Fairtax4me

At 300k miles, I would have to guess head gaskets, the misfiring and pressure in the cooling system, and the loss of coolant all add up.

The neutral position switch is on the tail housing of the trans, the furthest one back. If you remove it you can see the notch in the shift selector shaft. I forget if the switch is open or closed in neutral but it doesn't matter which way it gets wired, as long as one wire goes to the ECU and the other goes to ground.

Yeah if you're in the rust belt, good luck. Soak them all down with pb or something for a few days/ weeks beforehand. Did you check some of the online Subaru dealers for better prices? 1stsubaruparts.com usually has a good discount, shipping might make it not worth it though.

Sounds more like a bad ignition switch. The contacts in the starter solenoid are known to go bad on these, but that has nothing to do with holding the key in the right spot.

Tried Car-part.com? Oh. I'll have to pay better attention next time I have one apart.

I don't think there is any adjustment for the switch but the shift select cable is adjustable, and that may be causing the problem, but a bad switch or poor connection is more likely.

Pinout on 95 is different. Either that or the pin count is different, I'm not entirely sure. Either way, Pin 78 is the one you need for the Neutral switch. This is the same for AT and MT cars. 'm trying to find the MT identifier pin. I know its there, just don't remember exactly which diagram it was on. Edit: ECU I/O signal diagram says it's Pin 50.

Common source of leaks on these is the O rings for the lines on the compressor. But anywhere there is a connection between lines is a place where it can leak.

So it cranks but won't start. Is the battery charged? Did you check all the fuses in the underhood fuse panel? There's a Fusible link in there too (looks like a wire with a black shield) that can blow out. It'll be fairly obvious, but if not remove it and tug on both ends. If it stretches and falls apart, it was burned out. The fuel pump only primes for a second or so when the key is turned, and you're not likely to hear it through the filler. Fuse number 16 in the dash fuse panel is for the fuel pump relay, which is under the dash next to large relay with 6 large wires going to it. The ECU grounds the fuel pump relay. It should click once the key is turned to ON, then click again about two seconds later. The big relay is the main relay and is turned on by the ECU. That should click when the key is turned to ON.

The CEL comes on when the engine dies because the ECU no longer sees readings from the various sensors. It lets YOU know that the engine has shut off by turning on the CEL. Doesn't necessarily mean there will be a code, unless the light stays on after re-starting.

Around 35 psi if I remember right. You can get a small length of fuel hose and T it in right by the fuel filter under the hood.

If it did die with the MAF unplugged the problem is likely elsewhere. The ECU goes into a fail safe mode without the MAF input, it runs off of preset air density values that will allow it to run, but it should still run on it's own.

I believe to get the 5th driven gear off of the lower shaft it has to be disassembled. There are needle bearings and thrust bearings on the pinion shaft (the inner) that will be damaged by a puller. I think there is a crush washer in there that has to be replaced when put back together. Do you have the FSM for your car? If not, you will want to get it as it will have all the info you need. Also if you can find your trans code on this list http://northursalia.com/techdocs/trannychart/trannychart.html It has gear ratios listed. You may be better off to get a 3.9 FDR trans and rear diff, rather than try to swap. It would certainly be easier.

Thanks posting that link John! I was assuming I got a 3.454 trans for my 95 fwd reject car, but going by that info it will have a 3.7 since it came from a 92 legacy IIRC. Nice to know since I could never really find any sure info about the fdrs in the early fwd trans. FSM for 95 Legacy says 3.454, so I just went with that.

I'm looking for an alternative to having two cans at ~$15ea of Glacier White (color code 230) paint mixed by a local body/paint supply shop. I'd like to think there is something close enough on the shelf at the auto parts store, but they won't let me test spray anything to see how they compare. Has anyone found (or bothered to try) a good 'nuff color match to Glacier White in automotive, or any other kind of spray paint really, on a shelf somewhere? The actual paint always looks way different than the cap to me. :-p I'm just too picky I suppose, especially for the beat up bumper and fender it's going on.

How many miles? Last time the timing belt was changed? Could be vacuum leak, loose hoses, jumped timing, the codes from the CEL could reveal a clue. Check cam timing alignment, make sure the belt is not loose. Make sure the plug wires are tight on the spark plugs (can be difficult some times to get them seated all the way) intake tube clamps are tight and the air box thing is securely closed. Take a good look at all the vacuum hoses and make sure they're in their proper places, the diagram on the bottom of the hood should help. If all that checks out, (and the timing has not jumped, 97 is an interference engine so if the timing is off don't drive it) then limp it to Advance/Zone and get the codes read.

Yeah, Short block (Case, crank, rods, pistons, no heads/manifold) can't be more than 75lbs. I can lift and carry around a short block easily, and I'm 6ft ~160lbs. Long block with heads, Intake manifold (fuel rails/injectors, throttle body, etc), timing parts, I would guess somewhere in the 130 range. With clutch and flywheel add ~35 lbs. (23lb flywheel on these) With cast iron accessory brackets instead of aluminum add another 5. Water pump is under the timing covers, not an accessory as with the Alt, PS, and AC. No iron sleeves in a Subaru block as far as I know.

Crank and cam sensors typically produce codes immediately if they fail because the ECU replies heavily on input from those two sensors. Failures with these sensors are easy for the ECU to diagnose because there will be a complete break in the signal voltage, even if it is intermittent, the ECU will typically set a code. The MAF it uses in conjunction with the MAP sensor if it has it, as well as the O2 sensor, coolant temp sensor, and throttle position sensor to fine tune the amount of fuel the engine gets. Because of this the ECU has to run multiple checks against premprogrammed criteria in order to determine a fault with the MAF, unless it is wiring related, in which case it will set a code almost immediately. Honestly the way you describe it almost sounds like a bad MAF. Unplug the MAF and start the car, take it out for a drive around the block a few times. It won't run well, but it will run and drive and shouldn't stall.

Find someone with a scanner and check the ECT reading. Or drop $25 on an ECT sensor (the two wire type). I think it can be tested with an ohmmeter, but I'm not sure of the values, and it's a little difficult to get to.

Throttle body, iac, manifold base to heads, fuel rail orings. Those are the non hose areas where there can be leaks. There are a few hidden solenoids under the intake runners. Under the passenger side (#3) is the evap purge control solenoid. Two hoses there. If it has EGR there will be a BPT valve on the drivers side by the EGR, and at least one solenoid under the #4 runner. Check all the hoses there as well, there are several metal lines with short hoses between. PCV valve and it's related hoses where they go down to the block. There should be one or two lines coming from the number 3 runner that split at a T. One goes to the FPR on the back of the fuel rail, it can be hard to see. The other (possibly two) runs over to the passenger strut tower if you have a MAP sensor. They connect to a solenoid over there and there's a small line that goes from the solenoid to the MAP. Then there's the turbo stuff, which is all above me since I've never dealt with a 22t engine. But be sure to check the gasket areas carefully.

So John 90-92 Legacy AWD manual and auto are 3.90 or 4.11?

P0136 O2 Circuit Bank 1 Sensor 2, according to canobd2.com. This will be the after cat sensor on the passenger side bank. By "no reading" do you mean that it did not show an O2s2 on the scanner at all, or did it show the sensor just at 0v? THIS is particularly interesting to me because there have been several occasions where people have reported O2 readings in the 2.5-3.5V range rather than the typical 0.1-1.0v range that people are expecting. Having a reference feed to the sensor, does the sensor output reading still fluctuate by a 1 volt range above or near the reference voltage? The above actually is a whole other can of worms, but as Recian said, check wiring to the sensor, it's possible one of the wires is cut or shorted, or there is a bad connection in one of the harness connectors along the way.

Check engine light On? That may give some clues. Did you replace plugs and wires or just the plugs?

From what I've found most FWD manual trans had 3.454 FDR.

Crank sensor is usually all or nothing, meaning if it doesn't work the engine doesn't even start. Plus you usually get a code for it. Intermittent stumbling is either fuel related, bad MAF sensor or a sticky IAC.