1 Lucky Texan

don't trust the overflow, check in the radiator neck - should be very full under the cap (check carefully) fluid filling the o'flow or even out of the top of the tank usually indicates a headgasket leak.

I think Kumho (Solus ?) are a decent value. Ran them on the wife's car - they are OK. at present, I have Pirelli Cinturato on therre and , while not crazy expensive, still have a little buyer's remorse spending that much on tires. I tend to favor traction and wet performance, I let tread life take a hit. But, if you are on the highway a lot, you might take a look at 'touring' tires. not everyone needs 'all seasons'. Some folks drive a different car or stay home in bad weather or w'ever. Kinda depends on your usage really. go to Discount Tire and have a conversation with a sales guy - try to go on a weekday when they are less busy.

^^^ I like that - it works for me by eliminating hard downshifting when passing at highway speeds. I do the disconnect trick before road trips.

used parts; https://www.lkqonline.com/ parts suppliers should be able to use the info (model/VIN number) on the car to make certain you get a compatible part. if you go off on your own, buying from an idividual, finding different models/years of manufacture on Craigslist, or maybe parts on ebay, etc. make certain you know which transmissions will swap into your car. I may not know without a search, but if you post details about your car, someone here may be able to tell you how to confirm FD ratio.

LKQ or car-part.com could be sources for a trans. Craigslist may have someone 'parting-out' a car. MUST be the same final drive ratio as current trans.

shaking in the steering wheel stopped after prying on the trans mount? has the shaking returned?

most car parts stores can read codes - could be more than one stored. An ELM327 BT adapter and an app (Torque) on your smartphone can do the same., maybe more helppful readings. shuddering could also be a 'dead' spot on the TPS - I believe there's an upgraded style available for our cars? might be more noticeable at specific steady-state speeds, but not felt during acceleration. tires all the same size/model/brand? any jerkiness felt during tight maneuvering in parking lots?

dang, too bad

hey, you're welcome. maybe take a few pics of how the repair goes and post them up? might help someone else in the future!

I'll risk commenting a little but, I doubt anyone can tell you how long some part might last. It's possible, fixing bad bearings early, could mean the hubs are still OK. at some point, the hubs will also be destroyed.

HAH! I did find this, 11 years old and I replied for them to ask here! (I guess it was a wire nut and not a pen cap? lol!) http://www.motorsforum.com/subaru/subaru-parking-brake-button-repair-13904-.htm and drilling into the old link also finds this; https://morris.cloud/subaru-outback-handbrake-button-repair/

I may be imagining it, but I seem to recall someone creating a button from a ball-point pen cap?

if any of the noises are present at low speed, have someone pace the car on foot in a parking lot to try to pin down which side the sound might be coming from. You could also ride in the back while someone test drives the car to try to hear better. has the rear differential had it's fluid checked? the drain plug has a magnet, should be less than 1/4 or so teaspoon of sludge on it - no 'chunks', rear brakes OK? even the little parking brake shoes? Rear wheel bearings need inspection, probably the exhaust as well. wheel bearings are common fail;ures and 'might' present the problems you hear - or you may have 2 overlapping issues.

how long has the outer boot been split? It may fail (eventually) even if you reboot it , outer joints get a lot more debris inside them than inner joints. I admit I only tried a split boot decades ago - it failed quickly, waste of money. you can drive for a LONG time before it starts clicking in the turns. When it starts clicking going straight, that's maybe the time to think about replacing the axle. You can even wait and combine the axle replacement with a brake job or other work in that area. (get a used OEM axle from a junkyard) save the boot money to spend on an axle.

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/110-gen-2-2000-2004/112610-wiper-bushing-easy-fix-2000-outback.html skip to about 7:00 mark to see where the problem likely is;

^^^ that

knock sensors can be bad without throwing a code. It's one sensor where a cheap part seems to work as well for folks as OEM. Note how the pigtail is routed, clean the block under the old one, don't over torque the new one. Give it a coupla drive cycles to see if it helps. engine temp sensor 'might' be another issue - maybe keeping the ECU in 'cold start choke' mode. If you car has 2 sensors for temp - it's the 2-wire sensor. Newer cars have a single part with 3 wires. do you have a MAF? mmaybe carefully spray is with MAF cleaner? might not hurt to use a vacuum gauge to check for vacuum leaks and blocked exhaust. google it, cheap way to check the 'health' of 3-4 systems on a car.Confirm decent air pressure in tires and brake calipers are greased and free to slide. Older car could have a few 'issues' spread across 2-3 areas.

it isn't impossible for rotors to 'potato chip' just very, very unlikely on daily drivers. as said, uneven pad deposition occurs from 2 things, light use or clamping down on hot brakes to wait for a train or a light. If bedding in procedures do not help - or the problem gets worse after a bed-in procedure, you probably need new rotors or have them machined. In an overheat situation, I've read that there can be a spot on the rotor that has a different temper and replacement is the best option. If I haven't zoomed around enough to get on the brakes hard, I sometimes will feel a little brake judder coming on. I will make certain I have a road that will allow at least 1/2 mile for cool-down and, while maintaining 30-40mph, left foot 'drag' the brakes. That usually helps or cures the problem. I might repeat it if it hasn't cured the issue. The 3 times I went to a track event, I did a procedure beforehand more like the one described by Keith above - just to make sure i had good , smooth rotors. check here (other good reading there too); http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

if the car is dieing in traffic - definitely report that to NHTSA.

in theory - overfilling up near/past the 'windage tray' or w'ever, 'could' lead to oil being beat into a foam by the crank shaft - foam is not pumped as well by the oil pump. but with a HUGE amount of overfilling....and, for such a short amount of operation....I kinda doubt there's anything to worry about. You might consider asking for new oil filter and PCV valve - maybe even a throttle body cleaning....???? I doubt anyone could quantify any reduced utility from the car though. does the engine 'only' last 275,000 miles instead of 300,000 ? impossible to know.

strut bearing? If you can duplicate the noise at low speed, maybe have a helper maneuver the car while you pace it and listen. there are enough possibilities that you likely need a pro to help diagnose this.

what dealer?

^^^ if the front and rear final drives are the same, either age/bad luck took out the enter diff - or the car has been run with a mixed size of tires lonf enough to damage the CD.

could this be a cabin air filter issue?

can you crank the engine around with a wrench? maybe check for slipped cam/crank timing.