Setright

Well, the spring bit does have to be on the top :-) Can't go in wrong, nevermind what rotation the "bell" is at at.

Not entirely sure on how the underdash area looks on your RHD car down under, but under the right side of my Danish dash, there's a slot that fits the air filter. You'll notice to screws holding the lid on. This a crappy photo my mine: The silver coloured screw is the front screw, holding that shiny black plate with a kink in it.

What? Where would those drain holes be?

I don't think I was easy on my old EJ22 powered Legacy, and fast starts although hard to get perfectly right would not smoke the clutch. Lots of revs - like 5000 - throttle all the way down as I let the clutch go quickly would result in a snapped neck and the revs dropping back to 3500 while the car caught up. Perhaps you problem isn't a weak clutch, but an overtight clutch cable or a sticking linkage?

Clicking first made me think it could an exhaust leak. A leak around the manifold gasket will often make a clicking/ticking sound. Open the bonnet and rev the engine by hand, you should be able to trace it easily if you leak. You could also be hearing piston slap, which is a slighty metallic Diesel-like noise.

Simpler if you have the gear available. And why pay for it? The heater matrix always recieves coolant, there is no valve in it, so the only thing you achieve by having the cabin heater on is a longer warm up time. Cabin heat exchangers had valves way back in the bad-old-days, and the output was very hard to control. That's why they have constant flow these days, with a flap to guide air through it.

Yep, World Rally Cross. Either that, or it's the Australian spelling for "Rex"

You must decide on either engine or the transmission. Engine requires a hoist to lift out. Electrical cables, hoses and pipes must be undone, along with the exhaust "manifolds". Tranny means a lift and dropping the entire exhuast off, half-shafts, and a crane to lower the tranny with.

You could find that your ECU has stored the code for a faulty Canister Purge Solenoid - stuck open this valve will give rough idle on a warm engine. Next I would try with some Redex fuel system cleaner, then move onto cleaning the Idle Air Control valve. You can measure the output of the temp sensor to see if it's registering the right temp, just use a multimeter, watch for a drop in resistance as it heats up. However, I think the normal failure for temp sensors is the opposite, rich running and low mpg, because the temp sensor keeps telling the ECU the engine is cold. So probably not your problem.

I would stick with a minimum interval of one year. (Unless the car lives in a heated garage and only drives summer, on trips more than 10 miles - even then, once a year would still feel good, but if you're mileage was low you could stretch to two years.) My personal view is that 3k miles is a waste of money and possibly extra loading on the environment. I replace oil and filter at 6k miles, and that means every three months. IF my mileage was lower, like 3k miles in 6 months, I would change oil then, but probably skip the filter to every other time. It's a question of balancing the time/mileage and factoring-in the number of cold starts.

Yep, bearings are the place to start. Rear bearings are the weakest.

Yes it is. The big secret is filling via the top hose and idling til the fan comes on.

I prefer NGK and so does my EJ20. My EJ22 didn't care if I fed it Bosch or NGK. My EJ20 doesn't like Denso or Bosch.

Tighten it so that "moderate" pressure will deflect it about an inch. If it squeals and screems on cold mornings, tighten it a bit more...

Editted! Addition in bold: Having replaced coolant on my boxers many times, I have been searching for the right way to get all the old fluid out and getting as much new fluid in, without having to burp the system for a week after I'm done. I think I have finally cracked it! Draining Drain the radiator as far as possible with the little "faucett", and then detach the lower hose from the radiator. (If you are like me, replace any coolant hoses that you remove, and use stainless steel clamps on the new ones) Even more fluid will drain from the radiator, and some will drain from the engine block. Detach the upper hose from the radiator, and run clean water through the rad until it comes out of the bottom clear in color. Now, I do not contest that the best way to flush the engine block is by unscrewing the two drain plugs, but these are often seized and could turn into a source of trouble if you strip the threads or if they won't seal tight when you screw them back in. SO, I jack up the rear of the car until the engine block is tilting slight forward, ie. wheels about 6 inches off the ground, unscrew the thermostat housing, and let the old fluid run out through the thermostat opening. (Needless to say, I replace the thermostat gasket) Run clean water in through the upper hose until clear water comes out of the thermostat opening. Leave the car in this position until it stops dripping water. Remove the expansion tank and flush it, there will be plenty of "snot" in the bottom of it! Rinse the hose too. Install the tank again and fill to the FULL mark. Filling Close up the bottom end of the cooling system, ie. thermostat and lower hose. If possible, perform the next phase on a slight incline, car pointing upward. Get a funnel with about 10 inches of half-inch diameter hose on the end of it and slide this down the upper hose in toward the engine block. I do this because bending the upper rad hose causes it to collapse and that makes pouring coolant into it impossible. Pour your preferred coolant directly into the engine block. Pouring slowly, and pausing along the way will help keep air from being trapped inside the block. It should swallow at about two litres before it starts to rise and threaten to come out of the hose. At that point, attach the upper hose to the rad and continue to fill slowly through the rad cap hole. Once it seems full, start the engine, let it run for twenty seconds and shut it off again. This will dislodge the few air pockets that are unavoidable and the fluid level in the radiator should drop a little after the burp, top it off. Start the engine again, and let it run until the radiator fan starts running, be patient! When then fan starts running, top off the level in the rad and install the radiator cap - and bleed screw if there is one. During the warm up, a small amount of coolant will spill over the rad filler neck, have a cloth to absorb it. Take the car for a shortish run, just a few miles to get it fully warmed up, and park it on level ground. Check hoses for leaks of course, and let it cool. This will take a number of hours, overnight is good. In the morning, note the level in the expansion tank, it will probably be a little lower than FULL. Fill to the FULL mark, and you're all set. Obviously, you should check the level in the expansion tank for a few days afterward, but there shouldn't be any problems. Resist the temptation to open the rad cap, this will only interfere.

Well viceversa, you're already on the right track! An EJ22 powered Impreza will meet your criteria. To be sure of the engine type, just look for the tell tale "EJ22" that's moulded into the top of the engine block :-) The only thing you need to look out for when buying are the usual used car stuff. Get under it and look for bad accident repairs - crooked sills/frame rails and so on. Inspect the oil filler neck for gunk, like wise the coolant. Pull a spark plug out if the owner will let you !

The "canister purge valve" would be the place to start. Small, not too expensive and known to cause idle problems. Especially on European models like ours. Stopping and starting the engine may be freeing the purge valve up. So that might explain that part of it.

WHAT? Cold starts stress the engine components because there is little oil present to protect them and the clearances are high. Cold starts stress the oil because condensation inside the engine will mix with blowby and form acid. The oil has to "absorb" this before it attacts the engine surfaces. Warm running engines have low clearances, plenty of oil circulation, and zero internal condensation. Ideal factors. Overheating may kill engines, but running at operating temp will do no harm.

6-7k miles. New oil and filter. I change more often in summer, because trackdays tend to stress the oil more (Even then I go 5k)

Lack of cabin heat means poor circulation. This could be caused by a faulty water pump or "vapour lock" in the water pump due to HG failure.

Well, the internal resistance of the dead battery seems to have protected you and your electronics. Very lucky, indeed ;-)

Porsche uses cross-drilled rotors. I can't see that company being swayed by fashion and compromising brake performance. Those holes are functional. Yet, those holes are pretty small... (Of course the Cayenne shows even Porsche will give into fashion trends, at least on layout -if not mechanicals)

In my experience two things will cause the expansin tank to overflow: Bad rad cap and blown headgaskets. :-(

ebrake turns? If you have been doing a lot these in your AWD Sube, you may have roasted the center diff - that could be why it doesn't work too well.

Valvoline Synpower 75W-90 My car was crunching badly and I have tried a number of oils, including Redline, Mobil, and Castrol. Valvoline is the cure. ZERO crunch, even on race tracks when shifting above 6000rpm.