smiffy6four

Changing the front shafts from side to side can often eliminate vibrations. By swapping them over, the joints drive against the relatively unused (only used when reversing) thrust faces of the joints. I do this to my 99 Forester once a year, just to get longer life from them.

Have you tried adding the AWD fuse? That puts the car into FWD and stops sending power through the rear driveshaft. IF the vibration is still there with the fuse in, then you know to check the front. Sometimes, it's useful to swap the front cv shafts, side to side. If the problem moves to the opposite side, then you have your answer. If it doesn't make any difference, then you may gain more life from the cv's anyway, as they are now driving on the less worn faces of the cv joints.

Another vote for the drive shaft.

Was the Turbo a genuine Subaru replacement? I'm a little confused as to why you think Subaru should offer warranty on work done elsewhere, on a car that's out of warranty.

You'll need a universal joint for a 3/8 ratchet, and a couple of extensions. Plug gap is 0.042". Take the wires off one at a time. I always add a small smear of antisieze compound to each plug thread; this makes them easier to extract next time and prevents carbon from creeping up the threads, which can abrade the threads in the aluminum cylinder head. Take your time, don't overtighten the new plugs.

The yellow font is really hard to read. How about plain old black?

Or just cut a strip of sheet metal, stick it on the inside and bondo over it.

Your mpg sounds about right; I live in similar terrain, drive a 99 2.5 auto Forester and get 25mpg locally, and 30 on a highway run.

The valve in question is to shut off the tank vent and the evap hose; this is required to allow pressure to build in the tank while fuelling so that the gas station nozzle will see the rising pressure, prevent overfilling of the tank and shut off the nozzle. source: Subaru Factory Manual

Ditto

Headgaskets can be changed with the engine in the car. The trick is to remove the lower nut from the motor mounts one side at a time and jack up whichever side you want to get at. Place a block of wood under the mount as a safety precaution to avoid the engine falling.

The stuck piston is easier to remove when it's stil on the car. Block the one that moves and use the brake pedal to create hydraulic pressure. Run the car if needed to have power assist.

Conventional brake fluid is hygroscopic(attracts water from the atmosphere); I use synthetic fluid when doing a complete brake job. All hydralic parts last waaaay longer that way, since synthetic doen't attract water and lubricates better. Just make sure to flush brake lines of old style fluid.

Is one of the rear brakes siezed? Sounds like you need to get the wheels of and have a peek. Do you get the same results when pulling the parking brake at low speed?

Year, model of car, etc. Could be a blocked tank vent; evap has nothing to do with filling. The evap system is closed by a valve actuated by the flap just inside the filler neck when re-fuelling.

This is what you need to try next. Then try the test with the AWD fuse installed. This will switch to 2WD and usually eliminates most noises associated with the rear wheel drive components. If you have four good quality axle stands and can SAFELY get all 4 wheels off the ground, have a buddy "drive" the car up on stands and listen with a stick or stethescope to the various drivetrain items.

The nut that secures the wiper arm is probably loose.

Check the switch on the door, see what's up.

yup, it can be done. I was looking at his very idea yesterday. I have an 85 VW Vanagon and a Subaru. It occured to me to marry them up.

To test the clutch, start the engine, set the parking brake firmly and put it in 3rd gear(with nothing in front of the car) and rev the engine to about 2000rpm, then let the clutch pedal up and the car should stall at once. If if keeps running/slows a little, then the clutch is kaput.

Have you temporarily re-installed the lateral link bolt? If not, put it back(with some anti-sieze grease) with the axle off to one side. For the slide hammer to work, the hub has to be solidly held still.

I would agree; having been welding cars for 25 years. I use .025 wire with argon/C02 for shielding gas. Flux core has it's place, but is best for thicker metal(i.e. not sheet metal) and outdoor work where shielding gases get blown away. Look for a decent quality welder, such as a Lincoln or a MIller. Cheaper welders often have a torch that's live all the time, which makes it easy to flash yourself. I have this baby: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/6/Tools/WeldingSoldering/Welders/PRDOVR~0588041P/Lincoln+Electric+MIG+Pak+180+Wire+Feed+Welder.jsp?locale=en

If you want to change the belt anyway, why not do that now and eliminate the possibility of jumped timing? Has the car back-fired at all? That can make the belt jump.

Why not just get the rim cleaned/tire re-installed?

The bearings are pre-greased, do NOT add any more grease to them. I just replaced a set on a 2000 Forester on Friday. I had the factory manual and factory tools to do the job, so that made life easy. The link bolt was very tight, as it had rusted onto the knuckle. I got it to turn once I had the nut off and put a long breaker bar on it. If you don't have a slide hammer to pull the hub off, I'd recommend using a 3 jaw puller if you have a lrge enough one. Otherwise, you can make a poor-man's puller using a length of chain placed over any two opposing wheel studs(do the nuts up all the way to avoid mashing the stud threads) and a heavy bar(such as an old half shaft from a pickup)The technique is to put the bar thru the chain and snatch it back towards you, thus shocking the chain and pulling the hub out.