Recently I ordered a set of OEM plug wires for my 97 OBW 2.5L. I had been using Bosch wires, but read here about the importance of OEM. The box seems to be the right part #, SOA430Q121, but the wires are very short. They barely reach by the shortest route to the ignition box. I can't even push them into plastic clips that are supposed to hold them. Anyone ever run into this?

The parts whose numbers start with "SOA" are not identical to the parts installed at the factory.

They are aftermarket parts sold through dealerships.

The parts whose numbers start with "SOA" are not identical to the parts installed at the factory.

They are aftermarket parts sold through dealerships.

Why do you need new wires on a 2007 model?

 

Sorry, that should read 97, not 07. How do you get the right parts then? That is the number that everyone seems to show for what they call OEM parts.

Looking it up at subaruparts for 1998 Impreza 2.5 (their Legacy lookup was never finished),

you need one 22451AA580, two of 222454AA130, and one 2452AA620, at the cost of about $50.

Sorry if I'm just being stupid here. But when I go to Subaruparts.com, in their parts ctalog under "Genuine Subaru plug Wire Sets" for a 1997 Legacy Outback 2.5L, it gives this part # SOA430Q121. That is what I already have that is too short. It looks like you are saying to order individual wires, rather than a set. Is that how everybody orders plug wires for their car. I just never realized you had to do it that way - seems a little crazy.

I got a complete set from 1stSubaruParts for my 96 2.2 L and they fit perfectly. Three of the wires are of the exact same lengt, only one is a little longer. I think it is for cyl no 4 but I might not remember correctly.

Sorry if I'm just being stupid here. But when I go to Subaruparts.com, in their parts ctalog under "Genuine Subaru plug Wire Sets" for a 1997 Legacy Outback 2.5L, it gives this part # SOA430Q121. That is what I already have that is too short. It looks like you are saying to order individual wires, rather than a set. Is that how everybody orders plug wires for their car. I just never realized you had to do it that way - seems a little crazy.

 

Give them a call and explain the problem. I order them as a set and never had a problem.

 

 

nipper

Hmmm, telephone, talk to a human, not a bad idea. Thanks

Hmmm, telephone, talk to a human, not a bad idea. Thanks

i know its sort of a quaint thing to do, so 80's, but it works

 

 

nipper

Lots of room for confusion here, to be sure, including the meaning of "genuine". I'm not saying you must order individual wires, just trying to explain the difference between wires from boxed sets and those installed at the factory. Maybe the reason they came up with those sets is that indeed it would be difficult to order the wires individually, and many would balk at the cost. But the boxed sets are simply re-labelled aftermarket parts. As you just found yourself, they are not identical to OE.

I did order the wires by part number (which was the same for all four on my 1995 2.2l) and received wires identical to the original ones.

To paraphrase George Orwell, all ignition wires are genuine, but some wires are more genuine than others.

 

Sorry if I'm just being stupid here. But when I go to Subaruparts.com, in their parts ctalog under "Genuine Subaru plug Wire Sets" for a 1997 Legacy Outback 2.5L, it gives this part # SOA430Q121. That is what I already have that is too short. It looks like you are saying to order individual wires, rather than a set. Is that how everybody orders plug wires for their car. I just never realized you had to do it that way - seems a little crazy.

I had to make a trip to "the big city" today, so I picked up a set of wires from the Sub dealer. We measured them against my original 1997 factory set. They were almost identical in length. Tomorrow I'll pull out my short set and see how they compare.

 

Thanks for the help.

Make sure when you reinstall that you are not going over top of the fuel rails. And also 97 will have a few different plug wire configs. one for the early cars will have a female coil pack and the laters have male.