Fairtax4me

Lots of causes to this. First make sure spark plugs, wires (turbo may be coil-on-plug), air and fuel filters, and PCV valve are all new. Next, get a scanner or look into getting a program like Romraider so you can watch and record live data. Read through some of Cardocs P0420 diagnostic thread on SubaruOutback.org. Tons of info there about those code and what can cause it. But the key to diagnosis is to find out what the computer is seeing from sensor inputs and how it's responding by altering fuel trim.

That's just the grommet where the hoses pass through the floor of the car. Pull up the bottom of the back seat and you'll be able to get to the inside section. You'll have to cut the rusty end of the tube off up inside the car, and just cut the fuel hose somewhere underneath where you can get to it to put a brass nipple fitting in it. Run some new high pressure fuel hose (go to napa) through the grommet and get at least 2-3 inches of it stretched over the cut off section of the tube and clamp it twice with good hose clamps to hold it.

Doubt you'll be able to find a tap. How bad are the treads on the old sensor chewed up? Usually those can be cleaned up with a wire brush or something. Or use a dremel to grind off the first couple rows of chewed up thread, then cut some notches in the remaining threads and use that as your tap to clean up the threads in the case.

Those hoses turn rock hard when they get old. Especially in the cold. It'll probably break if you try to pull harder.

Right, MAF flow directly affects fuel. If the MAF flow is high it'll get tons of fuel and the O2 sensor readings will be rich. Computer pulls fuel trim negative to compensate for the rich reading from the O2, but in this case it can't pull enough. It's maxed out negative at idle and still reading over 0.9v from the O2 sensor. When driving the difference is less and fuel trims are closer to -15, but still a problem. TPS isn't an issue, it's reading properly. No way to clean that anyway, its a sealed unit. This is the replacement unit Subaru sells: http://www.scoobyworld.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1351

Pretty sure these are not wired for power windows if the car didn't come equipped, but that shouldn't be too difficult to find out. Follow the wiring in your donor car until you find a connector just inside the B pillar or on the floor at the base of the pillar. Then look for the same harness and plugs in your car. If the harness isn't there you'll be in for a body harness swap which entails pulling the carpet out and digging through the dash to get all the wires.

Usually there is a bitch of a clamp on the PCV hose at the bottom and its a real pain to get a socket in there to tighten a new clamp. Easier to just use a 19mm wrench on the sensor. It shouldn't be all that tight. There is a copper crush ring on the sensor that seals it to the pipe. You may need to transfer that ring to the new sensor. Some new ones come with it and some don't.

That method doesn't work on these. When at TDC, pistons 1&4 will be at top dead, and 2&3 will be at bottom dead. All 4 pistons meet half stroke at exactly the same time. The proper crank timing mark sets all 4 pistons at half stroke.

Tail lights are glued on with some nasty weather seal goop. Makes it a real pain to get them out. I don't remember how many nuts/bolts hold those lights on, but check carefully for any others before trying to pry the light out.

They never torqued it. The crush ring is still bowed up like its brand new. The crud around the threads could be from exhaust gases being forced out through the threads. I always match the plug part number with what's listed in the owners manual. Most of the newer soobs specify NGK laser platinum plugs. As long as you used those you're good to go.

Is it a wagon or sedan? Kind of assuming its a wagon since you said they're in the doors. Sedans have the speakers in the rear deck.

Ruled out how? I've seen plenty of cases where people have simply looked at the bulb and that the filament is still "there", yet a new bulb is what fixed the problem. Bulbs on these have a common power, and each filament is grounded through the dimmer switch inside the car. When you have an issue that affects only one filament the problem is going to be limited to the bulb or connector for that lamp. A wiring issue is possible but it will usually be confined to the area of the lamp or any wiring within the housing (such as what you have pictured above). To rule out a wiring issue between the lamp and the dimmer switch you just need to identify which wire is the low beam ground and make sure it shows continuity to ground when the dimmer is in the low beam position. What part of that housing needs to be "fixed"? Is it just that you don't know where the wires are supposed to to inside the lamp housing?

This thread is 9 years old, so probably won't ever know what the OP was asking about. Efseiler, check out the P0420 diagnostic thread on SubaruOutback.org Tons of info there for diagnosing the 420 code. If you have any regular maintenance items that haven't been done recently (plugs,wires, PCV, filters, etc) be sure to do those before trying anything else. Lots of times just doing a good tune-up fixes this code.

Need to check continuity from the radio harnes to the plugs in the doors. If you have no continuity just run some new wires for the rear speakers. Is the original radio harness plug still in the dash? Nobody's been squirreling around in there and cut all the wires have they?

US market? 97 will be OBD2 and should have 4 digit P0... style codes. Need to use a code reader to get the proper codes. Most parts stores will scan them for free.

You don't use TDC for timing on these. The cams are under load at TDC and you'll never get them to sit right while puttin the belt on. Do some research on the proper timing marks to use. Dash marks on the cam sprockets and the dot or notch on the back edge of the crank sprocket.

That's because most reflector type headlamps are not designed for HID light output. Headlamp reflectors are designed to optimize output from only a specific bulb, and the filament in the bulb has to be in a very specific place relative to the reflector for the beam pattern to be reflected properly. HID bulbs work differently, and the area of the bulb that produces light is about 3 times the size of a halogen bulb. It's also in a different position relative to the reflector, which means the light output from the reflector is altered, and will be scattered in every direction. Think about it like an old mag-light where you can twist the lens to adjust the light pattern. You turn it one way and the pattern is nice and focused, turn it the other and the pattern scatters out wide. The only thing that happens when you twist the end is the bulb moves in/out in relation to the reflector, and even a small difference in position has a noticeable affect on the light pattern. There's no way to aim that, because the HID bulb isn't correct for the reflector. Instead of just being brighter, now the pattern is scattered in every direction it's not supposed to be, and drivers going the other way can't see codswalloping spoob other than your bright rump roast illegal blue "HIDs yo"!

Yeah you'll be able to do that just fine. Just be careful of the vacuum hoses in that area. Old hoses are brittle and may break. Some coolant will come out when you remove the sensor. Just be ready to pop the new sensor in quick to minimize coolant loss. You should test it first like I described before. The problem could be something else like the MAF sensor, or could be fuel pressure related. I don't know how much those ECT sensors are, but no point spending money if you don't have to.

These are hard to fill with coolant because of the radiator design. Coolant does flow through the core at all times. Out the top of the block, through the core, then back to the thermostat. Hot flow of coolant helps keep the t-stat open because its on the inlet side of the pump. If you don't have heat the stat will close and engine will overheat because coolant flow gets blocked. If you ever notice heat not working pull over and check coolant level.

ECT is Engine Coolant Temp. The ECT sensor tells the computer when the engine is cold and that makes it idle high. If you know someone with a scanner that can read live data you can see the ECT output and see if it thinks the engine is warm. If the ECU thinks the engine is warm it will not idle high and the fuel mixture will be lean so it won't run right. You can test this by keeping the engine running for 2-3 minutes, then it will warm up and should stay running on its own. Shut it off and see if it will restart. If it does shut it off and let it cool down for about 2-3 hours then try to start it again. If the ECT is bad it will probably do the same as before, crank but won't start and idle low if it does start. ECT sensor is below the intake manifold on the back of the coolant pipe on top of the block. Remove the PCV hose and you can get a 19mm wrench on it to loosen it. Its kind of hidden right under where the wire harness runs underneath the manifold.

Idle was a bit jumpy but its reading about 6.5-7 g/sec at idle. 14.5 g/sec at 2500 rpm. Engine load around 5.5-6%. I did look up factory specs and the FSM says idle air flow should be 2.2-4.0 g/sec at idle. 12ish g/sec at 2500. Engine load is supposed to be 1-3%. Found out Subaru sells just the sensor element for about $70. Much less than the whole sensor/housing assembly for $225. The plastic housing part costs more than the damn sensor! So anyway, they're getting a MAF from Subaru and gonna pop it in there next week.

You replaced the bulb and still no low beam?

Not likely the coil pack. Could be a bad ECT sensor. If it starts when you hit the gas pedal, can you keep it running by giving it some gas to keep the idle up?

I just replaced a wheel bearing on a VW that the axle nut had come loose on. The hub was discolored from heat and the surface that sits in the bearing was mangled and worn into an almost cone shape. The thing was so loose the tire was rubbing against the strut. Needless to say the hub needed replacement as well.

If you crack the throttle open a little while cranking will it start? The 00-04 models have a common issue with the fuel pump. Costs about $65 to fix but it's better than buying a whole pump assembly at $400+. Second page of this thread has good pics of the part, new part numbers and links to part and new o-ring. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/129528-fuel-pump-leaky-o-ring-other/page-2