porcupine73

Hm...interesting questions....if the starter did spin backwards, would it even extend to engage the flywheel? I don't know exactly how the soobs do it but the Bendix drive styles need to turn in a certain direction to extend I think. Hooking the battery backwards might explain the blown fusible link?

I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I have gotten a feel for what it takes for the soobs to not slip the belts. Just from starting out fairly loose, and having it squeal for a couple seconds at startup, then tightening it a little more etc. If you are putting new belts, plan on needing to tighten them once or twice over the next few weeks. That way you don't have to tighten the heck out of them from the start. Overtightening is not good, I killed my PS pump once doing that. Example for 2000 Outback...

Hm yes this car has some problems... Was it in a flood or anything? For trying to turn the crank, if you can get a 22mm socket and a long handled ratchet, you could give turning it by hand a try as mentioned to see if it at least turns. It takes a little force to overcome the compression, but if you really have to lay on it or get a pipe and it won't budge something is wrong. Is that what might happen if the main/crank bearings were eaten up or damaged from overheating?

Are both engines MAP/speed density based for airflow measurement?

Even with the fusible link blown, it doesn't make sense that the starter still would not crank in the vehicle, with the solenoid jumped to the battery plus terminal. The starter + lead does not go through the fusible link. So that may indicate problems with the battery + and ground leads to the starter.

I had this happen on my '94 a few weeks ago. I remember seeing a TSB or the likes about it for that era but I couldn't find it now. On mine anyway it felt like the pedal was mechanically jammed/blocked, it was definitely not just a lack of assist. I almost ran into the side of a coworker's car in the parking lot because of it. So testing the brakes before getting going is a good idea!

Hm...that might be pushing it. On these the limiting factor is usually the distance between the lower spring seat on the struts and the tire, and no amount of lift will change that.

Thanks. Ok, got the fuel filler pipe and the vent pipe replaced today. It took me about 2-1/2 hours taking my time. I would like to say it was a fun job.....but I can't bring myself to say that It wasn't difficult, just a little tricky to maneuver those pipes into where they need to be. So after doing it...my tips would be... 1. Soaked everything with Kroil a week ahead of time, even where the hoses meet the metal pipes. 2. Used hose pick to loosen the hoses before trying to remove them. 3. Fuel filler pipe will have some gasoline in it, it's like a trap for a kitchen sink. So don't promptly dump it all over the garage floor like I did. 4. I used some engine oil on the new pipes and inside the hoses to help them slide into place. Not sure if that's a good idea or not but not sure I could've gotten them on all the way without doing that. 5. On fuel filler pipe don't forget to take out the rollover valve from the old pipe to put in the new pipe (unless you don't care about it). 6. When installing the fuel filler pipe, I bent the little hook tab where the mounting screw in the middle of it goes, I couldn't wrestle it into place otherwise. Then I hooked the pipe loosely with one of the screws at the gas cap end, then put the pipe into the hose to the tank. I tried to get the hose started first, then turn the filler pipe up into the body but there was no way to wrangle it into place that way. Now...hopefully that solves the fuel smell problem. I think it did. Afterward I couldn't smell fuel around the vehicle at all, whereas before I could always detect a faint whiff of it. I'll see if the gas cap hisses next time I remove it, usually it gives a little hiss.

That sounds interesting! Let us know what you find out. I'm guessing it is set to allow a certain amount of air through all the time, like just below the absolute minimum the vehicle would need to idle under the best conditions, then the ECU can control the opening to get any additional air needed?

The Endwrench info doesn't mean it can't be done/recalibrated, it's just saying Subaru does not supply any service information to do it, i.e. they do not consider it a field calibratable device. I though I read somewhere it drives it with a square wave of varying duty cycle, much like the automatic transmission solenoids.

Removal is pretty straightforward. Right disconnect battery first, again, unless you like sparks... There is a long bolt at the top, and a nut, 14mm head iirc, on the bottom. The nut on the bottom is the hardest part of the job. On re installation, make sure to get the ground cable reattached (Sometimes people forget and leave it unhooked).

The '96 was non-interference, and your 2.2L is sohc so the valves couldn't hit each other, so that should be fine. Could maybe put a jumper wire on the starter solenoid and put that to the + terminal on the battery to see if it cranks then. It's pretty easy to reach it right from under the hood. Just look where the fat +/red cable from the battery goes to the starter, the solenoid is the smaller wire right next to it. Just squeeze the little connector going to the starter solenoid to pull it off. Then hook on an alligator clip to that lead. Ideally it should have a fuse in it but if not just be careful not to touch it to the body.

Also be careful when unhooking the thick wire from the alternator - that will have +12V on it (unless you unhook the battery first). You don't want that lead to contact anything metal! (Unless you like sparks).

Alternator is very easy to replace. However....since the vehicle won't crank as it is...replacing the alternator, even if it is faulty, isn't going to change that. Have you checked your battery terminal voltage or load tested the battery?

Hmmm.....well that might be part of the problem. Here is some info from an Endwrench article

Watch out, that guy is fishing for work. Let me ask you this...when you start it, do you pause in run for a couple seconds before going to start, or do you just turn the key all the way to start immediately?

Hm if that belt is broken you would loose power steering assist as well. Did you notice the steering feeling much harder to turn than normal? Or maybe the shop forgot to put that belt back on.

Hm yah I don't know, that mileage really doesn't seem to be too far off from average. If you get winter blend fuel where you live sometimes mpg will drop a bit on that too. You say the exhaust smells 'awful', what do you mean? You can smell raw gasoline in it, after it has been driven say at least 10 miles? Or it smells like rotten eggs?

Hm a few of those symptoms might suggest checking the battery connections and grounds to make sure they're clean and tight and see if the cables are in good shape. If yes maybe a battery load test. If that's good maybe try tapping the starter with a small hammer. Beyond that sometimes if one of the diodes in the alternator shorts it will cause weird electrical things to happen when running even though the voltage reads normal. Do you have a manual trans, or an auto trans?

A better measurement would be the voltage at the starter while it is cranking. Unhooking the cable and measuring the voltage doesn't really tell you how good the cable is because there is no current flowing through it. It might read the same as the voltage at the battery with no current flow, but when the 150 amps or so flows through it when cranking, even a slight resistance can cause a large voltage drop. In an earlier Endwrench document they actually want to see the battery voltage drop below 11.0V I think it said when cranking, otherwise it says the starter likely is not drawing enough current and could result in a slow crank.

It should start and run just fine at 18F and even a lot lower than that even without a block heater. One exception could be if it is very cold but does not have a winter blend fuel (not enough vapor pressure), but on fuel injected vehicles that is rarely an issue. The IACV isn't really supposed to be adjusted like that, it comes preset. But if it is making a difference for you maybe it is plugged up inside or otherwise faulty.

Has it been doing this all along after the swap? Are you noticing it more in the cold weather? I have noticed the soobs like to run nice and rich at startup when it is cold out. I thought at first maybe you found old your old engine had an oil pan made of gold.

Did you try running the shifter through all the gears, and maybe try starting in neutral? I did just have a slow crank and no start problem on my '96 Legacy 2.2L, still not completely sure what it was, as it then seemed to fix itself, but am suspecting something in the circuit that supplies power to the starter solenoid (neutral/park switch maybe), has a poor connection and was not fully engaging the solenoid.

Hm, well timing belt is an easy thing to check, just remove the outer cover behind the coolant overflow tank (easiest to just pull the overflow tank, only two bolts for that anyway). But that doesn't necessarily make sense with your description that it is cranking slowly. Usually if the timing belt breaks it will seems like it is cranking faster than normal. Do you have a tach? Do you see any movement on it when it is cranking? I never checked it but heard if you don't see movement on the tach, it could be the timing belt, because it isn't getting any signal from the cam position sensor.

Hm..I haven't had that exact scenario happen, but I have had the locks freeze up to where they won't lock unlock...usually in the fall I hose the whole thing down good with Kano Lubricone and it seems to keep it nice and loose the whole winter.