Fairtax4me

Exhaust is much easier to remove in one peice. The bolts on the cat flanges like to rust and will probably break, and the flanges may need some reconditioning to get a good seal afterwards. If you drop the y-pipe the whole system can be removed as one piece and slid out of the way. Remember to unplug all of the O2 sensors first! The tail housing should come off easily, you can unbolt the rear section of the crossmember and let it hang down to get more room. (An inch or two) if you need more just out a jack under the center of the trans and lower it some. You may need to remove the pitch stop mount on top of the trans to tet it to lower more. Remember that the engine and trans are connected, if the trans moves the engine moves too. Don't let it hang down too far or you may stretch the radiator hoses or crush something between the engine and fire-wall.

White smoke is lots of oil. Let it run, bring engine speed up to 2000 rpm and hold it there for a minute or so and the smoke should start to clear, it probably wont go completely away until you drive it a couple times though. Most of it just got dumped into the exhaust pipes so it will take some time to burn away, getting the pipes hot is the only thing that will get it out.

You need a scanner that can read live data. Sometimes the ones the auto parts stores use for checking codes can read live data but most of them just read codes. You can also check the resistance of the ECT sensor with an ohmmeter, a bit more tricky, and you need to know the specs for the resistance at certain temperatures, but its still a viable method and cheaper then buying a scanner if you can't borrow one.

There is a vacuum solenoid under the number 4 intake runner that could be clogged or not working Look under the dash and find the two green test mode plugs, connect them and turn the key ON. All of the relays and solenoids under the hood will start to click on and off. Put your finger on the EGR vacuum solenoid to see if it clicks. Connect a length of hose to one port and see if you can blow air through the solenoid while it is clicking on and off. Air should flow then stop in unison with the clicking of the solenoid. If no air flows the solenoid is clogged and needs to be replaced. If the solenoid does not click it could be bad, you can check resistance of the solenoid, or look for voltage at the connector while in test more.

The torque sequence you follow is designed to crush the gasket in a very specific manner so that it seals. Once the gasket is crushed the first time its done and reusing it will not allow it to seal properly. If this were a shim gasket for an exhaust header or the EGR valve, sure I reuse those all the time. But head gaskets are an entirely different beast, and cannot be reused once they've been removed, even if they haven't been run.

I run Valvoline high mileage 5w30 in mine with 215k on it now. No problems with blowby or anything else. A high mileage mix will keep these just as clean and protect as well as a full synthetic. Synthetic has some advantages but its really a waste of money for these.

Any fuel that may have leaked past the rings will just be down in the pan. It would not have made it to the filter. I don't think a filter change is necessary, just drain the oil and put new in.

There is a good amount of volume of fuel in the rails and the lines that connect them. With the design of these rails, when one injector is removed all of the fuel from the rail and a lot of fuel from the joining line will dump into the intake port. It's all gravity, though the sheer volume of fuel can make it appear that the pump is running, but its not when the key is off. I don't think there's a big fuel system issue here. Water in the plug wells will cause misfiring, which means unburned fuel in the exhaust. These engines tend to smell rich when first started anyway. It could have been running normally, and you're just not used to the way these cars are. Worst case, the ECT sensor (engine coolant temp) is bad, and the ECU thinks the engine is -40 F degrees, which will definitely command the fuel trim way rich. ECT reading to the ECU can be checked with an OBD2 scanner that reads live data. There are also ways to test the ECT sensor wih an ohmmeter, though I don't recall the exact resistance specs off hand.

PFR is a platinum plug. The BKR is copper. Honestly, I never thought the platinum plugs are worth the extra cost. Get a set of BKR5E11-ES (split point copper) and gap them at .039" they'll last for 30k miles easy, and will work just fine for the $10 investment.

It was probably misfiring because there is water in the spark plug wells and the boots are shorting. Pull the plug wires, blow the water out of the wells. After the water is out, Then you need to pull the spark plugs out, unplug the coil pack (you DO NOT want sparks) and crank the engine a few times to blow the fuel out of the cylinders. Then let the cylinders dry for a few hours. Put the spark plugs back in after drying, change the oil because it will be heavily diluted with fuel, and only after that can you attempt starting the engine again. Don't forget to plug the coil pack back in.

You'll have to install a standalone wideband sensor for the gage. The ECU will not work with that type of sensor in place of the standard oxygen sensor. The ECU also may not like it if you split the signal wire to the OE sensor. I think either way you'll be better off with a standalone sensor for the AFR gage.

It's the odd color. Two will be the same, those are for the heater. The signal wire will be the different color. Agree with 987687 though, you need an A/F ratio (wideband) sensor to get an accurate reading.

17mm nut on the pulley, crack it loose before removing the belt. If it won't, put a 12mm deep socket on one of the bracket bolts (through the holes in the pulley) and hold it with another ratchet to keep the pulley from spinning. The pulley is splined and should just slide off once the nut is removed. If it needs persuasion a rubber mallet should work. Three 12mm bolts hold the pump to the bracket. I think a 17mm flare nut for the pressure hose. It will help to remove the 10mm clamp bolts that hold the lines to the intake manifold so you can move the lines out of the way. You will want a catch can, or a turkey baster or large syringe to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir. Not 100% necessary but it helps contain some of the mess.

No "transfer case" on Subaru. The "transfer" section is part of the extension/tail housing of the main trans case, and uses the same fluid. Plenty of cars these days use greenish colored power steering fluid, not hard to imagine some may use the same fluid for auto trans.

It's not an emergency brake, It's a parking brake, and its designed to be used whenever the vehicle is parked. You should get in the habit of using it rather than letting the car roll onto the park mechanism in the trans. I've never had a parking brake freeze unless it was used infrequently.

Coolant on a 2012 will be a dark blue-green color. Trans fluid could be greenish, but you need to check the correct dipstick. Auto trans and front differential use separate fluids. I suspect he may have poured the fluid into the front differential and that would fill up quickly since the capacity of the front diff is only about 1.5-2 quarts. The auto trans has its own dipstick, which should be on the driver side of the trans.

95 is OBD2 and you need a scanner to read the codes. Most auto parts stores will read them for free. Stalling while warm is usually sensor related. Crank or cam position sensor, or possibly a sticking Idle control valve. Have had a MAF sensor cause the engine to die at random while driving as well, but it also caused the same problem when the engine was cold.

Fluid was clean, so I had high hopes, but perhaps someone's attempt at quieting the noise was to change the fluid not long before the car got scrapped. The rest of the car was very well taken care of, clean interior and rust free exterior. No major body damage so I figured they ditched it because the engine must have blown. (Engine was gone) No play in the input shaft. Was still kind of a toss-up at 209k miles on the ticker, but figured it was worth the gamble. If I can find one at the same place I can exchange it, but the pickings are slim right now. Everything they have in the correct year range is an automagic. The only other thing they have is a Forester at another yard (further away) that I need to go check. If I can't find one, ill just ride it for a year and swap it again next spring. I like the 4.11 FDR too much to swap the 3.9 back into it.

There are two distinct whines when listening with the chassis ear. One from the MSB, another whine from somewhere in the transfer section. Couldn't narrow it down all the way. Also have a weird rattle in second gear at low RPM. Gonna check the yards to see what's around and consider swapping bearings. Probably just gonna swap it out under warranty.

This is a junkyard trans that I just put in my 96. About 210k on the trans and it seemed ok when I first put it in, but ive since put different tires on the car (less road noise) and now I notice there are some noises that I can't quite pin down. The main thing is a whine in 3rd 4th and 5th gears. Very faint, I don't notice it in 1st or 2nd but that doesn't mean it isn't there. It seems more related to road speed than engine speed, though it does change pitch depending on throttle. Gonna try to hook up the chassis ear kit on it at school later and see if I can get a better idea of the source of the noise. I'm wondering though, if It turns out to be the transfer bearings, if I can swap the whole transfer section from my 96 trans onto the 99. There are some major differences between the two appearance-wise, but it looks like overall shape of the main case is the same. Any ideas?

Way too many differences between turbo (2.0) and non-turbo(2.5). You'd have to swap the entire harness and then some and there may still be things that wouldn't work. The better option would be to swap in the 2.5 block but you'd need to put a set of low compression pistons in it or it would kerplode itself too. Just too much work to do a swap. Look for a good used 2.0 long block instead.

Starting issue is probably worn contacts in the starter solenoid. Pretty common issue to all Subarus. There was a thread about replacing them just a few weeks ago with links to a parts supplier. Stumbling and stuttering at low RPM is almost always spark plug related. If it hasn't had new plugs in a while, it's worth the $15 to get new ones in. Turbo engines are hard on spark plugs, and they often get carbon fouled in cold weather. Fuel rails I can't say one way or the other, but there are some people on LegacyCentral.org who can probably answer any questions you have about it.

You could get one of those transmitters you plug all your mp3/iPod/flash drive into that just plays it on an unused radio station. Tune the stereo to that station and all of your MP3s are right there. I've seen dual stereo setups before but I don't know particulars.

Typical of a worn tie rod end. If you can poke your head under and watch the tie rod while wiggling the wheel at 3&9. Does the tie rod move with the wheel? If yes, it's the inner end.( Look for the boot on the steering rack to move.) If no, it's the outer.

Doesn't sound "normal" to me. I wouldn't want a "feature" that let's my car roll away down a hill. Something in the park mechanism is either damaged or improperly adjusted and that needs to be fixed ASAP. You need to get in touch with SOA if the dealer is unwilling to make an attempt to fix the problem. First talk to the general store manager and the service director for the company (if its a multi brand company), and the service manager. Filing a report with the NHTSA is a good idea as well in case other people have the same issue.