ferret

As suggested, Reset and retry ....... I doubt you have a Turbo/Supercharged engine. http://www.aboutautomobile.com/DTC/P012D

2000 Subaru ...... could be a rusted filler neck. Something to inspect. Remove the passenger rear tire. Remove the plastic shield covering the filler tube, usually 2 or 3 small bolts. Then clean away the debris and look/smell carefully. The filler tubes DO rust through and post a P044x code. Some have not replaced the cover after replacing the filler pipe. Their choice. I would prefer to remove it, clean under it and reinstall. Maybe make it part of the 60k service. The cover is there to prevent damage from road debris especially those pieces flipped up by the tires. So it does have a purpose other than to trap debris and cause the filler to rot.

FYI, The 'current' Endwrench dated Nov 2008 was their final issue. Take it to heart. I hope they do start/continue, but there was no renewal fee this year. ( it's free 3-6 months AFTER issued ). Bearing that in mind, I might file a copy of all that I consider important. Without the fee's, I don't know how long the repository will remain there, hopefully it's on a server that is funded. It remains a wealth of knowledge for the Subaru Mechanic. Although most of it's content appears in later FSM manuals and supplements.

I have come across this recently on 2000 and up Subaru's. First check/replace the A/C relay. In Legacy/Outback/Impreza/Forester it's in the underhood power/fuse box by the battery. You can usually swap it with one of the radiator fans relays just to test it. The A/C relay, if you open it up, usually had burnt contacts. Now to the other I have seen. A/C seems to work, but on VERY HOT days, or after using it for a while, it just stops. What's happening here is the CLUTCH is no longer engaging. ( usually the ZEXEL Compressors ). The clutch IS getting the 12v to engage, but with the heat, AND PREVIOUS WEAR, the clutch gap had increased and will no longer engage. Let it cool off and like magic, it works again. When failing and at an idle, you may try to 'carefully' pushing the front plate with a piece of wood ( my choice ) and CLANK, the compressor engages. 2 options here, Replace the compressor. I suggest NEW, I would not use a Used one because the clutch on these DOES wear and like buying a used tire, a used compressor already has wear on it. This option also requires vacuum/charge of the system. Please Note, Zexel supplies to its vendors ( Subaru included ) the compressor/clutch as an assembly. They do not supply clutch replacement parts. The other, is buying/borrowing a clutch removal kit ( usually $50 and up ). Remove the clutch. Clean both sides of the clutch surface. DON'T SAND OR ROUGHEN them. Remove a shim or 2 from under the center bolt mount to get the .0011 to .0015 clearance between the clutch face and pulley. I really suggest getting the tool for this. By just removing the 10mm center bolt, the clutch is pressed on and does not easily come off. Prying on the edges of the clutch will bend and destroy it resulting in replacing the entire compressor.

By your measurements, you are using a DVM. The output of your alternator is low. Not by much and might fool some mechanics, but your car and instruments support this fact also. Here are the readings you should have according to the FSM:

Not Subaru experience, but back in 2001 or 2002 we put a phantom grip in a buddy's son's turbo Neon. It workked just like advertised. There was a lot of discussions on different boards about the pressure it exerts on the pinion gears and their ultimate demise, but up to the point that Neon died, ( about 2007 ) it was still working. No lie, on a FWD transaxle, it was a lot of work. I think at that time he paid just over $100 for it.

Cyl 3 & 4 is the same coil of the coil pack. It could be going bad. Also, when dark, try misting water on the coil pack while the motor is running and see if this arc's or gives you the misfire. The coil pack may have a slight crack and in humid weather arc and give the ECU a misfire.

Reading for you from the FSM ( too bad I can't attach the pdf file, There are drawings to support the words ) The center differential consists of a set of bevel gears and a viscous coupling. The center differential has the following two functions: distributing the engine torque to the front and rear wheel drive shafts and absorbing the difference in rotating speed between the front and rear wheels. The engine torque enters the center differential case from the transmission’s driven shaft. The engine torque is then distributed through the bevel gear set directly to the drive pinion shaft and via the transfer drive and driven gears to the rear drive shaft. The viscous coupling limits the bevel gear set’s differential action when either front or rear wheels spin so that adequate torques are transmitted to the front and rear wheels and proper traction is obtained. C: FUNCTION When there is no speed difference between the front and rear wheels, the center differential delivers the engine torque to the front and rear wheels at a ratio of 50:50. When a rotating speed difference occurs between the front and rear wheels, the center differential operates to absorb it in a controlled way by the function of the viscous coupling. 1. DURING NORMAL DRIVING During straight-line driving on a flat road at a constant speed, all the four wheels rotate at the same speed. The center differential delivers engine torque evenly to the front and rear wheels. The viscous coupling does not generate shear torque because there is no relative movements between the inner and outer plates. 2. DURING TURNS AT LOW SPEEDS During turns at low speeds, rotating speed difference occurs between the front and rear wheels, as well as between the left and right wheels. More particularly, the front wheels rotate faster than the rear wheels. The center differential then acts to absorb the speed difference to enable smooth driving. Although the speed difference is small under this condition, operation of the viscous coupling causes more torque to be transmitted to the rear than to the front. 3. DRIVING ON ROUGH OR SLIPPERY ROADS When front wheels are on a slippery surface When the front wheels begin to spin, the resulting speed difference between the front and rear drive shafts causes the viscous coupling to generate significant amount of shear torque. As a result, the torque distributed to the rear wheels becomes much larger than that distributed to the spinning front wheels. The traction and driving stability are thus ensured on a rough or slippery road. When rear wheels are on a slippery surface When the vehicle is accelerated quickly from a standing start with the rear wheels on a slippery surface, the distribution of the vehicle weight on the front and rear wheels changes and the rear wheels start spinning. Due to the resulting speed difference between the front and rear drive shafts, the viscous coupling generates a significant amount of shear torque, now in the direction opposite to that generated when the front wheels are on a slippery surface. As a result, the torque distributed to the front wheels becomes much larger than that distributed to the rear wheels.

On the front, rear or cam seals or any of the tranny or diff seals, you apply a thin coat to the outer edge to seal it to the casing. It prevents oil seepage between the case and outer seal housing. Really helps if the seal is not inserted properly and may have a slight dent or ridge on the edge from pushing it in. I have seen many seals replaced and leaking, not from the rotating seal itself, but from the housing. It's easy to put sealer on and prevent having to do the job a second time.

No, the cluster is either SAE or Metric, no switch. There are many threads on boards about those from Canada coming and buying a 'gray' vehicle in the US. This is one of the first questions followed by warranty work has to be done back in the US. SOC ( Subaru of Canada ) will not do warranty work on a vehicle purchased in the US and 1st new registration is Canada. They will cross honor warranty work for those visiting during a breakdown, or those transferred for employment, but in these cases the car was registered first in the US. Sorry to digress, but I have some Canadian friends who have done this.

Remember, we can't see, touch nor hear this ourselves. I would check the center driveshaft, especially the universal joints on the ends. The transmission end usually wears first and exhibits a rumble/vibration when accelerating. This is difficult at best to see on the car as it's obscured by the exhaust and other drivetrain parts. But a bright light and good set of eyes can spot it. I have seen this overlooked many times, and even some other mechanics and technicians looking and saying they were OK. For an 07, this is an early failure unless you have a lot of miles or live in a winter salt area. Nonetheless, it does happen. If I think of anything else, I'll try to update this thread.

Not that I like the body style at all, I loved MY78 and MY82. They didn't look like anything else out there. But MY85 looked just like a wagon Nisson had at the time, so back then I though Subaru went mainstream on me. And MY90 Legacy wagon was even MORE mainstream. Bearing that in mind, when the new Forester came out, I thought the same, HOW MAIN STREAM. But the 09 Forester continues to beat all previous sales records bringing in more and more first time Subaru owners in a time when car sales are worse than ever. Tells you what I know ( LOL ). Now to the CVT, Gheeze, I hope that belt lasts longer and is more durable than the one the Justy used. The Justy CVT belt was trash. On top of that, it also looks like they use the LSD center differential right out of the 5 speed MT. Guess we have to wait and see.

So long as that Subaru sealant was the recommended one to be used on engine oil/air/gas fittings, Never use RTV. It's fumes will end up in the exhaust ( here via the PCV system ) and poison and ruin the Oxygen sensor. In fact it there may be enough fumes to ruin 2 or 3 sensors before they are all dissipated. So as above go with an anaerobic sealant. I use Loctite 515 everywhere I used to use RTV back in the 80's/90's.

You can easily use a 99-04 SOHC engine. Just move over the intake and all the sensors and your good. The one year refers to the 99 as being a SOHC with a MAF sensor and ECU. The 2000-2004 were MAP engines. But the engine itself is a clean swap. 2005 and up get into drive-by-wire and ACVS ( intake valve control ). So to use one of these, you would also have to swap heads.

I just did this on MY04 for the 2nd time. First for the tranny, cover the Y pipe below with tin foil. It keeps the draining fluid from dripping , covering the pipe and smelling for weeks. Also I refilled with Redline Superlite Shockproof. At their website it does not recommend it for transmissions, but a call to them will tell you they DO recommend it for a Subaru and it's syncronizers. Believe me, summer, winter, I have not found a better fluid ... smooth easy shifts even when starting in 0 degree weather. I remember with dino oil, release the clutch on a frigid day and the engine would stall. No so with this magic elixor. And I have had Subaru 5 speeds in 7 vehicles since 1978. Now to the rear diff, I last did it also at 60K, now at 122K, you swore I never had those square plugs out. I even used teflon pipe tape on them and only torqued them to 30 ft lbs. Like always I couldn't budge them. But 2 years ago, I bought on sale in a Harbor Freight store the following electric impact wrench. I paid $29.99 for it on sale at the time and have since gotten my money out of it many times. I use it regulary to remove things. Never knew how I did without it and all those blood knuckles. In any case, the nose is narrow ( you can't see it in the picture ) so I put a 3" 1/2"drive extension on it and a few spurts, they were loose. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=31877 I use Mobil 1 75w-90 synthetic gear lube in the rear. I only use that impact wrench to remove .... I always use a torque wrench to install. P.S. word of advice ....... be certain to Get the TOP out first !!!!! If you only get the bottom out, you will have a heck of a time refilling it.

From MY99 Shop manual ( USDM non-turbo): EJ18 Bore 92mm Stroke 67mm EJ22 Bore 96.9 Stroke 79mm EJ25 Bore 99.6 Stroke 79mm

Neutral switch in tranny ...yes the 5 speed has one, should be near the reverse switch. Thats how the ECU knows to take over the idle instead of just having it decellerate while in gear.

Here's my CHEAP solution posted over at Subaruforester.org ............ down in reply #6 http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f80/2005-foretser-xt-rear-wiper-8516/

99 - 07 5mt Forester is the same viscous coupling. You can use the rear section of any of these tranny's. Subaru shows they stock this section as a complete assy. It retails for about $550. So the price they gave for parts only in VERY GOOD. Also the tranny does not have to come out for this. Yes it is easier on a removed transmission but I know a guy who has done 2 of these by removing the tranny tailshaft in the car. He also does tranny work for a living and is currently out for shoulder surgury ( maybe he does too much ? ) If you are thinking it's time to do your clutch, have it pulled and get them both done.

That's the WORST PART !!! And when trying to break it loose, you can round out the inside. I've done 2 so far. And no matter how long you let the drain open, more antifreeze is always behind that plug.

It comes with instructions .... after draining the coolant, you remove a 'core' plug from right near the water pump. Easy to install, but you will need someplace warm to install it. Instruction URL: http://www.subaruparts.com/catalog/subaru/blockheater.pdf

The X sport base does NOT have a rear LSD. According to the specs the X sport base also doesn't have the all weather package ( heated seats, heated front windshield, outside heated mirrors ). On the Forester they usually packaged the Rear LSD with the all weather package.

If your looking onto the Forester, any 2000 - 2008 non-turbo 5mt S, XS or premium came with a rear LSD with the final drive of 4.111. Those same models with an automatic had a rear LSD with a final drive of 4.44. Also all 2004-2008 turbo's used the 4.44 rear whether automatic or 5mt.

Re: Programming Homelink Mirror ( same as MY04 ) http://www.homelink.com/programming/programming.taf

Depends on the tire ........ Snow tire ( Non directional ) with lugs on the edges, lowering the pressure will lift the pressure from the center of the tread and put more on the edges. So you may gain more traction especially in softer uneven snow. It also makes your tread patch smaller since the center now has less pressure, so on flat smooth roads, you traction is lessened and tire wear is greater. Directional Snow tires work best at the recommended pressure as this allows the center groves to have the proper pressure and clear themselves toward the outer edges. The outer edges alone on these tires were not designed to clear themselves without the inner flat on the ground.