joneappleseed

So ol' Whitey overheated. A friend borrowed it this weekend so I don't know all the details. Here is what I do know. Drove for 6 miles. At the end of the drive the fluid released and the radiator steamed for about 4-5 minutes. I turned the heat on and cold air came out. I had to get back home so I killed the engine a few times and let it roll. Also stopped once to let it cool down to avoid blowing up again. I plugged it in when I got home. PO130 - oxygen sensor. My questions: 1. Did overheating cause the o2 failure? 2. Is my thermostat the culprit? It looks like all hoses are intact. 3. Autozone lists sensor before the cat. converter and after. I searched the board and am thinking I need to replace the front one? It lists for $116, but they also have another that is $58, but doesn't say front or rear? The cheaper one says 'universal' while the others are 'oem'. Thanks in advance for your help, Pete Ol' Whitey is a 96 2.2, 5sp and recently had knock sensor and speed sensor replaced. I am on sensory overload!

Thanks. I'll check to see if it's plugged in and report back.

96 outback, 2.2, 5sp manual, 201,000 miles. Just replaced the knock sensor to remedy the idle problem. Now I believe I need to replace the vehicle speed sensor. Error code was PO500- Vehicle Speed Sensor A Malfunction. The speedometer, odometer, and cruise control stopped working. When this happened the idle problem surfaced. I believe the knock sensor helped the idle problem but I still have work to do with the VSS. I've looked around in here and it looks like the sensor threads and plugs in on the transmission body. My questions are: 1. What tools do I need? 2. Do I have to remove anything to access it? 3. The best price I've found is 110 from Rockauto or Autozone; any cheaper sources? 4. What side of the car is the sensor located? 5. Is it accessible through the hood area or do I have to go underneath the car? With winter approaching I am concerned the AWD will not work properly. From what I've read the vss influencing the signals for the drive system.

I own 2 1996 Outbacks. #1 is a 2.5 auto. It was missing during acceleration in the 2200 to 2700 rpm range. New knock sensor fixed it. Had it installed at what I thought was an honest place. I think they charged so much because they took some parts of to get to it. Like $200 labor. #2 is a 2.2 5sp manual. It was dying at idle. For some time it was hiccupping during accelaration as well, but the idle problem was driving me insane. Last night I pulled the sensor off myself. It had two cracks. Put the new one on and it runs smoother and is no longer dying at idle. I looked at several threads here concerning how to replace. Pretty easy. $65. Thanks for the resource here. Both cars had the CEL code of po325, Knock sensor malfunction.