1 Lucky Texan

cool!

well, many people have had bad wheel bearings that were replaced and the noise is solved. But, we are just talking on the internet. An experienced mechanic or accomplished DIYer that could actually drive and inspect the car is in a MUCH better position to listen to the noise, feel or measure temp differences of the hub, inspect the brakes, rock the wheel up and down, feel the spring for 'crunchiness' when turning the wheel and other diagnostic procedures. we can only offer educated guesses.

you're certain the crank is at the TB installation mark and NOT TDC?

some tires will change sound as they age, but the concern is, you may have a bad wheel bearing. Subarus are notorious in having atypical symptoms at times and your best move would be to have an experienced mechanic inspect the car. There may be no immediate danger, but if this is a bad bearing and were ignored for 'many' miles, you could have uneven tire wear and/or unsafe handling and braking. Consider a new thread asking for a shop recommendation in newton. someone may know a good mechanic near you.

look for oil in the spark plug tubes?

great news. you had a problem and you solved it - at no cost!

nvrmd

Gates is probably the most popular aftermarket belt. very popular, never read of an issue with them. That said, almost everyone finds a mark on the back that is half a tooth off. sometimes, there are 'pending' codes. If used scanner and none show up - then there are none. But, some codes need to hit twice to set the CEL. sometimes knock sensors and Engine Temp Sensors (not the temp gauge sender) are bad without setting a code. maybe a minor vacuum leak, or some oil in a spark plug tube, etc. , might not set a code if minor.

yeah, it's a longshot but, just wipe it down with a paper towel(I was chasing a problem oand wiped mine down, tested the the 'stuff' with a magnet and several pieces stuck. I guess the theory is, some collected metal dust 'could' make signals from it marginal. - again, longshot). never hurts to occasionally re-seat an electrical connector.

unless both sides show some evidence of failure - don't do both sides. If the other side rocks up and down or sounds or 'feels' crunchy, maybe do them both if you have the funds. But, if the other side isn't 'bad' or, even if it has some slight movement, just drive on it and save-up for that side's repair. It would be unusual for both sides to be equally bad. if you can do any DIY work and need to save some money, you could consider removing the knuckle yourself and taking it to a shop. You buy the parts too from NAPA, RockAuto or Amazon or an online dealer like subarugenuineparts.com or others - take everything to the shop.

I don't guess you removed the intake hose from the IACV? I've read it's an easy thing to forget or have fall off when engine work is done. you might try cleaning or replacing the crank sensor. I don't think it's common , but I have read on another forum about 'filings' collecting on the crank sensor causing issues. Maybe opening up the front has 'disturbed' it enough to cause issues?

lazy front O2 sensor?

I've been thru these theoretical discussions before. I'm in the camp that the actual radius (distance from hub to ground) in use when the car is rolling is what matters. If that's true, inflation values could be manipulated (within limits) to eliminate TB. Of course, SAFETY and handling could be compromised. sometimes, you can find used tires on ebay, or have a tire 'shaved' at a performance shop. I would never have 2 tires shaved. The money spent and value lost in tread wear combo is too much. better to get 4 new tires. HOWEVER, as mentioned,(on a car with open diffs front and rear) with 2 worn tires that match EACH OTHER, 2 MATCHING new tires can be put on opposite corners and everything should be fine even if new is different from old.

Could you demo the problem if you took your mechanic for a test drive? he might have an idea.

I have read of a person that had an engine installed and there was some mix-up with PCV and breather hose routing that lead to odd symptoms one of which was the oil light coming on. He also could hear 'gurgling' in the dipstick tube when the engine was running. can't recall more details. Definitely, you must be on level ground, pull the stick and wipe it, and wait several minutes. 2 minimum, before checking the level.

new air and oil filter and oil in the wife's outback today. Cleaned the battery terminals and inspected around a little. probably swap out the cabin air filter in a day or 2. Detected extremely slight movement rocking left front wheel up-down. No crunchiness when feeling spring and turning wheel. I'll have to monitor that closely.

maybe you're hearing heat shields or another noise, or the tranny's fluid level is off or ??? anyway - I looked around briefly and the number on the pic you posted is typical 4EAT number for Imprezas around 1999 +/- it seems.

are you saying the shifter console is marked like that? post a pic.

if a car is otherwise running well, it's almost always a good idea to read and record the code(s), then clear them and see which and how quickly code(s) return. I have had a failing battery set a handful of spurious codes. And certainly, there could be a bad ground connection or the sensor itself is bad internally.

^^^ great point - maybe why I've never seen this problem is because I usually sneak up on full torque in stages. kinda like; hand tight - very tight - final torque. always in a star pattern but usually with different start-point/different order each time.

??? under certain circumstances, I can see top gear on my 03 H6 Outback's 4EAT 'unlock' the torque converter before downshifting. maybe you're seeing that and thinking it's a gear?

couldn't that be bad wiring? I dunno how the heater circuit for the rear sensor is tested.

how do you determine how much grease goes into a CV boot?

is it a hooting kind of noise, heard after the compressor stops? that's from an over-charged condition.

my dad had a Studebaker once. oh - wait, STUD-breaker nvrmd