I have a really strange problem with my 96 2.2 legacy wagon , it occasionly doesn't start. The engine doesn't turn over at all. I checked the battery and the alternator they checked out ok.The car is running fine now, and i have no idea of what to think. It scared the hell out of me though, i was in a remote spot of the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and it wouldn't start for about 45 minutes. I waited gave it one more try and it turned over. I drove home everything was fine and the next morning the car did the same thing. It started and now it has been 3 days without a problem. I actually read a post on another board of a woman who also had a 96 with the same problem she was told it was one of two things the starter or maybe the shifter cable needing adjustment. Any thoughts or ideas to help me solve this problem would be appreciated . Thanks...

Next time it won't start open the bonnet and tap the starter motor with a spanner/hammer. Fairly hard, but not so hard that you dent the casing!

 

If she starts up fine afterward it might be time to renovate/replace the starter motor.

It sounds like the classic case of worn-out starter contacts. It's a relative easy repair, the only hard part is taking the starter out of the car but it's not too bad. The good new is a set of these contacts costs less then $20 (the last time I had to replace a set)which is a lot less then a remanufactured starter.

take a look at this thread

 

http://usmb.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2447&highlight=crazy+battery+start