brus brother

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=66882&highlight=turn+smoke+loyale Check out post #2 by General Disorder. This uphill right turn stumbling related to PCV may be your issue.

Can you post a picture or two?

Wrong size plug ++

3" of rain is a good opportunity for some differential diagnosis. Cover the sunroofs with plastic (garbage bags etc) and duct tape the edges. If you are wet tomorrow, then it is either the windshield seal or the drain from the cowling area below the windshield. BTW, does it ever get wet simply by running the AC or actually, the same if you run the defroster which may coincide with when it is raining? If that is the case, perhaps the drain line from that unit has come detached from the AC unit under the dash.

Actually, at this point, the oil is settling on the cross member so none is even appearing on my garage floor. The oil mixing with coolant that GG describes as a rarity is somewhat comforting. So what years did/will SOA HG be considered solid? My 08 at 60K is dry but as I said, both 05s (105K and 82K) are weeping. The discussion and link referenced damage to cats (I have an intermittent P0420 on my 105K 05) from oil burning etc. That info is all over the board as well. The post did verify that the cheaters don't work on 05+. But that's another story.

Found the following in a link on the NASIOC site relating to 05+ and potential fouling of cats: "Your model year has a problem where it starts to leak very early from the oil return galleries on the bottom of the heads. Make no mistake: it IS a headgasket leak and you DO need to do something about it. You'll get no further warning before it converts to a much more serious oil-to-coolant leak." BOTH of my 05's have the telltale oil leak at the driver's side! My passenger cat is in P0420 mode off and on. Anybody tracking these leaks and ultimate failure rates?

Thanks for the link but even more now to worry about with MY05 "Your model year has a problem where it starts to leak very early from the oil return galleries on the bottom of the heads. Make no mistake: it IS a headgasket leak and you DO need to do somehting about it. You'll get no further warning before it converts to a much more serious oil-to-coolant leak." BOTH of my 05's have the telltale oil leak at the driver's side! Anybody tracking these leaks and failure rates? May have to start a new thread.

Have a "feeling" it's an oil leak. I hope, I hope, I hope! Just for reassurance, I checked the wife's 05 OB and it has the same "leak" as my daughter's 05 legacy. I prefer consistency...

After some reading it appears the 05s are subject to an "oil only" external head gasket leak problem. As I said, the "wet" area is beneath the driver side rear cylinder and on the cross-member below. Does a coolant leak leave a residue after the car is sitting overnight or would it dry without a trace unlike oil leaks?

82K miles. 05 Legacy. Just noticed dampness at lower rear driver side HG area and on cross-member below. Coolant was changed with additive at 70K miles. Coolant isn't down drastically in overflow. Is it worth a shot to add another bottle of Subaru's coolant stop leak or just bite the bullet?

Bank 1 is passenger side.

I've had the 0420 for the past year or so. Started at just about the same mileage. It generally means the passenger side cat converter is heading south. Saving numerous trips to local Autozone to have the code cleared each time, I bought a cheap $20 code reader/clearer from ebay and played around with the spark plug cheater trick (search 0420 code on this site). Unfortunately, our 2005s don't seem to like the cheaters and didn't 'fix" the problem. The code doesn't affect drive-ability. I too replaced the front O2 sensor but that didn't help. The code comes and goes so the "threshold" may be a little to tight in the computer's spec. The blinking cruise control goes along with the code which apparently becomes inactive with the CEL. Passing state state emission tests is tricky but after I clear the code and the car runs a particular set of cycles/speed runs and all systems are reading as "ready", I have been able to pass before it threw the code again. I have read that there are some performance companies that will reformat the computer to eliminate this parameter but I haven't bothered with it (cost/benefit $300 versus replace the cat $700 after market which gets pricey itself and some say doesn't prevent the code from coming back). Sorry to hear you are facing these headaches with your "new" car but quite possibly the previous owner had just reset the light before selling it to you.

Before you bother to change the remote battery, see if you can just reprogram it (instructions in owner's manual in section on changing the remote battery)

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1152&bih=681&q=subaru+outer+cv+joint&gbv=2&oq=subaru+outer+cv+joint&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1690l8847l0l9032l21l21l0l14l4l0l215l1030l1.4.2l7l0 Here's a bunch of Google images. Hope this helps.

I know exactly where he is in ct. He's between a rock and a hard place!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/automobiles/autoreviews/2012-subaru-impreza-about-that-drinking-problem.html?_r=1&hp

Have been futzin' around with p0420 code for a while and had a nice chat with Bosch tech support. They call back within 15 minutes of leaving a message. I would give them a call since my local Autozone's data base was wrong and gave me the wrong part # for my 05. Even my local Subie tech says stick with OEM for the front sensor as this controls the engine performance. From what I've read, the rear sensors on the other hand are worth the risk since they just throw a code to tell you when you are polluting and the cat is shot.

Spongy brakes?

Just in case your 1969 Subie 360 finally died and you were on your way out the door to replace her... http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/01/9148154-subaru-stops-sales-of-three-2012-models

So, which hose to disconnect? Any pictures for the cavemen among us?

OK so which hose do I disconnect for the "outflow"? I'm not sure how this is more effective. What is to say that the fluid added from the dipstick stays "unmixed" with the rest of the fluid? Can someone explain the anatomy of the fluid path?

Elegant in black! So glad that you got an 05 OB so I can compare notes! My 05 at 130,000 has joined the P0420 code team. You will find that the 05 is set up for low emissions (white sticker under hood proclaims Calif emissions compliant). Great since I live in CT! To achieve this gold standard, there are three cat converters and five O2 sensors. I may be needing a new cat since according to a number of other sites, the 05 is immune to the cheater on the sensor fix! Can't really complain though since otherwise the car has been great. Good luck with yours.

Drats! Recurring 0420 on 05 OB. MY 05 has 5 sensors and three cats. Sensors are located: 2 pre cat, 2 post cat and one atop the rear secondary cat. Under the hood it says Calif. emissions. I had the 0420 (bank 1 below threshold) so I had already experimented with the cheater on the passenger post cat sensor without success. Yesterday I installed a new oem pre cat sensor on passenger side (bank 1) hoping that it was getting lazy at 130,000 miles and if so prevent it from damaging the cat if this was the case but the code recurred. While trying to correctly identify the aftermarket sensors, I spoke with tech support at Bosch who was dubious that replacing the post cat sensor would help in my situation. (Remember it is in his interest to sell more sensors). He said that this sensor would become slower in response if failing and not more active so less likely to throw code. I reinstalled the cheater on the post cat sensor in one last ditch effort but it looks like a new cat may be coming in the future to eat out of my wallet!

That's great news Steve. Please update should the code recur. I will follow your lead and see if that fixes my intermittent 0420 as well.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87708&highlight=delayed+engagement Link on Trans-X and delayed engagement above.