An interesting thing has recently developed with our Impreza. It's a '95 with the larger enginer (2.0 or 2.2?). Anyway, yesterday, driving to work, the heat wouldn't come on....The fan was blowing cold air, temp setting to "hot" even when the engine was hot....then, suddenly, and for apparently no reason, it started to blow hot air. A few minutes later, the air turned cold.

Temp gauge reading was in the normal position.

Last night, driving home, the "check engine" light came on. I made it home. This morning, I tried driving again, maybe not a good idea, but the car lost power, and I could hear rattling noise in engine....I decided to turn around, and not take any more chances....

Any thoughts on what to look for first? Thanks!

The symptoms I've previously reported seem to have been associated with a low coolant level, apparently caused by a leak dripping from somewhere on the engine. After filling the radiator and overflow tank with coolant, the heating issues have dissappeared, at least for now. The hoses appear to be tight, and I'm still wondering where the leak is coming from - the head gasket, the water pump, or some other location? Any advice or suggestions on where to look would be much appreciated. Thank you!