Fairtax4me

How old are your tires? Do any of them have a slow leak? (requiring air to be added on a regular basis) Or have you ever used Fix a Flat or silimilar leak sealer in any of them?

I hadn't realized before that the thermostat opening temp was only 170° for this car. My castoff as normal was based on experience with cars that use 190 - 195° ranger thermostats. Knowing this now I don't think I can say that being consistently 30-40° above thermostat opening temp is normal. That said, I think your next step should be to accurately record the temperature of the coolant going into and leaving the engine. An infrared temp gun can be useful for that, but the most accurate way is to use an analog thermometer exposed directly to the coolant.

The service manual site looks interesting. If you choose to go that route, just download everything you possibly can that pertains to your model year and save it on your computer, or even print it if you have to. $35 for 72 hours of access is kind of a ripoff IMO, but the information contained in the manual is well worth the cost should you ever need it. Piston slap is really nothing to worry about. There are many GM engines that do that for a hundred thousand miles or more with no ill effects. GM issued TSBs about that for multiple vehicles with their 60° family of V6 engines back in the 90's saying to just ignore it because rebuilt or even replacement engines will start doing it again in 25k miles anyway.

The scrap yard I go to charges $5 for an O2 sensor. Finding one on a Subaru isn't easy though because they cut off most of the catalytic converters, and the sensor is mounted on the converter. Might not hurt to take a gander through a pick-n-pull in your area and see if you can find one.

Well, my memory is short at best. :-p Good luck searching

It'll work great in a car you want to keep running good just long enough to sell. And I can see a lot of people using it for that too. They even throw in a bottle of seafoam to clean the crankcase with!

What year, engine, auto or manual, and how many miles? Mileage has a lot to do with how you drive. I drive like a mad man and I haven't had worse than 19 in the city yet. Usually I get 21 - 23 city and 30+ highway out of my 96. You may need to replace the knock sensor. They seem to fail quite frequently on Subarus. Other than that it may need a tune up. Do a search for the P0420 code here on the site, there are loads of thread about that one.

Last thread about this kind of problem turned out not so pretty. I'm guessing your fate will be the same. This is a thread about front seal replacement, but it has the general procedure for opening the case, which is what you'll need to do to find out what went wrong. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=90182&highlight=input+seal

It's not supposed to "shift power". That car was made long before electronic traction and stability control systems. The diffs are either "open" or "limited slip". An open diff means there is no resistance from one side to the other. One wheel can spin freely while the other hardly moves or sits completely still. With a limited slip diff the action of the diff will be different based on which type of LSD it is. Viscous, clutch type, helical gear type, etc. But the basic gist is that when one wheel spins the other wheel will spin with it, but there is still some room for independent slip so the car can go around corners without binding.

The clicking could be loose bolts on the torque converter or a crack in the flex plate. Either way I'd take it back to your mechanic and get him to check it out.

I've been on a BFGoodrich kick for the past few months. Have a set of G-Force T/A KDWS on my Lincoln (though admittedly I got those on sale and probably wouldn't have picked them otherwise) put a set of Traction T/A Ts on my sisters car, and I'm about to put a set on my mothers car. My neighbor asked me about tires for his Taurus and I recommended the BFG traction T/A to him and he loves them compared to the stock Continentals. They're quiet, grip well, and rain traction is brilliant. Almost like it's not even wet. The BFG Advantage T/A is not so great though. That is what's on my mothers car now, and they've been noisy since day one and haven't worn exactly even, even though the car is in perfect alignment.

Speaking of snow tires, anyone got a favorite model? I'm thinking of picking up a set since I live at the bottom of a ~1/8 mile 25-30% grade hill that S curves thrice on the way up. It's a lot of fun in my Lincoln but you tend to eat up tires pretty quick when you're doing 40mph at the back wheels and 3mph with the fronts.

It's not difficult to check the regulator. Takes all of 30 seconds literally. You don't have to remove anything or drain anything or disconnect anything else except the vacuum hose. If gas pours out or it looks wet in the hose then the regulator is leaking and needs to be replaced. If it's dry then it's fine and you put the hose back on. Simple as that! Look from the front and stick your hand around behind the intake tube and reach down. Give the hose a firm twist to break it loose and then pull it off. If the hose breaks it needed to be replaced anyway. Pull the fuse for the fuel pump. It's much easier. But honestly I've never bothered. Put a rag over the fitting where ever it is that you disconnect the line to prevent spraying all over the place. I will recommend that you loosen the filler cap first though. Pressure can build in the tank and you will lose a LOT of fuel before that pressure gets low enough to stop pushing it out.

Could someone else have driven the car lately and by chance they knew to check the oil and added a bit? When you check the oil has a lot to do with the level. Checking immediately after the engine is shut off will often give a low reading because oil is still in the cylinder heads and crank case, rather than in the pan where it is measured. Checking the level after sitting overnight will give an accurate reading because the oil has had time to drain into the pan.

Does Subaru use stretch bolts on the cylinder heads? That could be a reason for a maximum torque value. (Or not, I have no idea just throwing it out there :-p ) They make dyes that you can use for checking for hairline cracks in aluminum. I'm not sure where you get it though. I would think that improper torquing has lead to premature failure of the gaskets in this case.

My initial though is bad sway bar bushings/end links. They tend to make a lot of clunk sounds when on fairly flat ground with only small bumps. But after seeing the video, it looks like it could be the inner tie rod ends. Much more common than a bad steering rack. From what I understand Subaru steering racks rarely go bad. When they do it's usually due to abuse or accident damage. You'll have hard time seeing play in the tie rod ends moving them by hand. You can get a helper to lightly kick the tire in each direction, not hard, just enough to reproduce the sound. That or you can try using a rubber mallot and hitting the tire on each side (inner sidewall, from under the car) while also attempting to watch the joint for movement. If there were play in the steering rack I would expect there to be a fair mount of play in the steering wheel as well. Much more so than what a tie rod end would produce.

203° sounds like normal operating temp to me. I don't see the problem if the car doesn't overheat.

It's not that hard to figure out which gear it's in. Just takes an understanding of how the selector works. Which I wouldn't know since I haven't driven an automatic Subaru in quite some time. But usually once the selector is out of park you can release the lock button and just drag it back until it stops, then it's in drive. Since it comes back on when the selector is moved, it's most likely a loose bulb or wire harness connector. Pop the console cover off and take a peek. Or take it back to the audio shop and tell them they screwed it up and you want them to fix it.

Is the oil pan really that flimsy on these? I've done that dozens of times on other cars, including my old Cadillac that had the Northstar, never had a problem.

It may be a diagnostic plug. I'd leave it unplugged. Most of the climate control system is in the center of the dash on cars these days. Usually requires removal of nearly the entire dash to gain access. You still under warranty?

AWD vs 4WD is the difference of basically a center differential. With 4WD the front and rear drive shafts are locked together and can not turn independently. This is why using 4WD on dry pavement is not recommended, because it leads to torque bind of the drive line and can damage the suspension and tires. AWD systems make use of a center differential or clutch or coupler which will allow the front and rear drive axles to spin independently of each other if the need arises, such as when making a turn. As long as the system is working properly there will be no noticeable effects or difference between driving on dry pavement or muddy/wet ground.

Can you get a video or sound clip of it?

That's what I thought, just wanted to make sure. The cracked radiator would have caused the overheating condition. There can be many factors that lead to a radiator cracking, but low oil is not one of them. Oil contamination in the coolant or oil spillage on the outside of the radiator could cause the plastic to deteriorate. Again, I would take the car to a shop and have it diagnosed before you attempt to drive it any more. It may be something simple like a sensor, or an easy fix such as a new oil pump. But running the engine with low oil pressure will eventually destroy the bearings, and the piston rings, and score the cylinder walls. Then you would pretty much need a new motor.

Sweet. Glad to hear you got it cleared up.

It's probably the axle. They usually stop making noise when unloaded.