heartless

you can get the "pen" type erasers in the stand alone rectangular shape... search for "sand eraser" nice to have around - keep one in the tool box.

if you have the pdfs, go looking for fan troubleshooting.. not sure where it might be... under cooling (hvac) perhaps?

you have to pull the steering wheel, which means airbags... use caution

i think i would try replacing the relay and/or bulbs first.. cheaper and easier... just to verify could be the relay is failing, could be a bulb failing... but yeah, it is possible the switch is going bad.

you could try swapping left to right, see if the issue follows, gets better, or gets worse and yes, they are the same left to right on a Subaru. Other brands, no.

ayyup... that will do it. so, mystery solved, get it put back together the right way, and you should be good fingers crossed for ya!

i dont think it is the brand - i think it was installation error and possibly an issue with the mating surface of the intake... the break looks a bit odd to me... spaced out, and offset... and if you look in the lower left corner of that picture, there is a spot that also looks like it was sucking in air.. as in there was nothing clamping it down/sealing it as in, the gasket was torn during installation, and the one side shifted out of place

are you 100% sure it is the left one that is the problem?? right side tends to be more problematic than the left, generally speaking. also, not sure how there could be "play in the shaft" if they are replacing the entire CV axle? that just makes no sense to me.

go here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ download the wiring diagrams for your car... and start looking - for a 95 start on page 20 - power routing you said that the left fan does not come on, even with test connectors - that is a problem, and you need to figure out why

yup, just slightly below halfway is the normal position... if the needle moves above that, you need to figure out why. best way to fill a Subaru cooling system that has been drained... 1. raise the front up 2. fill block thru the upper radiator hose 3. attach hose to radiator 4. fill radiator 5. check and adjust overflow level as needed. 6. seal it all up and run to operating temp (with front still raised) 7. let it cool completely, check radiator and overflow levels, top up if needed. you should be good to go at this point, but it should be monitored for a week or two after to make sure levels remain consistent.

i would suggest that this would put you into the category of "extreme conditions" and as such, i would be more apt to follow the guidelines set out by Subaru for those conditions if you want it to last... neglecting or extending routine maintenance is going to be detrimental in the long run. i dont drive mountains, but i do live on a gravel road, and dust is a constant thing... this puts me in the "extreme" category... we are talking very fine dust that gets EVERYWHERE - inside the car even with closed windows so you can bet it is getting into engine bay - i dont even have to drive my car - just traffic passing by is enough. Needless to say, i pay attention to things like oil and filter changes.

easier to leave the cap a little loose... charcoal canister is underneath by the passenger rear tire i have a hard time getting down on the ground anymore, and an even harder time getting back up again =P i do have a parts car i can scavenge parts from... a 2005 model, but basically the same except it is an auto and my daily is a 5 spd in fact, i just finished up stealing both the front window regulators/motors out of it, cause the motors died in my car - so nice to have working windows again, lol oh yeah, and i stole the tweeters out of the 05 and put them in my car, LOL and they work!

not being in the best of health these days, i have not really done a lot with looking into this issue however... did have to get gas again yesterday, again, down to 1/4 tank, filled up... only this time, i left the cap loose while i ran into the store to get a couple of things... tightened the cap when i came out, car started just fine, ran fine, so yeah.. i need to find my code reader and have a look again..

did you make sure the tranny and the rear diff matched (final drive ratio) if not, then yeah, you have a pretty serious problem

yup, other half had the same problem with his 06 - both went out at the same time even.. which was why we thought it couldnt be the bulbs... checked wiring, fuses, everything we could think of to check... it was the bulbs

ok, tested opening the cap with everything fully warmed up... no air sucking, no problem re-starting partner offered to top up the tank since we had to get gas for the lawn mower as well... was about half a tank at the time... interestingly enough, no problem starting that time. the previous 2 fills, with the starting issue, happened when around a 1/4 tank left ... so... how much is left in the tank when filling seems to be a factor..

license plate lights are most likely either bad bulbs, or a problem with the wiring that goes thru the hatch. not uncommon to have broken wires at the hinge point from fatigue not sure how good you are with wiring diagrams, but you can find factory service manual for your car here starting at the back, work your way forward also, dont forget about ground wires.

all good, thanks, Bennie. watch just means to be prepared, conditions are right for possible tornadoes - warning is when a funnel cloud has been spotted and it is time to take cover. had been really hot on Tuesday, then a cold front moved in, producing thunderstorms... perfect weather for a tornado... hot air mixing with cold, strong winds, etc

pouring down rain with tornado watch right now, so poking around will have to wait i did try loosening the fuel cap before leaving the house today (no air hiss, either), and it started just fine, but that was on a cold start... want to try it again with warm engine... would have done today, but like i said.. rain. =P aside from this issue (only a problem when getting gas), the car runs perfectly - every start outside of getting gas is fine, no problems, starts right up, idles fine, drives fine - no issues at all otherwise. have been driving this car since September with no problems until it suddenly started this weird thing at fill ups. just strange...

evap canister, sure, but this is not a turbo model, just an NA, so is a purge valve even on my car? if so, where would it be located? and i dont "top off" when i get gas, pump until it kicks off, and done.

interesting thought.. will have to give it a try & see what happens

did his start acting like this suddenly as well? next time i get gas i am going to try something... rather than locking the handle (lowest position), i am going to run it a bit slower, see if that makes any difference have never had a car do this before, so quite puzzled

have not messed with anything underhood recently. slight air movement when popping the fuel cap, and it does "lock" like it is supposed to i kind of wondered the same about possible grunge, but it is just odd that it started suddenly

i did have to hit the gas pedal to get it to start yesterday, then had to hold it about 1/3-1/2 to keep it running until it straightened up. not sure if it matters or not, but both times gas level in the tank was around the 1/4 tank mark...

2004 Forester - EJ251, manual.. this has happened the last two times i have put gas in.. get gas, and the engine is difficult to start, and runs roughly for a minute or so once it is started. Once it settles in and runs nice, it is fine.. no more starting issues, no more rough running until i get gas again... is 2004 one of the ones that had the fuel pump cap issues? could this be a symptom?