mrtn400

Yeah, I won't get deterred from Subs. I specifically went out looking for an outback that was about this model year. My grandpa has one and I thought it was awesome because it has so much room, it seems to just keep going, and they just look so cool, even 13 years later. There are a few other repairs that need to be done and I plan on doing them myself, so I won't let this little episode stop me. Thanks for the link. No I don't see anything about trannies, but it's nice to know I can get a rebuilt engine if I wreck anything.

I have a '97 OBW and I'm looking for an alarm/keyless entry package. I know there was a dealer installed option made, but would an aftermarket package be more cost effective or easier to install than the factory option (if it's still even available)? Go easy on me, I'm new to cars in general.

Thanks for the idea. My biggest issues with doing the transmission repair myself were that I wouldn't have anything to drive until I got it fixed and that if I messed something up then I would make the repairs take way longer or I would be out of a car. This way I can fix the issue on my own time and without the worries and in the end I'll have a spare working transmission. Heck, I might even be able to sell it to help my mom out.

That sounds like a great idea.

Yeah, I wish I was a little more in control here. I tried one last time and she isn't willing to budge. She's quite certain she wants it this way. Looking at it on the bright side, she is confident that I can handle the few other belts and gaskets (I have no clue which yet) that need to be replaced, so I am getting a little further with her. Thanks with all of your support and advice. I wish you guys had some kind of a rep system or some way that I could help or repay you in return. mrtn400

If anything, she turned me to her side. :-\ Basically, she's heard nothing but good about the dealership from a lot her friends. She isn't so sure that I'm up to the task of starting out working on cars by completely disassembling the transmission. From everyone I've talked to now (my dad, a local transmission shop, and the dealership), the junkyard tranny isn't a very reliable option, especially because of the ammount of labor involved if the transmission doesn't turn out good. Also, both her and my dad have had major automatic transmission issues and repair horror stories from their '90s Fords, so they are skeptical whether or not shops can fix them, let a lone a scrawny 17 year old kid with no prior car experience. I do see your point on how it could be done for way cheaper, but I really don't have the experience to try to tackle this. I understand it's very very expensive but I've spent a few hours talking to my mom, a few different shops, and some of her friends that may or may not help me. I see that the repair is simple in concept, but I really have no idea what basically anything under the hood does, so I feel like I'm starting out working on cars at the same place as starting out working on computers by volt-modding a video card. Basically my mom, despite my attempts to convince her, feels better about going with the new transmission option, regardless of price. I also really need a car ASAP, and the dealership said it will be done as soon as they get the new tranny, either tomorrow or Friday. It takes the stress off of me by not making me have to repair the one shot I have of a car with absolutely no experience. Best of all I do still get to learn how to work on my car as the dealership is giving me a list of the other minor repairs that need to be done (some belts, gaskets, etc). Hopefully I don't look like too big of an idiot, as I'm basically saying on a DIY computer form how I want BestBuy's Geek Squad to work on my computer when I could easily fix it at home. I do want to learn this stuff, I just don't think starting with the transmission is the best way to get my feet wet. Thank you guys so much for the advice, and I really wish you lived closer so one of you could help me with doing the transmission job.

Well now this morning my mom has completely undone any convincing I did yesterday but I'm trying as hard as I can, saying things like I'll never drive it if she gets the new tranny. :-\ She thinks that if I swap the solenoid/transfer clutch, it's still an evil misunderstood transmission and it'll break whenever it feels like it. She also says that the neighbor is done with larger projects like a transmission swap so it'd just be me and my friend working on it. Does it still sound like we'd be able to handle it?

Ok. I convinced her of what you said, but it wasn't easy. She has this "gut feeling." :-\ I see your point, and I think I'll go with doing the duty-c/transfer clutch swap myself and a new set of tires from somewhere else. We have AAA so I'm pretty sure we can get it towed back for free. This way I learn a lot more about the car, I have a project to do, and it's way cheaper. So do I finally have a good plan? Thanks for seeing this through, GD! Thanks for the info on the lifetime alignment, it sounds like a great deal. I think I might have them inspect it too once I yank it from the dealer.

So here's another update: They looked at the transmission and the whole thing is in pretty rough shape. They said a whole new one would only be a few hundred more than the repairs to the existing one, and they'll warranty the new one for 2 years/24k miles. My mom jumped all over it when they mentioned the warranty. I also called around on the tires and front end allignment, and they were pretty on par with prices, so I decided to have them fix them. They're also in the process of a full inspection, and so far there's a lot of belts and fluids and other minor (but important, I know) things that I'll fix. On the DIY fixing end of things, I'll have room in the garage to work on the car or leave it sit overnight if I need to. I have a friend that's pretty into cars who wants to help me get it running in top shape just for the fun of it. I also have a neighbor who said he'd gladly loan me tools. My mom also knows someone with an engine hoist who might let me use it if I needed to. So does that seem to cover all of my bases? I know the dealership transmission swap isn't the cheapest way to go, but I (and my mom, who's opinion really matters most since she's paying) really like the mindset of the two year/24k warranty.

So my first step here is to grab a "basic" repair manual of some sort, right? Do any of you have suggestions?

We had the timing belt checked and there was no cracking or drying and the factory writing on it was clear as day, so hopefully that doesn't need any attention. Hopefully it doesn't get near $3000 or I'm SOL for a car. :-\ Yeah, I sure hope so. I kind of figured that when we called to check up on it and they said that it now had stalling issues and they had no clue why the AT OIL TEMP light was coming on (when even a car-tard like me read the code and told them). I understand, but if I can play them as being at fault for this (as I feel they are) and get them to fix it for free, it's one less thing on my plate to learn about and then have to fix.

Thanks for the advice. It has about 192k on it. I think I'll probably take it somewhere for this if they haven't been replaced as it sounds like it's not the best work to start learning with. We have a separate 2 (maybe 3) car garage with pretty much only a weight machine and a '64 1/2 Mustang badly in need of some help, so I know I have room to work on it and I can just leave it there if I need to. Plus, I'm pretty sure I can borrow some jacks and tools from my neighbor (and probably even a spare brain and a hand or two). I have no clue as to what's causing it to stall, as this has only happened since it was taken into the dealership (it hasn't happened to me). I know my mom put some money down for a general inspection, and I think I might just cancel the tires and the alignment. The inspection money is already spent so I might as well have them look it over. Plus, I'm hoping they fix the stalling as even though the car is starting to look like a dud, I never had any engine related issues, error lights, or stalling for the two days I did have it, so it hardly seems coincidence that it started stalling only after they got it. So either way, don't let them do any repairs?

Thanks for the welcome and replies! Oh and I live in Carmichael CA, which is near Sacramento. Yeah, the car is ours and there's no returns on it of course. I'll talk to my mom about getting it out of the dealership and see if I can change the duty C solenoid with the help of my neighbor who is pretty good with cars. As far as I know, the head gaskets are original. Even though there are a lot of probable failing parts, do you think I would be handle it? It's almost a rhetorical question as it's my car now and there's nothing I can do to change that, so if I don't get it fixed, I'm SOL. I'm not a very car-oriented person, but I'm interested in learning to fix these issues and I'm very good at computer repair, music instrument repair, and electronics/sound systems, so I do believe I could pick this up fairly quickly. Though I'm not sure as to whether I should pull the car from the dealership. I'm 100% sure there weren't any stalling issues, and I did drive it a fair bit on Thursday and Friday. I don't want to pull it out and have another issue, probably dealership caused, to deal with. Would it be better to cancel everything we can, ask for them to fix the stalling issue, and then bring it back? Thanks for the help!

Hey! I just got my '97 Legacy Outback on Thursday, and it's my first car! Hopefully I'll be sticking around here for info on mods and repairs. It's the 2.5L automatic version. It's got leather seats, seat heaters, window defrosters, oil heater, and pretty much anything else you could think of. It's pretty sweet. I wish I could grab a pic or two of it, but... No surprise, but on Friday the AT OIL TEMP light came on. Not so much as a solid on but the 16 tick error indicator. I came here, found some info on the diag for the TCU, and checked it. I got code 24, which is Duty Solenoid C. I also checked the transmission fluid (with the help of my neighbor ) to find it extremely low. Since the tires are also pretty old and there's an odd one, my mom said that we could just take it to a local Sub dealership so they could look at it. So right now it's sitting at the dealership waiting for a complete inspection, new tires, some kind of allignment (something with the tires; maybe front-end?), and a look into the TCU error. And somehow they managed to get it to stall every time they go to start it, (which didn't happen once, either on the two test drives or the lots of driving on Thursday and Friday). Hopefully they fix it and they don't try to charge us for it. Time for waiting. :-\ I do actually have a question though. When I did the diagnostic on the TCU, I checked the "Previous problem history check procedure" and not the "Existing problem, check procedure". I assumed that the previous problem history was the thing to check as I figured the existing problem would only look for something wrong for that time I had started the car. Was I right to check the problem history instead of the existing problem? (the guide I followed is attached) Oh, and sorry for getting way off topic of the introduction. This is a pretty sweet forum!