nipper

its a newer (after 95) sooby thing, mostly on the 2.5L . Its piston slap. As long as it goes away your fine. Its when it doesnt go away you have problems. nipper

its easy to change. Go to a aftermarket auto part store, and they should be able to sell you just the pump and not the entire assy. Why do you want to change it? nipper

It's not that easy as me telling you "x" pressure, as there are various pressures for various shift points. I dont have the tranny book around, so i am not sure, but do record the numbers and share them. nipper

If the are rebuilding the engine, make SURE it is a subaru engine with a subaru warrenty nipper

Thats how ABS works. Its a flow through system and almost bullit proof on soobys. And it does not sound like an abs failure or malfunction, as the abs system is in the nose of the car. It almost sounds like a loose backing plate. Is this rear drums or discs? Also dont rule out the fuel pump making noise when cold. nipper

there are anti squeel plates that go behind the pads . If they are not there you will hear all sorts of nasty noises. Also did he use Subaru pads or another brand, that can make a huge differnce. nipper

ill look at my car i think i may have the larger size on my car. I have the BF tires, and they look plenty big on the car nipper

i hate tranny shops, as it seems thier sole purpose in life is to sell you a tranny. Take the car to your regular mechanic. Subarus tend to shift hard from 1-2. The Shift seems harder as you drive the car as you would normally. i have a 97 OBW 180k that shifted real hard from 1-2 and had some torque bind. I got the tranny flushed and there TB went away, and the shifting smoothed out a bit. I would recomend a flush, but the hard shift may stay, its a subaru thing. Use whatever fluid subaru recomends. nipper

Torque bind on an automatic isnt always a deal killer (thats how i got my OBW so cheap). If you suspect torque bind, dont mention it to the owner of the car at first. Just ask him how often hes had the fluids serviced. If he doesnt mention the tranny, check the tranny fluid. If the fluid is a little brown, most likely a fluid flush will take care of the torque bind (if it has any as described above). At that point you can mention the torque bind and beat him down. If the fluid is burnt and a dark brown walk away. Also walk away if the 4 tires dont match. This is especially true on a manual, as there is no fixes for torquebind on a manual that are cheap. ON the manual try to the start the car from a dead stop in 4th or 5th gear. The car should stall if you can get it to move means the clutch is on its way out. In your price range your loking at a high milage car most likely. Any car can have a blown headgasket over 120K miles . Check any car you buy, any make for a blown HG by removing the radiator cap while the car is cold. Remove the cap, start the car, and look for bubbles. Take a freind with you. His job will be to watch the car as you drive away to make sure the car tracks straight. Drive the car manually through all the gears (if it is an auto), It should upshift almost as cleanly manually as it does automatically. Bounce every corner of the car, it should bounce 1 1/2 times at each corner. The sterring wheel should be centered when going straight. Brake the car hard it should brake straight ahead. Subarus are cheap to fix and easy to work on for the most part.The most troublesome areas are the torquebind and the HG. Ask the owner when was the last time the timing belt was changed. Look under the hood to see how clean the engine compartment is, and look under neath the enigine. oil leaks draw and collect dirt. Inspect the CV joint boots and make sure they arent ripped. The only thing i would say for you is if you syuspect a HG issue, thats a deal breaker (as you dont know enough about them to properly negotiate).. its a 1500 US Repair. Trannies can always be swapped. If you go with the 98 and all the tires match on the car, you can escape the torque bind issue. Timing belt and everything else that should be done with it is about 600-700 US at a shop (but this is something done once every 100,000 miles or so). This is something that should not keep you from buying a car. nipper

is this a manual or automatic ? nipper

Sounds like your due for rear brakes. the warning sound is standard on ALL brake pads no matter who makes them. AT 104K its not unusual for it to get its first rear brake pads. Front pads do most the work, but the rears do wear out eventually nipper

Flush the tranny. A lag is a sticking valve in the valve body. If everyimg else shifts ok, you may have to live with it. Other choice is to go to a shop and have them put a pressure gauge on it and see what pressures the tranny is operating at. How does the car shift otherwise? nipper

Look for rust. Get a manual tranny. Subarus are simple cars and almost like giant leggos, everything interchanges. . Keep away from the air suspension. Electronic dashboards if available avoid. High mileage turbos , expect them to need some expensive repairs. Thats all i can think of. nipper

i agree. The reflector is designed for a bulb, and you may actually get less usable light, though they may be brighter, since they are not properly focused. nipper

Fully inspect the front end of the car. Ok you have to look at the suspension parts while you are wiggling the tires. Jack up ONE wheel at a time. Grab the tire at 12 and 6 and shake it back and forth. Check for play. Thats the wheel bearing (and lower ball joint), use the brake rotor and the Axle or steering knuckle (or lower control arm) as your visual reference. For the tie rod grab the tire at 3 and 9 and LOOK at the tie rod end. There should be no play. Next using a long pole or 2x4 put it under the tire and have somone lift the wheel up on the pipe. Watch the lower balljoint for play. Also examine all the bushings as long as your there. After your description with the grinding i would suspect wheel bearings. Tie rod and ball joints cause the car to wander oddly on the road while going straight. nipper

Its mostly the pre 1990 subarus that fall apart at the site of a salt shaker. Later models do fine. i have a 11997 and the only thing rusted (same as all OBW) is the tailgate release. nipper nipper

Any more word on this? nipper

I would suggest looking into a rebuilt engine for about 3000-3500 installed. If i was you, i would go this route. You dont give the mileage on the engine, but for 500-1000 more thats nmy suggestion. Contact CCR for info nipper

Look for a body shop supplier, they will have them nipper

a cloged converter would act as a choke or govenor on the engine. Two things will happen. The top end and acceleration will suffer, you wont have a problem at low RPM. Secondly the cat is going to be running really hot, possibly red hot. ALso there is the exhaust pipes and muffler that can collapse internally that can give you the same symptons. I dont remeber if there are two O2 sensors on this car. If there is you would get a cel on a catlyst effecieny code. If not take it to a shop where they can properly diagnose it. This is too expense a thing to guess at. but i dont think its the cat. nipper

You need to explain the 1/4" of play much better. That would tell me the front end is going to fall off. Subarus have struts, tie rod ends, lower balljoints. What is the year model engine a mileage on the car . Is the grinding noise coming from the front or rear or middle of the car. When was the last time the car had front brakes done. Is it a grind, growl or rattle. nipper

awwww dont scare crf911 already nipper

Get the one that Subaru uses. They act in the presence of temperature and air. The ones for the last 20 years dont really clog anyhting up, and if the do, they are just speding up the inevitable. Heater cores have large flow pipes. The radiator is mych more lkely to clog if anything was going to clog. GM also has this as a "treatment" for corvettes (forget which years). ive used it and has had it been a perm fix for leaking heater cores. Radiators i fix. nipper

A car is only as good as its maintance and mechanic. Now i dont know how warrenties are done in canada. Personally with the piston slap being so bad i would have stood my ground for either a new engine or a rebuild, not a swap. Here in the US i have never heard of anyone offering a swap to fix piston slap. At 110.000 kms, this is less then 100,000 miles and should be under warrenty. And i know of Camerys that have blown headgaskets. i also had a honday civic that blew TWO headgaskets within a year of each other. As long as Subaru put the conditioner in, you should be covered under the warrenty. Make s stink if you have too. nipper

SO far i agree that the block is not warped. If you warped your block, the crankshaft wouldnt turn, main bearings would be shot. From an engineering standpoint and mechancial enginering stand point, i honestly cant see how the block would warp, especially without afecting anything else. Sounds like the dealer is trying to make good. i do agree that i dont know what a machine shop can do. They can machine the heads, do a valve job. If i recall the cam bearings are not servicable, but i may be wrong. i disagree with what the dealer said about 50 vs 500 mile. if one cap was installed wrong, i could see 500 miles. If the cylinder heads are no longer square, they are junk. There is only so much a machine shop can do. I do agree though why did he send them offinstead of getting new heads. i would not allow these heads back on my car if i was you. WIthout seeing these things in person, i cant really say one way or another, but something is getting deeper here. i dont like it. this would be an engine i would have serious issues trusting after this, and its a shame, but none of this is the cars fault, its the shops fault. Dont let them get away with anything, stand your ground. The fact they are looking into the overcharge is telling me they are running scared and they know they screwd up. Also make sure a differnt mechanic is working on the car then did the first time. nipper