ferret

Best of luck...My wife is a big Toyota Fan....She owns a Highlander By the way, the 4 cyl has a timing chain and no maintenance interval. The V6 has a timing belt and is a BEAR to replace.

I have the BR-1 version of the following since 2000. I've used it on all types of vehicles domestic and imports with an older 486 based laptop I plug into the lighter socket and sit it on the seat beside me to monitor sensors when we have one giving us real grief. Even gives you the freeze frame data from the last code set. It has well paid for itself hundred of times over. http://obddiagnostics.com/

You can find you cars enthusists in plenty at the North America Subaru Impreza Owners Club. Lots of Forums and info. http://www.nasioc.com/ P.S. Yes, the Blow off valve, if doing it's job after letting off the throttle quickly is noisy.

There is a metal beam and a styrofoam absorbing insert. Here are 2 add'l .pdf's Just saw your post on the Forester forum also !!

The 3.0 is a good workhorse. Shouldn't have the antifreeze additive in it, that was only the SOHC 2.5 from 99-02 ( and some early 03's by vin number). I would ask that the vehicle have a 30K service preformed on it as that would include fluid replacements (antifreeze, brake fluid, differential oils). I would also have a Carfax run on it and if you have one, have it inspected by a good mechanic. The 3.0 is has proven to be reliable, powerful, no timing belt (timing chains). Servicing it is more expensive, 6 plugs vs 4 and 2 are very difficult to get to. Also has direct ignition like the turbos, ie each spark plug has it's own coil assy attached to the top of it. Overall has a good track record.

Here's a .pdf for the front bumper cover. Some browsers will no longer let you open attachments in a new window. If you can't view it online by clicking on it, detach it and open it.

It's in the tank...Service interval was printed as 30,000 miles, but that was in error. It's either 60K or 90K. But it is a real PITA to change. Subaru did not make it easy here...same for the newer OB's, Legacy's and Foresters. If you don't see it in the normal place it's been for over 15 yrs AND you have an 05 or newer Subaru, it's probably in the tank. Different models were moved at different times starting in 04 or 05.

Unless you are buying NOS (New Old Stock) Subaru bearings, just use them out of the box. Somewhere in 2002 (IIRC), they changed the way the pack and ship the rear bearings. They were 'coated' with a low temp grease based protectent and the service guide would tell you to clean and repack them. Then later in 2002, they came already packed in the proper grease. No p/n change so unless you saw the older clear/amber protectent, you might not know it was changed. 2 things, if you are unsure, repack them with the proper grease OR ask the Subaru parts counter guy, they usually know.

If I remember, it's under the passenger foot area, under the carpet.

96 thru the 2007 model year will be OBDII, yeah the same. 2008 seems to be the year CAN will be manditory across all manufacturers. Some have already adopted it, but not Subaru until 2008. WRONG...looks like 2007 CORRECTION...Just went to the CAN Bus Engineer support website and found the following entry: 4/26/2006 Informed by John Rugge (Subaru) of 2007-2008 Subaru models to be added to Can 11 bit implementation

It's called the Oil Separator plate. It's on the rear of the engine. Maybe someone here has a picture of it with all the EJ22/EJ25 pictures for head gaskets etc. In the first EJ22 engines it was metal. By the mid 90's it was replaced with a plastic piece. Somewhere in the early 2000's it's back to metal. Yes, you must drop the transmission to replace it. Anyone getting transmission service or a clutch replaced should have this inspected. If it is the plastic type, it should be replaced. When it fails, it leaks oil from the engine rear and is sometimes mistaken for a rear seal until the transmission is removed.

In early Subaru's, the HVAC was not designed with a filter in mind. So adding the option meant cutting a side from the blower housing and installing a guide and cover assy ( example 98-02 Forester ). Later models were designed with the filter in the plan, but was still an option until 2005 if I remember correctly. Over on Scoobymods there are a few long threads about guys who buy the 1st one, then use the frame with a replacement furnace filter and just replace the filter material for a few dollars each time vs $30 and up. Remember the main reason for the filter is the same as used in commercial HVAC for years, not for the quality of the air we breath, but primarily to keep the coils and fins clean. This prevents mold, mildew and decaying leaves from accumulating by the evaporator. So turning on your A/C shouldn't give you a musty smell. Easier to change or clean this filter than take the housing apart and clean it.

Go to Subaru.com and send them a note with your concern and vin. Also ask them for the range of affected vehicles. Sometimes they provode it, sometimes they don't, but it's worth a try.

This is a tough one to diagnose. P1505 is Idle air control at adaptive clip. Translation, something is causing the engine idle to change so much, the ECU has reached it's max either opening or closing the idle air solenoid and can no longer maintain the preset idle. You have reached the limit of Idle Air Control. Now Why, anything from a misfire, but that code will also exist with the P1505, to a vacuum leak to a piece of foreign material causing the idle air solenoid to open and close properly. I might start looking for a vacuum leak or cleaning the idle air solenoid. After that, your choice of what to try next. This looks like it can be almost anything, right down to a front oxygen sensor just enought out of spec to cause this, but not enough to throw an O2 sensor code. Even a fuel filter can cause it. Get someone with an OBDII reader that can get you the Freeze frame data. That shows the status of all the sensors at the time the code was set. From there you might be able to see which sensor is 'out-of-spec' or reporting an out of spec condition that is causing the ECU to compensate by adjusting the idle. This is the only other piece of data I can think of to help you diagnose this. Good Luck on this one....end of my $.02

Nope..no problems at all. I've done it many times, both ways. Like you said, just takes longer if it's 'room temp'.

2003 OBS is a 2.5L and yes it is a good motor. VERY EARLY 2003's were in the WWP099 program for coolant sealer ( this is the external leak ). There you must go by VIN number. Ask the dealer if any or all recalls were done, and ask which ones. Recall was for SOHC 2.5L 99-02 and some very early 03's. Is this at Liberty (Oradell), Ramsey or another dealer?

1st guess Coil....after that I have a few others, but I'll only post this one for now.

Totally away from the internals and the fact it comes and goes, I have had more than 1 timing belt tensioner cause a sound just like this. To rule it out, just remove the left front (drivers side) timing belt cover and start the engine. I use a piece of heater hose to my ear and the other right by the opening to the pulley to listen. Also on some you can look in far enought to see the belt and pulley bouncing at the time of the noise. Rule it out before you start removing the engine and tearing it down.

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YUP, I agree with that. When MY90 Legacy AWD LS wagon was brand new, I watched an Explorer fail to make it up a snow covered hill near my home at the time in northern NJ. (in 1990) My Legacy just went up that hill, past the Explorer, like it was summertime. It was my first impression on AWD over the 4WD I had in my 85 Subaru wagon. I fell certain that would have gone up that hill also as it had in the past, but the 85 would wag it's tail on the way up. The Legacy went straight up...no tail wagging....no slipping you could feel.

If it's an L model with Rear drum brakes, I would ensure the self adjuster are working correctly. If it is an S model with rear disks, they use a seperate small brake shoe in the center for the emergency brake. If all the above are working properly then the attached .pdf file shows how to adjust the lever/cable.

Not just in automobiles, these have been used in all types of machinery and equipment since that were controlled by electrics and controllers. I've seen 'tone wheels' in all types of equipment. They usually have emitters, pickups, hall effect sensors etc as a means of reading the cogged surfaces as they rotate. But the raw digital signal given out, if amplified, sounds like a musical note to our ears. As the speed changes, so does the note or put another way, it changes 'tone'. Some car manufacturers used this same idea in their distrubutors for their first type of electronic ignitions. There were MANY types there from cogged wheels on the distributor shaft (yes a tone wheel), to open holes and clear lined disks some there done with optics. End of $.02 for this morning.

The recall stated, as the page I remember putting into MY02 Forester manual, that when the coolant is replaced at the 30K intervals, the Subaru recommended conditioner is to be reapplied ( thats what my manual insert stated ). When I asked at the parts counter thay said Yes...you must put it in each service to extend the warrenty.

If you are under 100K this should be a No Brainer. Recall Conditioner in, Subaru 60K warrenty extended to 100K ( for cooling problems ). Just keep your dated receipts. Cheap way to extend factory warrenty and prevent the external leak.

Bingo...I just went to the garage and YES it is 303 Aerospace protectant.