St Nickolas

I'd interrogate the ECU (i.e., pull the codes) to see what it thinks is the problem. Nick

Could you have 2 bad wires? Nick

As an armchair mechanic:headbang: , I was thinking intermittent coil pack. But, Nipper says coil packs fire 1-2 and 3-4. (1=pass front, 2=drivers front, 3 = pass rear, 4=drivers rear). Now I'm liking his cam timing theory as the 2-4 miss could be the drivers side cam out of whack. Good luck, Nick

Hmmmm.....You've removed the intake when trying to get it running? You need the intake on it and sealed up from the Air flow meter to the throttlebody or the engine computer will think there is no air going into the motor, and hence not put any gas to it. Nick

Sounds like the evaporator thermoswitch. This is supposed to shut the system off when/if the evaporator reaches 32F (the condensation would freeze). They fail quite often in an intermittent fashion. Remove the glove box. TS has 3 wires going into it and a probe on the back end that is stuck into the fins of the evaporator. wire colors on my diagram are re/black, brown/white, and green/red. Uh Oh, now I've forgotten which wires I crossed to bypass it (not that what I've done is a safe method). I think I crossed the green/red to the brown/white to bypass it. The clicking you hear is from a relay. **edit: yes, those are the wires I crossed to bypass the TS. As OB99W suggests, it could be working correctly by sensing a freezing condition in the evap.** Nick

First priority is to check the vacuum. Many of the vents and doors that change where the air comes out is regulated by vacuum. Simplest problem would be that the vacuum line from the engine is broken or has a leak. Being a 16yo car, likely that some vacuum lines have cracked. Also, I've kicked one loose with the gas pedal foot. You'll want several feet of vacuum line, a vacuum gauge and pump, lost of patience and be ready to contort and twist around the cab and engine compartment. For the a/c that'd be electrical in nature. Search down old posts for that. Also, make sure you have a decent electrical diagram. The one in the Haynes manual will do. Nick

Sounds like there should be another source for the part and the mech should take it up with the supplier. I've found used parts and prices via: http://www.car-part.com/ Hope you get it sorted out soon, Nick

from: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49918 -- 1988 and Later Models With Single-Point Fuel Injection -- CODE PROBABLE CAUSE 11 Crank Angle Sensor or Circuit 12 Starter Switch or Circuit 13 Crank Angle Sensor or Circuit 14 Fuel Injector - Abnormal Output 21 Coolant Temperature Sensor or Circuit 23 Air Flow Meter or Circuit 24 Air Control Valve or Circuit 31 Throttle Sensor or Circuit 32 Oxygen Sensor or Circuit 33 Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) or Circuit 34 EGR Solenoid or Circuit 35 Purge Control Solenoid or Circuit 42 Idle Switch or Circuit 45 Kick-Down (Detent) Relay or Circuit 51 Neutral Switch Continuously in the On Position 55 EGR Temperature Sensor or Circuit 61 Parking Switch or Circuit Oxygen sensors go bad slowly over time. I think they're well toasted by the time the ECU detects anything. Still, you can do some testing on them. You'll need a high impedance meter (all digital meters should qualify). Once things are at operating temp, get the DC voltage from the O2 sensor (ground anywhere on the body. It should read right around 0.5 V DC. Additionally, the ECU should adjust the fuel injection in milliseconds so that you and I wouldn't see it vary by much. Nick

Here's a pic of the cams/crank alignment from the FSM. Timing the pass. side cam at the bottom makes it easy to miss it by a tooth. Better to rotate the crank 360, so that cam mark is straight up (and aligned with mark on rear timing belt cover). Hope this helps. Nick

Not finding any power, I have to ask, (careful here, I may insult your intelligence ) did you turn the ignition and headlamps on? Was your meter properly grounded? Did you run your test (ignition on) with headlamps off, lows on, and again with highs on? Run reverse set of tests with meter on positive battery terminal and probe the connectors/wires to see if they are grounded. Three wires should be a high beam, low beam and common. Common wire could be from power or to ground. My electrical diagram for a 98 shows that power is switched via a relay. So no power to the common wire with ignition off. The other wires (low beam, high beam) would then be grounded via the headlamp switch, and high/low switch. So I think a better question is: "Which wire is grounded when the highbeams are on". As such, the switching side of the relay will be hooked to the common (power) wire and the wire that is grounded when the highs are on. Clear as mud? Nick

Main pulley removal: Should be a hole in the flywheel. Rotate engine while looking down the timing hole. Once you find it, place a punch or screwdriver in it. Might use a short piece of rubber hose to protect the threads. Then use a breaker bar on the pulley socket. This is the preferred method to retorque the pulley bolt, too. Bump method: Denote which way the engine turns. Place breaker bar and socket on pulley bolt so bar smacks ground when starter is 'bumped'. Do so. Voila'. Do a search for how to align the cam pulleys and the crank. The cam pulley marks will be 180 degrees apart from each other Nick

Shouldn't your mechanic do a bit more sleuthing before throwing parts at it? OK, so there is no spark, correct? Two things I can think of to do: 1) check the timing belt. Pull one or both front side covers (all of 3 bolts each) and see if the t belt is all there. 2) Check the engine computer for codes. Get to the Legacy777 homepage for the procedure. Nick

The single digit codes (like your 7) indicate an 'all clear' condition for that portion of the test. Additionally, it indicates which car you have (Manual Trans vs Auto, CA vs USA, Turbo vs N/A). Repeat that test with no connectors connected, and also with the other pair connected. Report those results. Sometimes the codes store til they are erased, sometimes they erase themselves. Nick

I've replaced the R-12 with Freeze 12 on my 91 and 92 Soobs. Cooling is fantastic. Since you'll have to crack the system open, I'd probably go for the switch to 134a. As you do research on this, note that most recommend the system be flushed to remove the old oil in preparation to keep the 134a compatible oil from the old oil. While I haven't run across anyone that has had the oils gel, it sounds like a real possibility. You might also check: http://www.aircondition.com/ for more info. Nick

Sounds like a classic case of a worn out radiator. Cools well at idle and stop and go traffic, but put some power to it for open road speed and temp creeps up. Often you can get some relief (for the engine) by running the heater. Even if the tubes of the rad are clear, the fins start to corrode away from the tubes. Nick

I'm thinking there may be some special tools for the a/c clutch removal and install. Should be a snap ring in there, too. Did you by chance miss that??? With the cost, perhaps a professional consult is in order. Get a pro to swap the clutch for you. Keep us posted. Nick

Can't you return those tools under the 'KMart rental policy'? Glad you diagnosed it yourself, sorry to hear the addy parts are so much. Perhaps someone will post the best/cheapest alternative. Nick

My 86 4x4 GL needed a cable once. The first cable they sold me was very stiff, ended up it was a cable for 2WD GL. Don't forget to lube the end at the clutch fork that needs lube. It pivots just a small amount, but lube is necessary. Nick

The expansion valve is inside the system with the freon. You should be real sure of this before you decide to have the expansion valve replaced. Seems to me that if the expansion valve is blocked or partially so, or there is water in the system that ices up and blocks the valve, the high pressure switch would shut the system down. Out there under the hood next to the sight glass should be the pressure switches. One low, one high. Not sure which switch is which: A) Brown/Yellow and brown/red wires. Brown/red should be hot with ignition on. Switch normally closed providing power to air conditioner relay #4 (in fuse/relay panel under hood (closest to driver I believe)). This relay has the other side grounded by none other than the Evaporation Thermoswitch that several have suggested is a likely culprit. Red/Blue wire and black wire. Black wire should always be a ground. Red/blue wire should have power and switch is normally open. What would I do? Test the Evap Thermoswitch first. Remove the 2 screws at the bottom of the glove box. Remove glove box. Find the ET (green/red, brown/white, red/black (3) wires). Jumper the green/red to the brown/white. Try the a/c and see if it works any better. This bypasses the ET, but not any of the pressure switches. Nick

If the pressure is low, but not so low as to make the low pressure switch shut down the system, I do believe you are in luck. Does the system cool at all? Use a thermometer in one of the dash vents and see if you get some change when you turn the system on. Ports: The compressor should be marked with a D for discharge (high pressure) and S for suction (low pressure). If you were to add freon, it would be done via the low pressure side. Which comes to the next question. Got Freon? This should be an R-12 system unless it has already been converted. R-12 sales are quite restricted. Nick

Do you have a voltmeter? Check the battery voltage with everything off. Check the voltage with it running, and also for some rpm above idle. REport back. Or, take it to a parts store that can do a better test on the system. I too think the alternator is near death. Nick

I wouldn't do it. Put those covers back on! I changed the t belt on a VW Rabbit years ago. I dropped a 10mm nut (small) and it ended up between the belt and a gear. Soon as I turned it over the belt snapped. I've had times when the knurled nuts stripped out of the covers. Zip ties have kept them together when that happened. Nick

Whoa! Is he headed to OU or OSU? Will he be a Buckeye or a Bobcat? Scarlet and Gray or Green and White? OK, so if you are headed to Columbus and not Athens, then he's headed to THE Ohio State University, not Ohio University. Congrats! Getting a son to the level of college student is great. I'm a grad of Akron U and of Ohio U, but I'm a fan of OSU and a fan of higher education, too. Nick

I'm with GD. Take the switch out, go to a well-lit place with some room, and relaxed state of mind. Not a tough job, but a bit tedious with a need for attention to detail and steady hands. Lay down an old t-shirt on a flat surface and begin to dissasemble the switch. There are several small parts including springs. The contacts carry lots of current and will often carbon up the surface. Smooth and clean them with a contact points file, or emery cloth. Reassemble. Reinstall Nick

My 92 Legacy is R-12. The threaded ports should indicate this too unless it has been converted. Then it would have adaptors over the old ports. The R-134a has a different connector (quick connect). When my Legacies lost freon (slowly over the years), I converted to Freeze-12. Nick