nipper

Also do you have spark? (if not the ignitor failed) nipper

I am sorry to say this, but yes you are screwed by AAMCCO. AAMCO is not a chain, but a Franchise. Here in NY AAMCO has had many problems, and their advertising has gone way down. I have never ever heard of a good thing coming out of AAMCO. You can try AAMCO main office, but i really don't think they care. http://www.aamco.com/main/webmaster/contact_aamcoservices.html http://www.aamcotransmissions.com/index.html On thier website it advertises under franchise opportunites "full one week Rebuilding schools". There are over 200 differnt transmissions on the road leanr them all in one week. Most technical schools its 6 months to get a certificate in mechanics, and the better ones its 2 years of college. The price range is fair from what ive seen posted here, but thats from a reputable shop. Most shops now pull out the tranny, swap in a tranny from a rebuilder, and your done. Not a lot want to deal with the mess of rebuilding them, themselves. Once you get into a tranny, if there are other things wrong with it (hard parts) you start getting an angry customer when you have to explain things. The having to order a solenoid from overseas is bull (unless Indiana or New Jersey is overseas). I don't know what recourse you have in Canada. you aren't the first person to complain about AAMCO in Canada (or north america for that matter) http://www.geocities.com/aamco_ripoff/page02.html http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/aamco.htm You may have to pay the bill to rescue the car. Pay it by credit card and immediatly dispute the charge. Take the car to another mechanic and let him look it over and get a written estimat on whats wrong, and then you can use this in court. Make notes on converstaions with people and keep a log with date time name and what was discussed. Write everyone you can think of, including (what we call) ditrict attorneys, consumer baords, local elected officials. I hope this helps, but i can see it going to court, and i am sorry you had to go through this. nipper

When the oil is cold and thick, this is not unusual. I had one on my 1988 it would peg at 80 psi one a winter day when it was cold. the real danger to pegging the gauge is bending the needle on the gauge. If its an electrical gauge this wont happen, on a mechanical gauge it might. I wouldnt worry about it. What you want to worry about is how low it is. Once the oil warms up you should have normal readings. And a gauge is better then a light anyday, but using both with a T is even better. nipper

Good God i hope not .... nipper

I agree. Once the HG is replaced its fixed. Cooking the engine is very bad. You can get rod knock, or more typically (and horiffic) the piston sleeve moves and the engine at that point is junk. Cooking any engine is bad. Its hard to find a DOHC 2.5 as a used engine, as they all seem to be purring along nicely (most of them get repaired). Same with the 2.5L SOHC. Its easier to find a 2.2L if you want to go that route. Any mfg engine can blow a HG (and anyone with an open deck has a tendency to do it), but the 2.2 it seems to be rare (closed deck). nipper

i have silver stars nipper

COld start is the cam sensor. It has a bad connection internally that is slowly going open. When the car warms up it expands and closes the circuit. This failure wont show up on startup since the car doesnt store codes untill the car starts, not while it cranks. Eventually the car wont start anymore. nipper

Older 2.5L were at their design max for the stresses of that engine (as per subaru). The newer versions are re desigend to handle having turbos . Thats why subaru offers them with turbos. nipper

non turbo 2.5 cant be turbocharged. a turbo charged 2.5 can possibly be tweaked (fi you dont mind throwing away the warenty). the big differnce is one has lower compression (the turbo) and that can't be bolted on. Then there is probably cam differnces and ecu differnces since i do beleive they have variable valve timing. nipper

DO a compression test, but i dont think that will have anything to do with it. It would be nice to know the condition of the engine. I suspect the seafoam cleaned out all the dirt that was holding your fuel system together. The reason you would have no idle is most likely a fuel delivery problem. Check your ignition timing and spark just to do the i's. When you do restart the car do you have a puf of black cmoke come out of it (flooding) or no smoke (fuel starvation). Does it sputter and die or just stall. Als whats the year engine tranny and mileage on the car. nipper

Usually its the evap system malfuntioning. nipper

First thing off, dont beleive anything a dealer tells you. his job is to sell you a car, not really care about anything else aside from that. Secondly, you would probably be throwing your warrenty away. Raising the boost may void the warrenty. Here is a side by side comparison http://www.cars101.com/subaru/impreza/wrxsti2007.html nipper

As it has been said here many times, it is legal to carry passengers in the jump seats as long as they are wearing the seatbelts. It is illegal in most states (read the fine print) to have anyone ride in the back of a pickup truck that is not in factory jump seats (depending upon when the law was written). If the law was written when brats were being made, this exclusion will be in the law. in some states its even illegal to have a dog in the back now. On the dual exhaust issue, another problem with free flowing exhaust (for an engine not designed for it or valves with lots of miles on them) is that you might burn the exhaust valves. If the car isnt fuel injected, it is possible for the air fuel mixture to go to lean and burn the valves. http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/html_product/sue462/backpressuretorquemyth.htm nipper

gee i can always use another christmas gift nipper PS glad you got off with just a solenoid. Ignore the light and it can be a lot worse. Also whoever is putting in the solenoid for you KEEP THEM! This is a case where selling you a clutch pack and a solenoid would not have been suspisous, so you have a very honest mechanic.

Actually they havent got used to it. Automakers are hard at work trying to make it better, and the federal goverment along with SAE are studying the issue. Some automakers have already tweaked their reflectors to make it a bit more tolerable. nipper

The park mechanisim is its own switch in the wiper motor. Whne the wiper switch is off, it sends power to the park switch in the wiper motor. This switch powers the motor untill the cam on the gear breaks the switch. No park is usually because this switch in the motor itself has failed, or the connection is corroded. nipper

A Vacume leak. Cake a can of carb cleaner or a spray bottle of water and spray under the engine. Listen for a stumble, that would be where the leak is. Its possible that some dirt or junk that was clogging said leak got knocked loose by the seafoam. nipper

all engines of this vintage have it to some degree, well 4 and 6's. They reduced the piston skirt for emissions and HP gains. This cause slap, as the skirt would hold the piston straight. nipper

Check rotors and that the rack mounts are tight and in good shape. Also may be worth hile to find a shop that can spin one wheel wheel on the car and watch the front end. nipper

carb cleaner BAD! Get the proper cleaner for it. Carb cleaner is way too harsh. nipper

Manuals dont have a clutch pack. There is so much more that needs to be replaced aside from the clutch pack. Its standard parctice it seems to replace the housing, seals, solenoid, clutch plates, clutch discs and other miscalanous parts. I think somne here did it with all new parts for about 300-400 bucks. If you are older then 1997 1/2 you need a new housing. It was redesigned after that year to correct failed seals. nipper

Can also be a clogged cat or collapsed exhaust system. nipper

Make sure the final drive is the same as in the US. I havne heard any complaints. Shift point calibration is in the tcu, so there shouldnt be a probelm there either. But how are you going to convince it your in the wrong seat nipper

Yes it does. Talk to the head mechanic he will tell you. I have the bill someplace i can show you exacly what it involves nipper

Thats the IAC being "wrong". What exactly is the code? nipper