nipper

RUN from this dealer. the fact that he did the solenoid and not the clutches at the same time means hes incompetant. See if you can find somone who has used a shop near you, as this is not rocket scienc to fix. Anytime something goes away with the FWD fuse in its usually the awd unit. Rear differnetials roar when they go bad, as they chew themselves up. rear diffs are fairly robust in any car, and dont die unless they loose fluid. The fact you drove with a burned out solenoid, and a dying solenoid, the clutch pack should have been condemed, especially with the miles on the car. They screwed up. nipper

do a search here on speed sensor. There are some great pics as to where they are. Fix that one first. nipper

First check to make sure there is no plastic in the wheel wells rubbing against the tire. Next check the PS fluid is full and the drive belt is tight. Next chek the universal joint in the steering shaft to make sure that is not worn. nipper

This is where you find out if your dealer is freind or foe. SUbarus are not oil burners, and if they use oil its usually 1 qt between changes. my 1997 with 187K miles doesnt use any. Causes of oil burning, is the usual pcv valve, more evil is the rings didnt break in properly. The engine noise was probably piston slap. How many miles ago did they change the block. Also was the engine rebuilt by the dealer, or is it a subaru factiry short block. nipper

Sounds like it is as not many things will give you a no crank condition. Check your battery cables and define "new" starter. Clean the terminals at both ends, and battery cables do get old. Is this a no start whenever or just when hot. nipper

You need to see what your local emissions inspections laws are. Actually in this case the car is built to pass federal emissions, and seperate cars for CA level emissions (and states with them). If you dont have required emissions testing, then you can probably forgo this cat. The dealer has to replace it, but you dont. A muffler chain shop may have to replace it by law also. Again you dont have to. nipper

I've learned with NYC tickets, just because they write it on the ticket does not mean the regulation really exists. They require research. The PVB will not tell you something doesnt exist even if you pay it, as they are there to take your money. nipper

Thats a high stress area, i can explain the physics and engineering, but i just woke up. Technically when your welding the pipe on the car, your welding it to the flange, uour not welding it to the broken pipe.Thats problem #1. Problem #2 #3 #4 have already been stated by others (that entire SS thing). Not to mention i dont know if the flange is stainless steel or a cheaper grade of stainless or what. There is only one solution for this... BTW just what IS with the rtv on an exhaust port? I found the cheapest pipes vis JC Whitney, and they were walker pipes. nipper

Drive shafts dont warp, they can loose thier balance weight. If you have ever tried to "warp" a steel tube, it wont warp, but will fold and bend. Even if it was "warped" the amount of vibration coming off the shaft would make the vehical undriveable. You do have universal joints and a carrier bearing. The Universals give vibration at high speed, and maybe a clunk if really shot. The carrier bearing can clunk and give issues at low speeds, but all are very obvious upon inspection. i agree i think it goes back to the tranny swap, but either way great to hear you got it fixed. AT 300,000 miles i would not be shocked if you also had a bad driveshaft along with TB nipper

Check for any bad bulbs. The turn signals and the flasher use the same flasher. You may have a tired 4 way switch, or a bulb that is dimmer then the others, so when all 4 are on its causing a current imbalance and screwing things up (hows that for an explination) nipper

in the winter i can go 15 minutes without lockup depending upon how cold it is. SVX has other trany issues to cause issues. i know that there is a thermostate for engine oil coolers (popular air cooled vw option) for external oil coolers. nipper

if you go that route try http://www.radiator.com thats where i get mine from. nipper

way cool nipper

the odd knock without hearing it can be the tensioner. if you have leaking seals, then do the timing belt tensioner thing. Also keep in mind when soobies first start they have piston slap, which can be a noise your hearing too. Anyone can flush the tranny, there is no filter, just a screen that never gets replaced. CEL can be associated with the timing belt, but thats usually a flashing light. My guess is that you will get an 02 sensor code.... just a guess, i can be wrong. nipper

i bought mine on ebay in NJ. Autotrader is one source, buylines is another source. nipper

a couple of things here.... The dealer said the cat was bad because they bill that back to subaru. i doubt the cat was bad. 95% of the time its a bad o2 sensor, not the cat, unless you have oodles of miles on the car. The reasons cats will fail, is bad gas, or the car running too rich. nipper

how many miles are on this car?

Do all the tires match. Make sure all the tires are properly inflated. Put the fuse back in and get the transmission flushed. After the flushing remove the fuse and see if the torque bind goes away. You got a really good price for this car, so dont feel bad if you need to toss some money into it. At 141,000 miles i would suspect the timing belt has been changed. If the car is not leaking an oil, i would leave it be untill it can be inspected. Have someone pull off the covers and look at the belt. If there is any cracking or fraying the belt needs to be replaced. The good news is once youdo the timing belt/cam seals/oil pump seal/main seal / tensioner and water pump, you are good for 100,000 miles. IF you have uncurable TB, thats about 900.00, but again, thats good for the life of the car as long as the tires match, and you dont drive on a flat for a long time. I have a 1997 outback. I bought it 185,000 last year from the original owner for 3800, and thats about 500 less then market value for NY. I had to replace the awd unit, and when timing belt gets done its time for a reseal. I love this car. nipper

Gauges are plentiful. Word of caution, on gauges that are critical, dont go cheap. You can go cheap on an alt or voltage gauge. You can go chep on a mechanial oil pressure gauge, you cant go cheap on temp guages or electrical oil pressure gauge. Sunpro Sun VDO Autometer to name a few... nipper

for dealer prices (waterpump isnt cheap) that sounds more reasonable, for a dealer anyway.... but i still think its high. nipper

keep an eye on it. If there was an airbuble, it may have cleared itself up, or you may have been low on coolant. If it is anything more evil, it will show up again. Yu may want to get a test kit from an autopart store to check for exhaust gasses in the coolant. Also turn the heat on and tell us if you have heat if it happens again. how many miles are on this nipper

if you put it in parallel it wont overcool, it will keep it stable, as the radiator will be pumping heat into the fluid. If the tranny fluid never warms up, you will get late shifting, and maybe not get lockup. But then again i dont know where the threshold is on the temp sensor in the tranny. In 70 degree constant temp, my car shifts normally, so if the threshold is that low, it may not be possible to overcol the trany unless you live in alaska. nipper nipper

thats a crummy price, they should be charging you only the cost of the parts. They have to remove the timing belt abyway, point this out to them. They are not doing you any favors with that 400.00 nipper

you do that three times to get all the old fluid out, or pay somone to flush it for about 99 bucks. nipper

except there is no filter (i think on a 93). that should be your first red flag. There is a screen that is good for the life of the tranny. Usually replacing this "filter" makes for pan leaks. just leave it be. nipper