OB99W

Just to clarify things, since your photo doesn't show the lower cover off, and in case someone else reads this thread later: 1) Remove the two screws near bottom corners of the IP lower cover (one is right above the hood release lever), pull gently to disengage clips at top, allow to dangle by wires. 2) Get at eye level with the hood release lever, and look straight in, above and slightly to the left of the lever. (Amazingly, you don't have to crawl under the dash to get to this .) The fuse "panel" has no cover, and isn't very big, since it only has places for 3 fuses. The one you're looking for should be in the left-most position, with the center and right spots empty unless your car has an "option".

Apparently, you get two for the price of one . The Subaru 1999 Owner's Manual (page 11-8) indicates that both the accessory power socket and the seat heaters are protected by fuse #22; it's a 20A in cars that have both the power socket and heated seats. That's the "Fuse panel behind the instrument panel lower cover".

Obviously, it depends on what causes the misfire. First, let's assume it's ignition-related; other causes (such as individual fuel injector problems) won't be "coupled" to the paired cylinder. The paired cylinders are connected in a series circuit comprised of their two plugs, a coil secondary, and the corresponding ignition cables (the block completes the series connection between the ground electrodes). If the miss is due to a fouled plug, that won't affect the other cylinder -- the "wasted" portion of the spark energy can either jump a gap or take a path through fouling material. If the miss is due to a plug whose gap has widened from wear, it likely also won't affect the paired cylinder, since when a cylinder is on the exhaust cycle the plug is comparatively easy to fire. Even ignition cable insulation breakdown would only affect the cylinder whose cable has the defect. What will affect firing of both cylinders is something that reduces the available spark voltage. That could be from a bad coil, increased resistance of either of the paired ignition cables, or an open circuit (break in a cable conductor or disconnected/loose at either end). (If resistor plugs are used, their internal resistance increasing could also be a problem.) So, if misfire of both cylinders in a pair develops simultaneously, it's probably due to a bad (or badly connected) ignition cable to one of the two cylinders, or possibly a defective coil in the pack.

By all means, if anyone has been in a serious accident, a thorough check-up is very important. Hopefully, it will accurately give you a clean bill of health. Nipper certainly brings up a good point; the condition of the car might pale in comparison to possible injuries.

Let me begin by saying that I am not a lawyer, so the following is indeed based on my opinon. I think your concerns are legitimate. However, that doesn't mean it will be easy to obtain fair compensation. A lawyer may be able to help you recover your losses and "make you whole", but there's no guarantee of that and legal fees can be a real nightmare (opinion, but based on bad experience ). If Ohio allows for a claim due to "loss of value" or "diminished value", you may be able to get more compensation than just that for the repair, or use it as leverage with the insurance company to get them to take the car and give you enough to buy a new one. A good lawyer will be fully aware of that and other tactics that are viable in Ohio. Links to loss-of/diminished value opinions: http://www.troubleshooter.com/cf_misc/Columns/ColumnDetails.cfm?ColumnID=278 http://www.ohioadjusters.com/diminished.htm

Surging, unfortunately, can be due to lots of things, including ignition problems (so do consider the coil for that aspect). A sometimes simple problem can be vacuum leak(s). Another possibility is an O2 sensor not performing well -- I know it's been replaced; was that with an OEM (or equivalent) unit? Other sensors might be acting up. If the '02 has an EGR valve, it could be (intermittently) sticking. The "problem" with modern engine management systems is that the feedback from the sensors and the constant "adjusting/correcting" leads to difficulty in pinpointing the actual culprit. I still think your situation could benefit from an OBD-II real-time sensor scan. By the way, apparently owners of '06 Foresters with MT have complained about surge problems. Perhaps you can find out if there's a standard approach to resolving that.

Sorry, there's no reason for me to risk injury ; the engine's ability to properly reach high-RPM operation eliminates what I was considering. You may be experiencing normal engine braking. My '99 has a 4EAT, and I've always felt that it slowed faster than I thought it should when I lift my foot off the accelerator. I attributed that to friction, etc., in parts of the drivetrain other than the engine, but maybe that's not the case. Hopefully someone else will have a suggestion, or you can compare notes on how fast the revs drop when off-throttle in other's cars.

I was going to ask a bunch of questions, but found your previous thread http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=59375 . I'm not inclined to think that the coil is causing your problems, although stranger things have happened. Due to the intermittent nature of the symptoms, it would be good to get some real-time data from sensors. That might be obtained with an OBD-II scan tool (not a "code reader" which only retrieves stored codes). Obviously, it would require an observer other than the driver, or a scanner that can record the output for a while (laptop computer running OBD-II software?). Any possibility that some of the symptoms are clutch-related? It would almost seem that the clutch not properly engaging/disengaging could cause part of what you've described. I've got another idea, but before I stick my neck out and have my head chopped off ( ), I've got a question; does the engine rev freely and reach high RPMs in each gear without problem consistently (other than what you've already described)?

My own '99 OBW has a separate ignitor and dual-coil, with a 3-pin connector at the coil. I believe the '02 has the ignitor and coil(s) as one assembly; if so, you can't easily take coil primary readings. The secondary resistance readings you got seem about right, but unfortunately resistance checks don't show up problems that occur under high voltage, and some other types of failures. In addition to resistance across each secondary coil, Subaru usually suggests checking for leakage from secondary coils to ground; anything lower than 10M-ohms is considered a problem. However, if you see any conduction from a secondary to ground at the low voltage that an ohmmeter typically applies, at spark voltage it will be a lot more significant. That article may have been written before the combined ignitor/coil-pack was used. I don't have resistance data on the '02, but in most cases resistance tests of solid-state device inputs or outputs won't easily reveal subtle problems, which is what you seem to be describing. Resistance testing of the coil often doesn't reveal certain problems. So no, in-spec resistance readings don't guarantee a problem-free coil. There are some devices for testing high-voltage components, and an ignition scope might show up a problem. However, diagnostic charges would probably exceed the cost of a new coil pack. Sometimes you can spray down the coil (or plug wires, etc.) with a water mist when it's sufficiently dark, and see leakage as sparks; however, if it's occuring within the coil, this won't reveal it. It could be worth the gamble to try a new pack, assuming you're fairly convinced the problem is an ignition issue.

Here's what I've got on those codes: P0301 Cylinder 1 misfire detected P0500 Vehicle speed sensor malfunction P1507 Idle control system malfunction (fail-safe) P1540 Vehicle speed sensor malfunction 2 P1507 would seem to be an effect, rather than a cause; the ECU isn't getting some data, and is apparently going into a "limp" mode. P0301 may also be an effect. I'd suggest that the things to concentrate on are the P0500 and P1540 codes. It's possible that one sensor failed first, but the problem wasn't evident until the second one went, at which point the ECU defaults to limp mode. Here's some info I found on the VSS locations: http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl833h.htm I'm not sure that it applies to your model year. (I thought that the front differential was a location for one sensor).

Try searching the forum for "torque bind". If the symptoms fit, you might try putting a fuse in the FWD holder.

If the car has seen a lot of winter driving in Buffalo or other upstate area, salt may have caused some problems. It's been pretty humid in NY lately, which is often when salt from last winter that didn't get washed away starts eating things, including grounds and other connections.

If all the symptoms appeared at once, it's very unlikely that plugs and/or their wires are related to the trouble(s), since they wouldn't cause the speedo to stop working. A speed sensor problem might explain it all, since I believe that data is shared by the TCU and ECU (transmission and engine control computers). Has the car been parked where rodents could have been chewing on wiring, driven through deep water (possibly causing corroded connections), etc? Hopefully, any codes will provide a clue.

The high side is definitely too high. It would still be helpful to know if there's any external (visible) sweating/frosting, and if so, where. The high side should be warm/hot (be careful touching!); if part of the high side is cool, that would indicate a restriction. You might want to verify that the blower air is being properly deflected over the evaporator. Also, that the condenser fins are clean (not blocked by insects, etc.) and undamaged, and that the fan operation is correct. What service has the A/C seen previously? The high pressure could be due to excessive refrigerant charge or a contaminated system, etc. No need to apologize, it's just that it makes things easier to follow if everything is in one place . The search function can be used to find previous posts.

If there's a performance problem, what is it? I'm assuming you've had manifold gauges attached; what are the readings? They have an expansion valve; the valve could be icing internally if there's more moisture in the system than the dryer's desiccant could handle. Or something else might be restricted. Do you see any excessive external sweating or frosting? If so, where? How often is the compressor cycling (clutch engaging/disengaging)? Ambient conditions? EDIT: I see that we've been down this path before: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58953 Kevin, may I suggest that rather than starting a new thread when the topic is still the same that you just add to the old one? Also, responses to questions might help us help you .

You're welcome. Check for a PM (Private Message).

The info I have shows that the red/green and blue wires come from the ignitor, but the yellow is a hot lead that should have 12 VDC on it in both start and run modes. The same DC source is what powers the fuel pump relay.

Did these symptoms begin at the same time? If not, in what order?

If there is actually a flow of electrons through the insulation, then the insulation is inadequate or defective. However... The rapidly rising and falling current flowing through the plug wires creates a pulsating magnetic field around the wires. That changing magnetism will induce a current to flow in any nearby conductor. Conductors that are close enough and parallel for a sufficient distance could be cutting across enough "magnetic lines" to have quite a bit of energy induced. This can happen even if the insulation is flawless. Usually spark crossfire doesn't occur unless the plug wires are close and parallel for at least several inches. (If the insulated wires just touch for a short distance, especially if at a significant angle to each other, crossfire usually isn't a problem.) Since misfire can be caused by a weakening of the spark or one occuring at the wrong time, if the spark wires are misrouted it could lead to misfire.

Yeah, especially if it gets driven down my street at 3:00 AM. I'm not sure which would be worse, having the audio system cranking or the nitrous bottles flowing.

Use the first of the following two links to identify the ABS system, and the second one to help verify the identification. http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/IdentifyInfo.pdf http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ABS.pdf Assuming that the '95 Legacy has ABS-2E, page 14 of the second link tells how to actuate the sequence control, among other useful ABS info.

You're welcome. If you haven't managed to free it yet, and assuming that the '01 dipstick is similar to the earlier models ('99, for example ), there's a "trick" that should work. A socket (from a wrench) whose outside diameter is a bit smaller than the hole in the dipstick handle, along with a short-length extension, will give quite a bit more leverage as well as something to more easily hold onto. Even a 1/2" drive extension by itself could work, or a piece of about 3/4" (19mm) diameter wooden dowel or similar material approximately 4" (10cm) in length would probably do. Use reasonable force; with the added "handle", a slight twist and pull should be sufficient. The skinned knuckles and/or broken parts others have mentioned are real-world risks. If none of the above helps, perhaps someone has glued the dipstick in place so that it's now a "no user service required" (or possible) trans .

Have you tried twisting it a few degrees in either direction before (and while) pulling? That usually loosens them. Certain "penetrating" solvents will make the problem worse by swelling the seal, and you certainly don't want that stuff in the trans.

You might do a Google search on "torque converter", which should turn up lots of information.

I'm curious, since I own a '99 OB; what differences between the '99 and '00 make the former "old" and the latter "new" (besides internal versus external head gasket leaks )?