canajun2eh

I don't see how there could be a problem if you just leave the connector dangling. The only possible problem that I can see is that the loose wire might contact something sharp, causing the insulation to wear away. Thus is there is always the very remote possibility that the wiring might short out. You'll have this problem even if the windshield is connected. To be safe, use some tie-wraps to prevent the connector and its wiring from budging. Check for a fuse for the heated windshield, and remove if present. There might be only one fuse for the front and rear glass heaters. In this case, don't remove the fuse because the customer will certainly want to retain the rear heater function. Subaru uses lots of relays. There might be a relay just for the front windshield heater. If so, you can pull this relay. Sorry, I can't advise you any further -- I don't have a car with this feature (wish I did, though).

On my XT6, there's a test connector near the driver's side (left) strut tower in the engine compartment. The 4 solenoid computer connections are available for testing here. Since the computer grounds one side of the solenoid valve when it wants the valve to open, you should see 12 volts to ground on the test connection when the computer says "valve closed". This is so because the other side of the solenoid valve is always connected to to +12 volts when the ignition is on. If you don't see this, you might have a bad solenoid coil or a wiring/connector problem. You can force the solenoid valve to open by grounding the test connection. That shouldn't hurt the computer. If this works, you know the valve is good. If it doesn't, the valve is stuck closed. If the computer never calls for the valve to open, you probably have a bad electrical connection between the computer and the height sensor built into the strut. I'm afraid I can't help you any further -- I don't have a wiring diagram for the Legacy air suspension system. I'm still trying to get my XT6 system to work properly. Good luck.

Yes, the pressure switch is easy to change. It just screws into the tank and is tightened with a wrench. It has an O-ring, and you use some grease on this. Why would you want to change the pressure switch if it's not broken? I don't know what you mean about the connector to the compressor being different. Are you talking about the electrical connector? The dryer (the thing with 5 air lines) is plugged directly into the output of the pump and is held in place by a spring clip. There's an O-ring (different from the rest) in there. Use grease. Always use grease when assembling any air suspension lines or devices. When I gave you the count of 18 O-rings, I only counted the ones on the air lines. I didn't account for any of the others, since their sizes vary. When you buy replacement O-rings, try to match the size as closely as possible. Don't buy rings larger than the ones you're replacing. In most cases, the slightly smaller ring can be stretched to fit. Thickness isn't critical, because the O-rings will be compressed anyway. Home Hardware, Canadian Tire, and Home Depot are all good sources for the O-rings.

If the plastic fingers of the air line connectors are cracked, you definitely should use the recommended tool. This tool is designed to spread the fingers evenly and just enough to allow the line to be withdrawn. If you use something else, you'll break the fingers for sure. The tool I mentioned is similar to the ones made by Lisle and sold at Canadian Tire. http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=553 Unfortunately, the smallest in the set (5/16") is still too big. You can live with one of the four fingers broken, or even with two as long as they're opposite each other. Be sure to use grease when you put everything back together. Be very careful when working around the tank. The pressure switch is fragile. I've managed to break two of them. They're still available from the dealer, but they're not cheap.

I think your problem might be that the O-rings that seal the air lines to the solenoid valves need to be replaced. They will get hard with age. When you replace the O-rings, you need to apply a little grease to them to help with the air seal. You can use Lithium grease or even Vaseline. You should apply grease to the O-rings even when you've not replaced them and have just removed the air lines to inspect things. I believe you need 18 O-rings to do the whole system. 2 at the back, 6 in the engine compartment, 4 for the drier end of the air lines to the struts, 2 between drier and discharge solenoid on air tank. Your dealer can order them for you, or you can try to get similar ones from a local parts source. The bulk section of my local hardware store has O-rings that are the correct size. If you can't get an exact match (4 mm diameter), get ones that are a little smaller -- 5/32" is close enough and is a standard US size. Thickness isn't all that important either. Specialty stores that deal in fasteners or plumbing supply places might also have the O-rings in stock. You should order the air line removal tool while you're at the dealer. This little plastic thingie really makes things a lot easier. Subaru part number: 926520000. I use this on my XT6, but I think it's the same one for your Legacy.

You can get a switch and lock cylinder from a junk yard. Have your favourite locksmith re-key the cylinder to match the door keys.

Two possibilities come to mind: (a) Bad temperature sending unit. There are two sending units, one just for the temperature gauge, and the other for the engine control computer. I suspect that you have a bad electrical connection, making the engine control computer mis-read the engine temperature. I bet that there's black smoke coming out of the tailpipe when the engine chugs. ( Bad purge control solenoid valve. This isn't as likely, since you don't mention poor idling when the engine is warm. This thing is supposed to open when the engine is warm and running at more than 2500 RPM. When open, engine vacuum draws vapours out of the charcoal canister. You can see that if the valve is stuck open, you'll experience poor idling and bad acceleration, especially when the engine is warm and the engine computer has stopped enriching the fuel mixture (equivalent to "choke").

That quote of $100 for just the labour of replacing the water pump is about right. This amounts to about 2 hours. I can do it in 1.5 hours, including yanking the rad, provided the belt cover bolts co-operate. If you're in there anyway, the timing belts and oil seals should be replaced too. This would only add another hour to the labour costs ($150 total). Parts shouldn't cost all that much either -- probably $80 or so plus the cost of the water pump. In other words, you're looking at around $300 to $350 for the whole job. If the car wasn't leaking too much oil, you might be able to skip replacing the seals. I strongly recommend doing the timing belts, though. Too bad you're not near here: I have a brand new water pump, still in the box, that I have absolutely NO use for. I'd GIVE it to you!

The purge solenoid is part of the emission control system. When the engine is warm and running at 2500 rpm or faster, the purge solenoid valve opens to let engine vacuum draw accumulated vapours out of the charcoal canister. If the solenoid coil is "open" or has a poor electrical connection, you'll have the dreaded error code. If the valve is stuck open or the engine side of the vacuum line is disconnected, the engine will not idle properly. If it's stuck closed nothing much will happen.

There's a vacuum connector near the accelerator pedal that sometimes comes undone.

When that happened on my 92 Legacy, it was a broken clutch cable. I don't know whether your car has a hydraulic clutch or a mechanical one.

I received your e-mail. We'll continue off-line, by way of e-mail.

Quesnel is in BC isn't it? I have a pair of front fenders with almost zero rust, from an 86 GL10 that should fit OK. Make me an offer. You pay shipping.

If it's overheating at speed, your rad probably needs to be replaced. The fan only comes into play at low speeds or when the car is stopped. (Think about it: when the car is moving at speed, lots of air gets pushed through the rad; the fan wouldn't improve the air flow much at all.) If your car overheats when it's stopped and the engine is idling, check the electric fan. If it's not running, you probably have a bad electrical connection to the temperature sensor (switch). You could also have a bad fan fuse or a bad fan relay (not very likely). Remember that there are two temperature sensors. One acts like a switch to engage the fan relay, and the other operates the temperature gauge.

Please post your question and a description of your problem in a separate thread. We'll answer as soon as you do this.

Way back when, about 45 years ago, I took some auto mechanics courses in high school. At that time, paper gaskets were quite common for sealing oil pumps. Remember that this is long before silicone sealants were readily available. I'd use the silicone sealant, and ignore the paper gasket. Be sure to use only a very small amount of sealant. You don't want the excess to get into the pump's works. Be sure to clean both mating surfaces thoroughly before applying the sealant.

I suspect that you have the wrong kind of relay. From your description, it would appear that the relay is the "normally closed" kind. This means that the contacts are closed until the coil is energized, at which time the contacts open. You need a relay in which the contacts are open until the coil is energized. If you've bought a relay from an electronics store, you may simply have used the wrong pair of contacts -- most electronics relays are double-throw. Why don't you just wire the two fans in parallel, and forget the second relay? I think you'll find that the first fan is already being run through a relay, and that the relay should be able to take the load of the second fan. If your fan fuse blows when things are wired this way, you'll need to add the second relay with its own supply and fuse. Don't install a bigger fuse. When you use a second relay, run the two coil wires to the first fan so that the relay will turn on and off at the same time as the first fan. Don't try to control the relay directly from the thermoswitch.

Get a strap wrench (not a chain wrench). Wrap the strap around the crankshaft pulley so that the strap tightens when the wrench is pulled in a clockwise direction. Put a length of pipe over the strap wrench handle (3 feet is long enough) to give more leverage. Do the same for the breaker bar attached to your 22 mm socket over the crankshaft bolt. Have a friend hold the strap wrench steady while you use the extended breaker bar to turn the crankshaft bolt counter-clockwise. If the strap wrench handle extension is long enough, you can rest it on the right fender (left as you're standing in front of the car) instead of inconveniencing a friend. There's no need to spend buckets of money on a strap wrench. A plastic one will do just fine. They cost around $ 10 in Canada. Make sure you get the right size. You don't want a chain wrench because the chain can damage the pulley. If you nick the pulley grooves with the chain, your accessory belts might wear out prematurely. You'll find the strap wrench useful in other situations too, including when you're reinstalling the crankshaft pulley bolt.

14 volts is normal for your alternator. The A/C doesn't use any appreciable amount of electricity. I'd venture to suggest that the alternator drive belt needs tightening. Since the A/C compressor is driven off the same belt, and since the A/C uses quite a bit of engine power, it would stand to reason that the drive belt is slipping.

1.8 vs. 2.0: Many countries charge licence fees based on engine displacement. It costs a lot more to licence a 2.0 litre car than a 1.8.

I believe the stud is just pressed in from the back of the hub. On other cars, I've been able to use a hammer to drive the broken stud out of the hub. Install a new stud by inserting it from the back of the hub and then installing the wheel. When you tighten the nut, you'll draw the stud into place.

I suspect that the rods linking the driver side lock mechanism to the switch need to be adjusted. Perhaps the switch itself isn't mounted securely. You'll need to remove the door panel to get at the lock mechanism.

Personally, I wouldn't bother. If you want to disable the compressor, just unplug the two electrical connectors. One of them controls the magnetic clutch, and the other is a sensor. When the clutch isn't activated (unplugging it prevents that), the amount of power robbed is very small.

I understand that the GL10 is the GL with Turbo, and digital dash. I'm not so sure about airconditioning. The GL10's I've seen all had air, but the 4 GLs I've owned didn't.

Lots of off-road information can be found here, on the Australian Subaru board: http://www.ausubaru.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl