Setright

Certainly, good info. However, it leads to bad news: The main bearings inside the transmission are probably worn out. When you press the clutch the pedal down, the gearbox internals STOP moving and that's why the noise disappears. Clutch down means the throw-out is under load and that's when it should be noisy. Which it isn't.

Yeah, in my local Impreza club we have a guy who is also a professional driving instructor. His Impreza Turbo wears 17 inch rims for looks on the road and 16 inch rims for handling on the track.

Try the power steering fluid flush first.

If only they sold over here! (Although, I don't have any use at this time. Fingers crossed) Glad it did the trick :-)

Just had look, there's a 555 Blue Impreza out there...OH! That would be mine One of 35 Impreza's registered in Denmark! Only about 2000 Subes in Denmark. And five million people....250,000 Peugeots and 240,000 VWs...

Glad it's sorted!

Yes, lose the forced induction idea. Why not port polish, new cams, better exhaust and an uprated fuel pump and maybe a custom ECU. Would yield far better power and drivability - and not go POP!

Well, no, but if you're hoping to cure a leaking sunroof, you would be better off making sure the four drain pipes (in each roof pillar) are clear, and the that the rails which the roof slides in are still sealed to the internal roof pressing. The weather strip on the glass is supposed to allow water to pass by it.

Good thing :-) Well done on your negotiation skills!

Consistent knocking noise? On acceleration? Does not sound like a throw-out bearing to me. Could you describe the sound in more detail?

KYB make the dampers or "shocks" as you call them. Certainly a high quality item. Might be worth trying to find KYB branded dampers instead of the more expensive, but same component Subaru branded parts. Texan, I like the off road idea...good insight.

Get it on a lift and look everything over. CV boots, diff seals, gearbox seals, are the chassis bits straight and not rusted through...11 years old, needs careful scrutiny.

Could be old fluid.

Yeah, change the plugs for sure. Make sure you don't overtighten the new plugs. I would recommend a small amount of copper grease on the threads - or fresh engine oil if you have no grease. Max half a turn after the gasket contacts the head. My EJ22 was happy to use Bosch plugs, but I find that my newer EJ20 will only run really smooth with NGK. NGK is also recommended in the owner's manual.

Start by draing the coolant, flushing with pure water, and refilling with fresh coolant. Run for a while and check again. I would of course recommend reading my essay on doing this the right way :-) Search the forum for "coolant replacement" and the choose the "without bubbles"

The canister is rectangular I believe. Maybe your's is missing, that would certainly trigger the error code!

I assume Arizona summer weather is kinda hot? Maybe you don't just need new spark plugs, but it might be a good idea to get some "colder" plugs. Colder means able to dissapate heat from the plug tip more quickly. Don't know about other brands, but NGK numbers are higher for colder plugs. So, for instance standard plugs in my Impreza are labelled BKR5E-11. Chosing colder would mean running BKR6E-11. If you still have the owners manual, it should list the NGK plug for your engine. Most of us here agree that NGK plugs work very well in Subaru engines. Good luck! (If you plan on replacing the plugs yourself, the Subaru toolkit does include a plug wrench. It even has a rubber ring in it to grip the plug and stop it dropping out. Take note that you need to remove the battery to gain access to plugs 2 and 4. In fact, number 4 usually needs the windscreen washer tank moved a bit too. Apply a small amount of copper grease to the plug threads and DO not tighten them too hard.)

Individual stories don't count here. That's the whole point of doing surveys! However, I am very much with Johngenx on this one. First of all, we need to know more about what constitutes a "problem". Next up, if we define worn brakes as a problem within the three year span, would a Porsche driver who uses his/her car for trackdays report this as a problem? On the other end of the scale, someone who choses a cheap car is less likely to complain, since they know they have elected for price over quality. Any survey needs to be more informative about the questions asked.

5W-30 is the recommended oil weight. 10W-30 performs the same at running temp. 10W-40 for "heavy duty". That means towing or lots of "racing".

It's not that any of the work is complicated, more that it requires time and the right tools. The headbolts aren't hexagonal for example. There isn't too much room either, once the rocker covers are off you will have space enough to do the job with the engine in the car. Drain the coolant, remove the radiator, remove the drive belts, remove the crank pulley, remove the cam belt covers, remove the cambelt, remove the intake manifold, remove the exhaust manifold..... That's a thought, the exhaust stud bolts are gonna be problematic. If you are confident with tools and have other transport in the mean time, why not go ahead?

The steam coming out the tailpipe is only normal when the engine is cold, water is biggest by-product of the cumbustion process and during warm-up, it tends to come out as visible steam. Steam on a warm engine means a fairly large headgasket leak, so I would say get it fixed soon. Overheating the engine too many times can cause other problems. Two things to note: When replacing headgaskets, it is ESSENTIAL to resurface the cylinder heads. They must be straight when installed again. The procedure for tightening the head bolts is quite complicated, make sure the mech doing the work is aware of this. (There is a sequence of tightening and backing off, tightening again..)

Yes, unfortunately I must agree on the Headgasket leak. It may not show up in a compression test, because it's likely to be very small. Though big enough to allow compression gases into the cooling system and therefore force coolant backwards out of the system. Before spending a big lump of your hard-earned, what sort of warranty will the private seller honour? They must have known about the problem, since the cooling system was flooded with stop leak. If it's bought "as is", get a CO and HC test done on some of the coolant, if there are traces of hydrocarbons and carbonmonoxide in there, it's a leaky headgasket for sure.

Could be a lose pad. Shaking could be a badly centered disc or wheel. Raise the offending wheel, remove it and check the brake caliper for loosness. Remedy as necessary. (COuld be caliper mounting bracket to hub bolts aren't snug.) When you fit the wheel again, clean the hub and wheel mounting surface first. Apply a thin coating of copper grease to the hub. Tighten lugs in a star/criss-cross pattern. Tighten progressively. Finger tighten all five first. Then tighten lighty with a wrench. I would recommend using a torque wrench and give all lugs 95Nm.

Are you sure it's faulty? Maybe you just need to press the key in when you turn it from ACC to OFF.

"A persistent whine" It's a Subaru gearbox, it's always gonna be noisy. The only time to consider a rebuild if is there is a grape sized lump of metal shavings on the gearbox drain plug. (Yep, it's got a magnet in it) Drain the gearbox and have a look. Fill with Valvoline Synpower 75W-90 - despite my sworn allegiance to other gear oils, I have seen evidence of this oil doing very well in worn gearboxes. Keep your hard-earned in your pocket and try new oil first :-)