Setright

It IS a leaking head gasket. Some lesser brands of automobile have really weak head gaskets that fail and let oil and water mix, and cause a loss of compression. Not so for Subaru. The leak is tiny, and most likely undectable via a compression test on a cold engine. Compression and exhaust gases are slipping into the coolant and forcing coolant into the overflow tank. Your symptoms are a sure thing for a Subaru head gasket failure. The only real solution is to replace both head gaskets. You can postpone the operation by doing what you are already doing and also by fitting a radiator cap that has a slighty higher pressure rating.

That tool looks like a good idea, but I would always go a real computer alignment after mounting a strut. Front camber is 0.0 stock, try to add a little negative camber for some more front end grip and hence less understeer. Stock bolts allow up to -0.5 degrees, which is enought to make a big difference. If you are worried about the handling getting "tail happy" try -0.2 degrees.

All good points. They seem so obvious once they have been listed!

Loud ticking could have been a sticky valve lifter. Which might cause hard starting, if the valve isn't opening right. Chalk it up as a fluke.

Yes, yes I did simplify. Please bear in mind that Nader wasn't a bigshot when he wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed" forty years ago. And that Joe Bloke is gullible.

The secret to filling these engines: Undo the top rad hose from the rad and fill directly into the engine block.

Because the center diff wants both axles to rotate with a similar speed. A manual Sube won't handle handbrake turns for long before the silicone oil in the center diff gets overheat and loses it's ability to transfer torque. Turns the car into a FWD. An auto might put up a more valiant fight, but you'd still fry the clutch pack in the long run.

I don't get it.

YEah, 185/60 is too small.

LRN, check out these guys: http://www.scoobyworld.co.uk/trolleyed/8/26/index.htm The Hayward and Scott system would be what you want in terms of sound. Vortex, Ninja and that sort are all too loud! Scoobyworld does provide quite a good customer service, so it would be worth giving them a call, or at least e-mailing. Might want to get pictures of the system, to make sure it'll fit. Otherwise, get a Subaru system - or just the faulty part - and paint it with heat resistant matt black paint. It won't make it sound better, but it'll last longer. Obviously, stone chips might make painting a futile effort. Stock system is NOT stainless. Hope that helps! P.S. Most likely it's only your silencer that's rotted from internal condensation. If you need to replace it, you might want to replace the center section at the same time. The flanges tend to be rusted thin and it can be impossible to get old and new to fit snugly and remain gas tight. Trust me, I've been there :-( Center section is hooked up to the cat pipe via a flexible link. Kinda ball-and-socket joint, where the ball is an easily replaced thick gasket.

Four slots. But this can be hard to find. EBC and Mintex make good slotted and part-drilled discs. DON'T USE EBC PADS!

You what? No Dual Range in the US of A? Over here, if it's a manual tranny station wagon, Dual Range is standard.

I think the power is "just" 260bhp. Tyres are semi-slick Bridgestones, which are so soft that they develop flat spots from parking overnight. Needs a few miles to round them out again!

Well, people like Ralph Nader provoke the irrational and emotional sides of the general public and this forces upon us more new legislation. Therefore, cars HAVE to be re-designed all the time. What worked fine five years ago is now illegal...

All Legacy's have rear e-brakes. And DON'T handbrake slide a car with AWD!

In standard form, I reckon they are a paragon of Turbo reliability. Pumping out 300hp after some DIY tuning, now that's different

Yes, your symptoms are those a small HG leak. Compression gases are being pumped into the coolant and causing sudden vapour lock in the water pump. This leaves no trace of oil in the coolant. My EJ22 behaved EXACTLY like your engine and I spent a lot of time and money replacing lots of other things before I did the HG's. Don't waste yours, replace the HG's. (And thanks for the praise )

Could be the gasket/seal between gearbox and diff that is allowing ATF to slip through. Have the diff oil checked.

By the way, you should be able to get metal head gaskets at the Subaru dealer.

I second that. Anything else is a risk not worth taking.

Agreed, that does not sound normal. "Duty solenoid C" is a term often heard when taking about AWD that turns 2WD

Bleeding: The secret is to fill the engine with coolant through the top radiator hose. Do a site search for "coolant replacement", you'll find my detailed description of the whole procedure. Thermostat: Clean the mating surfaces to avoid leaks, and use a new gasket. Those tiny bolts and the aluminium water pump can't handle much torque, so be careful when tightening them. Give the threads some copper grease if you plan on removing the thermostat again some day.

BEst way to get a seized bolt out is to drill a small hole into it and insert a left-threaded "bolt extractor". As you turn this counter-clockwise it will screw itself into the bolt and hopefully the bolt start to move. Avoid drilling the hole bolt, as you will damage the thread, and have to used oversize bolts to reassemble.

Well, my car is manual, but mainly because it was the only thing available. Car prices here are insane and automatics are way more expensive. Not many on the used car market - where I can afford to shop. It's funny how the manual transmission is the last bastion of "manhood". We accpect that fuel mixture, ignition timing, braking, radio tuning, and so on are computer controlled, but not the gears.

Interesting. And thanks for taking us smoothly back to the topic!