Fairtax4me

If the TC were seated incorrectly the trans fluid pump would be damaged and the trans would not work at all. No rear drive could be because someone put a fuse in the FWD fuse holder on the passenger strut tower. Or it could be because someone removed the rear section of the driveshaft. No speedometer might be the speed sensor on the side of the trans, might be the speed sensor drive gears inside the trans (not easily replaceable), or could be the speedometer head itself. Some 98 and 99 models had a problem with a ground on the PCB on the speedometer head. I would start there. The speedometer does not get any signal from the ABS wheel speed sensors, only from the speed sensor on the side of the trans.

Pull the whole assembly off the car and just have an exhaust shop weld a new bung on. Much cheaper than replacing a cat.

It would be more helpful to give us the actual code so we can look up Subarus Definition of the code and their diagnosis process. Automatic transmission, or manual?

Did you check fuses under the hood? The control side of the relay is grounded by the computer. Possible the ground circuit is faulty, but not very common, so pretty unlikely. Fuel pump relay is in the far upper left corner under the dash. Very hard to get to. Make sure ALL the fuses in the under hood panel are good, even the big slow blow fuses.

Most of the older cars have a bleeder cap on top of the radiator opposite the filler cap. Just a plastic screw with a large phillips head. If yours has it, remove it while filling the radiator until coolant flows out of it.

Pretty sure they make a JB for aluminum. Should work fine. Build up a layer or three all around the part that broke off.

Cat running hot would be due to unburned fuel in the exhaust. Thing is, your cat is running a bit cool, if the temperature reading you have is in degrees Fahrenheit. And assuming its accurate.

You could get $1500 for the engine around here. If you have the room, pull everything that's still good and sell it. Classifieds on the various Subaru forums will get you some attention. There's always craigslist but sometimes that's more of a hassle than its worth.

Yes, that engine is interference design and when the timing belt breaks it does bend valves. No, that does not mean you need a whole engine. The dealer is only recommending that because its easier for them. The heads can be removed and new valves installed, or replaced with used heads from a junk car. Very pricey at a dealer. I'd recommend finding an independent shop to do the work. Preferably one that knows Subarus.

If the housing is leaking it needs to be replaced. No fixing that. If the threads are leaking you can pull it out and put thread sealer on it. The threads dont typically leak though.

Replace the knock sensor. They're like $20 on eBay. They go bad all the time. If the ABS light is on there is a separate procedure for getting codes from the ABS unit. Those can not be read with a regular scanner via the diagnostic port.

If you tapped the MAF sensor and it died there is a loose connection at or inside the sensor. MAF sensor failure on the 95-96 models seems fairly common. Junkyard replacements are usually fine and cost less than $50 for the most part. Exhaust leaks at the manifold can cause problems. If you have any doubt, just get new gaskets and replace them. Be sure to clean the mating surfaces on the heads and the manifold really well.

Did they not put a washer on both sides of the banjo fitting? Should have 2 copper washers on it. One on the case side, one on the bolt head side. If it doesn't, just pull the bolt off and pick up a couple that fit around the bolt from a parts store. As long as they didnt Scrooge the threads in the pump housing it should be fine with new washers.

Backup lights are load to ground. Switch provides power. The ground for most of the rear lights is in the rear fender area passenger side in the trunk/cargo area. Check the wire harness that goes to the trunk lid/rear gate for breakes where it hinges.

I would check the timing anyway. The tensioner could have gone bad and let the belt go slack.

Alternator may be getting tired. Thing is, my car has done exactly the same for the past 4 years. Now that I say that the alternator will probably kick the bucket next week, but here's no real reason to rush out and buy a new alternator unless the problem gets worse, or the charge light in the dash comes on.

Bad ground? The main engine harness has a ground for the computer somewhere on the intake manifold. Make sure its bolted down tight. Also check the 2 or 3 connectors on the passenger side of the bellhousing. Unplug them and see if the pins inside are dirty and/or corroded. Make sure the plug back in all the way when you reconnect them.

Try holding the gas pedal on the floor for a few seconds while cranking then release it. If it starts its getting too much fuel and flooding. Could also have jumped timing.

The pipe tends to rust right around where it goes into the muffler and will split. Not sure which mufflers will interchange on that one off-hand, but you could try car-part.com and see if there are any used ones nearby.

Good deal. That should take care of it.

Nope. That's just a belt and a water pump. http://www.ebay.com/itm/260925199792 Replace everything. The toothed idlers fail and will shred the belt and leave you stranded in a heartbeat. The tensioners also fail with age and will allow the belt to go slack and jump time. The other two smooth idlers don't fail as often but are cheap enough to replace for for peace of mind. The only thing you need to add to the kit I linked above is a water pump gasket from a dealer. The paper gaskets are junk and will go bad. Use a dealer gasket or RTV on the water pump.

Hopefully they didnt stuff a rag in the tank and forget it there. The valve at the top of the filler is a vapor flow control valve which is supposed to re-route fuel vapors from the tank to the charcoal canister during re-fueling. IIRC it does also have a check valve built in. Since this happened right after they replaced the filler tube I would say its definitely possible they put the hoses back on the wrong way. Ditch the plastic cover. All that does is trap dirt against the filler tube and cause it to rust out.

Welcome to the board! The Test Mode connectors are well known among those of us who regularly work on these cars. A lot of people new to Subaru find those by mistake and plug them in thinking they are supposed to be connected, and end up here asking why the fans and all the relays keep cycling and the car won't run right. A very useful feature for diagnosing, not so great if you don't know what they're for. Test mode also cycles all of the various emissions system solenoids under the hood as well as the ones by the fuel tank.

Yes, valves on 2 and 4 are open when the cam sprocket is at proper timing mark. Which way is the timing off? Clockwise or counter? It should be clockwise because that advances the cam slightly, and as the belt stretches with age it will gradually come into proper time rather than go further out.

Do a compression test. If the numbers come up even across all 4 cylinders then just keep on running it. With a new filter of course. New NGK copper plugs should be in order since they all need to come out to check compression anyway. If one or two are significantly low that could be causing some of the running problem. I would definitely clean the MAF, clean out the whole intake tube. Clean the TB and IAC. And if you feel ambitious remove the intake manifold and clean it out with some intake cleaner and a bottle brush. If you don't feel that ambitious run a half bottle of Seafoam through the vacuum port on top of the manifold. Do that twice and it should clean the manifold and heads out pretty well.