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master cylinder or brake booster. i'd search here or on the internet for ways to test, i forget the details of each. the symptom you describe, pedal pumping up, should tell you what's wrong i just don't remember which is which. that it got worse after replacing the pads sounds like master cylinder to me. i've never had to replace either one on a subaru. master cylinders are easy to replace at least, the bleeding is the most annoying part actually.

two solenoids? i've replaced the one close to the EGR valve. and if there's one close to the pressure sensor on the passengers side strut tower, i've replaced that one as well. is there one i've missed?

thanks commuter, i read through your scenario when searching. thing that pisses me off is that the transmission doesn't shift right...car will be lugging along and won't downshift to go up hills sometimes. i also swapped the solenoid, forgot about that one, still no change. yes i cleared the code, came back. i installed an EGR off another vehicle that ran fine without any CEL. but that didn't help either. i've removed all the EGR stuff, blew the lines out, soaked them in cleaner, cleaned the valve, swapped diaphragms, swapped solenoids, swapped the pressure sensor....still no change. i think i will try another solenoid but based on all the cleaning/swapping i've done i can gaurantee it's not going to fix it. if REMOVING it gets rid of the delay in shifting, i'm all about it. i don't give a rip about the CEL so long as the car runs and drives without shifting all stupid. funny things is i have a spare 1997 impreza automatic 2.2 that doesn't have an EGR valve on it, but mine does? they were identical cars, even in color. wondering if i can remove that block off plate and somehow convert mine?

i assumed it was an auto based on the "red fluid", usually that means automatic transmission fluid. most manual trans fluid is not red. no matter, sounds like you got it figured out.

97 Impreza 2.2 liter. I've cleaned the EGR valve, replaced the EGR with a known good used one, replaced the diaphram on top, cleaned out all the passages, blew out the rubber lines, swapped the pressure sensor on the passengers side wall. EGR code is still showing and the transmission will occassionally not down shift....this is EGR related since it's somehow strung to the pressure sensor on the passengers side fender wall. swapping that didn't fix it though. so now what? since the XT6 doesn't have one, i'm not familiar with what they are or why they're there. but i HATE it. Can I remove it and get rid of the code? How will it drive?

try the lucas additive, i contacted a few people who have and they said it helped. the other options are live with it or a rebuild. i know someone that just had it fixed via the rebuild option - $$$.

there's some good endwrench stuff out there for Subaru ABS info. i believe there were certain year/models with relay issues and possibly an updated relay, with a new part number? that's from memory and a little weak though.

nice one. i had a bent control arm on a similar off roading injury. either way it's not bad to fix - strut, control arm, radius rod, that stuff is all easy and cheap to get. i'd check what Gloyale said about making sure it all mounts properly. would it be obvious though when he goes to replace the parts? they won't line up right if something else is out of alignment? he definitely needs that radius rod. if the mounting point or control arm are out of whack then a perfectly good radius rod won't mount properly will it?

oh yeah good move on passing that one up, intentionally passing it along without being honest, nice.

sounds good. i've never done it and doubt i'd think of anything you can't but since this is a discussion board i'll say this: EGR stuff, but that's no big deal anyway and you can get 95 heads with either (auto's have EGR, manuals do not). even if you had to swap to a 95 intake you could probably use the 94 wiring harness on it. timing belt kits are the same from 90-96 so no worries on the tensioner/pulley/timing/cam sprocket stuff either.

sounds like you're already doing the cam seals and timing belt. definitely reseal the oil pump. i would highly recommend the water pump and any free wheeling or noisey pulleys. if money is an issue at all, technically you could chance the pulleys if you want and that's how you like to do things. they don't fail very often and yours isn't that old. but, i would replace any that show these signs and my bet is that one or two will. the thing that sucks about having a dealer do it is the pulleys cost an insane amount from the dealer. you can buy an entire kit, with all new timing belt and an entire set of new pulleys for the same price you'll pay for just one pulley at the dealer, so that's the annoying part. since yours is a 1996 2.2 it should be a non-interference motor so there's no risk of engine damage by neglecting it, but i'd still do it. and i guess if your location is international i would double check on the interference thing it changed in 1997 here in the states, internationally may be different? if it's an interference engine i'm much more inclined to replace pulleys.

huck actually installed a FWD into an AWD with no issues at all, BUT - this was in a 1990 OBDI vehicle. any clue anyone if the 1996 OBDII stuff might be just as simple. i'm betting it is. i guess if the wiring harness is compatible i could as a last resort swap TCU's too.

the 2.5 with blown headgaskets would end up being about the same amount of work anyway than dealing with an entire parts car and pulling the engine..plus it's old and probably has rusted bolts to deal with, and of course it's OBDI - so yeah the 2.5 would be easier and cheaper probably in the end or not much different anyway. 2.5 with new HG sounds golden to me if it's in good shape, i won't have an EJ25 in my wifes car unless it has new headgaskets.

like he said 2.2 verses 2.5 makes a big difference. in this year the 2.2 is a non interference engine and the 2.5 is an interference engine. definitely replace the water pump, it's not worth the low cost to replace verses the risk of hoping the water pump lasts to the next timing belt - which will be either 210,000 (2.2) or 250,000 (2.5) miles. to replace the water pump requires removing the timing belt, so do it all at once. i recommend replacing any timing belt pulleys or tensioners that have any play or noise in them as well. i have yet to find a late 90's EJ engine that didn't need at least one pulley - usually the cogged lower pulley is the most common to be low on grease. if it's a 2.5 you definitely want to err on the side of caution since it's an interference motor and risking a broken belt from a bad pulley can essentially ruin your motor. while the timing belt is off also replace the cam seals and oil pump seals, they are right behind the timing belt and don't cost very much to replace. best to do all this stuff at one time. EJ motors are very reliable, particularly the EJ22, so do it once and you got a great chance at making an easy 60,000 more miles to the next change. my rule of thumb is to replace the water pump every other timing belt on EJ22's and with every timing belt on EJ25's - not knowing your cars history i'd do it all.

i would first make sure the engine is even good. keeping in mind he is far more experienced than myself, a friend of mine did the same thing this year. bought an engine from a rollover vehicle and installed it in another. engine didn't last very long and this was a 2000+ vehicle, it failed, can't recall if it locked up or developed rod knock but it only last a few weeks. he thinks the roll over starved the engine of oil long enough to cause damage but didn't lock it up. i don't even know if there's a way to test it because it worked fine when he bought it and installed it. that being said a 1995+ 2.2 i think is a better candidate. the 95+ 2.2's are a plug and play deal, not so sure about the pre 95's. do some plugging/searching here there's tons of information on it, i know the 94 and earlier ones aren't typically used for the swap. yes, any 2.2 up to 1998 i believe will bolt up exactly to your existing trans. i believe you'll want to make sure if your current engine has EGR (which i think it does), that the 2.2 also has EGR. some do, some don't. of course you could work around it, that's probably what i'll do next time because EGR's suck.

you posted while i was typing. cool, you got it off, just make sure it's very tight when you get it back on. i've never used a torque wrench on a crank pulley bolt, i have a 3 foot pipe that i put on my socket that puts it well over specs. new tensioner should do it. that's great you caught it, this would cause serious engine damage if it happened to slip a tooth - interference engine and all. that would have been sucky luck had it let loose on you.

+1 what nipper said. is it still under warranty? what made you look at the timing belt? the crank pulleys are tight and one of the worst to remove on the vehicle, so you're not alone. automatic or manual? put a manual trans in gear, ebrake on and block the wheels. an automatic there's a bellhousing access hole under the intake manifold. rotate engine until you see an access slot in the flexplate to insert a socket extension, this will hold it in place. the starter trick works every time...just about, so that's fine too if you're comfortable doing it and know how to do it. don't start the engine, just bump it over and make sure everything is placed right. if you can't get the pulley bolt off and this is your first time, i'd also be concerned that it won't be reinstalled properly. that can cause serious damage to the crank and keyway that many mechanics won't even fix. make sure the pulley is at least as tight as the spec's. cast iron crank and cast iron bolt, it won't strip. since youre new to this, be advised these are aluminum engines and heads, don't go buck wild on any bolts holding tensioners or pulleys in aluminum, it strips easy.

like Gloyale said, but i'll phrase it differently - the more you use, the less it should be driven. it's subjective and i don't know that there are any hard numbers to go on. i probably wouldn't add more than a quart for actual daily driving duties and i wouldn't keep it in there for an entire oil change interval. if you wanted to run 2 quarts or 50/50, then a quick drive to operating temps or maybe 100-200 miles is all i would do. i've done it, but i'm not saying i recommend it - if it's something you wanted to try i'd limit it. for a bottle of seafoam or half a quart i'd be comfortable, and have, run that for 1,000-3,000 miles.

when doing a swap: will an AWD TCU run a FWD trans? will a FWD TCU run an AWD trans? assuming the trans are from the same model and year?

it's common for the wheel speed sensors to need replacement. dig around on here and find the endwrench instructions for pulling the code. if the ABS light is coming on, it's telling you what the problem is and will tell you the code. it's very simple to do if you're comfortable grounding one pin of a wiring harness. it's just about the gas pedal.

Gloyale is right that most will go away without replacement, but i would not be surprised if it never goes away, or not completely in your case. like i've said, i've seen them seized and unmovable - soaking in various detergents and with heat, vices, still didn't budge. in those cases, they will not be freed if they remain in the engine.

i would leave it tight, that's not causing any of your issues.

they do seize though and will tick. if they are seized you can often tell (every time i've seen them) by removing the cam and putting a straight edge across the top of the HLA's. the seized one will be at a different height than the rest. and you can usually tell if they're seized as the ticking will be isolated to one cylinder so you already know which ones to look at ahead of time. then they are obvious when you go to compress them, the good ones will compress the seized ones will not. the seized ones i've seen wouldnt' compress after soaking for days and using heat. but...i'm with GLOYALE, it's very rare for them to seize and i wouldn't expect them to seize without severe abuse - infrequent oil changes or contaminates in the oil - like coolant or antifreeze. TOD is usually solved by resealing the oil pump, or a new oil pump.

i'm probably missing something...i see 97 Legacy Wagon and 91 Legacy mentioned, how does the impreza fit in?

i've seen the lever just get stuck. work it back and forth and good to go. i'm sure there are other ways it can fail, i just haven't seen that (yet!). good luck, hopefully it's simple, worth a check at least.