Rooster2

Agree with others, either take to a shop, put car up on a lift, or DIY by jacking up passenger side front, use a jack stand to secure car, then pull road wheel left to right, then up and down looking for any looseness. check suspension parts for looseness from wear.

Could it be that your system is low at the marginal level of refrigerant, to the point that the compressor may or may not turn on?? If so, add a can of 134, and also a can of leak detector. If you can get the compressor to engage for a while, then start looking for the green fluorescent dye to find the leak.

Yes, be happy it is an ej22. They have minimal head gasket problems. I have a 95, 2.2 transplanted into wife's 98 OBW. It runs great, nice and smooth, but is down on power from the original 2.5. My wife drives like a slow poke, so she never has mentioned the car is down on power. I am curious, if you look at the plate on drive's door jam, you will see month & year of manufacturer. I wonder if your car was built late in the 96 model run, and sold as a 97 model?? Stuff like that happens. I had a Ford years back made late in the model year, with next year's paint color, that color wasn't offered during it's production year.

Not trying to be argumentative..............Are you sure you have a 2.2 motor? Pretty sure all 97 Legacys came with the 2.5 motor, especially sure since the Limited model was the top of the line with leather interior, and auto tranny, so it would be built with the top of the line big motor, the 2.5 engine. Any chance the invoice says 97, but the car is actually a 96 model, which is known to be the last year the 2.2 was offered? If you look at the top of the motor, it will be embossed with either EJ 22, or EJ25 on the top of the engine block. Owners manual will also specify which engine you have. Terrific that the previous owner kept meticulous notes and receipts on maintenance. That is one of the nice things about buying directly from previous owner. To buy used from a dealer, all records from previous owner are thrown away.

starting in 96 or 97, all 2.2 motors became interference engines. Not that big a deal, just have to remember to replace the timing belt and belt tensioners on a regular basis. Since you just bought the 97, I see where someone has transplanted a 2.2 motor to replace the original 2.5 motor. Do you know what year the 2.2 motor is?? With any used car I buy, I make it a point to pull a spark plug to check condition, Also, like to change the ATF and antifreeze, if it is unknown when the last time they were changed. Also, like to pull a front wheel to check how much brake pad there is. Usually, I have replacement brake pads nearby, so I can swap in new pads if needed. If you are handy at all, doing these things will bring your maintenance up to date. Buying a 93-95 can be good, if you can find one in good condition. Bear in mind these cars are old, with probably a lot of miles. However, sometime you can get lucky and find one with low miles driven by a little old lady. Just be careful that you don't accidentally buy someone's abused and worn out junk.

Yea, I read someone else doing this............using a round 5" sealed beam head light, that were used as head lights in cars back in the 50's and 60's. Pretty sure the high beam variety was used, as it has only one filament, but low beam would work, just wire for one of the filaments. Someone on this forum did a write up on this topic, including pictures a few years back. Maybe check "search" on this forum to see that old post.

Welcome aboard USMB. Lots of good people here, that are ready and willing to give good advise on repairs. In your post, you don't say if your Subie will start and run. Let us know, so we can get started on helping you.

Setting all winter, now with old bad gas. Best thing is to just drive the car. Run that old gas through the car. Take it out on the highway, and run it at 70 mpy for a good while. I bet with a fresh tank of gas, your car will run a lot better. Add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the gas will help too. I am wondering why you would have an all wheel drive car, and not drive it through rough winter snow and ice?? What is the story??

Same thought as others.........what color was the fluid you drained, when changing the oil? If it was red-ish in color, then you mistakenly drained ATF from the tranny.

Welcome to USMB. The home of great advise for Subaru owners. Any guarantee come with the Subaru when you bought it?? I also think previous owner new of this problem, and sold the car rather than fixing the problem. I echo the same advise as two previous posters. Both my 98 and 99 Subies have the same engine as yours, and blew head gaskets with results just like you describe. If the motor has not been severely over heated a number of time, new head gaskets will fix the problem. If too much over heated, then there is warpage with the aluminum motor, and the motor will have to be replaced. There is much written on this forum about head gasket problems. Access the "search" on this forum to read the archives on this topic.

The 2.2 motor you have in your 91 could be replaced with a 2.2 up to 1994, and be plug and play with OBD1 engine monitoring system. Starting in 1995, Subaru went to OBD2 engine monitoring system, As a result, the engine wiring, and engine computer ( ECU) changed, along with sensors talking with an auto tranny. This would be difficult to transplant in to your car. However, it may be possible if your 91 off roader is a bare bones "rat rod" running a 5 speed tranny.

Somewhere at the top, or near a side, the weather stripping has gone bad to allow water to enter the lens. I was never good at finding the leak to reseal the seal, so I used an electric drill with a small drill bit to make a hole or two near the bottom of the lens to let the water drain out. That worked out great. Occasionally, the hole(s) would clog with crud to allow water build up, which was no big deal. I would either ream out with a drill bit, or ream out with a tiny nail. This approach is a lot easier then removing the lens

may be two separate issues. Clutches don't throw any greem slime ever...........so maybe clutch problems...........how does it drive?? Only thing green I can think of is antifreeze, but it is never thick. CV joint is always black stinky grease found under the car.

Or............pull off the negative battery cable for maybe 20 minutes, the re-attach. Often that will clear a code.

Thanks Fairtax............I appreciate your reply.

I have bought rebuilt calipers from parts stores for past 20 years, and never had any quality issue. They come with a warranty, so they always seemed like a safe buy to me.

Sticker under hood says to use ZXL200PG compressor oil, which is not easily found. Compressor on line reference recommends using PAG 100. Do you agree??

Ok, thanks................Rooster2

A rebuilt from a parts store, or on line source doesn't cost much. Lots easier, and a time saver to just swap one in.

When installing a new condenser, does the system use PAG oil, if so, how much should be added to the system?? Thanks!!

Nice looking ride!!

If it is finally determined that your automatic tranny has problems that can't be solved by changing the fluid, then give consideration to replacing the tranny. Good used Subaru transmissions are available from wrecking yards for around $200. These days you don't even have to go to the wrecking yard to find one. Check out www.car-part.com on line for part listings from wrecking yards all over the country. Use a credit card for payment. They even come with a short term guarantee. Simply have the tranny delivered to a repair shop for installation. Be sure that your mechanic knows how to properly "seat" the tranny to the torque converter to prevent damage to the transmission. Your car will continue to live on for not much money. Well maintained Subarus can easily travel 300 thousand + miles during their life time. Yours is barely over the half way mark. Repair your car and drive on.

Bubbles in the over flow is a positive sign of bad head gaskets. The head gasket goes bad allowing exhaust gas to enter the cooling system. The bubbles you see are formed by the exhaust gas. This is so typical of how head gaskets go bad in a Subie. All three Subies I have owned ( 91, 98, and 99) had head gasket trouble; all three had bubbles in the over flow.

The A/C went out on my car. I took it to a shop, and was shown diagnostic dye was leaking at, or near the lower metal tube connection. The connection is low n the passenger side of the condenser. My question............is this more likely to be a bad O ring, or leakage at the condenser?? I removed the bolt that attaches the tube to the condenser, but no amount of pulling or gentle prying with a pry bar would remove the tubing connector. Are those suckers that difficult to remove?? Thanks for any advise. I figure it is easier to replace the O ring to see if that fixes the leakage, rather then replacing the condenser. The mechanic at the shop thought the condenser had split to cause the leak, but I wasn't convinced. Is the condenser a trouble item, or are they considered super reliable?? If I do have to remove the condenser to replace, does the radiator need to be removed as well??

Can you tell us what exactly the problem is with the car??