idosubaru

strap to pallet take to closest UPS terminal. should be some online information, guidelines, and pricing direct from them. they don't like sharp edges or grease/dirt.

subaru seat complaints: Why Outback Seats Suck: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/61-general-discussions/25919-why-outback-seats-suck.html http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/30408-after-market-solutions-uncomfortable-front-passenger-seat.html http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2296391/uncomfortable-car-seats-in-new-subaru-outback it's fairly common to hear complaints. There's plenty of people that don't care at all or notice anything. People are picky (that's pretty common in every other aspect of America) or physical issues are the main genesis of the issues.

check for external headgasket leaks and torque bind. there are users that complain about Subaru seats and having bad backs so that will be tough. the allure and novelty of a new car purchase will likely assuage any minor red flags you feel during a short test drive. you might find a couple other owners that don't like their Outback seats due to back issues and see what they say. i know there's a few on subaruoutback.org and probably on here as well. i'm unsure if people with bad backs are just likely to complain about lots of vehicles...that seems possible if you've got known issues...or if Subaru's are not great fits for people with bad backs. make sure you know it's not a truck. "offroad kind of guy" - could mean multiple things: 1. you'll love the practicality of a Subaru over a regular vehicle. 2. or it could mean you hate it because it's nothing like a full size truck.

i unbolted the bracket on the side of the transmission and could not move the cable. so either: 1. that bracket alone isn't enough slack to move it 2. the lever is under load and can't move by hand (binding?) 3. it's seized like you said. i did this 10 years ago and i'm almost positive i simply unbolted that side bracket and moved the lever. at that time i attached a rod to it and passed it into the cabin so i could just shift it by hand. LOL i'll have to try jack the car up and seeing if i can unload the gears/diff and if that might help, i didn't see any threads or info regarding that cable seizing in the sleeve, but i get what you're saying since i've taken apart some speedo cables that get corroded/rusty inside the sleeve. this is a west coast vehicle with no rust...but who knows.

ah right, those. maybe his question can be answered this way: any XT with a digidash would also have a trip computer?

pretty sure some folks have not been able to find the "mph to km" button, maybe it's on some dashes but not all of them? all XT's have trip computers.

there's an XT specific forum too - subaruxt.com, almost all the members there are members here but some frequent that board and aren't really on here very often. might find an XT antenna over there i'd imagine. some folks have simply fitted alternate aftermarket antennas too that don't retract.

i never buy those kits - they generally include stuff you don't need, don't include things i want, and are high priced, but some people like them. 1. you need headgaskets and intake manifold gaskets at a bare minimum. 2. common to also replace exhaust manifold gaskets, valve cover, and spark plug tube gaskets, water pump gasket then cam seals, crank seal, rear separator plate with metal stamped variety if this one has the plastic style (though it may be new enough to have metal already), and oil pump oring. that's everything you need unless you're getting into something more exotic like valve stem seals or fuel injector seals, but those aren't commonly replaced unless there's a compelling reason. Water pump gasket get from Subaru. I'd prefer Subaru, or the same high quality brown material: cam and crank seals.

Gloyale - Thank you much, makes perfect sense, that system wasn't clear to me. ***Question: Is it like a momentary switch - it only needs vacuum to move/switch, but not stay in position? Or does it need "constant" vacuum to stay in one, or both, positions? I'm almost positive I applied vacuum to the diaphragm but I was unclear how it worked so who knows if i did it right or tried both.

then follow my second and third suggestions above. i would guess 90-94 legacy are all the same. you haven't said whether it's a sedan or wagon. you need the trunk side, not the body side right? there's a 1997-1998 one on ebay, i imagine you could find a used one plugging around on the internet. or call Subaru and see what the damage is.

that's probably one of Subaru's most economical, practical, and reliable platforms you can get. keep the oil properly maintained and don't overheat it and they easily make 300,000 miles. that era has one issue i can think of. automatics around that vintage have a transmission issue where the cooler in the radiator clogs. it's around 1991-1992 that this i applicable. if so I'd look that up and find out the remedy for it, i think there's an additional in-line filter that's added before the radiator cooler. personally i like reliability and not getting stranded. to that end i'd install a timing belt kit - pulley, tensioner, belt right away. that will leave you stranded if any of those components break. the old style timing tensioner in that vehicle almost never fails, i never replace those (whereas you should always replace the new style tensioners, they fail fairly commonly). the kits usually just come wtih the pulley, not the hydraulic mechanism. they're only $60 - $120 on rockauto, amazon, ebay for an entire kit. good idea to get the oil pump and cam seals, cam orings, water pump replaced while the timing belt is off too since it has to come off to replace all of those. and those seals are a couple bucks and take a few extra minutes to replace with the belt off. plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter would be nice simply based on age but those won't leave you stranded, you'll get poor gas mileage or performance or check engine light usually. up to 1996 are non-interference. 1997+ Ej22's and all other USDM Subaru engines are interference after that.

yes, 4 cylinder non-turbos are actually easy to swap heads in the vehicle. no big deal. i prefer to leave them in the vehicle they're so easy. air tools makes it even nicer zipping all those bolts out.

ah ha thanks Miles - i did exactly that - swapped the two vacuum lines on the solenoids and there was no change. so the diaphragm is that big circular thing on the transmission - it likely needs replaced? are those easily replaced in the vehicle? i hope so.

oh right, it's a manual transmission. copy, i'll disconnect it, see if i see anything obvious while i do. at least winter is on the way out so no big deal.

can you bend it back? check parts wanted forum here and subaruoutback.org there's usually multiple people parting out a vehicle. or www.car-part.com

I replaced the solenoid, same exact symptoms. The 4WD locking mechanism is staying locked. 1988 XT6. All vacuum lines, wiring, and buttons look fine. As mentioned, i replaced the solenoid and no change in symptoms. Could that large circular doohickey on the side of the transmission be to blame? What is that thing anyway?

i'm talking about the hard-wired ones, they work fine, not the wireless transmitters, i wouldn't use those. they plug into the antenna cable and have a standard 1/4" or whatever aux cable/plug. i've bought them off ebay/amazon.

you haven't done the most common fix for this issue. replace the oil pump. that has worked on every single ticking EA/ER engine i've ever worked on, except one. what is odd to me - is that in no case has the oil pump ever shown any signs of wear or issues. so i'm not sure what causes them to perform this way, i only know that it works. that has been the experience of many others on this forum as well. the only one where HLA's were the issue had been run for thousands of miles with a blown headgasket and two HLA's were completely seized due to severe heating. i don't consider that "normal". HLA's, oil supply, etc could be the culprit but until you replace the oil pump i'd consider those unlikely.

hard-wired FM modulators are another simple option too.

1990-1996 EJ22's are non-interference. there is one report of what is supposed to be an original 1996 EJ22 with valve damage on subaruoutback.org, suggesting maybe some late 96's are interference. whether that's entirely true or not may be suspect and if it is possible, would be rare. all Ej18's are also non-interference if you venture into any imprezas. all Ej25's are interference.

we have three people that just signed up this month and worked fine. probably a glitch in the sign up process if you're positive it's not email related - probably need to try again?

i'm a moderator there, though i can't do any administrator stuff, are you sure you checked spam boxes, folders, used the right email address, all that stuff?

pull the drivers side timing belt cover, the timing tensioners can slap when they begin to fail and it sounds very much like rod knock, at least the new style tensioners. a 96 *should* old style tensioner but they're easily interchangeable so best to check. piston slap is really common and gets quieter as it warms up, sounds like this one is sort of doing that? could be rod knock if it's ever been run low on oil, overheated, or a really long change interval. any signs of significant oil loss, engine work, or cooling system items replaced (suggesting prior overheats) "cold" is relative - in CA it's still cold compared to temperatures seen during petroleum based explosions in a combustion chamber.

i hope i didn't confuse you, it's not to check if the belt is slipping. it's to check if the harmonic balancer/crank pulley is slipping. the rubber ring midway across (concentrically) the pulley can separate from the metal. the outer part of the pulley won't spin as fast as it should and reduces output. happens ocassionally, not that rare. draw a line across the face of the pulley itself, in particualrly across that rubber ring. if the inner metal and outer metal separate and are no longer connected, the pulley is shot.

you can just replace the valve stem seals alone, but like they said i wouldn't worry about it you can do a compression/leak down test to test and see where any leakage is coming from first if you want. adjust the valves.