johnceggleston

what was the weather like? wet / dry? when was the last time you changed your plug wires? plugs? was the 0302 code the only one? did the check engine light blink when it first came on?

the 97 does not have a filter, just a screen. so don't drop the pab for that. but if you have to go in be carefull not to bend / flex the rim of the pan. there's probably a correct procedure for removal.

a while back some one suggested jacking up the wheel in question and rotating it by hand while resting your other hand on the coil spring. i have also heard that the wiggle waggle test is not conclusive in these cars unless the wheel is about to fall off. but i have not tried either one so i don't really know. try the hand on the spring.....

depending on how long it has been posted, you can edit yourself. open your original post, look down in the lower right corner and click on EDIT. then go to advanced edit.

any outback auto trans will work, 96 - 98. you can also use an auto trans from a LSi or GT model, 96 - 98. as long as the first 7 characters in the trans part number are the same it will work, that's TZ102Z2.... if the last 2 character are different, AA or CA instead of BA, the speedo gear may be different and your speedo may be off, a little. but that's the only difference. in other words, any auto trans from a 2.5L legacy (outback, LSi, GT) will work 96 - 98. but you first choice should be one from an outback.

the most common error is using the wrong timing marks on the cam and crank pulleys. do not use arrows , hash marks only. review the articles in the link below. TIMING BELT ARTICLES HERE

the blinking AT TEMP light means there is a code for a trans problem, since you have torque bind, there is a 99.99% chance that you have a bad duty c solenoid in the transfer clutch extension housing. put a fuse in the FWD holder under the hood and see if the problem goes away. (this will test your duty c.) replace the fluid, but if the duty c is bad you will have to replace it, get it and 2 gaskets for it online, less than 90$. do not touch the so called filter. it's really just a screen and you have to pull the pan to get to it and there is a better than average chance your pan gasket will leak afterwards. but if the duty c is bad you will have to replace it, get it and 2 gaskets for it online, less than 90$.

i'm impressed that the thing ran at all. go subaru, well limp any way.

my guess is that you do indeed have torque bind and the lurching backwards when you shut it off is torque being released when you sut it off. try shifting into neutral for a second before you shift into park. this may release the bound up torque. but you will want ot read up on torque bind, left uncorrected it can cause damage to your trans and axles and may cause tire wear.

or depending on the smell, it could be a cv boot. does it leave a black residue on the exhaust?

automatic or 5 spd.?? the search function isn't as good as some others but .... what kind of sound is your engine making?? .

interesting you mentioned "wrist pin". i bought my '97 outback wagon w/ 98k miles for cheap because it had a bad "wrist pin". it turned out to be piston slap, and i'm still driving it 30k miles later. but if they are going to fix it for free... let them. just do not let them talk you into paying for a repair that they caused.

the easiest and most obvious swap is going to be the same year, next would be '00 - '04. the wiring for the trans changed in 99 for the legacy. the engines went to phase 2 in the same year but i'm not sure just what changed or if it could be over come for a swap.

i found this when researching piston slap and found it helpful. especially the plug wire part for checking a 'knock'. http://remanufactured-engines.com/page4.htm i bought my piston slap 2.5 subaru with a bad "wrist pin". still slappin' 30k later. so buy a AAA membership and drive it until it quits. THEN have it towed and replaced.

i think for the 90 - 94 auto trans the warning light was the blinking "power" light. so you may not have the "AT TEMP" light on your dash.

if the fuse cures the torque bind, then your duty c is fine. but if you have to open it up to correct the problem, replacing it is only another 75 - 85$.

95 auto trans was 4.11, i thought 95 5spd was 3.9.

surprise me, i thought stock tires for a 96 legacy was 185/70/14. if your car is AWD, you do not want to put on used tires unless the circumference of all 4 are with in 1/4 on an inch. you can screw up your AWD unit and get torque bind. you can go wider, but you'll need to decrease the aspect ratio (middle number) so you don't get too tall. you want to stay very close to or under your current diameter. try this tire size calculator: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

dis connect the wire and use a closed end wrench and tap on it. make sure you are going the right direction. some folks like to warm up the exhaust first.

i like using an old seat belt to lift the engine. you can thread it through the intake manifold and if you need to you can adjust it side to side easily.

i just did this over the weekend. the first time i tried i had the car in on position, radio worked, windows didn't. the next time i had in in the run position (but never cranked it over) this way worked just like cars101 said. did you try it that way?

is this right?? this is opposite of 95-99 legacy 2.2L.

in 95 maybe 96 the timing belt interval for the 2.2L engine was 60k miles..... except in calif. where they required a 100k timing belt interval. so subaru sold different belts in cal than they did in the rest of the country. some time later, they changed all the 2.2L timing belts to the calf. spec, so now all timing belt intervals, 2.2 amd 2.5L, are 105k miles. they still make the 60k belt, but why would you install it. the belt itself was the only difference between the 60k and 105k intervals. although there may have been other differences in the "calif" cars since they had to meet tougher emmission standards.

i bought a 97 obw for cheap with 98k miles which had a "bad wrist pin". seller said it needed a rebuild. it turned out to be piston slap. i've been driving it for 30k miles now with no indication of a problem. i suspect HGs will get me before piston slap does. i can't see putting new HGs on an engine with piston slap , but we'll see. from a bulletin i read when doing my research at the time of purchase, "it is not a sign of iminent failure". of course that does not speak to damage it may cause after 100k miles.

you must be in the rust belt. my first idea was to buy used hub assemblies, put on new rotors and install them. but if it's as rusted as you say you may run into the same type of problems with all the other bolts. maybe drill holes and tap threads in the rotor to help remove. take a grinder / wire brush wheel on a drill to 'discover' the line between the rotor and the hub. i don't know how that would help except to reassure you that they are two separate pieces. rent a big f******* puller. soak it, soak it, soak it, soak it, soak it.