golucky66

Don't have a link, but probably a few hundred, like 200-300$ (at least in my area) hour or two for labor and the gasket is probably 30$ (30$ through the shop after mark-up).

If those are the only wet spots, those are your valve covers.

Just as a comparison, my dad used to tow a 1500 lb curb weight trailer with his 2004 Ford Escape Hybrid CVT. And we used to load that thing up, at least to 3000 lb. Max tow rating was 1300 lb. Now was that the best idea? No. Should you do that cross country? No. If you don't push the car and travel 50-55 on the highways (or faster, engine load dependent) you would be fine. I wouldn't recommend goingon 12 hour trips unless you had a tranny cooler and took it easy. Also, side note. When you frequently tow anything with an auto. The ATF (automatic transmission fluid) deteriorates faster. So when they may recommend 30k service intervals for the ATF, it should be done more frequently then that. And because it's a CVT, it's not traditional ATF, it's a ATF that subaru approves that is safe to be used with the CVT, not just any ATF will work. And if the transmission is "sealed for life", that is the biggest bull crap I've ever heard. Because no fluid will EVER make it 100k+ miles. Sealed for life means what the average life of cars are. Which is about 120k miles. But being a subaru, it can easily last 300k miles. Take care of it, and it will last. Don't change fluids, 120k will be accurate. Best of luck to you and your towing adventures!

My buddies Impreza 97 had a misfire when under load, the coil was bad. For some reason I can't remember which one it is, it's a rear cylinder (closer to the seats) and whichever plug is further back. i'm pretty sure its passenger side

I don't have much of input, but is it manual or auto because that would make a difference on peoples suggestions. I'm assuming it's auto, which is a CVT (I believe).

I replaced the radiator right after I bought that car because about 1/3 of the fins were missing (it didn't leak a drop of coolant out of the radiator). Didn't flow test it before replacement. Once the old one was out, I stuck a garden hose in the upper port and didn't get much flow out of the other end. So that in combination with the fins missing caused that overheating concern. Drove it with that new radiator for 2 years before I sold the care because I got a good deal on an impreza.

Wasn't trying to insult, just being clear to jseabolt that it may not be a HG. And that a proper diag should be done before any assumptions are made

I'm going to give my two cents here. I bought a 2000 Outback which everyone thought had a blown HG, so i got it for a STEAL. Anyways, same hing, driving faster would make it better, and it would crawl up if your idling or driving less then 45. After doing some tests I couldn't get any true signs of a HG failure besides "it's overheating". Turns out I had a bad radiator and the faster I drove the easier it was for the bad radiator to cool the engine. While I will admit subarus have issues with HG's a lot. A lot of people are really quick to diagnose almost any overheating issue as a bad HG. I would definitely realize it could be a bad HG, but why dive right into a $2000 bill when it could be a $400 radiator. Get a proper diagnose from a shop that understands subarus and let them tell you if it needs a HG.

Could be a switch. Maybe the A/C switch is sticking or just wearing out to the point where it will occasionally tell the computer that you don't want A/C. Could be a failing relay for the A/C clutch. Two things off the top of my head. Only real way to find the issue is when the A/C stops working, get out and search for an electrical issue. (sounds like an electrical issue not a mechanical one)

Whats funny is that did the timing belt on it in 04 and not a year and a half later had to do a water pump and cost the guy another $300 why didn't they just do one with the timing belt it would've been a $75 part if that! Also, agreed with grossgary inspect the oil and tranny pan. A lot of people think they should use a gasket for the pans. These come with RTV from the factory, don't use a gasket. Did my tranny pan (2.2) with RTV 8 months ago and zero issues so long as you use the RTV correctly and torque it properly. And yeah 2.2, they'll never die.

Agreed. If the cooling system is working properly, it should be able to cool the engine fully loaded easily, even in 100 degree weather. Something that a lot of people forget is that the coolant can loose it's heat carrying capabilities after a long time. So if the fluid has never been replaced that's part of the issue.

My 96' Impreza 2.2 a/c maxed and I'll drive at least 85 on the highway sometimes pushing 95 (though it's only been around 90-95 degrees here in CT recently) but I've never once seen my gauge even move when pushing 4500 rpms cruising, Just because a cars old doesn't mean you can't push it. It's more important it's been well taken care of then it's age.

It comes with a gasket for the pan?

Yeah, it's stuck. Anything sealed with RTV is going to be unless it's leaking so badly that there's basically no seal anywhere. When I did it on my 96 Impreza, you have to be very gentle as it's just creased sheet metal. But you can try putting a small flat head screw driver in one area (preferably an area that's slightly lose or the area that leaking the most) and gentle wiggle it around and try to break the seal it has in that spot. Once it's slightly loose in that area, work your way around until the entire pan comes off. You can try re torquing them. But I wouldn't hold your breath. Once that seal is broken, there is not ATF in-between the tranny and the pan that needs to be removed for anything to seal it.

^ Agreed. A tap should've worked perfectly fine, it's aluminum, not steel. But if a tap seriously isn't working. Heli-coil it. Love heli-coils

Coming from a automotive shop, and having done a few timing belt jobs on Subarus, I don't see why you would ever not replace all the seals. Its an extra $20 in parts (customer price) and maybe .4 hours labor. Is it worth risking? It starts leaking 10k later, now you have to remove the entire timing belt job you JUST did to replace them. I always replace them when I open it up. But either way, my dads car 99' OBW 2.5 DOHC has had a leaking crankseal for at least 20k, just slowly getting worse, no blow out.

I have to agree with 1 Lucky Texan. Usually factory set ups for brakes are more then enough for most people. Unless overheating them is going to be an issue, stopping comes down to tires and their traction more then anything.

Yup. Thank you. Three bolts we missed because of their odd location.

Was wondering if anyone whos more experienced with a complete rebuild of these engines could give me some tips on how to split the case? I've removed all the bolts that hold both half's together, but cant seem to split it. And before I cause damage to my block id rather consult with some more experienced boxer guys. I've tried hitting both sides individually with a deadblow rubber hammer, as well as tried hitting a bolt I partially threaded back into one side. Neither even budged it.

My 96' Impreza have literally the same exact rust, to the same level too. And at least on my car, it's nothing to worry about. Unless you can put finger through it or push on the mental and a whole piece flexes, you're probably fine.

I don't know about this this hood, but a buddy of mine put the same hood (from an 2.5 RS similar year) and it fits and everything. But at the front of the hood, where the grill is, it's kinda pointy on the RS hood and it seems to be exactly the same on the hod in the link. It will fit, but it won't look right on an Impreza L unless you swap over the headlights and grill from an RS (maybe even bumper...?)

Neither of those codes should realistically cause what you're noticing. Without any further information, my assumption is a bad motor mount. If you could explain what you mean by "rough start" that'd help. Like does it shake a lot like when shutting off. Or does it seem like it doesn't want to start.

Unless it's really really stuck, the simplest option is to just put a break bar on it, pin it (in the right direction) and use the starter. I've done it on at least 3 different subaru's (no EA engine to be fair) and they all come off, and it takes literally 2 minutes.

Agreed with Olnick. But to take a guess, either the tranny filter or lines going to the cooler.

While checking the voltage that it can put out can be useful. That is not the main way to check an alternator. The main way is to see how much current it can put out. That is done by turning everything on and using an amp clamp around either the positive or negative wire and measuring it that way (also bump the rpms to like 1500). My impreza 96' charges at 14.2 V and puts out 75 amps at max.