Mikevan10

Thanks OB99. I will look at the wiring. Can someone clue me in as to where the fuel pump relay is located? Mike V.

We may be onto something. When I went down to the Home Depot on Saturday I did listen closely when I turned the key to the "on" position and I did hear the fuel pump run for 2 or 3 seconds. Subsequently, the engine started (much to my surprise). As I said, the car then ran and restarted just fine for a day or so. Then, yesterday, it would not start. This morning as I was heading out the door to work, I took a second to see if I still heard the fuel pump. I turned the key to the "on" position and could hear NOTHING! I went aheadd and tried to start the engine to no avail. So it sounds like those of you who suspected that mu fuel was not being pumped get a +1! Next I have to figure out if it is the pump itself or something in the pump electrical circuit. I think we can rule out the fuse so I guess that leaves wiring and, assuming there is one, the fuel pump relay. Correct?

Mikec03 - Was your problem eratic? In other words, did the car start and run perfectly at times and at other times it would not start? Salve7 - Why do you ask me about combustion gasses in the coolant? I hope to get a chance to check for fuel flow tonight (if it decides NOT to start, that is). Thanks again, Mike v.

OK, here is the update: On Saturday afternoon I went over to the Home Depot where my '97 Legacy sat since last Wednesday. It started right up! No indication of any problem. Drove it home (15 miles) with no indication of any kind of any problem. On Sunday, my wife drove it back and forth to her work (about 3 miles each way). No problems. This morning, my wife went to drive the car and it would not start. Cranks over fine but makes no sign of actually firing. Suggestions?

Thanks for the comments! Yeah, I was thinking fuel flow too. I do not have a fuel pressure gage but I can disconnect the line preferably at the outlet of the fuel filter and see if fuel is pumped when the ignition is turned on. The gas tank is about 3/4 full. Just did some checking. Looks like my towing bill will be over 100 bucks. Hoping it's my fuel pump fuse.... Thanks again, Mike

Have not posted here in a while but am back to the well seeking your support. 1997 Legacy Wagon 2.2 liter Manual trans Normally aspirated About 260,000 miles Car was, and has been, running fine. No issues. No MIL for over a year. Took it out to run some errands last Wednesday. Drove about 10 miles to first stop. No problems. Car sat for about 10 minutes. Came out. Started and ran fine. Made two other similar stops (drove about a mile between stops). No problems. Made another stop (Home Depot). Car sat for about 15 minutes. Came out. Car started but as soon as I pulled from parking spot it stumbled. I pushed in the clutch to try to "catch" it but could not. It sputtered a couple of seconds and died. When I tried to restart, it cranks fine and "tries" to start. I get maybe one cough or two and nothing. Tried repeatedly to start it but I got maybe a cough at best. I poked around under the hood and looked for any loose electrical connectors. Jiggled all that I saw. Also looked for any disconnected vacuum hoses. I had changed out the second calalytic converter a week ago and had disconnedted the oxygen sensors that straddled the first cat at that time. So I made sure to check and see that these connectors were still together. Seemed fine. Left car sitting in the Home Depot parking lot since Wednesday. I will go back over today and I assume I will be towing it home. Anything I can check (looking for a miracle) before I hire a towing company for about $75.00? Troubleshooting suggestions guys? I'll be in touch! Thank you!! Mike V.

Just thought I'd ask if anyone else has had issues with the bolts that secure the front/main transmission mounting bracket to the chassis. I have had a problem with this on two different Legacys. I guess what has happened is that the hole on the bracket was not PERFECTLY alligned with the captive nut in the chassis and the threads on the bolt must have been getting damaged as the bolt was tightened. The result is that the bolt gets harder and harder to turn until I am afraid to tighten it anymore (before it has pulled the bracket up against the chassis). My plan is to obtain a replacement bolt, then remove the "bad" bolt and run a tap into the captive nut. Then I will make absolutely sure the bolt does not touch the backet as it is tightened. I may even open up the hole in the bracket to give extra clearance. I am nervous about the repair since if the threads in the captive nut become unuseable, I have no idea how I would replace that nut! Any ideas? Anyone ever have this experience? Thanks, Mike V.

The guys on this list that have lots of skill and experience, somewhat surprisingly, don't seem to have much of a problem with aftermarket brake parts except that you run a risk of the rotors not fitting correctly due to minor design changes that Subaru made to these items in various years. Do I have that right guys? Mike V.

Thanks Gary. Yeah I always clean and regrease the slides and I replace the clips if they come with the pads. Never thought the clips did much but you are right, if they somehow help the pads retract, then we are well advised to make sure they are in good shape. I recently ppurchased new rotors and pads for m the wife's '97. I bit the bullet and bought ALL OEM Subaru stuff so I got the new clips... Tough post there Wolfie but yeah, darn well better replace any rusty or missing slides!! Mike V.

Grossgary said, "The reason I mention those pads is that I would replace those clips, even if the pads you get don't come with them" I am curious. Why is it so important that those clips be in good nick? Mike V.

Isn't it remarkable that there was no valve or piston damage stemming from the broken belt?

Those "clamp-on" battery terminals are not that great in the first place. And since that is something you changed recently, I would hghly suspect that area. Mike V.

Do not take polychromeugand's advice regarding tightening the crank pulley nut.

Interesting discussion, fellows. Wish I could add something that might be helpful to Gambino, but I cannot. But I am curious about how an O2 sensor would "know" to trigger a code for itself (other than a short or open circuit). Wouldn't another sensor need to detect that the O2 sensor was not keeping things within appropriate parameters? And, if so, what other sensor would that be??? Mike V.

OK, I just took a look at the factory service manual and it looks like what I would be replacing is actually the tie rod itself. There is only a tie rod end, per say, on the outer end. The tie rod includes a ball joint that screws into the steering rack itself. Right? The FSM also indicates that you use a special tool to remove the tie rod from the rack. Apparantly this is not necessary? Mike V.

Thanks for the comments guys! Just going from memory, and not having really examined things closely, I did not think the tie rods would have been readily replaceable. I would have thought they ere only supplied as part of an entire steering rack assembly. Not so? (I know I'me being lazy and not doing my own research). As for my location, I live in Danielsville, right up against Blue Mountain. I work in Bethlehem. The car has about 212,000 miles on it. Mike V.

Well, as I was ruuning down the highway trying despartely to hold a constant throttle position the MIL illuminated again! Oh well. So I cleared the code again (P0420) and just used the car normally for a few days. Thanks for the reminder, 99, about PA allowing up to two incomplete tests! I totally forgot about that loophole. Anyway, after a few days, the scanner showed only two incomplete tests so I got the car inspected yesterday. Good for another year! If the code gets set again I think I'll pick up a couple of spark plug anti-foul fittings.... Thanks guys. Miike V.

While doing my pre-inspection inspection on my wife's 1997 Legacy wagon I noticed that the boots (actually gaitors) on both ends of the steering rack are torn. I can also detect a small amount of "slop" in the ball joint at that end of the tie rods. I do not notice any wandering of the car as I go down a straight road nor does the steering wheel shimmy or shake. So I am planning on only replacing the rubber boots. Anyone have any comments on this? Anyone ever done the job? Thanks, Mike V.

Oh yeah, I remember reading about that a while back. But, no, my car does not have that issue. EVENTUALLY, it will show all tests as complete (and stay that way) but if I remember correctly, this has taken many miles and many days (weeks?) in the past. Thanks again, Mike

Chaecked the readiness status last night and there are still three incomplete tests (I think they are oxygen sensor, catylst and evap system, something like that). So I guess I'll have to take this thing on the highway if I want to get it inspected last week. Hopefully it won't reset the error again by that time!

Thanks for the comments, 99. But, man, unless you have access to the Bonneville Salt Flats how can you run at any speed for ten minutes without changing the throttle angle?!? This is my wife's car. I cleared the light on Tuesday and it has not yet returned with her 'round town driving (and a few miles with a kid on his learner's permit:eek:). I'll check the readiness status tonight. If it is not ready by the weekend, I'll try to get it on the highway and run at 55 mph while moving the throttle as little as possible. Mike V.

1997 Legacy 2.2, 212,000 miles Well, it just figures… After running MIL free for over a year, and with my inspection sticker set to expire on August 31, the MIL (aka CEL) came on on my way back to PA from ME last Saturday. Came on about 200 miles from home and stayed on. There was no indication of any actual operational problem with the car. Connected a scanner last night. Good ol’ P0420 (Cat efficiency below threshold or some such thing). From what I believe I have read here in the past, the most likely culprits are the upstream oxygen sensor, an exhaust leak or the catalytic converter itself. Correct? Now, I know I have a small leak at the last joint in the exhaust system but this is in the back of the car at the front of the (final) muffler section. That could not be it, right? Anyway, I cleared the code, the light went off and the scanner says no faults are detected. But, of course, the system is not “ready” so I will not be able to get the car past inspection. Can someone please refresh me as to what it takes to get the system “ready” and how long that might take? If I recall correctly, this can take a long, long time…. As always, thanks for any and all comments! Mike V.

Yes, it is an EJ22. Yes, I am probably crazy (as proven by other things than not replacing timing belt pulleys) I am not only cheap but also currently extra poor and had already decided not to replace any pulleys unless I could detect eminent failure. I mentioned that plan here and no one told me that I was crazy. Alex made available pulleys that seemed noticibly better than the ones I removed. So, I do not believe that swapping them was crazy. If I were repairing/maintaining Subarus for others who were paying me to do so, I would definitely recommend that they replace all of the pulleys when the belt is replaced. It would be "crazy" not to. Don't worry. When a pulley fails and I lunch the engine I'll let ya know so you can say you told me so. Mike

OK, I completed the job last Friday and drove to Maine Saturday morning. I returned on Tuesday. Total trip mileage was about 1,000 miles. No problems. Here’s what I did: Replaced trimming belt. I don’t think I did this a moment too soon. The old belt was totally full of little cracks on the outside surface. I don’t have my records here but I believe it was on there for well over 100,000 miles. I replaced all of the idler pulleys as well as the tensioner pulley with those that Alex K. (screen name “avk”) very kindly gave me (Thanks again Alex!!). All of Alex’s pulleys seemed to be in better shape than mine. None of mine were obviously “bad” but they all spun very freely and made more noise than Alex’s. Alex said his were the original ones from a car with 80,000 miles on it. I removed the oil pump. Two of the screws on the back cover plate were loose. I cleaned the threads and replaced the screws using red Loctite. I replaced the oil pump O-ring (blue one from Subaru). I resealed the oil pump to the engine block using Permatex Ultra Grey. I replaced the cam and crank front seals. I replaced the O-ring behind the left side cam shaft support. I replaced the water pump and the thermostat (Subaru parts). New gasket of course. Before I installed any fastener, I cleaned the threads with a wire wheel on my bench grinder and treated the threads with anti-seize. I am hoping this will avoid thread stripping problems like I have had in the past with there cars. I did disconnect the igniter and crank the engine until the oil pressure warning light went off. I am very glad I did this because it took a while (I’m guessing 10 to 15 seconds) of cranking before the light went off. I did not like the idea of buttoning the engine up and immediately departing on a rather long trip but my fears were needless. Thanks very much to those here who so promptly offered advice and comments as I went through this last week. Even after all the years of doing this kind (and much more involved) of work, I still find I’m occasionally looking for some sanity checks and moral support! Mike V.

Hi guys, I did not remove the oil pump rear cover. I removed screws individually, cleaned male and female threads with brake cleaner, blew out with compressed air, applied red Loctite and screwed them back in. I cleaned the mating surfaces and applied a bead of Ultra Grey to the oil pump flange, installed the new O-ring (which in fact is BLUE) using Vasoline to hold it in place and remounted the oil pump. Now I am worried about Ultra Grey getting squeezed into the internals, blocking a passage, the engine starving for oil and self destructing! I only ran a thin bead but I did see some squeeze out externally so........ I also just installed a new crank main seal. Now on to the cam seals. Film at 11. Mike