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an extreme cold start I agree with checking the codes and I like setright's idea. I also tend to wonder about the temp sender as that can cause a hard start if its out of spec.

but I have been questioning H6 owners as I think that might be my next car. No problems reported to me at all.

but in some cars you can trigger a code with a hard cold start. If it dumps raw gas down the system the ox sensors can go nuts. I would see if it would not go away with a few cycles. I am not sure if this happens on Subies but it is a common problem on a BMW that gets parked in the cold for a few days. When the battery gets weak seems to contribute. On Bimmers it clears up with regular running after a few starts.

and have usually chosen my long term cars with a chain. Mentality is a bit different in Japan I think, and the theroretically best and most modern is often chosen. Most Japanese Subies will be junked before thier first timing belt change.

officer. He told me he never bothered anybody with 10 MPH of the limit. I habitually drive about 9 over and have only gotten a ticket when I neglected my own advice. Pink Floyd on the box, sunny day, etc.... My Subie is about 3% slow and my BMW is about 4% slow and not linear. Treat it like you do a gas gauge, you can never really trust one.

it is a Subaru sponsored site for repair by outside mechanics.

telling us how well you are doing. That sounds like quite a commute. All the best to ya.

there was no oil in the tranny. It would at least be really screaming. It's great to hear that things worked out for you. I grew up in Greenville myself so I know how important transportation is up there.

but replace them if they are available.

since I can't see what you are working on its hard for me to tell what you need. I can tell you that a lot of stores that install the radios that police and truckers use are going to have co-ax. I have had pretty good luck soldering stuff like that together. There is probably co-ax sitting around your house if you have cable TV. If you need an antenna booster VW has an easy to install one that Crutchfield's sells. On my BMW I have the stock unit in the trunk and a VW unit just before the radio head unit. Take a look at the cable TV stuff at your local Radio Shack and don't expect them to be much help unless you get really lucky. I think this should be a job for Blitz.

the fingers touching the bearing. One guy claimed he cured that by putting grease (it would need to be something like brake grease that stays put) on the fingers by reaching in past the boot on the hole for the fork with a stick. You know the right thing to do is pull the tranny and do it right. I just went through this with a pilot bearing that my dealer did not change when he changed the clutch. I think if you can put a Ford in a Volvo you would not have much trouble doing a good head gasket job on your car if it does need to be done. I believe you have a phase 1 engine which has had two head gasket upgrades and the last one is pretty good. I put a 289 in a Datsun Z years ago and and the electrics were duck soup. I imagine getting the electrical system right on your car really took some work. A couple of us SF area guys have been looking for an phase 1 Outback or Legacy with a blown head gasket to experiment with. I'm sure the usual hot rod tricks can make a good seal on one of those.If you can seal up diesels and fuel dragsters you ought to be able to get a head seal on one of these.

engines. I too like the idea of the new ones that fail open, and perhaps the next time my Subie needs one I will look at them. None I have seen yet had a bleed hole which Subies need.

thermostat kill a head gasket. We will know after he tests I am sure.

with a thermometer. Note the temp when it opens. Keep in mind its a wear item that opens and closes constantly. It will die of metal fatige after its designed interval. Since it can kill your engine and is cheap is this a good place to save money?

Well gnu, off on the holiday trip. I'm off duty and have the Forester serviced and set to head for Lake County. Have a good one and look for an Outback. You will probably have to do the test driving as I have two cars already and drive the BMW most every day with the Subie for hauling stuff. I have the money and you have the energy. We can work this out and have a bit of fun with it.

this is just Subaru's way of keeping you awake on a boring drive. Every one I have driven does that too. I have not tried the newest ones but I think the same engineers who did the piston slap and head gaskets are on cruise controls now.

Not what you wanted to hear I'm sure.

Our fingers are crossed.

I would start by tightening all the clamps on the fuel injection hose in the engine compartment. Cold tends to make hoses shrink and leak. If you can't find it get help as it could lead to a fire.

When my 99 Forester is warm I get no noise at all. On a cold start in a building with the windows down it is fairly loud. Frankly it does not concern me a lot as they tend to tick on for years. I do think it is fairly stupid to let a design out on the street like this, and Subaru does have a fix. They have to tear down the whole engine and do a piston replacement so you only get it if you pressure them.

perhaps buying a 97-99 2.5 outback with a blown head gasket to tear down and try various head gaskets on. Perhaps compare the latest from the aftermarket to the latest from Subaru. I have even tossed up studs and solid copper gaskets like I used to make for Norton bikes. I would think a blown up one could be bought for around $3,000 and it could always be sold to recouver the money after the experiment. We would need to drive it maybe 5,000 miles to feel confident enought to sell it. Might lose a few bucks on the deal if we compare several gaskets, but then if we broke even or made a small profit and learned something that would be fine by me. You can buy a pretty good car all running for about $7,000 or less but I would not want to tear down a good one.

it seems inconsistant to say the engine was flooded with oil and the fact that holly checked the oil and it seemed fairly normal. If the oil change was not done by a Subie familiar place you have the famous drain the transmission and double fill the oil trick is a possibility. This would concern me now in that I would like to be sure hollie has oil in the tranny and differential. holly please tell me the subie guys checked this. Like the guy who sadi the engine could have been damaged by over revving (unlikely but possible), or running out of oil that would be verified by what I have seen. I have never seen an engine damaged by overfilling with oil. I am sure that is possible but fairly rare. When I have seen them overfilled they just puke it out. I have never seen double the amount of oil though. A while ago somebody posted on the board that he had gotten home and a Jiffy lube had double filled his oil and drained his tranny. Luckily he was the type to check and lived a short distance form the shop. No damage was done there if I recall.

the question would be was it the cause of the problem, or was it caused by the problem? I would take it off and have it tested by a radiator shop to start with. At the worst you will have repaired that part of the problem, and at the bset you might have fixed it.

I'm just getting to the point where I work on things I enjoy again but it has taken about eight years of dealership repair. Being shop manager for fleets can really burn you out on something you used to love.As some one wise once said, "I am glad I don't (#@$) for a living."

I thought you meant it was a mechanical problem.When I read it a bit closer I see you mean it is electrical. It should have a switch, a small timer or sometimes it is incorporated into the relay. I would expect you would most likely have burned out the relay-timer or switch. The key would be to locate the relays and timers after testing to see if you have power to and from the switch. Sorry I don't have any locations as I am at work and there are only me and customer service here today.