Fairtax4me

Sometimes a little rust buildup on the bracket can make things squeeze together. I always try to remove the bracket and wire brush it to remove any rust/scale where the pads have to slide. Glad you got it fixed!

Need to check both radiator fans for operation. If the fans don't work, it wil overheat while sitting in traffic. Also need the fans to run for the AC to cool properly. Easy check: look under the dash on the drivers side, you'll find two bright green plugs that fit together. One wire in each plug. Connect them, turn the key to the ON position. Do not start the engine. This puts the ECU in Test Mode, and it will cycle all of the relays and solenoids on the car. This causes the fans to come on in roughly two second intervals. Both fans are two speed, so the fans will run low speed, then high speed, then turn Off. This will repeat until you turn the key Off. Make sure both radiator fans run at both speeds.

You need the bolt or the tab? Junkyard would be my first stop. Those are easy to get.

Using non hub-centric wheels can cause wheel balance issues. Have a tire shop balance the wheels using a lug-centric adapter and they should be fine.

Possibly a bad clockspring behind the steering wheel. Push the horn button while you turn the wheel back and forth. If it cuts in/out, clockspring is bad.

Is it a rapid clicking coming from the dash? Starter solenoid click will be only one solid "click" from under the hood when you turn the key to start. There are some relays under the dash which you may hear but they're much quieter than the starter solenoid. Is this car manual or automatic?

You had EGR to begin with, you need to put the original intake manifold with the EGR back on. That's the only way to get rid of the EGR code. You also need to connect The neutral position switch on the trans to the ECU. IIRC There is a specific pin it has to be connected to, it cant just be grounded. That's giving you the Idle and VSS codes because the ECU thinks its in Nuetral all the time. It has to see that the trans is in gear, then it knows you're controlling throttle and speed. If it thinks the trans is in Nuetral it tries to set engine speed to idle and can't because the car is moving.

Did you get a can with one of those squeeze trigger hoses on it? Those have a spacer you have to remove so the needle on the hose will pierce the seal on the can. Until you remove the spacer you won't get anything out of the can. Not sure what the H6 systems run for pressures. Seems that the 2000+ Subaru systems run around 25 psi on the low side, about 200-220 on the high side, depending on outside temp. Check the top of the filter/drier canister for a sight glass. Clean it off and peer in with a flashlight while the compressor is running. If you see lots of bubbles, the charge is likely very low. If it looks frosty or foamy the charge is low, but should still have enough to make at least a little cold air. If the sight is clear with an occasional bubble, the charge is near the correct amount. These have a few common leak points. The o-ring on top of the compressor like to get brittle and leak, and the lower corners of the condensers will corrode and leak. Check those for any oily or damp appearance. Compressor o-rings are easy to replace.

Unplug the horn and clean up the connector. Spray some PB or WD into the horn and ride around on the interstate and wail on it a couple times. Or just replace the horn. It's one bolt.

If they key is not able to physically be turned, that is a problem with the key or the ignition lock cylinder. If the key turns but the engine does not start, that is NOT a problem with the key or ignition lock. The clicking solenoid is due to worn contacts in the starter solenoid. The contacts can be replaced, or you can just put on a rebuilt starter.

I've done several trans swaps on these with just my 3 ton floor jack. If it has a 4" pad the trans will sit on it mostly without help. You'll see a big tab on the bottom of the trans that seems to be a good balance point. Put the jack head there. The axles are easy enough to slide off by hand. Once the trans is slid off the engine studs just rotate it a bit, don't tip it side to side, just spin it on the jack head, and the axle joints can be slid off.

I just unbolt the exhaust from the heads and drop the whole getup from Y to muffler and slide it out from under the car. You should have the roll-pin axles. Theresa pin at the inner end that jolds it to a stub on the trans. Just knock the pins out with a suitable sized punch and the inner joints will slide away from the trans. When you get ready to lower the trans you can just wiggle them off and push the axles towards the front of the car out of the way. Nuetral and reverse light switches don't need to be removed, just be mindful of them while removing the trans. Leave the wires hooked in the little foldy wire tab on the trans so they don't get hung up on anything. Don't forget to unhook the rear O2 sensor connectors. The extension harness can stay attached to the trans and you don't have to mess with fishing it around. Speed sensor connector can be a pain. Tap it a few times with a screwdriver handle to knock any dirt out of it. Then try pushing it together while pushing the lock tab and pull it apart.

There can always be defects in a mass produced part, such as an oil filter. It's an easy swap for a $4 Purolator. I would try a different filter first. If that doesn't change anything pull the oil pump. At 180k its due for a TB anyway.

Then its probably not the flexplate. Try running a higher octane fuel in the next tank and see if the noise lessens or goes away.

List looks good to me. 99 Forester has the SOHC heads so will bolt right in.

Top of the second cat back just past the trans. It sticks up toward the left side of the car. You can follow the wiring for it down the left side of the trans. The connector has a tab that sticks it to the side of the trans just above the rear trans cross-member.

Pull one of the valve covers and check it the lash adjusters. If it has hydraulic adjusters its a 96. 97-98 have screw type adjusters.

Recent pads? Did you get new slide shims for the bracket? I bought a set a while back that had new shims and the tabs weren't bent quite right. They would rub on the rotor and squeal when the rotor got hot. Pulled it apart and bent the little tabs back on the shims and it took care of it. Another thing that can cause noise is the pad backing plate rubbing on the piston or on the fingers of the caliper. Some pads need a coating of anti-squeal compound on the back to keep them from rubbing against the caliper.

Glad he got it back! Id consider a little body damage lucky. They could have set it on fire and completely destroyed it.

The shimmy when applying the brakes is due to warped rotors. There is no sensor to detect warpage of the rotor so that will not cause any lights to come on. Auto parts stores can scan for any CEL codes, but they will not be able to check VDC codes. The newer cars have all of the control modules linked in a network, and P0xxx style codes which can be shared between modules, so even if the CEL is not on there still may be a code related to a different module stored in the ECU.

Firing order is 1-3-2-4 Plugs are fired in pairs 1&2, 3&4. The coil fires both plugs at the same time. It's a waste spark system. One plug fires on tdc compression, the other on tdc exhaust stroke. Cylinders 1&3 are the right half of the block so if those are misfiring the problem could be jumped timing.

Id have to look it up to be sure but that car should have the ground side switched via the hi/lo dimmer switch. Did you clean the ground for the switch under the column? You've checked all the fuses?

The Green connectors should be UNPLUGGED. They put the ECU in test mode when they're connected and will light the CEL and cause other issues. The two exposed pins are ground pins for testing the other modules (ABS, TCU, TCS, etc.) for codes. The ABS codes can be read by plugging one of those into a pin in the black 6 pin connector right next to them. I don't know exactly which pin it is on an 02. Find a Factory Service manual for that year and it will have instructions.

Gasket thickness depends on which block you have. The early 25D blocks had pistons that crest above the block deck. For those you need a thicker gasket, but I don't remember which thickness.

If the speed sensor is bad youll have CEL codes for VSS and the trans may shift funny (if Automatic). Some of the 98-99 models had problems with the speedo head so that's a good possibility.