Fairtax4me

Does the after market unit have a wire for dimmer control? All of the dash lighting is powered AND grounded by the illumination control module. Hooking up to one side (power) may have damaged the module. I've also seen many Subarus with aftermarket stereos installed with no trouble. I'm guessing that somewhere along the line you accidentally pinched a wire or tapped off of the wrong one and caused a short. The test now will be to find the illumination module and unplug it, then see if the fuse still blows when the lights are turned on. Scroll back (from last page to the first) through this thread of "vacation pics" posts and you'll surely find some relevant info for your year, or at least close to it. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wants-see-my-vacation-pixi-6216.html?p=2717922 The links at the beginning don't work anymore for the most part, but the ones in back are still fresh.

Some cars had the canister behind the right rear wheel under the bumper. Those will have a line that goes from directly below the fuel pressure and return lines, to right between the 1+3 runners under the intake. Just run a hose from there to your canister under the hood, then run another hose from the canister back to the purge solenoid.

Best bang for your buck is a set of reground cams from Delta Camshaft. Other than that, there really isn't much for the 2.2 other than intake stuff and headers for the dual port heads. Not sure about porting/valve work, not many around here mess with all that. Some of the more performance oriented subaru boards would have some tips/info about that though.

Check here under the tech docs section for transmission codes. http://www.northursalia.com/

I've never heard of anyone replacing the bearings in the tail housing. I had one in my old transmission that was a little loose, but I decided it wasn't worth replacing. Plus a few of them are more difficult than it's worth because they're pressed on, and chances are they aren't bad anyway. When you get it apart, see if any feel like sand paper or have a lot of play, if not then I'd leave them alone.

Yeah we just had a thread not long ago about a member who tripped 350k. As far as I know, he's still driving it 30+ miles to work and back over a mountain every day. Good ole Subaru. Found his thread. http://ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=122086&highlight=350k+miles

No, just wondering where you saw RTV. All I see is metal. Oh boo-hoo the cut is crooked. :-p Maybe Javier was hungover that day?

How are you reading dead shorts? Which fuses are they on? Did you fully charge the battery before starting with the new alternator? Have you had the battery tested?

Perfect range! Now... What is the reason you felt the need to do a compression test? Some issue with the engine, or just curiosity?

Connector worked perfect Mike! I owe you one. All the lights on the dash are out, so it seems to be working. Now to figure out the oil leak, and the coolant leak. She didn't say anything about it leaking coolant but I could see the splatter of dried coolant all over the radiator and timing cover. Probably needs some Subaru Coolant Conditioner.

That "bushing thing" looks like the release lever end of a clutch cable. Possibly the hill holder cable, but I'm goin' with clutch cable.

Ok so it has the 3 pin "Oval" plug. Found the ouput wire was loose, tightened it up to no avail. Still no charge. I mounted a second gen legacy alternator just fine, so I know that it fits physically. If I can get a connector for it, it will work. I can use the $65 Subaru reman and she'll be good to go for the rest of the life of the car practically. Would you happen to have a second gen Legacy parts car I could cut the alternator connector off of?

Pretty sure my old Ford Ranger says to use Mercon. GM uses Dexron in everything. Eiteher way, read the bottle and see if the fluid meets Dexron III spec. If it says it meets Dexron specification, it's fine. If not then flush it out with a couple quarts of fresh fluid.

Alright, I'll have to look at it and get back to you.

With my luck you'll have the one I can't use. :-p

No, no. :-p The engine isn't running, and shouldn't be allowed to even start when checking compression. Warm up the engine to normal operating temp, driving or idling doesn't matter. Shut it off and remove ALL spark plugs. Unplug either the cam and crank sensors (both of them) or the fuel injectors and Ignitor module or coil pack to prevent spark and fuel when cranking. Attach compression gauge, then hold the throttle pedal on the floor while cranking the engine. Crank it until the needle on the gauge doesn't go any higher. Should only take 3 or 4 seconds.

Ok, Found out her car is a 99. Apparently 98 and 99 alternators are different. The 98 has 2 wire plug, the 99 has 3 wire plug. Is the alt you have a 3 pin or 2 pin? I'm going to look at the car Saturday evening and see exactly what it has.

Compression is checked warm, throttle wide open. Compression will vary depending on outside air temp and density, but 180-190 psi is about normal. IIRC all 4 cylinders should be within 10 - 15 psi. Cold numbers are only useful to see if you have compression at all. 156- 185, are those your compression readings? Squirt some oil in the one that's low and see if it comes up closer to the others.

Thanks for the info Mike. I'll take you up on that offer. I'm going to be in Richmond Sunday morning fairly early so maybe we can meet up. How much $$ do you want for the alternator?

Smear some anti-seize on it and ride. If you're really concerned, most parts stores do sell bearing caps for trailers. You might be able to find a set that fits and hammer them on.

98 (I think) Forester 2.5 automagic, belongs to a friend of mine's sister. She says bettery light came on, then car wouldn't start the next day. Dad put battery in, now car starts but battery and brake lights still on, after driving to work and back home car idles funny and then wont start again next morning. Told her she should have asked me first and I could have saved her $95 on a battery. :-p But I digress... To the point! How different is the Foz alternator than the 95-99 Legacy alternator that Subaru sells for $75 reman.? I'm thinking I can pick up the reman alt from the dealer and pop it on there, and have a better quality part than the "Worldwide" rebuilt turd from Advance auto for half the price. Any hangups with that idea? Different mounting bracket? Wire connector? Pulley?

Where the hell do you see RTV?

That's good. What other sensors have you replaced? Were they new or used?

As long as you got the block clean the JB should hold. When you think about it, the JB covering the surface area of that pinhole is only getting a fraction of the pressure from that gallery. PSI Pounds per Square Inch, means that literally. So if the hole is 0.01" square, it only deals with one one hundredth of the pressure. At warm idle the oil pressure spec is only about 12 psi. At 3000 rpm its something like 35psi or more IIRC. Probably could have stuck gum on it and it would be fine. :-p

Yeah, I see that all the time. Never though much of it, but since you brought it up I'm also curios as to why they do that. Perhaps it's there to allow the core to flex a small amount as the chassis flexes? Prevents cracking maybe?