avk

Looks like the problem I had on an old car. The drains at the bottom of the wiper linkage & ventilation intake compartment were clogged so the water would rise and then leak inside through some opening. To check the drain passages, when washing the car begin with pouring water onto the cowl grille and see if it comes out behind each of the front wheels.

That very part, Fel-Pro oil pan gasket p/n OS30656C, sells for $4.51 at rockauto.com: http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/catalog.php?carcode=1269918&parttype=5436

They probably just did away with the shield connection to the sensor. The sensor harness is still shielded. For $17, might be worth trying to wire in a '95+ sensor, as long as the coil resistance is the same.

Midwst's sensors are probably pre-1995 style, with wiring pigtails. Those for some reason cost 10 times as much as the newer type. I wonder if you can just buy a new-style sensor and wire it in.

If that's the inner boot, the outer end of the axle can stay in the hub. All that holds the joint together on the inside is a big wire clip in the groove near the edge of the round housing. You take it out with a screwdriver. Subaru even has an old TSB about this repair that applies to all models.

It's true that in most cases, an entire axle is replaced because of a torn boot, but most owners don't use FSM either. The main risk involved in using a remanufactured axle is that one doesn't know what the core had been through, especially the outer joint is still good: most cores come in with a bad outer joint. It is true that repacking the joint and replacing the boot involves some extra tools such as C-clip pliers and a band tool. But those aren't expensive.

I believe that on a regularly maintained engine the "gunk" is only normal for those makes that have stop-leak tablets added at the factory as a preventative measure, in particular the US Big Three. My old "other" car had it, as well as its current replacement with low miles. The stop-leak forms a hardened deposit in the area above the normal level in the expansion bottle, exposed both to the splashing cooant and to the air. But if you have the gunk it might merely mean that the coolant change is overdue.

Jman: same thing happened to me, at about 63000 miles, also on vacation. I did notice the torn boot when checking under the hood, but the burnt smell was there anyway, on the trip back to NJ in my case. The right inner boot sits above the hot cat. converter. I chose to replace the boot on car, disconnecting only the inner CV from the stub shaft. The grease that really matters is inside the metal CV housing, where the balls and cage are, and there should be enough to drive for a while, before it becomes dirty. What splatters on the exhaust comes mostly from inside the boot. Ours was driven for 1500 miles before repair, 500 of it on highway, part of that in rain.

800 bucks? That's a lot of green residue.

The cover you want is for 1997-01.

Yes, that's the part. The only thing coming to mind now is that maybe the green lock on the airbag connector wasn't fully closed? On all airbag harnesses with yellow plugs, one wire is used to monitor those latches.

Did you use your old clockspring assembly or the one that came (if it did) with the replacement switch? The junkyard part can be faulty.

I do go to Somerset a.k.a Middlesex Foreign Cars for tire rotation and balancing, and their work has been good. A few months ago I replaced our other, "big" car with a van that had shimmy starting at about 75 mph. It also has Goodyear tires but a cheap brand. I took it to Bill's Ineffable Automotive Rehabilitation in Metuchen. Their did R&B which included flipping two tires on the rims (I suggested doing it on one that showed some edge wear) and also adjsuted toe-in. The shimmy is gone.

If it's a used take-off kit, make sure you get all the small pieces such as brackets, actuator cable clips etc.

I'm afraid it's inside the instrument cluster. But you can still disconnect it, with the help of a wiring diagram.

You can swap one switch for the other because they use the same wiring. The p/n for gen. 2 & 1 wagons is 83113AA520.

The wiper switch can be removed as a separate part. If there's no obvious easy fix, it has to be replaced (get one with adjustable delay).

I've had their cheapest gauge for 3 years or so. It's self-calibrating (against atmospheric pressure) and has a stated accuracy of 0.5 psi. I'd trust it more than the gauge on the hose. I believe all digital gauges use the same circuitry. But one thing I don't know is what happens when the battery ages, although the gauge should indicate when it's low. Maybe I should replace the battery just to see if there'll be any difference in readings.

With some patience and several inexpensive tools and parts, the inside boot can be replaced without removing the axle from the hub (but only from the differential). The right inner boot is over the catalytic converter, so the other ones should last longer, especially if there isn't lots of miles on the Forester. How many does it have?

The gear indicator in the cluster was deleted from 2d gen. Legacies sold in US. The cluster housing does have a slot for the indicator, which is a small circuit board with lights and a plug, inserted sideways from the back. But you'd also need the black trim piece for the instruments that has an opening for the indicator. Thus it might be best to get a used Japanese-market cluster, although the indicator itself is available because it's the same as was used on 1993-94 Impreza and then also deleted. By the way, for 1995-97 Imprezas all the necessary parts are available, new or used. A wiring diagram would be needed to connect the indicator, but otherwise everything is simple. I did it on a '95.

A 1995 engine is rated at 135 hp vs. 130 for previous years. Don't know if it involves any mechanical differences. Among those components that are visible, there was a change in air filter box. Single-port heads arrived in 1996.

I had some leaves, pine needles, seeds etc. on the bottom of the box which I was able to blow out, and also sprayed some mold killer on the evap. It would be a different matter if the evap. core is all gummed up, but it's important to know that the resistor hole gives access to the evaporator.

While you're in there, clean AC evaporator and housing with suitable tools.

With a large corporation, it's easier to complain, but that's not what you want to end up doing. If the shop is already known to be trustworthy, that's a different thing. My view is simply that, absent other information, dealing with a franchise is risky.

Midas is a franchise. No technical skills, or even interest in automobiles are required from owners, just enough money to open a shop. It's all in the name (and the yellow corporate color).