Ravenwoods

So I'm assuming you need to pull the engine to fix the clutch. I've never done a clutch job or pulled an engine, but am willing to give it a try.

There is a 92 Legacy for sale here in Alaska for $300. This is what the owner says: “1992 Subaru Legacy Wagon w/260k miles 5spd Manual transmission. All lights work.Has studded winter tires with lots of tread. Starts right up, sounds and idles great, but currently doesn’t drive. I believe it’s the clutch. Will take trades of all sorts.. or any offer is welcome.” My daughters have 95 and 96 Legacies. Maybe we should pick this one up as a parts car?

I inspected the neutral safety/inhibitor switch and the two holes lined up pretty good but I loosened up all three screws and turned it counterclockwise as far as it goes. It was almost there anyway. Holes are perhaps even better aligned now. My daughter is working on getting her drivers license so we took the car out for a 2 hour drive and had no issues with the shifter getting stuck in park or the starter motor not working. So hopefully this solved the problem.

Thanks for the advice. I saw some YouTube videos that said the neutral safety switch can cause both problems and it either needs adjusting or replacing. One video shows how you can repair the switch if necessary as they are rather expensive.

My 18 year old daughter bought a 95 Legacy as her first car (175,000 miles). Sometimes it won’t come out of park. I saw some videos on YouTube about how one can remove the shifter cover and use a screw driver to depress a button to get out of park. So far we have just rocked the car back and forth and that works great. Also sometimes the starter doesn’t turn over as if the battery connection is bad. But normally one hears a click or something if that is the case. But the car is silent. I did service the battery connection too just to be sure. Usually rocking the car back and forth solves that problem too, or slamming the hood down. So I’m guessing there must be some switch somewhere that needs replacing. Any suggestions where to start?

Sounds like I’ll get a Subaru thermostat!

I’m getting ready to replace timing belt and water pump etc so I’m planning on a new thermostat too. The local car parts stores have ones that are 170 or 172 F. We are in Fairbanks Alaska where the winters are long and cold. Can we get a thermostat with a higher temperature such as 180 or 185? When I look at the live data from our 98 Forester it seems the engine temperature is in the 180-185 range if I remember correctly.

The misbehavior returned. I got a used MAF for $50 and no more misbehavior.

Thanks! I’ll see about finding the instructions on adjusting the Idle Air Control Valve. My daughter reported last night the car hasn’t misbehaved since I replaced the Idle Air Control Valve. The car runs normally. What happens by not checking to see if the voltage is correct? Maybe just not get optimum performance from the engine?

I did clean the Throttle body a few months ago, but did not remove it.

Hesitation and jerking during acceleration, engine stalling.

Here is an update on the car. Since last Thursday there have been only intermittent problems with the car. I did spray MAF cleaner on the sensor but it already looked clean. Also since then the CEL has been off, but it was never on for the MAF sensor. It did come on from time to time for the Idle Air Control Valve. We bought a used Idle Air Control on eBay for $80 and I just installed it now. I took the car for a test drive and did not notice any problems. The old Idle Air Control Valve was part 22650 AA033 and the Subaru dealer told the updated part number is 22650 AA034 so I got that one. It looks like top part can be turned to make adjustments. Does anyone know anything about that? There are two little screws one can loosen like on the Throttle Position Sensor. I’ve attached a picture.

So are you saying the MAF for a 98 Forester with the EJ25 engine is the same as in the EJ22? If so, I can swap out the MAF from our 98 Forester and see what happens.

She is bringing the car over this afternoon and I'll plug in the code reader.

My daughter's 1996 Legacy with 116,000 miles on it is giving symptoms reminding me of our Forestor when the MAF was bad about 14 years ago. At that time I just dropped it off at the mechanic and they replaced the MAF. I have a Code reader that provides freeze frame data and live data. Any suggestions on what I should look for in this data to determine if it is the MAF? I'm thinking of getting some MAF sensor cleaner, but from the severity of the symptoms probably the MAF is already dead.

I drove it today for a bit after changing out a CV Axle and replacing the engine block heater. I personally felt it was operating normally, but I didn’t go over 35 mph.

Where is the ECU located?

My daughter has a 96 Legacy Brighton with the EJ22 engine and manual transmission. It has 116,000 miles on it. I took the Throttle Position Sensor off unaware it has to be adjusted when you put it back on. The car is still running fine but she says it is slower to accelerate. I looked in YouTube for some instructional videos but didn’t find one specific to the EJ22 engine.

Our local Subaru dealer has the block heater for $40 versus one of the car parts stores at about $55. We should get installed this week sometime.

Sounds great. We actually need to replace the one already there since it no longer works. It looks like is is near the water pump. Is that correct? What tools do we need?

We need to put in an engine block heater in a 2.2 liter in a 96 Legacy. Is that an easy job?

That is the part we replaced. It is AWD. I’d have to verify the ABS. I looked at your website. Our speedometer is functioning normally. So maybe there is a poor connection that breaks contact for an instant?

My daughter has a 96 Legacy 2.2 manual transmission and the code P500 comes on every couple miles. It has 115,000 miles on it. I’ve been erasing the code every time it occurs. We replaced the Vehicle speed sensor but it didn’t help. According to the freeze frame data it usually occurs at about 2500-2600 RPM. Do the ABS wheel sensors have any relationship to the VSS?

So you think the MAF could be bad? It starts easily, runs great. I googled bad MAF symptoms and they don’t match this car.

My daughter’s 1996 Legacy 2.2 (112,000 miles) with manual transmission has these 2 codes. The engine dies occasionally. Previously it died quite frequently so I cleaned the throttle body. That vastly reduced the problem. We are just wondering what you recommend?