danbennett2u

I agree they are crappy but saying they are reject tires that dont pass inspections and tests isnt accurate. They are made by other companies, true, but they are just designed to be made cheaply with poor quality control. Obviously if they were just the rejects from goodyear etc. they would have the same tread design, and branding

Well thats the probelm, I cant really see exactly where its coming from yet either. I left timing belt covers off at last timing belt change, so I will watch the water pump with it running as soon as I can. It didnt overheat from the pump failing, I had a crack in the radiator that I didnt see (no smoke no puddles etc just a nice crack in the plastic that seemed to leak when I was driving apparently). If its head gasket or freeze plugs or anything that requires engine work I will probably just try to drive it as is and fill the coolant occasinally, I have 340k miles and the car isnt in the best of shape anymore. Water pump I would probably reluctantly replace. Getting tired of working on my car every weekend honestly.

My guess if you have spark and fuel would be that the timing jumped. Maybe the tensioner is weak after the replacement? Did you use any new parts or just the belt?

Severely overheated my 92 legacy due to an unnoticed leak in the radiator. It never started running poorly just noticed while driving that the temp indicator was WAAAYYYY above the H. Stopped, driving, got the radiator replaced... its back on the road now but now I get some dripping near the thermostat, it doesnt look like the thermostat housing or gasket its self though, looks like its dripping from the engine. Did I blow a head gasket, crack a head or block, etc? Still runs the same as it used to, no bubbles in overflow and no mixing of oil and coolant from what I can tell.

I agree, I think $150 to $200 for a shop to do timing belt is about average in my limited experience, and throwing in labor for brakes makes it a pretty reasonable price.

You posted a thought and people commented, no need to get defensive. I think everyone was thinking by "Preventative Fix" in the title that you meant to keep it from cracking in the first place, and that you had thought water was causing it to crack. I do see what you mean though, it might help prolong the life a cracked but still functioning one by keeping it protected some, but I really dont know how they work.

I am with grossgary in wondering if the studs or lugnuts got damaged the first time they came loose... if the wheel was moving around you may want to replace those if they weren't replaced by the shop when you confronted them (I hope you did!) about not tightening them

I use supertech oil filters because of the quality vs price ratio. I know black OEM is the best but I dont want to spend more than double what I pay for the ST filters. I see some people online say ST6607 whereas ST3593a is what comes up when I do a application search. I have been using the st3593a for years. The ST6607 looks a little higher quality but is smaller. I cant find specs on either to compare. Anyone know if the bypass spec is the same on these? Any reason to use one over the other?

I am pretty sure the struts themselves wont affect the ride height, I think it is the springs that support the car and the struts just dampen movement. If you are sagging on one side in the rear only I would tackle the springs first. I probably wouldnt worry about the front springs unless they are sagging or showing signs of wear, but shocks would be a good idea if they are indeed original. Sorry I dont really know about the interchanges

Since nobody else replied, I imagine if the only part that was changed was the IAC and it has different part numbers it is likely that is what is causing the idle issue. Let me make sure I have this correct though - you changed the vacuum hoses, it ran fine, then you cleaned the IAC afterwards and it broke, and with the replacement it idles high? If that is the case I would try to find another IAC that matches. if it started idling high right after replacing the hoses and it never idled right between hose replacement and IAC replacement then logically I would think something is messed up with the vacuum lines. sorry if that doesnt help much but I think it really depends on exactly when it started idling bad.

There is no reason to run 91 octane on a vehicle that is not high compression anyway, just throwing away money. If you are not having detonation issues just run regular grade. I run 85 octane in my legacy in colorado with no pinging (all octane grades are lower at this altitude). I occasionally run a half/half mix of E85 and regular gas just to keep things clean. Be aware though that if you are gunked up in the fuel system you may need to replace the fuel filter after running E-85, as it tends to loosen crud up which then gradually plugs the filter. As far as not passing at Idle... I would say replacing with plain copper NGK plugs is well worth the effort and money. Way cheaper than having to retest multiple times I imagine. Actually unless you are buying walmart plugs NGK coppers ARE the cheap ones ($2 per or less)

lol either that or the world starts to fall apart in a few months and tidal waves wipe out most of civilization right?

Ah ok, well I knew it didnt have a timing belt. Well I guess the rest of my statement still stands.

Is the main argument here timing chains vs belts? As eulogious mantioned, Toyota has used them forever and older ones have a great reputation. Also isnt the beloved EA81 chain driven? I dont see what the issue here is. By 2025 any actual new technology will no longer be new, and tips on how to fix everything will be easy to find, and there will be junkyards with used parts to source for cheap. I see no problem as long as Subaru has made an attempt to keep everything reasonably robust. Companies that build their reputation on reliability and longevity suffer when that reputation takes a hit, so Subaru would be downright stupid to cut costs on any critical parts. Its a new unproven engine yes, but I am not going to complain about near 40mpg in an AWD car with a useable power to weight ratio unless time shows major design flaws. I won't consider a car with a EJ25D for several reasons (and it wasnt the first in the EJ series). I would love one of the H6 models though which came out later. Just because an engine is a newer design doesn't mean it will be more problematic or expensive to maintain than a series that has been around.

Get the tires balanced at a tire shop. No reason you need to go to a dealership for a tire issue, especially if you know they are crooks. Moisture causing misfiring really makes me suspect defective plug wires. I would buy some subaru OEM wires, I have never had trouble with these and my last set lasted over 100k miles before I had to replace them.

easy part to fix, but I will be VERY surprised if that cures the power steering issues.

May be a dumb comment, but IIRC the code doesnt clear its self, did you use a scan tool to reset it manually after replacing the sensor?

I would go with the easiest and cheapest thing I can think of first and replace the fuel filter first.

I would try to find a knock sensor out of a junkyard that isnt cracked. It will cost much less than $70 I would assume. Chances are if it isnt visually cracked it will be operational, and I would trust an OEM subaru one over a auto parts store one. Not sure if it will fix your problem but might as well eliminate any potential problems you can.

ATF went from gray to black? Im not an expert but both of these colors sound very odd to me. Question for others on here: Since it starts out red doesnt it just go shades of brown when it burns? Question for original poster: Did whomever replaced the engine do anything with the transmission fluid at that time? I agree it sounds like tranny is toast, but try changing out the fluid several times (at least 3) as it does not drain it all at once. It might work with good fluid, worth a try for 30 or so bucks.

It is VERY cold though when it works... Also I just realized I added a 14oz can about 2 months ago and the issue started about a month ago... is it possible that maybe I have too much coolant instead of not enough? I dont completely trust the cheap gauge I have, and I couldnt find a sight glass to check for bubbles.

GD, with all due respect (and you are due a lot!), just because he cant repair it himself doesn't mean he needs to get a newer car with payments. Not everyone CAN do this and not everyone WANTS to do this. If my high mileage 92 legacy was slowly dying as it sounds the OP's is I would probably have the same mentality as him: Delay the death as long as it can be delayed and run it until it dies. In my case my car has many other issues as most 20 year old cars do (not to mention closing in on 340k miles) and wouldnt be worth the amount of time and effort required to do an engine repair like that. Also I am sure I wouldnt just be able to pop it out in a weekend with no experience in engine repairs, so time without a vehicle would be an issue. Original poster: What I personally would do in this situation is start looking for another early Legacy or Impreza... they are not very expensive to get ones in good running condition. Drive your current one until you find one, low compression probably wont cause it to completely die very quickly as another poster said, so you have some time.

95 Impreza 2.2 with a 134a system if that matters. Most of the time the AC works really well (although it drags the engine down noticeably). Occasionally the compressor will start cycling on for a second or less then off, repeating every second or two an a really regular pattern. Cooling goes from working great to non existent when this happens. If I turn it off for a few minutes it will usually start working again. What would cause this?

Actually I believe there are both power and at temp lights on the 90-94 models but it is definitely the power one that does the flashing on faults

I agree I would be more comfortable with a used OEM one out of a junkyard. I would imagine most subarus still have their originals and I would also imagine the quality would be better and would be cheaper.