idosubaru

So far all the obvious and immediate steps are missing: 1. Check the ATF fluid level 2. Check the front diff fluid level 3. Check the radiator coolant level, note, and refill. The overflow tank is nearly pointless in an emergency situation. 4. Read the check engine light. Advance Auto and many chains and stores read them for free. You said "engine light" but you never mentioned when the engine light is coming on or any details about it. I don't think the shop is in the equation until the basic info above is known and a preliminary diagnosis is known. I would have done the first two immediately the first time the light blinked - takes like 1 minute. It may be unfilled, they may have drained one fluid but added new fluid to the wrong component. (Drained the ATF thinking it was the front diff). Or something completely unrelated.

Yeah it can be done. I think you need to modify the headgasket or get one compatible for this swap if cometic or six star make one.

Test voltage at pump connector. I concur with anything but OEM or highly touted pumps.

Ticking needs described better. Pulley bearings Heat shields Vacuum leak Injector Piston slap

Cheap exhaust stuff is a good temporary solution. They'll rust out in a couple years. A known good OEM unit is an option if you can find one. Post in parts wanted forum here.

What he said, drill and use a through bolt. A used knuckle is a fine easy solution as well, particularly if the ball joint won't come out by other means. Keep in mind "difficult" varies wildly here a very small percent of these can be impossible to remove by any means. An extractor has no business being in the shop of a rust belt diy mechanic. They absolutely suck. Any Subaru rusted bolt that comes out with a bolt extractor would have easily been addressed some other way. Extractors are good for easy stuff and in a pristine precision machine shop setting hardly repeatable in most diy rust belt stuff.

I'd be looking at some of thebyoass rsistor tricks if possible. Not sure that's possible for 2005+ models though. Hopefully a tune up or sea foam or the like will get you through? I've had vehicles tested in MD with the sniffer tailpipe test that had P0420 codes and they always passed. People that install the antifoulers and bypass the light - all pass emissions. People that keep resetting it until it stays off off enough to test - pass emissions. Older Subarus never needed catalytic converters replaced, the OEM units easily last the life of the vehicles. I've talked to engineers that work at plants that manufacture catalytic converters - they're (at least some, maybe not all) designed to last the life of the vehicle from a catalyst standpoint. As I said it's a sad situation that currently far more converters are being replaced than ever before and many aren't necessary at least from a legal emissions standpoint.

That's a ton of miles. Not a big deal if it's a one owner with maintenance records since new. But that's rare and unlikely. It needs a full timing kit to be reliable. Timing belt, pulleys and tensioner. If it's a 1997 or newer that almost nonnegotiable since those are all interference engines = $$$$ if any of those timing parts fail. 2.5 liter engines have headgasket problems. Good to know it's history and verify those aren't extant issues. Best reliable Subaru you can get is a 1990-1998 2.2 liter engine in anninoreaa or legacy. They run forever as are one of the best engines Subaru ever made.

Subaru engines should always have the timing belt components all replaced. Belt pulleys and tensioner. Replacing just the belt is a really bad idea. As to the pistons. Understandably He probably hasn't repaired or worked on many Subarus with broken belts. Most likely scenario is he isn't super familiar with Subarus and that piston face valve contact and damage can be benign on Subarus. If the engine clock is good, which they often are, Easiest repair is install another used head. $100 head and $1,200 headgasket job. $1,300 repair. $1,800 seems steep for a used 15 year old enginewith know headgasket issues and unknown headgaskets. Are you in thePNW or Denver area?

Fix any exhaust leaks and general engine tune stuff. Plugs and wires, fuel treatment You can ignore it and run the engine indefinitely with that code. Ive routinely seen cars rack up 100,000 miles with that code on. Common. If you're in an emissions state then you're hosed. The great thing is that while replacing the cat often fixes it the cat is not polluting and will pass sniffer emissions tests (except theyvwknt trst it with the light on. I find it ludicrous that there's a huge market for cats that aren't polluting all because a stupid light comes on. So we're replacing more parts more raw materials more manufacturing more shipping and fuel...not emissions friendly. Tight running engine helps. No exhaust leaks. Plugs, wires. Debacle of an issue - you can google it. Cardoc has by far some of the best information and approach to this code but it's too technical for most people and shops won't do it. They'll just throw a new cat on it.

I would just drain and fill and see if it gets better. I've done this before: 1. fill ATF 2. pull ATF output hose and aim it towards a container 3. turn key temporarily so ATF pumps out 4. turn key off 5. refill ATF 6. repeat steps 3-5 until new fluid is coming out i'm not saying that's a good idea and i'm not sure anyone else has done it, i could see people saying it's risky but i've done it.

call Subaru? is EA81 different than EA82? EA82, ER27, EJ clips were all the same. i don't trust this 100% but this suggests they're the same part: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Clutch-Release-Bearing-Retainer-Clip-for-Subaru-2-pc-Made-in-Japan-Ships-Fast-/152129658379?fits=Make%3ASubaru&hash=item236ba25e0b:g:DloAAOSw3YNXYJuG&vxp=mtr except they're only like $2-$3 at Subaru http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe-subaru/30539aa000 i've seen people mention before they aren't even needed...????!!!! not that i'm by any means recommending that! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/93871-clutch-throw-out-bearing-return-spring/

the injectors are actually really easy to swap - easier than changing spark plugs, given what you've already done you'd have no problem just swapping #4 and #2 injectors. if the condition moves with the fuel injector then you isolated the issue to that specific injector. if it's valve related then check valve clearance, unfortunately the #4 cylinder exhaust valves do occasionally get too tight, too hot, and burn. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/112173-ej-non-turbo-burned-exhaust-valves-consensus/page-3

Flush the heater core.

That is a good and easy option. thought it's different here, US vehicles were never equipped with EJ20's so it's got an EJ22 with 142 hp, so it would be less of an improvement.

he can run turbo the easy way. he has mentioned keeping it reliable and those two things are let commonly held together over the long term?! Username Redevil has some awesome information on forced induction with stock non turbo ECU. He did a supercharger but the approach is the same A separate SPFI injector is a simple way to dump more fuel. Google that and RRFPR for options.

That's a great suggestion and what is listen too. The OBS (Impreza Outback sport) sits low anyway and often suffers from rear sagging.

Oh sweet, that's awesome news then. Probably just a hose (in order of most likely to least likely): oil cooler hose, radiator hose, heater core hoses. Or radiator. Water pumps very rarely leak in these, newer generation water pumps often last the life of the vehicles, particularly these timing chain equipped engines like yours, but of course it can happen. They have a small weep hole at the bottom of the timing chain cover. With the coolant now drained I would just take this opportunity to replace the radiator and oil cooler hoses (and oil cooler gasket), and thermostat/gasket. All cheap and doesn't take long at all. The oil cooler gaskets always leak at some point - and require that oil cooler coolant hose to be removed so might as well just do it now while the fluid is drained. Only a couple dollars and minutes. If it was due to rust (like is often the case in the northeast of the US), then you might consider replacing the lower ATF hoses too by the radiator if they're also looking nasty. It only takes 30 minutes and parts are pocket change.

what he said: Consumables/maintenance items are nearly all identical, someone else double check this list as i just vomit it all out here, but these should all be the same for all EA82: PCV valve, air filter, disty cap, rotor, wires, spark plugs timing kit, water pump cam seals, cam orings, crank seal, oil pump/seal/oring/gasket valve cover gaskets Those are all the same no matter what EA82 you have. The intake manifold has quite a bit of differences based on the variations he listed above. So fueling, anything that plugs into an electrical connector, intake manifold gaskets - may differ.

Fairtax - he already replaced the fuel filler pipe. Don't those lame canister emissions codes always come down to a leak/hose/valve - maybe you can get the diagram for that car and plan an easy attack? Check each hose end and the valve? we don't have emissions and i ripped those all lines and canisters off my 1996, nice clean engine bay. I get that totally. i was confused why you were asking about OBDII as that's not going to fix anything either, i wasn't trying to be a dork. lol

1. get a used axle. www.car-part.com they're only $15-$35 each. Get a 2001 Subaru Outback (legacy) front axle. Knock the tone ring off and install that. They have better outer boots that last a lot longer. Can run it as-is or reboot the inner boot before you install it. 2. the rear issues are probably struts. 310,000 miles on original struts? that's a bit excessive to say the least. At this point the springs sound like they've taken a beating from the bad struts so I'd replace both rear springs and struts. there are used struts on ebay for $30. use the site i mentioned above. I scored some super cheap KYB FWD legacy rear struts and installed them in an AWD legacy just because they were cheap/new/KYB. they were on ebay i think.

It's an internal headgasket failure. but rule out simple stuff first as already mentioned: 1. cooling fans coming on? 2. properly bleed and refill it to make sure it's not trapped air. 3. replace radiator cap 4. look for leaks

You said you couldn't see where it came from, if that's true then we don't yet know what the cause is - "Leaking" and "pushing out the overflow" are two different scenarios/symptoms, so if it's not known where it's coming from then it's not known if it's 1 or 2. If it pushes out the oveflow tank it'll bubble out and fall down under the engine just like a leak - need to find the source to determine which it is. Coolant "under the engine" is nearly meaningless as a diagnostic tool regarding this difference. Someone needs to look at it and tell where the coolant is *originating* from, not where it's ending up.

If they're not overheated/run low on oil those cars run forever. A $500 Subaru in the PNW sounds like something is awfully wrong with it though!? those are extremely reliable, the only downside is their age at this point. for 60,000 mile reilability this is all it takes: tune up - cap, rotor, plugs, wires, PCV valve, air filter new timing gear Generally wont' strand you but wise to regrease all the caliper slides, and with the timing job consider replacing the water pump, cam seals and orings, crank seal, oil pump seal and orings. At that point the alternator and fuel pump are the most likely to strand you just because they're old. The OEM units are great and high quality but they're a quarter century+ old. Aftermarket fuel pumps and alternators generally dont have the same quality. The alternators are easily replaced in like 15 minutes so I consider a used one stashed somewhere good insurance. oil pump is an odd diagnosis for this engine - i'd wonder what makes them think this? oil pump can often cause TOD, but most non-Subaru people dont know this, TOD is fixed by: 1. resealing the oil pump or 2. replacing the oil pump if the reseal doesn't solve it My XT6 has a little ticking i'll probably just replace the pump so I'm not doing the job twice.

i've seen wheel bearings cause enough play to impact the ABS sensor which would disable the VDC. that makes sense, though the ones i've seen were really bad by that point. the coolant means one of two things: 1. it's leaking and you need to repair the leak 2. it overheated and pushed coolant out the overflow/radiator and it sprayed/spilled all over the engine compartment. this could also be a leak or it could be a mechanical failure - radiator, fans not coming on, thermostat, or headgasket.