idosubaru

same name, there was one for sale in the past year i believe. i think it was even posted here, but it was not cheap.

your BF is a real whiz kid huh? do not drive it at all, or as little as possible. do not drive it hot, that's for sure. realize your car is over 20 years old. that means all of your seals and gaskets are old. this is a great engine, but new engines don't take overheating too well...old engines, seals and gaskets have even less tolerance. if you've gotten it into the red, the damage may already be done. thing is, you hvae a great engine, these can run a very long time. would stink to ruin a great, reliable engine just because someone told you to "drive it anyway". now...if the car never overheated before...then you had it worked on, and now it overheats. they definitely did something wrong. if it never overheated before, tell the mechanics this and have them look it over, they will know exactly what they did and did not do while they were doing this job. they most likely pulled the engine to change the clutch, so there's lots of things that could be an issue. some basic, easy checks to do right away: is it full of coolant? when it begins to run hot (above normal) are all the fans running at the radiataor? are there any leaks? if you turn the heat on, does hot air come out when it's overheating?

nope, the 1998 2.2's are interference as well, so you're out of luck on that one. in 1997 MY all 2.2's were interference. a friend of mine has repaired a few and other than bent valves he hasn't seen any real damage. which isn't a huge deal, but it is significant labor so the costs escalate quickly. a couple dollars for valves....hundreds in labor.

type of driving is hug. you won't get great results in city driving. no check engine lights? O2 sensor. tune up. plugs - NGK only and the wires have to be Subaru OEM wires as well. if the wires were the cause you would likely have a check engine light though. but still a tune up is in order if there's any age or mileage to that stuff. next thing would be to check your brakes. i've seen mileage go up considerably after a brake job. be sure the caliper slides are properly grease with brake caliper grease when doing the job. this helps keep the pads off the rotors as much as possible.

Keeping in mind this information is old, here is the information off aircraft grade sealant that i know someone used to repair leaky air struts. he was an airline mechanic. Dyna Seal 11120 Sherman Way Sun Valley CA, 91353 Phone 818 982 1650 Dyna-Kit Flamemaster Corp. Chem Seal Div CS 3204 Sealing Compound AM5-58802 Class B-2 1 CA 3.5 Fl Oz Batch A 0002027 probably nearly impossible to get?

before assuming the compressor is toast, check that front bearing. it can be replaced without removing the compressor, there are instructions and details on here. good luck and definitely ping us back on what happens.

NICE - lubricate door hinges, EXACTLY! okay, that would be anecdotal. during that time dealers were experiencing very good profit margins in the parts and service departments, so something was missing there. check out the industry data and you'll see that's not the norm, it's an insightful exercise anyway.

there could be a number of explanations. first of all...how long ago are you talking? there was a major shift in the industry from the 80's to the 90's. if that's when he "found ways", then he just rode the wave rather than did anything overly significant. dealer revenue statistics made drastic across the board changes from the 80's to the 90's. major changes. or it's anecdotal, either way it's not industry wide experience right now anyway. if you don't believe me, go to the bookstore or library o rlook it up online, this information isn't all that hard to find. the numbers are staggering, some years new car sales offer NEGATIVE profit margins, the numbers are really tiny. that's rare that they are negative but the profit margins are really small, smallest margins of their overall revenue. this can go as long and deep as you want it in terms of economics and industrial engineering...there's some cool stuff here. bottom line, new car profits aren't jack, go check out the data. key word "profits". new car sales contribute most of the revenue, but dinky profit margins.

okay the delay thing is for automatics only. torque bind is a binding when going around in a sharp turn. drive in a bunch of figure 8's with the steering wheel turned all the way to each side. do this over and over...you'll feel the car start to slow down like you have the brakes on...or like in a 4WD vehicles that's in 4WD on pavement if you've ever been in one. if it does this, that is bad. it's very rare on manual transmissions but is a rather expensive fix, so good and easy to check for.

was the knock sensor replaced with a new one or a used one? was it tightened properly, that would be a good component to make sure is torqued to spec.

99 Legacy automatics are prone to a delay when shifting into park or drive. i'm not sure if impreza's can exhibit that as well, they have the same basic 4EAT transmission platform, and while having different final drives they are interchangeable. so...start the vehicle from cold and make sure it shifts quickly into drive or reverse. also check for torque bind. tires should match. at that mileage the timing belts components and a transmission flush are in order, so be prepared to do that soon after purchase if there's no previous record.

good point, this gets tricky. they (define they)make more money on the financing of a new vehicle, not the actual sales price of the new vehicle. they make a great deal on financing...which is highly driven by new vehicles, so you are correct. i am not sure how that financing profit gets distributed, but it doesn't all go to the dealer since they are not a lender. a good consumer can purchase a new vehicle such that the dealer makes $500-$1000 on that vehicle. financing and service can greatly surpass that, though i'm not sure what percent of financing actually stays with that particular dealer...but surely the actual lending arm gets most.

the room thing was just a joke, sorry, you can come out now. i've never had a compressor self destruct so i can't tell you how to look or what the symptoms may be. if i were you, i'd plug around the internet (google or yahoo) and see what signs indicate a failed compressor that compromises the system. there are some good resources out there. what i would personally do is just take it apart myself. i'd remove the compressor lines and see if there's anything abnormal in there and inspect the compressor. probalby not the best or "right" way, but i don't really care once something is broke i'll start taking it apart and see what i can find out myself. be on the look out for discoloration (anything not yellowish - the color of the oil) and bits/chunks. bits/chunks are very bad. maybe you're lucky and it's just the clutch or bearing behind the clutch that's going bad. actually the bearings are replaceable without removing the a/c. there's good information on this board about how to do that - you might want to find those threads and see if that could be your problem as well. it's the bearings right behind the clutch/pulley.

that's a fair price if it's in great condition. i'm not saying you can't find one cheaper and i wouldn't pay that much for it, but most people aren't in the same position i am in either. it will need timing belt, water pump and probably a timing pulley or two unless the previous owner has documented changes for those items. that's about $500 worth of work and it's an inteference engine, so you do not want to neglect that if the work is unknown. keep that in mind when negotiating. also keep in mind, if that's what they're asking, they are probably somewhat flexible. KBB and ebay will give you a very rough indication of value. KBB tends to be high, ebay tends to be low.

were the wheels/tires balanced? rotate tires and see if the vibration changes. keep an eye on the vibration as it related to speed, braking, accelerating, and coasting. there are many possibilities, the inner CV axle joint is very prone to causing vibration.

of that list he just mentioned i would not have the coolant changed myself. i'd have it flushed at the 100k/105, service with the timing belt and water pump. just a coolant system flush alone usually runs $100. i'd expect an indepent would take care of those items for $300 range...problem is finding a good service person, dealers by no means automaticallly count as "good".

jumpering a/c stuff is bad, go to your room! you can not do that with the compressor. those systems are in place for a reason. not too mention forcing the compressor on is very dangerous. at this point you're probably looking at replacing most components in the system and starting from scratch. i'd quit using it right now and diagnose if you want any chance of having an easy fix. all of that noise could mean bits and pieces are blowing all through your a/c system (black death mentioned earlier). if that's the case you can't just replace the compressor. any compressor you install will be likewise ruined by the particulate matter left in the system...so you have to essentially replace a lot of things. now, maybe it's not the internal goodies, you'll have to check.

the problem with that is they are usually stuck due to corrossion and rust. which is usually also attended by very poor threads. most of the time the threads protruding beyond the nut are nearly non existent and really don't take a nut at all. if they do they are typically very loose and won't take much force at all. welding, grinding and drilling are your only options for really bad ones. if they come out any other way, they're not that hard to get off. with bad ones (and i mean bad), you're really trying to get something on there solid enough to shear the bolt, they will not come out of the block at this point. and you're not going to shear the bolt with wrenches/vise grips.

mileage services are a huge money maker, that's where dealers make tons of money. dealers bank on and count on service for a huge percentage of their income. they don't make much at all on selling new vehicles, percentage wise they make the least money on new vehicles as compared to service and used vehicles. you're really paying $600 for nothing...or maybe $50 worth of work at most. dealer is not required at all...actually nothing is required, i would like to see your service manual as i don't have them all memorized, but you probably need very little if anything at all. look through the 60,000 mile service interval yourself listed in your owners manual and see what you'd like done. you shoudn't need any more than an oil change, change your trans fluids and maybe spark plugs/accessory belts. if you have the 2.5 liter EJ25 engine, then your big service interval is 105,000 miles. i'd have everything done there, coolant system flush, timing belt, water pump, etc. that will run$600-$1,000. this vehicle/engine doesn't typically need much of anything prior to that - maybe spark plugs, brake work, etc, but the engine and trans typically don't need anything. the problem with "services" is that you're way over-charged by design. they list a 120 point service including all sorts of inspections and such. the problem is, those inspections literally take less than 10 seconds and they really don't check anything. i mean...if your brake fluid, power steering fluid or diff fluid were low, you'd be leaking oil, it would be burning off your exhaust and something wouldn't be working right. it's is very, very odd for a 2005 with such low mileage to have any issues. it's like saying "check seats for irregular wear, inspect ash tray, etc..." a bunch of bogus, minor, unlikely things to check...except it's in engine, transmission, and chassis terms that most car owners don't understand. but it's equally basic and rediculously benign. at most, list the 60k service interval stuff for us here, and we'll help you decipher it.

okay i've had to do this a number of times and just recently did it to multiple bolts on an EJ25...very annoying, but i guess i'm getting good at it and hope my awful experience can help someone else. i think i even posted a thread about it. anyway...speaking from significant experience about what does and does not work: welding a nut will work. actually what i also do is weld a steel rod to the stud and just use the rod as leverage. the result will likely be the same either way - if it's rusted and seized as bad as mine were, it will just shear the stud off though, but at least the exhaust manifold will come off that way and it makes removing the engine easier. grinding will also get it off. and Cobalt drill bits are the way to go. i used all three of those methods to get the ones off i had to deal with. do not waste your time, money or effort on anything else than the methods listed above.

be careful with rockauto.com - i like them, but their database sucks. you have to be sure you're getting the right part, it will list the wrong part for the vehicle you enter, does it all the time and i find it lacking. if there's any hint of smelling bad...which happens quite often, i go elsewhere. try http://www.thepartsbin.com.

over the long term air tools are awesome if you have the room. a nice starter set can be had for $200 - $300 that has everything you need. but...you definitely don't need air tools for a brake job. if anything they help mostly with removing the wheels, not the actual brake bolts. the wheel lugs come off zip-zip with air tools...super nice to do. like they said, you don't have to remove those 17mm ones to replace the pads. if you didn't have any vibrations and the rotors aren't severly grooved there is nothing wrong with reusing them. i personally would not have them turned. either reuse them or buy new ones. be sure to grease the slides (the rubber boots that allow the caliper to slide on the arms. use brake grease only, nothing else. and keep your WD40 inside for household stuff and junk it for working on cars. PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench...or Deep Creep are all far superior. don't let the fact that they look and smell the same and come in similar cans lead you to think it's the same...WD40 is lacking for automotive work. but...i've never had a socket or wrench break when removing those 17mm bolts, that's very odd that yours did. i wouldn't consider that normal and i've done it with rusted, sitting, parts cars and i almost never use air tools on those because they're never that hard to get off and the access isn't good. use a 1/2" wrench and a pipe over the handle for leverage, i've never had one break that way.

excellent.

yep, even in the 6 cylinder XT6 2.25" is really too big in my oppinion for daily driving unless you spend a lot of time in the high RPM range.

if they are available talk to one of the online retailers, particularly the ones that are members here..like jamie from subarugenuineparts.com i believe and see if she'll ship internationally, im' sure one of them will. there is no "freight option/ground" anymore from the states, it's all air shipping options only, so that has increased international rates significantly. but you can get the parts and they'll get there quicker and those shouldn't cost that much.