StructEngineer

Why does everyone automatically assume p0420 means you have to replace the $600 cat? In my experience cats dont go bad unless you know you're running rich or burning oil. There are other issues that contribute to inefficient catalyst. Before depreciating the car by making it illegal I would at least replace the $10 worth of exhaust gaskets first, then maybe the primary o2 sensor.

yep the p0420 is the bank 2 catalyst inefficiency code. This means the seconday o2 sensor isn't outputing a flat signal. Good luck

Unless there is a compelling reason to change it I recommend checking all gaskets before the cat and possibly replacing the secondary o2 sensor. If the cat is fried you have to start looking at why it's fried and hopefully its not oil. I went through a huge debacle with my cat and eventually I ended up pulling the front cat pipe to find a little gasket leak. Fixed that and now p0420 free. Theory is that the exhaust leak will not let the cat operate at the required efficient levels. You may end up having to cut the cat off the downstream pipe so expect lots of fun if you have to go the replacement route. I have a direct bolt magnaflow on the other car for 10,000 miles and am happy with the power gains and no problems. plus it was $250 instead of $850. I've been told by many to stay away from eastern catalytic.

Yes, I'm referring to the bracket mount. Not the bolt that connects the caliper to the slider pin. All I was getting at is if you take the approach of eyeballing torque on every bolt other than those in the head and engine block you may be missing this issue. Albeit difficult, just trying to inspire some thinking.

I would venture to say that the caliper bracket to knuckle connection is a perfect example of a slip critical connection. If it were designed as a bearing connection every time you'd brake the bracket would slip from the play in the bolt holes. yohy, I am also a PE and tend to agree with your dad.

Nah, you're a bit off on that. Slip critical means something else. I'd be interested to hear from "torque it by eye" folks.

Are any connections in brake work slip critical?

I had the same issue happen and found that the bearing was not fully pressed in, taking off preload on the bearing....not good at all.

Honestly depends on what's up with the civic, and if you're a DIY person. Typically it rust that gets them. Do you have snow tires on it? Properly done headgaskets will run about $1800. The subaru "coolant conditioner" just delays the inevitable.

I have a 2002 2.5l. For what it's worth, the Cat went at 81,000 mi, both headgaskets went at 98,000 mi (external leak), and the knock sensor went at 103,000 mi. Whatever price you get it, I would set aside at least $1000 for this engine. I also have a 150,000mi civic and feel it's more reliable than the 103,000mi forester. oh and be careful with the externally leaking headgaskets. A lot of dealers will say the headgaskets are OK when in reality they are weeping. It is best you check it out for yourself.

Would any of you consider using an impact wrench for this job?

I tried Napa remans and they rusted like crazy

Make sure the caliper slide pin boots are sealing correctly, and use caliper slide pin grease.

http://www.jconline.com/article/20100302/BUSINESS/100302008

The newer ones, even as new as 2007 are starting to show signs of headgasket failures. If you take a look around some other subaru forums you'll see. As said before, either avoid the 2.5l or go Honda.

It depends on how much your time is worth I guess and if you have shop access... Your dealer is on the very high side. I was able to get dealer to do both HG's, heads milled, cleaned up valves, timing belt, drive belts, pulleys, wp, tensioner for $800. Honestly it doesn't matter so much if your car was part of the original recall, you're out of the extended warranty no matter what.

Good luck, I have an 2002 that they upfront admitted was part of the 8yr extended warranty campaign and both HG blew a few months ago which is a few months past the 8yr mark. At first they said SOL because its not under warranty. After a huge hassle, they agreed to pay 1/2. Seems like that's the game they're playing from now on.....which is a crock. If I were you and you want to keep the car I'd just have them do it for $750, it will likely be less expensive (your time, hassle, parts). I think SOA had a big party when the last 2002's extended warranty expired.....now it's time for them make all that money back.

x2 I also think there's other mechanisms going on such as the snow wedge, and the propensity for the tire to dig down into the snow instead of rolling over it. The "static friction" when the tire is rolling over snow is directly influenced by the shearing strength of the snow layer beneath the tire. It could very well cause an effective static friction coefficient that is less than the dynamic coefficient of the tire sliding along a thinner snow layer (or even making contact with the pavement. In other words, it's not as cut and dry as the example of a die sliding on a book. Speaking as someone who's taken several physics courses.

We received 4" of snow last night. Finally decided to pull the ABS fuse. Braking distances improved. Still not as good as the civic, but at least im not ABS'ing through the crosswalks. Everything on the forester is in good working order so don't try to give me excuses that my tires are 10 yrs old or my shocks are bad.

Maybe Subaru's ABS module is slow at calculating, just like Toyota's braking system. I think your 2'-3' claim is way off.... we're talking 1 - 1.5 car lengths more stopping distance required. Basically though, youre saying that we give up daily braking capabilities so we don't hit pedestrians who dart out in the road... brilliant.

But I'm running BF Goodrich Traction T/A's on both the Civic and Forester.

Funny you say this. My civic w/o ABS makes the same comparison to my Forester. When it snows my wife and I take the civic because its MUCH safer. I'm going to say the Civic stops in 1/2 the distance. Every intersection with the Forester is a white knuckle guess if the thing will stop as the ABS vibrates away. I'm not sure if its a function of weight? The forester is only a few hundred pounds heavier than the civic but maybe its enough to make a difference?

Yes the SOA warranty will extend to a second owner, BUT you'll be lucky if you get SOA to cover anything at this point. My 2002 was a few months past the 8 yr mark (NOT 10 yrs) while under the 100k mark and it was nearly impossible to get them to pay half. Dealer could not do much, so I talked to SOA directly, and made every effort to be nice but they were combative from the start of the conversation. Like, how dare I ask them to pay for anything when this is three months out of warranty. They ended up agreeing to pay half but only because in the 6 years my inlaws owned it they put in at least $4000 worth of maintenance at the dealer...aka, every interval was done + some more, AND the dealer noted that the headgaskets were "severely weeping" at 80,000mi two years prior. Good luck.

So where's the replacement interval in the service manual?

I'm astonished they still charged you. I'm sure the trans fluid they put in is top quality too... Any time I take mine in during the winter I have to remind them as well. Had a few close calls.