Nug

Well, c'mon. They say to start with the easiest stuff first, right?

I have harbored dark, lustful fantasies about the new Mustang. And I don't even particularly like Fords (and that's saying it nicely).

I'd look at the cv's closely for rips in their boots and such, and for rotational play between the axle and joints. It sounds like a bearing. I'd try to rule out the CV joint first (without replacing it, of course.)

Clicking in turns is no big deal. When it starts clicking while going in a straight line, or it makes the whole car vibrate, well, start saving your pennies. I'm nursing an outer CV on my RX right now. I ripped it open in a sand pit while doing donuts. I half-assed cleaned it out with a pressure washer, packed some grease on top of it, and wrapped it in duct tape. Did that fix anything? Hahahaha! Not really. But I'm still punishing it daily. It's just barely starting to click while going in a straight line though. Time to suck it up and change it.

As far as I know, Legacy bearings fit the forester and are superior.

I think you may have filled the differential housing with ATF. The transmission, as you see it, has two seperate compartments. One holds ATF, the other gear oil. Can someone provide this guy with pics?

Here's one if you have a head off. http://store.summitracing.com/eproduct.asp?N=120+%2D42157+%2D42158+309976

http://store.summitracing.com/eproduct.asp?N=120+%2D42157+%2D42158+309975 Damn I'm on a roll.

http://store.summitracing.com/eproduct.asp?N=120+%2D42157+%2D42158+309974 This one is the one I'm most familiar with.

http://store.summitracing.com/eproduct.asp?N=120+%2D42157+%2D42158+309972

http://store.summitracing.com/eproduct.asp?N=120+4294925139+4294925138+300354

I only have experience with the EJ22, but I would say yes.

Hello fellow Richmonder! I was just outside, changing a tire.

What I meant to say was "actually, no, they aren't. Also, I'm a jackass". The moral of this story is to make sure your spare is the same size as the other tires before you put it on. The spare has about 50% tread left, but the correct size tire has like 25%. That's why I swapped them in the first place. Also, I have $20 to my name, and I couldn't afford to have that last one replaced before the snow fell.

I'm just saying it never did it before.

The last few days is the first time it's done this. The diffs aren't mismatched. When it's not snow you are running in, and it's just wet, you can hear the gears wind up. Something is under a lot of tension. When you push in the clutch to coast, the car slows like you are pressing the brake. Something will break if I leave it in 4wd.

Yes, they are all the same.

I'm driving the rx around in the snow in 4wd, and it's torque binding like mad. It's safer to leave it in 2wd, because in 4wd it's so squirrelly it's hard to stay in your lane. It's also impossible to shift out of 4wd unless you stop and back up a few feet. Three tires are new, and one is about 50%. Would one tire being worn to this degree cause this much bind?

Some of the later ones are, they bumped up the compression slightly, which removed the margin of error.

If you counted the teeth, and they were right, then I think the timing belt is installed correctly. Compression check? Bad plug wire?

It could be. I'd check to see of the axle nut was tight, and the condition of the CV boots first.

I don't know. Anyone?

Ok, I'm mixed up. Anyway, if it takes 15-20 minutes to restart the car, then that should give you plenty of time to figure out where the problem is coming from. 1. Do what you need to do for the symptoms to show themselves. Run car and shut off, etc. 2. Check for spark. If it has spark, move on to fuel system. 2a. No spark? Then it is crank or cam sensor, coil, ignitor, wiring, or ecu. Check for a voltage pulsation from cam and crank sensor while turning the engine over, check for 12v at coil, check for voltage at both outputs of ignitor. Check for power at ecu. 3.Got spark? Then check fuel system. 3a. Do you have fuel pressure? Does the pump turn on when you turn on the key? 3b. Do the injectors fire while cranking? verify with a noid light. If you run into some really weird isht like spark, but no injector output at all from ecu (checked directly at ecu) then I might suspect ecu. Some other sensors will cause a no-start, like MAF, possibly. Things like that need to be verified using the FSM. (I.E. if the ecu doesn't see the MAF, it may keep the injectors from firing. I don't know, but my factory service manual does). Get a copy of the FSM, it has flowcharts of exactly what to check, step by step. Basically, a volt/ohm meter is the only tool really needed.

You need to check several things during the time it won't start. Does it have spark? Does it have fuel? I seemed to recall it having spark, but possibly no fuel being injected. Is this correct? You need a systematic approach.

Yep, it's time for a timing belt if it hasn't been done before.