porcupine73

If you have time you could maybe stop by an auto parts chain like auto zone; many will read the codes for free (hoping you'll parts from them). If you do it, I'd write down any codes they give, like P0300 or whatever, and look them up. The P0 codes have generic ODBII descriptions, but P1 codes I think are manufacturer/model specific.

Sounds like a plan John! Having a local dealer with prices like that is nice to avoid the shipping charge. I would say yes, the crank has to be able to turn with the AT in park, else the engine couldn't be started or left run in park. Sears has their inch-pound clicker type wrench on sale right now for like 54.99 I think; seems to work OK, if you don't mind the calibration issues that may come with clicker types. I never found an inch-lb torque wrench in the beam style. There is the dial type but those were $$.

I put in this auto meter in the AT outlet to cooler line. I figure that AT outlet to cooler is the hottest temperature point I can measure. With a switch and an extra sensor in the pan you could monitor both temps. Sometimes in the winter I put a piece of Reflectix insulation infront of the ATF cooler so the temp has a chance to get above 100 deg. F. at least.

Sounds like a plan. I need to do valve cover gaskets and stuff on '96 Legacy after I finish '00OBW; but wondering if there's any risk of those lash adjusters losing prime or whatever in the process? From what I see on other posts here, you might be able to get away without the cam holder tool if you break loose the cam sprocket to shaft bolts before removing the old belt. Do you have the DOHC engine, cause if so the cams should be locked from turning before removing belt? The valve cover gaskets were pretty easy to do on '00OBW, there were I don't know 6 to 8 bolts to take off, and they weren't in very tight. I was a little wrestle to get the cover out and off 'cause it has to come out over the spark plug silos, I think I dropped them out the bottom instead of pulling out through the top. Taking out the battery, washer fluid tank, all that air intake stuff made it a lot easier. The gaskets are different than I expected; they push the long way into a groove in the valve cover gasket which holds it in place.

Wow John that looks like a pretty good list. Looks like prices weren't too bad either! But wow it does add up fast! I never add mine up b/c I don't want to know... I just did pretty much that same list for the first time also. Things I learned were to loosen the cam pulley bolts before removing the old timing belt, or get some cam pulley holding tool (maybe $60). Make sure all bolts are removed from oil pump before prying on it like a mad man, else get new oil pump for $100 (whoopsie on my part ). Check the screws on the back of the oil pump rotors' rear cover for back out, maybe tighten and use some locktite. Put oil pump back in before putting water pump in; i had some trouble with oil pump hanging up on that rubbery thing on the water pump. Make sure crank pulley bolt is retightened properly - don't want that thing to loosen up! Clean around valve covers before removing; I got a lot of grit down in there on mine (but I have a plan to flush oil through before restarting).

Cool nipper! These are pretty readable if you open in an image viewer and zoom to at least '100%'; I can read it zoomed at '150%'. (If it's not readable when you open it then you need to save it on your 'puter and open in mspaint or something that can zoom in). SAE1.jpg (119KB) SAE2.jpg (147KB) Didn't have time to read it all yet, but looks interesting! sae.org only had the July issue when I looked last night

Hi, just curious, does the Forester Sport have a turbo? I'm assuming your Passat does? I guess a good tuneup is always a good place to start, fresh spark plugs, air filter, clean injectors, good gasoline, knock sensor not pulling too much timing, clean fuel filter, no pending OBD codes, etc., if that's all good then I'm not sure!

Drats sae.org only has July issue doesn't seem to have Subaru info. I can host pics too if desired; just need original scan images.

I'd check all those things mentioned, but would also suspect the 'remanufactured' part. My experience with reman parts has always been bad; I would hope Subaru would be better, but if the remans are contracted out who knows.

yah there's a lot of parameters involved in determining when, why, and how the AT will shift. I think there might be a 'customer interest' bulletin out by Subaru on that; I could check if there's interest. Also not to be neglected is the locking and unlocking of the torque converter which can 'feel' like a shift especially if climbing a hill. Anywho, anytime climbing hills, and often otherwise, I use the shifter to select the gear I want. Once you get a feel for the AT shifter it works very well. If you don't use the 1, 2, 3 settings often the shifter may feel really tight the first dozen times you use them. Spray some Kroil or Penephite down on the AT where that cable comes in and it'll free up like butter. I really hate the hunting when climbing a hill so I'll at least shift to 3 if necessary and really steep hills might require even lower gear (at far reduced speed of course). If you're climbing at 75-80mph, that's going to be a pretty good RPM in 3rd, maybe 5000 even. I don't know about the 4EAT phase I (which I think your vehicle has?), but the 4EAT phase II (I think based on what I feel when driving it) not only will shift between 3rd and 4th, but will also lock and unlock the torque converter in both 3rd and 4th gear (3rd gear only when climbing a hill for a period of time from what I can tell). I couldn't figure out what it was doing the first few times this happened (at least I hope that's what's happening else maybe my trans has issues!)

I would think the Legacy would handle that just fine. I'd add the cooler and use synthetic ATF as mentioned on any vehicle, towing or not, but I think you might be able to get away without it if you're towing only in the winter. I do have a medium size cooler on '96 Legacy, and in the winter, say 30 deg. F. day, the ATF fluid exiting the AT doesn't even get above 100 deg. F. (In the summer say 90 deg. F. day it will reach 180 deg. F though).

Bought Actron reader from PepBoys on sale; works pretty well. Would much rather have a setup that allows showing freeze frame data, etc. Seems like I saw one that was software based (to run on laptop or other computer) with cable on eBay for same price as good reader; not sure how well it works though, plus you have to have a computer there, whereas with a self contained unit in the glove box you can plug it in no matter where you are when the code happens.

Hi nipper! Looks interesting Images are too small to read the text though....maybe you can post larger/higher res images?

I'm not sure if this what you're saying, but are you saying the coolant overflow tank fell off and you ended up with a siezed engine? Not sure about the engine swap, but from what I've seen in other posts, the 2.2L is pretty bulletproof, whereas the 2.5L not so much.

The BB's sounds like a cool idea. Actually I've put these dynabeads in four sets of tires. Right after I put them in I also switched to cylinder nitrogen in the tires (got the cylinder on eBay and got it filled at my local welding supply shop). Anywho, after I put the beads in, the ride was glass smooth, I was pretty impressed. However this spring when I switched the snow tires back to summer tires on both Subaru's, the ride wasn't quite so good. I had a shimmy above about 60mph that wasn't there before on both vehicles. I don't know for absolute sure, but I think maybe the dynabeads gooped together with possibly excess bead sealing compound. I added more dynabeads to the shimmying wheels which did actually help but did not solve the problem. I hear/saw on TV that the Hunter with roadforce is a great balancing machine because it balances both the inside and outside of the wheel with force on the tire. Not all balancers can give separate inside&outside balance indications. Not a big deal for narrower tires but can be important for wider tires --Louis

Here's a pic of how I got the crank pulley off on '00OBW auto. The chain wrench is Harbor Freight, I think it was $20. Used piece of old drive belt to protect crank pulley from chain damage. Had to put piece of pipe on breaker bar to get it loose. -Louis

I'm hoping this will be useful as reference...I think P1 codes are manufacturer/model specific; P1507 for my '00OBW says "engine keeps running at higher revolution than specified idling revolution." and and it'll happen after two consecutive driving cycles with fault. (might be different for your vehicle). Says to check for loose intake manifold, IACV, and throttle body, cracks of intake manifold gasket, IACV gasket, throttle body gasket, check for any disconnected/faulty vacuum lines, check throttle cable for freeplay, make sure air bypass line is not plugged.

From what I've seen, once the tire bead seals on the wheel and has been on there a while, it's very difficult to break it by hand. stomping, dead blow hammering, prying, might all by methods to try but don't damage the bead doing it. Why are you R&R'ing the tires?

Hi Phil. That tool has like four prongs on it that fit into the holes on the front of the crank pulley. You can get it from subaru.spx.com, but I think it's over $150. I just used a huge chain wrench from Harbor Freight and a breaker bar, and it was tight, I estimate it took me 250-300 ft-lbs to break it loose. I haven't tried the starter method, where you brace the breaker bar against the the garage floor or body of the car and bump the starter to break the bolt loose, but I hear it works pretty well. When reinstalling the crank pulley, it is very very important to get the crank pulley bolt installed correctly. If it loosens up and the crank pulley starts wobbling on the crank, it will probably damage the keyway (not good). The tool I found worthwhile is the cam sprocket holding tool; I think I bent one of the cam sprockets by using a chain wrench on it. If you want to replace the cam seals you'll have to remove the cam sprockets. Also you might want to check other threads for other things to check out while the timing belt is off if you're not already aware such as oil pump o-ring, cam seals, crank seal, water pump, etc.

Sounds like a plan! If you do any kind of hill driving, towing, hauling lots of people and/or cars, hot weather driving, I'd put in a big boy. Otherwise a smaller one might be adequate. This will of course somewhat reduce airflow over the A/C coil and radiator, but I haven't had any problems with that. I'd also spring for an ATF temp gauge on the AT outlet to cooler else you don't know how hot the fluid is. I like the aftermarket cooler in series after the radiator in-tank cooler and shoot to keep the ATF exit temp from the AT at no more than 180 deg. F. I've got a medium size PermaCool 1-1/2" thick, 10"x14" I think it is on the '00OBW, and I haven't seen temp climb above about 150 deg. F. yet on a hot day. The '96 Legacy has a smaller PermaCool, I think it's 1-1/2" thick by 7"x14" and it will get to 180 deg. F. on a 90 deg. F. day in stop and go or hilly driving; highest it ever got was 210 deg. F. climbing long steep hills in 1st gear.

OK thanks for all the info guys! I wasted (payed) about the same for the Bosch aftermarket universal as I could have gotten the OE for online. That was right after I got the vehicle and before I knew of online sources and wanted to fix it right away before the car blew up (as I was convinced would happen if I drove it for more than a day with that code). Anywho, I guess I'd have to do the 'manager math' on it as my boss's boss's boss calls it, which if I increased 1mpg with new OE sensor vs. one I have now, it would be a 18,762 mile payback, if my calculations are correct [(24mpg vs 23mpg), @$3.07/gallon, say $100 for new sensor)] Of course the 10% ethanol in this NY gasoline probably doesn't help mileage.

Thanks so much for all the info guys. Maybe I'll give it a shot. First I have to finish up work on my '00OBW before tearing into the '96 Legacy. I want this '96 to be my winter go through it all vehicle, which it already does a good job of, but sometimes the snow is a bit deep when the back roads aren't plowed. Unfortunately, I already have in the garage new OE struts, springs, mounts, rubber parts, etc., for the strut assemblies for all four wheels. So hopefully all I'd have to get would be the '96 Outback struts&springs and still be able to use all the new upper spring seat thingy. Anywho, if I do get the Outback parts, there might be some new OE '96 Legacy struts&springs showing up in classifieds! thanks again, Louis

Hello and welcome! Many auto parts stores will read the codes for you for free (hoping that you'll buy any parts required for the fix from them). Or you can get a reasonable code scanner for about $100. Make sure to write down all the codes it shows. The codes will look something like P0133. (The code scanner may show a description for the code but I prefer to note the code and then check the service manual's description). For example, code P0133 happens to be front oxygen (A/F) sensor circuit slow response. Some codes start with P1, which I think is a manufacturer/model specific code. Anywho, get your codes read by method of your choice and if you want post them on here and I'm sure there's plenty of knowledgable people who will tell you the description and what to look check. Oh by the way, the connector for the code reader is normally near the bottom left of the dash on the driver's side. Also, if the code happens to involve anything to do with the cam and/or crank position sensors, you might want to check it out right away; if the timing belt hasn't been changed yet, it's way overdue. --Louis If you start replacing parts ('throwing parts at it') without reading the codes and checking the diagnostic procedure, you may spend a lot of $$$ before eventually ending up at the right part - or it may be a wiring issue or loose or corroded connector or any other number of problems.

I see many posts where OE O2 sensor is recommended, at least for the front. I'm curious as to what issues have been noted with aftermarket sensors. Curious mainly because last year I got some code on my '96 Legacy like O2 sensor slow response or something, and I replaced the front O2 sensor with a Bosch universal aftermarket from napa. I haven't had any codes/issues, but my mileage isn't as high as I'd like it to be, and I'm wondering if it's worth it to replace it again but with an OE unit. Thanks

Read some interesting posts on here about putting Outback or Forester springs and struts on regular Legacy's and Impreza's to raise the ride height a couple inches. Anyone know if this would work on a '96 Legacy Brighton Wagon 2.2 AT? Maybe by using '96 Outback struts&springs? Any fabrication required or pretty much just bolt&play? Any potential highway handling issues and/or safety inspection issues? Think a Subaru dealer would do an alignment on a setup like that or be all like 'woah dude, we can't touch that thing'. Would this overly stress out anything like the axle shafts? Thanks! :cool: