TedZ

Broken belt...engine trashed. Thanks for the help. Ted

Having it die i can trouble shoot. What mystifies me is that it makes a strange noise when cranking now, like it has nothing attached to the crank but the front pulley turns, no clunks from valves hitting...maybe they have all been hit and there is no compression on any cylinder but that seems strange. I would chalk it up to a broken timing belt if it didn't sound so wierd cranking. Going to pull the cover and a plug this a.m. What i am asking is after a 2.5 valve crunch does the engine crank completely differently? Thanks. Ted

Thanks all. I'll clean it up and see if i can find it. The way it is distributed, it looks like it is blowing out of something. It is not PS fluid as the oil level is going down fast in the engine, i.e. a qt a week. Ted

2002 2.5 Legacy wagon has started using oil but not burning it. There is a pretty good film everywhere in the engine compartment. Something is leaking or clogged. Must be relatively common. Thoughts? Thanks. Ted

Just to close the loop on this thread, the tail lights are fixed. There was a short in the wire going from the under dash fuse panel to the Security Control Module. No one had ever run into this, so i want to post it here just in case there is another unfortunate. A dealer in Norwalk CT found it after hours of looking. They kindly only charged my for three hours labor because they felt they should have found it sooner! I didn't think there could be a wiring problem i couldn't find given enough time. So much for that thought. I knew there was a wire going to the SCM from looking at the wiring diagram but i never checked it. Thanks to all who responded with great info. I learned a lot for the next time! Ted

Hi and thanks. You are right, forgot about the original load providing a path to ground also. Fuse number 5 is a 10 amp fuse in the '02 Outback and that is the one that blows. I thought the deer crash and this problem were related right from the beginning but i came to doubt that after ringing out every connector on the car and finding no differences in right or left front connections anywhere. I have observed some issues in the right rear and that is where i am going to "play" with the test lamp etc. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my post and for the education on test lamps:) . Ted

That is a great idea. No light, no short to ground. I would still love to know if there is a tail light relay anywhere as the short may show when the coil is energized...fried coil, or the light may not light unless there is an energized coil somewhere revealing the short to ground and then lighting the test lamp. Thanks. Ted

I love this forum and have searched to tears on it for the problem with the clearance lights that don't work on a 2002 Outback. Looking for the tail light relay. It is not in the main fuse box under the hood and not in the fuses under the dash (behind the pull out junk "ashtray") Perhaps there is no relay, i don't know. I am a good "meter man" being an EE and i have checked every connector remotely associated with the clearance lights and all measure appropriately either to ground - where they should - or through the light filament where appropriate. Yet when turned on fuse 5 under the dash blows instantly. When i powered the clearance light directly (i have the alligator clips with small spikes on them...love them) i thought the right rear was showing signs of being dimmer but the 16 ga. wires to the lights were both getting warm equally. (I was connected to a low ampacity source...suppose i could try it from the battery). My questions are: Where is the relay, if any. Has anyone had a light fixture go bad and cause this? Could a bad bulb do this??!! Does the headlamp/tail light switch go bad ever?? Thanks

Hi, 2002 Outback. Hit a deer, fender and hood replaced, good job, all is well. Two weeks after the repair, fuse F5 blows, no parking lights whatsoever. Checked all of the light assemblies, all ok. Short in the wiring in the replaced fender as left front parking lot connector shorted to ground. How do you access the wiring in the fender between the light and where it enters the main harness to the under-dash fuse assembly? Does the fender have to come off i-hope-not? Thanks. Ted

I think the shift lever connection-to-the-tranny u-joint if it has the slightest amout of slop. They go fast and are a pain to replace engine in. Ted

Also, if by any chance you are in the mood to replace the factory radio, a number of units come satelite ready and the receiver gets buried under the dash and there is lots of room there. Ted

Dmanaenk, The connector you found is for the cruise control...don't bother ripping the glove box out, it is not there. You will likely not find the 2 pin connector in the steering wheel either. Cut it off and put a 1/4" female spade connector on the green and connect it where there one you are discarding was connected. Good luck. Ted

I hope my 1996 Legacy wagon doesn't see this thread. 247,000 miles, original clutch (doesn't slip, but not much left) and original MT (synchros fair but doesn't chirp or grind a bit). Both could let me down i'm sure but i take it everywhere with confidence!! Ted

Lots of ways...all take a little effort. You can make a fixture out of a broken spark plug, all-thread, flat washers and a couple of nuts. Turn slowly until contact is made. You can hydraulic a cylinder with 80-90 gear oil. Fill it with the piston down, put the plug back in and turn SLOWLY. Then after the bolt is out you have to wick the oil out by rolling up paper towels until you get it all out through the spark plug hole. There may be accessory drives that can be restrained but i am not knowlegeable enough on Subarus to advise you. Ted

I would look at the plug to the blower motor...chances are you have a high resistance connection there. If the motor (and resistor bank) get power and the motor doesn't start you are going to cook the resistors quickly as they are air cooled i.e. in the heater duct. One warning. My experience with this common problem is with all kinds of vehicles but not one Subaru. this is an electrical issue however and i believe the wiring philosophy is the same. Ted

I use http://www.cars101.com/subaru/vin.html but i am not expert enough to know if the info is correct and complete. Ted

Hi, Bought an eBay Subaru cruise control for my well used 1996 Legacy wagon. I know this is small potatoes for most, but because there have been some recent questions, i thought i'd say again that the installation of a Subaru cruise unit is trivial. My kit had a two prong plug attached to the command switch which can be cut off if not necessary and the green wire connected to the 1/4" tab on the horn. Thanks to this board i looked under the steering column when the cruise ECU connector was not in the glove box area. Worked great right out of the box. Thanks for all who contribute...helps a lot. Ted

Hi, Vise grips are the way to go and when i get in a jam like this i use the duck bill vise grips. They get in tighter spots. Then simply take any wedge shaped object, cold chisel for example, and get between the axle and vise grips with a little tapping. Should work. Ted

Thanks very much. Ted

Sorry, i should have said it is a manual transmission. Thanks for the response. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated. Ted

Hi all, This is a great forum...it is a pleasure to read the posts every day you learn so much. I have read and searched the VSS location threads and i don't seem to see a set of circumstances that matches my 1996 Legacy Brighton wagon. I am getting a P0500 code Vehicle Speed Sensor "A" fault. The car does not have a cable speedometer. Accordingly, i am assuming that the sensor is on the tranny somewhere. However, there are threads that say that even with an electronic speedometer, there may be a speed sensor in the speedometer head. Could someone shed some light on this. Does sensor "A" tell folks which sensor is bad the implication being that there is more than one i.e. a "B"?? Thanks. Ted

Thanks...that helps a lot. I searched for "gearshift play" before posting but that was not creative enough! Ted

Hi all, This is a great forum. I have a new-to-me 1996 Legacy wagon. The transmission works fine but shifting is "different" due to a very large amount of side to side gearshift play. Is this a problem that can be remedied with access by removing the console or is this a condition that develops in high milage trannys that is internal and requires transmission removal. Thanks. Ted