spideyz

FIxed it! Turns out it was a blown fuse under the dash after all. Thanks for your help! I feel like a rookie.

Is there a relay related to these lights? I don't see anything labeled as such in the fuse/relay box under the hood.

I forgot to mention that the license plate lights do not come on either when the headlights are turned on. Keith

The wagon was rear ended 10 months ago. The back hatch will not open. In order to re-register the car with a salvaged title, I had to get an official lights and brake inspection done. The garage that did that replaced the combo tail/brake light bulb on the passenger side of the hatch. As I followed my wife home from the garage with the light certificate in hand, I noticed that the driver side hatch brake light was not working! Some inspection! The certificate indicates that all the bulbs are functional. So, I bought another bulb and went to install it and discovered that the tail/brake bulb socket on the driver side hatch was shot. the round plate that holds the two contacts in the socket was melted. While doing that, I noticed that the tail lights were not coming on either side when the headlights were on. I tested and re-tested for voltage on the sockets and the tail light contact was dead on both sides. I removed the 4 prong connector that connects to the tail/brake bulb and the reverse light bulb, no power for the tail light at the connector either. Brake lights work normally and there is voltage at the melted socket for the brake light. All fuses look and test OK. Parking lights do not seem to work. I looked under the dash and found one cut wire that had very dusty electrical tape, so I don't think that is it. I'm wondering if the mechanic messed with it in some way, so I would have to come back. I honestly have no idea if the tail lights were working before we took the car in, because we almost never drive that car at night, and definitely don't follow it around at night. Advice is humbly requested as what/where to look, test, etc. Thanks for reading this long post! Keith

My 16 year-old managed to avoid a head on last night, but scratched the plastic trim molding on the rear door and fender of my 2006 Outback wagon. Anyone parting out a car of the same color with good, undamaged parts? If so, let me know. Looks to me like I need three parts: the silver midline and lower gray moulding for the door and the render arch molding. See the pictures. Thanks for looking. Keith

Haven't gotten this fixed yet. Now, I am noticing that there is a "click" happening. Yesterday, the car wouldn't start for about a minute of turning the key, and I was hearing a click each time I released the key. I whacked the starter a few times while my wife turned the key and it started. So, are we thinking starter? The elec. connections at the starter are not corroded at all. Keith

My 2001 legacy wagon (not Outback) has been doing something weird for some time now. On some, but not all cold starts, there is a lag of a second or two (sometimes 5-8 seconds) from when the key is turned to start the engine and when the starter starts cranking. The first time this happened, I thought it was a dead battery, because I didn't keep the key turned longer than normal. I hooked up a jump and it started. Then after this happened more frequently, I realized what is going on and just waited longer than usual with the key turned to start. Seems to do this more when the weather is cold outside. After the engine is warm, it starts right up with no delay. To be clear, when this problem happens, the key is turned and the engine doesn't start right away, there is no sound at all, no clicking from the starter, etc. Once it does start to crank, it is strong and the engine starts right up. Any ideas? Thanks. Keith

I've got a 2001 Legacy wagon. Automatic. For some time, a random "ping" sound would happen from under the floor boards when shifting into reverse or when starting to back up and sometimes when starting forward from a stop. Now, not every time, but often, when starting forward from a dead stop, there is a clunking felt under the center of the car as if we are going over a cattle crossing grate for a second. Doesn't last and the car handles fine once moving. The rapid clunking definitely not coming from the front or rear. I used to be on this site all the time with my old GL-10 and Brat, but not recently since I got the '01. Hope you guys can steer me in the right direction. Thanks. Keith Sorry for the double post. Not sure what happened.

I need to find a cheap repair manual for my newly acquired 2001 Legacy GT wagon. Ebay has Haynes for about $20. The local parts place has Chiltons for $25, but I hate chiltons. Anybody know of a cheaper alternative? I am weary of the $5 FSM downloads. Keith

I ended up with the 2001 Legacy. Turns out it is a GT with more options than the 2000 (my kids love the dual sunroofs). In addition to all the other work he did, I talked him into doing a tranny flush on the car and he gave me the y-pipe I need for my 1994 Legacy, so maybe I can sell it for a grand or so. Any takers?? I haggled as much as I could and got the car for $6895. Let's hope I can get a 100k more out of it. Thanks for the advice. Keith

My 94 Legacy wagon is on its last legs. Valves, clutch, exhaust all going. So its time to get a newer one. A very experienced local subaru shop has several for sale. These cars all have New Headgaskets, New Thermostat, New Timing Belt, New Tensioner, New Bearings, New Heater & Radiator Hoses, New Spark Plugs. Interior and exterior condition is very good to excellent. So if you had to make the choice, which would you pick? 2000 Legacy Wagon 103K $7190 2001 Legacy Wagon 142K $7180 1997 Outback Wagon 109K $6695 1998 Outback Wagon 141K $5950 2000 Outback Wagon 151K $6190 All seem to be in line with KBB dealer prices although the 2001 is about a grand high. I could throw a dart at the list but I like the idea of low miles, so the 2000 with only 103K is seeming to be the choice so far. Thanks for your input. Keith

Anyone done a Y-pipe recently to give me an idea on costs?

My 94 legacy wagon is at crossroads. Several problems have built up and I am wondering if maybe it's time to say goodbye. 1) Six to eight months ago, it developed an exhaust leak that makes the wife embarrassed to drive it. I did the add-mineral-spirits-to-the-air-intake-trick and found the leak where the y-pipe connects to the exhaust manifold on the passenger side. There is some tack welded heat shield right there, so I can't tell if there is a rusted out pipe or a bad gasket. I have not taking it apart to find out. I think the y-pipe is a real pricey part because it has the Cat on it... 2)A few months ago, I started getting intermittent blue/white smoke blowing big time out the tailpipe on cold start ups. We're talking spy hunter video game style. Lasts about two blocks then goes away completely for the rest of the day. I added some head gasket junk to the radiator (the expensive kind that said you could add to the coolant.) But no noticeable change. Sometimes it doesn't smoke at all. The car is due for a SMOG check (N. California) and I am weary that it will fail. 3) Yesterday, I saw the engine temp gauge go above the 1/2 way mark for the first time ever, and pulled over to find coolant all over the place. I made it home to find a sizable crack in the plastic side of the radiator. So I must decide if I order the radiator online, spend the $100 and 2 hours to replace it, then take it to the SMOG shop and spend another $50 to see if it passes smog. If it does pass, then I've got to pay a years registration then deal with the y-pipe exhaust noise for who knows how much, so my wife will drive the car. If it fails smog, then they'll probably tell me I need a head gasket job (which I am not going to do myself) or who knows what else for who knows how much. With 250K on this car, I am seriously considering just calling Pick-n-pull to come pick it up and look for an Outback. Any thoughts? It does have nice new tires. Keith

Hi Guys, 1994 Legacy wagon. I replaced the passenger side halfshaft a month ago. Took about an hour. Now, working on the drivers side, the shaft will not come out. I tried the hammer routine first. Sprayed with lots of liquid wrench. No luck, just damage to the end of the old shaft. Took the spindle housing and halfshaft out of the car together. Brought them to the auto parts store to see if a hub puller would get it out. Tool connected good but the halfshaft wouldnt budge. The threads on the tool started to strip and the parts guy asked to stop. I took my torch to it suspended between 2x4s on my sawhorses, hit with my hammer: stuck. Hit it with a 5 lb. maul: still stuck and mushrooming shaft end. Hit it with a 10 lb. sledge: still stuck and really flat mushroomed shaft end. See the attached pictures of what I'm dealing with and what I think I need. So, I think I'll need to get a new/used spindle housing/hub bearing assembly. Anybody got any other ideas? Anybody have a parts car that they could ship me the whold assembly, minus the half shaft. Zip code is 95472. I'm going to post this in the marketplace also. If you can help with a used part ASAP, please give me a call at (707) 829-3826. Thanks. Keith

I was thinking that adding too much oil caused the problem, not running low for a while. Any chance there? I will do the carb cleaner test. I did not see any obvious vac hoses popped off, but I'll double check and report back my findings if I can't get it fixed. Thanks for all the input so far! Keith