forester2002s

Take lots of photos before you disconnect anything. As you remove nuts and bolts, put them into containers (old yogurt containers, cut-off plastic bottles, children's snack containers etc). And in each container put a small piece of paper, with a brief description, e.g. 'starter-motor bolts', 'valve-cover bolts' etc. If your engine is dirty/oily, I suggest doing an engine shampoo before you start.

A likely suspect would be your 'remanufactured' front axles. It could be that the joints on those axles have worn in a way that you hear the ticking sound when the axles are loaded, but not when the axles are unloaded.

Sounds similar to the old 'marble in the ash-tray' symptom.

Battery terminals/connections/wires ?

OK, I misread your earlier post, thinking that this happened after the store had completed changing all wheels. But if they found the bad stud at the beginning, then it may not have been their fault after all. But I am also very nervous of shop personnel wielding air-wrenches, set to who-knows-what torque.

Check all the other studs' threads !!

I've never done it, but I think that you can hammer each stud out, by hitting it in the threaded end. May have to be done off the car...

Just a thought... Is the buzzer working? Try 12V across the buzzer (if you can find it!)

Sounds like a problem with the starter Could be as simple as worn-out starter-contacts. They are replaceable. Or you might need a replacement starter assembly. Subaru OEM from a scrap-yard might work well.

...or one from a car that was totalled in an accident.

Could be a problem with the starter. If it happens again, tap the starter with a hammer, small rock, 2x4, or something similar. This can sometimes temporarily fix worn contacts in the starter.

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/vin.html#legacy Outback

I would go with an aftermarket hitch: Hidden-Hitch, Curt or something similar. The Class I hitch and the Class II hitch both use a 1.25" fitting. The Class I is slightly cheaper to buy, but only by a few dollars. I have always bought the Class II as it is more substantial than the Class I. Both are designed with the same attachment points to the underside of the car. But, as others have said, it is usually the vehicle's tow rating that governs. Installing an aftermarket hitch is no big deal, and you can either do it yourself, or get a shop to do it. Either way, it will be cheaper than getting a Subaru hitch installed at a Subaru dealership.

And the other factor when towing, is SPEED. Go up a hill FAST, and the engine is putting out a lot of energy, and is more likely to overheat. Go up a hill SLOWLY, and the engine is not working as hard, and will generate less waste heat, and is less likely to overheat.

Fuel-filter blocked?

I installed the 11044AA770 'Turbo Gasket' in my 2002 Forester EJ251 NA (Non-turbo) engine. It seals absolutely tight, without a hint of leakage.

There's also a single (black?) wire, with a small (black?) connector on top of the AC compressor, which sends 12V to the clutch. You could try disconnecting the connector, and seeing if there is 12V on that incoming wire, when the system calls for the clutch to be engaged.

Sound like head-gasket leak. The most likely place for a leak is on the left-side (looking forward) of the engine. Look under the head, and towards the rear. You may need a mirror and light to see properly. The head-gasket typically starts leaking there; you may find oil-drips and/or coolant-drips.

It depends on where the lost oil is going. If it's leaking externally (dripping, seeping, dirty engine-block etc,), then you could fix the leaks and the oil loss might drop to near zero. If i's actually burning oil, then it's anybody's guess, but will probably get worse as the car ages.

Oh I get it. You moved the Original Post INTO this forum. I misread it to think that you were moving the post away from here to somewhere else. Thanks for the clarification.

Which is the right forum for a 2014 Impreza?

Theoretically, that plastic shield may also help reduce fuel consumption a little, by smoothing out the air-flow at high speeds. In practice though, this improvement may be miniscule, especially for city driving.

Try a Drain/Flush/Refill for the power-steering fluid. There should be a procedure for this in the FSManual. It involves draining the fluid through one of the lower hydraulic fittings, and refilling. There's a procedure for removing air from the system, which effectively flushes the system as well. I did this a few years ago on my 2002 Forester. I couldn't believe how black and gunky the drained fluid was.

My 2002 MT Forester has never held brake vacuum for very long after the engine is shut off. I've always considered it normal (I bought the car new). The driveway in front of my garage has a slight downward slope. So, when I activate the remote to open the garage door, I turn off the ignition and put the car in Neutral. As I coast slowly into the garage, I can feel the vacuum dying. By the time that the car comes to rest, there's no brake-assist left. Why do I do this? Mainly so I don't introduce too many exhaust-fumes into the garage. But it also reminds me of the fictional character 'Garp' in the novel (+1982 movie) 'The World according to Garp'. Garp (played by Robin Williams) rolls his car like this into his garage, mainly to amuse his kids. But one day there were unexpected consequences! You'll have to read the book, or see the movie, to find out what happened.

Heartless, I'm also getting a bit 'long in the tooth'. I rely of a set of knee-pads when working in the shop (and in the garden too). They make a huge difference for me. Wouldn't be without them.