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Either you're trying to pull our collective leg or you really belong to the Jiffy Lube world . Look again, the dipstick is maybe missing but the opening thru which the trans oil is poured IS there. Just get a used or a new dipstick. You might even steal one from one of your clients and let HIM wonder next time he tries to replace the trans oil himself. Might even get us a new member

It almost looks like a bullet hole. Any chance...?

Just did the four struts on my 96 Brighton. Not complicated but time consuming if, like me, it's the first time you're doing it. Here's some advice. 1) Buy a Haynes manual for your car, it gives the essential. 2) You have to find a suitable tool to compress the springs. I borrowed one from Canadian Tire here in Monteal. You pay for the tool and they give you back your money when you take it back. It took me a while to get the hang of this tool but it's safe and does the work. An impact wrench (air or electrical) speeds up compressing the springs and can also be useful for removing the big bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle. 2) Another problem is the nut that holds the piston rod to the strut support (just under the rubber cap on the struts towers under the hood.0 The nut is in a recess and you have to hold the piston rod steady to unfasten and fasten. Three possible solutions: a) find the special tool; make a tool (that's what I did: welded a 17 mm socket inside the box end of a suitable wrench. It makes possible to put a 6mm hexagonal wrench thru the socket to hold the piston rod steady; c) just go at it with an impact wrench with a little prudence. 3) The three blots holding the strut support to the tower are no problem at all. 4) There are two bolts that hold the strut to the wheel knuckle. In front, the top one is cam shaped and is responsible for the camber adjustement. There is a reference mark on the strut and reference bars on the bolt's head. I put everything back in the same positon, did not have an alignment made and all seems perfect after more than 2K kilometers. the nuts are self locking and I would advise buying new nuts. 5) These big bolts could be rusted and give you trouble. I had no problem except with the right rear ones. I had to use a breaker bar with pipe extension and the help of someone holding the nut still to break it loose. 6) Last problem is the brake hoses. Someone on this board advised not to removed the hose (and have to bleed the brakes) but to cut part of the metal tab holding the hose, bend it out, free the hose and do the reverse at reinstallation. That's what I did. Used a Dremel. Works fine once you've removed the spring clip that holds the hose connection tight. Only had a problem replacing one of the spring clip and finally used a nylon tie wrap (maybe not the right expression but you know what I'm referring to) instead. That's it. Good luck!

You can replace your alt with a 12 mm combination wrench (one box, one open) Maybe a 10 mm one to remove the belt guard and one of the connectors. You dont even need two wrenches cause every nut involved is so made it does'nt need to be held at the other end. Check the size of your bolts to be sure but I'm pretty certain you dont need more than one or two size wrenches. Good luck! P.-S. you might also check the price of an alternator at 1stSubaruparts, I bought one there (Subaru rebuilt) and it was not very expensive once you deduct what they give you back for the core.

First thing would be to have someone pull the code. A fault code is stored (pointing to a defective system or sensor) everytime a CEL is lit. A flashing CEL denotes a fault that could damage the catalytic converter on the long run.

On my 96 Brighton with 2.2L engine, the O2 sensor is easily reachable from above. If you bend over the passenger side fender, it's just below and behind the right side inner axle boot. I removed and replaced mine cold with an open wrench of the right size (the new sensor will give you the exact size). Put a little antiseize grease on the threads for next time. If more rusted than mine was, doing it hot or heating the suroundings with a torch is good advice.

Josh, would you spray brake cleaner in the valve after removing it from the throttle body or just disconnect the rubber hose and go at it? I would like to clean the IAC and am looking for the easiest way to do it but I'm afraid to mess things up. Sorry for hijacking the thread but this could also be useful for the original poster. Thanks in advance.

I renewed everything except the protective bellow that was still usable. I did that on the advice of a mech I trust at the dealer. Everything on top was quite rusty. The tower itself (part of the car) was not touched by rust happily. It's probable that the support could have been reused with a regreasing of the bearing but the spring cap that is just under it was rusted thru. Since I expect to keep the car for at least 5 more years, I thought that the expense was reasonnable. Do the rigig brake line on the inside part of the holding tab at the rear constitute a special problem?

What about the rear ones? Just had a look and the brake line setup seems to be different from front. In front it's just the ruber brake hose that goes thru the metal tab on the strut leg. In the rear, it's a rigid steel line on the inside of the tab and a flexible rubber hose on the outside. Any caveats tackling the rear struts?

My fuel gauge does exactly the same.

I finally replaces the front struts and springs on my car. Everything went good except for the spring compression tool I borowed at Canadian Tire. Very safe tool but a little too short in my opinion. I had to pre compress the spring with a wood clamp to be able to get the compressor on right. Lost a lot of time with that. I used new bolts including the adjusting bolt that I replaced exactly like the old one was (mark on the strut and reference bars on the bolt's head). I will eventually get an alignment when I do the rear ones (next week) but the car handles perfectly for now. I did not have bounce yet but the ride was very harsh. It's a charm now. Firm and stable but a lot smoother. Thanks to every one on this board that contributed info. Especially the one about cutting the strut tab for the brake hose. Was very helpfull in cutting time and hassle. I fastened everything with my torque wrench except the piston rod top bolt that I dif by feel: I had to make and use a makeshift tool to be able to hold the rod still with an hex wrench while torquing the bolt.

HI, Since the sensor is high up on the engine block, not much coolant is lost when removing the old sensor, specialy if you're ready with the new one. One way to make the job even cleaner is to lower the coolant level in the rad by an inch or two. You can use a baster pump or a syphon. That's what I did when I replaced mine.

jwjsabin, I dont know what engine you have, but on my 96 2.2L engine, there is only one coolant temp sensor. It sends its info to the ECU which in turn activates the temp gauge. On my 92 Loyale there was indeed two sensors, one with a two wires connector for the ECU and one with only one wire for the gauge. Did Subaru revert to two sensors with the 2.5 L engine?

Legacy 2.5, the first time i read here about relieving fuel system pressure by opening the gas cap, I made a test. I have an inline fuel pressure gauge right under the hood between the filter and the injectors. I stopped the engine and as always the pressure stayed at 30 psi (It take a couple of hours for the residual presure to go to zero). Then I opened the gas cap and looked again at the pressure gauge : the needle was still at 30 psi. What should I conclude from that experience in your opinion? Cheers! Gilles

On my Legacy, and probably on most, the working fuel rail pressure is around 30 psi. The pump can provide 60 psi. So a clogged filter could put undue strain on the pump and shorten its life and not give a hint of what's going on. The pump could still provide 30 psi at the rail - downstream from the filter - even if it has to crank up 60 psi upstream. The other thing is removing the gas cap does not relieve pressure in the fuel system. Only waiting (a couple of hours) or disconnecting the pump will do that. Just a few thoughts.

The contacts are cheap. Buy them at a starter rebuilder place. Replace them. You also can buy for not much more the plunger contacts that bridges these two contacts to activate the starter. A few people here only clean the plunger disk, but replace the contacts. A search on this forum «starter contacs will give you precise info on that topic.

A car's suspension is, I believe, a very delicate and precise system in equilibrium. I would'nt mess with any part of it without expert knowledge of what else would need to be changed to keep everything in balance. Just my non expert opinion.

Had a similar problem. The key was the culprit. I suspect your key is indeed worn. The only way I found to get the key out was fiddling with it until it broke loose. Go all the way to start, come back while pushing and pulling on the key without exerting too much force and maybe it will get unstuck. Took me quite a while to succeed. The only way to start anew is to have some dealer make you a new key with the VIN number of the car. Good luck.

99obw, I'm not sure I can visualise what this looks like and how you used this tool, could you be so kind as to give me some more details. I can see how one could pass a hex wrench thru the 14mm socket opening to hold the piston rod steady but what is the purpose of welding a 1/2" drive on the other end of the wrench. Thanks in advance.

I cannot wait any longer to put my new struts on. The top spire of the driver's side front spring broke and is making ugly noises when i turn the wheel at standstill. The good news is the car is still drivable (took me a while to understand what had happened) and Subaru will pay for the spring ifi inspection of the old spring shows corrosion to be the culprit. Following a recall, they had already installed a retainer in 2002 to prevent the spring from puncturing the tire in case of a break due to corrosion. MY QUESTION is how do I hold the strut piston rod steady while I torque the top bolt? There is a female hexagonal socket right inside the top of the piston rod where the threads are, but I dont understand how I can put a hex wrench in there at the same time I put a socket on the nut. Is there a special tool to do this ? I made a search with «struts install» and got a few results but none with the info I want. Thanks in advance for any input.

Lloyd, I was asking myself the same question. I have the 2.2L and have not had any engine problem after more than 200,000 kilometers. But I live in climate extremes (-30C° to +35C°) and have seen small coolant leaks, during the coldest winter days, at the gasket where the heater return hose connects to the engine, but only then. I was wondering what those same causes were doing to my head gaskets. If climate can be a factor, I suspect that cold temperature would be the worse condition. (1) When it's -30C° here, the engine goes from that temp to +100 C°. That's a huge temperature differential and it's certainly hard on all engine parts including gaskets. (2) In hotter climate, the differential between «cold» engine temp and hot engine temp is smaller. It's amazing that engine parts can witstand such expansions and contractions day in and day out and still work flawlessly after so many years and kilometers. Hats off to the engineers!

Have a look at this. Software for your palm that gives you more than just codes. I've got a former version of it and am very satisfied. If things have'nt changed, Dan Harrison will promptly answer all your questions.

When I replaced my timing belt and crank/cam seals a while ago, I improvised some makeshift tools to push the seals in. For the crank seal, i used a big ratchet socket of the right size (just short of the seal diameter) and for the cam seals, I used a PCV plastic end plug of something like that (or maybe it was the other way around). I found by trial and error that what works best for me is to first engage the seals in by very lightly tapping them around the perimeter with a plastic hammer and then use the tool to finish the job (sharp rap just in the middle of the socket or plug). When I used the socket or plug first the seal had a tendency to get in skewed. To remove them you insert a flat blade screwdriver between the lip and shaft taking care not to mar the shaft, push down on the handle to catch the upper edge of the seal from inside. Stay tuned, others will give you more help. Good luck!

Cannot give you advice on the rest, but, since you have the same engine as mine, replacing the O2 sensor is easy. If your waistline is not too large, you just bend over the right fender (passenger side) with an open wrench of the right size (dont remember exactly but take the new one as a reference) and the O2 sensor is easily reachable just under and to the back of the inner right front axle boot. Good luck!

A simple multimeter set at DC Volt (accross the battery's posts) will tell you if your alt is putting more current than your car is eating: should be between 13 and 14.8 volts and over 12 volts with everything that's usually on when you drive. While you're at it, put the meter at AC Volts (+ to the alt ouput and - to ground). If you have an AC Voltage of more than .5 volt, the diodes are bad.