1 Lucky Texan

our 03 H6 OBW shoed the same effect on a trip once. One thing I wish I had experimented with, and you guys could try it, was selecting 3rd gear. The rpms going up may help spin the water pump faster and maybe help?

check trans fluid level - that fluid is checked while idling. check trans pan for dents. try to discover how the car was towed. If it wasn't on a flatbed, the tow may have damaged the trans.

on the fire thing, I have concerns about driving my WRX in the shop 40 minutes away. It is smoking quite a bit. And kinda wondering if 'latent heat' when I park could be the most dangerous time? and, if I take an extinguisher, how do I use it and hold the hood up with flames in my face? lol

parts stores will loan tools, one that is often available is a kit to pressurize the cooling system. That way you can diagnose a leak without dodging hot liquid.

I've only ever had 1 car with an 'electrically' bad sending unit (some that leaked oil but reported OK) It was on all the time. The behavior of yours 'may' be indicative of truly low pressure. But, hey, even if it doesn't fix the issue, you get a new pressure switch on an 18 year old car.

don't let the engine start - pull the plugwires all off beforehand or something.

double

hatch wiring worn-thru? maybe check the rear brake light sockets for corrosion?

yeah, you need to know the' relationship' of all the timing positions to each other.

people DO swap in turbo engines. those people usually have $$$TEXAS$$$ to spend. and huge amounts of time. NASIOC has threads about various swaps, maybe read over there? some people have put in aftermarket superchargers too. but it really isn't practical for the average guy. I have owned a turbo subaru since it was new. and even I hesitated to drive it to Colorado. There are not just some extra ways it can fail, they are extra HIGH DOLLAR ways to fail.

doesn't need fans when you are cruising, DEFINITELY needs a fan on at a stop.

you likely don't need to pull the fans, but some models might be different. Could be helpful to get an inspection mirror and a flash light. also, look on line for the tooth count for your engine. you may only be one tooth off and the marks could 'seem near' proper location.

you may more than one issue but, the new fuel could be bad. Call the gas station and ask if anyone else has reported problems with the fuel recently.

the diff's drain plug has a magnet, excessive amount (or size!) of debris on it would be a problem.

could it be from the Oil Pressure Switch way up high?

clicking or whining? do you hear or feel a thump when changing gears from fwrd / N / rvrs ?? have been dripping any fluids? is the transmission fluid level OK? that one must be checked while idling. the front differential stick is on the other side of the engine, is that fluid OK? is the car new to you?

eh, if it wasn't gummy, a new/clean one may not help at all. If it WAS gummy, there could be some decrease in oil leak severity.

Short and Long Term Fuel Trims maybe torque calls them something else??? Ideally near 0. a neg. number (like, -12 w'ever) means the ECU is withholding fuel. A pos # means it is adding fuel over the 'ideal' . I think they go as far as -/+ 32 or 35 w'ever.

those codes are from different sensors so, possibly something like a bad/corroded ground connection, maybe some rodent damaged wiring??? 1988 and later models with Multi-Point Fuel Injection (including Legacy) 11 Crank angle sensor or circuit 12 Starter switch or circuit 13 Cam position sensor or circuit (TDC sensor on Justy) 14 Fuel injector no. 1 (Legacy, Impreza, Justy, SVX); Fuel injector 1 and 2 (XT, Loyale, GL, DL) 15 Fuel injector no. 2 (Legacy, Impreza, Justy, SVX); Fuel injector 3 and 4 (Loyale, GL, DL); Fuel injector 5 and 6 (XT6) 16 Fuel injector no. 3 (Legacy, Impreza, Justy, SVX); Fuel injector 3 and 4 (XT) 17 Fuel injector no. 4 (Legacy, Impreza, SVX); Fuel injector 1 and 2 (XT6) 18 Fuel injector no. 5 (SVX) 19 Fuel injector no. 6 (SVX) 21 Coolant temperature sensor or circuit 22 Knock sensor or circuit (right side on SVX) 23 Air flow meter or circuit (exc. Justy); Pressure sensor (Justy) 24 Air control valve or circuit (exc. Justy); Idle speed control solenoid valve (Justy) 25 Fuel Injector 3 and 4 (XT6) 26 Air temperature sensor (Justy) 28 Knock sensor no. 2 (SVX, left side) 29 Crank angle sensor (SVX, no. 2) 31 Throttle position sensor or circuit 32 Oxygen sensor or circuit (no. 1, right side on SVX) 33 Vehicle speed sensor (VSS) or circuit 34 EGR solenoid valve 35 Canister purge solenoid or circuit 36 Air suction solenoid valve (Impreza); Igniter circuit (Justy) 37 Oxygen sensor (no. 2, left side , SVX) 38 Engine torque control (SVX) 41 Air/fuel adaptive control 42 Idle switch or circuit 43 Throttle switch (Justy) 44 Wastegate duty solenoid (turbo) 45 Pressure duty solenoid (turbo)/atmospheric pressure sensor circuit (non-turbo) 49 Airflow sensor 51 Neutral switch (manual transmission)/inhibitor switch (automatic transmission) 52 Parking brake switch (exc. Justy)/Clutch switch (Justy) 55 EGR temperature sensor 56 EGR system 61 Parking brake switch (Loyale)/Fuel tank pressure control solenoid valve (Impreza) 62 Fuel temperature sensor (Impreza)/Electric load signal (Justy) 63 Fuel tank pressure sensor (Impreza)/Blower fan switch (Justy) 65 Vacuum pressure sensor

ah, you did say AFR. see if you can get STFT and LTFT from the system. That will show how much and in what direction the ECU is correcting afr.

ideally, you want fuel trims to be 0 or single digits. I THINK in the low 30s gets to the max the ecu can correct. So, it seems you could have a 'moderate' vacuum leak. Vacuum is high during engine braking so, that could be a clue? Timing seems a little retarded, but I'm not sure. Others will likely have good ideas.

ah, I think you really need to inspect for rodent damage as well.

the computer primarily uses feedback from the MAP/MAF sensor and the front O2 sensor to adjust fuel:air so, yeah, a bad or disconnected one of these could easily lead to a failure of a cat conv or possibly even a fire. Older cars often have a lot of grease and oil underneath and cats can get cherry red under bad conditions.

whoa, those camsprocket bolts have huge torque I think!

maybe a kid was messing with those adjustable bumper things? I think some cars have them on the rear? kinda like forester2002s said. could disallow a smooth closure.