johnceggleston

outback, 96 - 99. do a search, lots of folks have dome it.

they are out there. if the thing is really leaking by all means replace it, but usually folks assume it is leaking when it is the separator plate. and maybe, by the time they find that out, they already have the rear seal in hand so ..... "may as well". and then it isn't done to spec. i don't know how hard it is to do but there is enough talk about it here to scare me off. it is beyond me why fully seating the seal causes it to leak or why it was designed that way, but i only know what i read here. i hope i never have to do one. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

what's wrong with your trans?

the small wire is in effect activating a relay which activates the starter. the big wire is moving 12 volts and lots of amps, enough to push a car, the small wire is delivering 12 volts and minimal amps. there is no need for all those amps to be routed thru the ignition system and the dash and running the big wire straight from the battery to the starter reduces the chances of losing any volts / amps in route. but no juice is flowing thru the large wire until the small one is energized and activates the solenoid. if you have a circuit tester /test light, you can use it to see if the small wire is in fact receiving electricity when you turn the key to start. pull the small wire off of the starter terminal, clip the ground of the test light to a good ground and attach the probe to the small wire connector. turn the key and see if it lights up.

there are 2 wires that go to the starter plus the ground that goes to one of the mounting bolts. the smaller of the two wires comes from the ignition switch and other mysterious parts. it is the one that activates the solenoid which completes the circuit for the larger wire pulling major juice directly from the battery. with the key in the run position, jump a wire from the battery to the starter small wire terminal. that should kick in the solenoid and get the starter to turn. it may be sparky. probably best to fit the starter end with a spade fitting and attach it to the starter and do the sparky thing at the battery, lots easier to reach. or better yet attach 2 wires one to each device and do the sparky thing at a distance. please be careful not to have any important body parts near the belts, pulleys or other hurtful stuff. i actually installed a relay which does this very thing since i had a problem almost every time i tried to start my 97 obw. easy, cheap (12$) fix if it starts the car. good luck.

run 40 wt, 5w or 10w 40. the engine is burning oil, but that is only because it is "leaking" into the combustion chamber. either past the rings or thru the valve stem seals. i think thicker oil will reduce that. on the other hand, are you sure it isn't leaking externally? just when running so it coats the under side of the car instead of dripping on the floor.

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=108885

look for dark gunk in the coolant over flow before you drop it off or ask them to do it. it may not be as noticeable after the coolant has been replaced.

thinking back i had a very small bout of this once, but it cured itself so i didn't have to figure it out. occasionally my climate control gets stuck and doesn't want to change from windshield/floor to anything else. i avoid using that button as much as i can. so you have 2 problems, excessive moisture and you don't drive it long enough to eliminate the moisture. maybe the excess is due to a malfunctioning AC unit. specifically the vent doors under the dash that vent to the outside are not opening as they should. and so you never eliminate any moisture and it accumulates in the car. a cheap diagnosis may be to leave the car running at idle in the driveway for 3 or 4 hours (it probably won't take this long) with the AC and heat on full. if this does not eliminate the moisture then something is not working right. and it would only take 2 - 3 gallons of fuel to find out, less than 10$. any way, good luck with it and let us know what you learn.

http://car-part.com/

you might cook your bearings which makes it riskier to repair the HGs. bearing could fail soon there after.

there's lots to read on this, look here for a good intro badheadgaskets. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=104353&highlight=pressure+test i have a 97 outback with 132K miles., i have been driving it for 34k miles, and no problems. i bought for about what you paid and if i have to do the gaskets it will still be a good deal on a car. the purchase price plus HG repair (if/when i need it), drive it for 100k miles = ~ 4.9 cents per mile. a $25,000 new car would have to go 500,000 to get the same dollars per mile. there is not much chance that your car has had the gaskets done already, foresters last longer, some say due to the lighter weight of the car but who knows. it could already be going or it could drive until 200k before it goes. the good news is the problem usually develops slowly giving you time to schedule a repair. but if you drive 1000 miles a week 50 weeks a year, you need to take that into consideration. (if it does start to overheat do not drive it hot, let cool down and keep coolant in it. you do not want to cook the bearings.) it seems your choices are sell it now, drive it till it breaks and fix it or fix it now and drive it. of course you can always drive it till it breaks and then sell it for 500$. by the way your timing belt is due now. the schedule calls for 105k miles or 105 months. that will ~ 600$.

the ac is responsible for removing the moisture from the cabin. when you turn on the defrost it comes on automatically (it also opens the outside vents and cancels 'recirculation' if it was on). if it is not working correctly then you will not remove any moisture. turn on the AC with the heat? maybe that will help. there is also the chance that the moisture dripping from the ac is dripping inside the car, not the out side as it should.

i don't know the tech details, but all subaru head gaskets are now good ones. for a while, years ago, there was a chance of getting 'old stock' gaskets, but they are all gone now.

supposedly 02 was the last bad year, but some one has a thread with a 03 and bad head gaskets, so 04 would be my earliest risk free year. but you can pick up one with bad gaskets for less than 1000$ and the repair should run 1200 - 1800$ maybe 2000$ depending who and where. that leaves money for brakes, tune up and fluids all around. all the foresters (all 2.5s) are interference engines so if you have the gaskets done, do everything timing belt, idlers, tensioner, and water pump, new seals and you are good for 100k. even if you don't do the gaskets, you are going to want to be sure about the timing components and there is really only one way to be sure. just because it has a new belt, it does not mean it has new idlers.

try swapping the wheels before you do anything else to make sure they will clear everything on your car, like the struts.

for that kind of money you are probably goin to be stuck in the bad head gasket years. (but i don't really know what 04s sell for.) so your best bet if you are getting it from a stranger is to buy one with bad head gaskets and replace the engine or have it fixed. then you know what you have. forester gaskets fail less than outbacks, or maybe they last longer, fail later than outbacks. but still a risk. check the ''vehicles for sale".

grossgary put a 1.8L in a lego LSi and was able to make it work, so it can be done going the other direction. it just isn't plug and play. i think some of the ecu pins are different so the wiring has to be altered. i wonder if the turbo causes any headaches?

the knuckle assemblies are the same, so the brakes will swap. if the lego rotors are bigger then you would need to swap the calipers as well, (or the whole hub/knuckle assembly with the brakes already on it). if the wheels are the same no problem, but if the legos are larger then you would probably need them as well. but i think the wheels are the same. axle should be the same.

most of the folks who take this to the dealer are told they need new cats, lots of folks here replace the front o2. what i have read here before is that the front sensor is the working sensor and the rear is just a monitor. i don't know how accurate that statement is. but your best shot is a new subaru front sensor. where's nipper when i need him?

i wouldn't. it's on the driver side of the exhaust pipe slightly to the rear of the back of the trans (auto). you need a 7/8" (22)? mm closed end wrench. spray the sensor with some pb blaster before you start. most folks say to run the car to warm up the pipe, do not over do it or you may burn yourself. disconnect the wire connector lead going the to sensor on or near the rear of the trans (auto). slip the wire through the closed end wrench and slide down on to the sensor hex . unscrew it. make sure to go in the correct direction, lefty loosey. remove the sensor. i use hi-temp anti seize on mine, thread it in and tighten it. re-connect the wire. if your CEL is on when you start this you can disconnect the neg. battery cable first and when you finish reconnect it . your CEL should be gone. good luck.

the AWD system needs the circumference of the tires to be within 1/4 inch of each other. so it would be best if you buy 4 tires. fronts not matching the rears will wear on the AWD unit , the trans, and other drive line parts and lead to "torque bind". bank 1 sensor 2 is the rear, after the cats, o2 sensor. there have been a couple of posts recently regarding this thread. if you are interested search the code . the rear o2 sensor can be a generic brand (the front needs to be a subaru part). but i would check the connectors first, that doesn't cost anything. have you had code reset? has it come back? read this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=902299#post902299 welcome to the wonderful world of subaru and the usmb.

some where around the middle of the calendar year subaru switches ove and starts manufacturing the next model year. one example of this is the 95 auto trans, one model until 6/95 and another after 6/95. i don't know if they used the same date every year. but the bean counters know how many cars they are going to make and they know they are going to need so many 95 parts, engines and trans. and they know they are going to start using 96 parts at some point. so they should be able to predict the exact date in advance..

if it is not on the door post between the driver and rear doors, it could be on the bottom of the driver door. they moved the location at some point between 95 (door post) and 97 (door bottom).

if you search p0420 and read all the threads you will learn that there 2 schools of thought for correcting this code. 1 a new "subaru only" front o2 sensor. 2 new cats what ever the cure, it is probably causing poor gas mileage and emissions that are not to spec and maybe? aging your cats. depending on the size of your wallet, where you live inspection wise and and your concern for the environment you can live with this a good while. but a new o2 will not break the bank and has a good chance of correcting the problem.