Subruman

Hi everyone, I recently bought another 97 outback just for parts, though it still runs. I have been thinking about rebuilding one of the 2.5l engine and then swapping the one i'll be working onto the other one. and doing it in the garage. I'll need to move the cars back and forth into the garage. so my question is, can I still move the car with the engine taken out? I kind of don't want to take the engine out on the street. Thanks. And sorry for a weird question.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. Yes, I finally had the time to take the battery to Autozone and get it charged. It happened to be just the battery!!! It fired right up. ... and music to my ears. lol. Well, at least on the side, I have a much cleaner Starter now. haha.

Hi everyone, I am in at a lost. Before I did a compression test, the car was working just fine. Now, it is just making clicking noises everytime I turn the key. I have a 97 subaru outback 2.5l. The compression test were all ok, except the 4th cylinder had a weaker 1st puff. Then the spark plugs were installed back in. I put some dielectric on the boot metal connectors. (I don't know if that will cause anything). Also, I did jack up the engine pretty far to get access to the 3rd and 4th spark plugs. But the confusing thing is, the engine was able to crank and give me compression readings. Afterwards, I lowered the engine, and all of a sudden, there's no life. Oh, also, I forgot to unplug the ignition for the first test, but disconnected it for the rest of the test. Will I get clicking noise if the ignition coil goes bad? I thought the clicking noise was from the starter or the starter solenoid. The clicking was pretty loud under the hood in the area where the starter is located. I banged on it, still didn't work. Then I thought, maybe the battery is just low. I know, doing the compression test took a lot of juice out of the battery. But I had spare, and the battery was strong enough to power up other vehicles. So i'm not sure if it's the battery either. Just how much battery power do I need to power a power eating outback? This morning, I took out the starter, and disassembled the solenoid, cleaned it, and relubed it. I couldn't get the screws from the back of the starter off so I couldn't clean it, but looking inside it, it didn't look that bad. After putting it together, I tested it with a battery power, and it spins, and turns on. I also checked it with a volt meter, but I don't know if I did it correctly. I read 20 from the multimeter...... except that was wrong. I had set the multimeter correctly, but read the Ohms markings instead... lol. only now have I remembered how careless I was in reading it. But thinking about the settings I used and where the needle landed, it may have given me somewhere around 9v. I installed it back on the car, but it still doesn't work. When I turn the key, the pulley turns for a split second, and then click click click click............ like it doesn't have enough power to turn the engine over. ... or maybe something internal in the engine blocking itself from getting turned?..... I am lost. All I did was jacked up the engine, did compression test, then lowered it back down! ..... I did nothing else to it. Any advice will be helpful. I had spent about 3 days in the cold scratching my head trying to figure what is going on. Oh yeah, also, I do have a remote lock on the car. But I disabled it after every time I hook up the battery. ...so I don't know anymore. Could that be a possible cause as well? Thanks in advance. And I'm sorry its kind of long.

Dave, I know my car leaks.... something. I don't know if it's oil, or coolant though. But I will have to check under the engine to check where the leak is coming from. I just hope it's not a head gasket problem. And just being curious, would that cause any misfires or lack of power by any chance? There isn't any blue or white or black smoke coming out of the exhaust. ... Grossgary, I found the VIN number on the windshield and on the body under the hood. Both are the same. But I think both can be tempered with easily if someone really wanted to. ... I have been pretty busy lately, but right now, I have been thinking about doing a compression test. I remember the last time I did it, I was having a really hard time screwing the tube into the spark plug socket. Also, on my vehicle, I have to jack up my engine pretty far up just to barely take out the spark plugs, so that was a real bummer too. especially the back two are a pain. ... Something that prevented me from wanting to... just try. ... Lucky Texan, I heard about the knock sensor stealing power. And I checked it, and ... well, honestly, I couldn't tell if it's good or bad. It looks pretty good to me. No cracks or anything. The contacts are shiny and clean. .. but the surrounding area in that hole was filled with debris, nuts, and leafs though. ... PS. Just curious, can I do both the compression test and the leak down test with the leak down tester? or do I have to get them separately? Thanks.

97 Subaru Legacy Outback Automatic 2.5L.

Dave, I hope this is true. haha. Turning the crankshaft, I did use a pretty big ratchet and used a pretty good amount of force.... stupid me, I know. .... And my coolant has never been low, unless something isn't working like they should in getting it to the engine. Isn't that what the water pump suppose to do? or is it just to help return the fluid back to the radiator? And on water pump, the replacement I put in was the GMD brand from ebay. I did some research and they said it was .... reliable?.... But actually, I don't even know if it's the water pump causing the higher temp for sure. Just guessing that it could be from what I had done prior to the problem. ... Grossgary, On checking my VIN, I just learned that it is a 97 Subaru. Automatic. On the title, it says a 96.... weird. Well, I changed the timing belt because the Sub was lacking in picking up speed from a stop. And it doesn't have power to go uphill at all. Even after the timing belt change, going up hill is still slow, but it does have a little more kick on a flat straight way though. Just a tad bit. Probably, not enough to justify all these new problems it brought though. .... It didn't have a heating issue before. When replacing it, I made triple sure, that everything was aligned: the cams, the crankshaft to their respective marks. I'll have to recheck timing again when I have the time. When you said cooling system, you mean the radiator right? In that case, I did that too. It won't hurt doing it again, would it? And yes, I did pull the pin on the tensioner. haha. ... One question about the tensioner. How many times can you press it? I didn't have the right tools for the job, so I just used a C-clamp, and a block of wood. Everytime I turned, the block turned with it, and thus turning the rod. And when it is completely pressed, the pin holes didn't align. It took me about 3-4 times, pressing it and de-pressing it, to get it aligned.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies. Dave, I meant the crank shaft. Well, my car just gave out an engine light today and had the codes pulled. What I got is a P0301 and P0303. I am really thinking that it is from the time I was working on the timing belt and I probably damaged the valves on the cylinders. After doing the timing belt, the engine did sound a little chipped or rattle inside. It didn't sound like it was before. Now that I know the check engine lights are cylinder misfires, I just need to know how to find out what the real issue is. I was watching vids on youtube, and one of the guy was saying that if there is an internal problem, the engine would have to be opened and rebuilt? If it's just a valve, for example, can I just replace that? How many ways, or some good methods to check what it really is the cause? wtdash, yeah, I bought my exhaust kit from 1A too. It's similar to the one you posted, but mine had only one resonator bulb on the pipe. And the hanger bar just pointed straight out, unlike my old one. It was a weird pipe they sent me. I should have gotten the one you posted. But the problem was they sent me a silver muffler, and the muffler was just a cylinder instead of the bigger oval shaped one, like the one they had on their image. And the two would not connect at all if everything is set properly. Now, I had to compile proofs of part numbers, and images, and information to sent them. It just takes a lot of time going back and forth when I really need the car as soon as possible. ... Lucky, I did my timing belt replacement a while back, and I don't remember well, but I think the one I bought was the shorter one. .... and it was one of the more expensive option they had too! Autozone didn't carry the Subaru brand. ... Was it a mistake? Also the timing belt kit I bought off ebay had the water pump looked kind of cheap. .... I remember the blade mechanism was a little different from the original one, and it wasn't as deep into the compartment either. Right now, I have put back the old exhaust, and had to improvise with metal fittings to fit them back together. .... most of the old one eventually became one long continuous pipe with flexible fittings to connect them. Also, when my resonator pipe broke at the connection where it joins with the catalytic pipe, I just put a metal fitting over the pipe, and the other end into the resonator. Could exhaust back pressure cause the CEL too, if there is such a thing? Can exhaust ever go back into the engine if there is any place that gets narrowed by the catalytic pipe? Just curious.

Hi everyone, I have a 1996 outback, and it's giving me a weird problem. When my check engine lights turn on, my temp gauge reads fine, on the halfway mark. But when the check engine lights is off, the temp gauge goes up pass the halfway mark. And the check engine lights goes on and off at random start ups. I don't really know what's going on. Before this happened, I worked on the timing belt, replaced the water pump and thermostat. Could it be the thermostat that is causing this weird readings? And what about the check engine light? With the check engine light, I was thinking that it was probably from the engine? When replacing the timing belt, on the first try, it didn't turn on, but I kept cranking it and cranking it. Then on the second try, I think I might have forced the alignment, at one point, and turned the shaft when it was really stiff. ... and possibly damaged something inside the engine. Would that throw a check engine light? And one other issue I would like to address, since I am here. Earlier today, I replaced the resonator pipe and the muffler. bought the package from ebay. they totally shipped wrong parts to me. what a disappointment. The whole package is suppose to be black, but instead, they sent the silver muffler. And when I put them together, the two wouldn't not align. They are twisted at least 1 and 1/2 inches from each other. And they said it fits many 1996-1997 subarus: outback, impreza, legacy. ... And then I noticed, there are condensation dripping out of the connection between the resonator pipe and the Catalytic pipe. Is it just because it wasn't tight enough? But I have screwed completely as far as I can screw (up to the smooth part of the bolt, where the spring would be). As of right now, my outback is in the garage with no muffler. .... :'( Sorry, this is alot, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Thank you.