johnceggleston

if you are going to drive it while you work on it i would remove the rear section of the drive shaft. this will eliminate the binding and unwanted wear on the trans, transfer clutch etc. i would probably try and buy a good used rear extension housing, add a new duty c, ~$100, and swap that in. you don't really know how worn the transfer clutch discs are now. all you really know now is that they are grabbing. (no grab, no bind.) you could get new new clutch discs, but that will add ~$250 - $300. i don't understand the ned to swap out the t-stat unless it is overheating. and if there are bubbles in the overflow when overheated then it is the head gaskets not the t-stat. remove the other fog so you can get it inspected. none is better than one in my state. with all it needs, you need to buy a wreck or a parts car. do you have somewhere to park one? where is kennenwick?

i just priced monroe struts for my 98 outback at rockauto.com for $275 shipped. plus there is a good rebate from monroe. check it out. but good used would probably be cheaper.

the 96 ej22 is a phase 1 engine. the 00 ej25 is a phase 2 engine. this line cannot be crosswed easily. it is easier to find a matching 00 - 04 engine.

i just lifted my 00 lego L with 01 outback struts and springs. nothing else. i got at least 2'' of lift. see pics here, post 7: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136949-95-legacy-needs-more-clearance/?do=findComment&comment=1151873

yes. you need the exhaust manifold y-pipe from the donor car. there is lots of info on this swap. do a search for ej25 swap.

if your existing trans has a spin on external fluid filter then the oo+ trans should work. if it does not have the external spin on filter then the older, 96 - 98 trans will work. check the driver side of the trans near the pan.

did you use your original o2 sensors or the ones that came with the exhaust?

i think the 99 forester trans is more like the 98 forester or the 96 - 98 outback than the 00+ auto trans. 99 was a transistion year, forester got the new engine, phase 2, 00 - 03/4, but the old trans . while outback got the new phase 2 auto trans, 00 - 03, and the ''old' engine 96 - 98. so look for another trans. the ones from the late 90s may be a little cheaper any way. you can use one from any 96 - 98 outback, GT or forester with a 2.5L engine. NO ej22 cars.

what? you are going to drive it out into the country and just leave it like an unwanted cat? say it ain't so!!!!!

outback srturts are about 2.25 inches taller than the lego struts. i do not know what difference the outback springs will make. out back tires arew 2'' taller (diameter) than the lego tires, so that will add another 1'' of clearence (radius). you need nothing else. forester rear struts from the late 90s are shorter than the outbacks. but i have hears that there a foresters that are longer, 05 maybe, i'm not sure. but the 90s outbacks are a direct swap with no issues. have at it . pics below of my RED 97 GT with outback struts and springs. the factory struts were the same as the lego L / brighton. and my GREEN 00 lego L with outback (01) struts and springs.

whenyou replaced the exhaust, what else did you do to the car?

no need to pull the engine for a timing belt job. removing the fans on the rad is enough, but worst case, pulling the rad will give you loys of room. and if you are planning on replacing the water pump, you are going to drain the coolant anyway. but a timing pulley would have to be pretty damn loud to hear it through the timing cover. look for a different noise source. i'm not saying don't do the timing belt. that is always a good idea on a recent used subaru purchase . only if it is a NON-interference engine, 90 - 96 ej22, can you let it slide. it is very rare on a used car purchase to know when the timing belt was done, but it is almost impossible to know if EVERYTHING was done. lots of folks will replace the belt and maybe the water pump, but did they replace all the idlers? that is the question. the idlers are installed at the factory with greased bearings. and some folks expect them to last OVER 200k miles with the little bit of grease that was installed when they were made. do the timing belt and all the moving parts it touches. (except the crank sprocket) look some where else for the noise.

96 - 99 outback strut and spring assemblies will bolt on with no worries. you can then run stock outback tires, 205/70/15, insteasd of stock legacy tires, 185/70/14. you can get the struts and springs at a salvage yards for as low as $45. www.car-part.com. this is quick and dirty. or buy outback KYB-GR2s with either used or new springs. edit: if you swap in the outback trailing arm? it will recenter the wheel in the opening on the quarter panel. but you do not have to.

check the connector and the wire run for damage.

if it is behind the trans, it is the second sensor. 95 - 99, there is only one bank and and basically there is a sensor in / on each cat.

it is a modified handshake. yes, you can do it in the drive way. drain the trans, remove the heat shield & drive shaft, lower the rear of the trans? and remove the rear extension housing. the part is about $100 from an online dealer, depending on the year. how does the car do in tight slow circles?

it is both the connector and the hand shake, or at least a version of it. the link below worked for me. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/128901-96-legacy-wagon-wautomatic-awd-shudders/?do=findComment&comment=1094797

walking dead??

really good prices.!!!!!!!!!

00 lego L w/ auto trans, 85k miles. i bought it about 1500 miles ago with the ''slow to engage'' issue. i aded some trans-x and it cleared it right up. about 500 miles after purchase, it got rod knock the engine quit. i bought a replacement 01 engine and used my heads and intake on the short block. back on the road with no issues until now. last week i repalced the RF axle and on start up i had 4 cels. i checked the main connectors on the rear of the engine and sprayed them with MAF claener. its all i had. reseated the connector and all was well. a few days later on the hiway the car suddenly downshifts to 3 for no apparent reason while running at 60 - 65mph. then up to 4 then down to 3. and then a flashing AT Temp light. get to the store , turn it off and back on expecting a flashing AT Templight at start up, but NO. NO flashing lights and NO CEL. i was hopping for it to be the trans connector on the rear of the engine , but i reseated it and there was no ''apparent'' contamination and no improvement afterwards. it was not completely seated but it is now. the car drove the same on the test drive. so it does not seem that was the issue. just a coincedence. fluid is good color and level. i was thinking i might do a drain and fill with some trans-x, just for grins. no CELs, no flashing ATTemp light at start up. it will down shift with the least bit of throttle. occasionally it feels as though it is in FWD, other times i THINK i feel a little binding. sometimes it will hold a gear too long before shifting. and it has a harder than normal 1-2 shift. if i shift into 2, it will not down shift. and of course in 1 it can't, there is nowhere to go. but in 4 or 3 it will down shift any time it likes. it usually upsifts pretty quickly afterward, but not always. the ATTemp light is not always flashing when it is acting up, and turning it off and back on will usually clear the flashing. help me please, i'm beginnig to think about a trip to the dealer. i did find one thread with a flashing AT Temp light on a 96 while driving. but there wasn't really any conclusive solution reported back. he took it to the dealer and they ''said it was a ground wire''. thanks, john

here is one source. iirc the price was pretty good.

the suspension is a no brainer, just swap the spring strut assemblies from the outback. the only challenge is pushing the wheel knuckles down far enought to get the bolt holes to line up. as for the others, they should be pretty easy to check, but my rule of thumb is, if the option was offered on the car when new, then the wiring harness is probably there. example, i replaced the carpet in my 00 lego L and there was no woring under the seart for either the heated seat or power seat options. neither was offered on the L in 00. just a guess, there is one wiring harness for lower end cars, and another for the higher end cars. just a guess. an easy thing to check is the wire for the lighted visor mirror. 2 screws and drop the visor. if the wire is up inside, then you may have some other wires for options. if not then probably no other option wires. but as mentioned, a lot of these things only need a + and -, and maybe a switch. look here for options : http://www.cars101.com/legacy.html

from a strictly numbers point of view, the 120k car is a better buy i use a formula to compare used cars, miles + (future miles or 10 miles per dollar) = cost (lower is better) i assign a value of 10 cents per mile to the price of the car. in other words a $1000 car will/should go 10K miles. for the 2003 this means 120k miles + 40k future miles ($4000 x 10) = 160 for the 2001 : 150K + 30K ($3000 x 10) = 180 (both of these cars are likely to go many more miles than the figure i have used. ) this is simply a way to compare similar used cars. it does not take into account the year, condition or options of the car and so it is not perfect for every situation. but on a very basic level, what you are buying is miles. and both or either of these cars could end up needing head gaskets. so take that in to account . AND as mentioned, doing ther timing belt and ALL pullies & water pump, doing that now, will give you 100k of trouble free mils. the t-belts on both cars no doubt were done around the 105k mark. the question is was EVERYTHING done. i would inspect the 01 very closely looking for evidence of a bad head gasket before you buy. having said all that, buy the one you want / like. no reason to regret the purchase after the fact.

if the belt is still in place, align the cam on the other side to its correct timing mark and then check the bad one. there should be arrows on the inner part of the cam, if they are in the same relative position you are in the ball part and you can remove the belt with out worry regarding valve damage. NOTE: the arrows should NOT be in the 12 oclock position, this is top dead center and it could cause piston valve contact. TIP: once you decide you can remove the belt safely, loosen the cam bolt BEFORE you remove the belt. it will give you a way to hold the cam in place.

i'm trying the learn and understand so help me if you can. setting the electricity aside for a moment, no fluid pressure = no power to the rear, no connection front ot rear. this is confirmed by jacking up one rear wheel with the engine off and spinning it by hand. fluid pressure to the clutch = power to the rear. it was my understanding, in the 90s, that the duty c was a ''duty'' solenoid, and by definition, that was a cycly on / off operation with the cycle rate determined by the TCU? is this incorrect? i never knew a voltage difference played a part. i thought it was a cycle rate, like cycles per minute. and the rate of the duty cycle, 10% - 90% ????, determined how much fluid pressure, to the cluctch and therefor how much power to the rear. more fluid pressure meant more power. the thing that is confusing : the more electrical power tot the duty c, the less fluid pressure. zero electricity to the dutyc menas maximum fluid pressure, maximum power to the rear. it just seems backwards but that is the way it is, for the 90s. and with the FWD fuse in, again 90s, the dutys was ''always on'' or perhaps more correctly, 100% duty cycle. this rate would bleed off all fluid pressure and create FWD. right so far? cut the power to the duty c and you got full fluid pressure an 4WD ''locked''. so did they change the fluid system, or did they change the action that bleeds off fluid pressure?? or are they the same thing? and what ever became of the aussie? cars that had a 4WD fuse under the hoods. fuse in = 4WD locked? nipper, do you remember this? a lot of questions in a fairly confusing manner, sorry.