johnceggleston

my 97 will do this sometimes, if i have been driving aggressively in the mountains. the TCU ''learns'' from how you drive, and then continues to drive this way. holding 3rd a little longer may be a part of this. to test this theory, take two test drives, the same hilly route, but before the second drive disconnect the batter for a few, 15 , minutes. see if the second drive is different. but the slop in the drive shaft is another problem all together. is the slop in the shaft, or the trans rear extension housing. clunks as you have reported could be drive shaft, or rear trans mount or rear diff bushings.

in the middle pic in post #10 above, (i could not figure out how to display or copy link) there seems to be a lager gap on the right side than the rest of the link shaft. (more sunlight opening) i do not know if this is standard, or just a ''pic trick''. it almost looks like the link closest to the camera is bent down slightly after the sway bar bracket. or maybe the one behind it bends up. but i would check it, compare to the other side or another car. got it.

were you doing any work under the dash just before this started giving you trouble? did you or someone else connect the green test connectors under the dash?

i do not know a lot a bout the alignment process, but i do know if you change any one adjustment you have to go through the entire process again. how much confidence do you have in the shop / technician doing the job.? maybe something up front is bent and that is causing a problem. how much damage was done in the ''accident''.? 70 mph off road was probably more of a problem for the front end, than 50 yds dragging side ways was on the rear . just a guess. 4 new tires?

the TCU is looking for resistance on the wire. if you put 17omhs, i think, on it the TCU will be happy. do a search and read up. tcu* pinout AWD* switch* AWD* switch* resistor AWD* locked mod* AWD* duty locked switch* mod* disconnecting the wire going to the duty c is simple. cut the power and you will get awd locked all the time. just like when the duty C solenoid fails. but the transfer clutch sending power to the rear wheels was designed to ''slip'' for a reason.

the way to create AWD locked, is to cut the power to the duty c. this has been covered. all the info about resistors and the switch is simply a way to avoid a flashing AT Temp light. and the wrong combination of resistors and switch will eventually burn out. but there is a plus to having the AT Temp light flash at start up. it acts as a reminder to check and see if you are AWD locked. AWD locked on dry pavement can cause excessive wear and tear on the drive train. so if a flashing light at start up reminds you to turn OFF the AWD locked switch, all the better.

are your tires wearing funny?

it all depends on what you are trying to do. if you love your 14'' wheels, then you have to live with 14'' tire selection. but if you do not care about the wheels you have i would go with 15". i think they are more common and there is a greater tire selection, but i do not really know. the lego L will handle slightly larger tires with out swapping the struts. the GT has the same struts and it runs 205/55/16 as stock. (24.88'' dia.) lego L stock is 185/70/14 (24.2'' dia.) but the outbck or forester struts will allow you to go up 205/70/15, (26.3'' dia.) about 2 inches larger than what you now have.

the obs struts are the same as the lego L struts. i don't know about 14'' tires. but the 15'' equivalent is 195/60/15 .

neither the oli sep plate nor the oil pan gasket will leak when the engine is off, just sitting. but it may take a while for oil that leaked when driving to drip down and off of the engine. the oil pan gaskets rarely leak. the oil sep plate always leaks , eventually. but if money is tight, just top off the oil every week or few days, and park over a piece of cardboard.

the 95 impreza is not a plug and play swap into a 01 legacy . it will never be trouble free. you need a 00 - 03 engine. 00 - 01 would be easier.

double check ALL of the vac hoses. you left something open, disconnected. you may end up with a trouble code due to no EGR.

the o-rings where the lines meet the compressor are likely leak points. as well as where the lines meet the condenser in front of the radiator. i suggest you get the o-rings from the dealer. they will cost a little more, but they will fit and not leak. i would replace them before you charge the system your self, and then drive it until it does not cool. you may get through the summer without paying the pros. and if it is not the o-rings you have only lost about $10.

both of these trans will plug and play. the same final drive ratio the same electronics. i don't know why the 5th position is different. but i know the trans will run fine. in the 90s the trans id was TZ102Zxxxx then they went to TZ1A2Zxxx in 99 outback / GT. for some reason the forester got the TZ1A3Zxxxx. and finally the lego line went to TZ1A4xxxx. but the electronics are the same and will run fine. if you want to take the time to look up the individual clutch / gear part numbers, (opposedforces.com/parts) you may find what the difference is. but i would not bother, they are all phase 2 auto trans. do the swap. are any of the trans-x stories in rooster's thread about a forester? maybe the TZ1A3Zxxxx got a different seal, or was manufactured by a differ company or plant location?

did you reconnect the EGR pipe to the head and the manifold ?this will create an exhaust leak. but it is probably the RTV.

what year forester struts? i doubt 2014 forester struts will bolt on, but the 98 - 02/3 will with no problem.

JBWeld, get the putty and just make a ball around the line and squeeze it. do not squeeze too hard, you don't want it to squeeze into the line. probably should clean the outside of the line first. ps: some on probably has used lines for cheap.

typically an electronic problem would give you a flashing ''power'' light at start up, i'm pretty sure, i have not owned a 90 - 94, but hats what the 95 - 99s do except it is the AT Temp light, they don't have the ''power'' light. there is a special ''handshake'' dance required to check for trans codes, 90 - 94. so it may be worth it to search for it and do the dance, just in case..

coolant into the over flow bottle is normal, as you know. but not sucking it back into the rad is a problem, again as you know. this is just a guess, but i suspect the pressure forcing the coolant out to the overflow, is greater than the suction drawing it back in. the most common cause for this is a leak in the system. the leak could be the cap, done, the hose that runs to the overflow bottle, any other hose in the system, or it could be that the over flow bottle hose is jammed down in to the bottle too far, preventing the suction from drawing it back into the rad. i had a leak on my lower rad hose at the clamp once. it only leaked when at full operating temp. when cold at idle, nothing, drive it on the hiway and then let it idle, drip, drip, drip . if the system leaks it will eventually cause an over heat situation. this will force more coolant in to the overflow. but when the system cools it may suck air at the leak point instead of sucking coolant from the over flow bottle. so look for leaks. let the car idle in the drive way after driving around, and look for leaks. it could also be caused by an internal head gasket leak, exhaust gases leaking into the coolant. this is very unusual for a 00 - 04 ej25 engine. so i would look for another cause before focusing on head gaskets.

does your ''power'' light flash 16 times at start up? any flashing lights at start up?

there is a work around for using a non-egr ej22 engine in a 2.5L car. Using a NON-EGR engine in Subaru with EGR - Submit a Tip or Mod to the USRM - Ultimate Subaru Message Board

what happens if you start in 1 and manually shift to 2? what happens if you start out in 2? and shift to 3? with the selector in 1 , the trans is supposed to stay in 1, and not shift until red line, to protect the engine. with the selector in 2, it is supposed to start in 2 and stay in 2 until the engine reaches red line, for protection. try it. are you sure the trans is in first when you start? what are the rpm @ 30mph? when the trans is in ''limp'' mode, all of the electronics are gone, no shifting. the trans defaults to a mechanical 3rd gear and stays there, no shifting. does this sound familiar.

not sure about the fuel consumption, but the loss of power is due to the p0325 knock sensor code. replace it with a cheap one from ebay, $15 shipped. but if you are in a hurry, buy it from a US seller, not china. although the last one i bought came from china? in about a week.

in 00, they may have moved the access panel to under the rear seat. i'm not sure. but it will be one of the two locations.

gary, before i scrapped my 01 H6 VDC trans, 160k. i pulled the rear extension housing ''just in case''. i knew the trans was bad, i only owned it for about 5 miles before it completely failed. what little i did drive it there was indication of a bad transfer issue, no binding or noise. i do not really know the condition, i do not even know if all the parts are there. i just unbolted it and kept what came off. i can send a pic.... make me an offer. yours for cheap if you want it.