1997reduxe

I’ll post my story about what happened with my alternator just so that anybody who finds this post in the future can hear what happened to me. This message board has mentioned in it and this post I haven’t been here for a while but it used to be my favorite place for Subaru stuff. It still is. 💚 Well I kind of fixed it myself. I guess it wasn't the battery by itself after all. I replaced the battery two Thursdays ago if you remember. And the car ran OK since then, except the lights were still coming on the battery light and the brake light to be honest with you I realized this car has had electrical problems for the whole time I had it and that's about a year. And when I got the car from my mechanic he gave me another alternator to take with me that was he said it was new but I could tell it was probably new used. I don't know if he was going to put it in the car and just didn't get around to it or whatever. So Saturday morning I went to get tacos while it was still dark out at 6 o'clock and I went down a couple miles down the highway and just in that length of time it was ready to die from no electricity. I had to shut the lights off and use no turn signals or anything just to get back to my house. I had already been planning on maybe replacing the alternator. So it was in my car. And I went through the process of doing it by watching a YouTube video luckily I could do it. I noticed when I was taking the little connector off of the alternator not the one that bolts on but the one that comes off in a plastic housing that the plastic housing was cracked. But it was still usable I'm gonna get a new one. I was researching about it Friday night after work when it was already having problems and it turns out this car, The H-6 version of the outbacks after 2000 or so, they have a different wiring set up compared to the earlier versions which other ones I owned all the time I've had these cars. The ones from the 90s with the 2.2 and the 2.5 engines. The older ones have a two wire system going to a lot of the wiring the lights the alternator but I guess especially with the H6 they went to a three wire alternator. So one wire to ground I guess one wire to power and one wire to the computing system. So all of the wiring and devices on the car are also wired into the computer. I'll post a link about it below if you want to look at it it's pretty interesting actually I'm glad I saw it before I tried to do it. Because the reason I'm saying this is the one guy comments that when you take these cars in to get the alternator checked, a lot of the basic standard places that people get parts like AutoZone etc., don't have the ability to know how to test a three wire alternator. Also, they said that these outback's since they had this more enhanced wiring system, they had a lot of problems with breaking ground wires etc. going back to the back hatches and the rear lights and all of that. That they were notorious for the wires in the hatches breaking and things. I can very easily see that and now this car is basically 20 years old. So I was imagining a nightmare of trying to figure out what the problem is. Well luckily for me, I replaced the alternator and when I did it I noticed that the wires inside the little connector that I said was broken that connects into the alternator they were all corroded like not really badly like they were eaten away but they had a lot of dirt and a lot of corrosion that happens on electrical systems. And I didn't have any baking soda to make into a solution to wash them with but I did have some Arm and Hammer baking soda toothpaste which I used. With a toothbrush and water and believe it or not it worked. I washed down inside the little connectors that connect to the prongs that come out of the alternator and I did it about four or five times. And then rinsed it all off and connected it up to the new or new used alternator, and believe it or not it seems to have solved all the problems. Just telling you this so you can know for your future because I guess the six-cylinder Subarus can be a pain. Thank you for your help by the way. I will still contact you if I need other work done.

Thank you for this post and all the replies. I have a 2002 L.L. Bean H-6 Outback that I’ve been having all kinds of electrical problems with. I can see this is going to be more complicated than my old 2.2 legacys. 👀

ok thank you.

Hey all. So my mechanic told me my "shifter knucle" is completely gone, while he was installing my replacement stabilizer bar. I know he's a longtime sube guy, so he knows, but I am assuming when I'm looking up the part he means Shifter Bushing Joint? The thing is when i look it up i cant for the life of me find one for a 95. I see one kind of joint for 96, but another series of them for 97 and up. Can anyone tell me where I can get one for the 95, or the part number? I cant find it anywhere. I have a pic of mine below. Thanks. Micajah

The question you need to ask is how many miles ago did you have the trans serviced? It sounds like pretty many. It’s a matter of perspective 230k is a gift already, change it a few times and keep doing it, it will probably go well over 300k if you haven’t had problems yet. Personally I followed a lot of the theories about trans fluids, I have a 95 manual but I tried Mobil 1 synthetic, bad idea. I went back to old fashioned valvoline before I totally ruined it. Id use the fluid that was recommended for the car in the manual it came with. No additives. Sube may make reverse compatible fluids, but then I don’t even think they’ll work on my 95 anymore. they don’t even like to see me pull in their lot for parts. Haha.

Did you ever seal the plate on the oil pump? Maybe it’s not getting the right pressure till the oil warms up. Have you tried parking it in a warm garage overnight? Then you’d know how temperature or hardware dependent it is. My fear is you’re going to do all that work breaking the engine apart and trying other rings etc and then still have the noise. You might do better just finding a less noisy engine.

Yeah that’s the problem I’ve found on these, I’m on my 5th or 6th 90s era legacy now, is that with age or vibration things come apart. I had a thing where intermittently my cooling fans weren’t working, it turned out the tabs for the fan harness plugs were gone. Zip ties fixed that. once I had a similar thing with no power to the car period when I went to start. I played with the fusible link and boom started right up. its amazing they keep running so well.

Yeah so you know then. it’s amazing they use plastic on radiators at all. Personslly I think only one of mine was a 2.5. I have liked the 2.2s, of course less inclined to have bad head gaskets. But knowing them, it’s incredible my 95 now has heated up a few times though not badly, and still loses no coolant. With 230k on it. My other ones, not so, hah hah, they had constant evaporating leaks of course then I lived up north. In Texas here it’s been 100+ for a month. fingers crossed. good luck with that sealant. Remember too get a real sube cap and thermostat too. I also replaced the bowl. I think for the sube thermostat and cap and the three front end oil seals it was 100 bucks.

You didn’t say what year your car was I don’t think. I got a denso brand off of rockauto I looked they have one for my 95, but not for ex a 97. It’s 70 bucks I’ve been real impressed with denso products. yeah it’s a pain the coolant thing but the cars are 25 years old. i replaced my radiator when I had the timing belt kit etc done, and ALL the hoses, which again you can get all from rockauto for about 30 bucks. but this is about my fifth 90s sube, maybe 6th if you include first one of ex gf. So I know them, if you get them to be good you can have a lot of trouble free miles. the reason I mention the hoses, there’s a hose like bottom center on the engine, it’s like a small “L”, I think it’s called thermostat bypass hose? its real easy to miss or ignore it. And 20-25 years of wear it breaks. A few times. i had one go once, and took it to a shop, they said it was the radiator, but it was the hose it shoots out through the radiator so it looks like that’s the problem. So they replaced radiator, I drove it home literally a couple hundred yards, already overheating. I looked underneath at night with a light, yep, it was the hose. i just replaced it I didn’t even go back to the shop. I just had to get to freaking work. also I recently got a denso AC and four seasons cooling fan on rockauto for 100 total. I just replaced both. Only after that did I and the mechanic narrow down the plug clips. theyre old.

Just an update on my situation, I took my car to cardoc a few weeks ago, he looked at it and found the two plugs from the fans to the harness were missing their snaps to hold them shut, so they had gotten loose etc. two tie wraps and problem solved. He wasn’t even going to charge me but I made him take 20. thank god for good mechanics.

I could be wrong but i looked at rockauto even and it seems kyb sells them complete for 97

You know recently I moved to a new city, and had to try to find a new mechanic for my 95 legacy. to be honest my old one in Houston wasn’t all that fluent in Sublish, but he was very affordable and honest. And you know going to a new person to trust with your baby, well it can be traumatizing. So knowing the resources here on USMB, I searched for “Austin”. And I came across posts specifically by 1LuckyTexan who I know speaks the ancient tongue of Subaric. Long story short, I found the cardoc sage, his shop is 15 minutes from my house if that, and he works on Saturdays. Life is good. thank you all, again. ‘97

Well a Florida car is not a NY one rustwise of course. It’s too bad you don’t have AAA because it’s such a good deal if you have the premium level they’ll tow it at least here in Texas 200 miles once a year for free, and three other standard tows as well. that said, I looked at Ithaca on Craigslist, there’s a lot of newer than yours Subes there for cheap, but of course lots of rust and potential other issues. But engines too. The one thing I like to keep in mind is I already know the status of a car I’ve maintained. its too bad you’re not in Texas there’s used subes aplenty and zero rust. As an old pa native, Scranton hills are hell. good luck.

Well luckily I read that part first.

Thank you both. after I posted the post I started fooling around with the diagnostic plugs. Thats something I never did, I guess I never had a reason. But I connected the green plugs and yes, the AC fan ran “strong” (for a 220k fan) and the sub fan ran, but very slowly. Then when I did it again later, the green plugs, it didn’t run at all. I found the AC fan a Dorman, and a four seasons sub fan both for 50 each. So I’m replacing both I’ll see what it does. The two sensors are probably a good option. But all those diagnostic plugs, that’s a whole new world to look into. Boy they put a lot into these cars.