heartless

add to that age/heat hardened ones.. they don't seal anymore. it is worth the few bucks to buy and replace vacuum lines if it has not been done. just buy several feet of the appropriate sizes and cut to length using the old ones as a guide

rear wiper has the potential to be seized up.. if it is not used regularly the shaft will corrode in the housing and has to be completely disassembled to free it up again... not a super hard job to do, but rather time consuming with about a 50% chance of getting it working again (as long as the motor isnt burned out). for the front washer.. check that there is enough fluid in washer fluid bottle.. also check the wiring going to the little pump attached to the bottle. If you have a test light or volt meter, get a helper to push the button and make sure power is getting to the pump. If that checks out ok, then you may need to replace the pump. you should be able to find all related service manual materials in the link I gave above to help you diagnose further.

also, if the fluid is dark in color, it should be flushed/replaced... brake fluid should be clear. as it gathers moisture it turns dark

for future reference, pretty much any service manual can be downloaded from here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ some have owners manuals with them, some do not. but the service manual will give you way more useful info anyway. Bookmark that site for future reference.

it is relatively easy - just need to get the brakes loosened up. might be as easy as a short tow (preferably backwards & only a few feet - don't want to tear up tires) to break them free, or it may be more involved - as in jacking it up, pulling the wheels and getting in there to free up the pads/shoes manually. hope it goes easy for you.

if the car was left sitting for the entire summer & never moved, and as wet as it was this year.. the brakes are seized. I would put money on it the flashing lights are a completely separate issue.

my money is on the Moog Control arm.. never had an issue with KYB struts throwing alignment that far out of whack - and I have used them on multiple vehicles.

it does seem counter-intuitive - disconnecting hoses to fill the system, but because the thermostat is at the bottom of the system, filling from the radiator alone does not fill the block properly. you need to fill the block and the best way to do that is through the upper radiator hose.

did you fill the block first from the upper radiator hose? you have been here long enough that you should know about this.

um, Texan - i believe he is talking about these... there should not be power steering fluid anywhere near these... to the OP - if you can rock them easily, they are worn out and should be replaced. you should not be getting grease, or anything else out of them, either. the bottom (wide part) usually does have a retaining ring, sometimes the top does, sometimes not, but either way, the rubber should be pretty snug against the the rod coming out of it.

you should be able to find the diagrams you need here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

you guys need to try to remember that "self serve yards" are not available to everyone. There is no such place up here in North central Wisconsin - employees only out in the yards.

bring the front of the car up in the air, fill the block from the upper radiator hose, connect hose then fill radiator. there should be a small plastic bleeder screw on the passenger side - may not look like much - just a phillips style cross in a small piece of white plastic (sometimes black). Thermostat needs to be OEM - aftermarkets will not cut it for these cars.

my suggestion is check car-part.com finding "new" for 17+ yr old vehicles is getting pretty tough. My 2002 Foz is still going strong at nearly 233,000 miles.

rather than just stabbing in the dark, go grab the factory service manual (fsm) from here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ and see what you can find out about the cruise system from it.

my 2002 Forester with the 4EAT also has over 232,000 on it and is doing fine. Tranny shifts smoothly, no problems at all.

i think it has to do with the stub outs for the axles.. 02 Forester uses a different inner joint than any other - it is a female cup like this... left side is the tranny side... pretty much all others use this style ... Again, left is tranny side... as to why Subaru did this is known only to them.

air breather tube?? you did not say which AT tranny it has - 4 or 5 speed - 2006 had both options found this in a FSM - for the 5sp AT.. looks kinda like your description (picture is too small to make much out) link to where I found this: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy_Outback/2006/USDM Legacy FSM 2006 (BP-BL)/2006 USDM/6 TRANSMISSION SECTION/AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION 5AT/

first off, start by downloading the service manual for you car from here... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ the timing marks being referred to are located on the two cam pulleys and the toothed crank pulley (actually on the backer plate of this one) - you can find more info in the service manual about this.

EJs generally have the charcoal canister in the back, closer to the tank - it is MUCH more susceptible to being flooded than the old EA series cars were. me personally, when the pump kicks off, I might round off to the next whole dollar amount, might not.. depends on how close it is. if it kicks off only a couple of pennies over, I might take it to a quarter.. but i do not just keep pumping until it spits back at me.

I hope you invested in quality Japanese parts for that kit.. Gates is using Chinese crap these days - not a good buy. as for the exhaust leak - hard to say where exactly without crawling under the car.. could be manifold gaskets, could be a hole somewhere in the piping

piston slap sounds awful on cold startup, but generally goes away once the engine is at full operating temp. Colder weather makes it sound worse. My 2002 Forester has piston slap and 253,000+ miles on it.

you should probably download the service manual from here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/ that should answer a great deal of the "where is ______ located?" type questions

and to check wiring diagrams, look here.. http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

yup, that is a generic advertisement that is seen on just about every KYB page. Yes, KYB does make complete assemblies for some vehicle brands - not all brands...