Bushwick

^ Vehicle is in the signature (unless it's hidden from view??). Pads, rotors, etc. are only a couple years old as the previous owner kept receipts. Suppose there could be some air left in the system as it needed a driver side rear brake line, but I bled out until no air was leaving. Pedal is good, but hard to say "how good" since I never had a before to compare to. So, they switched bolt pattern in 05'? Nice to know. There's often people parting out WRX locally that might be nice if I find a subdued (no gold rims here) look and they don't think they're sitting a pile of gold and want $200 each LOL. Would be better off going to tirerack.com and getting a nice set for a 1/3 the price. Larger brakes/rotors don't stop the car any quicker? You sure about that? If brakes are undersized, they have to work harder to try and stop the car. If you have more material grabbing a larger surface area, there should be less heat generated (especially on repeat or follow up stops) and less brake fade = better stopping. Granted tires are huge factor to consider, but increasing front rotor size should help with stopping. Rears might not be as vital, but fronts definitely are, especially when you add more weight to the car. I remember the early Fox Mustangs would have larger brakes up front (and eventually in the rear) with the V8 models. I've owned at least two 4 cyl. to 302 and 351w (engine swaps) Fox Mustangs and both still had the factory 4 cyl. caliper/rotors up front at first. YES they'd stop the car, but switching to the V8 calipers/rotors netted better stopping, especially from higher speeds.

Off-topic, but what are a direct swap upgrade for rotors, pads, caliper? Are WRX stuff direct fit and larger? The stuff on the car now is OK and working as intended, but given the car is still rather light with me in it (still under 3200) I don't feel they stop well enough and there really isn't any way to make the car lighter as the seats aren't that heavy to begin with. Even if only the front rotors and calipers were upgraded by an inch in diameter, I think it'd help some. Also, what rims are direct fit? Or rather, what year/model are direct swaps? Been thinking about upgrading to aluminum rims for summer usage, and 16" to 17" at the most would be nice, but I've done no research on these. What's the bolt pattern and is it still in use or did they change over the years? Been thinking about putting some money into the exterior eventually and getting a respray, which will mean a rim upgrade to keep the look proper. Not looking for overly aggressive looking rims as I don't want people thinking it's a turbo or something and wanting to race or something stupid with a station wagon.

I got lucky with the rear coming out. Got even luckier when the very 1st car I looked at a bone yard with 255k miles actually had a new replacement crossmember with new control arms. P-A-P wanted $20 EACH for each bar so I passed on them and just got the crossmember for $17. I haven't been putting a ton of miles on the car, normally 30 mile trips and maybe 3k miles since Oct, so probably not enough to get the tires wearing. Like I said, I'll get it aligned and see what happens or see what they say. Might be something with suspension. I don't mind the tiny steel skinnys on this (with no hubcaps to let everybody know it's a winter car ) and replacement tires will be super cheap, but might search out some nicer aluminum Legacy rims or something and get wider tires as a deal or replace then.

I'm surprised you guys have issues finding them. I see a ton of Legacy wagons near me, and lost count of how many ej22 and ej25 I've seen. I wish I was more inclined as I'd go buy these engines up for $150, then turn around and sell for $250 + shipping. Sounds like that'd still be a good deal for a bunch of you guys/gals they don't have easy access to these. Ironic thing is I never see mid to late 90's stuff on the road though. The Outback is a different story.

I told him to actually look at the substrate material and see if it was damaged. If it's not damaged, then why would he replace it? Anyways, a vacuum gauge can help diagnose too.

If you have a dremel, use a high speed bit (looks like a rounded off drill bit with finer grooves) and put 2 opposing holes through as far as it'll go. From there, run a sharp screw through both holes enough that they are biting. Take a screw driver and wedge horizontally between the 2 and see if it'll twist or not. A little WD40 might help. If it's still not budging (don't over do it in case they snap) try some propane heat around the hole while twisting with the screw driver. It'll come out. Just watch where the heat goes. Maybe wrap a wet rag around anything you want protected and wad up some aluminum foil and force that into the crevices near by to deflect the heat briefly. (I've never seen your engine so unsure what's directly near it.

Bolts shear off? If you mean did I have issues getting the old ones out of what was left of the old crossmember, then the answer is zero. Every single bolt came out. The 2 that tie into the pumpkin cover were the toughest to remove and needed vice grips as the nuts were rusted and rounded. The ones for the control arms came out easy enough. The actual crossmember was a completely different story though. Is was completely rotted through on both sides up top. It was attached to the pumpkin, but was no longer attached to the unibody on either side. As far as the tires go, they seem to be all season and all 4 have even tread wear with no cupping. It actually accelerates and stops really good on slick or snow covered roads and stays straight too (forcing FWD is another story and the car behaves like any other FWD does). Part of that reason is they are skinny and we all know skinny tires hold their own better in snow. I didn't measure the control arm distance, so I know for a fact the rear isn't aligned. The steering wheel is a tad off center too, but it doesn't pull, but again it definitely needs a 4 wheel alignment. Wet and dry roads it feels normal enough, and the tie rods, ball joints, and wheel bearings are still OK. It'll need an alignment anyways, so I'll do that and see if acts differently or not. Like I stated before, it's only got an issue with snow covered roads, and that doesn't show up until 25-30 mph on certain slick roads where it feels a little loose and I'm constantly working the steering wheel to keep it straight as the rear feels like it's wanting to kick out or something. The ABS won't kick in unless I'm standing on the brakes, meaning I haven't heard clicking for normal to moderate braking on any road surface. It doesn't stop nearly as nice as my 9-3 does even though I have 4 wheel disc, but that's a down side of weaker brakes and thinner rubber. No screeching, just feels like the brakes are under-sized on harder braking efforts. No dry rot either. All four tires were off as a valve stem was bad after purchasing it, so I had all four changed then. They made no comments about the tires being bad, and if they were bad or nearing their end, I'm 100% positive they would have been trying to upsell me something. I'll run these until bald as it's just a back up/winter car that might get dd routines until summer. I was just wanting to confirm if the alignment in the rear would play that much of a role with snow covered roads or not.

If you splice into the harness wires and find it "works" OK. Make SURE to buy some heat shrink wrap and do a long section of the wire and seal it REALLY good as they might be sensitive to moisture (O2 wires are VERY sensitive and can throw codes just from moisture being on the wires of a perfectly OK sensor). I'd personally solder these types of connections then shrink wrap to seal the deal and prevent future issues.

Thanks Fairtax, I'll get on it. It drives fine on dry or wet roads, and all 4 tires have tread. Looks like when I replaced the rotted out rear crossmember I didn't do a good enough job with the rear most control arm adjustments (or maybe I tweaked something while drifting a couple months back in a snow covered parking lot )

If it's original belt, I honestly would park it until it's replaced. They can let go without ANY warning and at any engine speed. If the valves hit, you'll be looking at engine repairs or engine replacement since yours is an interference design. When you do the belt, replace all the pulleys under the cover too. You are at the mileage they need replaced anyways. If those are ignored, they'll eventually fail and as you guessed it, will throw the belt. I buy stuff from Rockauto.com for my Subaru and Saab, as do MANY others here. They will hands down have better prices than your local parts store, and they carry (or have access to) all the hard to find stuff many stores won't or don't carry, and have all brand names. Even with cheapest shipping method, you'll still be cheaper than store bought. Here's a link for Impreza. Just select proper engine size and look under the "engine" category for belts and tensioners. For some reason, it looks like a 2001 is slightly more pricey, but anyways: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,make,SUBARU,year,2001,vtype,EU

This is the first AWD car I've ever owned or gotten to drive in the snow. It's doing a good job "going" through 4-6" of snow, but I've noticed if I'm on a slick or snow packed road, or even an unplowed 2-4" snow covered road, once I get to around 25 MPH, The front and rear seem to be constantly fighting each other? Meaning I'm constantly having to over correct with the steering as it feels like the rear is wanting to either kick out or is fighting the steering somehow. I've tried putting it in neutral and it still does this? Could it be the rear is too far out of alignment and is "walking" slightly at different angle than the front, causing the weird handling? I've had FWD cars and 4X4 trucks blow past me on the same roads I'm struggling to do 25 on, so I'm thinking something is "off", but w/o a previous AWD to compare too, I'm not sure.

If you can hear the turbo whirring loudly and you have a sudden loss of power, I'd look at the turbo's charge pipes/hose and see if one popped off (check the hoses from turbo all the way to the intercooler, then follow to throttlebody- check couplers too for rips, missing/loose clamps, etc.). Sounds like the turbo is just blowing to atmosphere and the engine isn't getting boost. Even if it's just leaking boost, it'll make a big difference. Also check the hoses feeding the turbo as I think you have mass air flow? and it won't get correct readings if hose isn't attached and turbo noise will be more noticeable. Do you have a boost gauge in it? If so, are the numbers way off? Is it even going into boost? Or does it go from vacuum to "0" under full throttle? EDIT: Sometime a coupler will pop off ONE end, but remain attached to other end. At a quick glance, it'll look OK to the untrained eye, but WILL allow boost to leak past. Also, if you are getting *some* boost and are 100% positive it's not leaking anywhere, remove the inlet to the turbo's compressor side (the wheel that's in the aluminum housing), and with a cold engine (NOT RUNNING) reach in with your fingers and grab the center nut that holds the wheel in place. Try spinning by hand while wiggling it up/down, and pulling/pushing. It shouldn't go up/down, have very minimal in/out, and should NOT be binding on the wall while doing the up/down test. If it does come in contact with the wall, it'll deform the profile of the blade edges, which will cause excessive whining on a normally quiet turbo. If it's really bad, or if something got sucked in (say the inlet to turbo broke or loosened off) ANYTHING can get sucked in and will destroy the blades. This will prevent the turbo from boosting and cause excessive whining. I still suspect you popped a hose from the outlet side though, but you have to inspect.

Compression test.

Just replace it and see if the car acts normal or not. You have no idea what the history of the ebay unit really is/was. If it's a cheap Chinese knock-off, then be lucky it even worked at all. I know for my Saab, we have a giant, 1 piece molded together ignition coil that's part of the valve cover's cover. there are "knock-offs" being sold that either work or they don't (still expensive), and it boils down to inferior parts and bad quality control. If the replacement still acts up, investigate the harness and wiring for breaks or bad connections.

What you need to find out is if the sensors see the same values or not. If they see the same values, have the same amount of wires in the harness, then maybe it's worth a try. Personally, I'd find a bone yard car with less miles than what you have and roll the dice as it'd be way cheaper than a ridiculous $200 for something so small and common.

Best bet is to find an actual turbo'd short block and use the locations it's using. Save yourself the hassle and run a turbo'd oil pan with the drain back already attached. I know my oil pump has 2 or 3 threaded plugs running off the oil pump housing. I believe at least one of those should be able to supply oil to a turbo. Also, make SURE you run an oil cooler up front to help prevent oil coking, especially if the engine doesn't have oil squirters. AND make sure whatever turbo you end up using has an oil restrictor if the manufacturer calls for one. Some turbos don't need one or have a restrictor hole already built in to the CHRA's oil feed. MAKE SURE you use OEM or high temp oil resistant hose for the drain back (like high temp silicone and don't be cheap). If you use sub-par, or non oil resistant, it'll swell over time and rupture, and within 30 seconds your engine will be toast.

If it's running with original rubber belt at 100k miles, I personally wouldn't drive it until it's replaced. Very easy to do. When I did mine: I pulled the radiator fans out for more room. Think they were 10 mm bolts. Liked to snap, so soak with a good PB blaster or something. Both plastic covers need removed, and the center nut holding the crank pulley needs removed. I used a long breaker bar, and used the starter to crack it free. Just be careful and cover the radiator fins to prevent them from getting dinged. Replacement belt should have the markings on it to align with both cam sprockets and crank. This video might be helpful: DOHC 2.5L SOHC 2.5L The DOHC video the guy seems to cover the important stuff as far as removal goes (I skimmed through the video- can't find the one I watched when I did mine 1st time unfortunately) and SOHC cars are basically the same. If you have a SOHC 2.2L, the videos will still be the same, just look at the SOHC 2.5L video for how to line up the belts as it's the same deal. Very easy to do, and can be done in a hour or 2 depending how motivated you are.

If you try craigslist as a last resort, I'd ask for references, screen names for any Subaru sites, etc. Also, make a written receipt of work performed and have them sign it (assuming you went with a backyard mechanic). Like others stated, it's an easy affair, but watch them like a hawk.

That P0420 code points to a failed or clogged catalytic converter. The misfire could be from a bad 02 sensor. Check this site out for details: http://www.p0420.com/ My 99' Saab 9-3 had a bad 02 heater code for front and rear 02 sensors. Car ran fine otherwise and didn't need e-check for 1.5 years so I left it alone. Eventually, I developed a random engine misfire P0300 that happened very infrequently and would clear up in 5-10 seconds then not return for weeks. I thought it was fuel or sensor related, but never thought it was from the O2 sensor's heated element. Eventually the misfire got worse and was happening more frequently, and would eventually start acting up within the first 10 minutes of starting the car or within the first 2-5 miles and start bucking badly and loosing power. I was running the car catless briefly (with a anti-foulers stacked in rear O2 to trick ECM into thinking the cat was there, so no CEL for it) and it was misfiring, I put it in neutral, revved to 3k (this would usually clear it) and instead it let out a huge backfire that literally blew the muffler apart at the seams! Looked like somebody stuck a cherry bomb up in it. Anyways, what I finally discovered was the rear/secondary O2 was shorting out internally (the casing was peeling and sort of cracking which is common when they get too old) and not only causing the random misfire (P0300), but was the reason for the backfire as well. Thankfully the cat wasn't in the car at the time, as I believe the backfire would have damaged it in many ways. The ecm wasn't detecting anything else either, other than the failed heater element. Unfortunately O2's for Saab aren't cheap, but I replaced both and it solved the issues. Not saying yours are bad, but you never know. If your cat is clogged (could be ruined from previous head gasket failure) it could be causing overheating as the EGT's could be very high which can be bad all around. I'd pull the piping down, and inspect the honeycomb for melting or breaking (if need be, cut the pipe on a straight section before the cat if it allows full view of the substrate, then buy some exhaust pipe couplers from Auto Zone and weld them back by slipping over the joint). It should look like a screen if OK. If melted, it'll look like a glob of melted glass. It's also possible only part of the honeycomb is damaged, or only 1 cat is bad, both scenarios WILL allow the car to at least run, and in some cases it's hard to notice while driving, but very possibly can be causing your issues. If they are bad, make SURE you figure out what caused their failure in the 1st place before haphazardly replacing unless you want a repeat failure. My guess is they were heavily contaminated, run too lean too long, fuel additives (I never use fuel additives for this reason as even "safe" additives can destroy the honeycomb if not mixed correctly and it can take awhile to catch) etc.

LOL, CVS near me was selling their fleece blankets for a $1 each on the discount shelf last Feb. I bought like 10 of them and stack them up on each other and they make for really warm bed blanket, but still allow you to breath some (just do NOT run them in the dryer if you want them to retain their softness and not shrink. They air dry in under an hour, or air fluff them w/o heat if your dryer has the feature). Those army blankets are great to carry in a car (saw some for sale at local gun show- should have bought some) as they are fairly dense and large.

^ If you have an actual 12v gauge meter laying around and have an old lighter socket cable (power inverters have them, as do old, unused cell phones, etc.) you can easily wire it to the gauge for occasional in-car testing too. Also, is this issue common with older Legacy models? Or is it only problematic with certain, specific year/engine combos?

If it's really a problematic issue, put a 12v+ voltmeter gauge in (they even make ones that plug into the lighter outlet so it'd be super easy to monitor; if the light stays on in the dash, pull the bulb) and use that as it'll be more accurate and let you know in advance if the alt or battery are going south as opposed to a dummy light. i.e. if a battery usually holds 12.04 volts after sitting for 1-2 days before starting, and all of a sudden it's only holding 11.01 volts before starting, you'll know something is up, whereas a dummy light wouldn't even come on for that if the alt is working and the engine cranks enough to start. If the charging volts are typically 14-16v with no accessories on, and starts dropping to 12v while running and drops lower with accessories on but stays just above the dummy light threshold of OK/not OK, a gauge will tell you in advance rather than down the road and the "not OK" get's tripped. Alternators typically last quite awhile as it is, so unless you are running more accessories than what the alt can handle, it really doesn't need 24/7 monitoring.

Glad to see everybody is putting their AWD to good use this winter and helping fellow drivers out. Also glad to hear nobody seems to be getting seriously hurt either. Good idea to keep a heavy blanket with you in case you come on a heavy accident in this weather, you just might prevent hypothermia or even frost bite. I helped a semi driver once that had the entire front cabin sheared off (looked like somebody sawzalled every thing from the windshield forward off) and was in severe shock (plus he was coated with dry cement as well as the entire sleeper area) and in a long sleeved shirt and jeans in 15 degree weather (his truck was upright and he was still in the drivers seat) and it took awhile for EMS to arrive so I covered the poor guy with a blanket and clean hoodie to keep him warm and alert. I remember getting his phone and calling his employers and had 2 of them on 2-way. The poor guy was about 12" away from being cheese grated to death from an overturned trailer (that's what sheared his cabin off and how he was covered in cement from what the other guy was carrying- looked like the streets of NY after the buildings fell) and all they wanted to know about "was the load (cargo) OK!" I snapped at them and was like look, the entire front of the guy's truck is gone and he's beyond lucky to have survived and this was literally one of the worse accidents I've seen somebody walk away from. Show some compassion. Anyways, time to digress. Happy car towing everybody!

I'm pretty sure they are all season tires. Still running the factory 14" steel rims which are rather narrow, but that actually helps in the snow. I've yet to get stuck, but came really close this afternoon while at a local gun show where the back parking lot was grass, and the ground had rather deep grooves from when it was mud then froze over and was roughly 4" deep snow pack and very slick. It spun all 4 a couple times. Suppose actual snow tires would help even more, but you have to be diligent with getting them swapped out since they are typically very soft durometer (rubber hardness) and wear out quickly. If you are looking to buy tires and want all-seasons, try looking at tirerack.com. You can plug in the car or the tire size, and can get really good prices. Another nice feature is they give a dry and wet traction test and rate them. You'd be amazed at how many "nice" tires score poorly in the wet traction tests. They also leave their comments section uncensored, so if it's a lousy tire, you'll know it. Even with their cheapest shipping, you can still save money over store bought. I picked up a set of high performance tires through them for the other car and they were shipped on a Thurs and reached me the next day surprisingly.

The other day while walking the dog during a mild snow storm I was making my way back home and saw an older RAV4 in a ditch on the side of the road. Walked up and they apparently parked for a second and it slid into the ditch from being to close to the edge. (I think they were being wreckless and too embarrassed to admit it ) The left rear tire was about 12" OFF the ground and passenger front was buried in snow. Anyways, I've ALWAYS wanted to pull somebody out of ditch (seems stupid, but whatever I'm weird like that) so I was like "I got an AWD wagon, give me 15 minutes and I'll be back" (the one guy looked at me like, "yeah right, that won't work"). Went home, grabbed the come-along, and went back. Backed up to them, attached the cable hooks, put it in 1st (auto), and let it roll. Despite the road was covered in ice and snow, It pulled them out like nothing was even attached and didn't even break traction. The one guy pointed at a house 100' away (where a black, Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with full tow package was parked) and said they knocked on the door and asked the guy if he'd pull them out. The guy's response was "they were too stuck and he wouldn't be able to get them out". I just shook my head, then waived at the guy's house as he was watching. How embarrassing a 95' Legacy Wagon showed him up And if you were paying attention, They were both Toyota. I got a kick out it and the come-along is a permanent fixture with the tools in the hatch now.