Rooster2

ECUs don't often break, but nothing is perfect, so hope a replacement unit solves your problem. Sounds like you have done a thorough job of checking everything else out. Good Luck.

Add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the crankcase, drive some, then change the oil.

On the 6 cylinder, 3.0 motor, the cams are chain driven, not timing belt driven like most 4 cylinders. So, no concern about breaking or need to replace the T/B. In the U.S. the 3.0 motor has a good quality reputation. With the leather interior, it is important to keep the leather well oiled to prevent dry out cracking. Don't let liquid spills dry on the leather seats, best to clean up immediately.

You may want to see if fabric dye can darken the door panels. It may work, if not you don't have anything to loose.

This is starting to sound like fun...........I will bring the beer...............Rooster2

I am unaware of standard vs heavy duty axles. I assume you are talking about half shafts. OEM is known to be a good half shaft, others, who knows??

Maybe apply a wad of JB Weld to the end of the metal rod. The down side, is that will be difficult to remove the rod thru the hole in the rubber, should you ever want to remove the muffler system.

Do you think it is a tranny problem or an engine problem?? If when running well, does the tranny shift properly?? If so, I am with you that it may well be a fuel problem. Have you changed the fuel filter? If you think it is possibly a fuel problem with water in the fuel, then recommend you add 1 gallon of E-85 fuel to a full tank of gas. The ethanol in E-85 absorbs moisture to rid fuel tank of water. Doing this has helped me twice in the past year.

Wow...........I am impressed. Yea, truly a labor of love. What is with the $300 in back taxes?? Never heard of that before. Nice upgrades with the WRX and STI gear. Old motor looks really roached out. It has been sitting quite a while to build up that much rust. Once finished, I predict you will have one super nice Leggie. Keep us posted with updates and pixs. We love seeing reports like this on the USMB.

Off the subject...........the car has been sitting for 4 years, recommend you add some Marvel Mystery Oil to the oil and gas. Drive appx 50 miles, then change the oil. MMO is a detergent product that helps remove sludge and carbon build up from an engine. Looks like nut shells piled up around your motor. Mice, rats, or squirrels can do that. Chewed up wiring most likely from mice. Motor looks clean otherwise. Hope you find the ground wires. Suggest you pull the spark plugs from 3 & 4 to check their condition, if you have not already done so.

Suggest you take your car to one of those do it yourself wand car washes. Clean the oil off from the top, and also especially from the bottom of the motor. Only then, will you be able to see where the oil is leaking from. My guess is the valve covers, or front seal. Rather doubt that it is the oil pan gasket. Looks like oil is dripping down to the bottom of the motor. If you find the leak, and it is not that bad, then I would recommend using one of those "stop leak" additive products to the engine oil. I have done that with both of my Subies for years. The product never entirely stops the leaks, but does swell the seals to drastically reduce oil leakage. I change brands of stop leak, which seems to help as well. If severe leak, then that calls for repair shop work to replace gaskets or seals.

Suggest you remove the door panel to see what is going on with the latch mechanism. Gotta think a lever came loose or off, or as you think a plastic piece came off.

By bolting correctly, I should have said "seated properly" before bolting. Others here can tell you how to do this correctly. Just didn't want to hear that you screwed up your tranny, because you may have been unaware of this situation. Hope all goes well.

If car has an automatic tranny, be sure you know exactly how to correctly bolt the engine to the tranny. Failure to do so properly will ruin the tranny

A cheapie thermostat could cause this problem. Cheapies don't work well in a Subie motor. Either go Subaru OEM, or most expensive aftermarket. I have also seen where a bad water pump can cause this problem, even though it doesn't leak. If old, some don't pump well.

Thanks for the advise.................Rooster2

98 OBW comes with standard 205 X 70 X15" size tire/wheels. Lowering the car may create problems of tires rubbing on lowered suspension parts. Ordinary Legacy wagons are lower then Outbacks of that era. They came with smaller narrower tires, and perhaps on 14" wheels. It would be a whole lot less work to sell the 98 OBW, and replace it with a Legacy wagon, if a lowered car is the objective. Also, I have heard the Legacy does handle better then an Outback, because of its lower center of gravity.

Replied to a previous post, but thought this would make a good new topic as well........... How much MMO do you pour into the crankcase, run for 10 minutes, before changing oil? Also, how much added to the gas tank? I have used MMO before, but not on a continual basis. What you say makes a lot of sense. I should be using MMO more often. Thanks foe an informative post. Think I will also repost this question as a new topic too.

How much MMO do you pour into the crankcase, run for 10 minutes, before changing oil? Also, how much added to the gas tank? I have used MMO before, but not on a continual basis. What you say makes a lot of sense. I should be using MMO more often. Thanks foe an informative post. Think I will also repost this question as a new topic too.

Yea, wipe the grease and grime off the sticker on or near the P/S cap. The sticker will tell you what P/S fluid to use. On my 98 & 99 Outbacks, it says to use ordinary ATF, which works okay for me.

Sounds like a fuel issue. Pull the fuel line to see if fuel is pumped out while cranking the engine. Maybe you will get lucky, and it will only need a fuel filter replacement to fix the problem. If there is a problem with the fuel pump, then it may need to be replaced. I don't know if you have to drop the tank to access the fuel pump, or perhaps there is a trap door on the floor of the wagon. Remove the plate will reveal access to the top of the fuel tank. You will be able to see wiring going to hardware. Remove the hardware to gain access to the fuel pump.

I would replace the head gaskets on the donor motor just to be on the safe side. Lots easier to replace with motor out of the car. Recommend using Subaru OEM head gaskets only. Newer style head gaskets should be good for 100K miles.

No need for additives. Ordinary ATF works great.

Why lower an Outback??

IMO, adding any extra tranny filter is not worth the effort, unless you plan on pulling a trailer over hills and mountains. Under normal driving, the 4EAT tranny does not over heat and require anything special. I don't recommend any additives, ordinary ATF is all you need.