alias20035

Subaru alternators are easy to rebuild and share many parts in common with both GM (bearings) and Nissan (bearings, brushes, voltage regulators, rectifier's, etc), so no real need to worry about who rebuilds it, so long as the bearings, brushes, rectifier and voltage regulator have all been replaced. Typically the brushes are the leading failure, followed by the voltage regulator. Voltage regulators are a common failure on Outacks with all of their optional electrical goodies such as heated seats. By plugging in other electical items and using high power aftermarket stereos many owners blow their voltage regulators. On my 93 Legacy I knew the brushes and front bearing were gone so for $18 in parts I rebuilt it, but if you do not have the knowledge to diagnose and repair alternators the rebuild route is the best approach. Since your alternator is not charging it is likely that either the brushes are worn out or the rectifier/voltage regulator has burned out. But your bearings are worn and the armature and commutator are nearing their mid life. So a rebuilt alternator with warranty is the best approach, even better if it includes the test certificate to prove that it produces the correct voltage and amperage at the correct RPM's. Under $100 for a new alternator is the best deal you are likely to find. Don't break electical system repair rule number one: Be sure to disconnect the negative battery terminal when working on the alternator, a friend of mine blew up his battery when his socket wrench grounded to the intake manifold. The wrench exploded causing shrapnel wounds and burns to his hands and arms, and he had acid burns on his face and eyes. BTW: With sound systems over 300 watts RMS I recommend the use of a 1 farad capacitor. The capacitor will stabilize the load on the battery and alternator, preventing the frequent power surges during "bass hits" that are very damaging to the voltage regulator within the alternator.

Will the smoked plastic hood deflector cover the damage? If so it may be a good alternative since it will not absorb water or prevent proper drainage. Is the paint pealing due to severe stone chips or rust? Is the paint original? I am concerned that the peeling paint is not original Subaru paint. I have not seen peeling paint on any Subaru except in the case of body panel damage. Even in Canada where they drop a lot of gravel in winter that destroys hoods, headlights and windshields I have never seen any Subaru with peeling paint. Chyslers, GM's and Fords yes, but not Subaru's. Original Subaru paint is quite good for the fact that it stays on the car, although some people complain that it has an orange peel texture and is thin. Since peeling paint will ALWAYS continue to peel you will eventually need a new paint job. Be sure to have the vehicle painted by professionals who know what they are doing (do not go to Maaco). Proper sanding to remove the existing paint (at least all that is loose) is required as well as a proper priming before the new paint is applied. The quick/cheap places do not sand or prime properly and the result is paint flaking and peeling.

This is a good way to identify either cracked spark plug wires or coil pack. But what you may not find is a crack that is on the spark plug wires boot that is inside the head of the engine. Pull the wires off, inspect them carfully and look for burn marks that would indicate signs of electricity arcing through the rubber boot material. I have seen arcing through the boots a few times, and always on the #1 cylinder for some reason. Use of dielectric grease is highly recommended. Lock-Tite Dielectric or Spark Plug Boot Grease is the major version of this stuff out there and is available at all auto parts stores. One question though, have you made any air intake modifications such as removing the air intake resonator, installation of a K&N filter or installed a cold air intake? Subaru's are really sensitive to air intake modifications and you can get a bogging condition that can be mistaken for misfire or hesitation. If you have a stock intake then you really do have a misfire or related problem, otherwise I recommend that you re-install the stock intake and road test the vehicle to determine if the modified intake was the cause. And yes rain will affect modified intakes causing problems (I've been there/done that). Since wet air is more dense than dry air the modified intake will confuse the air density system (Mass Air Flow/MAF sensor) causing odd fuel air ratios, which leads to bogging. The ECU is usually pretty good at identifying misfire, do you have any stored codes? The fact that you did not mention the "Check Engine Light" would suggest that it did not come on, which is why I am questioning if you might have the air intake modification bogging problem instead. But the dealer would have noted the modification and not serviced the car in its modified form. In any case I would check the wires and reset the ECU (unplug the negative battery terminal for fifteen minutes), sometimes the ECU learns something its not supposed to and does strange things. After a reset it may also detect the misfire problem that it apparently does not detect now. I am off for about two weeks, so best of luck. There are plenty of helpful board members who are familiar with hesitation/misfire/bogging problems that can provide further assistance and a few old related posts that you should search out and read.

This should be the correct link, but you can just go to the main page http://www.endwrench.com and drill down through the current issues. http://www.endwrench.com/current/Current6/03/WhBearRep.pdf

Possibly a bad engine coolant temperature sensor. The torque convertor will only begin to lock when the engine is warm, not when the transmission is warm. As far as I know the transmission sensor is just there to indicate transmission overheat conditions. By not locking up the torque convertor, the engine will warm up faster and more importantly the catalytic convertor will "light up" faster to reduce emmissions. This fact is stated in your owner's manual, and I believe that there are a few TSB's out there to provide to owners who complain about odd cold temperature transmission performance. The engine coolant temperature sensor is a very routine item, practically affecting all Subaru's at one point or another. Erratic transmission low temperature performance is one of the signs of trouble, but usually improper idle is the primary symptom. But if the torque convertor eventually does lock up, it's very possible that nothing is wrong. Track how long it takes the engine to warm up, if the engine takes a long time to warm up the torque convertor should also take longer to begin normal operation. To help your engine warm up faster turn off your heat until the engine is warm, with the exception of blowing air through the defrost vents to avoid frost buildup on the windshield. If the engine takes a really long time to warm up, or you never get "hot" heat, then it is possible that your thermostat is stuck open, and your engine is running too cold, which will in turn prevent the torque convertor from locking up. At 0 C (32 F) both my 93 Legacy and 01 Outback were at temperature within 3 or 4 minutes of driving. At -10 C (14 F) it takes about 6 minutes of driving to reach temp. Even at -30C (-30F) it only takes about 10 minutes. If your engine takes more than 10 minutes to warm up you either are taking away too much engine heat to warm the interior or have a thermostat that is stuck open. Below -7C (20F) it is advisable to plug in your cars engine block heater (if you have one, if not consider getting one). You only need to plug in the block heater 3 hours before startup, you do not need leave it plugged in overnight, and timers are availble to turn on the block heater automatically. By using the block heater you will cut your engines warm up time by half or more, improve cold weather starting, reduce fuel consumption (saves way more $ of fuel than the $ electical usage), and reduce engine wear. Subaru block heaters usually replace the driver's side engine coolant drain plug. Given that you are in central NY you should have a block heater already installed? They are standard items on all Subaru's in upstate NY, VT, ME, and NH, and have been since at least 1990. SNE (Subaru of New England) orders all Subaru's from the factory with the block heater already installed.

Check for loose hood deflector or windshield molding. Both can vibrate and really shake the car starting at about this speed. Also are your roof rack cross bars oriented correctly? Fat part of the cross bar is forward!! It is amazing the vibration that a simple loose hood deflector can cause, it actually can produce vibration as bad as a bent driveshaft! With the hood deflector it is essential that the rubber stick on pads be stuck to the hood and not the deflector itself, most dealers install the rubber bumpers incorrectly to the deflector because apparently they are illiterate when it comes to reading instructions. If the rubber bumper are on the deflector you can get a high speed vibration and worse than that you will quickly wear out the paint on the hood wear the bumper rubs (which is the real reason to attach this to the hood). Since you have a bump related sound you could also have a bad transmission mount or pitching arm, both are common failures. For vibration you should rule out aerodynamic items such as roof rack, hood deflector, etc first, simply because this is easy to do and a far more common problem then most people would beleive. Then move from tires to drivetrain, tires, CV joints/axles, differentials, driveshaft, transmission and mounts, clutch is generally the order to follow to trace this problem. You've covered tire pressure, but how about a tire problem such as a broken belt or bulge in the tire or other tire damage? Does the sound eminate from any particular corner of the car? Wheel bearings are common failures, but usually you have a high pitched whine for several months before it progresses into a vibration type rumble, although front wheel bearings can go from whine to rumble in a week or less. Is the vibration affected by turning? Is so it could indicate a problem with one of the front wheel bearings. Is the vibration felt in the steering wheel or the seat of your pants? Generally if steering wheel it is a front wheel related problem, while the seat of your pants vibration is usually rear wheel or drivetrain related.

These are the inexpensive type which are also more difficult to get a correct torque reading, especially above 25 lb ft just at the point where it can be difficult to hold the tool steady under strain. After a while the metal arm will become less resistant to bending and your torque settings will be low. How long will this take? A long time but it will happen. The better torque wrenches allow you to dial the handle to the desired torque and when the proper torque is reached the wrench will release and click. These type of torque wrenches can and should be calibrated every 2000 or so torque cycles (100 cars worth of wheel installations). The dial a torque wrenches cost between $50 and $500, which is far more than the needle/graph type, but they are far more accurate, much easier to use and more durable in the long run. With some of the lower priced dial a torque wrench you simply have the tool tested and if more than 5% out you toss the tool out and get a new one. They are usually good for several thousand torquings if treated properly. One drop and the tool is usually out of calibration. The problem is finding a place that can calibrate these tools. I found a place in Calgary that calibrates scales that can test the wrench for $3 and calibrate for another $4. Mine are tested every year and thus far I have only had to have one calibrate to correct a +2% error.

A good friend of mine worked at Wal-Mart changing oil and tires to pay for college. Wal-Mart insisted on the use of these torque sticks for lug nuts, and he got into trouble for using a proper torque wrench instead because it took too long (like 2 minutes too long). My Wal-Mart friend once worked with a new employee who could not get the huge combination oil drain/oil filter holder off of a GM Quad 4 engine. He used an impact wrench but instead of releasing the trigger when the drain/filter holder began to spin loose, he kept holding the trigger and spun the whole 4" diameter drain off the engine and 5 litres of oil promptly dumped on his head! Needless to say this co-worker did not last long.... I consider impact wrenches to be the tool of last resort if a bolt or nut does not come off, but I would never personally use one to reinstall any bolt or nut. Too many issues with over torqued and stressed bolts to deal with when impact wrenches are used. Everytime my car is serviced and the tires are taken off I often find the lug nuts are at or above 125 lb ft, which is way off the 72 lb ft spec, and the itty bitty lug wrench included with the car will only work to release these overtight lug nuts if jumped on. In my case the worst offender was Subaru of Calgary who should have known better. I documented the problem and photographed my torque wrench settings to remove these bolts and sent a note to Subaru Canada. Subaru of Calgary sent me an apology letter and a complimentary oil change coupon, but I have to leave the car with them for the day so they can change the oil at their convenience instead of mine! Merry X-Mas :santa:

Having the torque on the wheel lug nuts and axle nuts is important for optimum wheel bearing life, but provided you use a 10-12 inch wrench you will get the desired 72-85 lb ft for the lug nuts. I use my torque wrenches religiously, but many mechanics do not and the majority of the time no problems are encounter, but when overtorquing problems do occur the fix can be costly. You can develop a good feel for the appropriate torque, and can estimate within reason by adjusting wrench length. Knowledge of bolt size/grading is also recommended, since both affect torquing. I am a bit of a torque nut since my hobby includes rock climbing where the proper torquing of rock bolts is required to avoid the possibly of slipped expansion sleeve (too little torque) or sheared bolt head (too much torque). Lives are on the line in these cases, but they are on the road too! I have three torque wrenches, a high torque 1/2 drive, a medium torque 3/8 drive and a low torque 3/8 drive. I even go so far as to have them re-certified yearly, full-time mechanics should re-certify their torque wrenches far more often. Heavy truck mechanics are required to keep of log of there torque wrench calibrations and certifications. BTW: when alloy wheels are torqued, they should be checked in about 1,000 km or a week since they can come loose due to the expansion/contraction of the alloy wheel. Typically new alloy wheels or alloy wheels coming out of winter storage will show signs of loose lug nuts a week or so after installation.

The SE cars are a good deal, you just got a slightly decontented 2.5GT! When the shocks fail, replace them with aftermarket KYB GR2 or AGX ones and swap the rear sway bar for a stiffer one and you will have better handling than the GT too! The SE has the same engine as the GT and is lighter, so it actually accelerates better. The only other things missing beside some trim items are the 6-cd changer (aftermarket radios are better), rear LSD diff, the 4 beam headlights, and the option of the Sportshift 4EAT. The only downside of the SE is resale value, but this applies to the GT as well. The demand is higher for the Outback so it tends to hold value a little better, but you pay more up front too.

Well I don't see anyone indicating that the car will not last for the duration of my journey, so off I will go. I have tracked the leak to the left head gasket near the exhaust collector, virtually impossible to see without a flashlight and mirror. I am loosing about 50-100ml of coolant each night, which is not a significant amount. Still no signs of cross contamination between oil/coolant and no apparent leak while the engine is running (after a five minute warmup, I can smell coolant for a few minutes, but then the smell disappears and does not return until the following morning). The expert opinion that I would give anyone is to get their gaskets fixed ASAP if this problem is encountered. But in this case I will ignore my own advice since the dealers have closed for the holidays and I really need to get to Calgary. My major concern is that the head gasket will let go causing a major leak. I have not seen this happen and no one seems to have posted any concerns. I will be monitoring the coolant level and watching for signs of overheating. My Outback did have this problem when the car was brand new, but it was -30C to -35C for about 3 weeks straight just after I bought the car, and new seals do need a bit of time to set in (and -35C is about the worst conditions cars will ever see). The last two winters were above average temperatures in Calgary, and I did "garage" the car most nights and did not encounter any coolant smell or signs of a coolant leak. My car is still under its powertrain warrenty, so their is no issue as to who is going to pay for this. Thus far my 01 Outback has chocked up $2100 in warranty repairs, which happens to be about the same amount that I spent in 6 years and 410,000 km on my 93 Legacy. So needless to say I am a little concerned about the quality of Subaru's newer products, although the vast majoriy of problems that I have encountered are one time events. I will have a wide selection of outdoor equipment with me, so I can survive being stranded for several days (which can happen in Canada if a major blizzard happens to pass through). Merry X-Mas everyone

My 01 Outback just started to leak coolant out of the left side head gasket. It was doing it three years ago when the car was brand new in -30C weather, the dealer indicated the leak was just because the car was new and the leak would seal itself. Well it did, but only until yesterday morning. It appears as though coolant is leaking out into the exhaust collector overnight. The leaked coolant boils about five minutes after starting the car which is when I notice the smell. I can not see any sign of a leak, but I am fairly sure that it is the left side since the dealer reported signs of a very minor coolant leak on that side back in 2001. I have lost less than 1/2 litre of coolant (coolant has now dropped about 1 1/2 inches lower than "Full" in the overflow tank), and once the initial coolant smell is gone it does not return until the car is allowed to fully cool down (overnight) at which point it again leaks a small amount of coolant. So I can assume that I am not loosing coolant when the engine is warm and running. I have no cross contamination, no oil in coolant or coolant in oil, and there are no signs of bubbles in the coolant. The local dealer's service department is now closed until January. I have to drive from Northern Ontario to Calgary (about 3200km) on Boxing day (Dec 26th) towing a small trailer. I do know of one failed head gasket as the result of this leak, but it was neglected and leaking for over a year and very low on coolant. But I am reasonably sure that I can make it to Calgary without any serious problems and plan on monitoring the engine for loss of coolant, overheating and fluid contamination. Does anyone think that I can NOT make it? I may try adding coolant system stop leak, since Subaru does add it to the new cars at the Factory and I recently changed my coolant and do not currently have coolant stop leak in the system at present. I seem to recall that some people have temporarily sealed this type of leak on the Phase II EJ25 SOHC engines by adding stop leak, but the leak always returns a few months or so later.

Kevin Thomas turned his OBS into a virtual WRX, and would know a lot about the possible mods. He checks in to this forum from time to time (I know he posted back in Oct/Nov). Do a search for his posts/replies. His OBS is white with the black racing stripes and was featured on the Motorweek Impreza 22B special as well as some other videos floating around on Kazaa. As far as I know the OBS can use the regular Impreza struts and sway bars. The OBS did not seem to get much of a ground clearance increase (if any) unlike the Legacy model. My KYB table shows that the AGX will bolt right on to the older OBS, and I can confirm that the GR2 will fit because I did one a while back (so the AGX should too). I don't know too much about the 02 model, except that the underpinnings of the car did not get many changes from the earlier model (none were needed, the car was already good). Working on the suspension and brakes before migrating to engine upgrades is a good idea. Its more fun to corner fast than accelerate in a straight line anyways! The 02 has the Phase II EJ25!! Only the 99-01 models had the Phase II EJ22 engine, while the earlier model had the Phase 1 EJ22.

Sylvania Silverstars are probably best suited to your needs. They are standard wattage, but use a more efficient filament so they do produce quite a bit more light. They are coated to produce "white" light which only looks "blue" when compared to the standard "yellow" halogen bulbs. You will not melt the lenses with higher wattage bulbs, but you will likely melt the wiring harnesses. The wiring harnesses barely handle the stock wattage, even a 10 watt increase has been known to melt the wires.

The clock should be built into the radio on this model, but I believe unless set it will not display anything, unlike most others that will default to 12:00. Which radio is installed? The security system is mounted to the radio bracket, but the two are completely distinct systems.

Whole darn assembly!!! The factory struts do not come apart like some domestic models. Try getting KYB GR2 struts as replacements, better than OEM and usually less expensive. If the rears are also original I would change them as well. The full set of four KYB GR2 struts is $265 from http://www.shox.com for the 92-94 Legacy (they don't sell just two anymore). Be sure to indicate wagon or sedan when ordering, although I seem to recall that the KYB's are the same for both wagon and sedan unlike the OEM models.

Agreed on the Teflon coating! Don't sand it off. As for seal installation I find that the old bearing race is the identical size of the seal and therefore it works very well to push the new seal into place. Sometimes the wood block trick is required to get the seal started. The metal race will NOT damage the seal as the force is distributed evenly around the seal, only if you apply pressure to one area of the seal will it be damaged. Be sure to install the seal in the correct orientation, note the installation of the original one! In fact I recommend marking the original seal with a paint marker (yellow or other bright color) along with the knuckle before removal. With the yellow mark on both the old seal and knuckle you will have a reference to go back to. I get in the habit of doing this with most parts that come off of the car, since after many hours and cups of coffee it is easy to forget how things go back together. I once reattached a transmission and engine, went back to the parts table and only then did I spot the release bearing that I forgot to put in.

I know that a lot of people in Australia were fed up with blown head gaskets on the EJ25 and installed an EJ22 to fix the problem permanently so there are likely more than a few EJ22 Forester's out there. But no EJ22 Forester's from the factory. Good EJ22's are easy to find in Australia, since many low mileage ones come in from Japan. BTW: Subaru dropped the 2.2 because it had no need for it, the EJ25 is about the same size and weight and produces more power with about the same fuel economy. In most European countries the low experience driver's licenses have engine size limits, and the cost of car registration and insurance is based on engine size. Almost universally in Europe engines 2.0 litres or less fall into the low registration/insurance cost, and low-experience driver license category. The Odd thing in some European countries is that a turbo 2 litre can be in the same category as a non turbo 2 litre, but the turbo truly is a "replacement for displacement". The turbo EJ20 is roughly equivalent to a 3.5 litre 6 cylinder non-turbo engine. Australia seems to be unique in the fact that big V8 engines in midsize and large cars are very popular. I am waiting to see just how good the forthcoming Pontiac GTO will be, I have driven the Holden that the GTO is based on and it was very good. It would be nice to see American manufacturers start to recover from such disasters as the ugly Aztec and overpriced Pacifica.

Some scrapyards will check for wheel trueness and apply an appropriate quality grading. Obviously the higher graded wheels will cost more. One advantage of alloy wheels is that they tend to show damage except in cases where the wheel went over a sharp curb without impact to the alloy itself (tire protected it), in these cases the wheel can be twisted or bent with no noticable damage. I would not buy any used wheel unless I can mount it on a tire mounting or balancing machine to check for trueness. With the "mag" type tire mounting machines you can lock the beading arm in place and use it as a guide to note any high points which are indicative of the wheel being out of true. Ideally a wheel balance machine would be used because with the higher speed it is easier to note any problems, and note if the wheel is not balanced (the wheels are balanced at the factory in most cases). Keep in mind that with modern cars, the typical car in a scrapyard is there because it was wrecked not just simply worn out.

It's behind the driver's taillight on the right hand drive models!

I think the answer is no. I checked the internet and both the Subaru OEM and the aftermarket dog guards seem to have different part numbers for the first and second generation models. The first generation wagon uses a completely different attachment for the cargo cover, and the interior lining is both a different shape and is made of a much harder (and more durable) plastic. It is still possible that it might fit, but you definitely don't want it coming loose in an accident. It is not good for both the dog and passengers if the dog guard comes flying forward if you hit something or are hit from behind. Flying objects in station wagons, minivans and other such "trunkless" vehicles cause many injuries and deaths each year.

Are you having problems? Why are you inquiring about the knock sensor? I will post a bunch of information anyways since I have nothing better to do right now. First of all, the knock sensor is basically a microphone attached to the engine block that listens for knock/ping as well as the explosions related to normal combustion. It produces an electrical signal waveform that the ECU converts to digital format and analyzes the amplitude and timing of the spikes for patterns which are indicative of either knock/ping or normal combustion. There were rumours circulating that the knock sensor can be overly sensitive and detect knock when there is in fact none. If knock is detected the ECU will increase fuel injector pulses (to get a richer fuel/air mixture) and retard ignition timing to reduce knock, this is referred to as anti-knock mode. Lean mixtures and overly advanced ignition timing are the main causes of knock along with fuel that has too low of an octane rating and either an overheating engine or extremely hot weather conditions. A few years ago a lot of people were installing garden hose rubber washers between the knock sensor and the engine block to reduce the knock sensor's sensitivity and reduce the ECU's liklihood of entering the anti-knock mode which has the effect of reducing both engine output and fuel economy. However, a few of these people went on to have broken piston wrists due to the constant knocking sound that you can not hear. The ECU was running the ignition timing too advanced and could not detect it, and a constant low amplitude knock was the result, which is very bad for the engine. So I would NOT recommend doing anything to the knock sensor unless the ECU detects that it is defective, in which case it will need to be replaced. The ECU will listen to the knock sensor at engine start up and calibrate itself. If the calibration is not within a predefined range the ECU will store a problem code and the "Check Engine" light will come on. The ECU has a prediction table that indicates how "loud" the engine should be based upon the temperature reading from the thermal sensor. If the knock sensor reading does not relate to the ECU's internal table, the ECU will report a problem and switch to limp-home mode, which includes using a richer than normal fuel mixture and almost no ignition timing advance. If you are just loosing power and are concerned that the anti-knock system is at fault please evaluate the following items before considering the knock sensor, as knock sensors are not a common point of failure (no knock sensor failures among any of my friends' 35 odd Subaru's in the last 5 years to the best of my knowledge). * fuel octane, most Subaru's run 87 Octane, but the turbo models and the SVX's H6-3.3 require 91, and 91 is highly recommended on the H6-3.0 (may even be listed as required depending on model year). As cars age and carbon builds up you will find that fuel with a higher than recommended octane rating is required to avoid knock, especially in hot weather. My 01 Outback hates 87 octane in summer, I usually need to use 89, and I have very little or no carbon build-up, my 93 Legacy also had the same issue. I have also found that both of my Legacy's and my current Outback really hate Shell fuel, I don't know whether it is a Shell Canada fuel formulation thing, but I really notice that the car is sluggish and poor fuel economy with Shell fuel in the tank regardless of the fuel grade. I am living at 5,000 ft, so altitude is a factor in my case. I can get away with lower octane ratings at altitude, but due to low humidity the air temperatures can often exceed 140F on the road, and it is this hot air that is then sucked into the engine. * thermal sensor, a common failure, and often with no "Check Engine" light. Since engine noise is higher at colder temperatures, this sensor will adjust the ECU's knock sensor sensitivity. Also the fuel air ratio is set by readings from the thermal sensor, if it is not working correctly you may very well end up with lean burn which is one of the main causes of knock * cylinder carbon buildup, seems to be a fairly common problem in Subaru's that can usually be solved by a good fuel injector/carbon deposit remover. I run fuel injector/carbon cleaner through the gas tank every 5000 km or so, and as a result I had no serious carbon build up on my 93 Legacy when it was destroyed at 466,000km. * ignition problem such as bad plugs or coilpack causing a misfire, the knock sensor will detect a misfire (it will not hear the explosion when it is supposed to occur) and will take action similar to what happens if knock is detected, which includes a reduction in engine power. * fuel supply problem, weak fuel pump (rare), clogged fuel filter, bad fuel pressure regulator, EGR problem or defective fuel injector(s). If too little fuel enters the cylinder, you end up with lean burn and usually knock. The older Impreza's Mass Air Flow (MAF) meters are sometimes problematic, I would evaluate it carefully. How new is your primary oxygen sensor? If your MAF is misreading the air intake flow, and the oxygen sensor is old and worn, your fuel air ratio may be off and the ECU will not know causing lean burn and knock. I am not sure if your 99 EJ22 Impreza has a MAF or the better MAP sensor, some 99's have MAP while others have MAF, seems to be related manufacturing date. If you have the right fender mounted air filter box and a wiring harness on the air intake pipe just after the air filter you have the older and sometimes problematic MAF sensor. If you have a sensor wiring harness just to the left of the throttle body on the large air box attached to the throttle body, you have the less troublesome MAP system. Since the problem with knock can be the result of many items, and in some cases not even trigger a fault code, an ODBII diagnostic unit is usually required to evaluate the sensor readings to get a sense of which sensor(s) is causing the ECU to either detect or cause knock. Unless there is a pressing problem, the first thing to do is use a good quality tank of gas and a good fuel injector cleaner/carbon build up remover. This will often cure a sluggish and lightly knocking Subaru, and this should be repeated on a regular basis to keep fuel injector contamination and carbon build up to a minimum. But if the knock is bad, get the car serviced pronto!!! Constant knock is very destructive, usually causing piston wrist, piston wrist pin or connecting rod failure in Subaru engines over the long term.

Axles can do this from time to time, but usually this is preceded by the standard CV clacking sound. Some FWD cars are really bad for this, especially the ones with axle extensions from offset mounted differentials, or those with unequal length halfshafts. Sometimes the control valve in the steering rack will cause this too, but this is usually a consistant problem not related to a particular section of road. In your case the section of road likely set up a harmonic vibration in the CV joint causing it to have a great deal more friction than normal. With AWD this friction is distributed through the drivetrain and weird things happen like torque steer. I have only seen this on one Legacy, but one front outer CV joint had a broken ball cage and the balls were loose. It essentially became a three wheel drive car with substantial torque steer in one direction when accelerating and the other direction when braking. It was easy to diagnose since the axle shaft moved a 1/2 inch in any direction within the CV joint and the grinding noise was horrific. When we pulled the axle off the CV joint housing came off and fell on my foot, and the loose CV balls rolled across the floor. We actually got the standard core return amount for the mangled axle shaft! This particular car was a 5MT, I imagine the problem would be a lot worse in the 4EAT since it spends most of its time sending 90% of the torque to the front wheels.

Yep it is a reflector, and the heat shield clamps are deliberately small to avoid heat conduction to the heat shield. But aluminum is a poor heat conductor compared to iron and most other metals, which is why it is used so extensively for inexpensive cooking pots. Because aluminum conducts heat poorly these pots are less likely to develop hot spots like thin steel pots do, which makes them easier to cook with. Real chefs tend to avoid them for the more preferable thick copper bottomed pots, but these pots can cost ten times as much. I just recommend aluminum foil because it is easy to mold into place and will not rust. If you want to use tin go ahead, but it will last maybe a year, I have fixed Subaru's 5+ years ago with aluminun foil and the rattles have not returned. It also helps to cut out any broken clamps if you can, otherwise pack them in foil to prevent them from rattling. As for the design, I don't think much can be donw, no other manufacturer has been able to tackle this issue either, not even Lexus. The combination of high heat, water and road salt is too much for all metals, and most exotic materials such as ceramic will not tolerate sudden temperature changes which was the point I was trying to make earlier. Subaru heat shields usually start to rattle in year 5 or 6 here in Canada which probably has the worst climate and road conditions for them, so all and all not too bad. Many other cars exhaust systems are disintegrating at this point, so I would rather have a rattle that is easy to deal with.

Subaru's use DIN or Double DIN standard size radio's. If you have the larger double DIN factory radio you will need to get a DIN radio sized storage compartment (dealer/scrapyard/Crutchfield) to fill the extra space when installing the smaller aftermarket radio. Most GT's have a single DIN radio so you can just drop in most aftermarket radios. You should get a Subaru wiring harness to avoid having to splice the factory wiring harness. Subaru antenna connections are standard. Here is my radio/speaker installation guide for the 00-04 Legacy/Outback. The earlier models are different but very similar, so most of whats in this guide will apply including the wiring harness part numbers. My guide The following threads in this forum may also help: http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8912& http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7141&