bendecker

It was a 11044AA61, which I believe is the standard gasket, not the turbo one.

Thanks for the kind words. It's weird, I feel like I've lost a family pet or something. BUT, we just committed to buy a 1997 (unfortunately, with the dreaded 2.5l engine, but the head gaskets were already done with OEM subaru parts and the guy has the receipts) with only 120k miles on it. No rust. Pretty good condition cosmetically (but not as good as the old one). $3,300, which in our neck of the woods is a steal. Worst case scenario, if it blows another gasket I'll drop a 2.2 into it. So, the king is dead, but long live the not quite as good, but in one piece king (that will actually get me up a freakin' hill for a change ).

I drove it today and, from a diagnosis point of view that most likely doesn't stinking matter anymore (see below), I think you both are right. I had a car full of kids today and it just didn't have the ooomph. It used to be sudden on just really big hills, but today it was more continuous. The way it was acting seemed like a fuel delivery problem. BUT!!! AAAAAARGHHHH!!!! I F#$#$G wrecked the car today. I pulled a bonehead move in front of another driver, completely my fault, and the front right wheel, stuff behind the wheel, fender, and a good chunk of the passenger door are a mess. I'm so bummed about it. So, we need to decide if we are going to fix it, junk it, or donate it. If we do fix it (gotta get that past my wife who really wants a newer car), I'll let you know. Damn.... 260k and I REALLY wanted to brag about it going over 300k. Here's hoping your day has been better than mine.

No wet weather here. In fact. we're having record heat -- 95 or so. The timing belt comment was from a local self-proclaimed Subaru expert shop. The owner does have a habit of making it sound like everything that can possibly be found on the car needs to be fixed right now. He does good work on what I choose to have him work on (I set very definite limits), but I rarely take my car there and only for very Subie-specific things that I can't figure out. In short, it wouldn't surprise me if he did a "sky is falling" dance to get me to have the timing belt fixed. I'll check the plugs again, but they are not very old at all. Same with the wires (NGKs on both). Leaky separator plate sounds very probable. Hmmm... I could pull the engine, fix that and do the timing belt at the same time. I've never done a timing belt before and certainly never pulled an engine. But, I have all the tools (air and hand), can follow instructions and take my time. All I need is the time -- lol. Could get the heads done too. Dang! What am I getting myself into?!?!

No complete loss of power as of yet (still taking it very easy on long hills and not driving it much). But, my wife was driving up our not-so-big hill (1 mile long, moderate steepness) today towing our hay trailer (car works great for that) and it threw a two p302 codes (misfire cylinder 2). First CEL in a very long time. Running out of stuff to replace. My timing belt is overdue and that's on my list. I have heard that an old belt can cause misfires on occasion. Most likely looking at an oil pump reseal, crankshaft seal and possibly camshaft seals while I'm in there (no leaks on the valve covers or pan, but seeing more oil these days. Not a ton -- a few drips on the driveway and stink after driving).

I've had good luck with Lucas (edit: for fuel) in cars with way high mileage. It doesn't seem to do anything for lower mileage cars, but my '93 with 225k miles on it always gets a boost in MPG for a few tanks when I use it.

I have always wanted to get a nasty old dash (as in not practice on mine) and try to glass it. That being said, I've seen some pretty good solutions with bumper filler and bed liner sprayed on, but they are not permanent. There is also a couple of good videos on YouTube about covering a dash with vinyl using a heat gun to stretch the fabric around contours.

Dang. That'll be etched in your brain forever. No ice here. Our idea if winter is we put on longer shorts instead of regular ones. I've driven in ice plenty though, and vividly remember doing down a hill that looked just fine, but was covered in black ice. That was a wild ride and, luckily, no damage or injuries.

Update: I changed the oil and put in another quart of MMO. Drove it about 100 miles before pulling a hill. I've now pulled a pretty long hill 3 times taking it really easy (have not pulled the hill from hell yet that killed it big-time before). Unfortunately, that means I've changed two things -- the oil and my driving habits. But, I don't want to gun it up the hill, 'cause So Cal is NOT the place you want to have a car die on the freeway. No issues to report so far. I do have a pretty low comfort level with it still, so every time I pull a hill it's a wee bit of a white-knuckled ride. That should pass if I keep having successes. So far, so good...

Background: I put pugs on my '81 Brat about a year ago (powder coated steelies -- sweet!) and the original wheels were in a pile outside since then. Also,there are pretty much NO older Subarus where I live (So Cal). I know of 4 Brats in our whole county, but that's it. Never an old school wagon or sedan and the Brats don't see much road. Fast forward to yesterday. I FINALLY haul the wheels to the tire shop to get the rotted tires taken off. While they're working, I look at the guy's work cart. On the second shelf are some old center caps. One is upside down and looks way too familiar. I turn it over -- old gen Subaru in really good shape. "You know where this cap came from...? It'll only fit old Subarus..." "Nope. You want it?" "Sure!" I slap it onto a rim, thank him and head home. What are the odds? Score!

<rant irritated="on"> My stoplight switch went out in my '96 outback wagon and my wife got stuck with a car that wouldn't come out of part. Unhappiness ensued. So, I got her home and thought "Not a problem, right? Just get a new switch and slap it in." Well, I ordered one from the dealer, but it wouldn't be in for a couple/three of weeks (special order). So, as a quick fix, I got the cheapest one they sell at Autozone. It only lasted 300 miles. The OEM switch still wasn't in, so I went back to AZ and traded their piece of junk in for their more expensive piece of junk -- a "Duralast Gold" switch that has a lifetime warranty. I slapped it in and was good to go, right? When the OEM switch arrived, I thought I might as well keep the AZ one in because it was working fine. It lasted a lousy 1k miles. My wife got stuck with a car that wouldn't come out of park again. Unhappiness ensued. Finally, I put the OEM switch in and am hoping it lasts 250k miles like the last one. Conclusion: don't buy Autozone stoplight switches. Pieces of junk. </rant irritated="still on"> BTW, I drilled a hole in the cover the first time this happened, right over the solenoid override lever that you can use to get out of park when stuff like this happens (normally, you have to remove a large cover to get to it). I then put a round body panel clip in the hole so it looked like it was meant to be there. This new "feature" came in handy when the second switch failed -- I just had her pull up the clip and push a pencil into the hole to get it out of park.

If anyone is still following this thread, I've driven for about 300 miles (car doesn't get used much) on pretty much flat ground with a quart of MMO in the crankcase. No issues to report. Thinking I might try to pull a moderate hill today...

Everything was lubed up when I put them in. Maybe I got an early or bad batch? I can't say the one's I have have been a bad experience. Even with the breaks, it's still great to have automatic door locks. I'm glad you're are still going strong. In my case, I currently have one that needs a fix. Oh well... :-)

I put the system you used into my '93 impreza. As far as I can tell, the same actuators are sold by a ton of companies, but are all the exact same part. They work really, really well... until they don't. I have found the quality to be lacking and about every 18 months or so, one starts making this horrible sound like a duck quacking while being run over by a car. Then, when you you pull off the door panel to check them. it turns out that the cheap ABS housing has cracked. I have fixed several by wrapping them in fiberglass drywall tape with JB Weld imbedded. They've actually lasted longer after the fix. But, now that so many people sell them, then can be had for under $10.00 a pop, so it's probably not worth the effort. BTW, I've never had a problem with the key chain FOBs or the receiver. If anyone has a source for some better quality versions, that would be great. They really do work well, other than the longevity issue.

For a cup holder, I pulled apart the center arm rest when I was reupholstering it, put in a wooden bottom and back, then finished the upholstery job. Then, screwed a cup holder onto the back of the arm rest. It's not perfect: it gets in the way when I'm getting stuff in an out from between the seats and it's a bit awkward to get a drink, but it works.

Welcome to the board. If you're Subarus last like many have (including mine -- 185k, 225k, 265k :-) ), you'll be happily cruising along in them for very, very long time! Great pick for your son. I'm hoping to find a nice older one for my daughter as well.

Don't mess with the subes! Like horse thieves way back when -- hangin's too good for him. Grrrrr.

Nice! Please keep the pics coming as you make progress.

I have no memory of a screw ever being in the back on my '81. I just turn the horn piece and it's off... Also, you'd be amazed what some good epoxy putty will do for the cracks in you steering wheel. Add some paint and you're good to go. There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube.

Experiment #1 starts: 1) Swapping a quart of oil in the crankcase today with a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil. 2) Will drive only on flatter roads (I have other cars to drive on the hills that cause problems) and will take it easy on the car. 3) After a 200-300 miles, will try going up a steep, long hill and see what happens. Any other advice...? Hoping for a miracle...

The last comment about the relay is interesting and libertyherb123 mentioned it earlier: "i have just fixed my mums car with this exact problem but i probably tested and changed out more parts than you have... what it was in the end up above the fuse panel on the drivers side is a brown 6 pin relay that open circuits when faulty and cuts injector pulse under load it would do it uphill in exactly the same spot every time... how weird.... look for a brown relay it is right up near the windscreen pt no is 25232aa000 you can buy it on ebay hope this helps every one as a lot of people have the same problem when you google it." Seems kind of counter-intuitive. I put more credence into the valve issue, but anyone have any experience with this? BTW, wrong part number for a '96.

From all your posts, sounds like valves is a good place to start. I have seafoam and Lucas for the gas/intake (side note: Lucas does wonders for my '93 Impreza's power and mileage). I'm assuming you mean MMO in the crankcase, though. What exactly is involved in a valve job? I've only done that once, years ago, on a Chevy Luv (piece of junk) and it mean't pulling the head with engine in place. I'm assuming I'd have to pull the engine on the legacy (new territory for me) before pulling the heads. I'll do some research. Any other way to check for sure about the valve?

From One Lucky Texan: "has it ever done it with the engine still cold? you said no CEL but, have you scanned for pending codes? TPS might be possible culprit. some folks have had crank position sensors be intermittent when they get hot.(dunno why you wouldn't get a code for that though)" A: The engine has always been at full temp when this has happened. We live in So Cal, so engines warm up quickly.

Not now, but I used to get that code before doing all the changes listed in the first post. What should I know about that one...?

I doubt that it's the coil pack because the car did it both before and after I put in the junkyard coil pack, but I could be wrong. It just seems to me that the odds of it doing the exact same thing with two different coil packs would be pretty small. Especially when the "newer" pack helped solve a different problem (startup hesitation and lack of power in general).