Fairtax4me

I think you can put in as many inserts as you need to make up the difference. Just thread one in to the bottom, then the next and so on. Might have to use 3 or 4 that way but it should work just the same.

Hmmm... well it has to have some kind of adjustment somewhere. Sometimes you have to remove the trim around the latch hook to get access to the bolts there (if it has any). Grease of some sort is also a good idea, but I fail to see why a nearly new car would need it already.

So you think maybe the ECU is getting a signal that the car is moving when it really isn't? Otherwise I don't see how the VSS would affect the idle. I was thinking maybe the lash adjusters were serviced at some point and were set too tight so the valves on one and four are hanging open enough to leak compression at low rpms, but not enough to cause trouble during acceleration or cruising. Could explain the low/jumpy vacuum reading.

Does this engine have HLAs?

Latch may be too tight. Loosen the two bolts that hold the loop at the bottom to the door frame and slide it towards the door an 8th inch or so and see if it helps. Or take it in and have the dealer do it under warranty. Why wait 3 hours for them to do something that will take you 5 minutes to try though?

If you had an RS impreza you'd be in luck. http://opposedforces.com/parts/info/42120FC020/ You can try it, but I think it will be more trouble than it's worth to make the Forester fuel tank work in the Legacy.

You'll be 100 times happier with the Bridgestones. Better grip and they'll last longer. They also make less noise, though any tire in that performance range will make a fair amount of noise.

Have been using Neoforms for a few years. I put a set on my Lincoln and they lasted about two and a half years up until about halfway through this winter. The huge accumulations of snow and ice we got this year did them in. I spent probably 3 times what a regular cheapo blade costs, but for as well as they work and as long as they lasted, I just had to replace them with a second set. They'll be on the Subaru in a few weeks. The cheapos I put on it back when I bought it are getting pretty bad. They made it 6 months, so I guess they've done pretty good.

Might be the main relay under the dash. I think it's yellow. Has a couple large wires coming out of the connector. Make sure it clicks when you turn the key ON. If not smack it with the handle of a screwdriver a few times and see if it starts working.

Cat blew up. Gut it and she'll run great.

They suck, don't waste your money on them. They're loud, they don't balance well, and they often wear unevenly even if your car is in perfect alignment. Doesn't matter if they're directional or not, they suck just as bad no matter which way you mount them.

I think they would have a noticeably significant amount of play before they fall apart, but it would be wise to replace the coupler altogether, if nothing else with one from a junkyard car just to be safe.

Does the starter click at all? Or do you get just nothing when you turn the key? Probably nothing in the trans is wrong. The shift cable might be seized from sitting. Pull the cable off of the trans and try to move the lever on the trans manually. Either by hand or with a pry bar. The neutral safety switch or inhibitor switch is on the trans, so if you jumped some switch in the console, it was the wrong one. There are plenty of other reasons it might not start. Is the battery fully charged? Charge it at 4 amps (low setting on most chargers) for about 12 hours to be sure. Check for evidence of mice chewing on wires. Take the starter to a local parts store and have it bench tested to be sure it isn't locked up. Are you able to turn the motor manually with a breaker bar and socket on the crankshaft bolt?

MAP sensor should not prevent the engine from starting. A crank or cam angle sensor would do that. a bad coolant temp sensor could also flood the engine and keep it from starting. Have you tried putting the throttle pedal on the floor while cranking? Crank it for 10-15 seconds first, then floor the throttle, then crank again for 10-15 seconds. Setting the throttle at WOT (wide open throttle) will tell the ECU to cut the fuel injectors while cranking which will clear unburned fuel from the combustion chambers. Another thought is, could be a massive vacuum leak. Check the brake booster hose for cracks/splits and proper attachment at the booster and throttle body/ intake manifold. Check the PCV hoses for the same at the manifold and at the block. Check the large breather hoses on the intake box and make sure they're all still attached.

Not hard. Two pinch bolts. Might have to lower the rack a hair on one side to get room to pop it off on one side. Not a ton of room down there though, so that may complicate things. Loosen the pinch bolts, then set the steering wheel in place by engaging the steering lock. The front wheels should be on the ground or at least pointed straight ahead and the steering rack and input shaft marked, so the steering wheel alignment is retained during replacement. You don't want to put it on then get in the car to find your steering wheel 90° off when the car's going straight.

Can you smell gas in the tail pipe after cranking the engine for 10 seconds or so? How about when you turn the key to the ON position, do you hear the fuel pump prime? It should run for 3 or 4 seconds then cut off. Might help to have a helper turn the key while you listen under the car.

Not necessarily. But if the engine doesn't run right with it the way it is, try adjusting the position of the belt and see how if that affects it. It'll either be cured, or will get significantly worse. One tooth is not far enough off to make the valves start interfering, so no harm done if it doesn't work, just set the belt back to the old position and try something else.

You may not need to replace the chain itself, but the tensioner assemblies do wear with mileage, as do the sprockets, and any idlers or guides that may be used (especially if plastic parts are used). It's good practice to replace tensioners and other chain guide components and at least check the chain for wear every 100k miles, even if Subaru doesn't say you need to. Does Subaru say to just replace the water pump, oil pump, tensioner or idlers for the belt engines?

I'd get a new gasket for good measure. Those things are picky about how they seat. Once they compress they don't go back to the same as their previously uncompressed state. The threads can be helicoiled, or some other form of insert. There are quite a few out there that should work fine. There was one that several people here touted as very easy to use and very reliable that popped up in a thread not long ago. I wanna say it was Time-Sert... ? The thread was about spark plug holes though. Not sure how well or if it would work for a cylinder head bolt.

Make sure the headlamp switch is actually in the ON position. The DRLs are just as bright as the headlights, but the highs won't work if the DRLs are on.

Don't use the marks on the belt. Never use marks on the belt, ever. If the mark on the sprocket looks a tooth in, set the belt a tooth further out and then pull the pin. It's doing that because there is slack in the belt on the other side of the sprocket. If you turn the sprocket clockwise a hair with a wrench, set the belt on it, then turn it back to the mark, that should pull most of the slack out.

Sounds like an alignment problem. Did they give you a sheet with the before and after specs on it? Not returning to center can indicate a problem with the caster angle, not so much the toe. Could also be the U joints in the steering shaft are binding.

Broken tooth on the ring gear maybe. Every half rotation would make it two teeth though. One on either side of the ring gear. It happens.

My store participated in a huge multi-dealership sale this week. 4 different dealers with just about every manufacturer you could think of. There was the American trio, Honda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Kia, Chrysler, Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercury, Mercedes Benz, Lots more but I can't think worth a flock right now. Each dealer only got to bring a limited amount of cars from their inventory because of the size of the lot where the sale was held. Subaru (one of our sister stores) brought their whole inventory, about 35 cars at the beginning of the week. They left with 8. Just completely annihilated every other brand there in sales volume. I got a chance to drive a few of the Soobs that were there. They are: 2010 Outback 2010 Forester 2010 Impreza OBS 2007 (used obviously) Forester XT The 2010 Outback. I liked this one, comfortable ride, a fair amount of room in the front seats as well as the back, plenty of head room, and a ton of cargo space to boot. The CVT is strange, definitely takes some getting used to when driving. You put your foot down and it goes Vroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm, and you're going about 45 mph. The "manual" shift option, is just as weird. The split second it takes to change "gears" the car feels like it actually accelerates better/faster than when it's just in "gear". Decent power in the 2.5. I didn't get to drive the 3.6 but I bet that would have been a monster. The CVT makes a funny whistling or whirring noise when you;re driving though kinda like a turbo on a big diesel truck. You hear it wind up and down depending on engine speed. I thought it was kinda cool. But for those who don't care to hear the rumble of the engine or the whine of the "gears" you turn the radio on and it all goes away. 2010 Forester. This one was probably my least favorite of the bunch. It just felt... cheap. The doors are clangy, the seats are hard, the engine is almost obnoxiously loud, and SLOOOOOW!!! Did not care for the acceleration at all in this one, nor the exterior styling for that matter. The interior was kinda plasticky feeling, and the center console was creaking. Might have just been that one I dunno, but I was overall un-impressed with the "Oh 10" Forester. ("Oh 10 is kinda of an inside joke at work) 2010 OBS. This one was expectedly simple. Yet it all fit together pretty well. It felt cheap and plasticky but you know what it's a $19k car. Albeit the price tag is a bit higher than I would want to pay, it does have that Subaru feel to it under all that new jazz. Leather heated seats, nice sound system, 170 horses galloping under the hood, and with the 5 speed manual it was quite a fun drive. Actually felt extremely similar to my 96 Legacy space wise inside. Also has built in roof rails, and the slightly raised stance makes it lean just a hair in the corners. It feels like a good dirt road car, so getting out to the country for a day of biking or hiking is easily done with this car. The 2007 Forester XT. If you can get beyond the fugly headlights, it's a really good looking car. And just an absolute blast to drive. Tuuurrrrbooooooo... :drool: Plenty of power in this one. 5 gears of hard acceleration as long as you're over 2000 rpm. If the turbo ain't spooled you ain't goin NOwhere. :-\ (typical turbo lag) Car drove smooth, the seats were comfortable, nice sound again, and lots of cargo room in the back. Hangs corners like it's on rails, and just enough lean to let you know you're pushing it too far before it slides out from under you. If I were in the market for a new(er) Subaru, this would be the one. If they had had a bit smaller price tag on it, I would have said screw the payment and jumped in. $400 a month for 5 years? WORTH IT! (not really) But honestly I think if I could find one in good shape, maybe a year or two older for the older body style, and about 7 grand cheaper (this one was tagged at $21k) I'd probably go for it.

That really doesn't make any sense. I just don't see any reason it would do that. My best guess would be something with the idle control motor. Maybe it's sticking there's some sensor that is preventing it from responding right away to the change in RPMs when the pedal is depressed.