Fairtax4me

Dexron 3 compatible ATF. Most of the multi-vehicle blends you buy at the parts stores meet that spec. Does the belt look old? Probably need to replace both. Buy Bando or Gates. Dayco sucks.

Haven't ever had any running problems after connecting/disconnecting the green plugs. Could just be coincidence. Could be a vacuum leak somewhere. Loose intake hose clamps, loose PCV/breather hoses connecting to the intake tube. Could have fouled the spark plugs. Could have jumped timing. Did you replace the tensioner piston?

Did you buy it from a Subaru dealer? You got a warranty on the car? 60 days, 2,000 miles? Take it back to the dealer. Should have taken it back right away when the light came on.

Connector on the temp sensor is loose or the spade is corroded. The single wire sensor. Fuel guage could be a handful of things. I would check the connector on top of the pump for corrosion first.

Its 20 years old, I would go ahead and put some gaskets on it while it's out just for good measure. Doesn't take much time. The Beck Arnley head gasket kit is a rebadged cheap quality kit. The valve cover seals and intake/exhaust gaskets are ok to use, but the head gaskets are junk. Use Felpro head gaskets. About $25 each.

$292 on rockauto for complete assembly. Id rather pay $475 and get the real Subaru one from SPFY. I don't plan to go that route unless I find that the housing is rusted out really bad. Walbro 255 kit on amazon is only $87 so that's on the list too. Just have to find some time to pull the assembly out of the tank and check it over. In the meantime:

The material used in the tail housing bushing is very soft, and you can probably use some fine emery clotch to gently smooth out any scratches in it. Be sure to clean it thoroughly with soap and water afterward to make sure any abrasive particles are removed. Not sure what the difference is with the gears. Some time in 99-2000 ish they changed the design of the center differential, and that may have also required changing the transfer gears, not sure. Post in the classifieds here, somebody probably has a whole good transfer section they can sell you for less than going to the dealer.

Of all the fuel pumps I've replaced on various vehicles, I can't recall having done one on a Subaru. But of course, you work on them long enough you're bound to have to eventually right? Today I confirmed that after 20 years and 253k miles, the fuel pump in my 96 L finally has given in. It still works, makes great pressure once the engine is running, but when its hot the engine cranks for about 5-8 seconds before it builds enough pressure to allow the engine to start. Once turned off the pressure drops back to 0 immediately. When priming the fuel system with the supply line stuck in a bottle I barely get a dribble even after 3-4 tries. I guess the check valve went bad. Just thought I would share. Now I have to decide on which brand of replacement pump to buy. Denso, or Bosch.

No, can't fit a socket on it. Buy one of the crows foot sensor tools from advance auto for like $12. That's what I use on most Subaru sensors. You can sometimes get a regular box end wrench on it but its hard to get enough leverage to crack it loose. Yes it does help to run the engine for 5 minutes or so first to get the pipes warmed up. Just wear gloves and sleeves.

Good to hear you got it figured out! Sad to hear that a Denso sensor was a bum out of the box, haven't ever had any problems with them myself.

We have quite a few members here in the Denver area, and there are several good independent Subaru shops in Denver. The car is almost certainly worth fixing, and with the gaskets repaired properly youll get many years of good use out of the car. Hopefully some members here can chime in with recommendations for shops. You should get a second opinion and possibly even a third to be sure you're getting a fair price for the repairs.

You will almost always get some spark when reconnecting battery cables on a modern vehicle. There are multiple control modules that will turn on immediately when the battery is connected. The AIrbag control module has several large capacitors that require a fair amount of current to charge and that current flow will create arcing when the battery is connected. It's not good for a battery to sit for long periods. The control modules in the car do create a small draw that is considered normal, but it will drain a brand new battery in about 3 months. Once a lead acid battery goes dead there is irreversible damage done to the battery. The extent depends on how long it stays dead. With frequent use you may still get a couple years of out of it, but it will not provide proper cranking amperage, and may not be able to provide enough amperage to start in cold weather. It will also discharge much more quickly between uses, even if it is totally disconnected from the car.

I've heard similar complaints about reception with the newer radios. They have antennas that arent large enough to properly recieve the signal, so they use signal boosters to amplify the signal that goes to the head unit. Problem is, the boosters just amplify everything, including white noise and interference. Best thing you can do is install a proper antenna, but that requires cutting a hole in the body.

A MAF leak will have its most noticable affect at idle. Once the engine speed runs up a bit a small leak will have less effect on the AF mixture. The automatics need EGR basically for this reason. The engine load conditions at a steady cruise speed cause a lean condition which increases combustion temperature and thus increase NOx production. This is part of why EGR was implemented on 95 and later years.

I swear I replied to this a couple days ago. Must be goin crazy. I've been working 10-12 hour days for the last 6 weeks or so. Need to get some r+r. There is a solenoid in the valve body that controls the torque converter lockup. Since there is a code for that, I would expect to find either the solenoid, or wiring to it, damaged. The converter lockup is basically a clutch ring around the outer circumference of the converter. It's inside the converter and not serviceable. There are a few bearings in the converter which could cause problems, but I'm not sure they would cause your noise on startup. Normally when a converter bearing goes bad you get very little warning, a couple funny rattles maybe, and then the converter grenades internally. How long does the noise last? Is it a loud whirr like a cat? Does it happen immediately at startup, or start after maybe 1-2 seconds? I usually consider a little bit of roll-back on a hill normal, but it depends how steep the hill is. The Outback converters usually have a higher stall speed, which decreases the amount of torque transferred to the drivetrain at idle, but it increases torque multiplication when you give it throttle, because the converter allows the engine to spin up to a slightly higher speed before it starts transferring power.

When does it make noise? If it only makes noise as the clutch is beginning to slip as the car starts rolling when releasing the pedal, its probably the machined surface of the flywheel rubbing against the new clutch disc and will go away once the flywheel and new disc break in. If the noise is constant when the pedal is released, that's likely to be the release bearing. If the noise is constant with the pedal held down, that's likely the pilot bearing.

Check the connector on the bulb first. Have had similar random on/off from the head lights on both of my cars and it's been due to corrosion/poor connection in the connectors. Use some electric contact cleaner to clean them really well and spray them out with compressed air. Then apply anti-corrosive or silicone di-electric grease to the terminals. Never hurts to change the bulbs either if you know they're a few years old, or if you've never changed them.

Won't run without all of the intake tubing connected properly in place. Needs input from the MAF to maintain A/F ratio after starting. Haven't ever had much issue getting the mount bolts to drop in the holes. Usually they fall right in. If it seems like it's too far back the trans mount may be worn out. Try setting the engine down on the crossmember and use a prybar to rock it side to side while you pull forward. Should drop into place then.

Yup. Bore is the same size so match head gaskets to the heads.

That could cause the evap small leak code, but the other two are circuit codes, which means they're related to wiring or the solenoids themselves are corroded or damaged. The ECU monitors those solenoids by reading the voltage on the wires from the ECU to the solenoid. It's looking for 12v going to the solenoid, and some amount of voltage coming back based on resistance of the internal ECU circuitry and the solenoid and wiring. When it doesn't see the correct voltage on the return or ground side of the circuit its sets a code for which condition is present, be that high voltage or low voltage. Circuit low = low voltage. Low voltage says the solenoid is electrically open, current cannot pass through it because the resistance is too high due to corrosion, or there is wire damage such as rodent damage, or that the wiring from the ECU to the solenoid is corroded. Since you have codes for two different solenoids, you could have corrosion in a connector in the harnesses that run along the rocker panels inside the car under the carpet. I think the wiring for those solenoids runs along the right side, but im not 100% sure of that. You'll want an FSM for that year so you can identify which solenoid is which, and check the wiring from the solenoids back to the ECU.

Most of the time leaks are due to the reservoir o-ring leaking. The main pump housing gasket does occasionally leak, which requires disassembly of the pump to replace, but that takes maybe an hour and about $50 for the seal kit and a new front bearing. I rebuilt the one on my 96 around January 2010. I've put close to 80k miles on it leak free.

That's very nice! P1400 Description Fuel Tank Pressure Control Solenoid Circuit Low Input You have codes for two of the solenoids that will be at the back of the car. Check the connectors for rust/corrosion. Those solenoids tend to be pretty expensive new, so I would not go throwing parts at it until you've done some checking with a multimeter are reasonably sure of the problem. O2 bank 1 sensor 2 is passenger side after the cat. General rule is that bank 1 will be the side with cylinder number 1. Sensor 1 is before the cat, sensor 2 is after the cat.

There are some aftermarket speed sensors that you can attach to an axle or the drive shaft. It's basically a wheel with some fingers on it, and you mount a magnet sensor so it can read the fingers as they spin around. People generally use them for conversions and custom builds where a cable driven speedometer is being replaced by a digital one. Try looking around the internebs for add-on speed sensors and I'm sure you'll stumble across a few. Might cost a couple hundred bucks, but if you're deterred by taking the trans apart its a viable option since the sensors just bolt on.

Yes that is supposed to spin. If it's not spinning its because the drive gear inside the trans is stripped. I don't remember details on replacing it on the auto trans. IIRC the front differential case has to come off.

Did you replace the IAC with a Subaru original?