1 Lucky Texan

welcome

likely a 'crash integrity' (dunno what to call it) feature and one side is just missing. a local collision center might even have one they could pop in for $40 or something.... ???

wow, cool beans

^^^^ what Larry said, plus, weak tenisoners can sometimes knock. drain the oil and drag a magnet around in it too.

find a way to monitor voltage, maybe something wonky with the alternator?

backfiring can sometimes mean a stuck valve or timing is off. Check the cam/crank timing hasn't slipped first.

yeah, get different eyes on it. Hard to say if it's time to let it go. What would you get? an unknown used car?

welcome these guys have helped me keep my 06 WRX wagon going.

if those struts are original, only a miracle would mean they aren't in need of changing. and likely many bushings need refreshing as well. one small test, spray the sway bar mount bushings with silicone lube, that is one spot for some squeaking.....

lol, even GD's jokes sound kinda grumpy!

may need a disable switch on the rad fans.

and nasioc.com

put the rear up on jackstands and compare one side to the other. If you aren't sure what you are looking at, get the car to a mechanic, or, at least, post pics here and likely someone can suggest what you need.

often, there will be a lot of reddish dust flung around near the comp. if the clutch has been slipping.

Just has some Hondurans do some remodeling/additions here at my house. They are from Progreso ? great guys.

running premium fuel right?

2005 is old enough to have 3-4 things that might cause this. old plug, old plug wires, leaky VC gaskets, knock sensor,.....etc. live data from the ecu might be a good place to start.

maybe some other wire harness is abraded? something around the clutch inside or out? I once read of a car with intermittent electrical issues caused by the steering u-joint rubbing on a wire harness.

GD or Ido or others will have best troubleshooting approach but, don't discount the possibility of oil pick-up tube failure. Not unknown and some folks upgrade to Killer B for that reason.

If it just skipped time a coupla teeth, you might not be in too bad situation. Check the timing gear.

pardon my ignorance but, does the car have a mechanical or underhood fuel pump? I ask because it seems like vapor lock to me. I had an old '78 Honda Civic that started doing this when alcohol was first added to fuel. I had to carry a gallon jug of water with me to douse the FP under certain combinations of short shut-downs after fully warmed-up.

sometimes, turning a nut or bolt backwards, 'feeling' or listening for the threads to 'drop in' ,can help avoid cross-threading.

kind of seem like an 1157 type bulb has a 'drooping' and shorting element. Or maybe its socket has corrosion in the bottom between the 2 contact 'buttons'?

a very long time ago, I recall hearing of a test done with NYC taxicabs. They actually tore down some engines and measured wear. They let some go without oil or filter changes for a very long time. Just topped-off. (sry, don't recall specifics) - pretty much, if thye had oil in them they were fine. (not really an apples to apples comparison I guess as they idle a lot and are parked indoors.....still....?) I have run 5w-40 primarily because, a car can sit around in a parking lot for 8 hours in august here. Underhood temps can get quite high. I just felt that I didn't want some thin oil running out of the bearing surfaces . 'They' say there is significant wear at the moment of starting a car because you have zero oil pressure for an instant.

maybe the big hose from the intake air control valve to the intake box/tube has fallen off?