bstone

I think that's exactly what happened. You described it perfectly well.

The gaskets are less than a year old, put on by yours truly. Replaced them when I did the Duty C Solenoid last summer.

Drove from Boston, MA to New Haven, CT today. While on I-90W I noticed white smoke coming out from the back of my car. All the gauges were good and the car was driving fine, so I pulled over and looked. I was leaking a lot of transmission fluid (red, clear fluid coming from the trans). After about 100 miles it seemed to stop. I checked the trans fluid level and it appeared high. I did add about 2qt last week as I had a few bolts loose on the trans oil pan and had leaked some out. I think I seriously overestimated how much came out at the time when the bolts were loose and overfilled the trans. Is it possible that the extra fluid caused an increase in pressure which caused the trans fluid to come out? But when the volume returned to normal that stopped? It's shifting fine. I'll check for leaks again.

For the love of G-d replace the water pump. I lost an engine over the summer as the pump failed on the highway.

The solenoid can die and the vacuum will be good.

EGR. Stuffed up EGR or faild EGR valve might cause stumbling and low power.

Go ahead and clear the TCU. Unplug the negative terminal for a few hours and try again. Repull the codes if it comes back.

Here: http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partlistbymod.php?subcat=Transmission+Solenoids

Oh yeah I've been following that thread. The best engine guy there is Sal. He's super busy and you have to make an appointment for him, but he's the best. Master ASE certified and all.

You need to start a paper trail in order to win any future dispute. Send the owner a letter in the US Mail via certified mail. In it you need to summarize the entire issue and offer him an opportunity to fix it. Say you expect to hear from him within 10 days. If he doesn't reply then dispute the charges. If he sues you then you have a paper trail to show the judge (or credit card company) that you've tried to resolve the issue.

I recently replaced both O2 sensors. I used an OEM for the front cat and a "Bosch Premium Oxygen Sensor" direct-fit (no splicing) for the rear. It was probably overkill for the rear to spend that much but I didn't want any problems.

Awesome, buddy! You fixed it!!!!

What's going on?

You *really* want to use OE plugs and wires on this model Subaru. I have the 97 OBW and it's really, really picky. Aftermarket parts just don't cut it- end up having misfires and other headaches. Fix the misfire and then we'll figure out about the other code (which I think is a P1507).

I work here in the summers: http://dagostinoautoservice.com/

:eek:No way! Seems rip off!

I know, aren't these guys amazing? They also take credit cards for any amount, which in my opinion is epic. (I go cashless.)

Agree with GD. Find a good Japanese/foreign car shop that is well experienced. Have them to do the head gaskets, reseal the engine (cam, crank, oil pan gaskets), water pump, timing belt, idle tensioner and pulleys. Your engine will go for another 200k before any issues if the job is done right. Make sure they use ONLY the upgraded Subaru head gaskets. No aftermarket parts.

Does this engine have EGR?

Check the gas cap? Do a smoke test on the engine.

I brought the car to my buddy's shop this afternoon. We put the car on the lift and pulled the front O2 sensor. We checked the wiring and it all looked good. We checked the harness and it looked fine. I plugged back in the sensor and cleared the code. I am hoping it was just a loose connection. If not I'll swap it.

I was afraid you were going to say that. It's a long wire with a lot of twists and turns. I'll replace the sensor and hope that resolves the issues. If not I'll hunt the wire.

You mean with the wiring connected to the sensor or the wiring where the sensor wiring plugs into?

The O2 sensor is OE but I got it last summer and it lived in my backpack for about 6 months before I installed it. It is possible I futzed it up.

Before anything I decided to scan the code again. It is no longer reading as P0136 but is now reading as P0130 "DTC P0130: FRONT OXYGEN SENSOR CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION". Do you think I should still check the resistances?