1 Lucky Texan

it's the smell that is still kinda giving me hope. Maybe this weekend I can get a better look. It is possible for outer cv grease to get thrown onto the downpipe in that area I THINK. No smoke from tailpipe and car seems to run OK (I don't have a boost gauge)

I have been suspicious the last 3-4 times I've driven my WRX, but passed it off as CV grease. But today, looking underhood after a drive, 90% or more of the smoke I've seen out of the scoop is coming from under the turbo shield. I know very little about the turbo system, just wondering about the 'levels' of severity I'm looking at for this problem. Can it leak externally and just needs some kind of seal?

if the car has original struts, they are certainly worn-out by now. If the car has had some period in its life where it was loaded heavily, it may need new springs as well.Those togther could make a very noticeable improvement. Or , slightly stiffer springs on new struts. Less sway, less squat and dive too.

I have seen spacers/blocks for sway bar mounts. Dunno when that would be advisable. more than 2" lift? more than 3.....?

no sign of a spot on the brake shield rubbing on the rotor? I suppose you could try loosening/re-torquing the axle nut. maybe a previous owner torqued it while on the ground. FSM says it needs to be in the air/no weight on it. (yeah, it's a real stretch, but also easy to try ....)

seems more like a 'supply crash' with that huge backlog. The sales 'would' be good if they had the vehicles. might be more interesting to see some kind of comparison with other '2nd tier' car brands.

no oil on the plug wire boots? double check ground connections, if the knock sensor wire was broken, maybe other wiring was as well?

tricky sometimes downsizing rims due to brake caliper clearance. Discount Tire or TireRack should list anything in 15 that will work.

the little 'orifices' are usually adjustable. Sometimes a sewing needle is all that's necessay. Some designs may need something special, probably available foe a couplabucks at the parts store.

any dents in the tran's pan?

is the sound about 4 times wheel rotation? - that could be a u-joint.

Oh, very important to know the state of the timing belt system.(interference engine) How long since last serviced, and were Japanese or OEM parts used. the 3 things most likely to send an older soob to the scrap yard; bent valves, overheating/head gasket failure, or major transmission issue.

hopefully, all the tires are the same brand/model/size. Do some tight circles on dry pavement to see if you feel torque bind. generally, the older a car is, the more important its past care and current condition than its brand or model. The more owners it's had, the more chance something was abused. You might look at the 'sticky' threads here; https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/gen-2-2000-2004.110/

broken axle?

is the car new to him? any chance the tires are mismatched or a prev. owner has swapped trans or rear diff to non-matching final drive? I wouldn't rule out trans fluid bad/contaminated so, I agree with that as step one. I THINK you can use the European Valvoline MaxLife fluid.

if the car sat unused for any length of time, rodent damaged wiring could be a possibility.

leaking VC gaskets could be causing a miss. check coil boots for oil.

maybe some issue with engine temp sensor or its wiring? opening/shorting with temp or something....?

triple check battery clamps? the car will run for a little while with the alt belt removed. Might help with some diagnosis. corroded bake light connector (remove bulb, look inside socket), bad 1157 type dual filament bulb(drooping/shorted filament), or bad wiriing in the 'gaiter; from body to hatch may play into this.

fork does not appear to be cracked.,,,, Some folks report problems with clashing/shifting if they use full synthetic GL-5 in the trans.(synchros are spinning at the wrong speed???) If that's what you used, try non-synth lube. Or, some folks say the walmart Supertech synth-blend is good value and works. hopefully, you'll get better ideas from others.

maybe a flake of rust between hub and rim?

if MT, during a test drive , AFTER the car is warmed-up, do some tight circles on a dry , paved parking lot. The car should move smoothly. (this assumes you've already checked for all tires to be identical. brand/Model/size.) timing belt system service is every 105k miles OR 105 months, w'ever come first.

how long has it sat? what mileage is on the car? why was it parked? AT or MT?

6 year old thread. But Dan might get a notification and reply.

well, several things come to mind but, yeah, I'd have everything inspected closely. maybe a rim is bent, or another stud has cracked or improper lug nuts used or nuts are not properly torqued, etc.