heartless

No, that is not ok. As Miles has already said - replace the PCV valve and clean out the hoses as best you can. Also try to clean out as much of the oily residue in the intake as you can. Buying stuff from ebay can be kind of a crap shoot sometimes. perhaps you should try Rockauto.com - they usually have very good prices and fast shipping - I think they even have a warehouse in Ohio... There are also several Subaru parts dealers online with fair pricing... I have used both of these with good results... https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html http://www.parksubaruoemparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=215943

if the bearing is bad enough it will howl. the howl and wander when letting off the gas would suggest a very bad bearing to me jack up the car and check for wobble - grab tire at 6 & 12 o'clock and try to wiggle it. any movement is a bad thing. If there is no wobble (betting there is) then try rotating and feeling for (put one hand on the coil spring, the roughness of a bad bearing will transmit to other components), listening for noise rear diff can be changed out, just make sure the ratio matches the tranny.

John C - the information I posted on that came directly from the owners manual of my 95 Legacy in the towing section for towing with all four wheels on the ground, and it says basically the same thing for towing with a tow dolly or similar with front wheels off the ground. I can scan & post the pages if you like - I thought the car had to be running for it to be operational as well, but the owners manual suggests otherwise... Personally, if my car has to be towed, it goes on a flatbed truck or full trailer.

the fuse in the fuse holder to disengage the AWD is only operational IF the key is in the ACC or ON positions! (according to my 95 owners manual) There must be power supplied to that circuit for it to work, and there is only power supplied when the key is either on or in ACC positions. (and this is only applicable to the automatic transmissions) the fuse size doesnt really matter - it is completeing the circuit that makes the difference - most Subarus have spare 10, 15 & 20 amp fuses in the interior fusebox cover - use one of those. 7mpg gain? i dont think so. 7/10 of a mpg gain, maybe. Reason being the rolling mass is still all there, just not "driven" by the engine/transmission. Winter fuel mileage suffers due to different formulas, longer warmup times, etc - I am betting that is what this other person is forgetting about when claiming higher mpgs in the summer. My 90 Legacy LS wagon would only get mid 20s in the winter - 24-26 mpg or so - but in the summer I could get 29 with no problem, broke 30 mpg a couple of times, but not often...havent had the lifted 95 long enough yet to know what summer mileage is with it, but winter has been pretty close to what the 90 got - mid 20s - and that is with snow tires on it. Tires types also affect fuel mileage - a stickier tire compound (lower mileage rating) will reduce mpgs a fair amount. higher mileage rated tires will give higher mpgs Example: had Cooper CS 4 touring tires (80,000 mile) on my 90 Legacy and got around 29 mpg overall...later put Kelly Explorer Plus tires on (40,000 mile) and overall fuel mileage dropped to around 27...

standard NGK plugs as already noted Subaru or NGK wires NGK part # FX41/stock # 8004 - do a little shopping around, they can be had for between 35 & 45 bucks.

i have used a 7-1 painters tool with good success, just be gentle so you dont gouge the surface. nice thing about the painters tool is it has that little point for digging gunk out of bolt holes.

no need to yell. But, if you want a "professional" opinion, and only a "professional" opinion, you need to go to a professional shop, not an online forum. the online forum can and will give you some good advice IF you are willing to be open minded. Good luck and hope you find what you are looking for.

oops - you're right...22mm (hadnt had enough coffee yet! LOL)

if you are pulling the motor (not a necessary step for a timing job, but does give easier access) then reseal the rear oil separator plate (use an anarobic sealant or ultra grey), and replace the o-rings on the rear cam seals as well. 92 should have the cast alloy plate, but if it is plastic then you will want to replace it with a stamped steel one, which will also require new screws. unless it is obviously leaking really badly, leave the rear main seal alone. for instructions try this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/74256-ej22-timing-belt-change/ alternatively, a video by our own Miles Fox:

first - check power steering fluid level and condition! if level is low, add fluid to full mark. start the car & slowly turn wheels from center to lock, to opposite lock and back to center - maybe even do this a couple, three times. check fluid level again. repeat as needed until level stays where it should be.

try pulling the trunk liner back/out to see if you can isolate where the clicking is coming from - on our 90 sedan (and wagon) the seat belt controller was on the drivers side - but it is possible they relocated it to the passenger side on later years...the box was a little bigger than a pack of cigarettes - maybe a little more square... as far as "fixing" it, I never tried - on the sedan we had, we made sure both belts were in the upper position and unplugged the box - they had to be manually unbuckled to get in & out of the car. My wagon was like yours - drivers side worked, passenger side didnt, but I never had a problem with battery draining or hearing any clicking so I left it alone - never really had passengers, so it wasnt a big deal to me. fusible link wire gauge will vary depending on the rating I believe - the higher the rating the thicker the wire... I may be wrong about that tho...

Olnick is right - there is no such thing as an "average". in general - a well maintained car will go for a very long time, a poorly maintained car wont - but there are always exceptions to every "rule" I have a 1990 Legacy LS wagon with over 245,000 on it that has never had a tranny issue - still runs & drives fine, tranny shifts smooth as silk... this car was so-so on maintenance & kind of abused - the po drove it with blown air suspension, trashing the exhaust, and it had a few other minor issues as well. I also have a 1995 Legacy L wagon with a little over 200,000 on it, that had to have the tranny replaced due to no reverse...this car was supposedly well cared for, maintained at a dealer for most of its life - notations in the warranty booklet support this. exceptions to the "rule"... (both are automatics, btw) when searching for a vehicle, check it over carefully - does it look to be in decent shape - inside and out - given the mileage? pop the hood and take a good look around - is the engine bay spotless? (red flag!) or is it completely covered in dirt/grime? (another red flag) a well maintained car wont be spotless, but it wont be filthy either. Check oil level, accessory belts, power steering fluid, etc - clean? dirty? proper levels? belts in decent condition and proper tension? check battery connections - everything tight? clean or lots of crud around the posts? how old is the battery? most batteries will have a date sold (month/year) somewhere on them - either as a sticker or engraved right into the case. Look at all four tires - are they all the same brand, style, size, and treadwear? how much tread is left on them? any excessive wear on any one or two? Next, get in and turn the key on - are all the warning lights working properly? (come on for a sec or two, then go out?) does it start easily? how is the idle after starting? is it smooth, or does it fluctuate? any warning lights that stay lit/flash after startup? (CEL, ABS, AT temp light for automatic) drive the car and see how it handles, how the transmission feels - does it shift smoothly/easily? how do the brakes feel when stopping/slowing? does it pull to one side - either while accelerating, driving steady, or stopping? are there any vibrations? Check the operation of everything! Lights, heat, AC, wipers (dont forget the rear for a wagon), radio, seat adjustments, everything that you can think of. For the wagons, check the rear seat operation for folding down flat - earlier 90s the seat bottom will pull up (there should be a small strap loop near the center to pull it up), then the seat backs fold down (adjustable headrests would have to be removed for this) are there any maintenace/repair records for the car? what was done and when? And I agree with taking a potential purchase to a mechaninc of your choosing for a full inspection before purchase - if the seller wont let you do that - walk away. a lot of people get thier heads in the clouds when looking at a car - stay grounded and be critical. Once you have gone over the car and have a list of pros and cons, you can decide what you can live with and whether the price is worth it to you

can you rotate the engine manually? (21mm socket on the crank bolt, turn clockwise) if yes, then I would agree with Olnick - bad starter contacts and/or bad connections. also make sure battery is fully charged...

does the 93 have the automatic seatbelts? the control module for the auto belts is in the rear by the drivers side wheel well, behind the trunk liner... I would try to track down where the clicking is coming from

alternators can, and do, fail due to heat, and it is very difficult to replicate when testing. I had one do this on my 90 Legacy wagon a while back - could drive for a little while and it would be ok, then suddenly the dash would light up. I could pull into the parts store with the symptoms happening, get the guy out there, pop the hood and it would test out fine...the minute the hood was opened, engine heat would escape, the alt would cool off and, for testing purposes, it was fine. Close the hood, drive away, and within 15 minutes it would show the same symptoms again. I replaced that alt with a rebuilt stock unit, gave the battery a good charging, and havent had a problem since

thermostat: either OEM or Stant Exac-stat - part number 48457 - this can be had for around $20 - do not waste your money on anything else, you will pay dearly later if you do. you didnt mention what year your car is, but what you have listed is good - aside from the valve cover bolts, not really a necessity - I have never had one of those break, in fact, they are frequently too loose. you may also want to check the condition of your radiator hoses, and the small hose down off the water pump. If they feel soft or mushy, replace them! When I did the timing on my current car last December, the upper hose was so bad I could see daylight thru the hose! I would recommend having a set on hand - you can always return them if you dont need them. the small hose by the pump is a formed hose and will probably have to be ordered - most parts stores wont have that one Vacuum lines are another thing to check and replace - they tend to get hard and brittle with age/heat

Yes, what happened to cause it to overheat in the first place? Blown hose? leaky radiator? stuck thermostat? there had to be a reason for it to overheat, the question is: what was it?

maybe you can find some info here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Impreza/

why not drop a used engine in it and keep driving it? good used motors can be had for a tiny fraction of what a new one would cost.

here you go, just select your year: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Forester/

Thanks very much guys - I feel a bit better about attempting this now. I thought I had read somewhere about there being some sort of power storage for the airbags - capacitors make sense... dirt and crud inside the column is highly likely with this car - have found some pretty icky stuff in places...

How does one go about disabling the airbag to be able to pull the steering wheel? I would really like to upgrade the wiper control on my 95 Lego from the single speed intermittent to the adjustable intermittent from the 90 Lego LS The 95 has airbags and I have never worked on one with airbags before... I guess I should ask - will the 90 controls (turn signal/wiper controls) work on the 95? Also want to check the condition of the clockspring - I hear a lot of noise when turning the wheel, especially when going from lock to lock, like when backing out of a tight parking space

undo some of the tape holding the wires to the main harness. the wiring is folded up and taped down from the factory

try what Texan suggested - swap tires front to rear then drive again, see if anything changes...

not sure if this will help you - but I am 5ft 4, average proportion height wise, and about 50 lbs overweight, and there is plenty of seat adjustment forward on the older Legacy's (have never been in a Baja, so I dont know how they are specifically, altho they are based on the Legacy platform) Not knowing you personally, I would ask how well do you fit in an average bucket seat? If you are uncomfortable in most bucket style seats, then you probably wont be comfortable in a Baja.