Sweden

Hello all. It has been a while since I last posted. This is mainly due to the fact that I traded in my 1996 Legacy Outback for a 2008 Justy here in Sweden. I am having two issues with my Justy that I hoped to get some feedback on. 1) Has anyone, especially those of you in Europe, seen Subaru the horizontal roof rails for this vehicle? I am planning on mounting a roof luggage box on the car for a small family vacation, but there is no photo of the rails (or mounts) on the website. Are they universal mounts or something done just for a Justy. 2) This car has the 1.0 - 3 cylinder engine in it. One would think that it would be rather fuel efficient... Instead, I have been averaging 6.4 liters per 100 km, which really stinks! The driving is mostly on county roads and freeways, which seems to be where the fuel consumption is the worst... There are now 10,000 km on the vehicle. Is this the best I am going to do with it. The sticker claimed 5.0 liters/100 km. Thanks! Sweden 2008 Justy S

I actually fixed my problem a while back. I took the door apart but everything seemed to work well. I ended up digging a bit further (beyond the door) only to find that the wiring harness to all the electronical items in the door was in really bad shape. It was the one below the fuse box. Apparently there was some Minnesota salt water leakage there for a few years that took its toll on the wires in the harness. I bypassed the wires around the harness and everytrhing is peachy with the locks again! Sweden

Max Lab? If so, we had good friends, Maxim & Lidia (Russian) over last night whom both work there. I also rented a house from Greg LeBlanc, who worked there and now lives in Australia.

The slides got greased a few months back when I replaced the pads, so I know it is not only that that is causing the sticking. After 3 years in the salted streets of MN and the subsequent years here in southern Sweden, it is not surprising that the caliper is hanging. I'll give one of the suppliers a call after the New Year to see if the kit they have is the correct one. 99obw Were you here in southern Sweden because of the University or one of the companies located here? Yes, the hjortonsylt is great; but I have tired of pepparkakor (after eating about a 1000 of them in the past month...). Sweden

It is time to replace the other front brake caliper on my '96 OBW. It's sticking. Being in Sweden, parts for my Indiana manufactered Subie are neither easy to come by nor inexpensive... I am wondering if anyone out there knows of a place ( in the U.S.) that sells rebuild kits for the double-pistoned caliper on this vehicle? It would be simple and cheaper to by a rebuilt caliper, but the shipping of a caliper from the U.S. to Sweden would make it cost-prohibitive. I thought of just having a kits sent and then having it done here would be a better & less expensive option. Thanks! Sweden

I'm with Mark. Cam or Crank Angle Sensor. For me it was the Crank Angle Sensor that finally solved the exact problem that you are having; although I ultimately replaced both. $60 and 5 minutes of time to replace it made going to the grocery store a 15-minute activity again... Sweden

As simple as fluid in the reservior, nothing on the switch. Actually, I just had the rotors turned, and I noticed the other day the light 'on' again. I need to go out and check the fluid level again. Thanks for the reminder! Good luck! Sweden

I think it is time for new front brake rotors after 10+ years and 120K miles on my 1996 Legacy Outback (EJ22 engine, 15" rims). I notice now that when I brake there is a pulsing in both the brakes and in the steering wheel. I replaced the pads a month or so back in order to ge the vehicle to pass inspection here is Sweden. 1) I am wondering if this IS most-likely the rotors in need of replacement? 2) And, if the rotors were the same as rotors on other vehicles. I would like to replace them with Original Subaru rotors but the price for them is extremely (i.e. prohibitively) expensive here in Sweden. Is there a way to cross-reference to see what other vehicles might use the same front rotor, so I might locate them at a parts supply house? Thanks! Sweden

Thanks-a-million for the advice and diagram Cougar & BigMattyD. I spent the day with changing brake pads and other things to get the car ready for its annual inspection coming up, so it will need to wait a few more days for time to dig back into the door. I did notice though that the 'ghost' came back while test driving the car today--meaning that the locks locked by themselves while driving. Sweden

I finally got around to pulling the door apart and checking things out. I disassembled the 'Nissan' switch as instructed. As far as I could tell, both contacts were touching but things were a bit dirty. I cleased evetything with alcohol and reasembled. NO LUCK. No change... The is no lock movement on the other doors, not with the key or manually. Could it be that some other part (e.g actuator, lock timer, etc) went belly-up with prolonged switch problems? I haven't tested enough to see if I get the ghost in the system again (meaning lock movement by itself). Is there a way to test (easily) where the problem might be (I don't have a multi-meter, but an excuse tyo buy one is ok by me... Thanks beforehand! Sweden

Wow! I'm been searching for years for the solution to the 'ghost' in my 96's lock system--to the point where I even ripped out the keyless system in anger. I will be taking apart the door again tomorrow... Thanks beforehand! Sweden

My vehicle needed to sit about 5- to 10-minutes before it would start again. If you have an extra plug wire and plug, pop it on when it won't start and see if there is spark. I got nothing... If I remember correctly, I received no Crank Angle Sensor code for quite a while. Then suddenly, it appeared. You can search for my thread on this from last autumn. Good luck! Sweden

Similar problem here with my '96 OBW. It was the crank and/or cam angle sensors that caused the problem. Again, check codes if you are receiving them. The sensor was telling the computer not to fire. It made a quick trip for milk a real experience!!! Good Luck! Sweden

Thanks for the advice Cougar! I'll play a bit more to see if I can get some change. It may seem like I overly-diagnos things, but it is only because I live in Sweden and need to order parts from the U.S. (US-manufactured OBW). This involves int'l telephone calls, having my parents pick up the parts and ship them, etc. A pain! Not only are the OBWs different here, there was no 1996 OBW in Sweden. I have been searching for two months now for a trailer hitch that can be 'approved' by the authorities here. Everything is a battle! Sweden

You are right with the code (sorry, I didn't read the whole thread close enough). One thing that was up with mine was that it didn't reveal the Crank Angle Sensor code for a number of days & trials at the mechanic. We got the Cam Angle Sensor code though; the problem was that I had just replaced it a few days earlier. My car is possessed Sweden

Things definitely aren't working correctly. It is just that the clicking sound stopped after I locked the door. In the past, I could unlock all doors with the key, or the keyless system. I took out the keyless system thinking that was the problem. Nope! I can only unlock the driver's door with the key now. Occasionally, (maybe 1 in 15 times) all the doors will open with the key in the driver's door. Locking all doors simultaneously is no problem--either with the driver's side key, or manually from the inside of the vehicle. Sweden

flit, Is the starting problem fixed? I had a similar problem last year with my '96 OBW-EJ22. Are you getting a check engine light? If so, try and pull the code. My problem ended up being a faúlty crankshaft angle sensor (CAS), the $60 one. I first had a bad Cam Angle Sensor, though so I wouldn't rule that out either. You can check what the problem is by having an extra wire and plug handy after it doesn't start. Plug it in and see if you have any spark. If not, it is likely there is not a signal to the computer to send out spark. Search for a past thread of mine on the subject of not starting. Good Luck! Sweden

I just had the pass. side door apart. Surprise! there was no actuator there. I did go behind the pass. side cash vent and found the box that is making the clicking sound. Are the relay and 'door lock timer' the same? What I found was the latter. 12V, part 88201AC050 (Tridon). I unplugged it and played around with it a bit. I first got it to click as before. Not triggering the locks. I then locked the driver's side door lock and it all stopped. I couldn't get a repeat performance to happen... Where would one place his money-- the actuator in the driver's door or the door lock timer? Sweden

I'll check it out. It really sounded to be coming from the dash area but I could be wrong; it's hard to maintain 110km/hr and slide your head under the dash... Sweden

That wasn't normal for my '96. Unlocking the door with the key unlocked all 5 doors. It is only in the past few years (especially in colder weather) that only the driver's door lock gets unlocked. With my particular problem, I noticed today that there was a 'clicking' from under the dashon the passenger's side--seemingly trying to unlock/lock the doors of the car. What's under there that is connected to the lock system??? If it is some sort of actuator, it seems sort of weak, trying I did a test. I locked the driver's side lock manually from the inside and the clicking went away. Opened the lock up again and the clicking came back, but only the first time I performed the experiment. The second time, I got no clicking. An electrical ghost Sweden

By switch, you mean 'actuator' correct? If I recall correctly, it is the only thing in there with wires. Thanks, I give it a shot... Sweden

Which side? I haven't taken apart the passenger's side door yet, but is there an actuator there as well? I hear all the 'clicking' happening on the passenger's side, thinking that something fishy is happening there. Sweden

The weather is nice and my OBW is running well again, so I thought it time to revisit a few of the persistant issues that are still haunting the vehicle... like the locking system. During the whole winter, I had minumal problems with the locking system activating (or locking by itself). Now that it is warm, the locks on all the doors except the driver's door are activiating by themselves almost everytime we use the car. They lock and then try to unlock. There seemingly is not enough power to unlock the doors though. I can stop the activation by locking the driver's door. I've tried to play around with the activator in the driver's door (cleaning contacts, etc.). I have also removed the keyless unit to no problem solution. Any ideas, or is it just the trolls living in the door? Sweden

A couple drops of fluid and away the light went...so simple it was! Thanks for the simple but good advice!!! Sweden

Cam angle (position) sensor??? That was the issue with mine; I would drive the car about 10-15 minutes and then turn it off. No start. It didn't give me any codes either. Just a thought... Sweden