idosubaru

often people don't know what the mechanic or dealer has done to the vehicle. non-car minded people aren't known for their attention to detail on automobiles, particularly after 15 years. highly unlikely the plugs and wires are original and if the air filter has 269,000 miles on it, take a picture of it or mail it to me and i'll post a pic, that's got to be insane looking. i would guess she was told it needed a "tune up" or basic maintenance stuff and the plugs, wires, filters, possibly even the timing belt were replaced at some point. great score on a good car. new clutch even, that's the worst job to do on that vehicle and it's already done, nice hit.

at this mileage it's not worth it, because there's no benefits to see. the money and time switching and possible risk of increased oil loss gains you nothing. knowing that you want to switch, here's what i recommend. if the car is new to you i would recommend driving it for at lesat one oil change before switching to synthetic so you know if it's already consuming or leaking any oil. sounds like you're experienced enough to know, but be sure to change the first couple relatively quickly and keep an eye on the oil color. the synthetic may dirty quickly the first couple of changes.

if it's an impreza outback sport it could be an EJ22. so to avoid confusion you could clarify the model, vehicle and engine. outback wagon should have a 2.5, outback sport would have a 2.2. this is in stock form of course.

oh my monkey nuts you have had an outright nightmare with your poor soob. first - why did they blow the first time and this time? did it overheat due to radiator, thermostat, water pump failing...or something else? a 2.2 shouldn't blow a headgasket that early. and if repaired properly it should not have blown again already. were the heads milled the first time they were replaced? ignore the oil leaks. if you repair the head gaskets the oil leaks will be easy to fix (a few dollars for new cam, crank, oil pump seals and valve covers and you're golden). if you replace the engine then you can replace these seals as well or hope the new engine leaks less. either way...no issue. the steering play at high speed has always in my experience been the steering rack bushings. they're cheap $20-$40 or something and easy to replace. it could be tie rod ends or steering rack related...but i doubt it. crawl under and look at your steering rack bushings, it might be obvious they are warn or even gone totally. grab the rack and try to move it, see what part gives. rear diffs can be found fairly cheap used. a pothole that jacked up your driveshaft? that is no normal pothole then! the gear noise is the only thing that i'm not sure about and would concern me. i'd like to track that down. are you sure it's not your leaking rear diff? they make a fairly consistent whine when they have issues. was the prop shaft replaced after the pot hole? are you doing the work yourself or paying someone? replacing the engine with a cheap used unit if you're not sure about this engine. i'd be concerned after two overheats and headgasket replacements. if checked and done right they should be fine, but i'd be cautious if you don't know and trust the mechanic doing the work. make sure the heads are being tested and resurfaced if you have them replaced. welcome from maryland. i'm from carroll county and have very honest mechanic friends if you're close to that area. i have already pointed a few people from this board to people that i know with excellent results. PM or email for more on that...

did you try ultimate white pages? http://www.theultimates.com/white/ or any other directories? don't know if i'd pay that $20 unless i knew someone that successfully used that site before. sounds like you'll pay the fee and get useless information, or info you can get somewhere else for free.

i'd document everything you can and tell them you mean business. they will likely balk and take forever, delay and hope you crawl away and do nothing. stay on it like a hornet and you're golden. start backing down and you're throwing your money away. ask for a refund. they're probably hoping you just quit due to install/remove/shipping expenses, give up and they make the money. look at ccr or it's nice to have a quality/trusted local guy that you can work with as well. if you paid for it on credit card, i'd dispute the charges, have the credit card company do their thing with them (refuse payment/etc). companies want happy customers when the customer has financial recourse.

if you start tweaking the transmission like this i would highly suggest getting an ATF temperature sensor installed in your ATF line as well and add an aftermarket ATF cooler if needed.

what are you trying to do? add fluid to your transmission that has issues? add fluid to your limited slip rear differential? change your fluid? do you have an LSD rear or front (highly unlikely)? transmission fluid goes in the ATF dipstick hole on the drivers side. rear diff fluid goes in the rear differential holes - there are two, remove the higher one to fill, the lower to drain. the front diff has a separate dipstick which you add oil through as well on the passengers side.

what do you mean by "rebuilt"? what all was replaced and why? the entire block, pistons, rings, bearings were all torn down or just a head gasket job? were all seals replaced? aftermarket or Subaru seals used? do a search on "switching" from dino to synthetic or the other way around on this forum or the internet. you will find oppinions on both sides. pick one and stick with it, it's not like one will make your engine last to 250,000 miles and the other will not. why did you switch in the first place?

i have no idea, but i would think they do. i used the impreza whiteline bushings in my XT6 steering rack. perfect fit.

aftermarket rebuilt/remanned axles are known to be far worse than the stock subaru axles. search the forums and you'll find all sorts of issues with after market axles, clicking, leaking, noises, breaking. i had heard all the horror stories and still used aftermarket axles until i had one that was a couple weeks old blow to pieces while i was driving, almost brand new. the axle exploded leaving no axle to turn my wheel...the auto trans was not happy with that. either expect to replace them, get new Subaru axles or get them rebuilt from MWE in colorado. in my oppinion it's not worth the time to save a few bucks, i'll have MWE do all of mine from here on out. MWE has a link in the vendors forum, check them out.

type of driving will determine your miles per gallon as well. city vs. highway, 50 vs. 75 will make significant differences in your final gas mileage.

listen to GD and clean it, verify where the leak is coming from. if it is the seal then carefully install a new seal keeping in mind the following: i'd install another one. take a look at a trans that isn't leaking and see how far the seal is seated so you don't push it too far or not enough. clean the sealing surfaces, grease the new seal and make sure it slides in slowly and straight. also important if you're having issues - check the driveshaft for any nicks or more importanly rust on the shaft. if it was a used one or ever pulled, swapped or sat for awhile it could have pitting or other issues on the machined part that rides in the seal. might want to hit it with a very fine grit wet sand paper (like for body work type stuff - 400 grit) if there are any bad spots on the shaft.

supercharged ER27 or EG33. turbo's and 4 cylinders are too easy for you now dave! step it up a notch....

check the motor. the cage is likely stuffed with trash or the motor needs replaced. clean out any and all lines/ducts you can access while the motor is out. the motor on XT's is really really easy to remove. takes not time at all.

hard to tell from the pick, but doesn't look that worrying to me. there is typically some white flaky residue on any vehicle. the concern is with milkshake looking fluid which i don't see in the pic. yours looks fine. sometimes depending on driving conditions and such a little even milky looking stuff isn't a sign of serious issues. i think you're okay. watch the temp gauge, that will definitely show any cooling system issues. if it's holding steady then you're fine.

you haven't mentioned mileage on the engine or last time ignition stuff was replaced. plugs, wires, cap and rotor are good to replace regularly.

2 pound sledge should have certainly done the trick! i think northwet has you covered, i'd bet you're missing a bolt.

calirfy for us if it's an H6, EJ25, automatic AWD, FWD. check all the fluid levels (transmission fluid, front differential fluid) and check them a few times in the coming days/miles/months. any loss of fluid is a concern, i wouldn't worry about minor wet-spots like those. that differential side oil seal is a PITA and it's highly unlikely that's the culprit of those wet spots. different soobs read differently on the temp scale at operating temp, so i wouldn't let that concern you. key is that it gets to the same exact position and stays there every time, it should never waver or move, or go up/down besides normal cooling and heating up from starting/shutting off obviously.

this is a wild a$$ guess but maybe it'll seal when the engine is put together and ran/heated/expanded? can you see around the head enough to see if the gasket got cock-eyed or anything? the 2.5 is not a great option for using non-Subaru headgaskets but i realize we're past that point now.

make sure you have all the bolts out, there should be bolts even inside the valve covers i believe. put two bolts back in, one on each side of the cam case but just turn them a few turns, just enough to keep them from falling out. then take a piece of wood and a hammer or a rubber mallet and bust it loose from the head. i've seen them stuck on there quite well before as well. but have those two bolts in that way it doesn't fly off when it finally breaks loose. so yeah, they stick sometimes. tap on both sides, if you missed a bolt you'll notice one side trying to bust free and the other sticking tight.

vehicle? awd or fwd? year? mileage? any previous transmission issues? has the fluid ever been changed? any recent work on the vehicle? does the vehicle drive, any issues at all driving/shifting? torque converter bolt loose?

check out the other thread just started titled something like "impreza $4,000...." he's going to look at it tomorrow and people are posting what to look for. read through that thread, they covered the basics well.

car-fax for sure. make sure all the gaps between panels and sections are identical. any wavering will indicate prior body damage. when checking oil, look under the oil cap for signs of white stuff.

i've seen faulty sensors (bad connections/wiring actually) cause a no-start but not give an engine code before as well. i have little to add that hasn't been mentioned but i would look at: crank/cam sensors coolant temp sensor coil pack (unlikely though if it's running with supp gas). where are you adding the gas anyway?