Fairtax4me

Sounds like it needs a tune up. Misfiring at low rpm under load. Usually caused by poor spark from old plug wires or worn/fouled plugs.

Great to hear that! Hopefully the noise stays gone and no harm done.

I run 5-30 in mine with no problems, and no noises. If you wan't to run a heavier weight oil in the summer, you should increase the higher of the two numbers. The difference between 5w 30 and 10w 30 is it's ability to flow when cold. 10w 30 really isn't any different than 5w 30 in the summer. But 5w 30 will flow easier in winter on cold starts. Read the "Motor Oil 101" article at http://www.Bobistheoilguy.com.

Where did you get the thermostat?

I've seen numbers everywhere from 125whp to 200chp. Not a thing about torque though.

Made it expand 2 gallons? It's not Great Stuff. I agree, inspect the broken/detached pickup tube theory. The siphon pump theory sounds plausible as well.

I've been tinkering on the idea of a franken-motor myself. Would be nice to see a dyno sheet for one.

Extremely rare for the seam between the crank case halves to leak. It can. but it almost never happens. Lots of other extremely common oil leaks on these engines that can cause major headaches, but are typically repairable in just a few hours by an experienced Subaru mechanic.

Could it be noise from an unloaded TOB? They can make some whirring sounds when they wear out. If the noise is constant regardless of pedal pressure (until the clutch is completely disengaged) then it probably is main shaft bearing noise. I've had noise from the transmission main shaft in my car since I bought it. When I had the trans part I couldn't find any noticeable play in the main shaft roller bearing, or any of the countershaft bearings. Only a small amount of wear in the front taper bearing, which I replaced, but it didn't change anything. Have driven almost 17k miles with it making the same noise, and can't tell that it has changed any. That or I've gotten used to it and it just doesn't seem any worse yet. IIRC the mainshaft roller bearing was like $45 from Subaru.

You can buy a rubber gasket and avoid the chance of RTV leaking. Otherwise, apply RTV to the pan, raise it into place and put all the bolts in finger tight until the RTV dries. The trick here is to get the bottom of the transmission sealing surface 100% clean and free of oil. Then keep it that way for long enough to get the pan in place, so the RTV can make a clean seal. Not easy to do with ATF constantly dripping out of the trans. Though if it has been apart for a few days a fair amount has probably dripped away and that helps.

X2. 175lbs on the end of 4 feet of steel pipe = I don't know the actual conversion off the top of my head, but it's alot more than 175 lbs.

No need to re-drill if you swap the top hats from your old struts. There are spring options for a little extra lift. Pretty sure the Forester springs were a bit taller than Legacy. I've read of a few combinations of different struts and springs from the Outback and Forester that give the best lift on stock / junkyard parts. There are a few companies out there that make lift springs as well, but they're $$$. Spacers might be a winner for the right price.

Sure, if you're up to it. If you've had a transmission apart before it's a walk in the park. Plus theres a writeup here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=90182 I didn't separate any of that stuff on mine. Just slid the joints off the stubs as the trans was being lowered. I don't know if the newer transmissions have the stubs or not, but if don'e right you still shouldn't have to mess with any of the ball joints or anything at the wheel end of the axles.

Oh, well you got it made then! You can drop the exhaust as a whole assembly, and you'll only need to replace the manifold gaskets. Assuming it doesn't fall apart at least. Since the trans will be out, inspect the input shaft seal for leaks. Not sure about the newer transmissions but the old ones you have to split the trans case to replace the seal. That is another seemingly common source of oil in the bell housing area.

Interesting to know. Only time will tell if the newer engines and gasket designs will hold up. 8 instances over the course of 3 months does seem significant for an online community, but how does that number compare to other brands being reported with having the same trouble?

Most people pull the engine, and it is easier to do it that way, so I assumed, but you know what they say about that. Head gaskets and timing stuff already done is good. That much less to worry about. I don't know why the after market hasn't picked up the 2.5 flywheel. I guess the 2.0 is the more common engine for power mods, but with so many 2.5s out there you'd think there would be more support for it. As for using other flywheels, might be doable, but I personally can't say one way or the other. Weight and dimensions may be slightly different, but it's hard to say because info about the 2.5 flywheel is a bit scarce. Not to mention, most of the time it's only $40-50 to get a flywheel resurfaced, compared to upwards of $100 for a new one, or $200+ for a Subaru part.

Off the top of my head, Lincoln, Jaguar use them. Mercedes Benz. Wanna say VW/Audi as well. And yes, they are typically quite pricey. This wonderfully byooteefull contraption: The Lincoln part (motorcraft) typically ran about $300 from a dealer, but it was such a common failure the after market picked it up and Rockauto now sells it for $170. Probably more from a local parts supplier.

Just order an Exedy OE style clutch kit and have a local machine shop resurface the flywheel. Oil from the back of the engine is usually a sign of a failed Separator plate seal. Very common on all EJ series engines, and is easily repairable when the engine is out for a clutch replacement. Check out Beergarage.com. He has pics of the separator plate as well as clutch replacement. While the engine is out, if you do not have documentation of when the timing belt and ALL of the associated idler pulleys were last replaced, you MUST do that as well. Bent valves and a big repair bill await if you don't.

Nah, plenty of modern cars still have valves on the heater core hoses. If the main cooling fan is coming on I would suspect the thermostat is faulty, or the bypass pipe or heater core is partially clogged. Subaru cooling systems actually use the heater core as part of the bypass. Coolant is routed from the crossover, through the core, then to the back side of the thermostat. The idea is that the coolant is still warm enough when it reaches the thermostat housing, that it helps keep the thermostat open when the coolant flowing in from the radiator is below the thermostats opening temperature. Improper coolant flow due to blockage would result in excessive heat being draw away from the coolant in the radiator and heater cores. Yet coolant inside the engine is still hot enough that it trips the fan.

The SBC 350 really wasn't that great. Most went 150k miles and needed a rebuild because the rings were completely shot, and the stem seals were leaking so bad they would foul plugs on every start. The lucky ones that got mostly highway use could do 250, but not much more. The Ford 300 I6 gets a bad rap for being "underpowered", even though it could tow more than the hailed for it's power 302 v8. But it's one of the toughest american engines ever made, if not THE toughest. If you can kill a 300 in under 300k miles you have no business driving a car IMO.

Or rephrase it to "pre-cat American Cars".

Exactly. The key word though: "Idle". Idle (throttle plates fully closed) fuel mixture in a carbed engine is rich, regardless of engine or air temp. More-so when the choke is closed. But idling at the fast idle setting opens the throttle plates, allowing more air to enter the carb. And once the choke opens the mixture will be the same at fast idle as it would be if driving. The only difference is what is holding the throttle plates open; Your foot, or the fast idle cam.

I don't think it will. Forester shares parts with the Impreza, both of them are similar to the legacy, but probably just different enough that it won't work. If the seller is close by you might ask if you can check the fit. Just hold it up under the car next to yours and compare.

Welcome to the USMB! We are truly international here! Italy, Honduras, France, Spain, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and more. We have members from all around the world.

Welcome to the board! Basically, any repair or information questions go in the General Subaru Tech Forum, which is divided into 3 sub-forums, based on the age of the car. The sub forums have descriptions which help with figuring out where to post about your specific model.