okamikai

Could you describe the feeling? is it a vibration on the pedal, or is it felt on the dashboard as well? It maybe a broken engine and/or transmission mount

Usually when CEL flashes is an indicator of a major combustion issue, if O2 sensor is reading an annomally it will throw code. Compression test should be done to rule out a worn out cam head gasket, also unusual combustion causes the spark plugs to stain if it is burning something other than fuel and air mixture, normal spark plugs should look white-ish with no oily deposits, just zoot, and just as John said, don't rule out the wires or the coils.

Catalytic Converters can clog over time depending on how those miles were done on the road, the axle boot thing is a curse of this cars; the engine and transmission mounts are prone to break, even aftermarket parts, this is what usually causes them to break. The boots could have been gracked because they were too old, but it's a fairly good millage. Also check what Fox said about the Cam Head gasket, I had to repair the entire engine because I didn't pay attention to the early signs of the issue.

Let me know if you need to know anything about Foresters, I have a 98 with 168k and I know almost everything about it

check vacuum hoses, when old they tend to crack, which may cause the engine vacuum to be irregular which may trigger the stalling. There's a hose that comes from the engine connected to the intake, it's about 7/8 of an inch in diameter, when loose or cracked it may cause the engine to stall, rough idle, or even shut off. Check oil, belts, pulleys, and tensioners, also check timming belt and tensioners, if doing the timming belt don't forget to replace the water pump. Put some Fuel Injector Cleaner in the tank and see if it betters the idle; changing fuel filter may be also a good idea, poor fuel pressure and dirty filter may lead to faulty injectors.

If you bought timing belt kit for $198-250 is good, it usually comes with all that, for the rest you should be well under $500 if you didn't buy original. One crucial check up that you should perform is Cylinder compression, this is because of the Head Gaskets, it is rare that it happens but its got some miles on it, new spark plugs will perform better thus increasing the compression on the cylinders, its a rare event but it never hurts to check, also you should do this test before and after the tune up so you can compare results.

Hi, the initial warm up is triggered by the ECU even if the car has only been off for an hour or so, it will accelerate and the slowly decelerate until it reaches around 800-850 RPM. The misfiring may be caused by air in the fuel line, bad ignition module, bad spark plugs, or bad TPS (Throttle Position Sensor), although on this last one the misfiring is very sudden and of short duration since it usually happens when the throttle is at a certain position. I hope this information is useful to you.

You may also want to check catalytic converter(s), my 98 Forester with 168k miles had both catalytic converters clogged and was doing a serious number on performance. Also, if you live in an area where salt is poured to melt snow, you may want to check all of the chassis parts such as, engine and transmission mounts, bushings, end links, shock mounts, etc. Check all vacuum rubber hoses, water hoses, flexible brake lines, and flexible fuel lines since they tend to crack over time. Have fun...

if its automatic it may be transmission slipping, or not engaging into gears because there is no hydraulic pressure to the valve body of the transmission, hence it could be clogged with deposits. Check the RPMs when shifting to D, 3, 2, 1, and reverse, and as Eeyore said the TCU may be acting up as well.

Hi, when the timing belt breaks it usually happens while the engine is running, or on rare occasions, on start ups. The engine might knock due to a piston hitting an open valve, and you would notice a that there is little piston compression (Normal: kyuk-kyuk-kyuk-kyuk, Missing Compression kyuuu-kyu-kyuuu-kyu-kyuuu). For the belt to break some factors are key; milleage (MTs tend to wear out quicker due to constant rpm variance), water pump gone bad, and tear down of tensioner and idler pulleys. If it's cranking, but no start, you got no spark, it may be a sensor, ECU gone bad, or a loose vacuum hose. Even if you smell gas, check for fuel pressure, never hurts to check. Hope this was useful.

I've seen this before, sometimes it doesn't matter if you replace the belt it may squeal a little, but not for that long. Another thing you should look at is the A/C pulley, when the compressor bearings wear out they will slow down the pulley's rotation, but since the engine will not stop for that it will force the belt to slip on the pulley's surface. Take the belt off and check if that stops the noise, if it does you found your problem. Hope this can be of help.

Hello to all, okamikai here from San Juan, Puerto Rico. I've been of Subaru for over 8 years now; I've been owner of one for 6 and loving it. Its a 98 Foz NA with .020 Mahle Forged Pistons and ACL Race Bearings, 2'' straight piping with Dynaflow Exhaust, peaking 190HP@5600rpm. Looking forward to do more mods on it, and also to meet other Subie enthusiasts. Hope my knowledge can be of help as well.

Awesome, so which year is compatible after 01? I need to know cuz my tranny may be humming on 1st gear, is a really low hum, but I got good ear for mechanical noises, do you think it may be the differetial?

Are the gear ratios not an issue? if not, I would love to get my hands on a later compatible model, my 5spd got 167k on it, I would love to overhauled it, but I don't know which would be the best option.

Yes, indeed true. I have made my research and the best option for the average street driving routine would be a stage 3 as it still used spring loaded plate with ceramic-copper composite pads, stage 4 and up have rigid plates and may be unforgiving on torque sensitive OEM parts such as engine bearings, drive axles, and u joints.

Did you check the fan relay? If it is bad or burnt the fans will not turn on when the temperature rises. If you can, make a connection directly to the battery so you can rule out that the fans are bad. Also try turning the AC on this should activate the relay, if it doesn't the relay is bad. Just in case check for bad wiring and connectors as they may go bad with time. I hope this is useful to you.

Thanks a lot Rally, that's the one question I had not been able get an answer for. So the trannys are different after all, thanks a bunch, now I know which one to buy.

Hello to all, I have some questions regarding my Forester 98, it runs with the EJ25D with 100mm Mahle Forged Pistons and ACL Bearings mods. I was wondering if I could use a Turbo Stage 3 Clutch Kit from a 2000 WRX on my EJ25D to replace the old one. The one it has now is a salvaged one I got from an EJ22 from an 2000 RS that was totaled. It seems to be slipping at certain moments when I take off at stops, or when speeding up; sometimes I have to pedal-play on launch to avoid too much slippage. The reason I chose the turbo clutch kit is because the OEM can go localy for around $120 to $140, and I found Stage 3 kits at Ebay going for $159 to $189, so why not pay a little more to the get the good stuff and the grip that I want, also I will be stepping up the power later on, and I know OEM won't do, so why not get the turbo clutch kit now so its not needed later on. Thanks for the attention, love the page by the way, I finally found a decent page about subies that won't ask for money to answer your questions.