1 Lucky Texan

was there any oil on the plug wire boots? maybe a weak coil? a wet area could also have poor/corroded ground connections. Try refreshing ground connections.

06 WRX steering was vibrating (but no squealing). Foam in the reservoir - just like my 03 OBW. So, pulled the fitting off the top of the PS pump and swapped out the o-ring. The closest one I had may not last long, had to stretch it a bit and I am concerned it isn't 'fat' enough now. But I ordered a larger assortment set from ebay so, i should have those on hand if it fails again. Probably do maintenance type stuff in april on both cars. WRX is needing a timing belt according to the Months side of the schedule. i think I'll put that off till october.

overflow WILL need to come out. Look on the side, down low, of the radiator - probably right (US pass.) side. take the rad cap off for more vigorous flow - or go ahead and tale the upper rad hose loose - best to fill the block directly thru it, then connect and fill the rad.

you could try pairing the remotes again. look on cars101.com for those instructions. otherwise, I think the module in the car could be bad?The odds of having both remotes bad seems low to me. if you know someone with the same generation car, try pairing their working remote to your car and see if it works.

probably have to rely on fairtax or other gurus here - i have no experience with the TPS.

wait - it ONLY stumbles around 2000? it's OK at 2500, 3000, 3500, etc.? that seems like a Throttle Position Sensor issue, re-reading you original post, I'd say it's quite likely the TPS has a bad/dirty spot on it. Try replacing it. I THINK I've read of some folks using contact cleaner in them but I have no experience with that. I have no idea why that would show as retarded timing other than the ECU assuming you were at idle when it loses the correct throttle opnening percentage. sorry for my confusion/lack of reading skills.

if a crank or cam pulley is one, maybe 2 teeth off - they will run, just not well. you are either WAAAAYYYY overdue for a belt, or geting close to needing one (105K is your schedule I think) However, the fact that it seems to run well with the factory settings after a reset - would seem to support some air/fuel sensor problem. Though i don't understand why there's no code for an O2 sensor or something related. Does the monitor you have hooked up report fuel trims or other data? if this car has a MAF, you might try cleaning it with the correct solvent - but maybe you have MAP?

typo - LEANing out, not leak.

how many miles on the car? wondering if it's worth the trouble to check the cam/crank timing. (though, seems unlikely a battery reset to the ECU would restore fully normal perf.) If you could get the FreezeFrame data that some code readers produce, or get an elm327 device to use with Torque app on a smartphone - that data might be helpful.

unlikely the synth will cause any problems. there are many theories on this but, not a lot of real 'data'. wondering about the IACV hose.

any work done prior to this happening? did the car get a new timing belt 80K ago?

maybe the previous owner had synth in there. as mentioned above, get some name brand GL-5 non-synth, non-additive in there. If it still misbehaves severley, probably a trashed gear inside. You MIGHT be able to maybe it by 'double clutching' between gear changes, but a repair or tans swap might be best. As a last ditch effort, you could try Scotty's Cocktail as outlinmed in this huge thread at NASIOC; http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920674 , but, the money spent on a coupla fluid changes might be better spent on a trans swap. (note, any trans swap MUST have a final drive that matches your rear diff)

there is a dipstick on the right (US pass.) side back near the firewall. Its yellow handle may be covered in grease. Consider having another driver try driving the car to see if they have the same issues shifting. I had to make 3-4 small seat adjustments, and drive for a a coupla weeks, in my WRX to get OK with the clutch/tranny. Still stall the car every 8-10 months w'ever. I try to get off the clutch in the first few inches/foot of travel. you could have a transmission problem. maybe get a mechanic to drive it. If the fluid is old, get some quality GL-5 or Subaru Extra-S in there. If it's already been replaced - but someone used a synthetic fluid, well, some people report problems with the synthetics not allowing the synchros to spin properly for smooth shifting. Sometimes problems with shifter bushing or motor/tranny mounts makes shifting tricky.

suppose the sensor has failed in such a way it prevents the ECU from pulling the timing. that is, there's knocking that is unreported. Then higher octane should remedy some of the knocking.

if the car has pulled timing due to 'real' knock or false readings from a bad KS, you will experience reduced performance. some folks have spotted cracks in the sensor. The FSM may have a test for it. They are cheap parts. maybe cheaper than 2-3 bottles of Techron if bought from ebay.

easy fix, just buy 14 rolls of black tape and cover the engine.

look for your car's instructions here; http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#05%20legacy%20program%20remotes have you tried the other fob? should have been paired to the car by the dealer/salesman. you could also try a new battery or borrow the batt from the other fob. sometimes they just go bad. I recently had to replace an intermittent one for our 03 OBW. I was lucky and got one free but, i think you can get them off ebay.

check the axle nut? even though they are OEM, might be an axle - swap sides and see if the problem moves to the driver's side?

your 2.2 is NOT interference so, that's OK. check here; http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/pdf/engine/timingbelt.pdf

may have slipped cam/crank timing - inspect. get the knock sensor changed - they are cheap from ebay, wire brush the block under the old one, route the cable the same direction as stock and don't overtorque the new one.

GIFSoup

OK, seems this is a different problem than I first thought. do you feel shaking in the steering wheel or 'seat-of-the-pants' ? many things to look at - start by shifting the front tires with the back. Inspect the tires as you do this. alignment could be a little off, worn tie rods/rack bushings could be in the mix. check lugnuts/studs, check for draggng brake caliper, loose axle nut. bad engine/transmission mounts. any work done immediately before this began?

typical problem with bad/poorly rebuilt half-axles in automatic trans soobs. Vibration when stopped in gear - shift to park or neutral and vibrations stops. seems like the only cure is Subaru axles, new or properly rebuilt. new aftermarket 'sometimes' work OK. The first EMPI I installed did not vibrate, the second one did.

Mine had a seat in it, but was much easier to drive standing up. The door in the back was segmented on cables - like a garage door.The door on the side would slide back and latch - just a canvas strap across the opening. It would sometimes freak other drivers out at 2 lane stops when I was on the inside lane. They look over and see this geeky teenager STANDING in a yellow van right next to them! Made a little money hauling furniture with it on a few occasions too. The engine was a flathead 4 IIRC. Had a Ford 3 speed auto in it. The accelerator was an 'arm' that stuck out and you operated it with the inside of your foot. Barke pedal was up-down. Very odd. I THINK I have a pic somewhere that might show just a part of it in the background. Probably from about 1972... I'll look for it. that jo-car is in the Subaru museum in NJ I think.

TPS ?