1 Lucky Texan

is the car new to you? check the fluid levels again. there have been several cases of people confusing the drain plugs. anyway, it seems to be running quite badly to not be throwing a code - maybe scan for 'pending' codes. I THINK you '95 might be OBDII (there's probably a sticker in the engine compartment that will say) so, any car parts place (AZ, O'Reilly, etc.) can scan the ecu for codes. Get the number and post it here. like P0123 or w'ever.

any chance to rent or borrow a car? Might start working on that now. A car like this, new to you, etc. just may not be reliable enough without a decent 'shakedown cruise' close to port. If you know what I mean. check here and maybe you can retrieve some codes from the car;

we have to ask this as, occasionally, people do it wrong. The trans fluid is the only one you check with engine running. Better if you run the shifter to each gear for 5-8 seconds, then put in park or neutral and check with the engine running. Also a good idea to pull the stick and wait 2 minutes, Look on both sides and go by the the lower of the 2 levels. was any service done to the car before this problem came up? any diff or trans fluid changed out?

no 1 thing that helps the gurus here is accurate info about the symptoms, and anything that may have led to them popping up. next would be any blink codes or OBD codes stored in the computer. Yours has codes even though it isn't OBDII. I've even seen some guys post sound files of noises their car makes. naturally, there are limits to what can be guessed at over the internet. Sometimes, a thread about torque bind or shifting problems will be pages long and the OP will blurt out - "the transmission was swapped 2 weeks ago" or w'ever. sometimes. cars have had rodents nesting in them that chewed-up wires. other times, we get lucky and say, change the knock sensor - they're cheap, and -boom- problem solved.

good fluid ?

I could see how one might rattle, but the seat could be rough and not seal well. I dunno, they're pretty cheap to buy.

any dents in the oil pan? maybe blocked or cracked oil pickup. check the oil pressure. there's a port for a real gauge some where. could be something as simple as a bad pressure sender (that thing is designed to light up at some crazy low pressure like 7 psi !) maybe the rear of the oil pump needs re-sealing?

do you recall the numbers? - P0xyz w'ever?

I rarely read about valve work, but you want the heads resurfaced a little. Block is usually OK. And you want multilayer steel haedgaskets. OEM for a turbo car, or Six Star w'ever brand. You search for details on that work. If you think the engine has ever been severely over heated, a swapeed wrecker engine, rebuilt with with new MLS gaskets, might be a longer-lasting engine. maybe half the miles too. Did you engine get timing belt back at 105K? if not, now's a good time for that service. Ask in a new thread for a shop recommendation in StL. maybe some one knows of a soob-expereinced mech near you.

crank position sensor could have been cooked I guess.

No one wants it to be HGs, but it sounds ominous. If there's any chance it isn't, could be just a bubble of air trapped in the system. Sometimes filling thru the upper hose, then filling the radiator and o'flow bottle gets it filled. Other people try to get the nose up and 'burp' air out that way.

yes to L-R swap

OK, my MIL's Forry is back. SOA had the dealership change the vent valve and the carbon canister. The paperwork says the canister weighed 3X normal. She of course denies ever over-filling it. Either one of 2 other people helping her with her car overfilled it and some failure prevented it from being purged/drained, or, multiple very short trips allow more buildup than purge opportunities? Dunno why this was so difficult for them to troubleshoot in past visits to the dealer.

well, I'm not sure about 'pumping' - it could confuse the ECU with crazy TPS readings. But, it's my understanding, that holding the pedal on the floor is detected by the ECU as a 'clear flood' command and it will withhold fuel to help lean-out the combustion charge.

interesting, I'd suggest a clogged exhaust system as a possible problem. Vacuum gauge testing might be a good idea.

get the codes read and post them here. Parts stores will read them. Or, if you have a smartphone, get am elm327 BT adaptor and the Torque app. doesn't seem like it's flooded if holding the pedal on the floor while cranking doesn't help. So, you smell fuel though. leaking injector or some other leak is possible I guess. next time you feel it will fail, try cycling the key from OFF to ON - wait 8 seconds, back to OFF, then ON - wait 8 seconds, do that 3-4 times, THEN START. This sould gurantee the pump has fully pressured the rails.

last weekend, changed the oil and filter,,I changed the Timing belt and pulleys in my WRX - first time doing that, I THINK my tensioner has been weak because, the 'chk' noise I heard whenever the a/c compressor came on is now gone!, this weekend, changed the oil/filter in the wife's OBW and finally got those prothane transverse links out. Put Febest aftermarkets in. No more bone-shaking when going over concrete road transitions!

TPS ?

maybe some gummy deposits in the throttlebody? they might behave as outlined with temperature - but the problem seems very severe.....

I've wondered about that. I also wouldn't mind trying some silver/aluminized paint on the boot - but have no idea what could survive without just flaking-off.

next time you feel certain this will happen, just press the gas pedal to the floor, and hold it there (that's 'clear flood' mode) while cranking. If it seems to start fairly well, you may have an injector leaking into a cyl. then, next morning, start pulling plugs to find which cyl is wet with fuel. engine temp sensor is another possibility, but remote I guess.

^^^ good idea - might even find an English socket that would fit. Probably better to try that before any heating - a lot of heat will soften the head even more. 6 point socket would be best.

leakage from the back of the engine? that is often the separator plate. If the fluid is fresh, I suppose you could try some Trans-X additive. Some people have luck with that.

there are techniques and tools to deal with that but, if have minimal tools, try using a propane/MAPP torch to heat the bolts, then, file a coupla flats opposite each other and use some vice grips to try to get them out. If you have acetone and ATF - mix 50/50 and use like a penetrating fluid - or buy some PB Blaster or Kroil. I'm sure more experienced mechanics will chime in with some ideas.