. Once again, pls detach and save this as I'm now at my attachment limit.

In the past I have been fooled by a voltmeter measuring ohms. When you use the meter, you are usually sending 1.5v at a few ma thru the test circuit. But when you put a 'load' on it such as the drain valve coil, you might find that at the ECU you do not have 12v, but much less. ( STEP 1 ) And if you do have 12v at the ECU input connector, you may be looking at a replacement ECU as the internal semiconductor that's supposed to apply ground when the ECU tells it to, may be defective. In which case you either replace the ECU, or live with the CEL. PS..say hello to the 'valley' for me.....used to visit relatives there regularly as I grew up in W-B....and before 'Wild Water Kingdom' we used to call it Dorky Park.

Mike, Detach the following attachment. My attachments are filling up so I have to remove some this week. It's right out of the FSM for the P0446. I'll bet you have a high resistance from the drain valve return back to the ECU. You already stated you have 12v at the solenoid. This fault states the ECU does NOT see that 12 volts before it 'energizes' ( provides a ground via a semiconductor ) so it sets the CEL. P.S. this is for a 98 Forester, but most ECU connections for the evap system are the same across Subaru's

Follow this URL. It's for upgrading he speakers in an 03-06 Forester. https://www.1stsubaruparts.com/library/Forester_2003MY_Speaker_Upgrade_Kit_IxI.pdf

Up to 2002, all US 2.5L used the larger filter. Starting in 2003 with the Turbo model, the Turbo ONLY used the smaller filter so it would not be too close to the exhaust. Then for 2004 it was recommended for all US 2.5L. The truth, the smaller filter has a larger filter surface and better filter capacity. It may be smaller, but built with different characteristics. Subaru of America is using all the older filters until they are gone and then will substitute the newer smaller one. Some parts stations only have the newer one.

Don't think it's even close. If I remember those, the up pipe to the turbo has the 1st cat, and the down pipe the 2nd. Also the rest of the exhaust on the turbo are 1/2" to 1" larger, flanges and all. Non of the exhaust is interchangable.

With it in, you start in 2nd gear unless you manually put the shifter in 1st. It also lowers the shift points for driving in the snow.

On the 90-94 legacy's, that CEL is pretty normal. I always thought it was the single wire on the O2 sensor getting wet because the error always pointed to the O2 sensor. Either way, it goes off by itself after 5-10 mins so I learned ot ignore it. Had my 90 Legacy LS wagon for 8 yrs. Best of the 7 Subaru's I owned to date. MY04 Forester is currently the 2nd best. If it continues as it has, it may equal or better that Legacy.

Don't know about fuel economy, but for 07 the government requires a slightly different measurement of HP. So many vehicles have reduced HP this coming model year.

3 months too late. Had one like that from my 90 Legacy LS I threw out 3 months ago when cleaning out my garage. It was removed when the l Legacy was a year old to install a CD/Casette/AM/FM Jenson unit. Sorry, it sat for over 13 yrs in the same spot....now gone !!

Yup, gotta pull the Camshafts. The frame with the bearing keepers blocks access to the head bolts.