[16" 1998 Forester rims on a 2010 Outback?]

16s to 16s should work fine, but test fit your forester wheels before investing in tires, tho, to make sure everything clears ok (brakes, esp.)

[Seatbelt chime. I can’t stop it!]

good luck, hope it works for you

either way, please let us know the outcome

[2010 Outback 2.5i opinions]

2010 is definitely going to be canbus electronics, which is a whole new can of worms in and of itself.... cant just swap stuff like aftermarket radios or anything like that.. it all has to be programed into the canbus system
 

that nonsense started around 2006 - and is a bit of a pain in the backside and i personally would steer clear..
in fact, this time I went backwards in years - but it was the right car at the right price at the right time... I went from a 2004 Forester to a 2001 Outback and I could not be happier.

[1995 Legacy wagon big oil leak]

yeah the covers are a major source of leaks - new seals on those and call it good - they arent terribly expensive.

i generally do oil seals up front when doing timing - so i dont usually have an issue there

oil pressure sending unit on top (kinda below & slightly left of the alt as looking at it from the front) is another one that can leak like a sieve when they go bad, but it would be pretty obvious if you look on top for oil

 

[Gone and done it again...]

5 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Front CV axle and it'll be the inner joint that's bad.  If it's a subaru, clean and regrease the joint.  The grease will be gone or pour out like a bucket of water. If it's aftermarket, install a Subaru axle. 

yup, pretty much my thoughts on it.. the axle that was put in was only $110 - i doubt it was a genuine Subaru axle

just wish the forester axles would swap, but that is no go - inner ends are different

[1995 Legacy wagon big oil leak]

Keep the car and fix the leak
95 is a great year - i loved the one i had

engine is pretty simple to pull, just make sure you unplug the wiring so nothing gets damaged - if you have successfully done timing, you can do this

as lmdew said, a large leak like that is most likely the oil separator plate on the back of the block - common leak zone

I would NOT touch the rear main seal unless it was obviously damaged - rear main is very rarely the problem, and dont be fooled by oil spread all over back there... the separator plate is the most common leak point.. oil comes out of there, gets on the flywheel and gets splattered all over the place.

i cant remember - does 95 have a plastic or metal plate?
if it is plastic, you will want to replace it with a metal one, which will also mean replacing the screws as they will be a different length. Rock Auto has them, some including the screws..
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/subaru,1995,legacy,2.2l+h4,1269806,engine,oil+separator+cover,18583

that and some anaerobic sealer and you will be good to go.

[Seatbelt chime. I can’t stop it!]

16 hours ago, bullseye451 said:

I know the passenger side pressure switch is faulty. The chime is In time with the passenger seatbelt light on the interior roof console. No pressure is on the seat. The alarm stays on and beeps around 12-15 time in strings after a pause of about 5 seconds.

I’ll try to disconnect the battery longer than 1/2 hr and see if I can redo the cheat again. But yes I did everything other than open the drivers door afterwords.

I do have a few extra seats but it looks involved to replace the wiring with the heated seats

if the passenger seat switch is faulty, there is you problem, and I doubt you will resolve it until you address the problem.
 

found this  -  might help? (i did not watch it, so, no idea how involved)

 

[P0420 - Replaced Cat and 02 sesnor, this thing won't go away.]

glad you got it through! YAY! 🍻

[Gone and done it again...]

honestly, not too terribly worried about the vibration at this point - it seemed like it only happened at freeway speeds, and I really dont use the freeway much, so... 🤷‍♀️  it is so mild, and comes and goes that to me, it really is not a big concern yet.

side note to that... checking the receipts over a bit closer yesterday, when it got a new clutch put in not too long ago (around 141K - has 184K now), it also got a front axle put in, and my bet is that vibration is the aftermarket axle - anyone else want to take that bet? LOL

my plan is to take it to my local mechanic that i trust and have him put it on a lift to get a good look at things underneath - do a thorough inspection of everything.. also think it needs an alignment

2 hours ago, lmdew said:

Happy to bring a rust free Colorado Subaru back to WI for you.  I've done half a dozen over the years for family and friends.

Enjoy the new to you Subaru,

If we had had more time to think about things, and to look around, i probably would take you up on that offer! LOL but it was a "need a car NOW" situation - and we got darn lucky to find the right car at the right price at the right time.
The underside of the Forester, unfortunately, is looking like swiss cheese... not really safe anymore. It gets retired, but we might keep it around for a while since it does have a good motor and trans in it - and axles... gonna have to check into interchangeability there... if they will swap, i will grab one off the Forester.

[Seatbelt chime. I can’t stop it!]

assuming you using the drivers seatbelt for all of this, but have you considered the passenger seat as well? what about back seats?

is there something sitting on the seat (passenger) that the car might think is a person??
there are sensors in the seats that will set off the chime until the seatbelts are buckled - it is possible one has gone bad?

[Gone and done it again...]

Was getting ready to do some pretty major front suspension work on the 04 Forester yesterday.. and soon realized it was just a tad beyond putting that money into it..
We knew she was pretty rusty underneath, but just how bad it really was didnt hit until we started really looking at what needed to be done... the old girl is going into retirement - immediately.

packed the parts we had already ordered back up - they will get returned for refund...

jumped on craigslist and started looking for a replacement... and we found a little gem that had been posted only 2 hours before - a 2001 Outback wagon, in that pretty silvery green color.

with 184K.. 5 spd, and immaculate inside. has a bit of the typical rust in the wheel wells, but not bad, and partner says the undercarriage looks fantastic - like it has spent its life in a garage. This car has been VERY well maintained. Have receipts for the major work of headgaskets and timing, new clutch not long ago, and a couple other things. Well worth the 2 hr trip to see it, buy it, and bring it home (another 2 hrs).

it does have 2 codes currently - one for knock sensor (easy fix) and one for the O2 heater circuit.. but it still ran great, drove very well and I am a very happy camper.   Been wanting to get back into a wagon for some time now, LOL

One thing i did notice on the drive home was an intermittent vibration... very mild, but definitely there... would come and go... seemed to come on while pulling a hill... any chance this could be related to the knock sensor?

Will get some pics up later.. havent taken any yet, LOL

 

[P0420 - Replaced Cat and 02 sesnor, this thing won't go away.]

1 hour ago, phyregold said:

So the check engine light is gone, the check engine light bulb works, when I scan the car when the car is running the p0420 is still there.

the code will be there as a "stored code" until it is cleared by the reader/scan tool
the light off means the problem has been resolved, and that is all that matters

[CEL U0073 Causes]

On 10/13/2023 at 10:42 PM, Daskuppler said:

I don't think we're going to tackle this one, we have an international trip in two weeks. We'll see what the dealership says. Where are these control modules located? The ECM looks like it's about 1k and the TCM looks to be about $600...

i am curious about ownership - how long have you owned the car?

did you buy it new, or used?

If used, any idea where it came from?
 

[2002 Forester timing pulley failed]

18 hours ago, Numbchux said:

 

It doesn't need an engine. It needs valves.

I don't believe for a second that a $650 used EJ25 is "good". Especially from a quality source willing to stand behind the product.

Unless the COMPLETE history on that used engine were known, I wouldn't just drop in a 20 year old engine. I would do MLS head gaskets and timing stuff. At which point, just fix your engine.

100% agree!

 

[2002 Forester timing pulley failed]

11 hours ago, ThosL said:

240K plus miles, generally a good car. 

mileage is not really the big factor here - these cars have been known to go a lot longer if cared for
the bigger question, with being in the new england area, is what kind of shape is the chassis in? is it solid? or is it rusty?

If the chassis is in decent enough condition, it would be worth fixing - if it is a rustbucket, then no.

[2002 Forester timing pulley failed]

providing you have no other problems, or rusty bolts, yeah, the job can be accomplished in a couple hours,

if this is your first time doing this, i would plan on at least double that, tho, maybe longer, depending

if you are smart, you will replace the idler pulleys while you are in there

[06 Forester Hillholder not releasing]

had the same issue with my '04 - i just disconnected, tied it open and called it good.
i can drive a stick well enough that i dont need one, i would suspect you can as well?

 

[02 Impreza Fuel Gauge Inaccurate Reading]

1 hour ago, lmdew said:

Fill the tank and go by mileage!

This, right here, 100%
Reset the trip odometer at every fill up, and go by mileage. I have not trusted a fuel gauge (on ANY vehicle) in many, many years.

if the light actually works like it should - and yes, they are supposed to come on early enough that you can get somewhere to get more - you can use that as a good indicator of how many miles you can safely get out of a fill up

generally speaking, out of a 10 gal fill, i would expect between 275 to 300 miles, depending on specific vehicle, conditions and area driven..
my '04 Forester gets around 280-285-ish out of 10gals, on typical midwestern rolling terrain two lane roads - very little freeway driving.

[Windshield Washer Jets Poor Spray Pattern]

it isn't even about design here, altho that is a factor.. it is more about materials and environment.

you can not print something like that in PLA and expect it to last in the environment it is in.
Ideally, it would be printed in Nylon - and nylon can be a pain in the backside if you aren't set up for it.. for starters, it usually requires high temps - higher than most common 3d printers can handle
next up is the size of the thing.. too small to really be a practical 3d print - can it be done?? yeah, it could, but is it really worth the hassle, only to have it fail again in a relatively short time?

as for mounting - it might have a clip for mounting (depends on the model, but my Forester does not).. but zip ties are wonderful things..

so yeah.. initially, the whole world might look like an .stl file, but over time, you figure out that some things are just not practical 3d prints. (been playing with 3d printers since 2015)

[Windshield Washer Jets Poor Spray Pattern]

pfft... faster, easier, and more durable to just replace it with a brass T

 

[Phase 2 ej25 to ej22 swap. O2 sensor issues]

an excellent resource for FSMs is https://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

[Engine shutters briefly after fill up]

being that new, I would take it back to the dealer for warranty work..

 

[95 Impreza 2.2 OBD I or 2?]

yeah, 95 was kind of a crossover year.. the OBDII mandate was in place, but was not required until the 96 model year - which usually starts in the fall of the previous year.
Some Subaru's had OBDII in 95 model year - I know for sure the Legacy did (i owned one of that year), but sorry, I do not know if the Impreza did.

[coolant in 1996 impreza outback]

OE for easy fitment, aftermarket if you want fitting hassles - having to trim, bends arent quite right, etc...

[Mild overheating on ez30d. May have found the culprit...thoughts?]

totally different engine to the EJ series... and a LOT more work

We have an 06 LL Bean with the H6, also with headgasket problems.. it is parked on the car trailer at the moment while we decide what to do with it...