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passengers side kick panel pulled - don't see anything obvious...although one of the plastic pins holding a wiring connector/bundle is pulled out as if someone has been in there before. now trying to figure out which connector is related to the back up lights.

yep - what they're saying. i always get them from the dealer, i think it was $68 last one i bought a few years ago for a96 or 98 legacy/outback of some sort.

some other folks are saying that "no" they sholdn't work either....and made the point that if the fuse is powered those things should work with the car off, key out of the car - like blinkers. i don't know - but it's the same on my 96 so must be the norm.

LOL - the same connector you mentioned in your last post - nice work! did you get that connector location from the FSM? if you have the page number handy let me know and i'll look it up tomorrow. if not no worries i'll find it. fingers crossed.

making a non-turbo vehicle "fast" is not really possible...unless you have a ton of time and/or thousands of dollars to put into it (rebuilt block, pistons, valves, cams, porting, polishings, lightweight everything, etc.) yes the cold air intake might give you some increase...it'll be like "i think i felt that" kind of increase. so if that's worth your time then get all the cold air intake, exhaust, fancy filters, and stuff you want and go. you'll end up with something that isn't appreciably better performing, but sometimes it's still fun to learn and try too, most of us have been there at one point or another. can't really make a non-turbo motor much faster, particularly a very small one. forced induction vehicles (turbo's) can benefit enormously from a variety of things, normally aspirated engines have really small percentage gains to be had...almost none really.

*** I think Cougar you might be able to figure this out with this new info. Hope you're still tuned in, you're so good at knowing this stuff and communicating it! I have 12 volts at the back up light fuse but only 10 volts at the circuit for the back up lights at the inhibitor switch. A ran a wire from the reverse lights to the engine bay and: 1. when connected to this 10 volt pin will not light them up. 2. But connecting that same wire to 12 volts and they light up. So this "low voltage" may be the problem? What would my next step be? I think some of the other powered pins on the transmission connector (all three on the bottom row of the connector i was working with - B12 i think) also only had 10 volts or so....BUT - the reverse lights are the only thing not working AND the FSM doesn't match the pin position or color codes I see on this car so I can't tell what they're for.

Wish I would have thought of this earlier but I tested my 1996 Legacy and those fuses have power at all times, even with the car off and keys out of the ignition...weird, I didn't know those fuses were powered at all times? That car runs perfectly so I guess it's normal for the fuses to always be powered...seems really strange to me.

Okay - so I have a solid 12 volts at that fuse with the car off,key out - that's a problem? What would cause that? Bad ignition switch - that's interesting. The "heater fuses" (there are two of them i think) - both have power with the car off/key on as well...heck i think almost all the fuses do?

1999 Legacy Phase II EJ22 automatic With the car off and keys out of the ignition the back up light fuse has 12 volts to it - is that normal? I believe a number of the fuses do - heater fuses, etc - seemed like all of them had 12 volts. I was thinking they should only be powered with the car on or the circuit in use?

are you replacing the rear diff because it's bad? they very, very rarely fail and are usually misdiagnosed due to something else. manual, automatic, and what kind of 2004? 96 Legacy Outback Wagon will have 4.44 final drive. So any rear diff you get to swap out will need to be from an automatic for sure since manuals never had 4.44 final drie. whatever rear diff you get will need to have a final drive ratio the same. i believe there are two different style rear diffs - male and female axle stub designs. you can probably convert between the two if you also grab rear axles...again depending on what model you're talking about as rear suspension did change in 2000's. there's even a turbo variant which i think has longer stubs but they can be interchangeable and folks have installed the shorter stubs into the longer (turbo rear diff?) rear diffs.

yep do some fluid changes and call it good.

*** Update: it is not "working"...with a slight issue. I ran a wire from the inhibitor switch pin to the rear and it "works".....with an odd predicament - the reverse lights turn off when the brake light is pressed...otherwise everything else is normal. So we'll see if it starts blowing fuses but it's working now, with that strange symptom.

For Cougar - on this car it is pins 1 and 2 of the T7 connector at the inhibitor switch. I'm ignoring that for the moment, I have no idea why the FSM won't line up - but I know for certain that's the one that has continuity only when in Reverse...just checked it again to make sure I wasn't crazy. Maybe there's an incorrect part or wiring connector...but it is a Phase II inhibitor switch, looks identical to the original, both switches do the same thing when i swap them, and everything else works perfectly fine...???

yes. exactly - no continuity in any other position except Reverse - got those two pins isolated for sure. no voltage on either side and no continuity to the rear on either side either. that's a source of confusion so i want to avoid pin numbers and colors. maybe because it's a 99 Legacy Phase II EJ22 it's not matching any of the wiring diagrams i have for 98, 99, or 2000 Legacy's or 99 Impreza Phase II EJ22. i was so confused trying to match pin numbers and wire colors yesterday i couldn't even test things...once i simply reduced my thinking to finding the reverse circuit and going from there (ignoring pins/colors) i was able to sort of move on...i think.... off to test some more....

SVX should fit you well. the SVX was made for you! they're not that hard to work on and quite reliable really...minus said wheel bearing and trans issues they are capable of high miles. i bet the SVX forums have a sticky or thread for potential new owners...might want to check there? i've heard the SVX crowd can be a tough one! Kevin and Huck are friends of mine and members there and here. windshields are $700 (that was 5 years ago) and parts are hard to find. i was trying to help a friend get an engine sensor...actually the thread (with zero replies) is here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=57900 i also tried for months on SVX forums and SVX experts like Huck...struck out and couldn't get one for him. he has since passed away, don't know what happened to the car but i was never able to get the sensor for anything under hundreds of dollars new. get a trans cooler and you're golden on the trans.

i'm not a machining person but i think that's not the way to go for heads. probably shouldn't matter too much if you're careful and do a good job but who knows. have you seen GD's thread on DIY head resurfacing, it's great. the overfall flatness of that process should be much better than more localized tool like that rotating disc. what headgaskets did you use? Subaru? which Subaru headgasket?

to keep the EJ25.... the JDM has fewer miles and hopefully zero heating cycles like yours since the headgaskets blew. i'd lean towards keeping the JDM heads. i'd swap the drivers side head only if you're bent on keeping the EGR. i'd keep the JDM passengers side head, just install a new headgasket. i'd make sure all valve clearances are properly meausred and adjusted while it's out. like John said, i'd do an EJ18 or EJ22 swap too. cheap, reliable, hard to beat. here's one close to you for $450: 228-392-2288 if that's from an automatic it's a drop in and plug and play swap. cheap timing belt components, more reliable, and non interference. doesn't say how many miles though.

Since I verified that the inhibitor switch is working - can I simply run a new fused power wire to one side and a wire to the back lights on the other side of the inhibitor switch circuit pins? This is way too confusing at this point with testing showing both sides of the circuit not working.

sure folks have bought them. i don't see EGR on that one. the only one i ever bought had blown headgaskets when i got it. their warranty was to send me two new headgaskets, i told them not to bother. LOL price looks good though - that's about what you'd be paying locally anyway on a much higher mileage, dirtier engine! though locally probably comes with a more intact warranty. motors and trans i buy usually have a 3 or 6 month warranty from a yard. ebay vendors are likely difficult to work with in exchange, shipping, warranty situations. you would install your intake manifold on that engine or your wiring harness on that intake manifold. if you install your intake manifold then you'll have the EGR equipment in place - you'll just need to do one of three things: 1. drill and tap the head for the EGR pipe 2. install your drivers side head which is already set up with EGR 3. do a custom pipe job to the exhaust instead of the head if you install your wiring on the JDM intake then you'll simply be rolling without EGR. you'll get a check engine light that is impossible to get rid of, if you're in a non-emissions state like me it won't matter. if you're in an emissions area then you can't do it. i even tried swapped wiring harness and computer from a non-EGR vehicle when i removed all my EGR stuff...and still get EGR codes, amazing! luckily it doesn't matter for me so i just ignore the light. i would plan on installing new headgaskets even if buying a JDM engine. you might not know it but these things were blowing headgaskets at 30,000 miles when they were "new" as well. so a low mileage EJ25 is not much better in terms of reliability. it's hard to tell from those pictures whether the headgasket has already been replaced or not. i would prefer one that has never had them replaced so then it's almost certain to have never been overheated. then with the new 610 gaskets you're golden. the compression test is pointless on that motor, that's nice of them to do it, but it's next to meaningless on EJ25 headgaskets.

it would probably turn into an "interheater" - because the ambient air is not heated, so what would there be to cool? you would be trying to cool already cool air that hasn't been heated at all - kind of like trying to freeze and ice cube? and as they said - it would be restrictive and terribly inefficient.

doesn't seem like i can probe, it's sealed so you cant insert a probe from the top, it's very tight. and even if you could i don't think there's room to reach down in that tunnel and get probes in there.... yes - when given 12 volts nothing happens. (but i give 12 volts in the trunk they come on - so bulbs/sockets work). ***BUT - i don't have voltage at the inhibitor switch...so I'm confused that there are seemingly two issues. I almost never see wiring issues so it's hard for me to see this being two random wires somewhere...

***Question*** Does the inhibitor switch connector have to be plugged in to the switch in order to test the circuits? With the connector removed should I get 12 volts at positive pin? Because right now I am failing TWO tests: 1.) Not getting 12 volts at the inhibitor switch connector...which suggests something between the fuse box and switch. 2.) Giving 12 volts to the connector at the inhibitor switch will not turn the reverse lights on - suggesting something between the switch and reverse lights. Seems unlikely both are the problem - so what am I missing (besides electrical abilities, i know that)

Have power at fuse - fuse is good. Problem now is the FSM wiring colors do not match the inhibitor switch on this 1999 Legacy Phase II EJ22 sedan so I'm finding it hard to test things. And the extra switch I have doesn't seem to have continuity at all on anything off of the vehicle - i can't imagine they would need to be powered in order to have continuity?

I found Pin 10 - which is supposed to power the rear lights - and nothing happens. When I give power to the rear trunk area the lights come on. So the wiring is bad somewhere between the inhibitor switch and the rear trunk area?

Bulbs are good. Swapped the transmission switch (park, reverse, nuetral, etc) Fuse is good Everything else works fine, car runs and drives fine, the reverse lights simply won't come on when the car is put in reverse. Now what?