OB99W

Yes, front/rear/both oxygen sensors can cause real or seeming problems with the catalytic converter. In general, the front O2 sensor output is used in conjunction with the ECU to determine/set the fuel/air mixture, while the rear one's output is compared with the front's to get the cat efficiency. Here's something to read that might prove interesting: http://www.troublecodes.net/articles/catfailure/

Have my posts become invisible? :-\

3M, Bondo (see link below) and others make flexible filler for bumpers. The same companies have products for dealing with the hood. I'd suggest trying to find an auto body supplier (not a body shop) in your area, or look for one via the Web. http://www.midwayautosupply.com/detailedproductdescription.asp?12803

With 180k on it, and your not having ever changed the timing belt, that's something to consider. However, there's an electrically-related possibility that comes to mind; power that passes through both the ignition and fuel pump relays arrives via a fuse (fusible link) numbered SBF-2, in the main fuse box. I'd suggest looking at that.

As suggested, do check for loose lugnuts. A few more Qs: Is the wobble different when turning left or right versus going straight? Does lightly applying the brakes while simultaneously accelerating lessen the wobble? Have you tried swapping tires/wheels front to back to see if the wobble changes?

I have some ideas, but a few questions first. 1) Did it die while driving, or just refuse to start one day? 2) How many miles on the odometer? 3) Where was the gas flow checked?

Welcome to the forum. Would you elaborate on the "wobble"? Does it: 1) vibrate so you feel it seat-of-the-pants? 2) shake the steering wheel? 3) cause the car to move side-to-side? 4) jerk your head back and forth? 5) some combination of the above? 6) something entirely different? Relative to the new tires, alignment, cv's, were they replaced in an effort to fix the problem, or did the "wobble" start sometime after they were done?

My response to your original post in this thread was to point out where the insurance company probably got their figure, which I thought might be useful information. I'm sorry that you've suffered a loss, but that doesn't excuse the attitude. What I've got to say now is: "Please stop swearing at people who are attempting to be helpful." I suspect you might need to point the model differences out to the insurance company. Good luck.

For the '94 SVX, Edmunds says: COMPACT COUPE L Styles (TMV® Dealer Retail: $2,607) LS Styles (TMV® Dealer Retail: $2,665) LSi Styles (TMV® Dealer Retail: $4,172) Granted, these are averages and not specific to your area, but it should be obvious where the $2,600 figure came from. If it's an LSi, you have a chance at making a case for more.

Puncturing insulation in order to check continuity isn't a good practice. It's usually done, unfortunately, to save the tech some time. Sometimes the saved time will be passed on to the customer as cost savings. In my opinion, unless connectors are very difficult to get to, back-probing them is the better approach, even if it means a few minutes/dollars more. I've never had (on my own cars) wire conductors damaged by intentional punctures. However, I've experienced corrosion as you described due to accidentally damaged insulation combined with road-salted water, so your concern makes sense.

Various online dealers using Trademotion for pricing show that part number as listing (MSRP) for $9.38. Assuming that's correct, it might be best to get it from a local Subaru dealer, even if you have to pay sales tax; shipping/handling charges would probably make most of the online folks much more expensive (they seem to charge about $9 for s/h), even if they discount the part itself somewhat. The filter by itself (not the entire kit) may be quite a bit more expensive. Perhaps due to the kit being used under a repair campaign, Subaru made it inexpensive to encourage its use.

I believe I gave this reference previously, but for some general info, see: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ACSystems.pdf However, if this is all about the compressor knock, you should know that a cause of knocking with axial-piston type compressors (used on early-90's Subarus) can be refrigerant pressure that's too high. That could be due to an overfill, or a restriction (possibly caused by icing from moisture, etc). That's why I wrote before about evacuation and the drier condition. Normally when you replace oil in the compressor, you dump what's in it and put the about same amount in as was removed. That's because the spec is for the entire system, but unless everything is new there's oil distributed throughout (especially some concentrated in the receiver/drier), and putting the spec amount in the compressor would typically overfill a previously-used system.

Maybe -- older systems with R12 (as opposed to R134a) use a mineral-based oil that isn't nearly as hygroscopic as ester/PAG in more recent systems. If the system hasn't been converted, the oil may not be as big a concern. Even so, it wouldn't hurt to change the oil, as long as the proper total amount is used. I would still be concerned with a large hole in the original condenser that the drier desiccant could be moisture-saturated.

That will work, as long as the problem isn't with the switch contacts that power the coil of the blower motor relay in the med-low (2) position. To eliminate that possibility, if using a grounded wire as Cougar suggests make sure to do the same at the green/black wire. With either a voltmeter or the grounding approach, the green/black wire can be checked anywhere it's accessible. That doesn't have to be at the switch; in this particular case the test results will be the same.

Since the system was exposed to atmosphere for some time, did the shop pull sufficient vacuum before filling it? For the same reason, what condition is the drier in? If the drier has to be replaced, a new one is probably the best way to go. You may have to add some refrigerant oil as well to replace any that was in the old drier. By the way, are you sure that the refrigerant is the original type, and not a substitute?

You've got it; of course, you shouldn't go through the entire procedure if the cause becomes evident part of the way through.

If by "Nothing happened with Red Yellow" you mean that grounding that wire didn't get the blower running, then it's probable that the problem lies with the switch contacts that power the blower relay, rather than the ones that select the resistor(s), or something else. However, I'll give a procedure that should help pinpoint the problem without making assumptions. Since the following are voltage tests, of course they need to be done with the blower powered. Put the switch in the medium-low position ("2"). Connect the negative lead of your voltmeter to a known-good ground. Leaving all the connectors in place, with the positive lead back-probe the green/black wire at the switch connector. You should measure zero volts (or something very close to that); if you see battery voltage, the section of the switch that powers the blower relay in the medium-low position isn't making contact. If you get a correct reading at the green/black wire, move the positive meter lead and back-probe the red/yellow wire at the switch connector. Again, you should get a reading of zero volts, or very near it. If you see battery voltage, the section of the switch that makes connection to the resistor pack in the medium-low position isn't making contact, or the connector itself has a problem at that pin. If you get a near-zero voltage reading at the red/yellow wire at the switch, the switch is probably okay. Move the positive lead and back-probe the red/yellow wire on the connector at the resistor pack. If the voltage is still near zero, the problem is likely that the connector pin for that wire at the resistor isn't making good contact (or, although unlikely, the resistor pack has a bad internal connection). On the other hand, if you now get battery voltage, there is a break in the red/yellow wire between the resistor and the switch. Unless the wire has been damaged, there's a good chance that pins in connectors i20 or B80 aren't making good contact. I hope that did it. If after going through the above you're still not sure what the problem is, please mention what the voltage reading was at each step above.

Sorry, I've been busy the last couple of days and didn't see this until now. Yes, I had wanted to verify that "we're both on the same page". The info Cougar gave is basically correct, by the way. The resistor pack has three resistors. The switch has two sections, one of which operates the blower motor relay (in all positions except "off", naturally), while the other selects which resistor(s) of the pack are used (or none, for the highest speed). Each of those operations is accomplished by grounding the appropriate terminal. In the "low" position, all three resistors are used in series, so when that speed works it becomes obvious that none of the resistors are open. That can still leave switch contact, connector, or wiring problems. If you haven't found the cause yet, let me know what the wire colors/positions are, and I'll suggest a voltmeter approach.

If that's done, it should be for a very short time (literally, a few seconds). However, you'd also have to know which connector pins correspond to which pressure-switch section. If you didn't have the manual, that could be determined with voltmeter and ohmmeter readings (finding the hot and ground leads, and deducing the remaining two), but it's quite likely now that the system needs leak detection and charging. The chance that the pressure switch is open because it's defective is fairly minimal.

The 4-wire plug connects to two pressure switch sections. Two of the pins are for fan speed control, the other two for protection against low (and likely also excessive) pressure. The fan speed contacts would normally be open with the system off, accounting for lack of continuity between one pair of pins. Since you found no continuity between any of the four pins, it's very likely that low refrigerant is indeed the culprit causing the remaining switch section to be open when it normally shouldn't be. As nipper said, they'd usually add some refrigerant (about 8 ounces) and sniff for a leak, or check with a soap solution. Some shops add a leak-detection dye, but that often isn't the best approach. If your system is fully discharged, the shop may put it under vacuum before charging it; they can then see if it holds vacuum, and if not determine roughly how bad the leak is by noting the time it takes for the vacuum to be lost.

As nipper has said, it's a good idea to check the low-pressure switch with an ohmmeter for continuity (engine off). If low/no refrigerant is sensed by that switch, the compressor clutch isn't allowed to be powered. Here's a previous thread that discussed the situation on a '99 Forester: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=59414 See one of my posts in that thread (#7) in particular. Also, these may help to locate and understand some things: http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ACTheory.pdf http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/ACMechanism.pdf Pamike, please note that none of the above is specific to a '90 Legacy (which I assume is the car with the problem), but it should give you an idea of how to check for a possible cause of the compressor not running.

Thanks for the kind words, Olnick and Cougar. Err, umm, just call me "OB-99-Wan" .

I assume the reference was actually supposed to be to "door sills", but "running boards" does bring to mind pictures of long-gone models. Is that the model that comes with a lifetime supply of Flintstone vitamins ?

You're welcome, glad to help. You're not a "mechanical moron"; you knew enough to suspect fuses, came to the right place for help , and fixed the problem. I respect someone who does those things, even if they don't have a lot of experience. If you'll excuse a "Star Wars" reference, Yoda was wrong; there is not only "doing" or "not doing", "trying" counts and often eventually leads to success, or at least knowledge gained.

It appears that the manual may have incorrect info for the coil pack that has an integrated igniter. As far as I know, the MY99 Legacy/OBW was the last to have a separate igniter (mounted to the firewall, fairly high and near center) and coil pack. On the '99, the connector at the coil is a 3-pin, and those pins connect to the two coil primary windings (one pin is common to both primaries). On these units you'll see low resistance readings (about 0.7 ohms per primary coil). From MY00 on, the igniter and coil are apparently integrated. The info I have available shows the 4-pin connector includes ground, power, and two pins going to the built-in igniter (coming from the ECU). That would mean that the coil primary connections aren't available at the 4-pin connector at all, and the high resistance readings are likely those of semiconductor circuitry that isn't being turned on by the low voltage typically provided by an ohmmeter. The high readings are probably normal, especially since (as you mention) the engine basically runs. It's possible that you might see some different resistance readings if you reverse the ohmmeter lead polarity, and/or if your meter has a "diode test" position. (Not that I think those readings would be very revealing, anyway.) If you haven't already done so, checking resistance from the coil secondary terminals to ground might be useful. If you see any conduction there (Subaru says under 10 Mohm is a problem, but I say even considerably higher than that is a bad sign), the coil has leakage. To verify that you should expect those readings to be quite high, I just checked my own coil secondaries to engine ground with a meter capable of reading resistance up to about 1,000 Mohms, and it reads infinite. A similar reading should be found between secondary terminals of one coil and the other in the pack. As I've said before, problems that an ohmmeter shows up shouldn't be ignored, but "correct" ohmmeter readings of a coil aren't sufficient to clear it; and ignition is only one possible cause of surging.