idosubaru

Keep an eye on coolant level. The paper gaskets are awful and the head and intake mating surfaces for them are usually not ideal.

Same here, seen it on Subaru’s with new or replacement timing kits. I usually stick with OEM for timing.

Yep, seen and repaired noninterference and interference. Seen a pulley, not the tensioner, rip off the engine with a quarter sized chunk of the block *and threads* attached to the pulley bolt, so there’s no threads or metal left to use a helicoil. Repaired that one too.

Based on what you just said, Unoints would be most likely. sometimes with a keen eye you can pick it out insitu, but usually you have to pull the shaft which isn’t that hard, mostly annoying working under the car. Pull it and check each joint for play or stiffness/lumpy feeling.

Check carrier bearings, ujoints and rear wheel bearings. If someone with decent hearing sits in the back the wheel bearing should obviously be from one side or the other. bearing noise it one corner, diff or shaft will be central or wait - wheel bearings slowly get worse over time. Eventually they start to get worse quickly. Then you’ll know for sure.

Are you getting good gas mileage or abnormal?

Fix the knock sensor first. OEM is best long term but I’ve had used plenty of $8 eBay ones without issues yet. 0420 ensure there are no leaks and good maintenance - plugs, wires, air filter, new PCV valve The new PCV valve is cheap and easy and may also reduce oil leaks (but don’t get your hopes up) oil leak - post pics. Lots of leaks can end up in that same general area. Rear separator plate is most likely for that specific area and engine, but usually people misdiagnose that as the source rather than the destination which is what it usually is, so it’s hard to say without seeing it myself.

1980s XTs have them. Do you mean a certain generation? Or a different part than I’m thinking of? Liners and guards also trap debris and rust starts where the leaves and road debris accumulates and holds moisture against the body. Particularly at seams, etc. I don’t see a huge difference in rust here but maybe that’s caused by more dynamics than just rust.

idle issues: before we start guessing (that’s a long list), lets get some data: Check air filter any check engine lights in recent months? has the engine ever been removed or throttle body removed/worked on? describe the symptoms - is it only low idle or anything else? Does it ever stall or stumble or act different warm or cold or coasting or accelerating? hows the gas mileage? Lazy Engine coolant sensor, or oxygen sensor, or MAF, or idle control, are my first suspicions.

Those box stores are hit and miss on anaerobic sealant. Its often on a bottom shelf, less visible, and only a bottle or two.....or like you said, none at all. I took one home and it was crusty and packaging deteriorated, seemed obvious it had sat there a long time.

That’s an EJ25. I can’t tell if that’s early EJ25 or not They have more squarish plug holes and 97+ has more rounded but I can’t tell from the pic Trans doesn’t matter. EJ22 bolts right up to the trans.

The Right Stuff is commonly recommended for that application.

That’s what I guessed and why I kept asking - 11 year old tires are dangerous in snow regardless of tread depth. with age they suffer most with snow traction and tend to blow out at highway speed. The rubber “dries out” for poor snow traction. If youre not familiar with tire materials degrading over time, you can google tire age related safety, etc. Tread depth is meaningless here. Tire companies, government, tire rack, and others have specific time frames and guidelines for tire material life and it’s well known how dangerous old tires are. there’s a member here who had two or three tires blow out on his car as he was driving to see me. They were 10 years old and he rarely drove the car or drove far until driving a few hours to see me.

That’s great. Thanks for posting!

Aftermarket wires are often problematic, particularly low cost ones, I’ve seen them cause misfires right out of the box on EJ engines. I will use zero aftermarket parts for plugs wires and coils. id install a used OEM coil before buying a new aftermarket. some people think aftermarket is fine, I know plenty of people like that. If that’s you then go through the FSM exactly step by step and see where it leads. using the cat inefficiency code as a diagnostic tool is probably low efficacy.

Engine has been swapped. Get a 1995 legacy EJ22 coil. Post a picture of the engine and we can tell for sure and guess what engine it is Take one top pick and one of the exhaust coming off the bottom of the engine. Plug wires may be wrong too because EJ22 plugs won’t work and if it’s an EJ25 the valve cover gaskets changed between 1996 and 1998 necessitating different wires I think as well

Ah the 95 didn’t start! You’ve had that thing a long time, that’s great Could pull it apart and see how bad the dust or brushed look though probably a good chance of being inconclusive. Ive had electric motors work after disassembling, blowing all the dust out, and cleaning up the contacts. Like chux said, working on it may knock dust off, unstuck something, jiggled a wire.....

You got it - CVT, 2.5, correct fill hole, and Amsoil CVT fluid that GD uses. Like you suggest - Subaru mentions temperature and adding quantities at a time/cycling with engine running. I just topped it off and ignored that I did briefly shift but didn’t cycle through gears much at all so maybe it’ll smooth out topping it off again and looking at those procedures.

Those VLSD rear diffs can function as an open diff by that age/miles. Theres a chance it doesn’t matter if it’s LSD. What he said, manuals are more seamless and probably the chief difference. You can easily install a toggle switch to “lock” the automatic 4WD. Just put it in line with the Duty C wire and toggle between normal function and “locked” 4WD on snow or off-road. I’ve done it a bunch of times, well worth it. It’s one wire and super easy. you didn’t answer tire questions? Brand and 4 digit date stamp are key, tread depth is an inadequate metric.

1. are they both automatic or manual? tires generally aren't given enough attention for snow driving. first guess is tires and that's correct 99% of the time. read the 4 digit date stamp on the side of the tires. if they're more than 3 years old they're way below average for snow driving unless they're a top shelf brand like Nokian or Michellin, those can perform well at older ages. i find age to be a significant determining factor for driving in snow. cheap wal mart tires can perform horrendously after only 2 years, with full tread but incredible materials degradation....which isn't surprising given the degrading curve of rubber and compounds they use in the formulation of the materials to reduce the impacts of UV and oxygen exposure to the materials. and then medium grade altimax, goodyears perform well but are notably worse in snow by years 3-4 then years 1-2. 2. in what way - describe what you're feeling that's different? the 95 should perform well in the snow and not be cause for alarm. 3. how many miles on each vehicle and how often/when was the last ATF change? people report significant improvements with fluid changes and/or upgrading to Redline or Amsoil or other high performance fluids. the clutches may be tired or have a delayed reaction. that's not unheard of and fresh fluid may help depending on the root cause. the forester may have some advantages, like being 5% heavier, some minor trans/TCU tweaks, but in a great running, fresh fluid, uncompromised trans i would expect the differences to be negligible unless you're racing.

if you still have the OEM starter, keep it. aftermarket starters are garbage, they routinely fail and are problematic.

you can text this by running jumper cables (use just one side, the red clamps), or a huge test wire. touch one end to the + battery terminal and the other end to the starter + feed, then crank the car. it'll probably fire right up which means... wiring/connectivity issue. clean and tighten battery posts and terminals that connect to the posts. leave no corrosion. run a new power wire from the battery to the starter + feed. or just buy a new starter cable from battery to starter. half the time aftermarket cables aren't that great so making them yourself is better. same with ground - improve grounds. run new ground wire to a good chassis point and engine point.

My first guess (or wishful thinking) is that filling it after puking fluid - that new fluid needed to fill the hoses, torque converter, and other empty areas and the pan needs topped off again.

Light wreck pinched the trans line up front and puked fluid. I refilled it and it drives in drive, goes *forward* when in reverse, and goes nowhere in neutral - it won’t even drift in neutral?! What? How can you “blow” neutral? Is this transmission hosed from puking or has air in the fluid from being emptied or am I missing something?

Solved - thanks for the suggestions and tracking along. It is lifted too high. The axle/joint binds in the ID of the cup and can’t fully seat due to the excessive axle angle. I need to drop these 2003 outback struts an inch or less. I’ll stop at the dealer and check 00 legacy or outback springs. I think they’re shorter and maybe a little less stiff.