johnceggleston

it wouldn't hurt. and if you don't need it some one else may. some say which TCU you use does not matter, some say it MAY make a difference. i would suggest you stay as close to your year as possible, and same body style. if you have a wagon get a wagon TCU. it is my opinion that the shift points are programed slightly differently between the two to compensate for weight differences and such.

glad to hear you found it and fixed it. the bad tcu is the first i've heard of causing TB. sure would be nice if you could test for a bad TCU before you pulled the extention housing.

if you drive less than a mile, slowly to get the tire repaired, no big deal. if you drive at speed for the rest of the week, month , year, you can damage the AWD unit. if you have a flat, drive directly to the repair shop, that's your safest bet. the spare tire is a 'temporary' tire, not a replacement tire.

it will think you have been test driving a honda!! or worse, turning wrenches on toyota!!

if you install a fuse, any fuse, in the holder marked FWD under the hood near the fire wall on the passenger side, and this cures the binding then it's probably isn't your duty c solenoid. the duty c has to work to with the fuse in to relieve the binding. it could be the tranfer clutch plates them selves. if the fuse does not relieve the binding it probably is the duty c. you can order them online for about 75$ be sure to get 2 gaskets. (the clutch plates will cost another 100 - 150? maybe, i can't remember) the duty c is located in the rear extention housing of the trans, it can be done without dropping the trans, just the extention housing, drive shaft and exhaust. you could install a used one but unless its from a known good working trans you may be doing it again. use the search function and look for "duty c" or torque bind. you'll have enough to keep you busy reading for a while. some people opt to swap out the whole trans but that may not be necessary. read up. EDIT: the dealer cost for repair is ~900$.

i'm not sure exactly what you mean. the large light assembly that streches all the way across the hatch is one thing, the light assembly that lights up the license plate is another. which one are you talking about. you have to remove the inside panel on the hatch to remove the 'hatch wide' light on the outback wagon. the panel is held on with round plugin clips. usr a putty knife or screwdriver to pop them out. try not to lose them and / or brake them. once the panel is off you will find several (4,5,or6 more ?) bolts coming thru the outer skin of the hatch. most of these are easy to remove, one i think, maybe 2 need a deep well socket. remove the nuts, and then gently start at one end and slowly work your way across easing the light fixture off the hatch. the good news is that you are replacing this so if you break it no big deal. if it does not want to come, you probably missed a bolt or 2. (i think there 1 on each side on the outer edge of the hatch, IIRC). i used WD40 on the upper edge to lube it so it would come out and in easier. the lenght of the bolts can be challenging because the angle has to be right to get them to clear the mounting holes both coming off and going on. reinstall the same way, again using wd40, and GO SLOW. don't force it. i didn't use any sealant on mine, the rubber? seal around the rear glas sealed to it preety well and i have seen no evidence of leaks. welcome to the party, and good luck.

wow that's a shiny car. let's see.... you bought the car in portland, you list north carolina as home state, and you fly your VT, not vermont, flag. you sure do get around. are you driving this back and forth across the country?? any way, welcome and enjoy your car!! :banana:

my 95 4eat went bad at 165k miles, but i had driven it 90k miles with no service what so ever on the trans. that's my fault. but i was spoiled by driving my 93 4eat from 98k to 173k miles (totaled) with no service what so ever. it is amazing how much you can learn and how much trouble you can avoid by reading and following the owners manual.

i pruchased a 97 2.5 outback (98k miles) because it had "engine noise" and i had a 96 2.2L engine ready to put in. when i got the car i determined the the noise was piston slap and decided to gamble on 600$ for timing belt, water pump and seals. that was 25k miles ago and it is still running great. i'm at 123k miles and no HG problems so far. it just keeps on slappin'. my advice is to drive it until it breaks, then decide to repair or replace. this means more miles for your money. when they look at you funny at the stoplight, tell them it's a bio-diesel. if the 2.2 is really that good a deal, buy it and store it , correctly. but a 95 auto or a 96 would be a better choice, they are non-interferrence engines.

yes, you will need the splined shaft, wheel end, of the axle mounted in the wheel hub to keep the bearing from decentigrating. you wil also need to keep the first section of drive shaft attached to the rear of the trans, or modify the trans so it will not leak fluid. every thing inbetween can go.

http://scranton.craigslist.org/car/704852134.html

check the mileage on a 300 mile hiway drive. that will tell you how well it is working. if your mileGE IS ONLY 19, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE YOU ONLY DRIVE 2 MILES TO WORK EACH WAY EVERY DAY. i don't really know, but it all depends on how you drive, where you drive and ......

is my memory right, does the 95 FWD have a 3.7 final drive ratio?? higher, more economical than the AWD.

it all depends on what you like, what you want, how many miles you drive a year and how long you plan to keep it. the first one is a little better bargain by my calculation, 64 + 41 = 105, where as the second is 132 + 34 = 164. that's a pretty big difference. but if you want an outback, then that's the one for you. i bought an outback for this very reason, and now realize i would be just as happy with a legacy wagon with outback struts and wheels. there are some 96 outbacks with 2.2L and manual trans. the service history may be a deciding factor, just because it's low mileage doesn't mean it will be trouble free. some / many maintence items are mileage and/or month sensitive. the timing belt may be due even if the miles don't indicate it. both have a great engine, is the first one a wagon or sedan? does the price difference matter to you, probably not. double check for oil leaks, and drive it in tight circles at slow speeds to check for torque bind. more common on auto trans than manuals. i think they are both priced a little high. generally i can buy good 96 outback 1500 to 3000; 95 should be a little cheaper.

oops

if you warped the head that much you better double check the block for problems.

unless you don't know your left from your right, you can do the air filter and plug wires your self. get a haynes manul, order the wires online from a 'subaru' dealer and put them in yourself. my shop wanted some rediculous amount of money to do it (150 - 200$). i bought the subaru wires from my local dealer for 90$. you can get them on line for 50 - 60 i think. you just take off one wire , find the matching new one and reinstall it. do them one at a time. search here for tips and read up on it. if you have any mechanical ability you could probably do the plugs as well, but this takes a little more patience and some tools. what was the car doing before the catalytic converter was replaced? any CEL / trouble codes? did the replacement improve how it runs? if not i would suggest the front o2 sensor be replaced, but it probably already was with the converter.

the problem is not converting you AWD to FWD and increasing you mileage, it's that you can't convert it back with out a LOT of work. so once you do it it's not like you can change it back for the wekend. also, i suggest you put in the FWD fuse under the hood, if it's an auto, and try driving it in FWD. if you've had your subaru for any lenght of time, you won't like it. there is a very noticable difference in how it handles. so as stated above, get a honda, or a 96 FWD subaru. the parts interchange software that all the junk yards use actually lists a FWD auto trans for 97, but i've never heard of anyone actually having one. i wonder if the option will come back wit hgas prices going up.? the weight you save by removing all that hardware is like not having an extra passenger. there will be some savings in gas, but i suspect the real savings come from not wasting engine power pushing all the mechanics, not the 200lbs or so. the other way to acomplish this would be to install thoses axle disconnects that they sell for cars w/ auto trans towed behind an RV. then you could put in the FWD fuse, disconnect the rear axles, and as long as the duty c holds out you are FWD, w/o the weight savings. now calculate the cost of mods vs. the gas savings .....

http://www.car-part.com sort by distance.

ther are a couple of posible solutions: 1. use outback wheels but smaller tires, same diameter as the legacy L. the speedometer will not be off. you gain height from the struts, but none from the wheels / tires. but your wheels / tires may look small in your wheel wells. 2. swap in an outback TCU and/or ECU , (i think ECU, but TCU is probably cheaper ). i've never tried it, but one of them, or maybe the combination interprets the signal from the front speed sensor and converts it to MPH. 3. go to the tire size calculator, http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html , figure out how off it will be and then make a mental note to adjust your speed accordingly. at 60 mph you will really be going 65.2 mph or something like that. just go 10% slower than you want to, you want to go 75 mph, set the cruise at 67.5, want to go 66, set the speedo at 60, you'll be ok.

i wondered where i parked it .....

generally, i would have agreed with you since that has always been the way it was in the building industry. if you met the code when you built the house, then you were 'grandfathered' in for any code updates. but, they are in effect outlawing all TVs with rabbit ears. they are giving you a way to still use them, but ...

i'm not completely sure what you are trying to accomplish, but smaller tires will give you more power. of course in an off road? situation, smaller tires may not be what you want.

if the mechanical eror is any where except your tach head, the scan tool will read the same as the tach. both wil be receiving the same information from the sensor. what kind of gas mileage do you get.? what kind of driving do you do?

what is your speed at the same rpms for each forward gear.?