ShawnW

Pirate4x4 would probably be good too. Good luck on finding the rig!

Most of the rental companies buy the cars that aren't selling well from the dealers or manufacturers that are willing to let them go at wholesale prices. If you are expecting to find a car you like on a rental car test drive basis, think again. The two rentals that I have driven in the past 2 years that I actually liked after the test drive are not commonly found rental cars. 1. Nissan Sentra 2. Subaru Impreza Base hatchback. Number one was no surprise to me. Number 2, I ended up with a WRX but it did show me that I like the hatchback, good size, comfy, quiet, etc.

Why bother though, its not like its that much more work to split the case and the only additional expense if you don't want to do the bearings (which I would do) is a couple o rings and some silicone sealer.

I have access to a huge number of timing belt components now if you need a price quote on a kit let me know. Most ship same or next day and fit in a priority mail flat rate box for quick delivery.

Its very common for the dealer to want to replace both hoses. They see oil residue on them which is a sign of a leak nearby. The H6 cars seemed to go thru A/C hoses pretty often. 134A does leak more easily than R12 for some reason. I can order you the hoses with my dealer wholesale account. I would replace the o rings on all of them as well if they are not included with the hoses which they often are. You really should pull a vacuum on the system and verify there are no more leaks before trying to refill it even with system sealer. The sealer isn't good for the system and is even worse for A/C evac recycling machines that shops use. It is likely the noise you were hearing was the compressor trying to kick on, and then the pressure switch detecting that the system is low on freon and kicking back off promptly. This happens when you are on the edge of the fill amount until the leak seeps a little more out and then it just doesn't even try to come on anymore.

Is it possible you didn't get the o ring behind the oil pump seated correctly or it moved when you pressed the pump against the block? Or the screws on the back of the oil pump backed off? I loctite these but shouldn't make any noise unless they have backed off and are up against the crank surface or something bizarre.

What are the symptoms? Did someone drain the transmission and forget to refill it? While many here are going to say $4500 sounds like a lot of money, remember: R+R trans is 6.5 hours. (650 dollars average) Fluid is around $50 if the good factory fluid is used. Just a syncro or bearing, and there are MANY inside the case, is 30-50 and many times 95-125 each for the bigger parts. It adds up in a hurry. The Viscous unit (the most expensive part of what they are calling transfer case) runs 550-700 depending on year. Then the labor to rebuild the trans is usually 12-18 hours depending on how extensive you go. An estimate that high is not uncommon and honestly not surprising. The dealer has to play the better safe than sorry route and replace all the wear items in the case. On the other hand, have them put a used transmission in. I don't know what year your car is but usually one can be found on car-part.com from a local salvage yard for less than $1500, maybe even half that if its older than 2004 or so, and labor again, 650, puts the total at way under half the redone transmission. I personally don't think there are very many master certified techs that have passed the transmission exam so I would probably go with a low miles used one before paying double for one that might not be put together perfectly. Even if you do find one that is certified and good at them, they are often rushed by the service writer, manager, and more money making work orders. Thats assuming the dealer has all the factory required tools on hand (many don't know where all of them are)

Is it like a tapping noise? You might check with fellow dealer techs to see if theres a tech tips or bulletin on the tensioner bracket. It had a pin that the tensioner presses against that was wrong in some way, and would cause a strange noise on some engines.

Your new information is correct. For the LEGACY (NOT OUTBACK) they got the 2.2 phase 2, same motor as many Impreza cars that year. Sorry I didn't catch this sooner. Possible swaps for that engine are 2.5L SOHC. Requires switching the front y pipe section over (easy). I don't see the 2.2L in your car as any more reliable than a 2.5L SOHC. Its got all the negatives of the 2.5 except head gasket surface area, with less power.

Yours should have power locks. Its the last year of the door lock/unlock toggler in the door handle area. They get to be pretty worn out and stop working. The year later they changed it to separate the switch in the panel instead of the door handle area, I haven't looked into whether you could retrofit this style. Congrats on the new ride! Looks really similar to the 96 Auto One I just finished and sold but yours is better.

I just use a 17MM swivel head wrench and align the cams with the marks.

The engine you want is an ea81. These can be built to 100HP with some pretty basic old engine type modifications.

Id have to fully agree with GD on this one. I am starting to get some stock on heads around here that have had a valve job if you need a set let me know.

If anybody ever needs, I sell timing belt kits with OEM parts and factory belt. Email for pricing at shawn@retroroo.com with year/model/engine size. Most parts in stock ready to go.

Its in front of the air filter so its not that big a deal. The air filter on that car would be behind the throttle body, that piece (yes pic is small) is on the duct to the filter. It might make a rattle noise. I would check to make sure they got the air filter shoved down into the tabs at the bottom of the air box and the bolt on the drivers side in the hole correctly. Very common to see it not right.

Its not snow tire related is it?

Hi Jack! I run a small shop out of my home garage if you need anything checked over, parts, etc let me know. Glad to see another Colorado guy around here.

Ill have to buy one of those. My top of the line snap on one only does them about 2/3 of the time.

I might be interested in buying it as a parts car. Looking for a donor candidate for a Brat that wants a 2.2 swap.

The same thing has happened here. More and more are being bought out by big corporations that charge higher prices, environmental fees that are higher, and gate admissions. It used to be pretty good money buying used parts and reselling them but its a tough game now. I am still pretty good at it but you have to return your cores, be patient with counter staff that doesn't know an alternator from a starter motor, and cars that are far more picked over than before. All the same I still think its cheaper and easier than dealing with a full service yard, especially when you want a complete wiring harness, some weird electrical/emissions item, or want to see the part before buying.

I just did this last night, I have a crap load of them. Worked pretty good. They are clean but stained. They came out looking nothing like the services that are out there that I got spoiled on in shops in the past few years though.

The 2000 model year ones are a real bargain right now, I wouldn't be discouraged by this.

As proud as we are to have a Subaru factory in Lafayette, Indiana, it pales in comparison to the headquarters of Subaru, or Fuji Heavy Industries. Fuji Heavy is located in Ota, Gunma, Japan and our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Japan right now. Geographically, it looks like Ota would be at higher ground on Google Maps but having never been to Japan I don't know for sure. The Tsunami is unfortunately going to have devastating affects all over the Pacific region and I hope people are taking the warnings seriously and are well informed. Most of these areas don't allow people to take higher ground quickly. Best of luck to all and be safe out there.

Welcome! Those are one of my favorite Subaru's but very hard to find a nice one when you want one. Be patient, and willing to travel for a good example.

Its easy to over think this because its safety, etc but the only thing you can safely do is to move either the whole belt from the 2000 car into yours, or the latch receiver needs to be bolted to the 2000 seat and modified the least amount possible. It may also work to use a latch from an Outback or something else depending on the shape of the end, lots of times the Impreza or Legacy platform is 1 generation of safety devices staggered from the other one. Seen it with ABS, VDC, and lots of other parts for that matter.