ferret

The Subaru diagnostics section 1st asks "were there any other codes?" Since you didn't specify, I'll guess not. Then it states 2 or more driving cycles with the idle at a higher RPM then the ECU specified. Check for: Air leaking into the intake manifold at the throttle body, any loose components, hoses all connected and not cracked. In short any intake leaks. No Faults found there, then: Ensure the throttle cable has enough play allowing the throttle plate to close and the Idle Air Solenoid to do it's job at the ECU request. No fault found there, then: Remove the Idle Air Solenoid and inspect it for any foreign particles which may hold the passages open. No Fault found there, then: Replace the Idle Air Solenoid.

No need to remove intake. It's mounted with a single 12mm (maybe 13 or 14), just to the drivers side below the throttle body. Just be sure to torque it to 24Nm or 17 Ft/lbs. Over torqueing can damage the sensor. If Josh reads this, he has pictures in his posts which show the sensor. Maybe do a forum search on knock sensor.

On MY02 Forester I had Kumho Ecsta 716's....They were over 40K and lots of tread left when I traded that...(different story there). They handled great and were very good in the snow. MILES above the stock Bridgestones. They were $42 a piece for 205/70/15's. I just replaced the factory Geo's on MY04 Forester. The 716's are no longer available, but i got their replacements.....Solus. Now my size is 215/60/16 and were $54 a piece. These once again are an amazing tire and an even more amazing price. End of my $.02

This URL point to a UK Ford site, but the explaination is the same no matter who the manufacturer is: http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/cats.htm

I would check the level of the tranny gear oil. Small dipstick st the rear of the engine on the passenger side. WAY down. You might have to use a flashlight and push some wires out of the way to see it. After that I would remove the top plug on the rear differential and use my finger to feel if there is enough gear oil in there. If all the fluids are correct, you may have a failed bearing in the tranny, differential or even a rear wheel bearing gone bad.

Few Questions, since I can't touch, feel or hear this vehicle: Did this make noise before the fluid changes? Auto or 5 speed? It is possible that it is an Automatic and they drained both the Tranny fluid and front differential and ONLY refilled the tranny fliud, leaving the front differential dry. There are 2 dipsticks on the AWD Automatic that must be filled.

??? the Forester you test drove, was it an LL BEAN? These have self leveling suspension in the rear. (all in the Shock/strut assy). They do ride more firm than the standard Forester. Also Ditto on the mirror.....my wife liked the lit vanity mirrors on our 90 Legacy LS wagon. To bad the Forester doesn't offer this at any trim level.

According to Motor Trend, 08 will be a different year for Subaru: Release of New Impreza Redesign of Forester Introduction of Subaru 'Van' with a n/a Boxer engine & AWD. ie not the Traviq they currently sell in Japan. Un-couple with SAAB (no more Saabaru). The SAAB 9-2 will be of the german Opal based with a standard inline 4. These were just one liners offered in what I read. No futher details were given right now.

I have had both body styles. Had a 2002 L and a 2004 XS. And 2 tall kids. They called the rear seat of the 02 the 'midget mobile'. Somehow with the similiar exterior dimensions, The kids say the 04 has more rear seat room. So much for the back. There you will also get in the 06 the rear center arm rest. Overall, I am much happier witht he 04. Not only has it been more reliable (had a lemon of an 02), but it seems to me more comfortable. The 04's had a full size spare, so if you want to purchase a steel wheel and tire, I know it will fit. You will also get the other small improvments Subaru has made to this vehicle since mine. Next Major remake is sked for 08. Best of Luck.....and Merry Christmas.....Happy Hanukkah....Happy Kwanzaa......Happy Boxing Day......and which ever other Happy Holidays you and all who read this celebrate over the next few days................Oh yeah..HAPPY/HEALTHY New Year to ALL !!!

Optional on the Forester until 2005. 2005 became Standard.

When it is in the failing condition, shut it off, then unplug the Front Oxygen Sensor. Restart it and see of the problem goes away. (This WILL set a CEL that will have to be reset either with an OBDII tester or disconnecting the battery for a few minutes) This will run the engine in 'Open Loop' mode (no feedback for air/fuel ratio). The car will run on a preset of mixtures programmed into the ECU. If the problem goes away, replace the front Oxygen sensor. This is a nitch problem that Subaru hasn't released any data on, but some dealers and servicers who have come across it have seen it. When warm, the Oxygen sensor tells the ECU that it's running rich and shuts down the fuel injectors. Hence the hesitation and loss of power. Also every 'red' cat I have seen is from 'too lean' mixtures, not too rich. This was very common on early 90 Honda engines as the valve seats wore and the engines ran really lean. Saw a lot of damaged cats on early 90 Honda's, even heard of 2 that got soo hot the cars caught on fire.

2004XS 5sp 39K 25-34....usually 25-30 in Winter.....29-34 in Summer Worst tank..only once......24......Short Short runs....barely letting it get warm.....Best Subaru I've owned to date for mileage and problems (none) My 2002 Forester L 5sp......18-25.....I never got above 25 with that car....and that did have engine and emissions problems (Bad Bad Piston slap Hours after warmup that Subaru deemed normal) and 7 defective front oxygen sensors....traded it at 58K. I've owned 6 Subaru's since 1978....all purchased new...all 5 speeds. The 04 Forester has been the Best to date, followed by my 90 Legacy LS wagon. (had 187K on it when it was totaled). Worst was that 02 Forester. Was just a defective vehicle as my neighbor has an 02 automatic and has been problem free. But they say that they get 19-23 mpg.

Follow this URL: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.2SingleOverWin01.pdf

If under warrenty, by all means, have them do the repair.

This has been a problem on all the frameless Subaru's I have ever owned. 1st confirm the problem, then replace the defective part. Use a piece of tape (Duct tape works well) and put it on the outside of the drivers glass right by the upright rear side of the mirror mount. Where the window seals to that small triangular piece. Be sure the tape seals between the glass and mirror mount. Then take a test drive. Noise gone or lessened, Replace the window Gussett, as it's called. Subaru now stocks these. The rubber seal gets deformed and no longer seals well and makes noises at highway speeds as if you have a window cracked open just a little. Had this problem on my 90 Legacy Wagon. After replacing the gusset for the 2nd time, I learned to close these doors by using the door itself, not pushing it closed by putting my hand on the glass.

I know 2 people with them in Outbacks. Both love 'em. A little harder on gas, but they both say they have a lot of torque. It was Subaru's choice for the B9 Tribeca also. Don't confuse the current 3.0 with the 3.3 of the past. That was a completely different engine built for the SVX. Not a bad engine, but completely different. Current 3.0 also is a chain driven DOHC valve train. The 3.3 SVX was a DOHC belt driven with a single cam pulley on the form of the engine, but gear driven cam-to-cam on the rear.

2 ways I tell................ Sounds like a steel caster on a smooth cement floor............ Feel the 'trunion' housing (the housing the bearing and rear brake assy is mounted to). Bad bearings run HOT......compare it to the other known good side after running a while.

The smaller green wire leaving goes to the Cigarette lighter in the dashboard. This hooks to the coil on the relay that you are seeing in the picture. The large Red wire coming to the relay should run directly to the battery thru an inline fuse. This is probably under the hood. If you have no power at any wires, I would start with the larger red wire first. The smaller green wire should only have power when the key is in the Acc position. Hope this helps........

Since my 85, I have changed oil/filter at 7,500 miles. That had 162K on it when sold. My 90 Legacy went well over 200K when it was destroyed in a crash. My 02 Forester had 72K when Subaru took it back and the current 04 has 41K on it. All stayed with the Factory Service intervals including the 7,500 mile oil/filter changes. Regular dino oil and no internal engine failures. (The 02 Forester was a mess from day 1....took me 2 years to prove that to Subaru. Was my 5th Subaru....and almost my last......Today Subaru is not the company I dealt with when I purchased my 78, 82, 85 or 90.) End of Rant!

Here are some URL's from the Endwrench site. Follow them according to your engine type: DOHC: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.5Timing.pdf SOHC with newer tensioner: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/TBeltEWWin05.pdf SOHC 2.2 with older tensioner: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.2SingleOverWin01.pdf

3 thoughts here: Where is it jumping 90 degrees? I mean which pulley is the mechanic basing this on? Crankshaft only out by 90? Only 1 of the 4 camshafts? Tensioner, water pump and other pullies are not timed so they don't matter in this type of problem. What are the Cam and crank pullies like? Keyways (Woodruff keys) in place and not worn? Pullies on tight and in good condition? No play or drift as you apply torque to them? Other thought is there is a small number of 2.5L DOHC that have had a camshaft bearing seizing problem. If only 1 camshaft is consistantly out, this is where I would start looking. After thought...is this a manual transmission, If so there is a 'keeper' that fits around the top edge of the crank pulley. Sort of a guide to help stop the belt from jumping teeth as with a manual tranny can you can abrupty stop or slow the crankshaft since you are directly connected to the drivetrain thru the clutch. The camshafts still have inertia driving them so there is additional tension on the belt and Subaru added this to the 2.5L and late 2.2L to prevent this from happening. end of my initial thoughts on this.....my $.02 P.S. Say hello to Lake Winola for me...spent some summers there and at Harvey's Lake as I grew up in W-B...

Viscous coupling...........Front of WRX gets 'mechanical geared type' as Subaru calls it. Attached .pdf explains the rear of Subaru LSD...

Subaru ONLY recommends the Subaru Coolant Conditioner in the Phase II 2.5L. If done at the recommended coolant change intervals and documented, they warrenty the HG for a 100K. In any case, the only one they recommend is their own as they did extensive testing on the all aluminium engine / radiator befoer releasing it. http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/2.5InsidEWMay05.pdf

Also as I just replied in another thread, it could be the Neutral switch on the transmission. In your case, the car may think it's in neutral when it's really in gear thereby keeping the idle low. Just another thought.

These are Automatics, Replace the Neutral Switch. When you shift to park or neutral, it signals the ECU. Especially when P1507 comes on when you place it in Park. This is a know problem, covered by a TSB and documented on the Endwrench site. However the Endwrench site states it happens on a Manual Tranny. The TSB correctly covers it as the Neutral Switch on the 4EAT. http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/DiagTroubSum04.pdf