Rooster2

I don't know if the oil in a 5 speed trany ever needs to be changed, but it sure wouldn't hurt anything. As far as changing lube in the rear dif, I tried doing that on my 99 last weekend to no avail. I bet you will find bolt/plugs to be super tight, like I found on my car. Suggest you use a half inch drive breaker bar, then slide a long pipe over then end of the breaker bar handle to gain added leverage. Be sure to loosen the top bolt/plug first, where lube is added. Otherwise, you will be screwed if you drain the lube, but then can't get the top bolt/plug out to add new lube.

Also, looks like you can purchase from their website.

No, Subie does not use the CIS Jetronic system. That was only used by German car manufacturers back in the 80's to early 90's. I owned several Audi/VWs during that era, and still own an 87 Audi 5000 that is CIS, so I know.

This should work well. Just keep an eye on the fix, such as when changing the oil, to see that the "patch" is holding up. It should!

Spark plugs just look like they needed to be replaced. Three were white-ish in color, so not oil fouled, and not burning oil. The fourth, and most worn out plug looks somewhat fouled, but may because just worn out. The gap on that plug is way out of spec. If the engine has not been using/burning a lot of oil, then I would think there is no internal engine problems. Suspect like John said, the coil pack may be your problem. I seem to remember in an earlier post that you put some "dry gas" in the tank. Have you gone through several tanks of gasoline since then to eliminate the thought that you bought a bad tank of gas to cause the roughness?

IMO, buying a 14 year old car with a bad trany and 238K miles, is the same as buying a parts car, or a car that is really headed for a wrecking yard. With these thoughts in mind, a wrecking yard would pay only about $200, if that. IMO, I wouldn't pay much more than $200. I also think you are going to find more things wrong with that car beyond the bad trany, that may cost some serious money. You should be thinking about getting in this car on the cheap, if you are considering fixing it up.

I appreciate your advise about making sure the fill plug comes loose first before draining diff oil. Someone else wrote this about a month or so back (Maybe you) on the USMB. I remembered that, as I struggled to loosen both plug bolts.

I like this approach. I will give this a try.

Well I have been wanting to change the rear dif grease for some time. Today, the weather warmed up, so I backed up my 99 OBW on ramps, and grabbed my 1/2 drive. Try as I might using PB Blaster, and rust eater, after a soak, I could not loosen either bolt. I even added a bar to the drive to extend the length of the handle, and pushed down with both feet on the bar. All I did was break the driver. It was a cheapie driver to begin with, so I don't mind breaking the tool, but still am surprised how tight those plug bolts can be. I am sure that they have never been loosenedby PO before, but wow, are they tight. Any suggestions on what to do next would be greatly appreciated.

Maybe PO installed spark plugs with too low of a heat range, so plugs fouled. This seems far fetched. I have been around cars for a long time, and have never heard of an antifowler. I am curious to learn more about this product, what it is, how it works, and why someone would want to use it. Install new plugs, and see what happens. Subaru doesn't build and sell junk, so leaky injectors, worn piston rings/oil control rings don't seem like a reasonable possibility.

Autozone quotes $152 for a rebuilt with core exchange. I have bought their rebuilds for several cars. Never have had a problem. Comes with a lifetime guarantee.

Thanks for the pricing info. That gives me somewhat of a ball park price to have in mind, if I see some decent seats in a yard to buy. Those fancy LL Bean seats sound super nice. I did not know that they have both upper and lower power cushion controls. Makes me feel like the standard crappy cloth seats in my 99 OBW are Walmart specials!

By "fastners" do you mean the seat belt receptacle that the seat belt tongue clicks into? Did you get the 2002 seats from a wrecking yard? If so, what was the cost, if you don't mind saying?

No issues that I can think of. My guess is that the engine is the 3.0, not the 3.6 litre,(just a typo) 6 cylinder motor. Both the 4 and 6 cylinder Subie engines are great dependable runners. Still, you should find out for sure what size motor is in the car.

Driver seat in my 99 OBW gets really uncomfortable on any trip lasting more then 1 hour. The seat cushion is just too hard. Maybe it was good years back with PO, but not now. Is there a chart anywhere that shows what seats interchange over the years and models with other Subies? I would really like to score some better seats from a wrecking yard. My other thou

Some one buying a 13 year old car, I gotta think is more interested in how well the motor runs, car drives, and car condition, rather than what size motor is in the car. Advertise "as is," and that the motor has been replaced with a newer one, with fewer miles, if that is the case, and that it will pass state emission tests. If the car is decent, it should sell easily.

hmmm.....I always thought it was normal for a ridge to build up as the brake pads wear down the rotors. I just throw on another set of pads when they are worn out, and live with the ridge. However, if the rotors get really worn down, and the ridge is substantial, then I simply replace the rotors. I don't think the diameter size of the rotors is an issue, unless you think your present rotors are some how the wrong size.

Thanks for posting your success story...........motor on for another 100,000 miles!

As others have said, $2,000 may be paying too much for this OBS. Looking at the photo bucket pixs, I would classify the body as in poor condition because of the nasty crease running down the side of the car, the rust spots, and plenty of dents and dings all over. The really dirty and stained interior further adds to the body being in poor condition. Dirt can be cleaned away, removing stains is really difficult. Saving grace is that mechanically you don't mention many problems that new tires and a front end alignment wouldn't solve. In my thinking, this "beater" could be an okay car as a daily driver to go to work, if it is not an embarrassment to be seen in something looking like this. Maybe do a little body work on the rust, I would leave the scrapes, dents, and creases as is, unless you just love to do body work. Paying to have body work done is so expensive, and not worth the investment on this bargain basement beauty IMO. From what you have described, my max would be to pay $1,500 for this ugly duckling!

If it were me, I would install a new PCV valve and fuel filter. Both are easy under the hood installs, and cheap products to buy at a parts store. Did your "roughness" start after a gas fill up? It is possible that you got a bad tank of gas, that has some water in it. If so, I would add a can of "dry gas" to your tank to see if that helps

I have never used a torque wrench to tighten plugs. Just snug 'em up tight, but don't crank down to try to super tighten them. Your 95 Leggie will have the 2.2 motor, which give a little more room to change plugs, vs the 2.5. You may want to purchase a stubby 3/8 drive extension that is about an inch and a half long. The shorter extension helps in tight spaces. Recommend using antisieze on the new plug threads. It helps to lube in rethreading the plug into the head, and also helps to prevent gauling (plug won't loosen) the next time you change plugs. Suggest hand tightening the plug first, before using the drive. You don't even want to think about the consequences of cross threading a plug. I have had a good experience with Bosch ignition wires and plugs. Yea, the cheapie wire sets from the discount car part stores are not a good idea for Subie use IMO.

The wires go to a connector. When you get a new mirror, it will have a wiring pig tail to plug into the connector. This wiring is for the power mirror. There is a separate wire connector for the heating element. I think it is a single wire that goes to its own connector. The replacement mirror that I bought from a wrecking yard did not have the heating element. Subaru makes both heated and non heated mirrors. The bottom line is..........it's okay to cut the wires on your existing dangling mirror. Your replacement mirror will come with replacement wiring.

I like your $75 car trailer opinion. The trailer is made for this work with tail and brake lights, and much safer. This approach also helps to keep the cops off your back.

I replaced the door mirrow on wife's 98 OBW. When the mirror is broke and hanging by the wires, you are better off cutting the wires to remove the mirror, so it won't scratch the door. No amount of glueing will repair the mirror, so recommend replacing it. If it is like my 98, it is held on with screws that are found behind the triangular shaped plastic trim directly opposite the mirror inside the door. Gently pry off the trim piece with a flat blade screw driver to access the screws. Some of those screws are a bear to loosen, because they are on so tight. I couldn't get enough leverage with a regular screw driver to loosen two screws, so finally resorted to using a 3/8" drive with phillips head screw driver attached to its tip. Replacement mirror from a wrecking yard cost me $75. Figure close to twice that amount for a new one from a Subie dealer. It is not particularily hard job, just annoying. Take your time, and you will do okay.

ditto on what nipper said. A few years back I changed my filter screen. Upon dropping the pan, I found the fine mesh screen to be absolutely clean. However, I replaced the mesh screen just because that was the job I set out to do. Cleaning off the old pan gasket, and replacing it was a bear. That hard caked, burnt on gasket is a bear to remove. After replacing the gasket, the pan had a slight leak. It never leaked before. What a total waste of time changing the filter screen, then creating the problem of a leaky pan gasket. I learned my lesson. If it ain't broke..........don't fix it.