upnorthguy

You can get a new set of contacts and plunger for your starter for about $11 on ebay (free shipping). (Example here.) There are some good videos on youtube about how to remove the starter and replace those parts. Pretty easy. If the key is the problem, you can usually get a new key cut at a Subaru dealer for not much money. I got some cut for my '95 and I think they were about $15 each. However, because of wear on the lock tumblers in the ignition cylinder, a brand new key may still be a little tricky. I bought three keys and two are no problem...the third one is pretty darn close and takes a very small amount of wiggling (I just use that as a spare). You can call a dealer near you, ask for the parts department, and tell them your VIN and they should be able to tell you if they can cut it.

Like MilesFox said...it is worth checking out to see if you got lucky and don't have any bent valves. Track down a new cam sprocket (salvage yard) and get a new timing belt and hook it up and see what happens. I would try that before diving into the Frankenmotor.

www.car-part.com searched for a Bend zip code "area" (distance outward from that zip ranges from 88 up to 380 miles) shows a bunch of '95 EJ22 engines between $450-900.

I had something similar recently. I knew it was the right front wheel, but couldn't figure out what the source was. It only happened when turning left and only when going forward but not in reverse (while still turning left). I eventually figured out the rock shield on that side (even though I checked it saw it wasn't touching the rotor at all) was rubbing just a bit. I bent it out further and the noise disappeared.

That inventory list for picknpull is excellent. I wish the yard near me told you the row where they put the cars instead of just saying "out yonder". I usually only find a few of the cars that are supposed to be there.

I'm sure johnceggleston will chime as as he one of the transmission compatibility gurus around here. You can search www.car-part.com and enter in your info and it does a decent job of showing some of the transmissions that will fit your vehicle. You can't always trust what those salvage guys list, through. Best bet is to know the transmission model number that will fit so you can check. Do some searches in this forum as this topic comes up often.

Of course, you can save a search on ebay and have it send you e-mails automatically when certain things are listed. You have to play around so you don't get too many things mailed to you or it will be hard to sift through the listings, but with a good search you can usually keep it manageable and watch for things.

This is basically what the Michelin guy said. He pointed me to a demo video on the MIchelin site that showed this. However, the person driving didn't do anything to try and deal with the rear end slide when it started...no steering into the skid. If your front tires are bald, you can't do anything...no (or definitely less) steering control and easy loss of traction. The fresh rubber on the rear will keep the tail end from sliding out, but that doesn't help if you can't get going or if you turn the steering wheel but keep going straight. (This is in reference to a FWD car) If the better rubber is on the front, and the rear slips out, you can often steer into the skid-just like you do on snow. Is it possible that the skid will turn you around? Obviously, physics says yes depending on speed, but chances of recovering from a rear slide are better with front wheel control (again, on a FWD car). [None of this applies to RWD or AWD as they are different beasts] I'm sure my '96 Civic did not have a center of gravity towards the rear tires. Changing weight distribution may be the case for newer cars, but I don't have any that new!

All good advice here. Some Subaru wrencher will buy that up for a swap project. Cars in that state don't last too long on Craigslist around DC when priced to move.

+1 to this. I had a nice cavitation shudder after replacing the PS reservoir o-ring. A couple of circles lock to lock with the cap off took care of it.

Also called a "flange repair kit" some places. Advance Auto and Napa have them http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/walker-flange-repair-kit-35455/18370449-P?searchTerm=clamp+exhaust http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx/Exhaust-Flange/_/R-EXT35455_0431815498 This video is a good example of someone using a split flange to repair the connection after the cat:

Many places now follow whatever the manufacturer "recommends"... I bought two new skins at Costco for a Honda Civic a few years ago and wanted them on the front (as it is a front wheel drive car). Costco would only install them on the rear because that is what Michelin recommended. I actually called Michelin and get sent through about three customer service levels until I got some guy that was really supposed to "know" the reason (the physics). He had a southern accent and had driven little in snow, so I knew he wasn't going to get it. In the end, I just had Costco install as they wanted (on the rear) and told them as soon as I got home, I would switch them to the front.

Wow, sorry to hear about your troubles. Unfortunately, it sounds like that dealer was not honest or ignorant or both. Did the car come with any kind of warranty (1 month, 10,000 miles, etc.)? It doesn't sound it did. i don't know what the laws are in CA or NV, but it sounds like you would have some claim against this dealer. However, dealing with this and you being in San Diego and the dealer being in Vegas will not make things easier. You could likely take to small claims court (not sure of the monetary parameters in those two states, but it is often $5000 or less) but that will cost you time and effort and may not bring any satisfaction, or if it does, collecting on any judgment may be another difficult task. Definitely do something with the car. The $50 storage fees will (are) add up quick. It sounds like you should look into getting a trailer and towing it to San Diego (if it at a dealer 100 miles outside of Vegas, at least it is part way home). When you have it you need to decide if is worth selling it as-is and recouping what you can, or investing the money into it with a new used engine. I guess if you are just going to sell it you may just want to sell it near where it is and not have to incur the cost/time of towing it back to SD. Any mechanical inclination? With help from some repair manuals, youtube videos and lots of new friends here at USMB, if you have some sockets, time and can get your hands on an engine hoist, you could replace the engine with a used one. It sounds like the Forester is in great shape, aside from the engine. It can run a good long time (many people here are driving cars in the 200-250k range and they are still going) with proper maintenance. I don't know the cost of an engine for an 03 Forester, but you can get an idea of used engines near you by looking at www.car-part.com and seeing what different salvage yards near you have. Generally, the more you pay the better the warranty you might get (in addition to having fewer miles, etc.). Good luck. I'm sure others here will chime in with some ideas as well. We're here to help (especially if you dive into the repair!).

Throw some 15" rims on there! (My '95 LS came with 15s).

A window regulator is $10.48 at www.pickapartva.com just south of Quantico (plus $2 to get into the yard).

Different point. John's trying to steer its_masters to a Subaru starter (used OEM) rather than a new unit from the auto parts store that is some lesser brand.

The seal puller 14D linked is awesome. I was having a hard time getting my crank/cam seals out. Ordered this puller and after I got it...20 seconds later the job was done (on all three!).

Xois- You are on a different continent when it comes to this thread... You're talking about one of the two drive axles and it seems you have the shop look at those as well. That is not what Fairtax pointed to. Let's get back on the right track. Your drivetrain is the transmission (that includes the front differential). Of course, the front of the transmission is connected to the engine and then coming out from the front differential is a drive shaft (or axle) on each side. Those connect to a hub and then each front wheel. The rear end of your transmission has a drive shaft that connects to the rear differential. The rear differential connects with two rear axles, which go to rear hubs/wheels. Fairtax pointed to something inside the rear part of your transmission (commonly called the "tail housing"). This is the last part of the transmission before the drive shaft goes to the rear diff. Look at the photo here: http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0305_turp_2002_subaru_wrx_transmission_gears/photo_03.html The guy in the photo is pulling off the tail housing in that photo. Now go check out the link that Fairtax included for a description (with photos) of what was done to fix the problem.

Boots are cheap. I picked up some Beck Arnley boots from Rock Auto for about $7 each (they come with a packet of grease for each boot). Lots of discussion about problems with non-OEM axles...better to reuse yours (assuming they are Subaru-look for the green paint on the cup that is on the transmission side) or buy rebuilt OEM or a decent used OEM axle from a salvage yard. Excellent write up with pictures about boot replacement: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/96433-axle-rebuild/?do=findComment&comment=811297 Good youtube vid:

I thin Perrodelturbo was trying to link to this write up http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/99-do-yourself-illustrated-guides/27878-4eat-tail-section-rebuild-without-removing-transmission.html This shows the tail housing of the transmission being removed. (Tail housing connects to the drive shaft that goes the rear differential)

If you can find a used Subaru that has been maintained they can run for a long time. The maintenance item you can count on is a timing belt/water pump/pulleys. I'm not sure if the interval is different between those different generations/models (it is often around 105k), but whatever you look at, you can check the mileage with what the recommended interval is and see if/when the t-belt has been changed. All of those vehicles are interference engines (just like your Honda) so if a timing belt goes, bent valves is the usual outcome. It looks like cars101.com has a decent maintenance interval table here. Just to keep things straight, gen 2 Outbacks are the years 2000-04, gen 3 is 2005-09, gen 4: 2010-14. I think the years you listed are for Foresters (although I haven't owned one of those!).

Seems like this part would be a perfect candidate for a salvage yard find. Have you looked near you? Not as many of the gen 1 (90-94) Legacy cars left in the yards here in VA. I looked at list for the yard near me and there is only a 1993 listed.

Except that, "officially", he is living in the South. Well, south of the Mason-Dixon anyways.

That could be the heat shields around the exhaust pipe rattling. Since there is a y pipe with exhaust pipes come down from each side of the engine, there is double the opportunity for rattling. When the car is cool, crawl under from the front and see if you can move those around. (I don't know a wagon this vintage that can't!) The easy fix is taking some large hose clamps and applying a few and cranking them down. If you can find a pick and pull yard near you, you should be able to find a replacement filler neck for your car. You access by removing the plastic wheel cover in the wheel well on that side. Take a look at the configuration of yours with regards to the small hoses and tubes as there are close variations between different models around this time. You can also buy a replacement either online or through a parts store (e.g. Autozone, etc.). which can be good if you use a coupon.

>>I guess I left my response open too long and heartless beat me to it! A second source of info. For reference, the EJ25D was used in the 98 Impreza, 96-99 Legacy and the 98 Forester. You can access a Legacy factory service manual here: http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru_manual_scans/ which is better than a Haynes/Chilton. Use the 1996 Legacy link there. Once you download the zip then go to service manual>engine section>engine For cleaning up the heads before the new gaskets, check out this write up: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122588-diy-head-resurfacing-or-post-apocalyptic-machine-shop-techniques/ However, I'm not sure oil spraying out there is a typical HG failure on that engine. Typically it is exhaust gases showing up in the coolant (e.g. the coolant overflow bottle). You should try to clean things up and see if you can pinpoint where the oil is coming from (as it can track from its original source and end up somewhere else). These engines often have some (numerous?!) oil leaks from aged seals. Cam/crank seals, oil pressure sensor, valve cover gaskets are all candidates for a leak. Also there is an oil separator plate on the back of the engine (between the engine and the transmission) that often develops a decent leak, although not usually a "spraying" one, but enough to build up oil sludge all over the transmission crossmember, the steering rack, and much of the suspension down there.