Setright

Before starting the car in the morning, look around your headgaskets. There could be leak of coolant from the system, straight out of the engine. You won't be able to find it on warm engine since the coolant will evaporate. Well, if you leak for a long time, you will get crusty deposits that are visible on a warm engine.

1990Legacy: No, a full overflow tank, that is bubbling is a symptom of HG problems. Check the level when cold, and note how much it rises when the engine is warm. The cold level in the morning should be fairly steady. If it's dropping, you have a problem. Maybe HG. Clutchbob: Classic HG problem. There is a tiny leak of compression and exhaust gas into the coolant system.

Cheers 'Ru Just to clarify, since that write assumes a lot of knowledge: The faucett is mounted on the bottom of the radiator, on the side of the top hose. Attach a small hose to it's end to guide the coolant out of the enginebay.

Good call, Chump.

Yeah, some bubbling is normal after the coolant system has been opened. If the level in the overflow tank is low after a drive, then I doubt you have a headgasket problem - the bottle would more likely be full to the brim. Search for "coolant replacement" on this site, I have shared my best method for having as little air as possible.

I wish I were in an economic position to be considering which transmission I should have in my 2.5 liter Legacy.... :-) I would go for the "Sportshift" and VDC equipped tranny. As it is, I would be lucky to convice a bank to lend me the money for a base 2.0 Legacy - and that would have to be manual, since the auto costs a whole bunch more over here.

Fuel economy can easily be better with the auto. It depends on the conditions. Take note that the Subaru tech data on the Impreza lists a BETTER fuel economy for the Auto. The VDC equipped 2.5 auto will cope very well on slippery stuff.

Not entirely separate. The ABS wheel speed sensors talk to the ABS and Transmission computer.

This kind of question will always be answered by a bunch of religious faithfuls. Like ME! I swear by RedeX :-)

just over 3000rpm Car details in signature :-)

Had a colleague with a similar problem on a Renault Megane. I once witnessed the no start situation, and tried opening the throttle from under the hood while he cranked it, but still didn't start. Unfortunately, the Megane owner is not technically minded and I he has no real understanding of what the dealer did to fix his car. Other than "they replaced something". I am sure it wasn't the ECU. I would start by disconnecting the crank postion sensor and cleaning the terminals. Re-install and try again. If that doesn't help, replace the crank sensor itself. It's the most likely cause. And it's easy to replace too.

White smoke in the exhaust usually means that coolant is burning off. This would indicate a leaking head gasket. Your underhood smoke problem is probably not related to the above. Have a lookn underneath the engine, a small oil leak dripping onto the exhaust can cause a lot of smoke.

Okay, an impact speed of 25mph sounds plausible, but what speed did he lose control at? Some excess speed may have been shaved off in the skid. Airbag deployment is triggered by the rate of deceleration. Hitting a solid, fixed object at 10mph can trigger the bags. I would expect that the collision with the boulder was "relatively" soft. The boulder probably moved. Therefore the bags stayed in, since the rate of change of speed was deemed to low.

Could you be thinking of: http://www.ravensblade-impreza.com/

You could have a leak somewhere, that is letting water into the motor or its circuit.

Sounds like it could be the "canister purge valve". Quite a common fault, that triggers the CEL but doesn't alter performance dramatically. Valve is located around the intake manifold and has wires and small vacuum hoses attached. Easy to replace, but make sure you do the "battery dance" ECU memory wipe.

I just had the timing belt changed on my Impreza - the only thing I pay the dealer to do, because the stamp in the service book looks good when you sell the car! - and the belt had 60k and five years on it. Looked almost new. So, invisible internal stress notwithstanding the belt could probably have soldiered on for a while yet. Dealer says they have never seen one break. My EJ22 belt looked good as new when I replaced that, too.

Serious overfilling of the oil pan will cause the oil to reach the pistons from "behind" and get whipped and frothy. The air bubbles in the oil make the oil pressure and delivery unstable.

Heatshields make a more distinct metal noise. Higher in pitch and not regular at all.

Well, Subaru's biggest weakness is the transmission, no question. The manual boxes are noisy from new, but main bearings will get louder and sometimes fail around 120k miles. An irregular rumbling/rattling noise at idle, in neutral, all pedals untouched is a sign of trouble. Some added whinning is to be expected with age. Oh, jumping out of gear is also an indication of worn bearings. And this is the warning that means business.

Cold idle shouldn't reach above 2000rpm, and that's only just after starting. From there 1500rpm would be normal. So, try cleaning the throttle return spring with some compressed air. I mean the one on/near the throttle body, in the engine compartment. You can apply some thin oil to it, but blow the excess out. Otherwise dirt will cling to the spring and make things worse.

If the ECU doesn't register the crank signal it won't activate the ignition system. If your crankshaft hasn't been out, then there is probably little reason to worry.

Running in: I am with people on the gentle approach. Keep the throttle opening below half-way and the revs below 3500rpm while the engine warms up. Once warm, you will be free to play with bigger throttle openings, but I would advise against revs over 4000. Treat it like this for the first 600-700 miles. Change the oil and filter, and start aiming for a normal driving style.

My Impreza slaps on cold mornings. Not very loud, I have to turn off the ventilation to hear it clearly. Started doing it at 90,000km - oddly this co-incided with an oil change. To Redline. I am now running Mobil 1 again, but the noise refuses to go away. My 1992 Legacy NEVER did this, and I know it's new owner is closing in on 200,000 miles. (320k km) I agree that this is design fault and that it is unforgiveable!

I am with the "kid", get a Haynes manual, the pictures help a lot in the explanations. Also, bear in mind that brakes systems are pretty simple really because they have to be reliable and durable. A complex system would be prone to faults. If you have a manual on your hands, and keep your head clear it won't be very difficult. The hardest part is getting the new pads into calipers again because you must not touch the pad surface with your greasy fingers. Holding only the edges of the backing plate and trying to slot the pads in takes a bit of practice. On pushing the piston back: I always start the process by spanning the G-clamp over the entire brake assembly and pushing on the center of the outside pad. This ensures that the piston travels back in fully parallel. It might need a small squeeze when the pads go in to add some clearance, but if you follow my method first, then the piston is so far in that it "steers" itself. Good luck :-)