Frank B

It's possible that your heater core is partially plugged as well. If it was warmer out, I'd suggest connecting a garden hose to your heater core to flush it. As mentioned above, an air pocket in your cooling system can cause a lot of problems. I've learned to disconnect one end of one of the heater hoses and turn it up so it's almost as high as the radiator neck. Then slowly pour in coolant so the air can escape form the heater hose. Once coolant starts to come out of the heater hose, or heater core end, stop and hook it all back up. Sometimes there will still be air in it, and you'll know when the temp climbs above normal when you first start and idle the engine. If it does climb, just shut it down and walk away until it cools off, once it does and the rad cap is removed that air usually escapes. Sometimes squeezing the rad hoses, with the rad cap on and system closed, to "pump" the coolant around will move the air so it can find it's way to the rad cap. Is it possible that the rad itself isn't getting hot enough with the cold temps outside? Where's the fan switch on that year Legacy? If the engine is hot and the rad is not, you may have a clogged radiator or bad water pump. The impeller can rust away if the coolant system hasn't been maintained over the years. Installing an aftermarket temp gauge to see exactly what the temp is may be the way to go too.

What's the proper name, or part number for the rubber plug on the 1996 EJ22 drivers side cylinder head? Mine is leaking a bit of oil. It looks too old and hard to come out witout damage so I don't want to fool with it until I have a new one in hand.

Yes I did, and there was a minimal amount of play, I didn't properly measure it but it didn't move enough for me to think there was a problem. It's just odd that it didn't do this until the first drive after the clutch replacement.

I've had this Legacy for a couple years now, and I've put 36,000 miles on it in that time. I've replaced the shifter bushings once with Subaru parts and just three weeks ago I replaced the clutch. I pulled the engine to do it and replaced the rear main oil seal and the oil seperator plate while it was out. Everything went back in fine, but now the tranny pops out of fourth gear, and only fourth. It happens when I let off the throttle. I can see the shifter moving forward and back in every gear when I get on or come off of the throttle so I guess the tranny/engine is moving? I pulled the shifter linkage out and this time I used steel sleeve bushings and 3/8" bolts instead of plastic bushings. There's no play in the shifter linkage now. I double checked the pitch stopper and I did put it right back into the same position but I can see that the bushings are soft. I tried moving it forward and back in different positions to see if it changed anything but nope. I just think it's odd that this would happen only after replacing the clutch so I have to suspect that it's just a matter of getting everything into the correct position. What do you think could be the problem? Worn engine/tranny mounts? Worn tranny internals? Anyone have this happen before? 1996 Legacy 317,700 miles

Thanks! It has over 313,000 on it so I bet the springs and struts are well worn. And it does have a rear sway bar, but its tiny.... I'll start looking for parts, thanks again.

I have a 96 legacy brighton wagon and I'd like to get it to handle better. What years of subarus can I get parts from like struts, sway bars, etc? I know the outback bars are bigger but what year did the chassis change? From what I understand, my brighton wagon is a BK chassis. I remember reading about it here but can't find it now. It's been a long time since I've been on the board so there's more posts since then.

I've found that driving my car too easy produces the code. If I drive a little harder, not much, like keeping it in gear longer in between shifts, downshifting up hills in order to keep the engine speed up, I won't get the code. If the engine is lugging or I'm stuck behind a granny, the code will come up. My car has 312,000 miles on it and the cats aren't melted.

I just stumbled across this online, I'm not the one selling them, and maybe it's been posted before, I haven't been on the board in a long time. http://gearheartshirts.com/products/1016746-subaru-brat

Look under the dash, up under the steering wheel for the relay, I remember seeing a green one in that area on my 96. If it's really hot shen the car stalls, it's either a bas relay, or a bad pump drawing too much amperage and it's overheating the relay. Also, scan for fault codes even if the check engine light is not on, someone may have disabled the light in the past, unless it comes on when you turn on the ignition. It should come on with the rest of the lights on the dash (air bag light, oil light, etc) when you start the car ,then go out. It's to teat that all the warning lights work, and if they don't work then, your not going to know you have a problem later. The fuel pump is easy to get to, there's an access hole in the the floor. Find it, check the connector to make sure it's in good shape. And also check to see what the voltage is at that connector. If the relay or wiring is the problem, the voltage may be low. You may have to use pins to pierce thru the wire insulation to get a proper reading, if you just disconnect the connector and put your test leads on it, that will interupt the circuit and may give you a false reading. With a pin stuck into each wire, the pump will be drawing amperage and give you a better idea of what's going on. Just tape it up after to seal the hole, or use silicone to seal it. Also try to bang on the gas tank just about where the pump is or remove the access cover and tap hard on the top of the tank right above the pump after it stalls, if you hear the pump come back on and/or the car starts after you bang it, then that fuel pump is bad. That works on other cars anyway to tell if the pump is bad.

All those good cats getting replaced are because those so-called mechanics don't know what they're doing, and they're looking for easy money from people that don't know any better. In this day and age it's not hard to look up information online, it would take less than a minute for someone that doesn't know a thing about cars to find out that 0420 doesn't mean that they need a new cat. It is a waste Gary, I agree 100%. I think it has something to do with the air/fuel mixture and/or the catalytic converter temps. I think that, because the only time 0420 comes up on my 96 legacy is when I'm driving like a granny, or stuck behind one! I'm not a reckless driver but I'm no slouch either. I think when people drive easy, it causes the condition that will throw this code. I'm sure that you all have noticed that subarus like the higher rpm. The gear ratios are lower so the engine rpm is higher in any given gear compared to most other cars. I think when people drive easy, or the auto transmissions shift up too soon for fuel economy, it causes the lean mix/cold cat condition, and throws the code. Maybe ask your customers to keep it out of overdrive/5th gear unless they're on the interstate and see if it changes things. They may even notice an increse in fuel economy too...

I use Chevron Delo 15w40, diesel engine oil in my 96 Legacy(all year), 03 Silhouette van, mowers, skid loader, my Harley, and even as bar and chain oil in my saws. Because it's crazy cheap for me at work. Just change it when it gets dirty. With the better oils, you can go longer inbetween changes. In the big trucks that the Delo 15w40 is made for, that large, hard working, diesel engine goes 14,000 miles or more between changes. The filters are better, but still, that's 14,000 miles! If you can swing it, take a sample from your old oil the next time you change it, and send it away to be analyzed. You may be surprised at how much life is left in it.

Keep in mind that when you do a bench test, you may be using a source that is of a higher amperage and or voltage than what the part would be subjected to while in the car. Some is lost in the circuits in the car. A bad pump can sometimes be "fixed" by running a new circuit directly from the battery because of the stronger, direct power. I suggest getting a cheap pump on Ebay, just the pump, not the assembly. If anything, just to use to test the circuit. If it all works out, then save up or shop around for the pump that you want. I've used those before with great success. In a Lumina I had, ans S10 that I had, and in my dads Ranger. They are all still working. The lumina was 3 years ago, the S10 2, the Ranger 1. This is one from the same seller that I bought mine, http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-FUEL-PUMP-STRAINER-SUBARU-VEHICLES-VARIOUS-GA1301-/380377247308?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ALegacy&hash=item5890402e4c

I have a 96 brighton with 299700 miles on it. It had a random tick when I bought it(282,000 miles on it). The oil wasn't changed as often as it should have been because it had a lot of oil leaks and they just added oil more often than changing it. So, I changed the oil once a week( about 300 miles) for 4 weeks, after fixing the oil leaks. That took care of the tick. I use Delo 15w40. I have used Marvels and SeaFoam on older subarus I've had with very good results. I had one that sat for over a year, once I got it running it sounded like all the lifters were ticking! I put half a bottle of seafoam in the oil and let the engine idle, the ticking got quieter and quieter until it just stopped after just 10 minutes of idling. I changed the oil again and never had another tick.

You have to get the old plastic off, no matter what you use to polish it. The old, damaged plastic has to come off first. It will always come back since the type of plastic used can't hold up to the UV rays, but your work will last much longer if you sand off the top layer of plastic first. Then the polish or whatever you use, may help protect it longer. I haven't had to redo mine, yet, and it's been a year now.

There you go, different pistons, shaved heads, better cam, fuel injection maybe, with the carbon fiber prop and other lightening, that ea81 will perform well. Then sell the ej18 to get some of the cost back.