mccullough

I blew out the low beam on the passenger side of my 2011 Outback. I figured I could just lift the hood and replace it like my 1994 Legacy or my 2000 Legacy...WRONG. Access to the light is buried under the frame and I'm sure there is a simple procedure for this fix. Someone please direct me to this post as I have looked and cannot find it. Thank you so much in advance. :-p

My dad and I went to replace the timing belt on my 2000 Subaru Outback (2.5l SOHC). When he removed the belt he did not align the crank/cam sprockets. I know the cam sprockets moved a little. What is the procedure to get everything back in alignment without destroying the valves or pistons? Can we simply put the belt back on and bring everything close to alignment once all the timing marks are pointed towards the top, or are we going to hurt the engine? The crank mark is almost pointing straight up, and the cam marks are down at different angles. HELP US

Counting teeth and lining up marks is tedious but I finally got the right tooth count and all timing marks at 12 oclock. Thank for all your help.

I found the specs for the timing belt tooth count for my 96 EJ22 40.5 to the right and 44 to the left. I have all my timing marks lined up and the count on the left is 41.5 which is what it was before I took it off. If I move it to 40.5 the cam timing mark on the left cam would be 1 tooth off to the inside of the notch. Whats more important the tooth count or the timing marks lined up perfectly?

Another thing I forgot to say was I did replace the water pump however it is not a Subaru pump. Could this maybe explain my issue?

I have and it's just off a bit...the line is just outside of the notch. Is it possible my tensioner is bad. I checked it out and it has no oil leaking?

Completed my first timing belt replacement on 96 Legacy EJ22. When I look at the cam lines and notchs with the crank line and notch perfectly lined up, the right cam line and notch (looking from front of engine) is perfect. The left cam line however is just outside of alignment, just outside to the right of the notch. I used a OEM Subaru belt I got at the dealer. Is this imperfect alignment (slight variance) going to cause me problems.

Wow...alot of information but all doable. I just replaced the O2 sensor and if the mileage does not go back to 30 mpg then, as was pointed out, my prior timing belt installation is probably off a tooth which is an easy fix. Thank you for all of the excellent input and problem solving.

Thank you for the specific info. Just got done installing the front O2 sensor and will take the other back to the parts store.

So if I replace the front O2 sensor and notice mileage is normal again I don't need to replace the rear one? It's always nice to save a buck.

IT HAS 164,000 MILES ON IT. iS IT TIME TO REPLACE THE o2 SENSOR, iS THERE A TEST TO SEE IF IT IS BAD?

I replaced the left head gasket and the timing belt (from Subaru Dealer) on my 1996 EJ22 and now get very bad gas mileage (20 mpg). The engine sounds good but is it very possible to be off on the timing belt a tooth or 1/2 tooth and it still sound like it is running good? Also would changing just 1 head gasket mess the whole timing belt process up? Thank you for your help.

I have a 96 Legacy Wagon (EJ22) that I changed timing belt on (counted belt teeth and done correctly) and had to replace a head gasket. Although it sounds like it runs great I smell the slight odor of unburnt gas at start up. My gas mileage is 25 mpg's at best in both cold or hot weather. I moved my knock sensor around to see if this would make a difference and it did not help the problem. Any ideas what the culprit might be? It was getting 31 mpg's before I changed the belt. It has 144,000 miles on it.:-\

I have not changed the wires but have recently tuned it up w/new air filter, spark plugs, fuel filter and I cleaned the MAF. The car is usually empty w/o alot of junk in the back. I guess I'll replace the spark plug wires and see what happens and then the O2 Sensor if that doesn't work. Thanks much, Dave

I fixed my knock sensor problem in my 96 Legacy Wagon 2.2L and my gas mileage did not go back up very much. It was about 21 and is now 23 mpg. I can still smell a slight unburnt gas smell at start up but the engine runs and sounds good. Any ideas? I wonder if the knock sensor on it's way out could cause this. I only have 130,000 miles on it.:-\

Thank you for all of the helpful tips and I will let you know how things turn out.

I have a 96 Legacy EJ22 thats mileage dropped to 21 mpg and that gave an intermitent check engine code. I had it read and it was the knock sensor which I replaced w/a JECS sensor. It ran great for about 3 weeks then the fuel mileage dropped again so I replaced it and the new JECS sensor lasted a week with the fuel mileage dropping off again. I replaced it with another sensor (different manufacturer) and the mpg's were never normal. The engine sounds normal through all of this and I just can't figure it out. I only had the one check engine light in the beginning and none after that. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:-\

Thank you very much for the quick reply. I guess I just need to wait for the next round of fuel mileage results to come in. Thank you, David

My 96 Legacy EJ22 with 132,000 miles just dropped from 31 mpg to 23 over the last 2 weeks. The engine sounds great at idle and at high RPM. The CEL came on so I replaced the Coolant Temp Sensor last night and reset the CEL and took it for a drive. After I took it for a drive last night I noticed both radiator cooling fans were going even though it was 15 degrees outside.What could be the cause of the low fuel mileage and the fans constatly running. HELP please.:-\

Good news. I have a Subaru that no longer sounds like a sewing machine. I drove it for about 30 minutes and all of the sudden it went quiet. NO MORE BAD LIFTER SOUNDS. Thank you to all that helped me through this nerve racking time.

I ran it for about 10 minutes and the sound only went away a little bit. Should I just take it for a drive and warm it up really good? O'h and I love having to burp my Suby. Reminds me of crappy diapers and puky kids.

Hydraulic lifters. But that does not explain the "Spring Valve" spacer busting off from my fulcrum. There are 2 of these spring loaded spacers one on either side of where the center of the rocker arm assembly bolts to the head. They keep the tension pushing the rocker arms out from the center of the rocker assembly. They're probably referred to as "spacers" and not "spring valves" as I have seen them listed in a Subaru Manual for the EJ22's. So the loud valve sound is normal after an initial head installation? I guess I should go and drive it down the free way to see if it makes the noise go away. Is this because the lifters are not pumped up fully yet?

I recently replaced the left head gasket on my 96 Legacy Wagon EJ22as it was leaking a little oil. As soon as I started it up it sounded like a sewing machine. I shut it off and pulled the valve cover and 1/2 of a rocker arm spacer dropped out. I fished the other half out of my oil pan hole. I'm a glutin for punishment so I re-did the job again thinking I was smarter than the average mechanic. I started it up and guess what. Same bad/loud clicking sound and I bet the new spacer I put in broke like the last one. Before I replaced the head gasket, other than the oil leak it ran pretty good. Any ideas on my problem. It has 130,000 miles. Is it worth my time to fix a 3rd time. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:-\

I am looking at swaping a 1996 Legacy Wagon cruise control into a 1998 Forester. Are the conponents relatively the same and can this be done with out a alot of headache. I have done a swap before but never across models?

Outstanding picture and thank you for the technical data as well. Dave:)