corsair

I can't believe that you received two dead (new) speedos. The speedo that I ordered had two parts that come together: 1. the speedo face & 2. the circuit board that is connected to the back of the speedo face. Assuming that you didn't separate those items and use the old circuit board, I would have to guess that the next thing to check would be the sensor input for the speedo. I had the Subaru stealership take my car on a test drive with his diagnostic scanner who told me that he was able to see sensor inputs going to the speedo, so I bought the speedo head which cured the problem. I don't know how to advise you to determine whether you are getting sensor input pulses without having the stealership do it for you (because I don't own a factory service manual). Maybe you need to take your new speedo AND old speedo to a different speedo shop.

It's probably a 99% probability that the sending unit works just fine. I had the dealer do the diagnostic for me & he drove the car around on a test drive with his diagnostic equipment, noted that the speedo did not work, but that the sending unit on the trans was sending out a signal. I can tell you specifically that the circuit board on the back of the speedo gets ONLY ONE single input wire from the sending unit because there is only a single wire coming up to the back of the speedo head. This tells me that if you can remove the cable from the sending unit, attach a wire with the appropriate connector, and run it into the inside of the car to an analog meter, you should see input pulses when you drive. Since the car is too new to have the dealer factory service manuals circulating freely, there no other way that I can know what type of signal is being sent from the sending unit unless you can engage a dealer mechanic to tell you a better way to diagnose it. Alrernatively, you might trace the sending unit wire color back thru the harness to try to get a better place to tap into the signal coming from the sending unit (which is located on the left side of the trans with a single wire coming from it). I know it's galling to say, but you might just save yourself the trouble and just buy the speedo and install it. Mine was installed with ONLY a short & medium #1 or #2 phillips screwdriver and 45 minutes of my time. It will take you way more than 45 minutes of diagnostic time & effort trying to continue to isolate it. IMHO... Just replace it.

=================================================== Problem solved. I replaced the speedo head for my 1999 Subaru Legacy sedan w/auto trans (Subaru part # 85020AC330) for $160 (over the couter from the dealer). Now my intermittent speedo problem is gone. All it takes is 45 minutes and a medium & short regular phillips screwdriver to complete this R & R. Note that the part number above really includes 2 pieces, the mechanical portion of the speedo (including the dial & pointer) and the integrated circuit board mounted on the back of the speedo connected by 8 free-standing electrical connector pins & 5 phillips screws. Since the part from the dealer includes both items, I will never know whether the trouble was caused (only) by the circuit board. The circuit board has ONLY a single wire input (green wire with yellow stripes) coming from the sensor on the transmission. For those who follow, it may be worth investigating whether this circuit board is sold separately (and at much less cost) from the mechanical portion of the speedo/trip odomoter. If anyone wants pictures, please post here with a good email address & I will email.

Thank you very much !

Nope, I didn't get any PDF or other diagrams, so I'm still in the dark about this. There are really only two possibilities though, the VSS sensor which sends the impulses, or the speedo element in the instrument cluster which receives the impulses. The only way to know, is the check if the impulses are being reliably transmitted, and if so, the only thing left is the speedo component in the cluster which receives the impulses. This is probably the same troubleshooting logic that the stealership will use if you are willling to pay to have the dealer do it. I'm not motivated to find out which one it is before I reach 100k since I have an extended warranty. I'll post the answer here in the next year (or so) when my warranty is ready to run out.

OK. I pounded on it from the inside-out with a rubber mallet (did it this morning, but it didn't budge even a little). That's why I had thought of the axle nut. I guess I'll just have to use a bigger steel hammer and go all the way around. Thanks for the replies.

I need to re-face one of the front rotors on my 1999 Legacy L sedan 2.2. It appears that the front axle nut has to be removed in order to take off the rotor (I have not yet done this on my car). I don't have a big enough socket, so I will have to buy one. I measured the nut and it looks like either a 32 or 33 mm. socket. Can someone tell me what is the correct size of the socket that I will have to buy ?

Anyone know where I can get stainless steel brake bleeder screws (in the USA) for my 1999 Legacy L sedan ???

If the engine doesn't turn-over with the starter, then the next step is to put the correct socket on a breaker bar and put it on the crankshaft bolt and see how much resistance you receive when trying to move the crankshaft with the breaker bar. If the bearing(s) are truly seized, you won't be able to turn the engine with a breaker bar !!

OK..... Thank you. Now I feel fulfilled. I opened the hood, looked under the alternator and there it is "EJ22" stamped on the block. Hooray!! Now I won't have to feel left in the dark when I read threads where everyone is identifying their engine with the term EJxx. Now - when I look down to the post by Setright posted yesterday, combined with the Subaru Tech manual that I got from ferret, I understand what he is saying. Thanks to everyone who posted to this thread in the last 3 days. I have learned alot more about the boxer engine than I knew a week ago !!!!

If that is the defining characteristic, then I definitely have a Phase II. I had a thread a couple of weeks ago about oil in the spark plug wells (to which you also replied) and which happen to go through the valve covers. The part as defined by Subaru is a the "Spark Plug Pipe Gasket". I happen to need all 4 of them. By way of verification that I own a Phase II 2.2, I also got a PDF yesterday from ferret which details the difference between Phase I/II. Shown in those pictures are the two different cam belt tensioners for Phase I & II. The one that I have is more round than long (the best way that I can describe it) which verifies that I own a Phase II 2.2 (I have already done the timing belt so I know exactly which tensioner I have). The problem that I'm having in this thread is the EJ engine designation that I keep hearing. Since I'm a Subie newbie I don't know where to find this number on my car or if it's even written on my car. I have a 1999 Legacy L sedan 4dr. 2.2 Phase II engine manufactured 11/98. This is the 1st boxer engine that I have ever owned. Everything else that I own is domestic (Corvette, Chevelle, Crown Vic. and F350). Am I supposed to be able to find this EJ number somewhere on the car and if so where??

Many thanks ferret, this technicians reference will be very handy to me in the future. I now have a good reason to know that my engine is a Phase II, and it will be verified once I see what is under the valve cover.

The manufacture date on mine is 11/98. The sticker under the hood (I never LOOKED at it before) says engine family XFJXV02 2.2. litre SFI and a long number for the "evaporative family" XFJXR01251BB. I have the Subaru FSM Supplement and it shows the air filter location for all 2.2 non-California cars as being on the right front fender with the intake opening behind the right headlight. All California cars are shown in the manual as having the airfilter mounted on the throttlebody inside the big housing at the center next to the firewall. Since my manufacture date is 11/98 (a Wisconsin Legacy non-Outback), I have to guess that I have Phase I as everything that I have read suggests that Phase II came in late 1999 and early 2000. My whole reason for wanting to know Phase I/II was an attempt to find out whether I was affected by the head gasket problem. When the dealer tells me that I'm not, I naturally believe that they are lying in order to get out of fixing something. Everything that I have read suggests that this problem was ONLY on 2.5 engines when Subaru took a 2.2 block and bored it out for bigger sleeves to make it a 2.5 engine (and adding the DOHC heads & valvetrain) [bad engineering decision]. If your car states compliance with California emissions (even if sold in Oregon), then I have to believe that you have a California car - this would put the air cleaner in the center housing right next to the throttle body. The right side intake box on a California car is "empty". Can you tell me what has been fixed on your car (and how many miles on your car)? I'm trying to get a picture of what will go wrong next on my car which shows 86,000+. I have already done the crankshaft seal & timing belt. I skipped the cam seals because when I had it all apart, I didn't have a cam sprocket wrench (or service manual) and didn't have time to fabricate one and weld on a handle. Sadly, I also didn't replace the water pump when I had it all apart. So what has been replaced on your car ?

I have basically the same but with an automatic: 1999 Legacy L sedan 2.2 30th anniversary Ed. 4dr. winestone pearl. The only major service that I have had is a leak in the auto transmission where the electrical plug goes into the trans and I was 2,000 miles out-of-warranty. The other major problem with my car is the intermittent speedo (not yet fixed). I have also had the driver seat recliner adjuster assembly go bad - seat bouncing up and down when the recliner adjusting arm is in center travel - not in fully locked position. Another minor problem is defective spark plug pipe gaskets which causes oil to puddle in the spark plug holes. Can you tell me what major/minor problems you have had with your car, so that I can know what to watch for in mine ?

I'm a newbie so I don't know what "EJ25" means, although I have seen a similar reference in other (older) posts which I have researched. I CAN tell the difference between a DOHC vs. SOHC (I'm a mechanic & have a Corvette & Chevelle), but I read in some previous posts that a Phase I was a 2.2, and a Phase II was a 2.2 bored-out (at the factory) to make it a 2.5. The Subaru that I own is the 1st non-domestic car with a horizontally opposed engine that I have ever owned. If the defining feature is the air cleaner location, then I can tell you that my air cleaner is on the passenger side with an empty chamber behind the throttle body. However, I have a Subaru FSM (Supplement) which shows the (1999) 2.2 air cleaner location as ALL being on the passenger side, with the ONLY exception being the California car which has the air cleaner mounted in the chamber attached at the throttle body. There is no mention in this Subaru manual about PhaseI/II. The reason for my question originally is that I called Subaru about the head gasket issue, and they told me that I have a phase II engine and don't qualify for any extended service (the anti-freeze additive). This causes me to want to know definitively (and by objective criteria) as to whether I have a Phase I or a Phase II engine because the Subaru phone service rep on the phone could NOT tell me what is meant by Phase I or Phase II (obviously she is a low paid hourly employee who just runs a VIN # and tries to brush-off any many people as she can). I guess I'll just go and pay for the coolant additive myself and hope for the best. I have 86,000+ on my 99 Legacy, and don't have any leaks, but I might as well have the coolant additive, than not have it. If someone can give me a more specific, or technical way to distinguish by sight how I can know whether my 1999 Legacy L sedan 2.2 is a Phase I or a Phase II, I should like very much to hear it. If LOGIC would dictate, there would be a reason (different manufacturing process, engineering improvements/advancements, a different or more advanced engine design) that would logically dictate why Subaru would designate an engine being a Phase II, rather than a Phase I. On this (logical) basis, I would of course assume that it would be more desirable to have a Phase II rather than a Phase I engine, and I'm saying this on the basis of logical progression of improvements, not simply because the Phase I has the bad head gaskets.