GreaseMonkey03

I hate the long bolt. if you don't have a torch and a compressor, don't even try to get one out that's seized. And if you can't get all the way underneath, you'll probably destroy at least one control arm bushing trying to get it hot enough. To work around this issue and still be able to use a press, I disconnect the inner bolts and leave the control arms attached. Mark the bolts to try and keep your alignment it just get an alignment done afterwards. I don't like using a torch on anything that holds a bearing. I'm always concerned I'll warp it. Getting a bearing to pop is the most important part, and I never ever ever pop a bearing with a press of any type. The best method for popping a bearing is impact and/or vibration. Bearings create a large friction surface that pressure alone does not suffice to overcome. On a rear, for example, if it needs to be done on the car. after removing hub and circlip, reattach the spindle. using the proper sized die, and a bfh or an air hammer, beat the hell out of it like it owes you money until you see a slight gap between the bearing and its seat. It really doesn't take more than half a dozen or so hits on most bearings. THEN, use the screw press or any other press, tap as needed as pressure increases.

Battery could be shot too and not hold a charge. Ground or bad terminals as well but alternator could also be no good. Check the charge rate of the alternator and the cold cranking amps on the battery to eliminate those possibilities. Brake light is a separate issue. Check your brake fluid reservoir. If it's low, check your brake pads before you top it off. If they are fine, top it off. If your car has drums pull them off. A leaking wheel cylinder can cause fluid loss without having a big affect on your pedal pressure.

Look through the old parts and check to see if you find two throw out bearings. Lol

Heck if I remember off the top of my head but I think on subarus it's under the dash. I've had issues with relays working intermittently but on at least one occasion I had to pull apart the relay box to fix the wiring underneath. As Dave said, the clutch safety switch could also be the culprit. If you look at your clutch pedal and follow it up towards the base, there should be a switch that it engages and disengages when you press the clutch pedal. Actually come to think of it, I think the wire for that switch will lead you to the starter relay as well. Sorry I work on a lot of different makes so I don't always know Subaru specifics off the top of my head. I just get in and look.

Check that relay first. Might save a few bucks. There should be identical ones there to swap out. If you have a test light, with the car and all lights off, unplug the negative terminal. Touch one end of the test light to the terminal and one to the cable. If the light comes on, there's drain. There might be some light due to ecu memory function but it should be relatively dim. Outside of that I got nothing. Lol

I have had the great misfortune of having to do bearings with no press available. I also do side work away from the shop I work in and have been forced to learn alternative methods. I agree that doing it while still in the car is nearly impossible and although I have done a couple while still on the car, I wouldn't do it again if I didn't have to. At least one time it was a rear Subaru bearing whose bolts were so sized up that I couldn't/wouldn't dare to fully remove the knuckle. The others may not have been Subaru. I also worked with an old timer that taught me the ways of the bearing. Now, don't care how seized it is, I'll have it out without breaking a sweat. As promised, I will take the time to do as thorough a write up as I can and even give alternate ways of doing the same thing. I've seen guys hang off the press lever. I never wanted to to be honest, and after seeing a few pop under those conditions and having once been hit with shrapnel from across the shop, it's not a method I recommend. There's a much easier, much safer way. Do not fear the bearing. Become one with the bearing. Beeeeee the bearing. Ooommmmmm

I know you said they're good but it really sounds like the battery terminal connection. Often, a boost will get it started but then not enough of a contact to start it on its own. If the connections on the terminals are tight (wiggle them because sometimes the clamp stretches and it will tighten on itself but not on the post) inspect the main positive and negative cables to the battery. I've seen these basically rot away and cause starting issues. Can you tell if the starter is clicking or the relay? If the relay is not clicking, switch it with another relay from your fuse box and try again.

The OBD port is under the dash on the driver side. Get down low and look up and you should find it. I believe on these it is toward the far left but I could be wrong. It's black so hard to see without light. The Bluetooth is a pain but I have set it up for customers in the past. The manual is a little hard to follow but I followed the instructions and it worked like a charm. The cabin filter, if this is the pain in the neck design that I think it is, is a little tricky to get to but something anyone can do. The side panel pops off where there are one or two screws and if you pull out the rectangular tray I think you can see the rest of the screws. I can't remember the exact steps and where the screws are but just poke around and you'll figure it out.

Welcome to the madness

Are you considering new or used?

The 420 code has to do with the catalyst. This alone won't cause your starting issue. The 340 is for the camshaft position sensor. Bank one I think which is passenger side on subarus. This will cause a hard start condition. Check wiring and grounds and if all is good, change the sensor.

That's what you get for wearing clogs. Lmao

For what it's worth, although a press makes everything easier, you don't have to have one. If you don't have the space or money for a large press, you can use a screw type bearing tool to press the new one in. No press needed to remove the old bearing or the inner race from the hub. Takes practice but I do it all the time. I'd be happy to do a write up next time I do one at work but I just assumed a forum like this had a write up on it somewhere.

If you can, jack up the front end and turn the steering wheel lock to lock numerous times with the car OFF. Make sure the cap is on the reservoir when you do this as the pressure will push fluid out of the res otherwise. Once you've done this a dozen or so times left and right, check the reservoir and top it off if needed. Then start the car and if the noise has gone away, even just temporarily, your pump is sucking air. Check line ends for moisture and replace o rings as needed. Then repeat the wheels up bleeding process. Either the pump is sucking air or you need a new pump.

The way subarus are engineered and built, they are the easiest cars to find parts for and hands down the easiest cars to work on overall. If you can get used to some of their quirks, it's a piece of proverbial cake to keep it running until it rusts apart. And then you can probably fix that too. Get your head under hood and take a good look around for anything that seems suspicious that could be causing the noise. Sometimes it's staring you in the face. Subarus have very few secrets, you can literally see everything. As of right now, anything we say is speculation. Could very well be a cheap easy fix.

You could also try turning the key on and listening for the fuel pump to prime. It will be a buzzing sound coming from under the back seat. Each time you turn the key off then back on again it should prime. If you don't hear anything it's most likely the pump. Sometimes, if your tank can handle the beating, a few cracks from a rubber mallet against the bottom of the gas tank will "wake it up" and then you know your problem. Like adventure Subaru said above, you can do some old school mechanical system checks but in reality, it can be quite a few things and getting the codes checked even if the light isn't on should be the first step.

Would be a good idea to spend the little extra and get the can that comes with the gauge on it. Even better if you get the one with the reusable trigger dispenser. Worth it to know your system is fully charge. I don't have a lot of time but I try to make the most of the time I have. And I have the benefit of a shop full of tools and two lifts.

I'm doing well thanks. I have a 97 legacy outback that is half 03 forester. Getting ready for a lift and hopefully will eventually become 1/3 wrx one day. I have a few other non Subaru toys as well. Ac systems aren't overly complex electrically. If the compressor kicks in even for a little bit, it's most likely fine as far as that goes. There's a couple possibilities you have to eliminate at this point that you're currently at, unfortunately it may cost you more time and money than it would have cost just having it charged at a shop after you did your repair. Shops put a vacuum on the system to make sure there are no leaks. New lines will often leak at their weakest link, the gasket. There can also be additional leaks which are found using a dye. So this is the course of action I would take at this point. Because you may ultimately end up chasing a leak but if you do this you can kill two birds with one stone (repair or diagnose) With the car and ac on, put more refrigerant in the system. If the length of time the clutch stays engaged doesn't start to improve, you may be losing it faster than you can install it (large leak) if the length of time improves, watch the gauge on the can and fill according to temp guide on the gauge. If you notice as the clutch is cycling that the pressure on the gauge drops, you have a leak. If you fill and it works but stops blowing cold later on down the line you have a small leak obviously. But if you fill and it stays working indefinitely, you're good. If you reopen the system now, you're going to lose what you put in there. Or you can take it to a shop and have them vacuum test it (you will lose what you put in there) and fill it. If vacuum test fails you can have them inject the dye and after some time you can look for the leak yourself and replace the leaking part/seal. If the clutch is kicking in at all and it was running fine before, everything should be electrically sound. You can also check for power at the clutch with a test light if you want to eliminate that possibility. But like I said, if it's kicking in at all on its own without a power probe then it obviously has power.

Usually a slipped belt will cause a rough running engine/poor timing. they don't normally slip enough to do damage and still be able to start. In other words, if the belt slipped that bad, you probably wouldn't be able to start it because the timing would be so off or the engine would run like a bull in a china shop. The noise you are hearing could have nothing to do with the timing at all. It's just something that is good practice to check and eliminate as a possibility. It could also be as was said, the timing belt tensioner bouncing around. In which case probably no damage was done, it's just noisy. Pulleys can also make some nasty noise as well. It's difficult to say without being present to hear the noise, but it could be a very easy and cheap repair. Even if the timing belt needs to be replaced, it will take you a few hours but totally doable. Take your time and do it right. Watch some videos. Subarus are easy for belts.

You're going to have to make sure it's fully charged in order to eliminate the cut off that occurs when the system is low. My guess is that there isn't enough in it. Especially if it was running fine before. Ac charging is also sensitive to ambient air temp. If you're using one of those auto zone cans, follow the directions for temp.

If it's coming from the front, check the tensioner pulleys for the serpentine belts. Sometimes the bearings on these can go bad and the pulley will hit the timing cover and make some dreadful noises. If it's hard to see, you can peek at the timing cover directly behind them to see if there are any wear marks from the pulley hitting the cover. Usually when they go, they go and take the belt with them. But you may have caught it early enough IF that's the case. Without hearing the noise for myself I don't know if that's the case, but worth a quick check before you start tearing things apart. You can also start the car with both belts removed to eliminate the possibility of the noise coming from an accessory.

Hard to tell but I have a feeling it's your belt from the description. A high pitched squeal is the belt. If the belt is slipping it can cause the steering wheel to jerk.

Niether would I, but he's not either of us. Lmao. Seriously, highly doubt there is anything wrong. Or there's something you're not telling us, people lie to mechanics all the time for some strange reason. It's almost as if they don't want to get yelled at by us. Lmao Usually if something is mechanically wrong you will hear it or the car will drive like crap. If there is something wrong electrically, the light will come back on.

Squealing or groaning? Squealing is the belt. Groaning is the pump. Screaming is a bearing. Replacement is easy. Just costs you the price of the pump and about a quart of fluid and possibly the price of a belt. Most pumps come with new o rings too. It's one of the easiest things to do on most cars, especially these cars.

Customer: my car sounds terrible I'm scared to drive it. Me: remove heat shield I would replace think with know and make sure all fluids are good. If you're mechanically inclined, remove the viewing panel for the timing belt. From the way things have been described to me by customers, it could be a can of altoids in the center console or a soda can rolling under the car (both true stories) If you're not sure, you don't want to do further damage. Have it towed to a mechanic or someone that knows come to you and assess. Had a customer once who said the car sounded like crap so they added oil and kept driving. Turns out the oil level was fine the belt had skipped and was on the verge of disintegrating . They could have done serious damage. My point is, it could be ok or it could be toast. But it's worth paying to find out.