Fairtax4me

If swapping sprockets does not work, swapping the heads will not fix it either. You need to swap both the crank sprocket and the upper cam sprocket on the left side. (The one the sensor reads) I'd also like to ask before you go pulling more stuff apart, have you checked all of the fuses?

It's a lot easier to swap the timing sprockets than it is to swap heads. Have you tried swapping the crank and cam sensors? Possible one of those is bad.

Pretty sure it's 17ft-lbs which is basically just snug. 1/4 turn after hand tight may be a bit too much. Hand tight, put your palm on the head of the ratchet and turn your wrist and it will be tight enough. An actual code would be helpful. Some other possibilities: A dirty MAF sensor can cause hesitation like this. Vacuum leaks. A plugged PCV valve can cause all sorts of issues. When did it last get filters, plugs, and wires?

Lookin awesome on those snowtrakkers! Have those on my 96 and im always surprised at how well they do in the red clay mud here. What size are you running?

It's ridiculous that the pump can not build pressure immediately when starting. I've heard of this issue in several newer Subarus and it just sounds like the new fuel pumps are weak. A fuel pressure test when cranking should confirm if the pump is not priming properly. If pressure does not build to 35-40 psi as soon as the key is turned to start the fuel pump needs to be replaced. You should still be under warranty. Be sure to take it to a dealer for a diagnostic. Even if they don't find the problem right away its better to have it documented with the dealer that there is an issue.

That's exactly what I was thinking actually. A grand at best. Transmissions are easy to replace, but finding one for a 99 is a beach because it was one of the crossover years. Closest place on car-part.com has one for $2000 . They're smoking some serious stuff there.

I wouldn't worry about it. Put it in and drive it.

Seems like a decent car, no real rust to speak of. Engine is quiet and appears to have new head gaskets, probably in the last 30-40k miles. Looked like it has some minor leaks that had been lazily power washed. No tags so I didnt drive it anywhere but the guy did explain the problem better when I asked a few questions. He owns a repair shop and bought it as a flip then decided it wasn't worth it. The way he described it, it won't go any higher than second gear. No lights and no CEL, trans light works and was not blinking so I'm thinking it must be a stuck shift solenoid or valve body issue. Either way he seemed firm at $1700. A little high IMO, the body was in rough shape and the exhaust had been cut and welded together. Tires had decent tread, but it looked like it would need brakes soon. Not sure on it for now. Gonna see if anything else pops up in the next couple weeks.

Use a rope instead of air. Feed the rope in about 2-3 feet of it then turn the engine to TDC for that cylinder.

You have to spin it like 168 times or something like that to make the marks on the belt line up again. Don't worry about those. As long as the marks all still point to the right place on the covers then its good to go.

The springs are progressive rate and that could affect wear on the seat of the spring. But mostly this will affect the amount of weight that has to rebound when the valve closes. You could run into some valve float issues at higher rpm. I've found the t-bar type compressors to work well on these if you have a bench that you can clamp the head to hold it down. Otherwise you need the c-clamp style with the smallest retainer adapter you can get.

The problem with a used cat is finding one. Junkyards can't legally sell them, and shops can't legally install them. EPA bullshit laws. I would take it to an exhaust shop and see if they can cut the old sensor off and weld a new sensor bung on so the new sensor can be threaded in the way it should be.

I don't see why it wouldn't, the bellhousing is the same. The trick will be matching up the clutch components, but all you really need to figure out is if its a pull or push style clutch.

Gasket slap the 2.2 and put it back in the car. Simple and reliable. The 2.2 has better low end torque anyway, but put a set of delta torque grind cams in it and it'll pull harder than the 2.5 up to ~4000 rpm. Not a huge huge gain from the cams but the seat of your pants will be able to tell.

That exhaust system looks so nice! Wish mine was that clean. You shouldn't need to compress the springs to get it back together, but you should get the gasket and bolt kit from Subaru, some of the aftermarket parts have fitment issues and can cause leaks.

Head gaskets on the DOHC are expected to be bad or go bad soon. Definitely will be on the lookout for signs of overheating and coolant overflow from the reservoir. Timing belt, head gaskets, and oil leaks aside; I'm more worried it will be playing to the tune of "hard knock life", and needful of a 2.2 swap AND a transmission. Assuming the rest of the car checks out, that is. Gary I know exactly what you mean. Don't know how many times I've heard people complain about transmission problems, I just say "misfire" then have to explain why the trans shifts strange when the engine is only making half as much power as it should be. I can imagine a hundred scenarios that could be perceived as a transmission problem to someone who just isn't car savvy.

Re-ground cams will probably be a step in the wrong direction for what you're after. The high end power cams seem to do well, but the torque grind comes with idle problems on the frankenstein. Keep the stock cams and it will run fine. Cats could be an issue, I hadn't thought about that before. Magnaflow makes high flow cats that will bolt directly onto a single port header from Inferno. They fit just like the stock cats on the 95-99 legacy. They run about $500 for the pair though. Straight pipe is always an option if you just don't care.

Craigslist car I'm looking at for my girlfriend later this week. The owner says it won't go into "high gear" but he won't explain the issue any further. I'm left to assume that either it shifts through the first two gears fine then stays in 3rd. But I'm also thinking its possible that its just stuck in 3rd gear. I'm trying to remember a thread I saw not long ago that mentioned unplugging the TCU which would lock the trans in 3rd and lock it in AWD? Is that correct? I'm just trying to figure how I can do a quick and dirty diagnostic on it and determine if its the trans or a bad TCU or wiring issue. Obviously I'm gonna check to see if the trans temp light works and try to pull any codes. She's driving a Honda Del Slo right now and I'm trying my level best to get her out of the go-kart and into a SAFE vehicle as a DD. If this can be fixed cheap enough I think it will be a good buy. Even if it needs a trans I can get one for $150, but the nickel and dime things add up too. She wants a manual trans and the idea of a swap isn't out of the question but the quicker I can get her into a real car the sooner ill be able to sleep easy. 0.o

Dual port heads flow a bit better at high rpm, the single port heads will give you a bit more bottom end power. You can swap camshafts and rocker assemblies from the sonhle port heads into the dual port heads and keep the exhaust manifold you have. Or You could use the single port heads as is and get a single port header from InfernoFab.com (user Sube101 makes them, thread here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/137850-uel-single-port-headers-updated-post/?do=findComment&comment=1160500 ) He sells dual port headers as well.

42 low voltage 52 motor relay open circuit/ motor relay ON failure/ abnormal motor 54 abnormal stop light switch I could only find these in the MY96 FSM I have so they may not be the same for 99. I would post details but the diag. trees for these codes are a mile long. Code 42 and 54 seem to indicate a bad connection at the control module, which IIRC is under the passenger seat. Code 52 could be a grounding issue or poor contact at the hydraulic unit and its relay box under the hood, or a poor connection at the control module.

Seems odd for a torque converter to fail that way, I guess something must have got into the bearings and damaged them. So you have a Franken-trans now! Glad to hear its working well!

Second Texan's suggestion, it sounds like the temp sensor for the ECU could be bad. What brand of O2 sensor did you install? Could also be a vacuum leak, but that would usually cause a lean condition. Also wonder if the timing belt was replaced at any point in the last 100k miles. If not its 100k miles overdue, and a very serious and costly potential problem.

Check connections in the wire harness plug on the module. I would also pull out the relays and fuses in the module (should be under a black plastic cover) and check those for poor connection as well.

They don't always put SAI on the printouts. It's typically not an issue unless something is bent, such as the control arm or cross member where the control arm connects, and not usually adjustable which is why it doesn't show on the printouts. But knowing if the SAI is in spec can help determine what is bent. Either way if the caster is really 1.5 degrees out of spec it probably means the control arm is bent. Use a measuring tape and compare the distance from the lower ball joint stud to the outer mounting bolt of the rear bushing on each side. You can also compare the distance from the pinch weld to the pivot nut in the rear bushing. If the first measurement is significantly different it's a good indication that the arm is bent. If both of those measurements are pretty close (within 1/16") from left to right then I would have to blame the alignment guy for setting up the sensors wrong.

That's awesome that it was still there! I learned to check for the gasket when I get the filler cap unscrewed about 3/4 of the way. If its stuck to the filler I just nudge it with my finger to break it loose, then spin the cap back on so the gasket seats into the recess, then I can remove the cap without the gasket rolling away.