brus brother

Whoah an educational "free ride" and a Subaru rust free ride! Graduating debt free is liberating. Congrats to your daughter.

I had an 05 Outback and in chasing the dreaded P0420, I was "thrilled" to discover that there were 3 cats and 5 oxygen sensors. Somewhere there is a Subaru engineer busting a gut with laughter... and a parts manager handsomely salaried.

I just spoke with buddy and he reminded me that he used 2 vacuums. One blowing in and one sucking out the other end. Save the pieces and find a recycler.

Try just banging on it and dumping out the broken bits.

Runs perfect albeit on the loud side. VAROOOM!!!

Possibly clogged cat converter(s)? Broken bit's of the honeycomb will follow gravity and clog the exhaust when car is heading up hill. The noise will startle the neighbors but if you can disconnect the cat(s) and test drive, that will help in diagnosing this issue. Buddy had this issue and just emptied the broken bits and drove on.

So is there no deteriorating catalytic converter potentially contributing to clogged exhaust? Saw it on a Ford van years ago. Ran it loud and proud to diagnose a clogged cat.

Did the p0420 code go off by itself or did you reset it? Keep us posted if it returns.

what was your catalytic code? was it the P0420

Very clever. So rather than continue to reduce your hoarded inventory of Subie parts, you intend on hiding it in plain sight from your wife in the form of a Baja?

I bought an aftermarket shaft for my 05 (I think) now sold that worked out just fine. I will search my posts here to see what other info I may have posted. check out Parts Geek. They have some for Auto at $300+ https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/2000/subaru/outback/driveshaft_-ar-_axle/drive_shaft.html?rp=driveshaft

have a look here: https://www.icarsoft.com/Article/s-269-269.html a reasoned step-wise diagnosis and treatment for your code

Do you feel it under the seat when the vibration occurs. Something similar in mine turned out to be drive shaft. Got an aftermarket since the u-joint was not replaceable and all was good.

if near front ps fluid?

Would love to hear from anyone who did rear brakes on 2018+ Want to know how far up Shitz Creek I'll be heading before starting out if this ordeal can be expected (or avoided.)

2 years ago I was in Lake Placid NY overnight -30F Alternator screamed like a banshee in the morning. Went into local Autozone and clerk said to wait til noon when temps return to tolerable. Followed his advice and all was good after a late breakfast. Before jumping to conclusions, I suggest pancakes and bacon.

From your title, I thought "Tow" was referencing towing the car not "Toe" 😀

drive shaft U joint?

My 2008 ran like crap after high humidity/cool conditions. Was ready to change out coil pack and instead dried out the interior contacts of the pack where the wires plug in and sprayed with WD40 and all was well. Have you tried spraying water around the wires when dark outside with car running to see if there are any sparkly light shows? In my case, I didn't have the light show but the rough running was related to the damp coil pack. Fingers crossed for something simple.

alternator?

I just packed the hole. No mesh. My repair was in the crotch of a y as the exhaust splits to 2 mufflers. Just checked out of curiosity and it is still holding strong. Couldn't hurt to create a "wrap" of the edges of the hole where some material is on the inside and some on the outside and then fill in the middle. Or tuck a tiny piece of copper mesh on the inside slathered with the sealant. Attach and use a piece of dental floss or thin string to pull the patch up against the inner wall and then slather on a coat on the exterior surface. The area I worked on wasn't conducive to cleaning so I just relied on the silicone to do its best.

Going on the real cheap for a nickel sized hole, there are furnace repair/sealing silicone caulks available at Home Depot good for 1000 degrees. Cost around $15 for 10 oz caulking tube. I have made some lasting repairs where welds at y junctions failed. Other areas have begun to leak but original repair is still solid 4 years later. https://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-10-1-fl-oz-Red-Fire-Barrier-CP-25WB-Plus-Sealant-CP25WB-10/100166701 "3M™ Fire Barrier Sealant CP 25WB+ shall be a one component, ready-to-use, gun-grade, latex-based, intumescent firestop sealant capable of expanding a minimum of three times its dried volume when exposed to temperatures above 1000°F (538°C)." Beyond 1000 degrees, ya got other problems.

I'm only guessing 18 gauge. Take wire to HD or Lowes and compare size with wire stripper?