Rooster2

I too have never been very happy with NAPA. Prices always seem about 20% more then other auto parts stores, and their counter people seem none to happy to wait on walk in customers. I'm thinking that their business is really geared to sell parts to garages that call in for parts, then NAPA truck delivers the parts to the garage.

When you changed the trany fluid, did you do it 3 times, with drives between drains? That is what people recommend here, because a single drain only drains out about half the ATF. The other half stays in the torque converter, and won't drain out. Doing the 3 drain does a lot better job of swapping out old to new ATF. Be aware that the dip stick for the ATF measures a pint increment from low to high marks on the stick. A lot of guys make a mistake, and think it is a quart increment, and over fill. I know what you mean about the ez removal of the trany pan bolts. I simply gently snugged them up when I replaced a pan gasket. You don't want to super tighten, or the pan lip will bend to cause leaks. If there is a torque wrench spec for this, I am not aware of it. I hope somebody chimes in on this.

I have both a 98 and 99 OBWs with phase 1, 2.5 motors. This is the first time that I have ever read about valve adjustment. Is this suppose to be done per some millage schedule? How are the valves adjusted?

Shawn..........in this thread, the poster says his 2.2 is ready to throw a rod. I don't think you want his 2.2 motor.

Yea, I would prolly do what is advised above. Just drive it till it dies with thick oil, like 20W-50W, and the Lucas bearing fix, and never change the oil again. I had a car like that, I called it my "Town Car," meaning I wouldn't drive it out of town, and in town, only on city streets, never on interstates, and never venturing more then about 5 miles from where I live. When it finally broke down, it was no big deal. Maybe put some cheap brake pads on it, fix nothing else, and drive on as is.

Just a by-line to say that battery cable connectors do go bad. Just last week my car was driving fine with no issues. Then stopped for a bit, and could get no restart. The cars electrical system was completely dead. I traced it quickly to a badly corroded pos terminal. When I tapped on the terminal, the cable fell off the battery. This left me stranded with no way to attach the battery cable. I had no idea it was completely corroded, as the cable terminal is/was covered with a red rubber bootie, and out of sight. So, yea......check all battery and alternator wiring connections for trouble.

If it were me, I would return to the parts store with the new alternator. Ask the counter guy to test the performance of your current (old) alternator that is on your car. If your old alternator passes the performance test, then return the new alternator, and get your money back. Like previous poster said, check v- belt for tightness, as it could slip when wet. If so, just tighten the belt, or inspect the belt for wear, if bad, replace the belt.

hmmmmmmmmm, if what you say is true about the mid year switch over, is there a vin number listing somewhere. Before that number is phase 1, after that number is phase 2? I always thought all 99 OBWs were phase 1.

Check timing belt lay out for bad tensioner or pulley, even though the belt turns when the engine turns over. Like cj7135, this sounds like timing or bad valves related.

I think some of these early 90's Isuzus were also re-badged as Hondas, before Honda brought out their Pilot line, and sold in the U.S. Occasionally, I will see one on the road.

Go to E-bay motors website, click on used auto parts for Subaru, year, and model. I just went there to check for you. Several tail lights are available for sale for both sedan and wagon. Cost is $35-$50 + shipping, or maybe less if you want to bid, but I am not sure if these are bid items. Read the ads carefully to determine if the tail light is for sedan or wagon, as that info is not easy to spot.

Yes, OEM plug wires, or Bosch, I have had good performance from Bosch wires. Bosch and OEM wires cost about the same. It is the cheapie wire sets from the auto part stores that perform badly and cause problems.

broken timing belt?

Whenever I buy a used car with no maintenance records, I begin changing the "wear" items on the car. I change the spark plugs, check, maybe replace the air filter, change oil/filter, and trany fluid. That way, I know they are good. Check your owner's manual.......it prolly will say Dextron quality ATF. To me, there isn't any company selling poor ATF, though others here may disagree. I really don't know of any great advantage using synthetic ATF, verses regular ATF. Prolly, the synthetic type has higher test (lube) values that would perform better in heavy duty application like racing or heavy towing, but for every day driver use, I would recommend the non synthetic ATF. It works just fine. On your car, there is an external ATF filter. I would replace the filter, when replacing the fluid. Don't recommend dropping the pan to change the screen filter. That is just a waste of time. You may want to pull the road wheels to check the wear on the brake pads. I think you will prolly need to change the timing belt and pulleys. Subaru says to change the belt at around 100K miles. Saying they were inspected, means they were not changed. At 109K miles, I am betting the timing belt is the original. It is important to change the belt, because if it breaks, you get stranded, and the motor gets bent valves. Bad valves are expensive to repair. Check for weeping coolant from the heads. Subaru sells an additive to the cooling system to fix this. Good luck and have fun with your new Subie!

I own a 99 Leggie. I have always heard that the 99 has the gen 2.5, or 30th anniversary had the 2.2. Both phase (gen) 1 motors. Gen 1 and Gen 2 motors will not interchange plug and play.

I'm planning to give it to my girlfriend to run until it's dead, and it would be good to know what she's up against. I don't want to ruin the relationship Thanks again!!! I don't think giving the car to your girlfriend is the best of ideas. Guys don't necessarily care, but don't like a car to break down. Women are much more concerned about getting stuck with a car that breaks down. If fact they live in fear that a car may break down. Just my 2 cents worth.

Rather then swap out the gas tank, on other cars, not a Subaru, I have sanded and cleaned the leaky area around the seam very well, then used JB Weld to seal the leak. It has worked surprisingly well, but the air temp needs to be above 70 degrees F to get the JB Weld to harden, or do this inside a heated garage. The key is to get the area where you apply the JB Weld extremely clean, then let it harden up for several days before filling up with gas to where it was leaking. As far as the broken strap, I would use a large nylon cable tie, or a series of them linked together to form a strap. I would strap it around in several different locations to assure a good tie down. Have you applied PB Blaster, then let it sit for an hour, then use an impact gun on those frozen bolts, if you still want to do that. I bought an electric impact gun from Harbor Freight tools on the cheap. It does a surprisingly good job

Yea, I have heard of hand tightening, but always felt better tightening a little more with a filter wrench, or filter cap that fits over the end of the filter and is tightened with a 3/8" drive with extension. Hand tightening always worries me that I won't get the filter tight enough, and it will leak.

Chevron Techron is an excellent product. I have used it for years.

What is bad regarding the transmission?

I think you need to pull off the road wheel, and look at the pads to see if there is any abnormal wear. Maybe even remove the caliper to get a better look at the pads to see what is going on. As you said, the replacement bolt is not the correct size, so it may have backed out some to cause the caliper to be loose. This sounds like something you should look into right away, as this could be a safety issue.

When it doesn't start, does the starter still crank, or act like a dead battery with no crank?

My guess is that the check engine light is on, and seller is saying the exhaust leak is causing that, so the presence of any CEL will cause it to fail inspection. That may be true, or there may be additional CEL codes that need to be addressed. Suggest pulling code(s) to see what is going on. BTW, an auto parts store will pull codes at no charge. Ask owner when was the last time that the timing belt was replaced. Also, look at repair receipts, if your interest in the car takes you to a higher buying interest. Check for torque bind in the all wheel drive system. Lots written up about that on this forum in the archives. A search titled "torque bind" will give you a good education on the subject. At this point, you really need to look and drive the car to see how well it drives and runs, and how the clutch performs. With that many miles, you should be able to buy the car on the cheap, but like said, it will be prone to break downs. If you are mechanically inclined, and don't mind making repairs, then you should be okay with this car. If you don't work on cars, then taking this car to a shop on a continuing basis could get expensive.

I suppose you are thinking about buying it for a rebuild? I remember there is an aerosol bomb type of product you can put inside a car to kill odors. Don't know if it would work on smoke damage.

CEL is abbreviation for "Check Engine Light." It is the dashboard idiot light that comes on, and stays on, while the car is being driven, when there is an engine malfunction.