Fairtax4me

Are the axles in them yet? The axle nut pre-loads the bearing. If the axle is not torqued properly the bearing may have play in it.

Kinda seems like you have a wire problem. Could be a loose or corroded ground on the intake manifold. There should be a ground point right on top of the manifold by the coil. What if you put the old MAP sensor back on?

Very slow leak could be just barely enough to make some steam. Try some Subaru coolant conditioner?

Probably need to check the TCU for codes then. There's a process to do that by plugging some wires together and doing a secret dance, and the AT light will blink any stored codes. I think there's a thread here somewhere how to do it. Google will know.

Two small green connectors under the dash? Are they plugged together? They should be UNplugged. Plugging them in puts the ECU in test mode and will keep the CEL on.

MAF sensor is next to the air filter. MAP sensor is usually mounted directly on the manifold or throttle body on those. I don't think 2000 legacy cars had a MAF but I can't ever seem to remember for sure.

Battery is bad. It may show full voltage off the charger but it's just a surface charge, it's not holding anything. Ecus don't often fail in these. Get a new battery in it and go from there.

I don't like to go by the notches in the timing covers. Timing covers are plastic and they can be persuaded into moving. How far off is it from the seam in the head? But even if its only a tooth off it should still start and run. Does it have a MAF sensor? Does your code reader show live data?

Subaru uses Grey RTV on the cam carrier plates at the factory. Anaerobic would be a good choice as well. Use assembly lube on the cams. The permatex stuff at the parts stores is super sticky so it doesn't run off until oil pressure builds and pushes it out. Be sure to pat attention to the torque spec and torque sequence for the cam carrier. They don't warp easily, but you need the bolts for the cam caps to be torqued properly so you don't distort the bearing journal, or have the bolts come loose later on.

The TCU uses inputs from the MAP sensor to help determine shift points. With the sensor unplugged the TCU just uses default shift points but it will flash the light and probably set a code for the MAP sensor. TCU codes have to be read manually unless you have a Subaru Select Monitor.

Did you do the other steps I mentioned? Check wiring? Remove the sensor and check the nipple for carbon buildup?

The slave cylinders on these are difficult to bleed air out of when they're mounted on the transmission. The best way I've found is to unbolt the slave cylinder and twist it kinda sideways and point the front of it down so that air flows up to the bleeder screw. Open the screw and let fluid flow out until you don't see any air. Then push in on the pushrod to shove it into the cylinder, hold it there while you close the bleed screw, then release. Do that two or three times until you don't see any air coming out. Be sure to keep the reservoir full. This uses the slave cylinder to pull larger quantity of fluid through the line and suck out any air with it.

Only other thing I can think is the Fuel pump cap/o-ring problem that's common on the 00-04 models.

The electronic throttle body controls idle speed by opening or closing the throttle plate slightly. If the throttle body is coked up with carbon it will have a harder time re-adjusting. It sounds like the plate may be getting stuck, which would indicate the throttle bore is coked and needs to be cleaned. Throttle body cleaner is the best to use. There should be some videos on YouTube or elsewhere on how to properly clean the throttle body.

That sounds like the timing is off, unless you sprayed way too much in there. Can you take pics of all the marks?

It's a code for the MAP sensor or manifold pressure sensor. The computer uses input from the pressure sensor to determine fuel mixture and add more or hold back some fuel depending on manifold pressure and atmospheric pressure. If the sensor has failed, it is probably commanding the fuel mixture too lean and is causing the engine to stall shortly after starting. Usually you can simply unplug the sensor and start the engine and see if it runs any better or different. The MAP sensor is a small black square that should be bolted on top of the throttle body or the manifold near the throttle body. Has three wires going to it. Make sure the plug is tight and make sure there is no dirt or corrosion inside the plug. Check the wires leading to the sensor for any damage. The sensor is held on by two bolts or screws, remove it and check the o-ring seal for damage. Check the end of the nipple on the sensor for obstruction. If it's full of carbony black crud carefully clean it out with electronics cleaner and that may help.

That the front, the tire is not likely to rub on the front strut because there is alot more room at the front. It could rub on the fender liner or on the lower corner of the frame if the wheel is turned to full lock. I dont marks on the tire that indicate it has rubbed anything. And you're gonna need a ball-joint soon. There is not as much room between the rear struts and the tire because the rear struts are mounted more straight up and down than the fronts. Look at the rears and see if there is a mark on the inside of the rear tires.

That part of the strut moves with the wheel when it moves up/down. If the tire is rubbing there you have a serious problem because the wheel would have to move independently of the strut in order to reach there. Seems to me that probably rubbed on that spot a bit when you were putting the wheel on. The tire has to be rubbing on a lower part of the strut. Crawl under it and look between the tire and the strut tube and see how much room there is.

Talking about the center driveshaft, not cv axles. The one in question is a Dorman part, which I have recommended before and have installed a few of on other non-subaru vehicles with no trouble. Put one on my 96 and it just wasn't right. Got a replacement sent out and it wasn't right either. Both had horrible vibrations above 55mph. One I could feel around 40, but it wasn't bad until about 70. RA was great, they wanted to send me a third one, all shipped to me and returned on their dime. I said no thanks to the third and they refunded me my purchase price and I think the original shipping too. Bought the new one from SPFY and it's perfectly smooth all the way to 80, and probably beyond if I drove that fast.

For power steering just buy the "mutil-vehicle" parts store brand ATF. Pretty much anything that says that is going to meet the Dex-II or Dex-III specs.

Send it back. Get your money back. Don't bother with getting a replacement, it won't be any better. Order a brand new Subaru driveshaft from https://www.subarupartsforyou.com/

Yeah the ones I pull out of my Ej22s are usually .060 - .065" when I change them after about 30k miles. I've bought different plugs for both of them instead of plain NGK coppers the last time I changed them though. Gonna experiment a bit and see how long some different types last.

The wonders of the Subaru! Somehow runs at all with a .078" plug gap!

Not in the US. Maybe in Japan? They got all the cool stuff there.

It's recommended to change plain green every two years. Most "long life" coolants are safe for 5 years. The newer mixes are supposedly safe for 10 years, but I don't exactly trust that. Fresh coolant protects and cools better. I would change the coolant and upper and lower hoses sometime soon. If the thermostat is old, change that as well.