montana tom

My guess is the starter solenoid.copper angles inside wear down and make sporadic contact . Easy fix if your mechanically inclined.

Hey for that price you bet it was worth it. The 05's are the first year of " drive by wire" no cable from the pedal to throttle body , (stupid, IMO). There have been connection issues between the pedal assembly and computer. Unplug it at throttle pedal , inspect it well then use dielectric grease when plugging it back in. May help.

I use the 11 mm pump . Here is the item # 142251153734 on ebay . Brand new O.E. $138 delivered. Here's the # 131638875556 for the same thing with new bolts and both seals for $154 I buy from this company often, very reputable.

Heck, call them and ask, it may just be making noises , the price is good.

I doubt that the car is driveable , Plan on replacing the automatic tranny. You would have to remove it anyway to access the front diff, which, by the way is not the same as the center diff. Also ask about the head gaskets on that motor before you buy or plan on doing a 1996 2.2 swap.

Sadly, I 100 % agree. I've owned nothing but subis since the 1980's .I run a small part time shop that is almost exclusively subi repairs. I used to look forward to replacing my subi with a newer one...I even thought that an 06 would be a good upgrade from our 00 and 01 obw's after working on 2005 and up subis I have come to the conclusion that personally I will not own any newer than 04. They won't hold half the weight the older ones will... they have "drive by wire " throttle , temp control's are sporadic. No cruise control anytime the check engine light pops on ??? More computer interface with the whole car. They put larger more expensive size tires on ... the list is endless. After 2009 they made them larger and now they look like every other generic suv on the road ! SAD SAD SAD that subi went this direction. All my customers looking for a replacement car now get told to search for a low mile or super clean 2004 back.

Unplug ,clean and reconnect elec. harness at throttle pedal . If your lucky that will work. I just had to replace the throttle assembly on an 06 obw . Seems the 05-06 years had connection issues , either at the pedal or out at the throttle body. If the computer loses signal from either end it reverts to idle.

Classic symptoms of the MAF failing . They don't seem to throw a code until they fail completely . I can't recall if 97 used them but 96 did. Edit) just saw this is an impreza most likely it is a 2.2 pretty sure you have a MAF on this, look for the square unit with a large electric connector in the fresh air supply just past the air filter. Usually have a green sticker on them. If you have one ... change it out . Go to wrecking yard or ebay and get an original equipment one, better used than a cheep china part.

You can certainly change the knock sensor yourself. One bolt easily seen is all it takes. The wire connector is harder to disconnect . As to fitment... if the connector is the same as yours I would buy the 30 dollar knock off and try it .

Head gaskets at 168K are most likely already changed ... if not they will need it. Timing belt and idlers are due or over due . If gaskets and timing set were changed it is important to know when , who did it and more important to know if O.E. parts or high quality Japanese parts were used . It is an interference motor so those parts must be up to the job or bent valves will be in the future. Other than that , check or change every fluid, replace filters, Wheel bearings should be checked (they don't always wiggle when bad) Brakes ,pads and the calipers should be checked to see that they are sliding properly.

The head gaskets on that year group are known for external leaking (drips) of oil & antifreeze. There is an additive from subaru that i hear helps this . You can live for years with this kind of leaking as long as you watch & top your fluids up and don't mind the smell at idle. Chang the head gaskets out properly with OE parts and I would expect 100-150 thousand before it comes back. Having said that I should note that I mainly work on non turbo cars ... turbo engine may react differently. Edit ) sorry, thought I saw yours was a turbo

automatic or 5 speed ? The iac valve, idle air control sits just in front of the throttle body . It has coolant to it . Not sure about the automatic in that year but it is different from MT, on the 5 speed that housing could have cracked and be letting coolant into throttle body. This could explain your poor or no idle issues. Or your coolant could be leaking elsewhere and your idle is not related. Do a pressure test on the cooling system and see if its leaking down. The iac valves are known to have issues in that year group, I just cleaned mine (2000 obw), it was going up to 2000-3000 rpm on startup & would not idle down until the engine was fully warmed up. Replacement valve for the auto was $30 the MT replacement was around $150... SO I removed and cleaned mine ... After cleaning it did not high idle anymore but seemed like it was lower than normal for a cold start. Then it started dying at idle ... start right back up ... run a few then die again. Down the road it ran great. After a day of poor idle (still low ) it cleared itself up and now it is 1500 on cold start , quickly drops to 1200 then down to 800 where it will sit all day. I used carb clean and rubbing alcohol with Q-tips to clean it up.

A 1997 2.2 is an interference motor, use only top quality parts made in japan or you may be sorry. I had a very bad experience using a dayco kit... gates kits were reliable but now some of the idlers are from china. The aisin kits I have seen are all Japanese parts . Go with subaru only for cam & crank seals . Water pump is optional.

The neutral switch on a manual transmission is for starting only. About the iac valve, I just cleaned mine on a 2001 obw. Was told to get a new gasket before opening , many times your original will be swollen. Mine was fine but be prepared for yours . After cleaning ...my high idle issue was not changed ! I was disappointed as the replacement valve for a MT is spendy compared to an automatic . 2 days after cleaning i noticed that the too high idle seemed to be gone !!! Yes ! AND THEN... it suddenly started the opposite symptom... to low an idle , it even stalled twice, of course it was 11 below zero at the time and it did start right back up and idle. One day of that and now it seems to be perfect ! knock on wood ,cross fingers.... I used carb cleaner and alcohol with q tips to clean , soaking for a while would no doubt help immensely. I suspect with q tips that i got about 90% clean and my after issues were caused by what I couldn't clean.

There is only 4 bolts on the bellhousing. The two uppers are in plain sight (one is a starter bolt) , the two lowers have tight access and rarely come finger loose. A good quality 14 mm ratcheting box wrench will take them right off. The guide dowel pins can be a pain to get loose , just pry a little on each side and they will come off.

Off to the wrecking yard for you... or maybe a cheap blown motor car off craigs list as a parts donor car .By the way... expect the other side wheel bearing to be in similar shape.

Ya, I agree with mikec03 about the MAF. They are known to do this very thing . Buy one at the wrecking yard .. if it solves the problem, then buy another and keep it with you. Simple enough to change out if necessary.

Take it to auto zone (or most parts houses) they will read your codes for free .. Easiest way without a code reader is too disconnect the battery. Problem with that, is any codes on there will be erased at the same time.

I Doubt, that it is fuel supply issue. Water in fuel would run poorly no matter the temp. I'm leaning towards an electrical issue. If your car has a maf it will be located in line just upstream of the air filter box , large connector ,easily removed . They do go bad and cause a temp no start or a running stall ... I have never tried disconnecting one with a no start ... I have made them stall by tapping on the maf ,but give it a try if it has one. The coolant temp sensor is also a possibility. The engine should have trouble codes stored even if the check engine light is not on. By the way, If your check engine light is not on , it will be after you try disconnecting sensors.

Funny thing about subarus is in most cases you just reuse the old gasket (not head gaskets) .In your case leave the heads alone until the day they leak. To change the clutch (about a 3-4 hr job) you won't need any gaskets. Rent a cherry picker , drop the exhaust (4 bolts) at the head remove 2 motor mount bolts . While under neath unplug the electric fans , and undo the lower rad hose. pop up and pull radiator with fans . At that point you have a starter & 4 engine to tranny bolts ,heater hoses and 3 large wire connectors at the pass rear. ps pump just gets put aside same with a/c ,don't disconnect them just unbolt & put aside . a few vacuum lines , the dog leg to the trans & support the trans when you pull the motor away. I make it sound easy because it really is. There are the other things like drain the rad , draining the engine oil ,disconnecing the battery and more i'm not thinking of. But this isn't rocket science , you can do this.

96 2.2 best engine subi has made. Completely non interference. Buy a complete exody or luk clutch kit ,with new pilet bearing, throwout bearing,pressure plate/ disk and an alignment tool. question 1) yes, do it now or you will destroy the flywheel . 2) Take photos with your phone at each step, place parts together that go together. 3) avoid forcing the engine back in on reinstall ... if the clutch isn't lined up... pull it out and try again.4)This is one of the easiest subis to pull.5) No !!! leave head gaskets alone, thats more than you need to tackle, and that motor does not have the head gasket issues that the newer ones do.

Well if you were a car guy, I would say fold the liner back ... take a hammer and correct size beater , tap that thin sheet metal back and push the liner back in. If necessary a screw or zip tie to keep it there. Since you are not, I would look for that non dealer subaru mechanic. As long as you are not worried about ascetics he should be able to tap it back . If not don't worry about it until you can get to town.

I've never found them loose on the 2000 + 2.5 engines but while you are in there its good piece of mind to check.

Yes, it will. You will need to put the original cogged crank sprocket on it, as well as the original left side cam gear. You may also want to put your intake manifold on it as well. And while you are in there new idlers, water pump, tensioner and belt. also cam seals and crank seals.

cts, is coolant temp sensor, dbw, is drive by wire(electric signal only, no cable from pedal to throttle body). Cruise will flash (and not work) anytime check engine light pops on. You need to have the codes read (most parts houses ) and see what that tells us.