GeneralDisorder

Oh - yeah there's no issue with mixing regular and synthetic gear oil. Not any more of an issue than there will be with using that cheapo Coastal brand crap in there :-p There is at least one website I've run across that repackages it in quarts. I don't know of any dealers that sell it that way though. The Motul is also hard to get - but again it's availible online. GD

It's important to note the thread date on that link - it's from 2008. With the availibility of Extra-S these days - there's really no good reason not to have it (or the Motul which is highly regarded as being on-par with the Extra-S) in every turbo transmission. I agree that the LWSP is not *as bad* as the cocktail but I've run all of them at one point or another and I didn't notice any real benefits to the LWSP. In any event - I really just wanted to insure that the OP knows about the dangers of the cocktail and to stear clear of it. LWSP on it's own is not nearly as bad.... but there's no compelling reason to use it over Extra-S or Motul that I've run across. As for grinding syncro's - there's no substitute for replacement IMHO. Band-aids never work for long and tend to accelerate wear and cause other problems. It's not that hard to split the case and just install new ones. I recently did a '96 JDM STi tranny and with new syncro's it will go into first gear from a 35 MPH roll. GD

Definitely sounds like all the light rod knockers I've listened to. Pretty common on the 25D to hear that. I've torn several of them down just to verify. Wiped out bearing inserts is what I always find. The difference between that and piston slap is that piston slap is very rythmic sounding. It's a regular, timed slapping noise that doesn't sound like morse code. Same goes for valve adjustment. What you have sounds irregular. That is classic rod knock. That said - it could run that way for quite a while as long as you keep oil in it. GD

I would get that stuff out of there with quickness. That's the major component in the "scotty's cocktail" that gels and contributes to wear. It's for racing - not daily driving. Get the Extra-S in there sooner rather than later. GD

This stuff has fallen out of favor - it is REALLY bad for your transmission. It turns to a gel like substance in cold temps and increases wear to an astounding degree. Yes it will fix syncro crunching in the short term - but it will kill off the rest of your tranny in pretty short order. Complete failures have been seen within 10k. All the guys that rebuild transmissions have stated the worst units they have seen have been run with this crap. The ONLY transmission fluids that you should be using if you want to keep it around for a long time (and it's not already going out) are: Subaru Extra-S Motul with moly Redline 80w90 NS In that order of preference. GD

'05 has a metal seperator plate - as all '00 and later engines do. They don't leak. As stated there is no pan gasket and a leak there is just as unlikely as from a metal seperator. Your model year suffers from head gasket oil leaks. Primarily on the drivers side head. No easy fix for that. Either you spend the time and money to pull the engjne out and deal with them properly or just live with it. Valve covers are a common enough leak point. They are simple to replace. GD

Don't worry about it. Bowl vent solenoids are to appease the emissions gNazi's. It can be open all the time and it won't hurt anything. All carbs had open bowl vents till about 1970. GD

Just drop the y-pipe and get the correct special O2 socket. Sometimes you can indeed get at it with a 7/8" open end wrench - but often you can't because of the heat sheilds. Drop the y-pipe down, take it out with the socket, and be on your way. Really not a difficult job. You do need a quality socket. If it's really buggered up in there you can break/cut the end off the sensor and use an impact. GD

It is definitely at the correct level. I've filled a lot of transmissions and I do know how to fill them, how to check the level, and how much to add when approaching the full line :-p. GD

It should be fine. The spring just keeps the ball from getting stuck up in the spring somewhere. It's just the accelerator pump check valve so when the plunger pushes down it will force the ball into the hole and block the passage. It's not supposed to push on it hard - if it did the ball wouldn't come off it's seat to let fuel into the pump chamber. GD

Check the fuse for it. It's probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of the fuse rating. If it's a 30 amp fuse it may be quite a bit - like 8 to 10 amps maybe. Heating elements do pull a lot of amps. That's fairly normal. Most meters have a 10 amp inline capacity without using a shunt and clamp-meters that read DC are pretty spendy..... I have used one of these succesfully for measureing draws larger than the 10 amp my meter can handle directly: http://www.harborfreight.com/30-Amp-Automotive-Fuse-Circuit-Tester-67724.html GD

Hhhmmm - yeah I use this fluid all the time because I can get it in gallon jugs. Never had an issue. He just picked up the car and I talked with him - the hard shifting and such was already going on so actually this may have not had anything to do with my fluid change. On that note - will the trans-x help at all? It doesn't slip.... just shifts all wacky, delayed up-shifts, flagellating between gears, and hard shifts. I really don't want to have to replace the tranny on this thing. I bought it with a fubar 25D which I replaced with a 2.2 that runs great. I'm going to take a bath on it if I have to do the tranny also. You would think that a '98 with 147k and bad 25D for $800 would be a good deal.... but this one I'm not so sure about . GD

I didn't think you were implying anything - figured you were confused because I said gallons in the first post instead of the usual quarts these are rated in.... just want to be clear on what I have done and how I've done it. Best to state it explicity so there's no confusion. Valvoline Dex/Merc generic fluid. GD

The drain/fill came up heavy on the fill end because I left the back off the transmission overnight with the tranny cross-member off. I had to put in about 6 quarts. Yes I did check it while idling and hot after driving. The fluid level is spot on. GD

I just changed the duty-c solenoid and valve body on a '98 Forester (did a drain/fill at the same time) and now the AT-Temp light is out and the TCU is happy but once it warms up the transmission shifts hard and at some speeds/throttle posistions it can't seem to decide which gear it wants to be in so it bucks back and forth between two gears for a few seconds. Really odd behavior. The torque bind is gone or at least reduced to what I consider normal levels. I can't say for sure if this behavior started before the duty-c change but I would think the owner would have mentioned it. I'm guessing this has more to do with changing the fluid than it does the duty-c because AFAIK the duty-c only controls the clutch pack lockup which seems to be working just fine. What I'm getting seems to be gear switching or TC locking/unlocking or both. Will the trans-x additive that people talk so highly of help with this? Could I have done something durring the duty-c change that would have affected this? Fluild level is good, color is normal, etc. My drain/fill replaced about 1.5 gallons of fluid - a bit more than usual because I lowered the back of the tranny and pulled the extension housing off for the duty-c change. GD

Correct - the paper clip looking protrusion on the spring holds the check ball in the center and thus down on it's seat. As for being the Hitachi expert around here.....I used to fiddle with them quite a bit and have rebuilt a few dozen of them as well as made some posts on how to strip them down and simplify the hose nightmare. Ultimately you will come to the conclusion that the way they are setup is overly complex and they just won't do the things you really want like progressive linkage and they aren't big enough for good low-end toque. GD

I have never seen a booster fail either. Have seen a bad MC or two but it's usually bad reman units from people replacing them for no good reason. I don't often go as far as you are going with this stuff. I address problem areas, flush the system, and leave it at that. My '83 hatch has it's original MC and booster, and all the rest of the system besides the pads and shoes are good used parts. My '69 GMC truck has it's original bendix booster and MC. I had to replace leaking wheel cylinders on it and did the shoes at that time but otherwise a simple flush did the trick. I would leave the booster in place, sand it, mask it, and paint it. GD

The yards here allow us to cut off sections. I do it all the time. GD

It can take a while for you to get the P0400 code related to the lack of an EGR because the EGR only opens during part throttle cruise and the ECU has to look at the MAP sensor data over several drive cycles to determine if there is an EGR flow problem. Using the engine harness for the 2.2 will not help. The difference is both in the vehicle wiring harness and in the ECU. Here in Oregon you can still get them to pass since cars prior to the 2000 model year can have up to two incomplete readiness monitors and still pass the inspection. So you just drive it around till you have two or less monitors in the not-ready state and then hit the test station. It will not have had enough time to pop the P0400 code yet and you'll go through the test without fail. GD

Fell out?!? You didn't use a proper OEM crush washer did you? GD

Order one for a '98 2.5RS. Exedy is what i always get. GD

Yeah coolant passage - carb base heater port. If you are putting on a weber you will want to block that with JB weld or similar. GD

Correct. I strip them to engine control and label all connections that you need to make. You just add it to the car. GD

Yeah the stock cams run fine and if it's a daily driver I would reccomend them. The torque grind cams play havoc with the idle on the OBD-I's. GD

It's a lot of work - especially the first and second and third times you do it . We have a process down fairly well now. But yeah it's never as cheap as people sometimes like to purport it as being around here - not to do the job the right way anyhow. GD