montana tom

i suspect you might have rim issues.

Visit the wrong side of town with it , park and take your large dog for a long walk... LOL .. Sorry couldn't resist.. No way a car that new should have those kind of issues. If your local dealer can't solve your problem then go up the line to their bosses.

Check both the intake and the exhaust valves, they both can bend if timing jumps. The exhaust is more common but I've seen both. As G.D. said Lap the valves, no doubt about it when one is bent. Pulling the valve cover and checking lash will tell you how bad it is as well. When I get a subaru in that broke or jumped the T belt I simply order ALL new valves not just the "Bent"ones. No need to wonder at that point. Replace valve seals on all at the same time ,hand surface the heads, use new subaru head gaskets and put it back together, with new timing components. Good to go.

I have seen catalytic's glow red from too much fuel, car hardly runs at that point. However it had no effect on the temperature. 2005 is 13 years old now ... radiators do not last forever... they are also easy to change and not that expensive to buy. (EDIT) My bad just reread your post you have a new rad. .... subaru thermostat ? or aftermarket ?

Well , Too bad...would have been an easy cheap fix. I then suspect you may need a radiator.

Front catalytic.

Check your electric fans. If even one quits they will start to heat on a hill. In driveway, hood open turn the a/c on , blower motor running. Both your electric fans should come on .If not check fuses. Wife's car did this... was a blown fuse on secondary fan.

Had that very thing happen on a 02 obw just the other day. Issue was a bad Ground... (sound familiar ? ) Headlights had been replaced with the china copys... the low beam ground was bad.. Made all the issues you have happen. I replaced that entire headlight housing with a used one and the problem is gone.

Mike is correct , the switch is called a neutral position switch. The neutral safety switch however is on an automatic. The second switch on the MT is reverse lights

I recommend six star bernie on ebay. All koyo ntn nsk rollers, subaru boxed tensioner and you can buy it with a subi belt or a Mitsubishi belt Pr apx $220-260 delivered. EDIT) seals and wate rpump extra

Clutch pedal location has no bearing on the neutral safety switch. I had a similar issue with the wifes 01 , cleaned then replaced the iac ... then i swapped out the neutral switch and idle issues are gone.

Regulator is built in.

Odd, I wonder if the neutral switch is shot

It was working fine before the engine work , correct ? If so then unplug each connector and inspect the prongs inside , they can get pushed out of place when reinstalling. Also, make sure you attached the coolant temp sensor wires completely on the coolant crossover pipe under the intake manifold.

Triple check the large connectors at the pass. side rear of the intake manifold. Make sure they are all snapped in place.

On a second gen outback with the 2.5 sohc motor, you remove the washer fluid tank on the drivers side and part of the air intake on the pass side. to access the spark plugs .Not sure if forester is the same. Is your 98 A 2.5 4 cam motor? You called it a dual cam... Not even sure if they put the 4 cam motor in the forester lineup.

NGK spark plugs and NGK plug wires, New air filter, new fuel filter. Any codes on the ecm? check engine light on ? All the tune up parts can be found cheaply at rock auto.

Parking lights are most likely on because somebody... accidentally hit the virgin switch on top of the steering wheel... Small flipper switch , if you see the red line its on.

Ultra grey , no gasket

Make sure the large connectors at rear pass side are snapped together well. Then check crank and cam sensors are connected.

I have been asked if my 00 2.5 obw has a turbo because of the whistle like noise under hard acceleration. No noise at all while parked. Sound file appears but says it is not supported.

Could something (nut,bolt) have fallen in the head while reassembling ? Hot cat sounds like its dumping fuel in # 3 for some reason. Check compression I bet #3 is low. Maybe you bent an intake valve ?

Booki; The overflow tank is not the place to check coolant level... You must look in the radiator .

Mike if you haven't already bought them , you want NGK plugs and NGK wires. No need to tell us about your salad ...

Yes ,i'm wondering about the head gasket... overheating gets them more times than not. oil and water do not mix on this motor when the head gasket is shot. Car will run cool until you lose enough coolant. I'm also still thinking valves . Compare all the plugs to see if any are different. By the By, remove and clean your grounds , both ends ... clean and tight. Not just the battery but the smaller grounds as well. .. could help with your scanner and if bad enough could cause your miss ... but I doubt it. I still think there is a compression check coming in the near future.