Stevo F

No I don’t see where there is an oil cooler on this one. I had cleaned off the honk on the bottom of the engine including around the headgaskets. I don’t see any new signs of seepage from them at this point (not really driven since It was cleaned up) and don’t see any fresh oil seeping from around the head area since the oil change

I’m trying to chase down the oil leak on the EJ253 in my ‘05 Outback Sport. When I bought it last year, I assume the headgasket is leaking, especially since EJ253’s tend to seep oil from the headgaskets. I’ve noticed the oil has been running down the side of the oil filter closest to the oil pan (away from the headgasket). I changed the oil and filter last week and cleaned everything off down there. The filter is good and tight. I only drove it a couple of miles and let it sit a week and can see the oil on the one side of the filter (please see the attached pic). Im mainly trying to decide if the headgasket is failing or is the oil coming from somewhere else (it doesn’t appear to be coming from that area). It appears to be coming from between that big plug in the bottom of the block and the oil filter.

I'm planning to replace the noisy rear differential on my 2005 Impreza Outback Sport, automatic transmission. From what I have determined, the final drive ratio for this car should be 4.11. The local junkyard supposedly has two low mileaged rear diffs from Impreza automatics with 4.11 ratio for $55 each, so I'd like to grab one of those. When I'm at the yard, is there an identification code on the outside of the rear differential I can look at, so I can determine if it the correct one before I take it to my mechanic and pay to have him install it? I've read in a couple of places that there may be a two letter code on it (assuming there is what would be the meanings of the codes)

I can get a free set of front and rear seats from a ‘99 Impreza. Other than possible bracket and height differences between the 2 generations, I’m concerned about that SRS airbag system connector for the drivers seat being different. If I swap the seatbelt latch from the 2005 seat to the older seat, does the SRS wiring go with it? I don’t want to bother with these seats if there are found to be SRS issues

Just drove it 45 miles with little increase in coolant level in the overflow tank and no change on temp gauge, so it must be a very tiny leak when the coolant is pressurized... for now

Just took it for a ride and back at home removed the radiator cap. I didn’t much in the way of bubbles but coolant began to push out of the radiator and overflow a little. I’m guessing maybe being displaced by air?

Thank you. I’m guessing I should wait a while before testing the coolant since it is brand new. Not sure how long long the bubbling has been going on but I can’t recall the last time I ever had to add to or top off the coolant in this car

I second that- I would replace the flexible brake line on that side as I've heard about the lining collapsing. I had 2 calipers do this on my Legacy GT but the 3rd caliper is doing OK since I replaced the line

In my previous post I mentioned my cooling fan wasn't shutting off once it kicked on. I replaced the coolant temp sensor with no change. I took it to my mechanic who tested the electrical side of things with the fans and concluded the ECU was not calling for the fans to cycle off. I also opted to have a coolant flush and fill and put in a new OEM thermostat (thermostat hadn't been replaced that in the 6 years I've had the car). My mechanic did this work and noted that the coolant flow was very poor in my radiator and likely was clogged up. He also noted that once he was confident all the air was out of the system (he has a device that sucks all the air out) he was seeing a stream up bubbles coming out of the radiator, but only when the engine is revved up, and not at idle. I then returned with one of my spare radiators which he installed. He reported the fans are now cycling properly, but the air bubbles still remain. The car has never overheated and no oily gunk in overflow tank or anything like that. He is thinking early signs of headgasket failure. I know it's rare on phase 1 EJ22's, but not unheard of. Are there any other ways to better identify if it's headgaskets? (I plan to drive it some to see if the air bubbles are still coming up to make sure it's not just trapped air). It's getting close to needing the timing belt done anyway, so I'm thinking it may make sense to do headgaskets too. If so, what are recommendations for good MLS headgaskets? Did Subaru ever produce them, or are OEM EJ22 gaskets all single layer?

Thank you for the input. Sounds like front seats are no issue but the rear seat is more tricky. The question is will an older Impreza rear wagon seat fit? (I see seats from a ‘99 Impreza for sale locally). Also wondering if anyone has put a 1st or 2nd gen Legacy rear wagon seats in a 2nd gen Impreza wagon

Never heard of a car company doing something like that... I know Subaru is pushing folks a lot harder than a few years ago to replace the airbag inflators. Since I picked up the 2005 Outback Sport last year, I've gotten numerous notices from Subaru about the recall, one even offering a discount on parts. I also received one form the DMV. I'd get it done but the car just sits in the yard and there no convenient Subaru dealers nearby. In my case, if SOA sent a guy over to the house, I'd probably say "have at it"

If Foroester sears will bolt in, or bolt up to my Impreza risks I wouldn’t mind them. I really like the seats in my 2003 Forester but I believe all of them have airbags and I don’t want to mess with that since my car doesn’t have side airbags. over at the 2nd gen Legacy forums I’ve read that WRX (aka 2nd gen Impreza) wagon seats will fit both front and back into 2nd gen Legacy’s, do Om wondering if they will swap in the other direction.

The seats in my 2005 Outback Sport wagon have seen better days. Interested in swapping both front and rear seats from another Subaru wagon but curious what would interchange with little modification. Im guessing no issues with seats from any 2002- 2007 Impreza or WRX wagon. Would seats from 2nd gen Legacy or Outback fit? Also curious what generation Forester seats might fit.

I did swap tires with the Legacy and there was no change in the noise, so I've confirmed it's not the tires. While I was test driving, I did take a video where you can hear the higher whining noise in the background. Please take a listen and let me know what you think.

Update- Today decided to swap all wheels and tires with my '98 Legacy GT to see what would happen with the vibration. Both sets of wheels and tireds are the same size, both have about 3k miles on them. The vibration at around 45- 50MPH was still there a little bit, but just barely noticeable. I then drove the Legacy with the Impreza tires and felt a little bit of vibration or maybe just road feel, which may be the cheaper Sumitomo tires, or maybe one or two tires that weren't balanced well when installed. Also, while I had the Impreza up on stands, I examined the driveshaft and u- joints. The driveshaft turned smoothly by hand and I could not observe any play with any of the 3 u-joints when turning it back and forth, and changing direction. There was some play in the transmission and rear differential, however.

The vibration doesn’t seem to vary when letting go off the accelerator. It also is about the same in front wheel drive when the driveshaft is just spinning free with the rear differential.

That's a good point. I'm thinking of swapping all 4 wheels from my smooth riding Legacy (same size tires) and seeing how each vehicle drives afterwards.

One question that pops into my head regarding u-joints- wouldn't I expect the vibration to be less when the driveshaft is not under load (just spinning with the rear differential) when i put the car in front wheel drive? In comparison, the whine from the rear differential goes away in front wheel drive.

Aftermarket axles but there was more vibration before they were replaced so don’t think they’re the culprits what is involved with dropping the driveshaft. Looking underneath, it looks involved getting to it- it appeared the exhaust system may be in the way?

Tires were all a brand new matched set. I tried swapping in a spare for each tire and have rotated them with no change. We changed the diff fluid after this started with no change

Here’s another point about the noise- it started the same day I had new tires put on the car. Eliminated it being tire noise itself- makes me wonder what the tire place could have done that would affect wheel beariings

As a follow up, the vibration I felt on acceleration went away when the new front axles were installed (the old ones had flung a lot of grease out of the inner CV joints). The whine from the rear still persists but practically disappears when in front wheel drive only. I also get a slight vibration at highway speed that doesn't vary on turns or whether in FWD or AWD. Wonder if both symptoms could be wheel bearings, and if so, how to check to be sure (since they are pricey for my mechanic to replace).

Took it on a long drive the other day. The vibration is most pronounce around 50- 55 MPH. I put it in FWD briefly but doesn't seem to change when I checked it this time. Doesn't seem to vary on turns. It's just there. I had been thinking driveshaft u-joints, but I would think that would have diminished some when in FWD and not under load (like my rear differential whine does).It also doesn't seem to be worse when under load or accelerating. U-joints is my main worry (in case it decides to randomly self- destruct going down the road) otherwise it's not really bad enough to really worry about when driving. Just hoping it doesn't result in some catastrophic failure if I can't diagnose it right away.

Put in the new coolant temp sensor but no difference in the fan operation. It kicks on after a few miles and appears to stay on. Again, it's just the passengers' sa(right) side fan on my car and the other fan is activated when the A/C is turned on. It must be some other electrical issue.

I recently did a coolant change on my 2008 Forester X, auto transmission. I was smelling coolant and had to top it off a couple of times (thin king maybe some residual spilled antifreeze and needing to top of because of a few air bubbles surfacing) but tonight I noticed some wetness around the seam nea rthe top of the radiator where the top tank joins the core soo I'm thinking a small leak has developed at the seam. I'm guessing there is no effective way to repair it so it looks like I'll need a new radiator. Any recommendations on radiator brand or where to buy?