johnceggleston

well my guess is that if you weren't used to subaru engines running 250k miles, you'd be happy with 120k. i know i was delighted that the trans in my mini-van wennt 116k instead of 66k like my neighbors. but some one posted here recently thet they thought some of the problems with the 2.5L engine were due to over doing it on a great 2.2 design. maybe if they hadn't had the size limitations of the impreza and legacy, both of which used to run 1.8L engines, maybe they would have made it wider, allowing for a longer skirt piston. maybe if it were larger it would have closed deck and not so much HG failure. maybe, maybe, maybe......... not all 2.5's fail, but clearly more 2.5s fail than 2.2's. it always surprises me when i hear about a 2.2 HG. but it does happen. my guess is that subaru regrets the 2.5 problems but they think we deresve them to a degree, we wanted a more powerful engine and they gave it to us. so we get what we asked for, but there is a trade off. shouldn't be but there is.

i think the term o-ring referrs to the circular shape not the cross section .

i'm a little surprised that the number s are that high for win 98. i wonder if some of those 50 million computers are sitting on a shelf not being used. i have an old win 3.1 doing that. by the time i was ready to upgrade, it wasn't worht any thing to any one.

that is a great source of informatiuon too bad they don/t have one for automatics.

some poeple buy cars because they wear out, most people buy cars because they FEEL better driving a newer car. for me a car is a tool, no more, no less. i didn't thro away my wooden handled hamer just cause they started making them out of fiberglass. and i'm very like;y the only member of this fourm still using windows 98. now some cars are toys, and some are entertainment, and some are mistresses... each to his own.

i saw an ad for a 96 outback wagon w/ "250k miles, needs engine work." yes the head gasket is leaking into the coolant. so is this an example of a bad design, poor workmanship, or way better-than-average enginering in a car?

you better install it, i think cthose cthings have a shelf life.

i was working with a 95 leg sedan. 2 bolts for the seat bottom near the floor in front of the seat cushion. the rear of the seat bottom hooks (the bottom has loop bracket) on to the seat back bracket that hangs down in the crack betwen the two. i think you have to push the bottom cushion to the rear and down, and then slide forward. you may be able to look under the cushion with a flash light to see the hook and loop bracket. then you unbolt the bottom brackets for the seat back, at least 2 maybe a third in the middle. these hang down from the seat back and bolt to the frame. (have the fold down part closed but not latched when you remove the seat back and carry hinge side up.) now i'm fuzzy, but i think there is/are another set of hook and loop brackets for the top on either side. but i can't remember , try lifting the seatback up and off of the hooks. if that doesn't work you may have to pop off the plastic trim on either side to find some bolts. mine doesn't have headrests, so i can't guess how they complicate things, but while you have the seat out consider washing all the spilled coke and pepsi off of it. i hosed mine off and all sorts of stuff ran out of it. the seat cushion is a big piece of formed foam, not very absorbent. but it does take some time to dry. good luck.

who can tell, all those bmw's look alike to me.

i'd be willing to bet the back rest of the rear seat has to come out, which means the seat cushion of the rear seat has to come out. good luck. while doiing all of this be sure not to lose the grab loops to the fold down seats. if they get folded back into the trunk and the seat closes and latches... well it's a pain.

would wrong/bad fluid contribute to plates slipping? i was wondering if the fluid change he last did had something to do with the failure? like maybe some one put in some extra slippery stuff. sorry about the technical terms. john

congratulations and welcome to the party!!!! :banana::banana:

the other still really shady part of the automotive industry are towing companies. our company's suburban and testing trailer wrecked last year, both rolled over on the hiway. thankfully no one was hurt. the towing company brought out some big stuff rolled both back over, loaded them on a trailer, strapped them down and towed them to the repair shop, about 25 miles. the bill for recovery was 1200$, but that wasn't the worst of it. they charge a 700$ mileage fee. i just came across the invoice this week and i couldn't believe it. i also couldn't believe that the company paid it. this happen before i was hired. towing companies and tranny shops give good mechanics a bad name.

i read the sticky on the button... i think i understand. when you press the manual button then you can shift manually? where's the clutch? yuk yuk yuk think i shoud pm this to legacy777?? just kiddin' folks, read the sticky.

if you buy a used trans, unless you get to drive the car before pulling it, you are going to have to trust the seller to some degree. most low mileage salvage cars weree invloved in acidents and were running well at that time. so chances are a reputable parts seller will deliver a good trans. sometime they just don't know. depending on the price of the trans, the money is about the same. unless you install yourself. trans plus install, 350$ trans plus 350$ install = 700$ some trans are much more.. new extention housing by dealer = 850$. there are not really any risks with the dealer unless he breaks something. john

how many miles on the car, when was the last time the trans fluid was changed.?? what is/was the car doing that led you to believe the AWD had failed? did it fail as in no power to the rear wheels or do you have torque bind? torque bind is when there is shuddering and jumping when making tight turns at slow speeds. you can check it by removing the FWD fuse and turning tight circles. if you have TB and the fuse makes it go away, the good news is that having the a/t fluid flushed may help. on 95's TB can be caused by dirty fliud and a gummed up AWD unit. if you have TB and the fuse does not make it go away, then you clutch plates are probably bad. new clutch pack (a.k.a. rear extention housing) is about $850 at the dealer. or just buy and install a used trans. if there is no power to the rear wheels even when the fuse is out, well then that's another isue all together. probably time for a used trans. you can get a trans swapped out for 300 - 400$ at a local shop.(plus the trans.) ebay.: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Subaru-Legacy-2-2L-AWD-Auto-Transmission-1996-75K_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33727QQihZ018QQitemZ280064536121QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW craigslist.org.: http://crazedlist.org/ or go to "forum jump" at the bottom of the page and jump to marketplace, classifieds: wanted. good luck, john

i'm not familiar with "manual" mode on a 90 awd a/t. but the awd unit is in the extention housing on the rear of the trans. if you are not going to swap the whole thing, then you just swap the rear extention housing. the clutch pack is mounted in it . but for the labor money, it is more to swap the rear housings than it is to swap the trans, unless you are doing it yourself. the swap can be done in the car, but a shop will probably pull the trans, swap the housing and reinstall the trans. plus, you don't really know if the unit you are installing is good unless you buy it new. dealers charge 800 -900$ parts and labor, i've never seen a price for just the rear housing. i paid 285$ to have a used one installed at a local shop, but the trans it had just come off of had just come out of a friends car and although the trans was bad, the clutch pack was known to be good. of course any time you buy used you take a risk, but there are lots of savalge yards making a living doing it and getting repeat business. i would probably swap in a good used trans, and keep the other just in case. if the new used one fails. then you can reinstall your orignal and swap in the rear housing. chances are that the used trans will last the life of your car. if i can find it i'll post a link to some pics from a late 90's trans. EDIT: i have posted the link a couple of times and i saved it on my other computer, but i can't find it now.

yes , the sensor with the plastic gear fits into the trans, b ut what drives the plastic gear. probably another plastic gear that you have to open the transmission to replace. maybe not, i don't know trannys. but i would think a metal gear on a plastic one wouldn't last long, but what do i know.

CHECK CCR OR GOOD USED AT CAR-PART.COM.

almost any car that is newer and in better shape than the one you are driving is "better" than what you have . for starters it's different, no problems. it's newer, newer snacks and options, some of which weren't available when your car was made. and lastly , it's cleaner so it will sell!!! show her a newer, cleaner subaru with more snacks, that you are willing to buy, and she might just fal in love with it. don't forget to spray some of that "new car smell" in it just before you take her for the test drive. my wife swore she would never buy a mini-van, until she drove one. there is lots of room, easy to drive , you sit up high and can see..... but they break down, they don't last, and they really are pretty much a truck. as a matter of fact, most classifides list the m with trucks. so ask you beautiful bride, "just which truck do you want honey?" then take her for a ride in the legacy GT with the cd changer & sun roof . oh yeah, don't forgert the flowers and champaign. A NEW CAR !!!!!! YOU'RE THE BEST HUSBAND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!

thanks nipper, i had the web site i just couldn't remember her name or her member name. john

i've tried suby, subie, & subi am i missing something? she works at subaru genuine parts right? or is it subiegirl? help????!!!!! how can i reach her? thanks, john

i guess the original owner could have bought optional power options, but in the US i thought the brighton had no power options except power steering. your car sounds more like a legacy L; but then i'm not terribly familiar with the 99MY and much less so with the canadian market. does it have a tachometer? read this thread. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69202 john

some of the terminology used regarding the use of tow straps is unsettling, especially "snap someone out of the ditch". do you really jerk them out or is this just a term used when pulling someone out. i would think that loading the strap slowly would be much safer, for by-standers and the cars. idon't do any rock / mountain climbing, but i hear that ropes use for that are rated by the number of "falls" they can handle. ie: a 3 fall line or a 5 fall line. once used up, it's retired. any similarities?

1998 legacy had a FWD transmission. Transmission A.T., FWD (ID# TA102AACAA) A.T., AWD, 2.2L M.T., GT M.T., Outback A.T., AWD, 2.5L, GT A.T., AWD, 2.5L, Outback and SUS M.T., exc. GT and Outback but my understandig was , and this is based on logic as much as any thing, that the transmissions were the same for fwd vs. awd, just the rear extention housing was different. were all jdm trannys awd? the wiring harness is different 98 vs. 99. easy solution is to pull the drive shaft and "cap" the output from the tranny, then swap the rear end. or just remove the rear section of the drive shaft and leave every thing else.