mikec03

After 3 years of almost no repairs on my '95 sub, the following is the repairs of the last 12 months. Current milage is 183,000. Exhaust pipe repair $70 Fuel fill pipe leak $50 [DIY] Valve gasket oil leak $30 [DIY] Front brake lock up $380 Rear differential oil leak $140 Rear brake pad replacement $140 Timing belt $730 Fuel pump replacement $50 [DIY] Misc. $150 The timing belt replacement was very expensive because the screws were frozen in the back covers. I had to pay not only for replacement covers, but also to reassemble the front end belts and wait a week for the replacement covers to be delivered. I hope this is the end of the problems for a while.

I did decide to go to a junk yard and get the whole fuel pump assembly [from a ' 99]. Total cost $50. I put it in and the car and it immediately started up. I could hardly believe it. Thanks to all the posters here. I wouldn't have been able to do it without a lot of old posts including one that showed pictures of the fuel pump removal. Before reading the posts, I couldn't have even found the fuel pump much less replace it. For the record, the ohm resistance of the old pump across the left two [toward front of car] plug contacts was infinite showing a defective pump. It was 4000 ohms on the replacement.

I have '95 2.2l auto. Legacy. I get no gas coming out of the inlet tubing to the gas filter when I crank the engine. I do have 12 v to the pump when [and only when] cranking [#1 terminal]. The engine will start with a squirt of starting fluid. Is this for sure a fuel pump? I just hate to go to the work to change it.

Wow! Who would think that the effect of the TPI was so complicated? Thanks Log1call for the explanation. What I hear when I push the TPI open [and the power is on] is a buzzing sound coming from the area of idle air valve. I have often heard this sound from industrial solenoids when they are being energized.

After doing some searching this site, I found the the procedure for setting the throttle position sensor. It basically requires that the TBS be set to actuate [the top two contacts] at 0.028 to 0.035 in. with a feeler gage inserted into stop for the throttle. This made a world of difference in the hesitation and acceleration of the car. I wonder why this isn't the go-to solution when someone posts a hesitation problem [and yes I have read the sticky]. PS. I used the sound of the idle solenoid actuating, instead of a multimeter, to set the TBS. It's very difficult to get the multimeter on the TBS plug outputs. If someone wants to tell me why this is not correct, I'm open to understanding.

I adjusted the TPS in order to try and correct hesitation at low rpm's on a '95 2.2 automatic. It is easy to do since the idle air valve is energize to close, and I can hear it pick up as I move the TPS clockwise from the extreme counter clockwise position. It was out of adjustment by about 1/8"! It seems to have reduced the hesitation! The question I have is why would it help? I see from one of Skip's post that the TPS also sends a positon signal to the computor. But what could the computer do with this information?

Thanks for the advise. I did check the tranny level and it was high by a quart. So I drained it until it was down to the high level mark. But since the slippage is so intermittent that I won't know for quite a while if the excess fluid was the cause of it. The following is two posts by L8APX and Bunta's Blue Beast explaining why it's a bad idea to change the fluid in a high milage tranny which hasn't had the fluid changed on a regular basis. L8APX Quote: Originally Posted by Anthony7325 "Hi, so recently i got a service done from the local subie dealer, and they did the timing belt, and changed fluids in the diffs, but not the trans fluid (auto). I was told by service manager that since the mileage of the car, it seems that the fluid was never changed, so its better off leaving it the way it is...??? Now wouldnt fresh fluid be better than the used up old stuff? if you use the same as original, and completely flush the old out, isnt that better than leaving the original fluid? car has only 112kmiles..." No, leave it alone. Your transmission is at a point where "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Since it's never been serviced the fluid and more importantly the grit and grime in all the little crevices, seals and on the bands is what's holding it together. Fresh fluid will most likely cause leaks and/or slips in short order. Send a letter of commendation to the dealership for their honesty and good will toward you. Rule 1. You only change the fluid in a neglected tranny as a hail mary last ditch effort before the big repair. With Automatic Transmissions it's either you service them every 30-50K or just don't do anything and replace/rebuild it when it blows at around 150K. Due to the sick traffic in Metro NY I've owned at least one car with a slushbox since 1990. If you do decide to change the fluid, just remember I told you so as you rev in reverse and curse your head off. If you still decide to do it anyway use a seal conditioner like Lucas Stop Slip additive. It might just save you from yourself. __________________ Bunta's Blue Beast ^^ Absolutely 100% correct. I just finished auto transmission class and this was one thing our teacher harped on. DO NOT change the tranny fluid on a high mileage transmission. A tranny flush or just new trans fluid can break free grime/deposits/tranny shavings which will then make there way into your valve body.

I have 180 K on a 95 auto transmission. Every 3 months or so, it will slip in drive after stopping, for example at a stop sign, and just spin. So far, after putting it in park and reshifting to drive, it has "engaged". I replace 4 qts of the fluid a year ago and the problem started thereafter. I know, now, that I shouldn't have done it. Whats the prognosis? Is there any solution?

Ok, I tried, but I can't resist asking. Why didn't you just get in the car and drive it out of NY state? If your answer is: It's against the law. My comment is: So what!

Car: 2.2l, 1995, 180,000 mi, auto. I just had a dealer change the timing belt. Afterwards, it seem that the 1st gear acceleration is poor. If I push the petal to the floor, it shifts into 2nd, and picks up pretty good. Doesn't matter if warm up or not. OK, maybe this has been building for a while and I didn't notice? Obviously, it could be a poor spark plugs [relatively new], lack of compression, damaged transmission, vacuum hose problem, etc. However, is there anything that the dealer does when changing the timing belt that could have caused this? Do they reset the timing after changing the belt?

This is a '97 Legacy. This is the only rust spot on the entire car, which is quite amazing. Notice that not only is the outside panel perforated but also the mud guard.

I had a clicking noise from the engine on my 97 sub, 2.2 l, 145 K mi. It was very loud and I was hoping it was tappet noise. So yesterday, I pulled the passenger side valve cover and reset the valve gaps. I was hoping that I would find one or more way out of spec. But actually, I was disappointed to find all 8 valves only about 2 th. [.002 inch] more then spec. The intake valves are supposed to be 8 th +- 1 th and they were about 10 th gap, for example. I didn't think that much of a variance could account for the noise. But, surprise, resetting the gap to spec greatly reduced the noise! I never heard or read that such a small out of spec gap could make so much noise. Does this seem reasonable?

I would replace the valve cover gaskets and the tube gaskets right away. As noted above, when the oil drips on the ignition wires, it soaks into the rubber which destroys their insulation value. This happened on my 02, and when I was going down the expressway at 60 mph, all of a sudden I would lose power and could barely keep the engine running. NOT very safe. If you don't fix the tube gaskets soon, your new ignition wires will be junk.

When I changed my plugs [and valve cover gaskets and wires] I put in NGK platinum BKR6EGP plugs. The logic of this was that the 2.5 l engine is prone to tube gasket leaks and I may need to replace all the above in 60-80,000 mi. increments, and I might as well run the put in spark plugs that will last the same time period and do it all at once.

Unfortunately Marcia, this is an over $400 job if done at the Subaru dealership. And a local garage may not be able to get the filler tube disconnected from the rubber hose to the gas tank, due to the very restricted area where the clamp is located. It kind of depends on the direction that they faced the clamp at the factory. Sorry

Yes, if the hose leaked then there would be no alternative to dropping the gas tank. But I feel certain that 99% of the leaks that develop of the fuel filling system are on the carbon steel filler tube because the plastic guard becomes filled with dirt that retains moisture, leading to rusting of the tube. A good question would be why don't ALL the 2.2l Subarus' eventially develop rust leaks on the filler tube. As a previous posters said, it is a good idea to remove the plastic guard. The whole problem is quite dangerous for the dealership because any future gas fire associated with the car could result in $million lawsuits even though the dealership didn't do anything wrong.

Update 3 I was at very good Subaru dealership today and asked them why they would charge $430 to replace the fuel inlet tube. They said that the high cost was due to fact that they have to drop the gas tank part way in order to get good access to the rubber hose that connects to the fuel tank. They also normally replace the rubber hose. I suspect that this it a requirement from Subaru since this is a very dangerous area to be doing maintance.

Update 2 I did it. The clamp at the fill tube/rubber hose was very difficult. It was in a position that I used a needle nose vice grips to get one turn on it, then a 10 mm socket to get a couple more. I took about 2 hours to get the damn clamp off. The main problem was that, not only is it in a confined space, but the nut on the clamp is tight to the clamp so that the socket can't fully get on it, unlike the US clamps. The hose to the gas tank was supple and like new, unlike the used hose that came with the used fill tube. Maybe the used one was in a fire? Anyway, the replacement slid in with no problem [but I did soap it up]. I didn't take off the tire and didn't need to. I felt like it provided some safety in case the jack slipped. I almost gave up twice, once with that damned clamp and once when I wondered if the tube would come out without taking something else off to provide room. The tube comes out OK but there can only be about 1/4" clearance to get it out. So I saved about $375. A penny saved is a penny earned, but the pride and satisfaction is priceless.

Update: I found that I could buy a used gas filler tube locally [Roz Salvage-Milwaukee] for $45. Fortunately for me, it came with the connecting hose still on it. Now I see the problem. Even on the work bench, it's not easy to get the hose off. The end of the filler tube has a ridge which on it which makes taking the hose off even more difficult then it would otherwise be. I had to break the bond of the hose to the tube with a screwdriver and then tap the end of the hose with a small hammer to slowly baby the hose off the tube. The hose is not glued on however. Beyond this, the hose exposed to the gasoline was shriveled in diameter and was quite hard. I'm guessing that the dealership feels that they have to replace the hose which most likely also requires them to drop the gas tank. So I'm going to take a try at getting the old tube out and put the new one on. It will be kind of interesting if I get the old one out but can't get the new one in due to the confined space where it connects to the hose.

I have a leaking fuel filling tube on my '95 Subaru. The cost to replace from the dealerships are $415 and $445 respectively, which implies about 2 1/2 hr repair time [one dealership said 3 hr]. I've looked at it. It doesn't look that hard. The tube at the gas tank is attached with a radiator clamp to a short hose which connects to the tank. At the gas cap end, there are three screws and another supporting screw a foot below the cap. Assuming that I can get the tube to separate from the hose, which might be a problem since it's in a tight space, why is this so hard to do. Maybe the hose is glued onto the tube? I just can't figure it out. Any ideas.

I have a 1997 2.2 Sub. I'm getting a lot to noise from the motor which may be piston slap or valve misadjustment. Yes it does diminish when the motor is hot but I still am not sure what is causing it. My question: If I take off the valve cover, will I find that the valve adjustment can be done with a wrench and screw driver or does the 97 have solid adjusters that require shims. I'm familiar with the 95's which have hydraulic valve adjusters, which work very well, but Subaru changed after 95.

And don't forget that the oil pressure trans is located on the top front p. side. It can be leaking. Mine was.

I sorta cleaned out the connecting hose. But since the hose had a couple of ells in it, I could only see into 80% of it, and it's only 7 in long. I didn't blow though it because, well, it's oily. But, it was relatively clean. When I put it all together and started up the car, I got the check engine light. After resetting it a couple of times, and still getting the check engine light, I took it all apart. This time I did try and blow though the hose and it was plugged! Lesson: You have to check everything. And yes, the check engine light went away.

Sometime in the 02 production run, Subaru changed the head gaskets. If you have an 02, Subaru will pay for the head gasket replacement, up to 100k, only up to Vin number before the change. My 02 has a Vin after the change. So in theory, all the 03's and later are OK.

If you buy it, I hope that you are good with Bondo. When you start to grind that rust spot, you will find nothing there. I bought a 97 Legacy with 130K last year for $2500 so I empathize with you. I don't think that I would buy it with the drivability issue on top of everything else.