towertro11

I have already taken the old starter back to NAPA for the core. It was totally broken, the starter was hanging by the wires when I opened the hood. If it is a bolt rather than a stud and nut, that would be nice. I would just need the size of the bolt, thread size, etc. U-pull salvage yards are few and far between out here in MA, otherwise I would just go pick one up, or at least check it out. John E

Bracket may not be the best word. The starter housing broke right where the hole for the stud is on the lower side. I am sure the repeated torquing from the starter pushing into the motor fatigued the metal and caused it to break. John E

So I just had a starter issue in which the lower bracket broke. Turns out that there was no upper stud mount for the starter, and the lower bracket broke due to the fact that it was the only thing holding the starter on! I replaced the starter and re attached using the one lower mounting nut. It works, (heck the last one worked for years with only one stud), but I would feel better if I could give it a little more support. From the looks of things, replacing a stud would be a real in depth job. Do you think a tap and die would help to add a mounting bolt. Would it be feasible? I think the top nut was 14 mm, but I do not know the diameter of the stud hole for sure. For the record, it is a 96 OBW with a 98 2.2L, tranny and diff from a 97 impreza (a real frankenstein's monster) with 210k on the chassis, ~140-150k on the drive train. Any thoughts, advice, sympathies... Thanks John E

Well, I replaced the crank position sensor today on lunch, and viola, the car started right up (the Autozone did not have the cam position sensor). $25 part and 10 minutes. After it started, the check engine light came on. I disconnected the battery for a few minutes, reconnected, and took it for a test drive and the light went off and stayed off. Thanks for the help! Good to see another upstate NYer around. John E

Ok, I have a 96 legacy outback 2.2 manual with 155k. Occaisionally, the car will not start (on again, off again problem). The engine turns normally, but will not fire. I replaced all 4 plugs and wires with new (when the car was running). When it does not start, I do not have any spark at any of the 4 wires. I have swapped out the igniter and the ignition coil with no avail (both second hand). The check engine light is not on, and so there have been no codes to help guide me. I have seen advice on other threads regarding cam angle/position sensors, but I got the impression their failure would give a check engine light warning. I have a Haynes repair manual and have been trying (unsuccessfully) to use it to locate a starter/ignition relay. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. John E