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I hate to complicate this any further, but I have to clarify Nipper's responce. NY, in all its wisdom, has 2 seperate emission programs. One for 'downstate' (NYC and surrounding counties), and another for the rest of the state. Nipper refers to the downstate tests, and Im sure he is more familier than I with that program. Up 'here' and anywhere else in the state outside the NYC metro area, we have a system that sounds just like NH's. No dyno for anything, AWD or not. Its simply plugged into the NYVIP computer which reads the codes and readiness monitors, and also 'knows' if the CEL should be on. Any codes which should light the CEL (if its actually ON or not, and more than one monitor not set (actually 2 can be open, 96-99) and it fails inspection. Its a aggravating thing for everyone, including myself as a NYS inspector, who has to try and explain the bulls**t to a lot of unhappy car owners. Incidently, I have had no problems re-setting monitors on my 96 Outback, its WAY, WAY easier than any 96 or 97 Nissan. They are a royal pain in the a**, and since they passed NY inspection for years before this program started, it makes for a lot of bad feelings with their owners. I plan on keeping my '95 Nissan truck for as long as I can, just because it will never be plugged into that damn NYVIP machine! LOL!

I did this a week ago on my 96 Legacy OB, its a piece of cake. Pop out the plastic surrounding the shifter, remove one screw holding the shift handle..it takes one of those push-in type bulbs. #194 if I remember correctly.

My 96 OB wagon has been almost flawless since I got her back together last Spring. So when my mom's Maxima had to go into the body shop for a week, I didnt have a second thought about loaning her the Subie. Imagine my surprise when she called me after the first day driving the Outback, frantic, telling me there was a 'huge' puddle of oil on her garage floor. Mom lives about 50 minutes away, so its not like I can drive down the street to check it out. Mom is in her late 70's and even with my coaxing, refused to open the hood and check the oil. LOL, ok, I guess I cant ask that of her. The next morning she backed the car out of the garage, onto her steeply angled driveway, and asked her neighbor to check the oil. She calls me back, even more frantic, will NOT drive the car, as the neighbor tells her there is NO OIL in it... Long story short, I drive down, with 4 quarts of oil just in case, park the car on the level....its less than a quart low. I crawl under to check it out....on the front corner of the oil pan there is a bracket that holds the dipstick tube. Around the weld that holds this bracket, a pin hole has rusted through. (Damn salty roads....and the rest of the car looks so great!) I left her my pickup, and took the Subie back to work. I drained the oil, wire brushed the pan all around the leak, used some brake cleaner to wash it down well, mixxed up some 2 part epoxy and coated the area. Let it sit all afternoon and then sprayed it with some high temp black paint. Filled her back up, new oil filter (perfect timing, it was nearly due for a change anyway) and so far she is clean and dry.... moral of the story? rent mom a car when her's is in the shop. LOL! It would have been fine, I think worst case, it could have leaked less than 2 quarts, the bracket is far enough up on the pan... anyone else run into this, and if so, you think my fix will last?

No valve adjustment on a 96 2.5.....one year only (I believe) for hydraulic lifters.. I just started reading this thread, so Im late for any more comments, but I did head gaskets on a 96 OB 2.5 earlier this year...it had some black crud in the overflow, but the girl that owned it swore on her life that she never got it real hot. She had just had some other unrelated work done at a independent shop and they caught the low coolant/overflow bottle situation...I pulled the engine and did both HGs, timing belt, seals, rear plate, etc. (with a lot of advice from this site) I sent the heads to a machine shop where they were cleaned and checked, but they said no resurface was needed. This was going to be a winter car for me, but Ive drove it all summer, I really like it, and approx. 9,000 miles later, she is running fine and has used zero coolant. It does take a quart of oil between changes, but thats no biggie... (odo tripped 140,000 now)

extremely interesting, Nipper. And supports what we have said. In the case of the Nissan Maxima problem, it stands to reason that a filter that is contaminating a MAF enough to cause failure, is letting more 'crap' into the engine than the stock air filter would allow. (remember that a hot wire MAF goes through a clean cycle to burn off impuritys before or after every drive cycle) I would venture that in every case other than severe off-road wet conditions, you'd be better off power wise, economy wise, and longevity wise with the OEM air filter/induction.

well, Im still a newbie, but I betcha the first question thats going to be asked is: 2.2 or 2.5 ? I have a 96 Legacy OB 2.5 and went through the head gasket issues (got it cheap because of it) But I love this car....and its been worth the hassle of HG, etc. replacements....but I'll let the more knowledgeable guys fill you in on other stuff

Im counting my blessings right now. I have 5 vehicles, either in the driveway or the unlocked garage..keys are in every one of them. And Im not the least bit concerned. It must suck to have to worry every time you leave your car, that it may not be there when you get back. Truly is a sad thing....I hope Im dead before it gets that bad here in the 'woods'

Not K&N OR Subaru related, but fits this thread so I thought I'd throw it out. Nissan had (has?) a problem with 2000-2003 Maximas developing drivability and 'check engine' light issues caused by contamination of the MAF sensor. In the factory bulletin addressing this issue, the MAF sensor is replaced, the ECU is re-programmed, the air box is cleaned, and the air filter is replaced with a genuine Nissan part. I would guess that Ive done this repair to 50 or more Maximas. NOT ONE had a Nissan air filter. Its always a cheapo 'Iffy Lube' or other aftermarket filter, or a K&N or other similar style intake system has been installed. Moral of the story? Its another area where I believe you cant better the factory parts and shouldnt try. BTW, the most popular Nissan air filter is a direct fit for my 96 Outback (and also fits the Maximas I mentioned) so I would think this applies to Subes as well.

I should have learned by now to stick to gaining excellent technical info here for my Subaru, and giving some advice when and if my experience in the automotive field could help out. I was merely defending the Mythbusters program, in that I believe they strive to be accurate. The thread had moved far from the original post, and I was not commenting on if a clapped out Sube would react the same way to AC on as a shiny new SUV. Seems obvious to me that it would not. Would you expect a network program to test older vehicles for this? Frankly, I dont see where quoting my responce had anything to do with your last post. A new Mythbusters episode starts now. Bound to be more entertaining than this....LOL. Forgive me for adding my 2 cents (again)

Im a huge Mythbusters fan. On one of the fan websites, we debate the accuracy of their results constantly. And Im sure its impossible to replicate 'real world' conditions... but one thing I would bet my Outback on, nothing on that show is 'staged'. They try their best to be accurate, while having fun and providing good entertainment. But no way do I believe they intentionally fudge the results. And when they are 'called' on a particular outcome, they often revisit the topic and do it again in a revised manor. Way off topic, but i had to defend those guys. I once had a 1980 Datsun 210 sedan. A massive 1.4 liter OHV, Automatic w/ air... When that compressor cycled on, you damn near hit the windshield. I'll agree with Manarious,on that car at least, it sure felt like 30 hp or more, lol.

This reminded me of a 'very' small issue with my '96 Legacy OB.... Turn the cruise control on, and the light in the main switch lights. But set 'cruise' and no other light.. (the cruise works perfectly, just no 'cruise on' indication. Is there supposed to be one in the cluster? Maybe I have a blown bulb as well

I dont know if this adds anything new to the discussion, but the original question did involve a 96 2.5, so I thought I'd throw this in. My 96 Legacy OB with the 2.5....the owners manual states: 'Use premium unleaded fuel with an octane rating of 91 AKI or higher. Regular unleaded may be used if necessary. For optimum engine performance and driveability, it is recomended that you use premium grade unleaded fuel.' I have the owners manual for a 97 Legacy Outback that I borrowed some parts from, and in that book, there is no separate fuel recommended for the 2.5., both engines require 87 octane. I know I have the HLAs, I wasnt sure which years used them or if that coincides with the premium requirement...from the owners manuals, 96 2.5 has a compression ratio of 9.5:1 and the 97's is 9.7:1 (both years 2.2 have 9.7:1) Interesting that they gained 10 HP without the premium for 97... ok, Im confused now....LOL! Ive put about 4,000 miles on my Outback since getting her back together and I have kept track of my mileage from the start. Ive used mid-grade most of the time with a few tanks of premium. I see no difference in performance or mileage between the 2 grades. The only thing that seems to affect my mileage is running the A/C, which is no surprise. Im about 75% highway miles and Im averaging around 24 mpg. As far as piston slap, yeah my 96 has it, John....in fact the reason I was on the board this morning was to research that some more....it seems to be getting worse and Im a bit worried...but thats a topic for another post

Just browsing around tonight, thought I would throw in my 2 cents... Again, I apologize for my Nissan references, but thats where 99% of my experience comes from (30 years as a tech for a Nissan dealership) We have had many instances of 95-03 Maximas, which use a coil-on-plug design (seperate coil for each cylinder) have one coil fail. It will set a primary ignition code, and eventually a misfire code. At that point, it the driver ignores the obvious 'skip', it WILL very quickly burn up the cat for whichever bank the failed coil is on. And then you have the dreaded PO420.. Im thinking switching 2 wires on one bank of the Subie in question would quickly destroy the cat as well. Hopefully, the more Subie experienced folks here will be right, and your cat will survive. But if the cat is cooked, there is another solution. One Im curious to know if any Subaru folk here have considered. We have several young guys that own the 2.5 L Sentra SE-Rs. The main cat is integral with the exhaust manifold, so when these guys install headers, they are screwed as far as passing the state inspection (no main cat, instant PO420...no pass the emission tests) This group have found a 02 sensor simulator, which they wire into the rear 02 sensor circuit. It mimics the 'slow' voltage swing that a rear o2 sensor is monitoring to check for a healthy cat... I guess Im advocating 'cheating' the emission laws a bit, but on a older car I'd try it. 30 bucks or so for this simulator vs. hundreds for the cat... I know it works on the 2.5 Sentras, I see no reason it wouldnt work on a Subaru. I know they make them that are set up for dual sensors, for 2 bank engines. Just curious if anyone here has tried it, or wants to bash me for suggesting it...

"By the way, I thought the same thing about the McDonalds lady until I read something that had the actual facts and court proceedings from the case."... I stand corrected, I just Googled 'McDonalds Coffee Lawsuit' and read up on it. I sure used a bad example to prove my point, so now I will bow out of this discussion as humbly as possible.

Just a final thankyou (for a while, I hope!) about my 96 OB wagon. I knew little about Subarus when I started this project, but I like the cars, especially the Legacy and Outback wagons that I always thought would be a perfect car for winter around here. I wont go through the list of problems and the cures Ive found through this site, but I think we have finally got all the glitches out of her, and Im driving her every day. I got a added bonus last week when a 97 Outback was traded in at the Nissan dealer where I work. It was a real high-miler and destined for the wholesaler, but I noticed that the alloy rims where nearly perfect, where mine are kinda corroded and peeling. Made a quick switch and for a little Saturday morning labor I got the rims . I then noticed that the front bumper cover and grille were also spotless, where my bumper cover had some major scratches and paint peeling and my grille was cracked. So I switched those too! (My wagon is green, this car was red, but both had the same grey color on the bottom) Also, the 97 Grille has 'Outback' written to one side, which I thought was cool.... there are benifits to working at a dealer sometimes...lol. The 97 had leather seats and I considered swapping those too....but my cloth seats have heaters and the 97 leather seats did not...which I found odd, but I'll keep the heated cloth, thankyou! So, not to bore you with such detail but I learn more about Subies every day I think. I honestly think I may have thrown in the towel without this site. It was by far the best source of info throughout the whole project. Thankyou to everyone who gave me advice! Doug

Perhaps my first reply was a bit harsh, for that I apologize. But my point remains. At 8 years and 100,000 miles, trying to sue the manufacturer for something that broke, for whatever reason, is insane. Ive been in the car repair end of the business for 30 years. Things break, no matter what you drive. The warranties on every car runs out eventually. The car companies try to figure in the cost of potential failures that may need to be covered in the price of the car. Can you imagine how much a new car would cost if every part was covered for the life of the vehicle? The idea of suing SOA in this case reminded me of the woman who spilled hot coffee in her lap and sued McDonalds. I think the whole trend of 'Its someone else's fault' and the sue-happy lawyers that thrive off of frivilous lawsuits just drives up the cost of living for all the rest of us. Its wrong and it hits a sore spot with me big time.

Dropped in tonight to praise you all for the help with my Legacy OB. (Now trouble free, and check engine light off, all thanks to this board!) I HAD to comment on this thread, and thankyou, 91 Loyale, for saying it perfectly. Edoutback, quit looking for something for nothing, accept that your car broke, and get over it. What a freakin looser. I am soooo sick of this 'blame everyone but me' attitude with everything. Lawsuit happy idiots like you should all ride horses. Or maybe you would have to sue mother nature, because your horse broke a leg after 30 years of service. Get a freakin life. A-hole.

Geeze. I thought I was done bugging you guys for a while. 96 Legacy Outback, 2.5, A/T. She is up and running perfectly after a long winter of issues. Now I have a check engine light, code P0400, EGR flow.... With the car warm and idiling, opening the throttle causes the egr valve to open. If I manually open the valve with the car idling, it will practically stall the engine. This tells me the valve and its related vac. hoses and solenoids are working, and the egr passages are not plugged..... Again, I apologize for falling back on my Nissan experiance, but this code is set on any OBD II era Nissan if the EGR temp sensor does not get a temp. change when the EGR valve is comanded 'on'. So I set out looking for a egr temp sensor..... I cant find one, on the car or in the wiring diagrams. So I guess my question is, how does Subaru 'decide' to set a egr flow code, and if I have a working system, what could cause this code to set? I decided to licence this thing now, instead of waiting till Fall, and it wont pass NY inspection with the CEL on...and Ive tried resetting the light and getting the monitors to reset before the egr flow code comes back....no luck! This car hates me, Im convinced. LOL. any advice, again, would be very appreciated. Doug

Luckily, it wasnt grounded. The connector was broken and came apart, making an open circuit. Im driving her on dealer plates still tonight, and all is well!

Been a while. Sarah Subie got put on the 'back burner' as other projects requiring more attention came up. But I had to post again to give a belated THANKYOU to all of you, but specifically to OB99W....With those files, I was able to do the on-board diagnosis, and see that I still had the 'solenoid C' code stored. Back to the wiring diagrams and long story short, I determined that I had no continuity to the solenoid, and after some head scratching and pin checks, pulled the tailhousing back off the trans. (here is where I get really embarrased, because I may not be a Subaru tech,but I am a master Nissan tech..) When I re-installed the tailhousing, it did have a bit of resistance for the last quarter inch or so. Thinking it was just rust on the allignment pins, I used my trusty rubber hammer and pop...on it went. What I had done was catch the one-pin electrical connector for that solenoid on some inner projection of the trans case, and smashed it. (enter lots of expletives here, when I saw what I had done) So, weeks later, a easy connector repair, and back together.....and my Subie RUNS, DRIVES, TURNS....NO Torque bind, NO flashing AT Temp light. And hopefully, no more problems for a while. Its Spring. And i bought this car for a winter rat. LMAO! Been quite a struggle, but damn, Im glad i found this site. Big time heartfelt thankyou to all who gave me advice. Might not even licence the ole' girl at this point, but next Fall.... I'LL BE BACK!!! Awesome site, you'all. THANKYOU again

Thankyou for the input, Nipper. I hope I dont sound thick here, but I do have a ton of experiance with electronically controlled transmissions, unnfortunately I dont own a scanner that reads Subaru trans codes or a decent Subie manual. Im aware that there are several solenoids, in fact other than the torque control circuit, the shift control circuits and solenoids in this thing are very similar to Nissan stuff. As I stated in the first post of this thread, a friend at a transmission shop scanned my car and came up with a code..I do not have the info in front of me, its at work, but it was a 'corrupted torque SIGNAL' code...and his snap-on scanner gives a summary of possible reasons for this code. It mentioned bad grounds and wiring problems between the TCU and the ECU, or the TCU itself. Now, believe me, Im not questioning your input. Thats why Im here! But from Nissan experiance only, this type of SIGNAL code would lead me to a electrical issue, esp. if the code was erased and imediately came back. I know in a Nissan (I hate to keep falling back on Nissan stuff, but its where Im most comfortable) if a solenoid was stuck, or there was a mechanical issue in the trans, it would set a code after the car was driven and the 'problem' occured. Where as a electrical problem would set a code right off the bat (unless it were a intermitant problem but thats another deal entirely) I hope this makes sense. thanks again

Ive considered that, and Im no Subie expert (but getting there-LOL), but that would not explain the AT temp light flashing, after the codes were erased, and the car not driven? Im thinking I still have an electrical problem.. or can the light flashes indicate a mechanical failure, especially imediately? Before the car is even driven?

Ok, first Nipper: Yes, it does have torque bind. On bare pavement in a sharp turn, it feels just like a part-time 4X4 in 4WD.. My Nissan truck, for example. As far as putting in the FWD fuse, I havent tried it since before I replaced the 'c' solenoid. I will do so tomorrow. (it did not go into FWD with the fuse installed before that, so I doubt it will be any different) At lunch today, I shoveled in to the burried Outback at the other shop...only to find a standard transmission gear shift so that car is out! LOL....I have all the luck! Called around looking for another TCU and so far am coming up empty. But another call to Goldstein (the Subaru dealership that has been real helpful) informs me that they have sold TCU's for this car, so apparantly it isnt unheard of for them to fail. Hmmmmmm. Im going to keep looking for a used one, then decide on the next step. Thanks for the inputs again guys.

Hey guys, this is gonna be a little long, so thanks to anyone who bares with me.. My 96 Legacy Outback 2.5 AT. Posted a few times about numerous issues, Ive gotton great input and Ive solved/repaired everything EXCEPT this torque bind issue. When started, the AT temp light flashes 16 times and goes out. So, I was convinced from the start that it was an electrical problem. However, I pulled the engine and did the head gaskets, etc. which it also needed, planning to tackle the torque bind issue after I had it up and running. I drained the ATF and the torque converter while everything was apart. And after it was all back together, I drained and refilled the trans 4 times. The fluid is red and clear, and didnt really look too bad even at the start. I incorrectly thought that the AT temp light blinking 16 times meant a code 16, which according to my crappy aftermarket manual means the circuit for the solenoid 'C' valve in the tailshaft was bad. That controls the torque split, so it made sense. I also learned here and from a real great Subie dealer parts guy that this is a common failure, so I bought and installed the 'C' solenoid valve. Didnt fix the problem. While the tailshaft was off, I got to check out things, and the transfer clutch pak is in great shape, not burned or damaged at all, so it wasnt a completely wasted surgery...and hey, my C valve is new, so I wont have to worry about that later, huh? Ive mentioned that I work at a Nissan shop, we have scanners that will access the OBD II on my Subie, but not trans codes. My junk manual explains how to enter a 'self diagnosis' mode using the trans. light, but I have had no luck doing it. I really would kill for a genuine Suby manual for this car..anyways, I pulled in some favors and got the car scanned at a local transmission shop and they come up with something along the lines of 'corrupt torque signal' and indicate a harness or AT control unit problem. I went back with this info and pinned checked the AT control unit harness and, if my crap manual is correct, everything points to the control unit itself being bad. If I were 100% sure of this, I would bite the bullet and order a control unit. But at this point, Ive allready spent a ton more on this car than I planned to. It is to be a winter rat, and winter is damn near over! LOL! Ive been driving the car on snowy days on borrowed dealer plates. I freaking love this car, but I dont want to transfer plates and drive it full time until I can figure this out. I figure on slippery roads, I wont hurt too much. But I think it could be a bit dangerous in a fast turn, emergency situation...not to mention the strain on the drive train. I have another favor owed, that Im going to try and pull in tomorrow...one of the local independent shops claims to have a wrecked 96 OB that I can 'borrow' the unit from. Its burried in the snow and he isnt even sure its a AT, so who knows.. (he is sure its a 2.5 dohc, so wouldn't that make it AT?) So maybe tomorrow if Im lucky I will have an answer. But it anyone has any opinions on this, I'd love to hear them! Thanks if you read through this all! Doug

Hey all. I'm just getting my 96 Legacy Outback up and running, love the car and between that and finding this site, Im like the new Subaru enthusiast in these parts. My best friend is looking for a replacement for his 18 year old daughter's Escort, which has P**Sed us off for the last time...the crusher is coming for it. Today, just down the street, I found a 96 Legacy wagon for sale. It was burried in the snow, and I have not got a good look at it yet. But just as a start, I thought I would see if anyone here has a opinion. I called the owner, it is a Legacy, but not a Outback. Its a stick shift. Has 140,000 mi. He swears it runs and drives perfectly, just had new rear brakes, and will pass NY inspection without a problem. It also is supposedly not rusty...I want to see it up close and personal before I believe that. Couple questions for you guys? I never asked, but did Subaru even sell a FWD in 96? If it is a Legacy but not a Outback, and standard shift, would that mean the 2.2 sohc engine? (the owner was not sure, but after what Ive been through with my 2.5, Im thinking that is a plus for a young girl who just wants a reliable car) I got the owner down to $1500 without even trying tonight, Im thinking we may buy it cheaper if we wave cash at him. If that sucker is 4WD and a 2.2, and not rusted, I think we have to wheel and deal, if you know what I mean..... any comments?