1 Lucky Texan

You didn't mention several things that MAY assist folks in at least pointing to some good possibilties. '98 is old enough to have a history - what is it? mileage, maintainence, how many owners before you, typical driving, towing, etc. Also, do you get any warning lights when this occurs?

Well, now that the site is back up of course I'm at home again and the document is at work. It's a SAE technical paper, number 890-somethin and it seems the text and drawing on page 6 indicate oil coling nozzles are on the turbo only. They are timed with the journal holes to reduce big fluctuations in oil pressure. sorry for any confusion.

I'm glad it worked out OK. btw - the 'original' Dexron (dexron 1 we'd call it now I suppose) contained about 2% WHALE OIL! BTW- is there a 'synthetic' or other 'high tech' version of ATF fluids?

I'm such a noob that when I signed on to the forum one question I asked was about general engine layou/design info/exploded drawings. The site I was sent ot had a PDF download of some FHI technical 'bragging' that included a lot of drawings and design philosophy stuff. It does show the piston cooling jets. This document was from '89 and refered mostly to the 1.8,2.0 turbo and 2.2l (I think that's right - don't have it here) and mentions the DOHC and SOHC engines as well. Quite possible the drawing I saw was not generic and only one engine has the jets, but they were there back then.

I have no experience but have read here that folks like the midnight moose site for lighting. Do a forum search maybe?

I thought thye've had 'em since about '89?

Setrights advice is correct. There are severe incompatibilities betwenn some ATF fluids. I got that education the hard way many years ago. Be careful.

maybe swap the coils around and see if the failure follows it to a new cylinder?

maybe you could take it to a mechanic and pay him to torque it properly. Be aware, some published numbers are too low. Perhaps someone will have the correct torque.(anyone?) If the pulley starts to wobble you may be buying a new crankshaft - don't put this off.

frag, those are quite detailed tests(I think fleets and aircraft have done OAs for years); check http://www.bobistheoilguy.com for some interesting reading.

possibly a heat sensitive coil/igniter? just a guess

Is it possible you're Forester has the cabin filter option and reduced airflow through clogged filters has increased the load on the fan?

My daughter's Nissan does that sometimes and it seems the MC reservoir float will stick a little submerged. tapping or otherwise messing with it clears it up for, like months. Maybe a sign of water/air in the brake system causing big chagnes in volume with temp or something? who knows.

Did you feel it in the steering wheel? Did it seem 'up and down' side to side' - anyqualifiers might help. Any pulling/drifting off track? The noise - was it high pitched and tinny of low pitched and knocy/clunky (usually the low pitched noises are trouble). We need some hypnotic regression to bring your suppressed memory to the surface.....you're getting sleepy...sslleeeeeeeppyyyyyy.............

Very puzzling that something that dramatic can't be easily located. Just a wag - maybe loose axle nut? let us know.

You didn't qualify the way it felt, but I'd also suggest looking at motor/tranny mounts as well as steering/suspension linkage. Are your tires wearing evenly? Put it up and check the wheels,hubs, tie rods.etc.

One exception to avoiding 3rd party ext.warr. might be like GEICO. Pretty big company. I haven't decided to pick it up, mostly because of the 'overlap' with the already fairly generous Subaru standard warranty. On my '03 OBW they quoted $78 a year to 100,000 miles - NO TIME LIMIT. So if it takes 14 years to get to 100,000 I'll have coverage. It's exclusionary, which is good, anything not specifically on the list is covered. You can have it serviced at any certified shop(? - that probably means you can't diy it) You can drop it anytime and just stop paying the $78/yr. But, it's $250 deductible and you must add it before 11mos./11K or the end of the car's model year. But, if a drivetrain component goes out in - say - 2.9 years that costs $1000 to repair, you will have paid close to $230 for somthing covered by Subaru right? If the same thing happens at 3.1 years, you will have paid the $230 plus shelling out the $250 ded. It does seem that for someone buying a car that will not see high mileage, has a poor standard warranty and is expensive to repair this would be ideal. I just think keeping a little xtra in the bank for the car is just as good. What do you guys think?

HEY that might be a good use for the top-of-the-steering-column-switch!

Teuchter, do you feel 'pulses' in the brake pedal also? Sometimes braking shimmy can be something other than warped/marked rotors I think - maybe tires?

Thank you mnorton! I learned a lot at that site!

HERE'S 2 WAGs (wild @ss guesses); 1. The fuse you used is too small or bad(20 amp required I think?) 2. The failure mode for the solenoid is 'full transfer' and is not being disabled by the fuse.(seems unlikely). I'd confirm you have a good 20 amp (check the manual for proper size) fuse in there. An Autozone employee could probably check it with an ohmmeter. thanx for replying and good luck.

THANK YOU!!

Please prove that this IS the ULTIMATE board by answering any or all of these you can; 1. Most or all Subarus got r134a refrigerant in MY '94 2. Either as an option or standard, most Impreza models could have a 2.2l engine in MYs '95 - '01 3. Subarus got OBD2 in MY '95

If you have not done so, I'd try searching the internet, and asking the SOA zone rep. if there is a class action suit or funds set aside or other remedies available. There must be a LOT of folks out there that bought those policies.

Short term - start with about 2psi over the 'door post' recommendation - adjust for ride/handling/load - BUT monitor tire wear closely. As a general rule - for the same vehicle weight, going to larger tires means a bigger 'patch' on the road and lower pressures. But there are a lot of variables like sidewall stiffness, centrifugal forces at high speed, changing loads etc. good luck