Cougar

I think the advice from J A Blazer is good. Before you purchase a Subaru I suggest you at least try out a 2008 LL Bean Outback or one with the H6 engine in it. You may like that over the the H4 engine. They are more expensive and more than your stated budget. If you can add to it I think you would like what you can get. Here is a link for one vehicle near your area. If you could get the dealer to drop the price a couple of grand I think you would have a great car at a good price. The cars hold up very well usually. Rust problems have been dealt with some time ago on these cars but I don't think any car will totally handle the problems over time you have in your area. I assume you have seen what these cars can do in the winter on snow covered roads while driving with your friends but if not you are going to like the ride. As far as a warranty goes I think you would be better of setting aside a couple of thousand dollars to have on hand in case an unexpected repair came up. You will most likely be money ahead in the long run. http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=67942660&listingRecNum=0&criteria=prMx%3D25000%26sf1Dir%3DDESC%26prMn%3D0%26alMdId%3D21697%26mkId%3D20041%26stkTyp%3DU%26mdId%3D21697%26kwm%3DANY%26rd%3D250%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId-pseudoPrice-pseudoYear-kw%26zc%3D14202%26rn%3D0%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26stkTypId%3D28881%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26yrMn%3D2008%26kw%3DH6%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26yrMx%3D2011%26alMkId%3D20041%26rpp%3D50%26feedSegId%3D28705&aff=cartalk

For the washer pump problem check to see if power is getting to it. Power is supplied directly to the motor using the same fuse the wiper motor uses. If you don't see power getting to the plug of the washer motor then the power wire has a break in it somewhere. If you do have power there then there is a problem with the connection to the switch which supplies the ground return for the circuit. The wire color may be light green/red running back to the switch. You should be able to ground that lead to verify connection to the pump and turn it on. There may be a horn relay involved in the horn circuit. If so I would verify it is working. You should have at least a test light probe to verify power with when working on these issues.

Check to see if power is getting to the therm o switch using a test light probe. If you don't have power to that point then the trouble is most likely due to a bad fuse. If power is getting to that point then try jumping the switch to see if the fan will turn on then. If it works then the switch is the trouble spot, at least if the coolant temperature is exceeding the rated temp of the therm o switch.

I'm not sure about this but if number 1 cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke it seems to me that the disty is 180 degrees out. I may be wrong though. It has been a long time since I have looked at that.

There may be a problem inside the alternator but there may be a faulty connection causing the trouble, possibly a loose fusible link connection. You might try tapping on suspected bad connection areas with a screwdriver handle to see if the that turns up anything.

Do you mean the shifter won't come out of the PARK position? If so then there is a manual override you can use to release it.

Going from your test readings the circuit is working like it should be. You should see close to 12 volts going to the solenoid when it is on, just like you did. The open circuit voltage reading is not a real concern, it is what it is. The error code seems to be due to a fault inside the ECU.

Frankly, in my opinion, if the bearings are that far gone to require some lube you are better off to just replace the alternator with a rebuilt one. The bearings are now damaged anyways and it is too time consuming to tear into one an work on it. If you do still decide to fix it then I recommend you have it checked out first doing a load test. More than likely there are some bad output diodes in it. So even if the bearings are replaced you may have a faulty alternator.

You stated earlier that the ignition was working on three of the four cylinders. If that is correct then the blown fuse was not the problem, at least at that time. Something else is causing the problem with the spark to the fourth cylinder. If the fuse has anything to do with the ignition system then none of the plugs will be firing if it is blown. The most logical cause of the spark problem to the plug is a bad spark plug or the wire to it. I assume you have already eliminated those possibilities by swapping them out.

You are correct in your thinking, resistances values simply add together when in series. The older solenoid values should work also in the circuit.

The TPS sensor has no control of the ignition system. It indirectly controls the pulse width signal to the injectors through the ECU along with the throttle body position info.

Check the wiring to the compressor under the hood for a problem.

Check the crank sensor waveform signal and make sure it is ok. You are going to need a scope to do that. If you haven't made sure the plug wires are ok do that also.

Glad to hear you got the main trouble solved. Have you made sure that #3 injector is working ok now? Also, your compression readings seem low to me even through the rings are breaking in. If I remember correctly, a turbo engine should be around 135lbs.

The solenoid should have 12 volts getting to it when it is supposed to be activated. Either the wiring to the solenoid has a problem or the solenoid coil is open. Since you tired a replacement already it most like means there is a problem with the wiring to the solenoid.

The first thing to check is the fuses and make sure they are all ok under the hood and the dash. If those are ok then you should move to blower relay and make sure power is getting past it. You should see power getting to the motor if those things are ok and the wiring up to that point. If you do have power to the motor you should be able to manually turn the blower on by grounding the other side of the motor connection. If the blower turns on then there may be a thermal protector blown out in the resistor pack or there is a problem with the wiring to the speed seclector switch or the switch itself.

If the splice is suppling power to something else then it could be tied to the trouble but if there isn't anything tied to the splice then that won't be a problem. You need to track down whatever else is tied to the fuse circuit and find what is causing the extra current draw. Normal current draw should be around 20 milliamps.

You have a bad conection to power going to the left rear running light. You are going to have to trace the wire back from the light and find the bad connection. It could due to a damaged wire or bad termial connection.

I think power to the turn signals passes through the emergency flasher switch. Try cycling that switch a number of times to see if that helps. If it doesn't then you may need to replace it.

If the thermoswitch is supposed to make a ground connection for the relay coil and you say there is 6 volts on one side of the switch connections then the connection to ground for that wire has a bad connection to ground. Try grounding the wire side of the thermoswitch that has the 6 volts along with jumpering the switch connection to see if the fan turns on then. If it does then you have confirmed there is a bad connection to ground

You have most likely blown a fuse in the panel under the hood that supplies power to the injectors. Blown fuses are easy to miss and look good to most folks on the first pass.

The problem may be happening because the battery isn't getting enough charge from the alternator. I would start by cleaning the battery connections so you make sure all the charging power from the alternator gets to the battery. You should also find out how much voltage the alternator is putting out while the engine is running around 2,000 RPM. You should have at least 13.5 getting to the battery and up to around 14.8 volts. If you don't have the minimum then you need to replace the alternator. If the voltage is ok then make sure the battery is ok. Normal drain current is around 15 to 20 milliamps. Here is a link that shows how to hunt a problem down. http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm

You can bypass the switch to confirm that is the trouble but I wouldn't run it that way since it is a safety feature. Usually just cleaning the switch contacts or adjusting it fixes the trouble.

Check your fuses and verify power is getting to fuse 5, 11, and 12. If those are ok then the ignition and fuel pump relays need to be checked and verified they are working.

There is a small hole in the ECU where a LED can be seen. You connect the black plugs together and turn the key to ON and then count the pluses. Long flashes are 10's units and short flashes are single units. Five pulses means a normal code.