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we had the same problem with Datsuns, Toyotas, and Mazdas about 1970. They even used to give you the neat mixture of oil and coolant in the expansion tank to clean up. last time I saw that was in my Datsun Z about 1980 the week before I put a Ford V8 in it.

Sure sounds like a head gasket to me.

I think your has a multiple coil does it not? If so I think if only one is not fireing that would not be the problem. My money would be on a plug wire or the injector.

and change the $12.00 pilot bearing. It was going to be $150 more but I got that off for complaining that they should have done it right the first time. They insist that they only change the pilot bearing when changing the flywheel and I insist that is stupid. A pilot bearing, throwout bearing, clutch disc and cover all have about the same expected life. Oh well, the car is back to being quiet and operating properly. Don't remind me that many of you guys have much better prices in your area. If the car had not done it on the first day of rainy season I might have chosen to do it myself, but the weather kills my enthusiasm.

pump on the clutch 10 times and try to select first. If it works then it's hydraulic.

plus the two silly washers per the bulletin. It was sitll not right so I changed the master. Ahhhhhh! Yep I did the water pump, seals, and the tensioner in mine and I have had no further problems from the front of the engine. Don't ask about the clutch.

all you need is to go to the dealer and get a can of goop added. All the phase 2 does is make a small water leak to the outside and the goop should stop it before it starts. Is it manual or automatic? I had some clutch problems with my 99 Forester and so did some other folks.

a pretty good thump. If it were mine I would be jacking it up and spinning and rattling. Don't forget to block it up before yanking.

as a racing trick to get better pedal. I think it was on old Porsches that had the pedal and cylinder mounted low and folks would make a little brace out of pipe with a bolt and nut welded for adjustment. Any way you reduce mounting flex will help a bit.

One of the ways I got to be old is stopping working on cars with inadaquate safety precautions. I use ramps, blocking, jackstands, and then throw a wheel under the car. If all else fails the wheel will keep it off your chest an maybe save your life.

as I am married to a Kiwi and we have many relatives there. The interesting thing about Kiwi is that they accept cars of all major standards.This means you can have BMWs with european only equipement, JDM cars, Ozzie cars, and America's best. This was where I first tried a WRX and came back babbling about them to my friends. Now that we have them too folks see what I meant. You might really nejoy a trip to New Zealand, I used to bring old British car parts home when I collected them, and now it's JDM heaven.

I just went for a ride with the mechanic from the Subaru place. He confirms my diagnosis of a pilot bearing and also feels they should have replaced it when the clutch was done. Of course it was hard to get it to squeak for the mechanic, but it finally did.

Last year I had the subaru countermeasure clutch fitted to my Forester and now it sounds like the pilot bearing is going. I don't see a replacement of this item on my bill. I am going to drop it at the dealer this am and will report later.

and that he consulted his manual first. Still, if it was going to be my car it would get a thourough inspection from some one I trusted.

on a car this new so not many will have experience to share. Swapping seats is not as easy as it used to be with seat heaters and air bag wiring. You will at least need the relay and switches for the seat you will use. I suggest you try a car fitted the way you want as this stuff gets expensive quick. I am more familiar with BMWs and it seems to change to sport seats I recall someone buying the seats on ebay for $1500 and being out of the job for around $2,000. Subie seats should cost less if you can find a car with all the bits you want in a wrecking yard. I expect your car would be prewired like a BMW but I am not sure.

bottle of goop to prevent head gasket failure.The phase 2 only gets a small external leak usually and is not a big problem. I forget the exact terms but Subaru also extends the warranty on these engines for head gasket failure. This might be worth doing a search on the board. When I had mine done (second owner) Subaru gave me a bottle of goop and paid me back for the gaskets I had replaced.

compared to fixing it. Another worry for me would be transmission lubrication while towing. This should be easy to see if it was a problem though as they tend to blow sky high if they were towed without lube. If it is lubricated from the gears spinning on the input shaft this would be readily apparent as I have seen Jeeps nearly cut in half. A good question is how was it towed as I have seen a Forester on a dolly behind a motorhome with two wheels down.This is fairly stupid unless the driveshaft is disconnected.

when they changed the pads, but you have salt back there and perhaps it just ruted quickly.

coupling that can be easily damaged by towing. Do you have a manual for the car? There have been a number of folks who have had to replace the coupling after towing. If you do a search on the board you should locate some. It seems to fail in a couple of modes if I recall, one of which is to lose drive to the rear wheels. Seems like the part is around $300 and relpaceing it is about $700 all up. Somebody with a better memory than mine might be more help. I would stay away from a 98 anyway because of the head gasket problems myself.

to see if all bits were free and lubed. I am sure you will free them all now.

happy Lesbaru.

to disconnect the driveshafts it would be OK, but did they? I would have it checked for damage by a dealer or good indie garage before putting out the bucks. If you are rpepared to pay for a gasket job the 98 may be OK. On advice from the board I bought a 99 myself and I am glad I did.

If everything else is very good it may be worth putting in a new engine. If the rest of the car is tired you may have to consider trading. One tough thing is that it is hard to finance a new engine and fairly easy to finance another car. If you are able to do the work yourself that is another matter. The first thing I would do is tear the engine down and see just what it needs.I would be hesitant to put more than a set of cyl heads and gaskets into a 97 unless it was a very good car.

which if you look at the three blown head gasket threads here is to be avoided. The 99 and up have a phase 2 which has a much better rep. Do a search on this board before you buy. On advice from the board I bought a 99 with more miles over a 98 with less and I am glad I did.

and it did apply. But I am fairly sure it does not cover your car. It only covers phase 2 cars and I believe your car is fitted with a phase 1.