Fairtax4me

I think it would pretty much have to be a bad ECU if the relay is not grounding. You're absolutely sure the relay is getting power from the fuse block?

No on both. The wider footprint and larger diameter will both work against you for the fuel mileage. Ask someone with a pickup on 32" mud tires how their mileage is compared to their old stock tires. And while the wider tire may hold an extra centimeter of road underneath it, the taller sidewall will fold more, and negate any desirable effect the added width might produce. Not only that, larger tires generally cost more. You're probably looking at an average of $5 more per tire for that size compared to stock. If you want better handling, you get a larger wheel with a shorter profile tire to reduce sidewall flex. If you want better fuel economy, you get a skinnier tire. The thinner foot print means less friction on the road, which means it rolls easier. But it will also be harder to stop.

I was under the impression that it needed to be pulled because of clearance issues. My mistake.

That's about 9.25kpl, or 22mpg, which should be normal for "city" driving. Stop and go traffic, that kinda thing. If that's your highway mileage, cruising ~ 100kph, then something is probably wrong.

I've wondered myself how Subaru has managed to keep their "reliable" reputation after reading about so many problems with head gaskets and broken timing belts. The rattle could be a heat shield on the exhaust manifold. That's a pretty common issue on Subaru's, and while it's quite annoying its usually nothing to worry about. I had a feeling this must have been warranty work. I just wasn't sure how long Subaru's factory warranty lasts, of is this was extended warranty. Eight hours is about right for one head gasket. You have to pull the engine, which is a project in itself. They have to tear down the front of the motor to remove the timing belt, no matter which side they do. Once that's already out of the way, and the engine is out, replacing the other head gasket at the same time is like a cake walk. Unfortunately, you'll probably be seeing a failure of the HG on the other side in a short time. Exactly how long is hard to say, could be a month, could be a year. It might last you another 50k miles if you're lucky. I'd consider trading into something much newer, and still well within the factory warranty coverage if you can. If not, maybe consider buying an older model with the non interference EJ22 motor. 96 was the last year IIRC. Less power, but practically no problems with head gaskets, and if the timing belt breaks you don't have to buy a whole new engine like the newer EJ22 and EJ25 motors.

There is usually a number imprinted somewhere on the bulb. There are at least 3 bulbs that are the same dimensions as what you have pictured, but the wattage is different between them. They may output more or less light than the original bulbs if you use the wrong ones, so you should make sure you get the correct bulbs. Sylvania has a replacement guide on their website which is useful in most cases. But they don't list an instrument panel bulb for your car. http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/ edit: Found a listing on GE's website. Should be a 168 http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERAUTOMOTIVE&CHANNEL=Consumer&APPLICATION=Automotive&CATEGORY=Lamps

Antifreeze takes a LOOONNNG time to go away after its been spilled. Pretty much whatever it gets on needs to be washed off after wards or it will just linger there until the antifreeze burns off. You can gently spray down the engine with a water hose, and that should help some but I would side with the shop and say give it a week or two, if the smell still isn't gone or you find antifreeze on your driveway, then take it back. Honestly I'm surprised they didn't replace the HG on the other side while they had the engine out. It doesn't take but maybe an extra hour or so (minus machine time if needed) to just do both sides. Then you don't have to worry about the other side blowing out in 3 months. I'm wondering why it needed a head gasket so soon though. Only 4 years old. How many miles on it? If you don't mind me asking. What was the reason it went in to the dealer for diagnosis in the first place?

If you have the heads off take them to a machine shop and have them dipped and milled. They can also replace the seals and guides, and lap the valves, and check the heads for cracks. All for ~ $150 plus parts.

Take pictures

Could be a vacuum leak, or a dirty MAF sensor. How's the fuel mileage?

You pick up the transmission? I always just pick up the car and move it out of the way.

The brake light can be for several things. Low fluid, parking brake engaged, brake system failure. Either one, or all three, depends on what the manufacturer feels like making it. I don't know for sure that Subaru uses the brake light as a failure warning. I'm not familiar enough with these cars yet to say one way or the other, but I know that a lot of car makers do use that light as a failure light. They use a switch with 2 brake lines (one in, one out) on either side. Inside the switch is a chamber with a piston in the middle. If the pressure on one side of the piston is lower, the higher pressure on the other side pushes the piston over which connects a few contacts and sets off the light. It's entirely possible that it came on because of a fault with the low fluid switch, or the parking brake switch was sticking, but it's a big risk to assume that it has fixed itself. A few weeks down the road you might hit the pedal and it goes right to the floor. If she's not able to diagnose the problem on her own then she should take the car to a dealer or reputable independent shop and have it looked over.

There should be a test lead for the fuel pump somewhere under the hood. If not pull the rear seat up and splice a 12v line straight from the battery into the power wire for the pump and see if it starts working. (be sure to put a fuse on the wire in case you drop it and it hits metal) There should be a relay for the pump in the main relay/fuse box under the hood. The owners manual should tell you which one is which. Try swapping it with another relay and see if that works.

The battery cables are loose or corroded. Remove them form the battery, clean them and reconnect them tightly. Also make sure the check the ground cables on the engine and frame. And the positive connection on the starter.

It could be that after pumping the brake a few times the pressure has returned to the half of the system that was low so the pressure switch went back to neutral and turned the light off. Which would mean the leak (if present) is fairly slow. Still not a good idea to be driving it around until the issue is resolved even though the light is currently off.

It doesn't sound good I'll tel you that much. Could be a broken dog tooth jammed in the recess in the gear and isn't allowing you to get it in the rest of the way. A broken fork seems out of the picture because you can still get it into 1st, but you never know. I think it's time to crack the safe and see what's inside.

Does it do this as soon as it starts or only after it warms up? Could be a bad O2 sensor. How many miles on this car?

The brake failure light usually means there is an imbalance in the pressure in system. Generally means you have a leak or air in the system. It can sometimes be due to a master cylinder on its way out. Check all the calipers, hoses, and hard lines for evidence of leaking. Try not to drive the vehicle until you've had it checked over.

Still sounds like a vacuum leak to me. Intermittent problems are the worst. Try cleaning the MAF sensor, check over all of the vacuum lines to be sure you don't have any leaks. If the hoses are really hard they should just be replaced. Make sure the hose clamps on the intake pipe are tight too.

Well basically the TPS gets a "dead spot" where the ECM reads no input from the TPS. It gets confused and can sometimes result in the computer advancing the ignition timing and fuel mixture to what it would be at WOT. Engine revs and you take off. And trust me, it is not fun. Happened to me with an 89 Chevy Corsica I had years ago. Took off on me when I was trying to slow down for a red light. Luckily I knew enough to throw the thing in neutral, and it promptly red lined and started bouncing on the rev limiter. I killed the ignition and had it towed home. Started it at home and it was fine until I touched the gas pedal, it shot straight up to red line again. Put a new TPS on it and no more problems. Now that could be chalked up to the programming of the ECM, I have no idea if a Subaru would react the same.

A bad TPS can certainly cause excessive revving of the engine. I've had it happen. Nearly ran into the back of another car the first time it happened. But you should get the codes checked before pointing the finger at one specific part.

Marks on belts are hardly the best way to align the sprockets. Set the crank at TDC on number 1 before removing the old belt. Take note of marks on the sprockets, or make your own, and make marks on the cover that align with the marks on the sprockets just in case you need to move them. As long as the sprockets stay in place, or get put back in the right place before installing the belt, it doesn't matter how you put the belt on it will still work.

Separate tweeters are usually wired in with the speakers. But they use a crossover to control which frequencies are delivered to them, and which are delivered to the mid range drivers in the door. If you take the door panel off you should find a box of some sort with all the wiring for that channel probably near the speaker. If not there then it might be in the kick panel. At worst case it's built into the head unit, and you'll have to buy a separate crossover to use it with your system.

I've found that the P0106 is a two trip fault. Meaning that if there is a fault with the MAP values it has to show up on two separate ignition cycles before it will light the CEL. Basically if the hose is disconnected for two ignition cycles it stores a pending code for the first occurrence, and will illuminate the CEL on the second. After the hose is reconnected and the fault is no longer detected the CEL is turned off with the next ignition cycle, and the codes will be stored in the history. So if it hasn't come back yet, then it probably isn't going to. The high idle may have been caused by the loose hose. Just make sure the hoses are tight, if it doesn't come back then I'd assume its fixed. I've not found the cause of the code on my car yet. I removed the check valve that was in line with the switching solenoid, even though there is supposed to be a filter there. But it hasn't returned since the last reset, so I don't know if that fixed it or what.

Dealing with the P0106 code myself. Sounds like you probably have a loose vacuum line somewhere. Small air leaks, such as what would be caused by removing the hose for the FPR or MAP sensor, will increase idle speed slightly. The IAC can account for that to an extent. But if another leak is introduced to the system, or there is a larger leak, it will being to bring idle speed back down because the idle mixture is too lean, and the IAC isn't able to cover it up. Which is probably why you have the 507 code. Double double check your lines. Make sure the MAP, FPR, EGR (if you have it) and Evap solenoid lines are plugged in in the correct places and are not split at the ends. You may even want to just go to the store and get a few feet of 1/8" hose and start replacing. One of my favorite web sites. They even have manufacturer specific codes. http://www.equus.com/support/obd2_definitions.php