99obw

Don't swap the heater and signal wires!!! The two white wires should be the heater wires. Hook those up to the heater wires on your connector, I don't think the polarity matters. Hook the black signal wire on the new sensor to the black signal wire on the connector. I like to solder them together using the little splice connectors that are provided and then slide the shrink tubing down and heat it carefully with a lighter. Be sure to tin the wires, let them cool, then slide the shrink tubing over the wires before you assemble it.

My manual transmission technique has evolved into me using all three pedals simultaneously, which is how I deal with hills. Never had a car with a hill-holder. It's virtually impossible to smoothly match speeds while braking without using three-pedal technique.

My understanding has always been that any feature in the combustion chamber that protrudes or is sharp will get much hotter and cause preignition.

I think the likelyhood that the engine is damaged beyond what is wise to repair is very very high. I would go at it assuming that the engine must be replaced. I trust the experience of Emily and the folks at CCR.

I have used 1stsubaruparts.com several times now. They have A+ customer service, excellent prices, and very reasonable shipping charges. If you can't find a part in their web page simply mention it in the comments section when you are checking out and Jason will surely find it for you.

When the Phase I fails, combustion gasses push past the gasket and into the cooling jacket. If any sealant is in the cooling system it will be pushed away from the gasket by the escaping gasses, eliminating the possibility of a seal. When the Phase II fails, pressurized coolant pushes past the gasket and out of the engine. When the coolant is pushed past the gasket the sealant is pushed into the leak, plugging it up. There is basically nothing you can do to prevent Phase I failures.

Not the outback. The '92 dodge fuel pump went, and with all of the other problems it has my wife and I decided to get something else. Luckily it died in the driveway and not on the highway.

The '99 was the last year. I am looking for something in the '97-'99 range. My car died last night.

Looks nice!!! I like the spoiler.

You're right, everyone is the same, we all bash those makes and then come cryin' to mommy when we need a vehicle more reliable than a Subaru. FWIW, the toyota tercel SR5 4WD wagon that got me interested in this type of vehicle ran circles around our outback in the snow. It's still going at 210k miles with the original head gaskets. I am not saying one make is better than another, but I have enough experience to take my hand off of the stove when it's burned.

Please let us know how much the hood costs to get fixed, I'm curious.

Yep, I don't mess with the ABS in any way, I just flush the brake system once a year.

Camosuba has asked that I offer the conversion for liters/100km. I will post it here for the benefit of all. Let's see.. 31 MPG to liters/100km 31 M/G = 0.032258 G/M 0.032258 G/M * 0.0621371 M/km = 20.0322E-3 G/km 20.0322E-3 G/km * 3.78541 l/G = 75.83E-3 l/km 75.83E-3 l/km * 100km/100km = 7.583 l/100km MPG and liters/100km are inversely proportional, so liters/100km is ~235.214583 divided by MPG. That hurts my brain this early in the morning!

I use a mity-vac brake bleeder very successfully if that's any help.

Keep in mind that the oil consumption of an engine can vary greatly with oil type and viscosity. Consumption was very high in the Subaru with Mobil 1 5w-30 at 10 cSt kinematic viscosity. Using Amsoil 5w-30 at 11.7 cSt has reduced consumption significantly, but it still uses about a quart in 7500 miles. I hope to see consumption further reduced by using 10w-30 ATM this summer. I have cut the consumption in my other car to about a third by switching from Pennzoil 10w-30 at 10.5 cSt to Pennzoil High Mileage 10w-30 at 12 cSt. Next oil change I am going to go back to the regular Pennzoil Multi Grade (cheaper)but mix 10w-30 and 10w-40 50:50 to achieve 12 cSt kinematic viscosity @ 100°C. Believe it or not those two oils mixed in that ratio still make a 30 weight oil.

Our outback with auto trans has averaged about 26 most of it's life. It's often said that people buy HP and drive torque. My '92 dodge 3.3 has less HP but is much faster off the line because of the fatter torque curve at lower RPMs. On the highway the dodge falls on it's face and the subaru is happy as a clam. The subaru will pull a 7% grade at 75MPH with 2 adults, 3 children, the back loaded to the roof, and a fully loaded car top box on the roof at about half throttle in 3rd gear. Our next vehicle purchase will likely be a minivan (happy wife = happy life). I am looking seriously at the Toyota Sienna AWD or the Honda. "The high HP is nice when I am chasing someone down in a fit of road rage, or when I am street racing against a Honda, or possibly when I take the car out to the fields to pull a wagon full of hay." Jake, take several deep breaths and have a beer! I wouldn't chase, race, or pull anything with our subaru. It is a little peppy between 5k-6k, but that's about it. My dodge is so much fun at a stop light. It is the ugliest POS on the face of the earth, but stoplight to stoplight it smokes most cars. When I get the new timing chain in it this weekend it should be smoking the tires again.

Across means parallel. It would go between the signal and the signal ground. FYI, adding seafoam to your fuel won't clean nearly as well as sucking it into the engine with a vacuum line. Others may be able to add more details. It sounds like your engine needs a good top end cleaning. Some good threads on top end cleaning: http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001425 http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001370

A ticking is probably lifters, a more pronounced knocking is probably piston slap. If it only ticks for a few seconds after startup a better oil filter can sometimes quiet it down. As much as I dislike the idea I have to admit that Marvel Mystery Oil is supposed to be great for quieting lifters.

Synthetic lubricants are arguably better in almost every way. That should get me flamed. I use synthetic gear lube and motor oil, and I use a synthetic blend tranny fluid. What does the 4EAT hold, something like 10 quarts? A good synthetic tranny fluid is about $7 a quart IIRC, so $70 for tranny fluid is a little spendy for me, especially since I change it once a year along with the filter(~$30). I don't flush the tranny and usually get about 5 quarts out. I just haven't seen the benefit to synthetic tranny fluid like I have with motor oil and gear lube, unless you are getting it really hot all the time. The synthetic blend (~$3 a quart)tranny fluid may be a total waste of money for all I know, I haven't noticed any difference. I am going to continue using it for the rest of the life of the car.

15 miles a week!!!!! (780 miles a year, 2340 over the next three years) I would drive it till it dies. Have the transmission fluid serviced, check the fluid level often, and baby it when you drive it. Putting $1600 into a potentially dying transmission on a $2800 car that you hardly drive is not something I would do. I think a major concern for this car is going to be the fact that it isn't driven enough. Make sure you get the oil hot as much as possible and change it by time rather than mileage.

Depends. I am no body man, but I think you need a different hood. Our car had similar damage from an accident and they replaced the hood. I would also check the tie-bar and grill area for damage. You could get one from a JY if the paint condition would match adequately. I found an OEM hood for it on the net for $165, maybe $100-$200 to get it painted, I don't know.

Pull the hose off of the PCV valve and see if the valve pulls vacuum on your thumb. Make sure any hoses for the PCV system aren't plugged.

I won't disagree with you Steve, but I will say, the day when an extended warranty is a good investment when buying a Subaru is a sad day indeed.

Darn, I wish I could help. I don't have a car worthwhile to show, just a high-mileage commuter car. If I had bought Stupiru's twagon it may have been an option.

Can you tell us what kind of help you need without us needing to read that entire thread? Thanks!