Brettm57

Is there a way to do away with the automatic door locks on a '95 Legacy? I've locked my keys in the car about six times now, and it's driving me crazy! I'm hoping maybe I can just pull a fuse or else unplug a wire connector to get them to quit working. Thanks.

What sort of a job is this and can I do it with ordinary hand tools? My service manual (Chiltons) shows some special pullers being used. Do I need them to do this job or will your basic 3 jaw jobby do it? Or do I even need a puller? A buddy of mine wants me to do his Impreza for him, and I'd like to know what I'm getting into before I volunteer. Thanks for helping me out here.

My '95 Legacy fan control has just 2 speeds now, high and off, and needs to be replaced. My question is, how much of the dash do I have to tear out to get to the control? It looks like maybe I can just pull the small panel that the control is mounted on (I hope!)? Thanks.

....to get pictures of my little hatch dragging some big ol' trees out of the woods! We were cutting firewood for my dad yesterday and had to drag some trees out into the field to cut them up, so I put the little hatch to work. It never even spun a wheel, on snow! Next time I AM taking my camera with me!

I called Stockton Wheels yesterday and they told me 100 bucks per wheel for 14x6 and I would have to send them 4 wheels for the centers. At that price I might as well order Scorpions. Maybe they've got a blank 15" wheel they can use, but not a 14".

All things considered, that's not too bad. What style did they say they would be? I might be interested in some 14x6 wheels. It would be nice to have wheels with the right offset that bolt right up.

Why are you guys messing with stationary stuff? You gotta get runnin' some slot cars, man! Now THAT'S fun! We run 1/32 scale cars and have a ball! I got a 6'x20' table in my basement with a four lane track, computer scoring, the whole nine yards.

I have been hounded to death with this scam lately! I've been trying to sell a garden tractor puller we built. I've been offered as much as 6500 bucks for this thing (only asking 2400)! I even had a guy call me through a "translator". I don't know who I'm more POed at, the scammers or the FBI. I've forwarded every e-mail to them, at least 15 by now, and I haven't heard a word. I can't believe it's spreading this far. I've been trying to figure out a way I could take their money and keep it for myself. It would be the ultimate payback for the crooks!

I was checking it out some more this morning. I found that when the tach drops to zero, a sharp blow to the dash turns it back on again. Tells me there's a bad connection in the dash somewhere. Can you guys tell me how to take the gauge cluster out, or whatever I have to do to check the wires behind the dash?

OK, I cleaned the negative terminal and where the ground wire hooks to the engine and body, made no difference. Legacy777, you suggested possibly the ECU itself, and the more I work on this, the more I'm inclined to agree. Is there any way to test the ECU? I hate to buy a new one and find out that's not it!

I was talking to my daughter some more (it's her car) about the symptoms. She says the tach drops to zero, the gas gauge drops to empty, the check engine light comes on, and the engine starts missing (whew!). After a few seconds, it will straighten up, and everything goes back to normal. That sounds like a ground problem to me, rather than cam/crank sensors. The most obvious would be the negative battery cable, I'll check it out as soon as I can. Could there be a bad ground connection to the dash? If so, where would I look in the wiring for that? I'm having a tough time relating the engine miss to the dash problems. Maybe a bad ground wire going to the ECU? Do you have any other thoughts? Thanks again.

No, it doesn't. When the car acts up, the tach needle drops right to zero, just like you shut the engine off, and the engine will start missing, but it doesn't quit running. For example, I can be cruising down the road at 55 mph, and when the tach/engine does it's thing, the engine will start a miss I can hear, but it will still hold 55 mph, and the tach needle stays at zero. So it's not a real bad miss, it just loses a little power, and it comes and goes, only lasting for a few seconds at a time. That's about the best I can describe it in writing! Just had a thought: does the crank position sensor provide the signal for the tach? I just had to replace one of those on my '95 Legacy. The '90 does start hard on occasion, too. Thanks again.

How can the idle air control valve effect the tach? Just so we're both clear, the engine RPMs don't actually drop significantly. The tach needle drops clear to zero, and the engine develops a slight miss. Please explain the connection between the idle air control valve and the tach. I'm not doubting your word, just trying to understand how it works. Thanks.

Just wondering if anyone here has looked into an off-roading weekend at Paragon Park in PA? I here it's the ultimate place to go four wheeling. I've thought about heading down myself sometime, but an all Subaru weekend would be even better. They've got a website if anybody wants to look it over. Can't remember the actual address, just search Paragon Park.

Legacy 777, ya got me, what's an IAC valve, and how do I check it? Texan, yes, it only effects the engine. Hondasucks, how do I check the coil pack and ignitor thinger? By the way, the Check Engine Light almost never comes on, so I can't use that to help track down the problem. Thanks for your input.

I've got a '90 Legacy that the tach needle will drop to zero and the engine will start to miss at the same time. It's kind of like the worn distributor bushing action on the old EA81/82 series, but obviously a Legacy doesn't have a distributor. It only lasts for a couple of seconds, then goes away. Does anybody have any ideas what the problem might be? I'm thinking maybe a bad connection or possibly a bare wire going to the tach. Can someone explain how the tach wiring ties into the ignition system? I'm wide open for a cure here, folks.

Dante, I question the integrity of the wheel place you have listed. I tried calling them at least 20 times over about one month's time before I finally got an answer. The guy that answered the phone answered with "Hello", not "Wheels-r-us", or whatever the name of the place is. When I asked him about the 15" Subaru wheels you have listed, the answer was something like "I'll have to check with my suppliers and see if that wheel is still available and get back with you". That was over 6 months ago, I still haven't heard from him. My guess is it's some scammer with a classy looking website that takes your order, goes to his local junkyard, buys the wheels, then sells them to his "valued customers" for new. That is assuming you'd even get a set of wheels from this guy.

WAWalker, thanks for the heads-up on the scanner. I picked mine up this afternoon. I almost went and ordered a new cam position sensor and coolant temp. sensor to fix my car stalling problem, but the scanner tells me it's the crank position position sensor. I would have been more than a little upset to get those sensors replaced and my car still stall! Looks like it'll work out pretty decent. Thanks again.

What a coincidence Walker, that's the scanner I'm looking at! My local NAPA ordered it in for me. Does it work OK? I'm just looking for something to use backyard mechanicing, and this was the cheapest one I came up with. I'm having problems with my car, and I'm too stubborn to take it to a dealer. I want to fix it myself. If you tell me it works OK, I'll probably buy it tomorrow. Mama's gettin' POed that her car quits all the time!

My big question is, if I get a code scanner do I still need a trouble code chart like the older cars, or does the scanner itself tell what the problem area is (for example, a bad temp. sensor, solenoid valve, etc.)? If I need a manual to give me the codes, can someone recommend a good manual for me? I'm thinking about buying a scanner, but I would like to know some of the details of using one before I spend the big bucks. Last, is a '95 Legacy LSi OBDII? I hear some '95s are and some aren't. Thanks for your help.

That's supposed to be: ....A fairly COMMON problem....

For what it's worth, I found an industrial type 12v solenoid valve in the McMaster-Carr catalog for about $17.00 that I think would work in place of the $80.00 (you gotta be s***ttin' me!) OEM part. The next time I replace one, and apparently it's a fairly problem, I'm going to try one. If you're interested, I can look up the part # and post it here.

This is getting heated now! Part of my above mentioned reasoning is economics. I paid $500 for the car. My plan is to convert it to a five speed d/r someday anyhow, so if the transmission breaks, I really don't care. I bought it for a cheap toy, not every day transportation. If something breaks on it, I'll just park it in the back yard until I feel like fixing it, or else take it to the junk yard. Under the circumstances, I can be risky with my oil choices. On the other hand, if it was a brand new car, I'd follow the manufacturers recomendations right to the letter. I wasn't recommending dumping the 90wt out of your cherry auto and replacing it with hydraulic fluid, that would be crazy! I'm experimenting. If it doesn't work, it's my loss. Perhaps I should restate my sentence; the CHEAPEST way to get rid of the dirt is to change the oil and filter. I'm sorry, but it makes no sense to me to put a $200 filter on a $500 car. Again, this car is my winter beater, it will never be a family heirloom! Al, ya helped me out sorting out the computer on my Loyale, and I appreciate it (anybody looking to buy '92, it's for sale!). Sorry if I struck a nerve with my oil post. .....But I can't leave without telling this. I run NOTHING BUT straight 30wt engine oil, winter and summer. Let's see where this goes!

I'm no chemist, just a backyard mechanic. And I know there are people that will disagree with this, but here goes. In my humble opinion I think that all synthetic oils are a waste of money. My reasoning is this. What ruins engine oil is the dirt and contaminants it picks up rather than the oil breaking down. The only way to get rid of that dirt is to change the oil and filter. By going longer between oil and filter changes, it's just that much longer you circulate the crud through the engine. Again, I have no scientific proof, just greasemonkey reasoning. While on the subject of oil, I experimented on my '88 hatch. I noticed that it really shifted hard when first starting out in the winter, but after it warmed up, it was fine. So I drained out the 90wt gear oil from the transmission/rear diff, and replaced it with tractor transmission/hydraulic fluid. Greasemonkey reasoning: If that oil will stand up to the work load of tractor gears and the pressure of a hydraulic system at the same time (most tractors use the transmission as a reservior for the hydraulic system), I think it will stand up to the gear load of my little Subey. It's been in there for about a year now with no problems (knock on wood!). In fact, I think I gained some performance by eliminating the drag of the 90wt oil. The best part of it is you can buy a 2 1/2 gallon jug of trans/hydraulic fluid from Tractor Supply for about $11.00. For those interested, trans/hydraulic fluid is a little heavier weight than auto tranny fluid. OK, there's my opinion. Let the debate begin!

When I first called a dealer about this car they told me I had to have a scanner to check the codes, there was no way to do it in the car. I figured out from the service manual that it could be done, but it didn't give enough info to figure out how to do it. Thank God there's people like the ones writing in here to help the rest of us. I've already run off a hard copy of this to keep in my service manual. I was fairly sure the wires were the ones by the master cylinder based on the wiring diagram, but my service manual said that the wires were under the dash. The good news is my car is fixed now. You're right, this would make a great article for the USRM.