brus brother

get your tires balanced. cheap and easy on the back. Start simple but if that doesn't solve your issue then dig deeper into the soup pot. common things happen most commonly...

tire balance

to be clear, you ran it with ONLY the new first and original second cat pipes connected (everything beyond the second cat pipe was disconnected) and had the loss of power symptoms? well that seems to have now isolated a constriction in that second cat curious why you earlier sensed there was restricted output at the right tail pipe. where are you getting your parts from? can you link a schematic of your original exhaust system? cats are expensive little items.

While you wait for your bore scope to arrive, disconnect then reconnect exhaust components sequentially until the symptoms disappear. Seems pretty simple although tedious. You would have to do this to use your bore scope anyways. If you trust your suspicion, then start in the rear with that R muffler although it could be a restriction just ahead of that component then move L and then forward. Each time evaluate to see if symptoms improve.

Not sure but there are brighter bulbs on the USMB than myself who might explain the metallic shavings external to the cat. Did you remove the cat or just disconnect it from the upstream flow? I would suggest you remove the cat entirely and have a look from each end to see what the damage looks like. also shake the converter to see if there are any rattling sounds indicative of loose honeycomb material. Assuming that spray cleaning the MAF was unrelated to the improvement, at this point, simply disconnecting the cat as you have only tells you that there is an obstruction somewhere beyond the area you disconnected. The honeycomb certainly appears to be failing but it would seem that for your situation, I would expect pieces of the material the size of grapes and larger to have caused a clog. I had started posting the above but then stopped, thinking you had solved the problem but it appears that you may have a restriction further down the line. Disconnect the exhaust and run again. If power restored then you still have a restriction

yup a real varoom machine! So after you reconnected the exhaust, was the power still restored or did it once again show signs of constriction? As I said previously, my buddy took his cat off and cleared out the broken bits and then reattached. No codes or anything. I read here in the past that people experiencing loss of power when going uphill resulted from gravity moving the bits of cat comb back into the air flow. seems like you are narrowing down the causes.

did you run with the cat disconnected? was the loss of power resolved or unchanged?

While you did say the noise was to the right of driver, in the front of the car, in my case similar symptoms turned out to be drive shaft u joint. You still haven't identified the year/model of the car. As GD pointed out, 05+ have bolt on hub/wheel bearing assembly which will save you money and time.

clogged cat? saw this on a friend's van. started out gradual loss of power then wouldn't even move! disconnected cat and ran that loud sucker home. removed cat and dumped out pieces of honeycomb. Reinstalled as far as I know, it is running to this day.

Nice write up. Is there reason to believe that the tubes could not be cleared without full dissection of the roof of the car? Fine wire threaded through the tubes assisted with compressed air?

a shop did it on my 08 came out pretty good

Not sure of the compatibility with the material you are looking to bond but I have had pretty remarkable success using crazy (super) glue methods below. Basically, lightly tag the pieces together and let dry. I prefer the liquid and not gel formulations. Then add a layer of fiberglass cloth and once in position, soak the cloth in more crazy glue. Build up a few layers if you have room. I used this technique on butt joints with great success. Also, if you aren't already aware, the addition of baking soda to crazy glue makes a rock hard "plastic". So, after initial tag tacking, if the space is limited, once you wet the surface of the area to be bonded, sprinkle baking soda on the area and wet the area with crazy glue so as to create a callous over the area to be bonded. There are many videos on youtube that show these techniques.

As mentioned above, autozone, advanced auto and similar chain auto retailers will read the engine codes for free. while you re there, ask them to check the alternator.

two issues: 1. is there a sunroof? clogged/disconnected drain tubes? 2. there are numerous posts about sealing the rear light assembly

custom? LINK here's a guy that adds a Crown Vic honeycomb to his subie ride.

not sure about your model/year but there may be some test connectors hanging beneath the steering column that would likely be unrelated to your issue.

Gas tank as you specified. I pulled into a commuter parking lot next to highway. Clear code. Drive onto highway and maintain 55 for 5-10 minutes. Exit highway and reenter back towards starting point maintaining speed. Exit highway, check system readiness and then scoot over to test station. That is the voodoo that has worked for me.

I have an 05 OB with all of the same sensors. The trick of taking the sensor out of the stream with the extender didn't work on my car. I first got the dreaded P0420 code at 105K miles so consider yourself lucky. I tried the extender and then even tried changing the passenger side front O2 sensor and still threw the code. My check engine light will go out occasionally but will eventually turn on again. I was told that I would need to change out the front cat on the passenger side. Apparently, these cars are running so lean that they can often read "above threshold" according to the ECU. My solution for the past 8 years in order to pass emissions was to buy an inexpensive $14 code reader similar to THIS I clear the code using the device. Next start the car and let it idle for 5 minutes without touching the gas then next do a 50 mph drive for about 10 minutes without braking or hard acceleration to "reset" the systems required to pass inspections. Turn off the car and using the code reader, rescan for codes and then for system readiness and then hightail it to the inspection station and am good for another 2 years.

really?? no one said anything about hard swing with a sledge... wiki def: A mallet is a kind of hammer you've been schooled hope that was helpful enough for you

I guess you would need to bring your hammer to "adjust" the alternator while they test it? You did check/clean all the connections? If so, I would assume that you already did the diagnosis with your hammer.

Won't say I told you so because I didn't since smarter members than I (Nipper and Jonathan) were already chiming in. As a long time lurker here I have seen many gremlins turn out to be the result of a failing alternator. Similarly, I have read that aftermarkets are a headache waiting to recur. Better a rebuilt from Subaru which aren't that much more expensive than aftermarket ones. Maybe even rebuild your own instead of trading it in for a sketchy aftermarket?

Here is a LINK to the 2010 Legacy hands free/BT manual for download.

If it is the only element running through the boot, you could possibly pull the old one out and find a pinch or pinhole leak? Tip: hook/tape a string to the old one when you pull the hose so you can more easily replace it. I would check Home Depot or similar parts store in the area where they sell hoses for refrigerator ice machines. They might have ones long enough already bagged or sold by the foot. If the hose itself goes into the reservoir, pull the hose out of the reservoir and cut a 1/4 inch piece to check the size. You probably won't want to add a splice to the existing line because of its overall age and apparent lack of access. If you don't intend on keeping the car long, use the squeegee at the gas station and call it a day. ;-)

http://www.scoobyenthusiast.com/subaru-components/where-are-windshield-washer-pumps-located-subaru/ Pump and reservoir locations show pre 1995 with separate rear config. Does your front reservoir have two little pump motors associated with it or one? Might check a Subaru dealership parts department and see if your vin# shows separate reservoir. In the past my local dealership provided me a schematic for projects which may help you trace the hose routing and any connection points.