nipper

DId you overtighten the wheel bearing? bearings (wheel bearings) dont work themselves in, they just work. HOw did you lubricate it? Did you but the washer back properly? All things that need to be checked. nipper

My mistake, i didnt see the automatic/manual part. Now i dont know if the manual has two speed snesors (anyone), but if it has only one, and that fails, it usually throws a code and you get really odd behavior from the car. The car will go into limp mode and limit performance (well its supposed to anyway). I too am surprised about the failed head. There is a method of testing the speed sensor, but it has to be removed to do it. It can be done in the car, but i cant tell if the front wheels or rear wheels need to be off the ground on a manual. nipper

Pull your codes first. a bad VSS sensor is very good about triggering a CEL light. ALso a bad VSS will shut down the AWD. If one VSS goes bad, the good one will take over its duties. So do you feel like your AWD is still operating? If it is, ild go for the head being bad. Usually its the heads in the forester that go bad. I would get one from a junkyard and try that before going out and buying a new one. nipper

White smoke is water condenstaion, which is normal. As long as it fires right up your fine. Brown or black smoke is rich fuel. The only sensor that determins cold start parimeters is the ECU temp sensor. nipper

Thats how the tank works. nipper

Well once you burn up the duty c solenoid the AWD clutch pack is not that far behind. The duty C solenoid by defenition cycles on and off very quickly. It is never fully on or fully off for long periods of time. If you place the fuse in the FWD holder, it signals the TCU to hold the solenoid open, which completly depressurizes the clutch pack. In turn the solenoid over heats and the coil burns up. If you want better gas milage, the only way to do it is by controlling your right foot. These are heavy AWD cars, they do better then SUVS, but worse then their fwd peers. nipper

"replace visous coupling" makes it sound easy. Personally with that kind of milegae, and a bad AWD unit, and a weak first gear synchro, i would go with a used tranny. There is too much money and work to replace the AWD unit, and just eaiser to get a low mileage manual and swap them. Beofre you do any of that, the viscous coupling doesn just go unless its upset. Check your tires and make sure they are all the same wear and type and inflation. The thumping can be a tranny mount, or it can be the center carrier bearing or iniversal on the driveshaft. Tha price sounds high for a used tranny. Keep shopping around. If you didnt have the weak synchro i would say fix your tranny. of course you can try the previous suggestion first, see if it solves the problem, then fix the awd. nipper

i was so hopping for owowowow Sorry to hear that, but the compression numbers aint good at all. Good luck nipper

We used wtaer before that fancy chemical stuff (or Marvel Mystery Oil). Not being black is good. Being gray is better means that some carbon came out. White means no carbon left and you steam cleaned the plugs and the valves. All good. It doesnt take much water. remeber that steam is 15,000 psi at many many many degrees (lets just say its measured in kelvin with 4 digits) to clean things out. nipper nipper

Check for spark first, its the easiest. Just pull a plug wire, and use an insulated (you want to avoid the OWOWOWOW factor) screwdriver. nipper

You could be leaking electrons, causing the vibration. nipper

Bronco sounds cheaper to fix. nipper

I do mine between 100,000 and 110,000 depedning upon funding and life at that point. One thing that people tend to for get, time is just as bad as mileage on a timing belt. Subaru says 7 years, i would say anything over ten without an oil leak is due, 7 with an oil leak. nipper

The compter adjusts the IAC motor to compensate for the additional load. nipper

AHA! Thats a HUGE hint. When you put the parking brake on, you are no longer using the power brake booster. So now we suspect a ppinhole leak someplace in the power brake booster circuit. The booster uses engine vaccume to operate. Ok here is the next test. Unplug the booster and plug the line. Put the car in gear and with your foot on the brake does it still vibrate? If not you found the problem. nipper

Tirerack is a good place to look. I am running BFG T/A also. nipper

If you really want to be scared ... For years i drove 80 almost from end to end in PA, seeing the ocassional deer at night. Then i got a set of HELLA driving lights, which throw alot of light off to the sides. My 2 deer count turned into almost 90. So many deer i never saw before at night untill i got the HELLA's. nipper

Can be a bad seal in the turbo. Sometimes those that drive like idiots never do any maintanence. nipper

DO NOT GET IT DONE AT A TRANNY SHOP! Get it done anywhere else, preferably some place that does not do tranny repairs. Transmission shops are evil evil places and someplace to go out of desperation. There are many threads here complaining about tranny shops (go in for a rattle come out with a new tranny). I do mine every 3 years. nipper

This has been discuseed many many many many times. Its not as simple as adding a switch. Most people (there is only one with any success) who do this mod end up with a 1000.00 repair since the AWD unit tears itself apart. The computer does a very good job of applying AWD in all conditions, so there really is no reason to overide it. These arent rock climbers. Also its not something to do if you dont understand how the system works. The FWD fuse is meant for emergencies, or if the AWD is screwed up and you can't afford to get it fixed at that time. The fuse can work from a month to a few years. The fuse sends a signal to the TCU to energize the duty c solenoid fully, which it is not designed to do. Now since this is in the older generation of subarus, I am not sure if you are asking about the AWD, or the push button 4wd. nipper

there is a load on the drive train (which the engine is part of). When the car is in park or neutral, the engien is not fighting stopped driveline parts, since they are not engaged. When stopped in D or R, the engine is loaded by the stoped car. nipper

I dont have that vibration. Subarus arent supposed to vibrate like that, most cars dont. On the other hand its not something that is going to hurt the car. Does it go away with the a/c on or get worse? nipper

If they fit a 97 add me to that list nipper

so just got started to move from one side of the street to another. Any car that has spent its life on the street of manhatten i would walk away from. nipper

What he said. ALso may want to put in new spark plugs while the engine is out. nipper