Gnuman

The DOHC is a PITA to change the timing belt on in the car, and real tight on the sides. You will also want to change the oil seperator with a metal one, as the plastic ones warp and crack, causing oil leaks at the rear of the engine. So you really need to pull the engine anyway. Trust me, it will be a lot easier. I also recomend that the oil pump be "refurbished" (replace the front crank seal, and the O-ring for the oil pump, and tighten the screws that hold the backing plate on. these screws have a history of backing themselves out and then you get oil leaks, and or lost oil pressure). Other than that, you look good to go with that list.

One axel nut I fought with took out two 1/2" breakers, and a 1/2" ratchet. The socket attached to an impact wrench did nothing. Took a heavu duty impact socket on the impact wrench (and about half a can of PB Blaster) but the thing came off. I always win. . .eventualy.

That is because it is not a voltage, but a signal. sort of like : _|-|_|-|_|-|_ Well, something like that. the more ticks per second, the more speed, and the higher the needle goes. At least that is what goesw into the ECU. I'm sure that the guage uses something similar.

how do you break that? What year and model Subie? I may be able to find you one. . .

Thanks, Brian. I was away from the computer for a bit as I was taking my Subaru on a road trip. (Theye love it when you do that, or at least mine does) CA is annother, and IIRC, Virginia. Coasting is not the kind of driving law that they make bilboards about (like speeding or DUI), but if something happens while coasting you will be cited. When coasting down a grade, you will tend to speed up, and need to hit your brakes more often, causing them to heat up and wear faster. If you just remain in gear the usage of your brakes will be greatly reduced, and your control increased. OK so far this discussion has centered around manual transmissions. On an Auto tranny, when you reengage the tranny (moving the shifter from N to D) you get a massive sudden buildup of force that can break the tires loose from the road, or even do significant damage to the tranny itself. All in all, for either drive system, it is just not worth it.

Subaru actually did a better job addressing the issue in the phase I EJ25 thean they did with the phase II. For the former, a redesigned headgaskey replaces the original, correcting the problem (In most cases permanently). The recall to get stop leak in the coolant is a response that I consider to be unworthy of Subaru. When I get one of these early 2.5's in my shop, I replace the headgaskets as a mater of course, along with the timing belt, oil seperator, and reconditioning the oil pump. In this way, when we sell a refurbished Subaru, it is likely to live up to the reputation Subaru developed over the years, and the 2.5L engines have been eroding of late. . .

It can go that long without changing the belt but I would not recomend it. I say change the belt so you know when it is due next time. Where in the Bay Area are you? I'm in Berkeley/Richmond. shoot me a PM if you want me to take a look at this for you. $500 is way too high for a timing belt, even on the DOHC engines.

If you are in neutral, you loose the transmission brake that helps you to slow down without using the brakes. Loosing this reduces yoru control over the vehicle, and is also illegal in many states. . .

Paul, do you have access to a hoist? the engine comes up and out. It is not super hard to do, but you do need a good workspace and the right tools for this job. Have you ever changed the timing belt on this car? that should give you an idea what you are getting into. it is possable to do this in the car, but it is a major PITA to do it that way. taking it out is easier by far, believe me. I do not know if the 1K price is one side or both, so I cannot speak to that. I have done this on a couple of 97 and 98 engines. the 96 is a bit easier as it has Hydraulic Lash Adjusters, making valve clearance issues nonexistant. The solid lifter models are a bit trickier in that you really have to keep the shims and cups in order or you will mess up your valve clearances. . .

You have the right of it, but you should probably remove the nut before jacking the car up. Yes, the nut is 32mm. put lots of penetrating oil on it to loosen things up. same for ball joint. the lower balljoint is attached to the lower control arm with a tapered shaft like the tie rod end, and to the knuckle with a pinch bolt. The best way to remove it is from the knuckle: -remove pinch bolt (12mm IIRC) -use heavy pipe and large hammer to knock the joint out of the knuckle by placing the pipe verticaly against the lower control arm and hammering (hard) on the other end. the pipe transfers the impact of the hammer (a 3lb sledge should do) directly to the lower control arm, which jars the balljoint out of the sleeve it is in. installation is almost the reverse of removal ( hammer directly on the bottom of the control arm to install). This method is the most reliable, with the least chance of breaking something in the process. The pipe I use is a 1" heavy blackpipe, 36" in length. I got this at a local hardware store and use it often as a cheater bar. as the pipe cost less than $5.00, I find it to be a valuable addition to my toolkit.. total time for the job is about aqn hour per side. Oh, and the punch is a 3/16" drift if you do not already know that. PB Blaster is the penetrating oil of choice for this, BTW.

The bang bang only happens when turning, now when going straight (I thought I had mentioned that. . .) and happens at all speeds. Could this be something other than the diff then? This started only after I cleaned the Duty C in the first tranny, and I was thinking that the torque bind was keeping it from happening. My guess was that the bind was keeping a constant pressure on the diff, and with the AWD working right, the diff was only getting intermitant pressure, causing gear lash, which would result in the sound. this lash would only be happening during turns as that is when the AWD system is adjusting the drive split from front to rear. . . In other news, I feel what seems to me to be a lot of free play in the rear diff, which may be contributing to the problem (more room to swing, making more noise). .

Well, OK, perhaps "new" is not the word to use. . . My Ex Wife, who is still good friends with me, needed a good reliable car that had usable headlights so she could drive our daughter around safely. THinking about this I came up with a list of needs for the car: safety, very high reliability, good lights, good handling, easy to drive/comfortable. That list spells Subaru in a very big way, so with help I was able to get a 90 Legacy wagon for 300. I may upload pics later, perhaps with both cars side by side. Hers is dark blue on dark blue, and in very good shape body wise. Engine has low compression in #3, but I have an engine that needs headgaskets only that I can swap in (after refurbishing it). The seats are in good shape, and the Subaru lights are some of the best I have had on any car recently. the 99 Saturn that this car will be replacing has headlights that suck massively. the specs on the car are 90 Legacy L wagon AWD Auto with roof rack. Parts of the car are a lot prettier than mine, and the Auto will give a few less MPG than mine, but she has back problems and cannot drive a manual anymore. I will likely be upgrading the headlamps to SilverStars to provide an even brighter spot on the road for her to see. I love my Legacy as it is about the most dead reliable car I have ever owned, on top of being amazingly capable, and really simple to drive. The Auto trans only makes this easier for her. The new car does not have a name yet, but I hope that will change soon. Let us all welcome the second Subie to my stable. She has 200K on her now, and the body is shopwing few if any signs of aging!

Both of my Subarus require ABF filters for the oil at the very least. In case you are wondering, yes that is my own specification. ABF is "Anything But Fram". Oh yes, I did say both. . . perhaps a new thread is in order. . .

OK, the problem I have with it being in the transmission itself is that the odds against two different transmissions in a row having the exact same failure and symptoms is infantismal at best. If I hit odds like that I should be playing the lottery. . . That said, I suspect that the problem is in the rear diff, but the TCU may also be part of the problem. I have a spare diff from a 2K OBW, but I don't know for sure that it is the same ratio as the 97 or the 96. . . If anyone knows that, it would be of great assistance in this. Also, am I wrong about the method for modulating the power split in the AWD system? Is it some other method than the duty cycle of the solenoid?

the tranny is only a year different (97 OBW tranny in a 96 OBW) I'm fairly certain that they are the same. I moved the driveshaft by hand with the rear wheels on ramps. the rear diff was going tink tink when it lashed. the noise is only when turning (well it takes a couple of seconds to die down when you straighten out). OK, the AWD clutchpack is engaging harshly. That would make the sound but is that not what normally happens? If not, how is the drive ratio altered by the duty cycle to the Duty C solenoid? And two trannies bad in the same way, in a row? that is way beyond coincidence. . . does anyone know if the 2000 OBW rear diff is the same drive ratio as the 96 (or 97 for that matter) ?

mtbe, get a second opinion. Take a look at the right CV joint (the outside one is the most likely to be bad) too. if the boot around the CV joint is broken, then replace the halfshaft. I'm betting that this will solve the problem. a sound only on one wheel is almost always associated with the halfshaft feeding that wheel, or it's wheelberring. If you are hearing the noiuse in the front, it will be the front diff if any. I suspect that your diffs are (all three) fine, and that you have a bad CV joint. This can be replaced without replacing the entire halfshaft, but it would cost the same, and you would still have the worry of the other CV joint on that shaft going (each halfshaft has two CV joints). For a rebuild halfshaft, you are looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $60, compared to $1000 for a repair that you may not need.. . .

As the title says, 96 OBW Auto, came with torque bind. I took off the extension housing, cleand stuff up, put it back on, and instead of binding, it started going bangbang on turns. OK, perhaps it is the TCU not handling the duty C correctly, changed that out. No change. swapped out the tranny with a 97 Outback auto tranny. Still no change. You read that last right. swapping in a new(er) tranny did not fix it. If I put the FWD fuse in the sound goes away, so I know that the problem is in the rear drive part of the driveline. I cannot imagine that two trannys would have exactly the same kind of failure. I suspect that the rear diff is lashing loudly, or even slipping, and the previous torque bind actlually masked this problem. I have a rear diff from a 2000 Outback wagon that I can swap in, if the ratios are the same. Does anyone know if a 2K rear diff is the same ratio as a 96? can anyone think of anything else that might be the problem?

have you checked the level of the Power Steering Fluid? it may be low, causing the PS to not work. Also check the belt tension to the pump. That is the only way I have heard of any Subaru "locking" the steering at low speed. not a lock, really, just real stiff.

OK, my opinion (funny how it matches everything I have read in this thread): The guy is an idiot. For the water to be so high that he cannot open the doors (I'd guess that had to be about a third of the way up, if the door he was trying to open was on the side being pushed against), he had to have seen splashing of water long before. My 92 Legacy wagon can go through a fairly deep puddle without shorting anything out. For it to stall, and the wiring to short, I would have to be in at least two feet of water. I cannot imagine that the Outback is designed any less as well. If the door is pinned shut by water, you simply go to the other side and open that one. Why did he climb all the way to the back to get out of the car? What did he do, drive it off a pier?

if etrailers.com says hardwire, then it is likely that the t-one conector is only on the Outback models. Sad, really. I connected my trailer wiring harness to the wires going into the left taillight, and threaded the connector through the plugs in the chasis.

Check all the connections on your fuel rails. Also do a search for "Fuel smell" Info regarding this has already been gone over.

Spare under the hood was an old-gen thing, so I'd guess '89?

One problem I can think of is a MAP based system (in the 2003), vs a MAF system that was original to the car. I'm guessing that this will cause you problems down the road. Several of the people that I have heard from that have had the HG repair done, and have close to or over 100K miles after the repair. The 2003 is a better engine, but the different airflow measurement system may make it a tricky install.

89-91 use three connectors on the left side of the engine to connect the engine wiring harnes, and have grey injectors. 92-94 use two connectors on the left side of the engine for wiring, and have red injectors. 95 and up use three connectors in the right rear of the engine, and have a pipe on the left head that connects the EGR system together (Head to intake manifold). That I know of, there is not any particular difference in the engine that makes it California vs Fedral, except that the CA one uses a longer lasting timing belt (I recomend changing that anyway, if you do not know when it was last done on the engine you have.

Mine did that, and it turned out to be a power supply problem. I still get fairly bad skipping when my battery is low.