Rooster2

Been sitting......quite possible mice have been chewing on the wiring. I have seen that before. Also, had goofy lighting problems on a Toyota, turned out to be a cracked bulb socket holding the brake/turn signal bulb. Your problem is either bulb or wiring. Like someone said, try replacing bulbs first as your first repair approach.

Agree, something is not right here. Talk to your insurance agent about this, not an attorney. They deal with these issues on a daily basis with investigators and claims adjusters. If the other party is coming up with a fraudulent claim, your insurance company will determine this pretty quickly, and put a stop to their claim.

I think that 330K miles on a motor is just too many miles to make it a worthwhile transplant to the 97. For the work involved, you would be far better off finding another motor with far fewer miles to transplant.

If you don't have an OBD2 code reader, then suggest you put-put over to an Autozone or Advance Auto Parts store, or similar parts store. The counter sales guy will come out to the parking lot, and read your codes at no cost. A code read will tell you what the problem is. My guess is nothing serious. Let us know what the code read is. If you are handy with a wrench, it is likely you can fix the problem yourself. Let us know, we will be happy to walk you through any repair.

Yea, knew some of this history, to know it is an old tire name brand that has been bought and sold a few times. Still hard to know if they are any good or not.

Discount Tire sells the Fisk Classic tires. They sell for $72 each. The Fisk tires appear to be a private label brand sold by Discount Tire only. Anybody on this forum use these tires? I know one of the "hands on" techie guys at a Discount Tire store. He says they are good tires, with few "come backs" because of issues. He also says they are made from discontinued Michelin molds, but who knows what tire company bought the molds, or how well the tires are made. I am just wanting to hear from someone who uses them, and what they think of them. I am considering buying them for my 99 OBW with 186K on the odo. I am tight on money, so that is what drives my interest in a less expensive tire.

Love to hear success stories like this. I have both a 98 and 99 OBWs that may need to go this route some day. Where do you find 2.2s in good condition? I live in Indy.

Same thought, replace the t-stat. Might need to boil out the radiator too.

Coolant temperature sensor.

A single drain and fill only replaces about half the ATF in the system. The portion that doesn't drain remains in the torque converter. That is the reason for drain and fill 3 times to get clean ATF in the trany. Still, if the fluid was changed just once, then I don't see how additional fluid changes will help.

I am thinking the poor shifting is not related to the coolant temp sensor. The sensor affects engine performance, not trany shifting. How long has it been since the ATF has been changed? If a long time, I would change it out 3 times, with short drives between changes. It is a pretty ez do it your self project, as there is a drain plug on bottom of transmission pan.

Nice job.........you can find replacement acorn type lug nuts for sale at auto parts store. They are not costly.

I am thinking that a Subaru dealership diagnose for $35, is simply a code read out, and that is it. Spending only $35 at a dealership never buys you much. Since the CEL is not on, it won't tell much. Maybe they can find some old codes that have not been erased for advise. If they don't learn anything, then they will simply want to throw parts at the problem in hopes of getting lucky. Then it is about $90 for a knock sensor, and prolly $90 (hourly rate) to install the knock sensor. I hope they don't advise this approach! Does the CEL light up along with all other warning lights, when key is first turned, prior to turning key further to activate the starter? I am wondering if the previous owner deactivated the CEL from ever coming on??

I am betting the new owner will join USMB asking the same questions. Any takers??

Head gaskets, prolly the most classic description of a bad head gasket ever written, short of saying the motor is over heating. Years ago, I lived in Strongsville, OH.........just up the road from Medina. I have lots of good Cleveland area memories that I carry with me. I remember how nice Mediana is. You might loosen the burping screw/bolt on the opposite end of the radiator cap. This reduces pressure in the radiator, and will let some of the exhaust gas that is mixing with the coolant to escape from the radiator. Your heater won't work well, but it can buy you some extra driving time before the motor starts to over heat. Just be sure to keep enough coolant in the radiator, as it may boil out a little.

When I was a kid, I worked at my dad's gas station. He taught me proper use of an air gun. That is.....always install a lug nut on wheel stud by hand first, to make sure that the nut is threading properly. Otherwise, it is too easy to cross thread by putting the nut in the socket of the air gun and driving the nut on, and hoping for the best that you got lucky and did not cross thread. Too many guys in shops never learned that lesson, or maybe they were taught the proper method, but don't give a damn about quality work.

I had a 91 first gen. The seats were so comfortable. Wish I had them in my 99 OBW. The sedan will make a very nice daily driver!

Pretty sure that I have read that any Leggie either 2.2 or 2.5 starting with year 1997 and afterwards is an interference motor.

Yea, I had the knock sensor go bad on my '98 OBW. Running in limp around mode, or whatever it is called, produced a lack of power, as well as CEL coming on. Writer makes no mention of a CEL. I wonder if his CEL is disconnected?

Any CEL............Check Engine Light seen? Does CEL come on when first turning the ignition key to "run" position, before turning further to crank position?

I am appalled that California charges all those fees on a car that I assume you weren't driving. Would it be better to sell the car in or out of state to avoid paying the laundry list of fees, then buying something else? Let me guess........there would be a whole new list of fees to be paid upon buying something else. Gotcha coming or going!

I bet California realizes this loop hole, and their computer system will block this move once the VIN number is brought up.

Glad to hear you are okay. Car looks like it crumpled to absorb energy as it was engineered to do. Far better to replace a car, then repairing human body parts. I'm betting you buy another Subaru!?

I am glad I don't live in Humbolt County. Why so expensive? What state do you live in?

No hands on experience, but I have read a lot to remember that there is no computer swap needed, and no issues, or very minimal issues with wiring harness if swap is done on 96-99 Leggies. After year 99, it won't swap because of computer issues. Something also about a bracket swap to attach the A/C compressor. Use the bracket from the 2.5 on the 2.2 motor. Tons written here on this subject. Check the Search feature on this forum to learn a lot.