foxgap

Thanks for the great advice everyone. This is a car we are going to walk away from. We don't need a car at the moment, it would have been nice to move up from the 96, but I don't want to buy a car and start throwing cash at it right away. Heck for the cost of buying the car I could have quarter panels put on the 96 and old reliable would look like it came out of the showroom. Maybe..... Thanks again everyone, Mark

I have not got to hear the car cold yet, but am thinking that the noisy motor is just that, noisy. I have a friend that has one a few years newer and has the piston slap. We started his up today and warmed it, it sounded similar to the 04 after it was warmed. The CEL still has me worried, could be an O2 sensor and that point I have to determine which one is bad or maybe it could be as bad as something in the EVAP system. Just got to get the codes first. The clutch is the other big one. It does feel the same as when a hydraulic clutch is going bad on an american car. The owner did not mention when it was changed last, but that project could become expensive. I imagine when you do a clutch on this type of system you replace everything, clutch kit, slave and master. Thanks for the ideas guys, keep them coming. Mark

I value your opinions here a lot, everyone has helped me a ton with the 1990's Legacys, but I came across a newer car and since I have never had one this new I need your opinions again. Car is a 2004 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5H4, 5 speed, 137K miles. Body is in good shape. The 2.5 is a bit noisier than my 2.2's, is this normal? The 5 speed clutch is a hydraulic instead of the cable clutch in my 90's car. It releases almost to the top and is kinda hard to get used to. When going into 1st gear if you don't have the pedal all the way down it will grind a tiny bit, is this normal? Car has had the head gaskets and timing belt kit done by a Subaru mechanic that is a member of his congregation ( the seller is a Minister ). It has a slight oil burning smell so I think one of the valve cover gaskets is leaking some, not a big deal. It also has a slight bump sound when letting out the clutch to pull into traffic, I'm thinking one of the mounts is getting tired. The check engine lite is on, he says that his mechanic turns it off and says that it is not a big deal, but it is for me, we have emission inspection in my part of PA. I asked him to find out what the code is. Asking price $3600.00 Thanks to everyone in advance, Mark

We bought the car used so I am not sure of the milage on the parts. It appears that the belt had been changed at one time, I found that out when I had the motor resealed about 12K ago. At that time I asked about the belt and was told it was in great shape and to this day it still looks great. I am thinking it was replaced before I got the car, but nothing else was replaced at that time. The car now has 201K on it and runs quiet. When the body gives out I'd like to hold on to the drivetrain for a just-in-case experience down the road. The 5 speed trans is starting to get noisy, but I can get one of those at the local Subaru yard for about $300.00. The only thing we regret about this experience was that 3 weeks ago I put 4 new snow tires on it and it snowed about 6 inches while the car was down. No fun in the white stuff this time, but winter is not over yet........

Well everyone the Outback is back on the road, in about 10 min I'm going out to change the oil in it but it does run again. The problem with the timing was the cogged idler had seized up and made the timing jump. We replaced all the parts with a Gates timing belt kit and the car started right up. Well not right up, the cam sensor that we thought was bad and replaced with a new one gave us some problems. Turns out the brand new cam sensor was bad right out of the box. Put the old one back in, changed the plugs again and then it started. LOTS of smoke in the garage, got the car outside and it cleared right up. Cleared the computer and now it is at home. Want to thank everyone here for the great help and thoughts, could never had done it without you. Mark

timing belt is on it's way, car goes in on the 3rd of Jan. Yeah I think I could do this myself, but no garage and overnight temps are supposed to be near 15 tonight. Just to COLD. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all that have helped. I'll get back to you on the 3rd!

OK everyone, I am not an expert mechanic, but from what I see I think the timing has jumped. I pulled the end covers just now and turned the right cam to the top (painted slot on pulley) to the slot in the timing cover and went to look for the one just like it on the left and found it about 1/4 of a turn before the slot in the timing cover. I then turned the left cam to the top and found the right 1/4 turn past the top. NOT GOOD. Thank goodness this is a 2.2. I am going to start looking for a belt kit next. Got to get the second opinion from the mechanic in the morning but I think I found the problem. Does this explain the no power to the injectors also?

No security system, that thing went to wayside right after I got the car.

I am going to check the belt this afternoon, wish I had done that when I had the end covers off to see if the belt tore the other day. oh well. My friend also suggested the friggin MAF. I am going to invest in that on Monday if we can't find anything else today. I will also check the fuse box, I have it half out already when I took out the washer bottle to get to the spark plugs, might as go all the way now. Keep those suggestions coming, I'll get to bottom of this yet. Mark

I was told the crank sensor was just for spark, but no have not replaced that yet. I can get that in the morning. I'm hoping that the timing belt has not jumped, I did not want to get into taking all the covers off the front of the motor until the car gets moved into a garage. Any other way to check timing without tearing into the front at the moment?

All, the OB died on the way to work the other day. Car turns over, timing belt is not broke, fuel pump OK, new spark plugs today(NGK), got spark, no injector pulse. I changed the cam sensor today and still nothing. Car is a 2.2 5 speed. I have a friend who will scan the computer maybe tomorrow, but in the meantime can anyone throw out some more suggestions what to check. This is driving me nuts, the car has been the ultimate in reliability up to this point, I just want to get it fixed and figure out what is causing the problem. Thanks, Mark

Yehaaa all, The second control arm was the ticket. Denny pulled the first one and compared it, looked the same, but when he put number two in it was like night and day. Lots of room at the wheel well and still have room to move it in the slotted holes on the rear mount. I took the first back to the boneyard and Andy looked it over along with another Subie guy and they found a spot on the top of the arm where there was a dent in it that would throw it off just enough to screw it up. He apologized for not looking closer because the car it came from was not wrecked when it came in. Good people. The yard is called Deerfoot and is in Wind Gap PA. He has a TON of Subbies. next question, should this car be allinged now? Thanks again to all who helped, Mark

I will have the shop check for the broken spring. I did contact the junkyard that I got the control arm from and they are going to warranty it, I just have to drive over there in the morning and pick it up and of course return the first one. I drop the car off tonight at the shop and the owner has said he can fit it in on Friday to replace it again. The guy at the yard said that the control arms fit from 1990 thru 2004. If anyone needs that info.....

Thanks guys, I am going to take a ride to the spot she says it rubs at, only a few miles from here. At that point I hear it rub I'll stop the car and take a good look. Seems really strange for the entire life of the car we never had a problem and now we do. Could it be possible that the boneyard gave me an incorrect part? I thought that the control arms were all the same for that body style.

I had to replace the right lower control arm on the Legacy OBW cause the old one was rusted through. I got a used one from a junkyard($25.00 what a deal) and had the local shop put the thing in. I pulled the car out of his shop down a small grade to a stop and turned right. The tire rubbed the mud guard, we took the car back in and loosened the arm back up and using the slotted holes in the rear mount moved it forward. Tried it again ,no more noise. OK. Girlfriend is now saying it is rubbing again, not nearly as bad as before but every now and then it happens. What am I doing wrong???? We measured the distance between the tire and well on both sides and it seems to be the same. Could the junkyard arm be bent just enough that there is a difference? The car steers real nice and is not wearing the tire, yet. Thanks in advance all, Mark

Heck by that time the quaters might fall off from rot.

The RedLine 75w90NS went in last night. VERY easy job to do and I have noticed an improvement already. Trans was quieter, seemed to shift smother. I'll get more imput when the girlfriend gets home from work tonight after beating it across the mountain to Stroudsburg where she works. Got to love those 5 speeds for that kind of driving. I did find about a 1/4 inch of goop/shavings on the magnet of the drain plug so this will probably be a just a bandaid fix until either I find another trans or get the bearing replaced in this one. I did find a link to a step by step relacement of the bearing on another forum, but I am not sure I am up to doing the job without making a real mess of it. I'm going to call Weddes Subaru to ask if they will do the job when it comes to that.... Opinions? Mark

Fairtax, that is what the trans is starting to sound like. Just started to hear the noise so I am hoping I can get some more life out of it, maybe till spring at least. The bearing GD recommended will be the one I will put in. Thanks for your opinions, you all answered the questions I needed to make a good judgment on this car. Mark

car is a 96 Outback 2.2 5 speed 192,000 miles on it. When the trans is cold, I keep the garage at 50 degrees in the winter, the trans is pretty quiet. After say 5 miles the trans is now warmed up and starts to get a bit noisier. The local Sube repair shop says it is just the internals making noise and I should put in Redline 75w-90ns and that should quiet it down. I pulled the dipstick and the oil smells like good old gear oil and I have no idea when it was changed last. It is clear and not cruddy. Owners manual shows only one dipstick for the trans and diff and says to put in 3.7 quarts of fluid so I gather the trans and diff share the fluid. When I searched the forum Redline comes highly recommended so I will be doing that as soon as I can find a place to get it around here. Amazon is my other option. One other thing I found during the search was that a rear bearing goes out on these trans, cheap fix with the trans out, should this be a maint. item when the trans is out for a clutch? Your opinions please. Mark

On mine it was one of the pushpins on the plastic screen on the cowl below the windshield. There is a hole right above the defroster inlet that let water drip down into the fan inlet and then onto the floor. Some gasket sealer on the pin and then pressed back into the hole sealed it up. Dry ever since.

Thanks Rooster, still have not made my mind up. We wanted to put a bit more tread on the ground with the 60's. I have a set of Hancooks that are 60 series snowtires on it at the moment and no rub, but they are shorter also, I can't remember the size at the moment. The grip on the road is incredible but noisy, they are snow tires after all. Maybe I should look into a 65 series.

We have to get 4 new tires for the 96 Outback soon and I thought I would like to try a 235-60-15 this time. It is the same height and radius as the 205-70-15 that is the stock tire. Anyone see a problem with this size and width? Thanks, Mark

Mine had the same problem, turned out it was the springs in the pressure plate went bad and the clutch was only about 1 year old. I had Weddes Auto Repair located just north of Bath replace the clutch again with a clutch kit I got from Keystone Auto Parts. For the life of me I can't remember the brand but is a very popular brand used by most of the people here on the forum. Senior moment ..... The company makes the clutches for most of the Japenese cars out on the market today. Best thing I ever did for the car. Cost for the entire job including the new kit was about $450.00 Weddes also has a ton of used parts and sells used Soobs on their lot. Craig will take good care of you.

Just went thru the same type problem with my 90 Legacy. The problem with mine was similar, grab the wires and shake them, on came the blower. I had just replace my blower motor also. Out it came again and I found the wires connecting to the motor were slightly melted into the connector and not making good contact to the motor. I cut the connector off and soldered 2 new wires and teminals the same size as the ones on the motor. Put the thing back in and NO problems since.

Irene was a real pain in the butt, there are people down the road that may not have power back until Friday or so.