tenderfootblue

Hey...I was just wondering if anyone knew if a 96 obw with power doors came from the factory with a key fob to lock and unlock the doors remotely? thanks

The only history I have on the car is what I have done to it in the two months I have owned it. I bought it at auction and was only able to turn on the car and pull it forward and backward for my preview. They didn't allow test drives on the day I previewed the car. I did do a thorough checking of everything that I was able to. It appears to me that I bought a car that had nothing more than oil changes done to it for maintenance. It only has 128,xxx miles on it. Not bad at all for a 1996. Now I have to catch up on 14 years of missed mtc. and fix what has gone wrong. The good news it purrs like a kitten. This thing runs quiet and smooth, and doesn't smoke a bit. I have also been pricing tires today. The best buy I can find are at wal-mart, called Douglas tires. Has anyone heard of them?

Sorry for the confusion. When I put the fuse in the binding did not go away. I wanted to verify that the fuse was in fact working so i spun the tires in the gravel to make sure that only the fronts were working. Also had a few thoughts about my symptoms since I do not know what a classic torque bind feels like. It seems that some users posts regarding binding problems are explaining a severe locking up problem. That is not what is happening here. My symptom is a clunking in the rear and a there is a light binding feeling as I turn at slow speeds, back up and turn at slow speeds, or drive on uneven terrain like dirt roads or something similar. Originally there was the at oil temp light but that went away when I changed the fluid and has not come back. So, for further exploration I just (not 30 minutes ago) went out and pulled the rear tires. Here is what I found; both strut boots torn and one blown with fluid leaking out...the other looks like it dried up a long time ago, both brake pads are worn to about 10%, calipers look like they are the originals. Rear tires do not match the fronts, which is contrary to what I originally posted, but the tread pattern is very similar. The insides of both rear tires are wore down to secondary rubber. thanks for all the help and patience with a newbie

Just took my first few pics of the car today...cant wait until the torque bind problem is gone and I can really drive it.

The FWD fuse did not make the bind go away and from what I have gathered from the help on here and reading other threads points to the duty C. Yes, with the fuse in the light comes on in the dash and I have verified that only the front wheels are driving. I did the fluid drain and fill one time then put in new again (about 3.5 quarts each time) and have not drained it after the second refilling. Probably have about 150-200 miles on the new atf. The at oil temp light has not come on since I changed the fluid. Is there more I should know about the "gummed clutch plates" you refered to? btw...I just took some pics of the car and am going to post them on my profile.

I have changed to ATF twice now and the binding is less obvious under normal driving conditions, but it is still obvious when on uneven terrain and turning at slow speeds. I checked out the recommended site for parts.... is this the description of the duty C needed to hopefully fix the problem? TRANSFER DUTY SOLENOID FOR 1996-1998 LEGACY OUTBACK & SUS ALL (comes with rear trans case gasket and 2 gaskets for solenoid) non-returnable parts $115.00 1 $115.00 I copied that form the checkout page from subarupartsforyou.com. This car is eating my wallet. I thought I got a good deal on it at auction only to get on here and find out that people are getting good cars for next to nothing and putting in a little work. I paid 2300 for it and have about 200 into it so far and still need to put tires on after I fix the torque bind. then I have a list of other things I need to get done. I should start a thread and report my progress with pics.

Hands Up! Star, ID...really its near Boise

I have been reading up on it and saw a post that the duty C can get gummed up. The recommendation was to change the ATF twice to try and free up the solenoid. Would love it if a cheap fluid change will fix my problem. If not How much is a new duty C, and does a used one generally work to fix the problem?

No start problem fixed. I changed the ignition coil and it seems to have solved that problem. Now I have to address the torque bind problem. I think I will start with draining and changing the ATF....two times.Then look at getting into a set of cheap new tires. (started a new thread for this issue)

So I started a thread a while back with several issues and thanks to all of the help from here I was able to resolve some of them. However my car still has a torque bind after I installed the FWD fuse. My car; 1996 OBW, 2.5, automatic, 129,000 miles. The car has worn matching tires, and two of the axel boots are torn...one up front back and one in the back. I have changed the diff. fluid, checked the ATF and it seems fine. When I start the car the ATF oil temp light stays on longer than any other dash lights but goes off after 30 seconds or so. The binding is noticeable mostly at low speeds, and especially when going slow and turning or backing up and turning. I am guessing that the problem is in the tranny since it did not go away when I put the fuse in. Any ideas or advice? Thanks

I am checking out replacement fuel pumps for my 96 2.5 obw, I am going to replace that and the ignition coil. I tested the coil and its resistance was not in the .5-.7 range that chiltons recomends. As for the fuel pumps...are the cars picky about oem replacement or aftermarket? The new aftermarket and the used oem pumps seem to be about the same price. Any recomendations?

The local subaru mechanic said that it may be a fuel pump. Seems like that would explain the dying after running smooth. The first problem I had was the car died as I rolled to a stop in a turn lane. Since Then it has been doing this thing where it starts after sitting for a while and runs fine for a few minutes then just quietly dies like it may be losing fuel.

With the torque bind figured out... I will address that when I get the vehicle running. The no start problem is still killing me. Once again I let the car sit all week and I jumped in and turned the key and it fired up...over and over again. I let it idle, the car purred for about five minutes and died. So, I put a code reader on it after it died and its not throwing any codes. The car will not restart, and this is how it has been behaving since it first died on me. Could this be some type of vacuum line or emission sensor faulting and telling the ecu to shut down?

So here is the update on the car. I let the car sit all week with the battery cables disconnected. I tried to start the car early on in the week with no luck. But, I was able to turn the car over today on the first turn of the key after reconnecting the cables. The check engine light and AT oil temp light were not present. So, I installed the FWD fuse and drove the car about a mile and a half. The car ran fine and did not die. The torque bind is still there and after I parked in the garage and turned the key off the car will not start. The check engine light and AT oil light came back. ...on a better note I did install my new driverside master pwr window switch without any problems. I bought the switch off ebay for 11.50! not much but my first victory on this new project.

I bought my Haynes and Chiltons manuals last night and will be considering buying a code reader off ebay like GG suggested. I will be able to tear into it next weekend hopefully. It's a good thing that I didnt sell my truck yet. I didnt think the P0400 had anything to do with not starting, but its that pending code that I was not able to locate on the reader that I am curious about. So, as soon as I get it to start I will put a fuse in the FWD and start my diag. for the bind at that point. Keep the good ideas flowing that way when I start in on it I dont run into a wall with my lack of experience in the middle of this project. I will read up on the threads pertaining to ATF change so I get it right the first time.