tbolt1003

Ok, we've decided to fix my daughter's Forester. She loves the car too much to let it go. I've seen the Subaru coolant conditioner mentioned. Wife has a 2001 Forester 2.5 with the 5-speed which we bought last July. I love driving that car. It had been maintained its entire life by a Subaru dealership and currently has 134,000 miles on it. The car is running beautifully and has no issues. Seeing that this year 2.5 is in that "concern" range, I should add the conditioner when I do the coolant change shortly, correct? I don't want to have to go through this with her car, although I know anything is possible. Is the conditioner only recommended for the 2.5? My '95 Impreza has the 2.2 with 122,000 miles.

I did the RockAuto kit for my '95 Impreza and it is working fine.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Definitely helps me make the right decision here. The car runs and rides great, so I think it is worth repairing. Of course, she wants a new 2014 Forester now. I said, sure, you get a new Forester, mom gets a new Impreza and dad gets a leftover 2014 WRX. She just smiled.....

The car was maintained very well, bought from the original elderly owner with 30,000 miles in 2004. All records came with the car and I've been very meticulous in ensuring it is maintained, as are the other (2) Subaru's in the household. I'm really not feeling good about trying the Blue Devil a second time either. Thanks for the reassurance it's just not the route to take this time around.

You're welcome. This is one of the best Subaru forums I've found and the people here are always willing to help out.

My daughter's 99 Forester developed the dreaded head gasket issue last fall. The repair shop we use for things I can't fix told her the head gasket blew and needed replaced. They quoted her $1300. She is a college student and needs her car daily. As a temporary fix, the shop suggested the Blue Devil gasket maker. It has lasted 6 months, however, her engine has started to use coolant again and I can see the bubbles in the overflow bottle. Is it safe to use the Blue Devil one more time until we can afford to have the head gaskets replaced? I've heard both good and bad about the product, some stories saying it completely sealed the radiator passages and engines have overheated due to lack of coolant circulation. Thanks ahead of time for everyone's input and thoughts.

Use this link to see the overall differences in the (2) sizes. I ran the numbers and the 60 will affect your speedometer reading. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

When you say that you changed the gas cap and the light stays on, did you clear the code and the light reappeared or have you not cleared the code yet? The light will stay on until you clear it.

Thanks for all the replies. This definitely helps me.

My daughter's 99 Forester was running poorly. CEL was on, showing a misfire on cylinder #4. I did new NGK plugs and high quality wires. Still a misfire on #4. Turned out the coil pack wasn't giving spark to #4, but 1-3 were fine.

Are the hoods from the 97 - 99 Impreza the same as those from 93 - 96? The hood on my 95 was hit and has a dent in it. The area has really begun to rust out and want to replace it. I found a hood from a 99 Impreza Outback Sport and was wondering if it will fit on my 95. They look the same but wanted to be sure before I spend the money and have it shipped to me. Are the 2.5RS hoods the same as the 99, too? I found one of them, as well. Thanks!

Ok, thanks!

I don't see them very often, however I've seen Foresters, probably mid-2000's, with a very unique grille. It almost looks like a Lincoln or luxury-style grille. About 15 chrome vertical slats with a V-shaped emblem in the middle. I always see them when driving and haven't had the opportunity to see one up close. My curiosity is getting the best of me. Is this a special Forester or just an add-on grille? I've seen a handful in the past few months, so I'm kinda leading towards it being a Subaru specific grille. Thanks!

I was going to guess you may have a vacuum leak somewhere or a hose unplugged. My Impreza did the same type of thing after having the passenger side of the engine apart for HLA service. Forgot to plug in the big vacuum hose at the airbox. As soon as I did, the idle was normal and she was purring like a kitten again.

Glad you got it all fixed!! Yes, the 2.2 is quite an impressive little engine. First time i had my rockers apart, I remember my brain saying "Wow, this engine is an automotive work of art"

What Fairtax said. I had the same issue with my '95 Impreza 2.2 and his diagnosis was dead-on accurate for me when I asked here in the forums for help. I completely disassembled the rocker arm assembly and found a small piece of RTV silicone blocking the oil feed hole to the rocker shaft. After removing that blockage, repriming the HLAs, and reassembling the engine, my engine has been noise-free and purrs like a kitten...super quiet. I'd be wiling to bet you have a blockage, as well.

I just went through this exact same situation with my '95 EJ22 a few months ago. I had the tick on the passenger side, had the rockers apart at least (5) times to find my exhaust HLAs collapsed. I was pulling my hair out, too. Thanks to the same advice fairtax gave above, my problem is gone. I pulled and completely disassembled the rocker assembly. I mean completely! What I found was a very small piece of RTV sealant that was plugging up the oil feed hole in the rocker shaft. Without taking the rocker assembly apart, I'd never have seen it. After reassembling everything, priming the HLAs and putting the engine back together, my engine purrs like a kitten. Super quiet and power restored.

That's a neat tool!! Looks like I'll be ok with the 205/55/16. Many thanks!!

I had very good success with EMPI. Girlfriend's Forester broke the original right front axle after 120k miles. Put an EMPI in and it has been great. Went right in, lined up perfectly. The Forester has since been handed down to her daughter who is in college and drives the car hard. Axle is still holding up great after almost 50k miles.

Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere. I searched and couldn't locate anything. My 95 Impreza wagon came from the factory with 15x6 steel wheels and 195/60/15 tires. The tires that were on the car when I got it finally wore out this fall and I decided to buy a set of dedicated snows and use the factory steelies for the snows. I don't want to go through the hassle of having the snows removed in the spring and putting a set of summer/all-seasons on the steelies, then put the snow tires back on the steelies in the winter. I'm looking at a set of the factory 16" 2002-2004 Impreza WRX wheels for my spring-fall set-up. I found the stock size tire was 205/55/16 for these wheels. My Impreza is my daily driver and I'm not using it for anything other than a daily driver. While the offset of both the steelies and the WRX wheels are the same (+55), will I have any issues going to a lower profile and wider tire on my Impreza? Any possible rubbing issues? I know the differences are very minor, but wanted to ask before I jump. Thanks!

$9 worth of parts and 1.5 hours of my time and it's good to go. I had to cut the bolts off, as they were badly rusted on there. Once they were out of the way, smooth sailing. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions.

Thanks. I'll just get both and return whichever doesn't fit. I googled the repair kit and the one shown above isn't one that pops up commonly for the Subaru repair. The flange kit looks a lot more durable than the factory set-up. Thanks, again, for your help. This forum is definitely friendlier than the other one I am on (will remain nameless). They seem more into helping people with WRX's and STi's than us under-powered guys (I'd love to get a DGM STi someday...). Still a great site, but I'm getting a lot more response and help here. Even added the USMB app to my phone. Thanks again!

Fairtax, is the size flange kit I need on the converter side an 1-3/4" or a 2"? They offer both sizes. Sorry, i didnt think to get a measurement before heading out to the parts store. Thinking 1-3/4"??

That's great news about the split flange kit. Thanks for the info! I figured as much about the MagnaFlow unit. Not worth the added $$$. Thanks for confirming my beliefs. I do plan on hanging onto this car until it starts to nickel and dime me. So far, knock on wood, it's been really good to me. Probably most I've spent on it is a front hub assembly and the (4) snow tires this past November.

My 95 Impreza 2.2 with 122,000 miles developed an exhaust leak where the rear cat meets the resonator pipe. The flange on the cat section is completely rusted away and the (2) pipes are no longer a tight fit as the bolts have nothing to attach to. The only way to fix it is a new rear cat, which aren't that expensive aftermarket. I've located a few well known brands for between $135-$150 which are direct-fit models and come with both gaskets. There is also a MagnaFlow model for around $200. I think I already know the answer to my question, but will I really gain that much by going with the mandrel-bent MagnaFlow over an OE replacement? I'm guessing "no" but wanted to ask first. Thanks!