Fairtax4me

With heads this size, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If this was a straight 6 then it might be an issue. Like GD said, If the heads are warped already, then you can't do any harm. And if they aren't warped they were probably on the threshold and probably SHOULD be resurfaced anyway.

That's why you unbolt the torque converter before you pull the engine. Do yourself a favor and replace the input seal on the transmission before you reinstall the converter. About 90% of the time when this happens the seal gets cut and leaks like a sieve then it has to be taken apart twice to fix it. Amen to that.

You want to be sure to tighten that good before you run the engine again. They're loose. You might be able to cut a slot in each bolt with a dremel and back them out with a flat head screw driver.

How many miles on the car? Was it a Subaru dealer? If you're still under warranty Subaru would be obliged to make the repair. You should have some sort of warranty coverage offered by the dealer. Most offer 60 days/2,000 miles. Some up to a year, depending on the dealer. You should have a form called a Buyers Guide with the papers you got when you paid for the car. The Buyers Guide will explain any warranty coverage offered by the dealer. As for the dealer knowing this was a problem... hard to say. There may have been a problem with the axle which required it to be removed and the seal was damaged in the process. Or it might have been leaking and they just cleaned it because they didn't want to spend the money to replace it. Which is why you have an independent mechanic inspect a vehicle for you before you buy.

This is the trend with all modern vehicles. They get just a bit larger each year. Before you know it the compact turns into a midsize and the maker introduces a new compact.

Could be tie rod, ball joint, wheel bearing. Put the front end on jack stands grab each wheel at 12 and 6 and try to rock them. If you feel any play, its a ball joint or wheel bearing. Now grab each at 9 and 3 and try to rock them the same way. Any play that way is a tie rod or a wheel bearing. You can check each for visible play with a pry bar and a large pair of channel locks.

First of all, before you go pulling the transmission out, find out where the leak is coming from. Clean it all off and take a close look under there while the engine is running. My first guess would be a leaky drain plug seal. There is a thin aluminum sealing ring that is supposed to go between the drain plug and the transmission case. The next thing would be a leaky input shaft seal.

Check http://opposedforces.com/parts for a list of vehicles and years that use the parts in question.

Seems to me stock STI boost was around 15 psi? Most of the time you can figure a roughly 17% power loss through the drivetrain. So 220 at the wheels would be somewhere around about 255 - 265 hp at the crank. Which is probably about right at 8 psi.

X2 Make sure the filler neck isn't rusting out anywhere, and none of the rubber hoses in that area are cracked or split. Check the hoses at the vapor canister as well. That might be behind the right rear wheel under the car or it might be under the hood.

First though is a slave cylinder going bad. Second is the aluminum shaft that the release bearing slides on is worn down and the bearing is getting jammed on it as it tries to return to the rest position.

That looks to be the oil flow control valve for the i-Active Valve Lift System. I would imagine the engine should still run fine without that, but you won't get the added benefits of the variable cam timing without swapping the whole harness and ECU. http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b13/type_11/engine/cylinder_head/illustration_3/

The flex plate is bolted to the crankshaft. I suppose with enough rust the pilot shaft of the TC could glue itself to the pilot bore on the crankshaft. Maybe you were sleep wrenching and removed the bolts already and didn't know it?

No, that would be low if they quoted rotors at $90+ each plus pads at $90 and labor. That would be only about an hours labor for pads and rotors? Most places charge at least 3 for that which would make it around 500 - 550, depending on rate, and by the time you throw in any extra "shop equipment" costs and taxes...

Parking brake hanging up? If you park on a slight incline, put it in neutral and take the parking brake off will the car roll freely down hill?

Wet sand through the oxidation and polish them with a headlight restoration kit. One of the types that uses an attachment for an electric drill such as 3M or Meguiars.

Yeah they're not a real tight fit, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything.

Clunking could be loose engine/transmission mounts, or pitch mount. Might also be axles, ball joints, worn suspension bushings, things of that nature. A general location of where the sound is coming from would help narrow it down.

That's odd. Check all the bolts that hold the torque converter to the flex plate. There is an access hole on the top passenger side of the bell housing. It might have a rubber cover over it or it might not. If they're all tight then you'll have to pull the engine or drop the trans and investigate a bit further. The flex plate can crack usually right around where it bolts to the crankshaft.

Search "Oil separator plate". Oh and for some info on yanking the engine: http://beergarage.com/Subaru.aspx

I like how mine works. If you don't hold the door handle up while shutting the door it won't lock. It kicks the lock lever back, which then unlocks the rest of the car as well. No way to lock my keys in the car without trying to.

See them quite often at work. Sometimes they make a real mess of things if the pulley gets cocked sideways then gets flung in some random direction. I've seen them go through radiators before. (Well, not THROUGH the radiator, but it wedged itself about an inch in. Busted the fan all to pieces too.) Usually the bearings just seize then the pulley melts itself on the outer race. It flings nylon everywhere, chucks the belt and then after losing power steering do the owners finally have to have th car towed to the shop to be repaired. Rather than just driving to the shop a month or so earlier when the bearing first started groaning at them.

How about duct tape?

110°!?!!? That's it?!

Personally, I wouldn't go out of my way to do it either. You really can't without checking the pressure with a gauge. But the ticking sound coming and going might indicate a drop in pressure at lower engine speeds allowing the lifter to bleed off. OR it could just be a sticking check valve on the lifter. But that's not the point. I'm trying to keep you from going out and filling the crankcase with heavy weight oil to fix a little tick. That ticking isn't going to harm anything except your nerves. If you decide you want to get rid of it, what you do is switch to an oil that has some extra additives to help clean out whatever it is that is causing the lifter to bleed down. If that fails to remedy the noise then you remove the lifter, clean it in kerosene, pump it back up with fresh oil and reinstall. You can usually tell pretty easily which one(s) it is when you remove the valve cover. You might have to spin the engine a turn to remove spring tension on the rockers. If one of them is loose you'll be able to move it all around with little effort.