Legacide

Hey team, 1991 legacy non-turbo awd. 260,xxx miles. a few months ago she started to pop out of 4th sporadically, then started to do it constantly. I just dealt with it and held it in gear and hopped to 5th a bit quicker than normal. Wed, last week, on my way to work, half-way there, she would not go into gear at all. I pulled over played with the clutch cable nuts a bit, did not help. Towed to my mechanic. He tells me I need a new clutch. I should not be putting more $$ into this car, but went for the $650 fix for now. I get her back and the pedal seemed very spongy and thought well, maybe they adjusted the clutch cable correctly after I had it incorrect for so long. I take her out and sure enough, still popping out of 4th. But now it is popping out of 3rd and 5th as well--which it had never done before! I have been messing with the clutch pedal to no avail over the weekend. After perusing the site, it seems I should not jump to the conclusion that it is the tranny, but maybe mounts or bushings? Where should I go next? Thanks in advance

Long story short, I have a 99 Outback, undercarriage rusted to sh*t. Got it for $600, have put way too much money in it, but now swapping out the "new" 2.5 for a 2.2. While this is happening I need to take care of a few other quirks. One being the exhaust that I tore off while gallivanting in the Flagstaff off-road winter season. Will an exhaust (cat back) swap directly over from a Non-OB Legacy to an OB? I am sure more questions will come. Thanks in advance. Jesse

Walnut Canyon in Flagstaff, AZ. Waiting for the big snowfalls!

would there be any problem doing the HG on this engine even though it is a JDM? Any specific place I should purchase from? any difference in HG sets for domestic vs. jdm?

thanks for the info, will check out and report.

We replaced the radiator cap, but used a NAPA thermostat, (brand escapes me) Should this be checked first? Any way to isolate the thermostat as the problem instead of HG? (Keep in mind I did replace the thermostat initially during swap, then overheated, and tried a new one (both NAPA))

Well, I had her all buttoned up, put about 500 miles on the new engine just running around town. We took off last Thursday to go down to California. About 20 miles out of town we lost heat, then looked down, heating up like crazy! I let her cool down, took off the cap and poured in some water. The overflow was full of antifreeze and not draining. IT looked like some debris was floating around in there too. We took it slow and limped her back into town. (We took the vaca in our old caravan and made it fine) Back to town, we thought maybe we had a bad thermostat, might have come defective in the box?...Well, we replaced with a new one, still same heat up. Flushed the radiator a few times, still heating up. Did I get a lemon engine from Attarco? Head gasket blown already? Anything else it could be? I'm freaking out that they are going to screw me on the warranty. They say there are 4 heat tabs (pewter, dime-sized things affized to the engine that will tell if I overheated it or not) and I can't find any of them. When installed we replaced everything: waterpump, thermostat, timing belt etc. Please help! Thanks in advance

I steered clear for now. His starting point was $2500 obo. A bit more than I wanted to spend. Found this one though http://prescott.craigslist.org/cto/1066357595.html still haven't purchased, but thinking about it

Hey guys, these subies are addictive.. well, I guess you know that. This one fell on my lap. But, I have no idea on how to value it. What would you pay for this Brat?: http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/1041300961.html I asked a few questions, here is his reply: 80,00 original engine, bought a engine gasket kit for it for future rebuild, brakes and tires are good, it needs some exhaust work, new pipe, i have one for it!, mechanically its ok i havent driven since last summer, as i recall i was having an electrical problem with the fuel pump, but if i hook up the pump to battery it pumps? so wire ground issue? not sure its been a few months! i have a tow bar for it as well.

is there a way to test and determine definitely bad? thanks for the help btw

After you replaced the? idle control system?

Well, I drove it around a bit and found that the idle/ throttle is acting oddly. Sometimes it will idle at 2000rpms, then sometimes at 750. It bounces around a bit. I started the car while I was scraping the ice off my windows, and after a couple of minutes the idle dropped by half on its own. When I drove it to work this morning it was extremely low on power. I kept it in 3rd gear most of the way (only 10 minutes) never going over 45mph (300-3500 rpms). When I did shift or start in 1st, it had no power, would take extra pressure on the gas to keep it from dying or falling backwards on the hill. Once I got it going though, it would drive ok, but with very limited power. Check engine light: P1507 Idle control system malfunction (fail-safe) That is the code that remains, any thoughts? Throttle Positioning Sensor? adjustment? MAF? This may be connected, maybe not: When first pressing on the gas pedal, its seems like it is sticking for the first bit, then when you penetrate the initial resistance of the pedal, the resistance isn't there. (maybe just a little WD40 on pedal linkage? Thanks for any help! Jesse

The green wires were disconnected, and you were right, all codes except for a throttle valve code went away! Thanks you guys very much. There was some water in the exhaust that is burning up, but other than that, we have a great car. I'll post some pictures, thanks again I am sure that I will need some more advise down the line, thanks for helping the NOOB

quick update: Well we added another good ground, and YES, we have spark! Looks like the coil that we disconnected was grounding the entire engine I might have a couple of bad 02 sensors, TPS out of sync, But we are getting there, I don't know if the codes are gone yet, but we will check the wires, OB99W The car is a 5-speed Thanks again for all the help!

Ok, so we disconnected the ignition coil and the diagnostic tool read codes and the dim dash lights (when key out) disappeared. Codes read: 130 - O2 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 1) 136 - O2 Sensor Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 2) 500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction 1100 1101 1120 1121 1540 - Vehicle speed sensor malfunction 2 http://www.northursalia.com/techdocs/obd2/obd2.html looked here^ for codes, none of the 1100's are on that list We erased the codes to see if they were remnants of the previous engine, but they returned. Do we think I have multiple problems or maybe just the ECU causing all these problems? Why would unplugging the ignition coil make it work?

Ok, so, we cleaned and reconnected the grounds and main wiring harness as advised to do. We are still experiencing the same things. The ecu is intact in the car. May be bad, but it is still there. A little more info though: I stated that the diagnostics tool does not read that it is plugged in, but actually when the key is out of the ignition, you can plug it in, and it reads that it is plugged in. When you turn the key to receive codes, it turns off. any clues? Is there any tests to find out if the ECU is damaged? thanks in advance for help

Thanks for helping hands... I'll check connections and grounds tomorrow and report. But if I do have to replace the ECU, should I purchase the stock, or will others work?

I talked to the tech, we haven't checked to verify if the ecu is even in the sucker. so, i guess first thing is first. If I end up having to buy one, should I stick to the OEM ,99 2.5 ECU US version, or can I stray from that?

nipper, is there any known issues with compatibility between the Japanese engine and US ecu? from what I read in multiple forums, it should be, save for the EGR code that can be thrown

Is there a failsafe way to determine if the ECU is inop or if it could be something else?

yes, the dash lights are on and dim with the keys out. When I purchased the car, the battery and the alternator were missing, so I do not know if it occurred previously. I know I have a fairly competent tech, so I am going to assume we have good grounds. But will have to wait until tomorrow to verify.

Hello all, New to USMB, but Suby owner for many years. I just purchased a 1999 Legacy Outback wagon with the 2.5 from a recovery yard in town. It had been donated to the auto recyclers because it had a blown head and the owner wouldn't have it fixed. So I paid for the donation($600) , and blammo I have a new Legacy. Since I did not know the history behind the vehicle, I decided to purchase an entire new engine, then swap. I didn't feel like finding out later my block was cracked. Anyway, I work at a tractor shop and have a couple of good auto mechanics and figured I would have them install it for me. So, I apologize if my jargon is not up to speed, but I'll do my best to recreate the situation. I purchased the engine from Attarco on ebay. ($800+ $110 Freight) http://www.attarco.com/index.php?main_page=index It is one of those JDM low mileage engines. I knew there would be some hassle, but here we go. Swapped the engine in fine. Replaced the water pump, timing belt, power steering belt, plugs, wires, filters, battery etc. The wiring was cut off of the new engine, so we used all the wiring from the old engine. The alternator was mysteriously missing from the old engine, so we used the one from the new engine. The EGR is missing on the JDM, so it is currently unplugged (tech tells me this should not be a problem?) So the engine is installed, hard part over with, but now we are experiencing some odd electrical problems. 1. When key is out of ignition, some of the dash lights are still on but dimmer than normal. 2. There is no spark. The engine cranks like crazy, but will not turn over. 3. When a diagnostics code reader is plugged in, it does not recognize it is in a car. Obviously, I was not the one who installed this, but I'll do the best I can and ask the tech any follow-up questions you might have. Any direction towards the likely culprit would be great. Anyone done the JDM swap here? Tech tells me it might have to do with the cam or crank sensor? Jesse