Commuter

Interesting... I too have been getting this code recently on my 97 OB auto. I had it in the spring but it was a pressure / vacuum sensor that mounts to the passenger strut tower that was actually the problem. I don't know if the manuals have this sensor. It apparently "tests" the operation of the EGR, as well as provides some 'input' to the TCU. (My shifts were a little sloppy and delayed at times.. this was cured as well after the sensor was changed.) Let me know how you make out. I haven't resolved mine. It just came back on me several weeks ago. It came on once before I was in for servicing lately. The shop didn't see anything obviously wrong. Then it came on a few weeks ago. And now twice just today. No noticable difference in operation, although I do have a little hesitation / stumbling that I believe is carbon, but I have heard that a malfunctioning EGR can cause similar affects. Commuter

Something got temporarily caught up on a half-shaft... and then came off again? I'd think you'd feel that more or less constantly though, instead of just on decel. Just trying to add to the thought process. Commuter

I'm running 90/100W in my 97 OB. The connectors get quite hot. The soft rubber boot around them has hardened and cracked. No melting of wires though. Sometimes the connection gets flakey and I have to poke at it a bit to tighten it up again (the metal connectors themselves). I think that newer cars can take less over wattage than older ones. Wiring has gotten thinner over the years, less safety factor, etc. I know some people with my generation have melted wiring harnesses with 80/100W bulbs. I have seen 70/80W bulbs, but they are rare. Basically, you are taking chances if you overwattage. Most seem to get away with it, in reason. Keep the connector clean. Use some dielectric grease. And keep an eye on them for the first while. I'm using the Eaglite bulbs from midnightmoose. Inexpensive, and LONG life. Commuter

Given the age of your vehicle, it might be the sending units are wearing out. There have been prior posts regarding this. A search should turn them up. People have taken them out, cleaned up the wiper strip, put them back in and extended their life. I think I'm going to have to do mine on my 97 OB next year. It's getting a little irregular when reading the last 1/8th of a tank or so. Low fuel dash light seems to still be consistent however. Commuter

Tire contact patch area is a function of the tire pressure and the weight on that tire (wheel). It's a balance of forces. It does not change with the tire profile. What does change is the shape of the contact patch. For starters, use the recommended tire pressure for your car. If the wear is even, then this is the correct pressure. If you don't care about even wear, or you want different handling characteristics, then adjust accordingly. Within reason and safety limits of course. As mentioned, sidewall stiffness etc will affect the required pressure. I recall one set of tires I had where I had to bump up about 6 psi !! to get even wear. (It was a semi no-name brand... ) I have found that running a couple psi over recommended works out well. But this is more a function of the fact that tires slowly lose air (they never gain) as opposed to any performance reasons. By the time you check, you may be a couple of psi low, hence, one ends up with even wear overall. Commuter

I would think that your 96 would be the same as my 97 OB, but I don't know that for a fact. I put one of the 6CD/tape/radio units in my car. Plugged right into the connector. It was the Panasonic model P123. I don't know if the one that has the weatherband on it is different or not. Several of us have done this. Works well. Not hi-end, but suits me just fine. Commuter

It's been discussed before. I've suffered from it. And have some of the same issue again right now. These engines are known for running rich and building up carbon. I recall Emily of CCR Inc posting one time that when they tear down one of these engines, you'd think you were dealing with a carburated engine from the '70's. What I experienced was hesitation while taking off from a stop, or during very very slow motion (eg, parking lot). Idle was fine, but it would bog between 600 and 1000 rpm. As it got worse, it crept up into higher revs. If I was loafing thru town with the engine turning over at about 1400 or 1500 rpm, I could feel little jerks, almost like a misfire. Easing into my garage to park (tight space) became quite the challenge with the ragged throttle response. However, if you put your foot into it a bit, it would be fine. Trying to "feather" the throttle was where it really showed itself. My dealer did the MotorVac procedure on my car. This runs cleaner thru the fuel rail and injectors for several minutes, then the cleaner is run thru the engine. (As I understand it.) I don't know if the fuel rail / injector portion matters or not to be honest. Anyway, the problem disappeared. I was around 100k miles when this first happened. The diagnosis of carbon left me a little speechless. These cars have ECU's, MAF, fuel maps, etc., and I do 90% highway driving. Whodathunkit. Over time, I would sense it coming back. A bottle of cleaner or a tank of premium would usually fix it up. Until recently, around 200k miles now. I've been trying to avoid doing another MotorVac (for various reasons). I changed out the O2 sensor. That helped considerably. Although no CEL, it was probably going and causing the mixture to be even more rich. My gas milage had slipped a little (maybe 5%), and that has improved again with the new O2 sensor. I've been meaning to try the "water" treatment to "steam clean" the engine. I just haven't gotten to it. (There was a post recently about this.) For right now, I'm living with it. I have to wonder if the MAF might be going. I know it can cause issues like this. Personally, I think it is still residual carbon. Of course, there can be many other reasons as discussed in the prior posts. But if you've ruled them out, then it might very well be carbon build up. For what it's worth... Commuter

I don't know about Subie's, as my 97 OB is the first one I've owned and it's an automatic... but... On my 88 Honda Civic, this started happening around the 8 year mark. I was told the clutch was going. I found that hard to believe, as there was no slippage occurring. That's what I had experieced with prior manual cars. As it got worse, it started crunching while downshifting into the lower gears as well. Indeed, replacing the clutch solved the problem. I can't fully recall, but I think the pressure plate was failing. The clutch was not disengaging 100%, hence the grind trying to get into reverse. Just a thought. Commuter

My 97 OB Phase I has the oil filter on the passenger side... Commuter

I have a 97 Legacy Outback, automatic. I'm not fully up on the mechanics of this area, but offer up this. The clutch pack (in the tail end of the transmission, connects to the center drive shaft to the rear wheels) is what provides the car with AWD. These have been known to go bad for a couple of reasons. If this needs replacing, the dollars I've typically seen mentioned is around $800 US as a prior post indicated. The solenoid is what controls the clutch pack. It engages the clutch pack, sending more torque to the rear wheels when slippage is detected. I don't know the repair cost of this item, but I would expect it to be significantly less. Unless that solenoid is awfully expensive. Can anyone comment? Do put the FWD fuse in immediately. You can drive indefinitely like this without harm. (That is, assuming it functions properly.) If the binding goes away, you know that you have isolated the problem to the center clutch pack area, but it still doesn't tell you exactly what is wrong. I don't know if the 'code' for the solenoid is "smart" enough to know whether it is the solenoid itself, or something else. (Eg - I got an EGR code earlier this year. There was nothing wrong with the EGR. It was a sensor that TESTS the EGR. ) Do check the tire sizes as mentioned. The only sure way I know is to jack the wheel up fully and wrap a tape measure around it. Make sure the tire pressure is correct. Subaru's specs only allow for 1/4" difference of the circumference. Even if the tires are the same make and model, with apparent similar wear, there can be this difference, or more. You can try changing out the fluids in the differentials. Not likely to solve your problems, but if you don't have the car's service history, I'd do it anyway. Personally, I prefer synthetic gear oils. A question - Can someone tell me if that center clutch pack is dry or wet? I've never been sure. A change of the transmission fluid is not a bad idea either for the same reasons mentioned above. Good luck. Let us know how you make out. Commuter

There is more to it. I think you'd find the full story on NASIOC or the old i-club if you really want to dig into it. Phase I DOHC Central thrust bearing on crank Has an EGR 4 bolts holding tranny bell housing Phase II SOHC Crank thrust bearing moved to one end (rear?) Lessening / eliminating a crank walk issue (I've rarely heard of this happening) My dealer told me that the casting in the bottom end was beefed up. Heavier ribs, etc in the crank area. No EGR circuit 7 (?) bolts holding tranny to engine. The extra ones are additional, so older trannies will bolt up to newer engines and vice versa. I've heard that they played with piston pin offset and bearing area etc as part of trying to get rid of the piston slap. I can't substantiate it though. For the most part, I think they just paid closer attention to tolerances to fight this problem. Rev limit is a hint lower on the Phase II (by 250 rpm I believe). The hp stayed the same at 165. The torque rose from 162 to 166. (I'm leaving out the 1995 engine here.) I think the revs for these figures stayed pretty much the same. More importantly, the curves were "fattened" in the midrange. Something like 15 or 20% better for the Phase II. Also, gas mileage improved (5 or 10% maybe?). The biggest contributor to these two was the SOHC design. Considerably less losses. That's about all I can think of right now. Commuter

I recall Emily of CCR Inc saying that some people were putting 2.2's in the Outbacks. Apparently it's not a big deal. Same ECU and wiring harness IIRC. You might want to give them a call. Commuter

If it's any comfort, I've got almost 60k miles on my new headgaskets. 97 OB. Fingers crossed. My dealer did a lot of head gaskets on the Phase I engine in 2002. I was told that things had pretty much 'dried up' earlier this year. I know that there are failures as well on the Phase II engine. One seems to be hearing of this now and again along with some of the newer Phase I's (eg 1999). Commuter

The filters for the H4 and H6 engines are virtually identical. The only significant difference is in the backplate. The H4's backplate is dished outward slightly. The H6 is dished inward. Be careful putting the H6 filter on the H4, the threads "may" not catch sufficiently. I'd be surprised if there is any difference in the filter media itself between these filters, but I don't know that for a fact. Physical size is only one indication of the filtering capability of the filter media. I've cut open a few brands of filters in the past couple of years. You really want to know the filter media area. Beyond that, you really want to know the capability of the filter media. (Single and multi-pass effieciencies at different micron sizes, pressure drop for a given flow, dirt loading capacity...) It's nearly impossible to find out this sort of data. The Subaru OEM filter is made by Purolator. When I cut one open, it had fewer pleats than the Purolator PureONE filter. (I don't know how it compares to the Premium filter.) FWIW, the "other" Subaru OEM filter in Canada is made by Fram and it had even fewer pleats still. ALL these filters are (practically) the same exterior size. If you want a better filter, try the Purolator PureONE. It has some synthetic fibers that allow it to filter to smaller micron levels. It has a fairly generous filter media area. I have no clue about flow, as I've never seen any data on that. It's a bit pricey, but if you buy 6 or 12, you should be able to get a pretty good deal. Beyond that, there are other filters that will fit. You just need the right thread and gasket diameter. Some people have gone this route. Now whether other "specs" are ok, I cant tell you. (Eg, does the bypass valve open at the prescribed pressure... ) And beyond that, you can look at premium filters, or bypass filter systems, permanent washable filters, etc. Go nuts. Commuter

They got rid of the EGR in the evolution from the 2.5L DOHC Phase I engine to the 2.5L SOHC Phase II engine. Sorry, I can't offer anything on this one. Would a manifold leak do anything like this? Commuter

A tire's contact patch area is a function of the weight on the tire and the pressure inside the tire. For example, if there is 900 lbs of weight at that wheel, and 30 psi tire pressure, the contact patch will be 30 square inches. (900 / 30 = 30) The shape of the contact patch varies with the tire size / profile. A narrower tire will have an elongated, more oval contact patch. The area however will be unchanged. Commuter

99 Legacy Outback will be the Phase I 2.5L DOHC engine which usually suffers from "internal" headgasket leaks as described. Been there.. Is there any sludge in the coolant expansion tank? The combustion gases percolating thru the coolant will cause an oilly looking sludge. And the bubbles as mentioned. Is it only happening under "load"? That is, highway driving, towing, going up a hill, hauling lots of people or stuff? Sometimes the leak won't even appear until the engine is stressed. I've heard of people driving around town for weeks with everything seeming to be fine (after a t-stat or whatever) and then one day they hit the highway and BAM, the overheating reappears. In my own personal ordeal, I never once saw the temperature gauge budge. I first noticed the sludge in the coolant. Once driven, the tank would rise to a high level and bubbles would start showing up. Mine never overflowed, but that happens to people as well when the leak is of sufficient size. Commuter

Purolator 14460 is Subaru specific and fits (all?) H4 engines. Purolator 14459 is the generic filter (cross references with a whole bunch of other filters) and fits the Subaru H6 engines mostly. I believe the 3.0L H6 and the SVX 3.3L call for this part number. I don't know about the 2.7L engine. The difference? The 14460 has a slightly convex base plate to "push out" the threads. Subaru's oil filter 'stud' is on the short side. Filters with the concave base plates don't always catch sufficiently on the threads. And for the same reason, you can run into problems with aftermarket filters. Ask me how I know. I've been there... But I solved it. :-) The Subaru Purolator OEM filter is a little different again. The guts look to be about the same (as the "L"), but there is no anti-drain back valve. And (IIRC) the gasket was of a semi-round cross section, not square. (I've got this all written down, but I don't have access to it right now.) Commuter

I see you have already made your decision, but I'll chime in anyway. I have a 97 OB myself. I bought it at 2 years old. Last year, the head gaskets failed at 258k km. Fixed that, then the bottom end went out on the engine. I ended up with a new (but from ~97 or 98) block in my car. It's much better than the original engine. Less noise (piston slap). Less oil consumption. I figure I got a bit lucky on this one. If they put a new block in in 2001, you may even have the Phase II block, I'm not sure. The head gaskets are a problem. They've been changed 3 or 4 times for this engine. The design / part no. that is. I know that what I got in early 2002 was different again from what was around previously. Other than that, the car has been very good to me. I'm up to 350,000 km now. It has some quirks (like wanting to carbon up a bit... battling that one again now). Transmissions seem to be pretty good. Drivetrain holds up well. A few people have had wheel bearings go. I had one fail on the rear a couple of years ago. The center diff (clutch pack) is a bit sensitive. Make sure that tires are all of equal diameter and mind the pressure. Make sure the fuse goes in the FWD holder if the donut spare is ever put on. Never never tow with 2 wheels on the ground. I've done quite a few little things to my car over the years. Door tweeters, Subaru in-dash CD/tape/radio, rear swaybar and links, rain sensing wipers, lighweight crank pulley, K&N filter, synthetic fluids all around, alarm/keyless entry/remote start. And probably a few more things I'm forgetting. Oh... just added a roof mounted washer fluid sprayer for the rear hatch. Fun little job that was. We'll definitely be able to help you out as you get to know the car. I wonder if all the climate control bulbs are working... And if the metal plate that the rear hatch handle / licence plate bulbs attach to is rusted... No biggie, either of these. Commuter

If you buy the Purolator filter, there is the "L" which I believe they call Premium, and there is the PureONE filter, which has a "PL" as the start of the number. The PureONE uses synthetic fiber in the filter media and has a greater number of pleats. It filters to lower micron sizes. They can be quite expensive, but if you are interested, ask what 6 or 12 would be. One aftermarket auto shop in our area will sell them for nearly half the price if you take a case of 12. Based on cutting some open and other peoples detective work, it appears that the Subaru Purolator OEM filter is something akin to the "L" filter. However, I have no way to know what the filter media is made up of. (IIRC, it actually had a few less pleats than the Purolator filter.) I'm almost postivie that it does not contain any of the synthetic filter media... based purely on price. I'll throw my 2 cents in about filter magnets. They do work. I've cut open about a dozen filters now and there is always something retained by the magnets. One time purchase, totally reusable. Commuter

Sorry... my engineering side coming through. The Imperial gallon is not 5 quarts... it is 4 quarts (Imperial), same as the US gallon in that sense. But, both units are a different size from each other. Just check any conversion chart. 1 Imperial gallon is "close" to 5 US quarts, granted. (4.8) 1 Imperial gallon = 4.55 liters 1 US gallon = 3.78 liters The Imperial gallon is 20% bigger. I really wish the conversion to metric hadn't gotten derailed in North America... :-\ Commuter

OEM wires for Subaru are quite good from everything I've heard. You should be fine with them. I have Magnecors and I'm happy with them. You really aren't going to notice any "performance" increase over OEM wires. You are paying for a high quality wire with low (electrical) noise and a long life. Given the mileage on your car, you may not want to spend the extra. That is, unless you intend to keep the vehicle long enough yet that you'd go thru another set of OEM wires. Commuter

Setright is on track. The crank and camshaft seals are known for leaking on Subaru engines. Your timing belt may have oil on it too. Plan on doing a full timing belt 'plus' job. That is, belt, seals, service oil pump, maybe t-stat, check belt tensioner, etc. There are some good articles and write ups on this for Subaru engines. I saved several pdfs that were on a site a while back. I think it is also part of the endwrench articles. The other possibility is valve covers. If it is only that, then you could hold off on the other stuff for a while. Does your engine call for a t-belt change at 60k, or 105k miles? Commuter

97 Legacy Outback... 347,000+ km or about 217,000 miles. Engine replaced at 260,000 km though. Commuter

climate control backlight Commuter