Fairtax4me

Goin with the wheel out of balance on this one. Make sure you don't have any heavy dirt or snow/ice buildup on the wheels. Check for "clean spots" on the rims where one of them might have flung a balance weight.

New tires and alignment, which is why I suggested it be taken back and rechecked.

It does help visibility. The yellow light isn't reflected back by fog the same way white or blue light is due to the difference in wavelength.

Might have been due to the pedal sticking. Id start checking into the cause of that ASAP.

What? There is a ball joint on the rack end of the inner tie rod. That's what allows axial and rotational movement of the tie rod during suspension articulation. It also allows the tie rod to be turned to adjust alignment. That's where the play is.

Could be the tires. Could also be worn struts, or an incorrect alignment. Take it back to the shop you had the alignment done at and ask them to look at it and make sure it is within spec. Is this an auto or manual transmission?

Low input is probably low input voltage to the MAF. My computer is being a beeyatch or I'd give you the wire diagram to show you which pin to check. Try unplugging the wire connector and check for corrosion/dirt on the pins.

Exactly what Nipper said, its the way the flats on the rod line up. The sway bar is in the way, the control arm, the exhaust system, the subframe. You can't get a wrench on it and get a decent swing. Even the 1/8th turn at a time and flip the wrench trick doesn't do it. I resorted to a pair of channel lock pliers, but just can't keep enough grip on the case of the joint to get it tight enough. I'll take a picture next time I'm under there. I'm thinking about putting thread lock on it and see if that holds.

You have to get REAL outback struts though. 95 and 96 were the same as any other. 97 was the first year for the true Outback.

Love it! You have to have one of those moments every now and then. At least you found it before replacing parts and not getting the desired result. Some of these have been on my list of wants for a long time, but I always forget about them when I'm at the hardware store. http://www.knifecenter.com/kc_new/store_detail.html?s=ML34

Most shops use a special tool because it is VERY difficult to fit a wrench into the subframe area where the steering rack is. If you can afford it, take it to an alignment shop and have them do the whole job. It will have to go there anyway even if you replace it yourself to get the alignment set correctly. It's not a difficult job to do, but getting the new joint tight on the rack is a bit of a trick. I have one that is currently loose where it threads into the rack, it's not going anywhere because of the jam washer, but I've tightened it 3 times and it keeps loosening up again. I believe it's because I just can't get enough leverage on it to tighten it properly. There's just not enough room without removing the steering rack.

I'd imagine this could be because of the EAs having distributor ignition, and the EJs having wasted spark direct ignition. But the 94 should have the same coil as the 95-xx IIRC. Ignition noise (EMI) will have a big effect on OBD2 control systems whereas OBD1 cars don't generally care whats going on because the ECU isn't as sensitive.

#3 is pretty normal. There will always be some play in the driveaxles, differential and transmission. It's all very small amounts of play, but when you turn the wheel it is magnified to about an inch or slightly more of rotational play at the tread of the tire. What you should check for is looseness in the wheel bearings and ball joints, and tie rod ends by trying to rock the tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, and 3 and 9 o'clock positions respectively. I would inquire with an inspection station about whether the car will pass CA emissions before buying.

OBD2 started in 95 for the Legacies. The 95 and 96 cars have some exemptions for emissions testing because several of the readiness monitors reset after each ignition cycle. Not sure how that applies to CA emissions test requirements.

$1900 sounds steep to me. I bought my 96 sedan for 1200 with a bad clutch and a few oil leaks with lower mileage. I could see 1900 for a rust free car needing little to no work. But you're gonna have anywhere from $250 - $500 in the car on repairs just for what you DO know about now. There may be other work that it needs. I'd maybe offer 12-1500 depending on the condition of the body (15 if it's free of rust).

I think it's the other way around. 99 has the 8 bolt. 99 IIRC also has the first year for hydraulic clutch release, which means the release fork may be different. But a new one is only like $25 from a dealer. Some people recommend replacing the fork when doing clutch/transmission work because they have a tendency to crack. That's about as far as I can help, but I'm pretty sure it will bolt up work just fine otherwise. The one thing you will need to watch out for is the differential ratio. You have to match that to your rear diff.

You're sure it's not loose brake caliper bolts or missing anti-rattle springs on the pads? The control arm actually has to be forced down so you can get clearance to remove the nut on the end. And it is on REALLY tight. I tried and tried to break mine loose with a breaker bar, and eventually gave in a borrowed an impact gun from one of the techs at work. And even that took about 20 seconds on full trigger just to crack the damn nut loose. (and this was with a 1/2" drive Ingersol gun) Once it was loose it came off easy enough, but getting it loose is the real work. Use a cheater pipe and heat if you don't have access to air tools.

It is quite time consuming to tear apart the transmission, but mostly because of having to clean all of the sealing surfaces before you can put it back together. You may find other bearings in need of replacement while you're in there, and some of them can be pretty pricey, but it's well worth the time and money invested if done properly. If you're doing on side of the diff, might as well go for broke and do both. Be sure to read up on adjusting the backlash, looks like you have the manual there so you should have all the technical info you need for the job.

Plugs look pretty normal to me. Running a hair lean (the white deposits on the ground pin) but these engines tend to do that. Exactly what was the code that you got after the first reset? I'd march down to the dealer (once you get the knock sensor problem resolved) and demand a refund. I'd also call SOA and report them for poor service practices. Absolutely no reason a dealer service department of any kind should not be able to do a proper compression test OR diagnostic for a misfire. I know there are some issues with cars that really are stumpers, and truly require a skilled and well trained and versed technician to diagnose. This issue, in my mind, is not one of those cases.

Ahh the sweet smell of success! Or is that my dessert?

Assuming that the car wasn't wrecked to get insurance money because the transmission was failing. Yes the front differential is built into the transmission case. It is separated from the automatic transmission in that is uses it own fluid. The reason they said keep driving it, is because the cost to repair worn differential bearings is more as replacing the transmission itself. Basically, you drive it until it blows up, then get a new one. If you repair it, you may end up with other problems associated with taking the transmission apart, which may render the car just as useless as a blown up differential.

That one may have an EGR valve which will require swapping the intake manifold if yours does not have the EGR. That's getting a bit too far ahead though. Crank at TDC I'm not sure... I remember reading that it was 90° off but that may have been for the DOHC engines so there was no way for the cams to slip and cause the valves to hit the piston while changing the belt.

That's the guaranteed way.

They probably used the wrong timing marks. No reason a 96 2.2 shouldn't run like a top with a new belt installed unless the wrong marks were used to time the cams and crank. This is assuming they have all the sensors plugged in.

It should fit. The only real difference I could find between 2.5 and 2.2 clutch kits was the clamping force of the PP. The TOB is the same from god only knows how far back all the way up to as new as 2008 manual transmission cars. Same for the Pilot bearing. Both 2.2 and 2.5. http://opposedforces.com/parts/info/30502AA051/ http://opposedforces.com/parts/info/806212020/ http://opposedforces.com/parts/info/30100AA620/