1 Lucky Texan

Mequiars, 3M, other kits available to polish them out. Check Amazon for ratings of kits, check Youtube for demos. most folks who bake them for removal, are doing mods/dress-up stuff like; HID projector installs, 'angel eyes', painting the chrome, etc.

even wiggling the wires, harness and grounds while someone observes the gauge for changes might point to a problem area.

You need to confirm that the thermostat used was OEM-style. do you lose coolant or is the overflow bottle getting filled up?

This can sometimes be due to old, cracked plug wires or coil. On a dry day, when you feel it would easily start, try misting the plug wires with water from a plant sprayer. If it fails to start - get some new wires (NGK or from the dealer - subies need specific resistance plugs and wires and it's best to stay with stock equip if possible) some people do this test while idling at night and can spot blue arcing from the high voltage!

+1 for cardoc - he's in Austin. straight shooter, no BS. hope it's a fan - but '97 has a reputation for headgasket problems.

whoa!

I knew a guy that regularly drilled a hole in t'stats in his Chevy sedans (this was in the 70s-80s - I guess he was just concerned about a 'failed closed' situation ???). But, that looks like someone trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear! crazy

I see no reason not to approach they guy and let him know your concerns about the noise. Could you duplicate it for him? Anyone can make a mistake and - I dunno - fail to install the axle pin or fully seat the stub axle, or leave a bolt loose, etc.If it IS exactly the same noise you've heard before, it might be something unrelated to the work he did and also something he may not have inspected - like a broken anti-sway bar or some bad bushing in a suspension part. Do you feel any bucking/jerking when turning tight on dry pavement? After a run on the highway? Are the tires all the same brand and wear?

bleeder covers?

throttlebody cleaning? could the throttle plate be sticking this badly?

I wish I could get a trustworthy, capable 'someone else' to do anything significant on my cars for under $300-$500 you skated at just $92

12 year old rubber or plastic anything is suspect so, yeah, wires might be the ticket. Somtimes misting them under the hood while idling will show arcing. Could also be some oil in the plug holes from leaking valve cover gaskets I suppose. Has the car been well maintained? How old are the plugs? You might also benefit from a bottle of SeaFoam or Techron in a tankful of fuel. Might clean some carbon out of the injectors/combustuin chamber. at least you have some not expensive 'tune up' type things to try first.

that gates 'looks' OK from the pic. Been running the xacstat in our 03 H6 since April - no difference detected from the original.

check the rad fan function too.

Tribeca's have plug wires? I thought they were H6es with coil on plug? post the code from scanning for the CEL (Pxxxx) next time it happens, try jiggling the shift lever, or starting in neutral.

what they said - never the arrows (triangles) the crank sprocket should have a hash mark on a 'tab' at the back that should be at 12 o'clock position.( the arrow will probably be at 3 o'clock but, could be 9 - not sure). kinda like this (your engine may look a little different);

definatly

what problem do you have with the car? some people get smoother shifting with different gear oil - or even mixtures of different gear oils. buy, oil won't repair something that's broken.

is it an auto? try starting in neutral and jiggling the shifter.

find a soob-experienced mech. or good dealer near you (someone here might suggest a shop in VA) and have a pre-purchase inspection done. With the AWD and the turbo - you definitely don't want to buy an expensive problem like 'torque bind' or leaking turbo bearing. Even though it's a somewhat low mileage car, the time side of the maintenance schedule SHOULD have been used. 1 month equals 1000 miles.

I THINK some older ABS pumps used to go bad, but, IIRC, they would 'buzz' all the time. I think the ABS controller had to be replaced. However, my memory associates that problem with models a year or 2 earlier than yours so, I'd reserve replacement for a last-ditch effort.

2003 3.0 H6 OBW (stock OEM compressor) top-rear Compressor: 17.8mm x 2.5mm left ('high') side Compressor: 10.8mm x 2.4mm used the blue/green w'ever 'variety pack' o-rings from O'reilly's used some wire to hold the throttle and CC cables 'up-and-back'. i also pulled the electrical connection and tucked it under out of the way. Used a rag/paper towels to clean up around the areas. I pulled the top-rear fitting and used a toothpick to get the old o-ring off. It was much less flexible than the replacements and deformed/flattened. The large o-ring mentioned was a good fit. I lubed it with a little oil that was sitting inside the compressor. Then I did the same on the left-side fitting (high side). The o-ring was a little more difficult to remove. It was also stiff and deformed/flattened. I think the 10.8mm x 2.4mm is the best fit here.

ABS is sensitive to system voltage too - maybe give the charging system a thorough check.

your car shares a lot with the Outback. Most suspension, skid plates, lighting, wheels, brake parts, etc will work. you might also dig around at; subaruoutback.org