Legacy_Fox

Hehe, no fuse in the "Subaru appreciation box". :-) mine is actually located on the passenger side just behind the shock tower, took me a bit of looking to figure out what it was. No oil spots have been noted where I park, I even left some newspaper out under the engine for a few days with nothing of note on it. Seems to pass the circle test just fine, no binding noted. I do need new tires soon, the previous owner put on 205/55r15s and ran them bald. What size tires are recommended for a 15" rim? Any suspension upgrades recommended since the rear springs/shocks are worn (going outback o r the like), and how would that impact your selection? So many questions, sorry if these have been beaten to death before, lol

It is fixed now, carnage pics to follow but there isn't much to show. It looks in fairly good condition except the mfg sticker is heat damaged and there is a speech mark from the battery cable where it melted. New starter appears to work just fine. Thanks for the assistance! Yup late on the starter purchase advice but i will keep that in mind if it goes out again, thanks!

Thanks for the welcome! When i got it, she was about 4 quarts low, enough for the oil pressure light to come on periodically. It did have a recent oil change sticker, but that really doesn't mean much. I did a change and haven't noticed any leaks or smoke so it doesn't appear to have suffered any damage, i will keep an eye out for head gasket issues though. Only other major issue now is the starter solenoid which i posted in another thread, and the speedometer randomly ceasing to operate (i already did the speedometer wiring trick i have read about to no effect, did get a cel for speed sensor though). It is an automatic, and all i could find for sensor issues were for manuals. Overall though i have been enjoying the leggie! Thanks again!

Thanks for the input! Will post up some carnage pics when I get it swapped out if you are interested.

I haven't had a chance to take a multi-meter after any wires, but that is an interesting possibility I wonder though, wouldn't that cause the starter motor to stay engaged? At least if it froze in the on position. Once running and the ignition was released, the starter appeared to operate normally (disengaged, didn't hear any further spinning), aside from the solenoid trying to torch itself... I guess I am still trying to picture the failure in my head...

Hello! My brand new (to me) Legacy (1999 Legacy L with the 2.2) is apparently trying to torch itself. I have had it for coming up on 2 months and have had few major problems until now. I hopped in, fired her up and drove maybe a quarter mile when I start getting a major loss of power followed by total electrical failure, then poof, nothing. I coasted into a parking spot, noticed an electrical/burning smell, and popped the hood. The starter solenoid was smoking pretty bad and melted through the positive battery cable, which was also very warm to the touch. I quickly pulled the terminal and watched for any further problems or noticeable damage. Once it was sufficiently cool, I wrapped the damaged cable in electrical tape (temporary, just wanted to try and crank over to get it moved somewhere more convenient) and reconnected the terminal, only to have it arc pretty good and start getting warm, indicating a dead short (ignition was off, starter never cranked, power never appeared to be restored to the car). With no other noticeable shorts (I made sure the exposed portion was sealed with tape, no other melted spots were visible), I am leaning towards a catastrophically failed starter solenoid except I have never seen and rarely heard of a failure like this. I picked up a new starter and will be installing that and a new positive lead tomorrow, I just wanted to bump heads with some experts to see if anyone has encountered this before? Any ideas if this is just a symptom caused by a short somewhere else? I have found no blown fuses or fusible links anywhere and the rest of the wiring look good. Thanks in advance!

Hello! I am a new Subaru owner who is starting out with a 1999 Legacy L (GT trim, wooo, heh) that has apparently been neglected for much of its life (no oil when I got it, banged up, missing a turn signal, and anyone know where to get replacement rear quarter glass? does no one make it anymore or is ebay the best bet?). I am a Jeeper, but I was looking for something a bit more practical. reliability, quality, AWD, better mileage than a heep and maybe a bit of power were my top priorities (and inexpensive, cant forget that!). the Subarus seemed like a top choice, and, well, here I am!