heartless

AMEN! to that!

no it isnt - there arent that many rubber hoses that would need to be changed, tbh upper and lower rad hoses, that little one off the thermostat, and maybe a couple other small ones near the throttle body the one that is unrealistic unless it is showing signs of leakage is the metal one that runs along the top of the block.

there is also a time limit on them... so not just mileage based, but age in general. i believe it is suggested to change every 105K miles or 105 months (8.75 yrs), whichever happens first... since last done in 2012, you are well past that time frame. Owners manual would give you the interval. If you don't have a physical copy of that, you can get a digital copy here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Impreza/1999/

because of the short distance, standard straight hose will kink (been tried), unless you do like Texan suggested and make a loop to prevent kinking.

in all honesty, i would think just swapping trannies would be about the easiest route.. no matter which direction you go, you are gonna have to pull the whole works anyway. and glad you know about changing rear ends... there are a whole lot of folks that dont know that.

have no idea on the gearing swap, but if you do manage to do it, you will also need a matching rearend...

no not the first year... other half's 06 is dbw on the throttle

what your problem is is most likely what is called the clock spring - it provides metal to metal contacts for the horn, airbag, and any steering wheel mounted accessories (stereo controls, cruise, etc) and still allow the steering wheel to rotate. there are proper procedures to follow when dealing with the airbag - a good google search should turn up more info on that. If you are not comfortable tackling that, then i would suggest taking it to a good mechanic and having it done - cost will typically range from 2-400 bucks, depending on your location & the shop.

agree with GD - dont assume - know. easy way to know.. wait until after dark, fire it up and pop the hood... use a spray bottle to mist a little moisture over the coil pack and/or around the suspect wire/plug if it is the coil, i guarantee you, you will know. there will be a light show from it arcing. they are sometimes bad enough to not even need the moisture to see, or to wait until after dark for that matter... this was my 95 Legacy - broad daylight... this is what you are looking for.

may have a broken sensor wire, too... that would set the code. i currently have abs light on in my 02 Forester, have not looked into it yet tho..

well, considering the mileage, it was most likely overdue for a timing belt, and unless you have proof it was changed before you bought it, then i would not necessarily correlate the two issues. Is it possible the extremes of the tranny issue broke the belt? Maybe, but it was most likely going to break anyway, even without the tranny issue. Timing belts are fairly robust things - the scenario you describe with the tranny would be more likely to end in a slipped belt & out of time, not broken, unless the belt was at the end of its service life. Skipping a tooth or two is quite plausible - have had it happen with a weak tensioner - thankfully the one that did it was a non-interference EJ22, so no damage to heads. Broken belts come from 2 things typically... 1- end of service life, 2- failed timing component. For the record, they rarely look "worn or dried out" when changed. You don't go by how they look, rather - how many miles/years it has been in service. Anytime i buy a used Subaru, the FIRST thing I do with it is a timing service - regardless of mileage. Unless the seller can PROVE to me that it was just done... and even then, i might do it myself, just for the peace of mind factor. A timing service is not just changing a belt, either. There are other factors, like the cogged idler pulley that is known to fail, checking the tensioner assembly, and seals behind the cam & crank pulleys, and can't forget the water pump, either. with all that said.. i would start looking for a replacement tranny... chances are you are not going to resolve that easily.

At this point, i would not make any decisions until you have both of the "new to you" vehicles in your possession and see exactly what you have to work with. Ideally, you would keep your running car as is, and do any swapping, if applicable, with the purchases. but until you have both of them at hand.. not gonna suggest anything. just my nickles worth.

thanks for the clarification on the oil side of things, @idosubaru - the thought had crossed my mind as well... especially considering that my AC compressor kicking in is pretty much unnoticeable when driving - at idle, yes, you can tell when it kicks in or out, but driving down the road, cant tell at all. Granted, mine could use a little bit of a charge boost - it is struggling a bit on those really hot, sticky days, but does ok for the most part.

they also have fans that are designed to work with those thicker radiators. the stock Subaru fans are not designed for that kind of application. and my comment above STILL stands - reduce speed, lower gear, higher revs.

reduce speed a little, lower gear, higher revs will help a great deal. ie: take it out of overdrive! as for the radiator you are looking, probably no such beast for the automatics.

wiring is totally different between the two... at the very least, you will need to swap intake w/harness (possible fitment issues?) and probably sensors - cam, crank - possibly more it is not just a drop it in and go kind of deal. I will have to leave it for others with more experience than i to clarify details you could have left this in the other section - both are considered "new gen", lol, but yeah, here is good too.

oh yeah! they are big, and that hood goes on forever! I also had a 77 Mark V once upon a time.. the longest production 2 door made... had a lot of fun with that one, too. Used to get teased it would pass everything but a gas station - my standard reply was that it would pass every OTHER station, LOL. In reality, it was not that bad on gas for its size, especially if you kept your foot out of that 4bbl, lol

LOL, yeah, i hear ya... I am old enough to be a grandmother, but the Forester is no land yacht either.. so KYB for it, too however, we do have a land yacht hiding in the garage... a 1973 Lincoln Mark IV

for me, personally, i have zero complaints with the KYBs. Firm, without being harsh. and yeah, if you are replacing worn out units, there is a BIG difference.. Gabriel and Monroe are just too soft for my liking. They might be fine on Grandpa's old land yacht, but not on a Subaru. lol

yeah, there are no shortcuts for a good ride on a Subaru.. as much of a pain as it can be, it is worth it to put the right struts in and have the ride, and handling, be on the money

i tried monroes once on one of the 4 Subarus I have had - honestly, was not all that happy with them - too soft If you are keeping the car, it is worth the extra effort to go KYB

for 10k i would go buy a different car.. that is just nuts

hopefully that fixes it for you for the long term. and thanks for coming back to update!

put her to the test today - had to go get some groceries now that we finally have a working fridge again (yes, our fridge died just about the same time - ugh) was getting to be slim pickings for food. two different stores, had to back out of parking space at each, plus backing out at home, so yeah.. she is all good to go! I just need to learn to use a lighter hand, lol - keep going into 3rd instead of drive now cause it is so easy.

honestly, that situation is not real common, so I would go with a used OEM one matching your year, or close to it. that was what I did - grabbed the coil pak off my old 1990 Legacy and plopped it in.. no more problems and yeah, you would think it would show more than one misfire code, but it only ever threw the one cylinder, and it was always when it was damp out.