idosubaru

yep, just get good at bringing it up fast and moving on quick. between mine and selling for other people, I've sold a couple dozen subaru's over the years. at least locally craigslist seems to be loosing traction/market share and has more scammers, etc. i might be done with it in the near future. one of the major online venues like cars.com you can list and only pay if you sell the car through them. that's worth tossing it up if you've got a vehicle that's being looked at there. there ends up being a lot of window shoppers but they're not annoying at least. they just ask a question and disappear because they emailed 20 other people or end up wanting a dealer.

you guys are using a one fuel system for heating up rusty fasteners? (as opposed to dual fuel like oxy-XYZ?) is it the simple single cans like you buy at big box hardware stores?

It comes on when you turn the key to "on" automatically, no need to do anything else. Just do that and see if it comes on. If it's in the air and they're below the height sensors then they should air up.

start a NEW thread and title it something relevant to what you need.

Don’t worry about it. If it’s priced reasonably then find ways to walk away quick and dont waste time. Ask or mention it up front that you’re not flexible on price and just tell people as soon as they call. Get that out of the way first There will be lots of window shoppers. I set a price and tell people up front I’m not haggling. I tell them to go buy any of the others available on a lot or cars.com or whatever if all they want is price, I’m not competing with them nor am I trying to sell that person a car I know will sell soon enough. If they want a certain price then go look at those cars. Simple as that, there’s nothing to talk about. Mine usually has brand new timing gear brakes and more maintenance. I rarely move the price, usually sell to the first or second person that test drives the car.

Hey thanks for that GD, very good stuff.

Would installing a larger oil pump at 200-250,000 miles mitigate that a little bit? Are lower powered engines less prone to this...EJ18, EJ22, EJ25, or it's a wash over time/miles?

We need the codes - the exact number. Any national chain like NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, Autozone, OReillys will read the codes for free. Have them read there and then post the 4 digit numbers here like P0303, P0302....don't post what the shop says could be causing it or their brief description - give us the actual numbers like I just posted. You can even buy a cheap code reader for like $30 or less on ebay. Fits in the glove box or spare tire area, very easy to use, and saves time/trips/quicker info/diagnosis. You can even get a phone adapter for cheaper if you want to play with getting one of those and downloading and app for it on your phone.

Flashing CEL means multiple cylinder misfire. You have 2 or more misfires. There are cheap scanners so you never have to go anywhere. They pay for themselves in gas alone with a couple uses, not too mention time and quicker diagnostics. Check timing belt, tensioner, and pulleys Check plugs and wires. Coil pack - it can be tested and knowing which cylinders are misfiring can help point that direction.

What else is there to say except that you're absolutely killing it. Well done. How did remaking the rear arches go? Do you cut and use the originals as templates? Does it take hours or days per arch? I guess you cut out a sizable chunk to get all of the rust that you can't visibly see that gets down into all the folds and inaccessible areas where two or more sheets come together?

It is - all 90-98 Impreza, Forster, legacy, outback auto trans were the same 4 speed with minor adaptations. The 4EAT is a beast. Change the fluid at least once, don’t run it low and it should be the last thing you’ll have to think about.

Great that you have disc instead of drum. no one mentioned upgrading rear discs, there's no point in that. That's good, I'd move this to the bottom instead of the top of the list then. Several years on a car that sat unused doesn't confirm a full fluid change wouldn't help. Flush all 4 lines a lot to ensure all the old fluid gets out. I think you're first inclination is right - the brakes are a little below average. i'd continue checking into what you started. Age and environmental exposure/usage would impact tire related braking performance in wet/snow/emergency/ABS use, but I don't think the type of pedal feel you're indicating. There's a 4 digit date code stamped on the side of the tire. In general 3 year old cheap or average tires can start to degrade and 5 year old higher end tires can start to degrade. the materials degrade due to the sun and oxygen exposure - with better tires handling that better than cheaper ones. Often you can see the cracks starting to form from this degradation as the materials "dry out".

It needs a complete fluid flush, regrease the slides and replace the pad retaining clips. That poor of braking has nothing to do with brake size at all. These cars were stopping just fine when new off the showroom floor. Do that first - if you get a significant improvement you might feel much better going with the smaller rotors, which is what I'd recommend if that's what is already easier. If you were going to spend more money, does that car have rear drum? Those L and brighton's get confusing around those years but I think 98 L's have rear drum, put your money into swapping to rear disc if you need more than a fluid flush/maintenance and front upgrade can do.

It leaks externally. Front drivers side top of head and rear passengers side back of the head. Youll need an engine. call the shop and ask what you should do. proving beyond a shadow of a doubt whether it was improperly filled with oil or consumption burned it all up will be challenging if that’s the goal.

First make absolultely certain the converters are bad, there's no exhaust or vacuum leaks from the recent engine work - it's not uncommon to have one leaky hose or exhaust flange gasket, etc. Generally speaking spacers aren't as effective in 2005+ models, but im' not sure on specifics.

That’s absurd. They’re replaced all the time for the last 15 years. Next time stop by in person or look it up on the Subaru parts website yourself. Sounds like your dealer might have non technical staff answering phones and pushing buttons. I can’t imagine anyone that’s ever looked at one of these engines saying that or not being able to figure it out in 60 seconds. I use OEM for those but I wouldn’t be scared to install the Fel Pro if I had too.

It’ll be hard to determine whether they made a mistake or you used and blew all the oil or whether it was 75% their fault and 25% not theirs. Either way you need a new engine and they’re unlikely to cover it. Blame is hard to pinpoint and now multiple hands have been into the vehicle, that’s not conducive to good diagnosis and determination for the original shop. Oil induced failure probably means lower end issues and not worth putting much money in to diagnose or repair. Who wants to spend $500 on something that’s got a good chance to blow a rod bearing in 6 months? As GD said those oil switches blow oil all the time, I’ve replaced a few myself. 1 quart every 1,000 miles on a 2008 is usually caused by poor oil changes during some point since mile 1, they don’t routinely use oil but aren’t forgiving either.

If you needed to sell in any given 3 month period I'd guess very roughly $250 ballpark. If you waited 10 years keeping your eyes peeled for an OEM/NOS rebuild/restore you might get close to $1k depending what you have. Less desirable in some ways but I ended up with some EA/EA82T short blocks/bare blocks, maybe from the same source/situation moosens mentioned.

If you use it all the time and are keeping the car, then like GD said a new one from Subaru isn't a bad idea. Otherwise swap it out with a used one from a junk yard. $75 last one I bought and it's a really easy job. the entire assembly comes out and drop the other one in, nothing to it.

Depends what you mean by potential. If you mean racing or aftermarket parts galore or original parts availability, then it has little potential, or well below average or no more than any other car. If you mean 1980s aesthetics which doesn’t feel like you’re going to get run over on the daily commute, good 4WD, and predictable reliability then yes they’re good cars. But you’ll have a lot of points to assess to be reliable simply due to age at this point.

Often times precise auto transmission failure modes aren’t explained, they’re complicated systems. Theres a small gear in the passenger side of the front diff that drives the Speedometer sensor. It sounds like: A: that small gear or associated components are compromised. B: the shaft that passes from the trans to the front diff has clearance issues resulting from whatever is causing your other issues and it’s also causing problems in the front diff.

Maybe a connector got wet cleaning? Let it dry and maybe you’ll get lucky I doubt its the air bag computer as well but I guess we don’t know. Used to be able to get both bags and the computer as a set for less than a $100 from yards and eBay, I’ve rebuilt some wrecked ones in the past and there isn’t much to it. Supply is way outstripping demand by this point should be some inexpensive sets. If it’s wiring that’ll be a 4 digit debacle at the dealer and good chance they get it wrong the first time. They wouldn’t even take a 98 seriously around here, they probably haven’t seen one in at least 5 years, some of the techs have probably never worked on one. Haha.

Doubt this matters and you know these better than me but I’ve swapped different ratio EJ TCUs to test if it made a difference and noticed no difference.

Has it done it more than once? Maybe it’s fine and won’t do it again, if this is the first occurrence after all that other work, But you probably tried multiple times... the check engine light isn’t on? If it is, read the codes which flash via the ECU LED (see below). If not.... Check the engine memory codes via the read memory configuration. In the trunk - under the rear shelf that holds the Speakers - You plug in either the black or green connectors in the trunk by the passenger side speaker. This puts it in read memory mode. I forget which ones and what steps (plug in, turn key, etc). Once you do it right the green LED in he ECU (big box hanging under that same speaker) will flash any codes Count the long and short flashes. 3 long flashes and 2 quick ones = code 32. Does that make sense? To get the Transmssion codes You have to do a crazy handshake to get the AT light to flash the codes. It’s awful. Open door shift close door turn key shift open door turn key sacrifice a butterfly and hole the light flashes the code. Ideally you get that code - it’s telling you something. Check pan - if it’s dented then a solenoid and or wiring are likely damaged. There’s little clearance between the pan and wires\solenoids

weird! Did you replace the top mounts or springs - if so, with what? Do you have the old strut bodies and control arms you could measure and compare? or compare measurements side to side or to the FSM for the control arm. could it be bent? Packaging want damaged! Ride height doesn’t seem like the causative agent but maybe measure ride height and compare to the FSM specs at each wheel to see where it’s at at least. Maybe there’s a weak spring, though I don’t think 09 and earlier OB are prone to camber induced ride height issues.