Al_SemC

What's that tool cost?

That is exactly the stuff. I remember seeing it on top of a cabinet at a Pontiac dealership and asking the tech about it. He compared it to Sea Foam. It's particularly cool that you can get it at your local Holden dealership. You can put it in the oil and they actually recommend you drive it while it's in there, but I've heard conflicting information about how long it should stay in there. Some say for 100 miles, others 200 and still others 500. If it were me, I'd put it in for a couple days then promptly change the oil, since I drive ~40-75mi/day. Incidentally, to me, Holden = cool. My first exposure was to the Monaro, here in the states rebadged as the Pontiac GTO. It's an incredibly tasty car. It's definitely in the top of the runnings of what summer car I'll get when I have money to do that. GTO 6.0L vs. BMW M3...hmm...

Oho...Australia. Yeah, I guess you don't have Seafoam there. Here's a link to a description of the stuff I was talking about. I know General Motors has a cleaner they call "GM Top Engine Cleaner" that is used in exactly the same way, so I'd imagine such things are fairly common and that you'd be able to get something locally. It is possible that warm weather with thin oil is causing lifter noise. You could always try a thicker oil, 'mano.

I second the notion that you've got an Impreza exhaust, specifically an RS one. They're a scoshe shorter, about an inch, IIRC.

Roll over to NASIOC and do some research about the "grounding mod." You sound like you may be suffering from bad grounding. The most common symptom of this is hesitation around where you've got it. I would hesitate on the knock sensor as they're really just a microphone -- they're either working or not and when they're not, they throw a CEL. They're also a bit too expensive to "just change" at ~$100. The grounding mod might cost you $20 if you buy really spiffy hardware.

My bets are on the first and last since you describe it as a tap and not a knock, especially when you mention the diesel sound thing. That sound is generally a bit of slap. I've never known an EJ22 to slap too badly when warm, but I have known them to tick. As TheBrian about that -- he's battling a noisy valvetrain right now. My guess is that your valve clearances are a bit out of whack. If you've got one of the Good Ol' EJ22's, that is prior to MY97, you may have a sticky, slow or collapsed HLA - Hydraulic Lash Adjuster. Seafoaming the oil for a little while seems to help as Seafoam is mostly kerosene, which tends to break up the varnish that builds up on the HLA's. It's possible you're running too thin of an oil too. At your milage, I'd be running 10W30 or even 10W40, depending on how well it took to the 40. If you've got an MY97 or better EJ22, your rocker adjusters may need some attention. They're the old standby screw-type, so you can adjust them yourself with a feeler gauge and a pair of wrenches yourself. Refer to your favorite manual on how exactly to go about it.

You're going to have to put the whole strut assembly in there, springs, keepers, damper, the whole thing. I think the control arm and rear knuckle are different too. Maybe not, since I've seen people put GT suspensions into Outbacks fairly simply, generating an "Outback GT." Another thing to think about is the fact that your 14" wheels are going to look a bit goofy in there. You may want to think about picking up some 15" wheels and some 205/70R15's like a real Outback has. How you deal with the speedometer reading low is up to you in that case.

I've never heard of a stock header weld breaking. Some older revisions of the Borla header pipes had welds breaking, but generally only on the turbocharged versions. That pipe only holds itself up. There are flanges on the cat and the pipe behind it that clamp it securely to the chassis. At least on 96's, 97's and 03's. Manufacture a better bracket? I'd get a new Borla header, honestly. Better sound, better flow. This would work only if you're willing to spring for the $300 or so pricetag.

I would imagine the belt would break in some. Typical of any moving part, really.

<rimshot!>

So, the general concensus is that the procedure in the Haynes book, that is one not using the two special cam lockdown tools, is safe enough for government work? I may do this before it gets too cold as I think I may need a water or oil pump. Something in that area's a little squeaky.

The camshafts have Woodruff keys on them. You can't put the sprockets on wrong without breaking them.

I installed a keyless entry system on my '97 Outback about three weeks ago. The button is on a set of brown wires and is supposed to be installed into a square hole behind the hood release lever. Mine is black, inside a black bezel. If it isn't there, hunt down the keyless module and follow the larger wiring harness until you get two brown wires. The button should be at the end of that.

Well, they're not "updated" pistons; they're "countermeasure" pistons. That is, they're specially designed pistons with longer skirts with less propensity to slap. They're specifically for owners under warranty that continually complain about the slap and waste techs' time by bringing the car in for diagnostics. I myself am not big on the countermeasure pistons for two reasons: first, they're heavier and thus reduce the engine's ability to make power, reduce free-revving capability and increase bearing load and second, the "slap" has been proven to have no ill effects whatsoever on the long term. They're basically SOA telling you to STFU.

Are you absolutely sure that it doesn't change pitch with engine or vehicle speed? There's practically nothing in the drivetrain that spins at the same speed all the time. All I can think of that does the same stuff all the time is the fuel pump. Hmm. Maybe you have a noisy fuel pump? You could try getting some heavy load on the engine. Go drive around a bit and warm it up normally, then stop, put it in drive, put on the P-Brake, stomp the footbrake down hard, then rev engine some. This'll basically load the engine as hard as it'll ever be loaded. Don't do it for more than a few seconds or more than a couple times, as you can overheat your transmission fluid. Drive around a bit to cool it down. That's brake-torquing, in case you didn't know. It's good for dragstarts in an auto, FYI. Regardless, in that case, you'll be loading the engine up without the drivetrain spinning at all. The only places left to whistle are engine related and the torque converter. You may be able to get a rough idea where it's coming from.

Not that it's useful or anything, but I just wanted to point out that pie is really good, even Humble Pie.

Hmm. What color is the smoke? Is it: Gray? -- That indicates your mix is fug-off rich. Blue? -- That's oil burning. White? -- That's coolant unless the exhaust is still cold. Then it could be steam from water condensed in there. Take that info and add it to this: Does it smell like: Gas? -- Again, hella-rich mixture. It's acrid, heavy and oily? -- That is, you guessed it, oil! Like burning marshmallows? -- That's coolant. If the mixture's off, it could be O2 sensors, the ECU, injectors, plugs, wires or possibly a vacuum leak. If it's oil, you've got ring, valvestem seal or head gasket issues. If it's coolant, you've pooped a head gasket.

Basically the only thing you can do to NA Scoobs without spending buttloads of money in parts and tuning is the suspension. Really, the cheapest worthwhile engine mods are exhaust and cams, which will run you $500-$1000 and about $750, respectively. You also will kill your gas milage unless you cruise alot. You might also cause other problems, especially longevity problems. Suspension mods won't do that. They'll increase NVH and make the ride more rough and possibly intolerable. Many people are in to that, though. Furthermore, in all honesty, I think it's more fun to drive a nimble car than an obsurdly powerful one. Anyone can go in a straight line really fast. It takes da skillz to turn. I would like to point out that this isn't the Fast and the Furious. Girls don't care. They like expensive cars, not riceburners. Trust me. I've asked several. They don't care about your car unless it's truly a piece of crap since they won't want to be seen in a beater or unless it's something expensive and interesting in and of itself, i.e. a Mercedes. Though, I did have a girlfriend once who was a gearhead. She cared, but about stuff that mattered. Like superchargers and oversized pistons. Cams, exhausts, you know. Hated ricers and let me know every time she saw one. She was not a typical female human, though.

If we're talking about making the Legacy better at cornering, then we're in a different ballpark. I kind of got the idea from what I read that he was interested in making it teh_fastar in a straight line. You can definitely do some of that for fairly cheap. I know you can look a bit around on http://www.subaruparts.com, specifically here and get some suspension bits; bushings and whatnot. They also have fairly cheap adjustable swaybars there. That'll help. Incidentally, you should be able to get some flatter cornering on the cheap if you snag the swaybars (I know the front works, not sure about the rear) from an Outback and stick them in along with their associated hardware. Outbacks, Gen 2's anyway, came with an 18mm swaybar, much heftier than your 15mm (16mm?) Legacy bar. Poke at salvage yards.

Really the only performance modifications you can do without breaking the bank are cams, intake, exhaust and custom tuning based on your mods. Cams aren't gunna be cheap and they're gunna need tuning. Expect to spend $700 easy. Intakes are fine but I've not been able to determine whether they do a whole lot of anything on the NA motors except diminish low end torque and kill throttle response at lower rpms. Like $200 for a real one. Or you could make one... A bigger exhaust will probably net you more horsepower and possibly better fuel economy, but it'll hurt the bottom end and make it louder. If you cruise alot and are into the sound, great. If you don't and aren't, keep the stocker. Cost varies with application, on average $500. Besides that, swap in a WRX motor and spend a month wiring?

That is most definitely not the tranny. I'll bet you'll find it does that with it parked in your driveway. I second the tuneup stuff. If it keeps doing it after a tuneup, try putting some heavier oil in there, say 10W40 instead, etc. If it does it less, you probably have blowby or valvestem seal issues.

I wonder why I never had a problem with it. I must have just noticed the button straightaway. Maybe it's I have this habit of inspecting and figuring out all the controls in the car before I drive it in case I trip something crazy like a traction controller or need to turn the headlights on.

Good. You broke your cherry. You're a man now.

This being why the '04 Pontiac Grand Prix GT is limited to 109 and non-RS and Z28 Camaros (and non-Trans Am Firebirds) were limited to 112. Honestly, though, I find it a little stupid that companies could be held liable for that. Just because you can do a thing means that you should do it or that it's even safe to. You can jump off a cliff if you want. It's not safe. Your body isn't rated for the landing. Do you sue your parents for producing an unsafe product in your body? No. If they really need an out-clause, just put a thing in the manual that says "Your tires are not rated for speeds over [something]. [Car Company] will not be held liable for damage caused by driving at excessive speeds."

Sounds like you have a crack someplace that's getting worse. Obviously, take a look for one. They generally develop on or around welds. Additionally, stick it in first and tool around on and off the throttle at lower speeds while checking for it. That'll make sure you don't have road noise to contend with which should make it a bit easier to ascertain the general area from which the sound is coming. ...It'll also be fun too. Zoom! :-p