blaugranamd

So found some random nuts and bolts and bolted the top half of the cat heat Shield back on to exhaust shield just forward of the cat. Back end is just resting on the pipe behind the cat but should hold and maybe rattle a bit at least until I can get a new lower half. I don't park over anything flammable so should be pretty safe now yes?

Fix one problem on this car and another one shows up. Had an occasional clicking sound the last two days then on my drive home today a loud clang, felt like I ran over something metal, and watched a piece of something get left behind on the highway. Get under the car once I got home and the bottom half of the catalytic converter heat shield is missing and the other half is just resting on the pipe not connected to anything. Obviously removed it by just lifting it off. How essential is replacing this stupid thing? Any safety issues?

Yup. Mine broke completely after a few months at the ball joint. Ironically it stopped making noise then, lol. Fix video I used below. And yes, I had to use an angle grinder on one of the bolts like this guy did... 2 hours and $40 later no noise and notably better handling

Doesn't this system bleed itself though? Turning the wheel with the wheels up runs fluid without pressure through the system and the bubbles just rise out on the reservoir? I ran that fluid through probably a dozen times?

No, this technique. http://strongforsubaru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/How_to_bleed_Subaru_Power_Steering_systems.pdf

Yup, exacerbated/brought out the problem. Popped it back up on the jack stands, ran it through the engine off, lock to lock, crank engine (plug wires pulled), lock to lock, crank... repeat about 10 times. Got a good amount of bubbles out initially. What has me more worried is even with it running quietly, there's a pretty intense "shudder" moving the wheels slowly with the engine one while on the jack stands. i had a video but my phone destroyed it. Is it time to throw in the towel and get the pump swapped out?

So seems drastically improved. However, still seems like anytime I bump the wheel locks (like backing out of a tight parking spot) the PS pump squeals at the lock then is mad the rest of the drive. Is this just maybe a minor leak that only comes out when the pump is putting max suction on the line?

So I reseated the o ring again, this time put it on the elbow, hand torqued the elbow (had been using my impact driver on the low setting...). Bled the system with the engine off and wheels up, seemed to still make a lot of sloshing and gurgling. Unplugged the spark plug wires and turned it over a few times, worked the wheel, turned over engine, repeated a few more times. No whine this morning and no foam after driving to work, which is a big improvement from yesterday's banshee screech and overflowing foamed fluid on arrival at work. Still a bit of stutter when quickly moving the wheel back and forth but better than it had been. Hopefully some driving time will finish bleeding out whatever air might still be in there. Keep you posted.

So went through that purge routine and there was a nice gurgle at each lock when I got it and when I let it go. Never got the fluid to stay level. Noted some pooled ATF just behind the PS pump that wasn't there before and what looks like fresh leak around the elbow joint from the vacuum hose... I don't know what to do next

I have read both: better to put the o ring in the pump opening and better to put on the elbow. Maybe I just need to do a better purge with the engine off? I don't want to just keep popping that elbow off every few days and resetting the o ring indefinitely. Gonna try this bleeding method today as I had been just starting it up and racking the wheel: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://strongforsubaru.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/How_to_bleed_Subaru_Power_Steering_systems.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwi2pfSZw6rZAhXGtVkKHTTyCycQFggnMAE&usg=AOvVaw1tcMYvQP5OCd9NekzNQRRQ

That's what I thought. With the only connections being the reservoir to hose, hose to banjo, banjo to pump intake there's only 3 places this can leak then, yes?

It's not so much that it's noisier at the locks, it's that when I hit the locks, it gets noisy and stays noisy throughout the range afterwards. The noise doesn't worry me as much as the stuttering steering wheel... Have put 2 quarts of fluid through the system. Pulled some out now and the fluid looks identical in clarity to the fresh fluid. Is it safe to assume that if air is entering the system while it's running that it has to be somewhere between the reservoir output connection and the pump intake connection? This is the only place where the line should be in a vacuum state, everything beyond that should be high pressure and fluid should go out, rather than air going in and even if the air is getting in beyond the pump, it would self-bleed when it hits the reservoir? Also, for the vacuum lines, can I use micro gear clamps to replace the spring clamps? Just to make sure the line connections are ok?

Yes at cold, hard to tell at hot because it's often a foamy mess. Though, once it gets warm the squeal dies down.. temp are rising in our area so this problem might get "better" no matter what I do soon

So one thing I've noted is if I hit the locks the whine goes crazy and then is present throughout the range. If I avoid the locks, it seems to do better. This morning wasnt very noisy but the was some stutter in the wheel... As far as knowing it's seated correctly, I have no idea how I can know that for sure. Seems to be flush all around?

Tried, rapidly cultivated foam and whine. :-(

Is that even safe? Got the Subaru branded ring on today, put it in the pump, pushed the connector in place with a pretty snug fit, tightened down, still whines and foams like mad. Seems to be extra bad when the steering hits the limits to either side. I guess next step is to swap out the clamps on the vacuum tube from the reservoir with geared clamps then if that doesn't work try the Red RTV gasket maker around the connector.

Picked one up today, will see

Edit: may have spoken too soon. Might have just been because it was warmed up. Just started up and within 30 seconds whining and bubbles in the fluid... What's the next best place to look for a leak?

HUGE thanks to everyone in this thread! I noticed my PS reservoir would be "overfilled" when hot and the engine was VERY whiney when cold. I had never flushed the PS fluid since I bought the car 55k miles ago, so I did the turkey baster method with a quart of Valvoline Synth Import ATF (manual rec's Dexron III ATF or Subie ATF-HD, this is supposedly a substitute for ATF-HD). Afterwards got a scary "stutter" in the steering wheel when turning with no improvement in the whine. Was resigned to having the PS pump replaced until I found this thread. Read somewhere the O-ring was a 14x10x2mm, so went Advance Auto Parts, got a generic metric O-ring kit for $8, took about 3 minutes to replace the O-ring on the pump intake connection (the ring looked flat on the outside edges, not rounded), turkey baster'd the fluid again but used a quart of Castrol Dexron VI ATF. Took about 15 minutes of racking the wheel and the entire quart of ATF but finally got the bubbles to stop and the whine went away. Drove around the block and the stutter was gone too! We'll see if it lasts. Important point: When people say "PS fluid" or "power steering fluid" it should be clear that you need to check your manual because most of us actually need Automatic Transmission Fluid rather than true "power steering" fluid in the system.