nipper

Subaru CVT's dont have wet clutches to transmit power, so it doesnt work as hard. The heat from acting as a buffer between moving surfaces is really what beats up transmission fluid. In Subarus case the fluid is used for lubricaiting and transmitting work (moving the drums) so it doesnt get as beat up as other mfg's fluids. The fluid itself I wouldnt worry about, but the life of the additives is what would concern me. http://theanxiousthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-technical-side-of-continuously.html I have a CVT Justy a different animal, but that only holds 4qts and is much cheaper fluid. It is more important that the fluid stays filled then is changed. It never hurts to change fluids, just on a CVT always use the recommended fluid. The CVT may still be too new for aftermarket fluids yet.

What are you driving?

Were all the idlers and tensioners changed at that time? You will get a squirt of fuel to prime the sysytem and once the car starts you will get regular flow.

I was going to say the ignitor or pickup in the disty, i have had this issue in the past.

The two things work completely differently from each other. Please explain so we can help along with mileage and transmission

The good news, on the downstream O2 sensor (after the cat) you can go generic.

The buzzing noise ignore. You are hearing a duty solenoid in the transmission do its thing, which you normally wouldnt hear or are used to hearing. The more critical problem. When was the last time the timing belt was changed in this car. Fuel systems on these cars are so reliable we can ignore it, for now.

When a solenoid is a "duty" type it isnt meant to be consatntly energized but to cycle on and off. Thats why they dont like it being kept energized. You wont hurt anything that isnt already hurt as you would replace the solenoid with this repair anyway because of Murphy.

The pebble trick works on many kinds of tanks

Ok more of a checking it is there then actually trying to send untrue data.

OK explain to me how the resistors work, as the knock sensor is a piezo-electric sensor. Basically a peice of quartz that generators an electrical signal that the ECU deciphers as good bad or otherwise. Not being snarky, but am interested in hearing how this works as opposed to just unplugging it.

With the car off and cold, rotate the cooling fans and make sure they are free. Confirm its not coming from the HVAC blower. Make sure the heat shields are tight on the exhast pipes. Check tires for rocks.

How many miles are on it? Have you checked the fluid levels and condition (PS coolant ATF oil ) what happens when you shift manually DO you have any check lights on on the dash?

I had a tranny cooler hose come off at highway speed on my 05. It took a week for all that fluid to burn off the exhaust system. Does it always flash on startup?

CHeck all your fluid levels. Does it change with speed or engine rpm.

Also rare but not uncommon, if the rotor is attched by a set screw, make sure the screw is tight. The loose rotor can be another facepalm

"My knowledge of engine internals can be summed up by this: "lots of spinny bits move about in a reasonable amount of order"" Thats more then most. On the plus side this is a simple engine that is about as complicated as an air cooled VW engine, so the mechanical internal list of things that can be wrong is quite short. Timing gears do go bad, its rare but it happens. You can remove the valve covers and see if all the valves are moving. Is it full of oil?

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/baddad1/2011-04-16_163643_capture.png

Much better pic.

Nope they are only connected for dealer flashing of the ROM purposes. In fact if you connect them the car will run oddly.

May be time for a basic dry/wet compression test. Also a real fuel pressure/flow test. Do you see any fuel being squirted down the throat of the carb when you push the throttle fully down?

Or someone removed the FWD bulb knowing of an issue.

No the FWD light just tells you you closed the "switch" by inserting the FWD fuse. Terminology here, you are not "engagaing" FWD, but "disengaging" AWD. The dash light basically is a dumb light telling you there is a fuse in the FWD holder.

If the solenoid has failed or is stuck, throwing in the FWD fuse will not help, as the solenoid must be powered (energized) in order to be in FWD. The fuse only sends a signal to the TCU to hold open the solenoid. Any model with a 4EAT can develop torque bind due to a failed Duty C solenoid. Not all will have leaking clutchpack assemblies. This also may be one of those few times you may want to give a dealer a shoutout as they would know what they are looking at better if it is the clutch pack pressure issue. It is one of those "while we are here" rebuild the unit, as torque bind can and does damage the clutchpack