nipper

To do this you have to open up the transmission. It would just be easier to get a used transmission. nipper

Clunking is either a bad bushing or a bad Universal joint. If its a clunking joint you will notice it rather quickly by turning the shaft by hand. Now if the clunk matches road speed (not there when you change directions) its possible you may have a broken tooth in the diff. Does the noise match tire speed, or does it seem to be three tires turn to one clunk? nipper

The battery is used for starting, and the Alt is used to run the car. The Battery is used to suppliment the power if the Alt is not capable of meeting demand. IE a dead alt. Check the on line dealers for a Alt. You can get a much better value then what most chain autopart stores try to pass off as a rebuild. They also can be very reasonable. nipper

Ah ok hes talking the snorkus end.

Thats part of the snorkus. There are odd cavities like that to tune the sound of the engine to meet federal noise standards. Thinks of it as a sinus cavity.

An exhaust tin can wont do it, and anyone who guarentees you a 20 HP gain out of a box is taking your money. Modern cars are fairly peaked out. They breath effeciently, they last many rouble free miles, and get the best mpg they can for all around performance. There are things you can do for a quicker throttle response (which is NOT a HP gain like most sites say). One is lightened pullies. A high flow cat doesnt work unless you are doing cams etc to take advantage of it. You already have a cold air intake (as do almost any modern car). You can clean it up, and if you never intend to take your car into water of any great depth (most engine damage from sucking in water comes from puddles on paved roads) you can get rid of the snorkus and get a free-er breathing system, The intake air filter sits in the right front fender rather low. The subaru sinus is designed to keep the engine from digesting water. not much more beyond that for a normally asperated subaru. nipper

Depending upon where you live, modifying the exhaust system is against the law. Some places dont care, others use an inspection mirror to check the exhaust system Generally ricers do this to thier hondas. nipper

Not crazy about your warrenty or passing inspection? Resonators are long gone, you are talking about replacing the muffler. nipper

It also only costs about 25.00 to replace all the handle parts. It's a common issue. If the handle doesnt properly reset it wont open again. nipper

For now i am going to go with engine being healthy, and hold off on the valve timing. That would have shown up in the vac gauge. Vac gauges are an underrated and oft overlooked tool, but they can tell you a lot of things. On the crankshaft there is a special tooth geared. This is used for the crank sensor, which in turn sends a signal to the ECU to fire the plugs. If that is dmaged, which can happen, it will make for a weak spark. It may be possible that we are assuming the bright spark is correct, and the weak one is the issue. This is a waste spark system, meaning the plugs are fired in pairs. Electricity likes the path of least resistnce, so the weak spark may not be the suspect side. There may be a shoort on the strong spark side (not allowing for the good side to get full voltage). Like i said there is only so much that can be done over the net, and sometimes the need for an on-hands professional is required. nipper

The ONLY vac gauge readings that matter are the ones at idle for the most part. A video is not needed, just tell me what it is doing Yes you are stubborn. i dont always trust the coil tests as they are not always correct. Have you taken a meter to your plug wires yet? and not ALL shops are crooks and thieves. That really irritates me when someone makes a blanket staement like that. i will hold my tonhue from really sayng what i feel, but so far.... never mind i will just piss people off. If you dont like your shop find another one. Right now your not doing any better for what may be a simple issue that you at your expierience level can not comprehend. nipper

hrmmmm Did you do a wet and dry compression test. Drys is just what it says. Wet means you squirt some oil in the cylinder and repeat the test and see if the numbers go up. If they do you have bad rings, if they dont (assuming the numbers are low) its valves. The fact that the compresion got extreemly high (too high) means either you did something odd, or there is an timing issue. Subarus NEVER get that high a compression reading, as max is 180-185 for a healthy engine. The good news out of those numbers is that your head gaskets are good. The numbers themselves are even so the compression is balanced. Also there is no shame in throwing in the towel and letting a shop look at it. I am still going with your engine timing being off. Go to www.endwrench.com and look in the archives under engine. Read the section on timing belts. I need to know EXACTLY what the vac gauge is doing and what numbers it is "flucuating" on a healthe engine the needle is fairly smooth, so smooth in fact it is steady. I think the key to this issue is you telling me exactly what that gauge is reading. You said you swapped out coil packs at one point? nipper

A magic elixer vs a replacement tranny, go for the elixer first. It can't make things worse. There is actually a bad internal seal that can be replaced, but you need a really really SMART shop to know what the problem is to do it. good luck. nipper

Its not the "ignitor" if it was it would be random cylinders. Soobys fire 1-2 and 3-4 together. If it was a bad coil you would have a 1-2 or a 3-4 misfire, not a 1,3 misfire. a 1,3 issue is usually a timing belt issueor a cam issue. nipper

What are you calling crankshaft bolts and how are you getting to them? Counting teeth means as much as a 3.00 bill in a candy store. You have to check the alignment marks on the cams and crank. Untill you stop freaking out and start properly diagnosing your not going to get any answers. I dont trust any parts but subaru when it comes to the timing belt but thats just me. And change only one thing at a time when trying to diagnose something, otherwise you are digging a deep hole we cant help you out of. Lets do a poor mans compression test. Pull plug wires one at a time, is there any change in the way the engine runs? nipper

I think it ihas ju,ped a tooth or two. A compression test or a vac gauge can tell that (the compression test moreso). Then they next question would be why did it jump a tooth? Were all the idlers and tensioner replaced? Is there a bad sprocket? nipper

i think they are just using the tool and dies from the tribeca to get thier moneys worth out of it. Hopefully the next go round they will start getting back to wagons, or even what they are getting in Oz, which is smaller version of the 2010. nipper

http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/vac/uum.htm

Unburnt gas on two cylinders on the same bank. I would start with a compression check and or a vaume gauge. With it being on cylinders 1 and 3 you can rule out the coil, and its just a longshot to have two bad fuel injectors. Maybe a vac leak on the intake manifold on that side of the engine? When you use a vac gauige, tell us exactly what the needle is reading. Did you use OE parts?

Is there a new timing belt tensioner in the car? nipper

OBD2 was 1995 and newer.

Did you miss any vac hoses? We all forget that one by the airbox.

Or rent a reader for the day. Some places will rent them for free with a deposit = the value of the tool. nipper

Blinking means an active misfire and you can be potentially damaging your cat. It sounds like you may have a bad wire. Also remove the plugs and check them. Even the best mechanics on occasion crack a plug on install and dont realize it. nipper