comatosellama

Old PCV was making the right noises, but wasn’t OEM so I switched it to make sure it works 100%. Oil tube doesn’t smoke when I peg it. Also the car after fires a lot, not sure if that would have anything to do with all this. I’ll pull timing covers in the next few days and post the findings. I appreciate all the help!!!!

Just did my PCV and smoke started pouring out of the tube while I did it (car had been off for maybe 2 mins). Then opened the oil fill and smoke came out. No smoke when car is running though. Also found some oil drips: beneath cam Just to the drivers side of the crank pulley

Power is a little low, but it’s not really any slower than my moms 2018 outback. I think I found a good shop at a recommendation from a local Ultimatesubaru member, planning on doing another round of diagnostics there, specifically for bad mpg this time. Probably will order a knock sensor since they’re so cheap.

Thats what I’ve heard.. Sadly I believed rockautos OEM description of the Bosch

The cat was deemed bad through voltage readings at the dealer according to the guy. I’ve also done this and the front o2 was hovering around 1.5v, and rear fluctuated between .01 and .07 (or 0.7, can’t remember exactly, will redo test tomorrow) Im generally a little more throttle heavy than most, but as of recent have been trying to channel my inner grandma while driving. 5 days a week of 2-15 mile drives, kind of like your friend @idosubaru. 2 days a week I do around 70 miles on the highway. No leaks, just installed eBay headers and checked many times for leaks on them. This problem existed with stock headers. Also on tires 4.6% larger than stock. Just ordered o2 sensor (denso) and a cat (eastern). Won’t put on the cat until everything else is ruled out. Is a Bosch front o2 sensor okay? That’s what I’ve got right now.

I’ve already done the front o2 sensor (BOSCH), what else could be a cause of the code? Also, the car is getting 13-14mpg, seems like a normal p0420 doesn’t effect gas mileage. The head gaskets have been replaced and Ive heard that headgasket failure can sometimes ruin your cats. Going to question how the dealership on how they diagnosed the cat to be bad.

I’m assuming that the cause of the mpg is the cat because that’s what they told me, and because Front o2, plugs and wires are all brand new. I don’t think that at 166k a new cat is an unreasonable thing to need You think the dealer would get the location of the leaks wrong? Only went to the dealer so I could get the real answer. Somehow there aren’t any good Subaru shops around Ann Arbor.

I’ve heard the increased back pressure from a clogged cat can cause blow by, hopefully a new cat system will help. PCV is new but isn’t a OEM. I’ll do that test once I get the car back.

Just got word back from the dealer. I’ve got a bad catalytic converter, possibly bad rear o2, and am leaking oil from cam carrier, oil pump, and valve cover (just replaced valve covers, not sure what I did wrong). Car is worth around $5000, has newish (30k) head gaskets and clutch. 100% rust free which is unheard of in Michigan, and is already lifted. Dealer wants $4700ish, which isn’t gonna happen. My main issue was getting very low mileage, I can live with the car eating some oil. Right now I’m thinking I’ll get a tsudo hi flow cat and an o2 sensor and o2 sensor fooler since the high flow will trip the p0420. This should clear out the MPG issue. It doesn’t seem like fixing those leak points is too hard (I’ve done clutch work and a lot of stuff on my brat, I’m comfortable doing anything besides engine/trans internals). Do you guys think it’s worth it? My only real hesitation is the engine has a nasty piston slap. Thanks, CL

At 3.6 inches of strut lift I’d be worried about cv shafts wearing out

http://www.subarubrat.com/hasseylift.htm this should give you a rough idea of what a subframe lift involves, the main idea is the same on the newer cars. Check out subframe lift kits from places like paranoid fabrications to see what Impreza specific ones look like. As far as a sway bar goes my 03 OBS has a 99 OB sway bar that works great. Subframe lockdown bolts were the biggest upgrade, but you’re never gonna get rid of that feeling of being thrown out of your seat

Front o2 sensor voltage was around 1.5, rear would spike in between 0.0 and 0.7. 40mph at max operating temp

Yeah it’s going into the shop Friday for a diagnostic for p0420 after I replaced the o2 sensor. I’m thinking it’s the cats, cause when the car afterfires it sounds like it’s contained in the headers. Only pops out the muffler if I’m on the gas while it’s afterfiring

Forgot to mention that the loud exhaust somehow drops my mpg to about 12???? Anyone know what causes this?

Pretty sure it’s 2.25 out of the header then stock all the way back to a 2.5 inlet N1 welded onto stock axleback pipe. (I know it’s a dirty setup)

Has anyone figured out a man exhaust setup that doesn’t kill tourque but still sounds decent? I’ve currently got uel headers and an N1 weld on. When the silencer is out it sounds great but loses all its grunt, especially with the bigger tires. The silencer makes it sound like crap, but cuts the exit diameter down to about 2 inches and somehow brings all the torque (and mpg) back. Not sure what would work and figured I’d ask USMB before I start throwing money at it

Same problem on my 03 OBS. As long as you keep oil in it you should be fine. I just let it warm up a little longer now

New rims

When it’s absolutely dumping rain, my car’s abs light will flash intermittently, usually relating to a hard stop, corner, or hitting some washboard roads. Now, after a big storm 2 days ago, the problem persists. If I crank the wheel, hit the brakes pretty hard or hit some good old Michigan potholes, the abs light will come on for maybe half a second, causing the radio to cut out. I don’t really know where to start. I’ve played with all the connectors and it won’t pop on at all. Anyone have any ideas of where I should start this goose chase? Thanks- CL

Car is 95% rust free, just surface on the subframes. Plan on using por-15 on the entire underbody to keep it that way. Trans rebuilt 70k ago, car is real solid.

There is no opportunity cost here I can put the engine in by myself in a day or two, and have the garage space and free time to keep swapping $200 engines x10 at no real loss. I’m just trying to find out what I would hypothetically need to do if I took that route. Idk where you guys are trying to take this thread.

Um.. what?

Damn someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed ???????????? what about buying a outback with a hg leak and swapping my heads to it.

That’s 3500 vs 700, for a college sophomore the 12 hp hit seems worth it. And I’m sure with how bad my slap is I’m missing a little horsepower as it is. Anyways I paid 4K for the car that math doesn’t really work out

My 03 OBS is really starting to knock, looking to get an ej20 to replace it, but can’t find any threads in them that have the full list of sensors that need to be swapped. I know I’m gonna swap the intake and it seems like I need to swap crank pulley and cam gears. Does anyone know what needs to be swapped ?