Fairtax4me

Runs fine, drives fine, shifts fine, but you probably have no AWD. Does it have the 6 cyl engine and 5 speed auto? On the 4 speed automatics the AWD solenoid is a fairly common failure and is easily replaceable. The 5 speed autos appear to have the AWD solenoid built into the valve body. Which generally requires replacing the entire valve body.

Now you can see why some things are not always mentioned. It takes a book to cover the whole process and any hang ups or other odd issues that may pop up through the course of the job. It's not possible to cover every conceivable situation. And often the way a job gets done differs widely based on what tools you have available, and how comfortable you are at doing that job. Good info in your post-fix write-up! Hopefully that will help someone else who needs to get this job done! Glad to hear your car is back on the road and running well!

Anytime you have a MAF sensor you need to check the air tube between the sensor and the throttle body for anywhere that air can get into the tube without flowing through the sensor. Any air getting in past the sensor is un-metered or "false" air , and is not accounted for in the AFR or load calculations. The result is a lean mixture, which often causes the engine to stall at idle. Check for any cracks or splits, especially where the tube has bends or convolutes where it flexes. Make sure the clamps at both ends of the tube are tight. Check any hoses that attach to the tube for splits and make sure they are firmly attached at BOTH ends.

Mikayla, you only need to cut one wire, then wrap some black electrical tape on the ends of the wire to prevent it from touching anything.

In a couple weeks all the grease will squish out and the new parts will wear in and you'll be able to feel some resistance in the pedal. New clutch stuff is always really easy to push for a little while.

I have trouble occasionally with clearing codes with my Innova 3130. I've found that after reading the codes if I re-scan and then immediately clear them (rather than scrolling through) it will work.

I've seen a few instances where the rubber section breaks and the center core just spins around with the bolt.

99 speedometer problem is a common problem. 99 speedometer fix: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/66-problems-maintenance/22846-99-outback-speedo-problem-fix-speedo-removal.html#/forumsite/20514/topics/22846?page=1

Do you have an AWD parts car? You need the entire rear suspension. Struts and springs, crossmember, trailing and lateral arms, etc. The whole rear suspension setup is different from FWD to AWD. Parking Brake cables to match either drums or disc setup that's going on the car. Fuel tank and the evap system parts to match. Evap stuff won't matter unless your state requires inspection. But you may end up with a CEL on all the time. Transmission and rear driveshaft. Center exhaust pipe and muffler are different as well. The FWD pipes will probably hit the AWD crossmember. Even if the car has only minor rust, the crossmember bolts can be seized in the body and you have to cut holes in the floor pan to get access to the captive nuts.

Don't need to do anything unless the code comes back.

Closest I have is 03. Looks like SBF 5 supplies the DLC, ECU, immobilizer module, main relay, and via fuse 13 the fuel pump relay. If you already pulled 13 we can rule that out. Immobilizer module should be on the right side of the steering column. 12 pin opaque connector. Is anything plugged into the DLC? Check it and make sure there is no corrosion or crud in there.

99 was the last year for the 1st gen outback(95-99). 2000 was the first year of 2nd gen. (2000-04) Bodys are totally different. Cars101.com for pics, look in the Archive section about halfway down the left on the main page.

Most of them are like the "main fuse" for a handful of circuits. After going through the SBF the path is broken up to maybe 5-6 fuses. Others provide direct power to control modules and related components or the ignition switch. You may not be getting to control modules into Sleep mode with the method you're using. You really need to be able to cycle the key On for 15-20 seconds, then turn off and remove it from the ignition switch. Cut a section of wire about 18" long and strip about 3-4" of insulation off each end. Wrap one end around the negative battery post and the other around the negative cable terminal. (Aligator clips can also be useful here) Connect the terminal to the post and cycle the key On wait a few seconds then turn it off. Remove the key from the ignition. Make sure all dome lights are off, all doors are closed. Carefully remove the negative cable from the battery making sure not to disconnect the wire. If the wire gets disconnected you'll have to start over. Now clip your meter leads to the negative cable terminal and to the battery post. Then you can disconnect the wire from the battery and cable. Now wait another 10 minutes up to maybe an hour to make sure the control modules all go to sleep. It should only take about 10 minutes on a Subaru. If you watch closely you should be able to see the amp reading drop a few times as the various modules power down. Wait maybe an hour to be sure then see what the meter shows.

Did the filament burn out or did the glass shatter? Shattered glass is a result of oil or moisture on the glass. Burned filament depends on the color of the burn inside the bulb. If there is a white smoke coating inside, that's due to oxygen contamination, which is likely due to a manufacturer defect allowing the inert gas inside the bulb to escape and outside air to be drawn in.

Don't do that, you'll blow up your meter. If you're lucky it will just blow the fuse, but depending on your meter it can be hard to find fuses and they're often much more expensive than a regular blade fuse. How is your meter connected? Have you allowed time for all of the control modules to power down and go to "sleep" mode? When you say you've pulled All of the fuses, does that include all of the slow blow fuses? (Theyre usually red and green in the older cars, not sure about the 02) What about the main fuse or fusible link?

Where on the car did you get the VIN from? There are multiple places where VINs are stamped, and there are small stickers on most of the removeable body panels (hood, trunk, doors). Does the VIN on the dash match the VIN on the sticker under the hood? Match the sticker in the door jamb?

The shudder/jump from the back of the car is probably the Subaru jerk. When these cars get a lot of miles on them the parts of the drivetrain wear and the excess play in the transmission gears, axles, and differential, creates a pretty large amount of slack in the drivetrain. When you transition from coasting to accelerating all of that slack has to be taken up before the wheels start to push again. The more wear on the vaeious parts of the drivetrain, the more slack there is, and the worse the jerk is. Vibration in park is usually due to poor quality aftermarket front axles. Sounds weird, but there's quite a bit of info about that problem floating around here and on other Subaru forums. Better quality axles are the fix for that. Alternator. There's a number on the belt. Something like 5PK895 The first number (5) is the number of ribs, the last 3 or 4 numbers are the length of the belt in millimeters. (Another example could be a 6PK1450, 6 ribs wide, 1450mm length) I've had the same problem you have both in getting belts that are too short and too long. Parts store listings are not always correct, and there are variances between engines that require a different length belt from model year to model year. Too short and you can't get the belt on the pulleys at all, too long and there isn't enough adjustment to properly tighten the belt. Look at the belt you have, and go to the parts store and ask for a belt 5-10mm shorter. Say yours is a 895, you could ask for an 890 or 885. Most stores carry those lengths in stock because those are common belt sizes for many Japanese and Asian vehicles. The dimming lights is kind of a common trait of these cars. At idle the alternator isn't able to create full charge. When your sitting at idle, fan on, lights on, brake lights, radio on, that's when the electrical parts of the car are placing the highest demand on the battey and alternator, and the alternator is just barely able to keep up. The difference between idle charge voltage, and full charge voltage at about 1500rpm is only maybe 1volt, but one volt is more then enough for you to notice a brightening of lights and the uptick in fan speed when that charge voltage picks up. It doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with the alternator, it's just a characteristic of how alternators work. Some things you should check to make sure your electrical system is able to operate at its best. Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight. Make sure the ground cable is clean and tight at the block. Make sure the body ground wire is clean and tight. Make sure the main charge lead from the alternator is clean and tight at the alternator, and on the bottom of the main fuse panel. If you can see green in the very ends of any of the cables where they are exposed at the terminals, there's a good chance that corrosion has spread far down into the cable underneath the insulation, and that will lower the current capacity of the cables. That means they can't supply enough current to satisfy the demands of your electrical system.

2000 10th Vin digit is always the year. http://support.alldata.com/alldata-repair-online-article/vin-to-year-chart

Are the parts cars really rusty or something? Might be easier to just swap your engine/trans into one of those.

Unless their stuff is blue and said Subaru on it, it's not the Subaru stuff. Mixing coolant types is generally not a good idea, and I really doubt they totally flushed the system before refilling it with their stuff, so if they totally removed the radiator, you've got about 85% their stuff and maybe 15% Subaru stuff left in there. If you can get them to totally drain and refill the system then it should be fine. BUT you just paid good money to have Subaru coolant put in! I would make them pay to have it flushed and refilled again by Subaru.

Could also be a gummed up radiator cap. The small metal cap in the center can get gunk on the back of it and prevent it from opening when coolant needs to be drawn back into the system. If the outer seal gasket on the cap is damaged that can cause the same issue.

The DOHC blocks are not known to tolerate overheating. The bearings are small, and overheating thins the oil enough to cause damage to the bearings. You might put gaskets on it and get a year out of it. You might only get a few days before a rod pops out through the side of the block. Those head gaskets in your pics look like cheapos. Anytime I see that ring of weird not-rubber sealant going around the edge of the gasket I steer away. IMO That stuff prevents full seating of the fire ring around the cylinder and will lead to internal leaks.

Those bolts are a pain sometimes. Not sure what it's called. Subaru just calls it a bolt. Post in the classifieds for the Big damn bolt for the rear knuckle and everybody will know what you're talking about.

An update! And it's not three years later this time! Need to align it but its sitting where it should be now! High up on 215/65/16 Grabber AT2s and WRX wheels! Mounted and put those on last night about 7:30. Snow storm hit this morning and were expecting 18-24" over the next couple days, so they're gonna get tested out right away!

Check the coolant level in the radiator when the engine is cold. It's probably still too low.