Bushwick

I remember one of you guys/gals mentioning the early models or SVX? had a power mode, and on the Legacy you can ground a pin on the trans module to put the car into a "power" shift mode or whatever it's called. I'd like to go out and try this, but can't remember what the name of the module is and have no idea what it looks like. Would somebody be willing to give me a refresher or a link to a correct DIY? THANK YOU

Just go and find a used axle at a bone yard or pay up for a reman or new. Rent an econobox for $20 a day if it's the only car or ask for a ride until fixed. It's not worth damaging anything else just to limp around a couple days and possibly have more $$$ into repairs. If you go for used, inspect the rubber boots on both ends for excessive dry rot. If the rubber is really cracking, pass on it. Also try your local cragslist->auotparts->Search Box = Subaru and scour through and you might get lucky. Often craigslist stuff will either be pulled already or the seller will pull. Get an idea on price and haggle if needed. Don't let on you are desperate, or you'll hurt your leverage to haggle if they are shrewd. Next time, when you hear a clicking sound on turns while moving, pay attention as it'll be your other one going. Also get in the habit of turning the wheels hard left/right and visually inspecting the boots for rips. My Legacy was bought with a missing metal band and the boot was just sitting there. Thankfully I caught it quick enough and stuck a new band on after packing fresh grease in. Saved a potential premature failure.

The seats in the 95' Legacy actually sit lower in the track for some reason i.e. no seat height adjustment and sit close to the ground. If you just want to sit higher in the car and not feel like you are climbing out of a Corvette every time, try swapping in full power seats (or just the brackets and mount your seat tops to them) with height adjustment. I'm pretty sure the Outback has them. I never realized how high my seats sit in my other car until I got the Legacy. The other car is even lowered 1.5" and the bumpers sit about 2" lower than the Legacy, but the way the seat was adjusted in that, it's several inches HIGHER off the floor pan than the Legacy. If you are on a budget and want to do it SUPER cheap, buy some square tubing and make stand off spacers to "lift" the seat instead (between seat and track, not track and floor). Or do like old women do and stick some dinner table seat cushions on the seat for a slight lift.

I only pulled the Legacy's once and thought the base was plastic sleeved as well..... In any case, if it tests bad, you can still twist with vice grips or pry against the plastic tab to break the seal.

Yeah, I thought I remembered an Aussie in the Saab forums saying they get higher octane, but I couldn't remember how high it went. Wish we got 98 easily here, but I'm guessing even if available it'd be $5-7 a gallon. WE used to be able to get higher octane at a very few select gas stations, but I don't believe it's the case anymore. Hell, 25-30 years ago you used to be able to pull up to a local, small-plane airport and get "jet fuel" at a pump LOL. My mom dated a guy in the mid 80's that had an original (pretty sure it was a 67') Corvette with a 427. Think he had 11:1 in it and would fill it up at the airport gas pump. Well, if your build pings a bit on 91, you have options

Thanks for the tips everyone. Today I ran to AZ to grab a $20 tire inflater (with bonus points I had a $20 discount so it was FREE! ) for my other car coming out of winter hibernation. Anyways, pulled up in the Legacy, grabbed the AC gauge, popped the hood, hooked it up..... and the pressure range was ROCK solid I couldn't believe it! Wasn't even fluctuating the pressure. Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating, I double checked the AC was on and then glanced at the AC clutch and it was staying 100% engaged at idle, and the needle was spot on for 70 degrees (even if not accurate, all seemed well). The 1st refill can I used had some treatment/conditioning stuff in it IIRC, and maybe I got lucky and it actually did something positive for a change? Ambient temps were warmer than the last time checked, but not blistering so dunno. Just happy it works correctly now as this will definitely get summer usage on 96 degree, 250% humidity, snow man melting days as my other car had the AC compressor yanked to clear the larger turbo compressor housing which is not fun to drive when hot out

Cool. Did you already pull it that quickly? If it was already yanked by previous owner, check it over thoroughly (make SURE it's even the correct motor). Your ej18 is roughly around 85 kw (114hp); that ej20 should be 99 kw (132hp -but the numbers are all over the place from different sources so might be a tad less). If the compression ratio wasn't a factor, you can probably expect roughly an 18 hp bump minimum assuming the combustion chambers are the same between the two engines. I can't find the cr for an NA ej20, but the ej18 is either 9.5:1 or 9.7:1. If I were you, I'd visually inspect the combustion chambers in both engine's heads and see if the area is smaller in the ej18. If it IS smaller, you'll definitely be somewhere in the 10's as the smaller combustion chamber from the ej18 should bump you up. To play it safe, you might want to browse what's available for that engine and not get the thinnest head gasket set to avoid being overly high. I have NO idea what you guys have available at local gas stations there as far as octane ratings go, but if you guys get more than 93 oct you might be able to get away with a higher 10 to 11 range and not have it overly temperamental. In V8's, going from 9:1 to 10:1 can bring roughly 20hp. Given the smaller pistons in the ej20, maybe an extra 5-8 hp if you can go from 9.5:1 to 10:1 or 10.5:1. It's just a rough guess. But swapping the block over might net you 17-19 kw (22-25 hp) which should be pretty noticeable. Not to mention the extra torque Please bookmark and update with how this goes as it's apparently not very common as most just jump up to an ej22 or ej25. I'm definitely interested in hearing about the progress in the future and hope it goes smoothly for you, good luck!

I used the AC analogy as the engine has to have the idle kicked up in order to keep running. It creates an additional load that parasites some power and the engine has to work harder to overcome. Go on loose pavement/gravel/snow and trying spinning all 4 tires. The engine has to work HARDER to spin all 4. Force FWD and it can easily spin the fronts (at least mine can but it's still running the skinny tires) since the extra effort isn't wasted trying to power the rear drive line and the extra weight doesn't matter in that scenario. People talk about the weight of the AWD cars like it's an AWD Taurus or something. My wagon with auto and AWD still somehow weighs LESS than my 4 door 5-speed Saab hatch back did stock. Sorry for stirring the pot in the previous post as that wasn't my intent. I just was trying to comment more that there is a difference driving AWD vs. FWD only, as experienced in turns and accelerating. Whether that relates to a fractional MPG difference or not, I haven't tested and not trying to say otherwise. If you really want to increase MPG (pretty much any vehicle), run "approved" full synthetic oil, fluids, etc. Remove any intake restrictions and a non restrictive air cleaner (turbo's don't matter as much before the turbo, after the compressor is another story), get tires that offer better fuel economy, LOWER the center of gravity i.e. lowering springs, and keep the cruise control on constantly at high way speeds. My old 96' Mark VIII with a DOHC 4.6L was rated at 28 highway factory. After lowering the air bags via custom switch brackets, full synthetics oil & trans, removing air horn, K&N, touring tires, and full tune-up every 15k miles (oil every 3k as I ran the car) I was able to squeeze out 33 highway on flat surfaces with cruise on. 32 was norm on mild inclines. It had a cluster gauge that monitored and was surprisingly accurate. Also note the 33 MPG highway came with extra weight in the rear pushing curb weight to 4000+. I had to constantly drive long distance with that car and it beat most 4 bangers of it's time (both in speed and MPG). It's funny having to top off the Legacy almost 1.5 times more often with a fraction of the miles LOL.

You can buy an inexpensive head gasket and manifold gasket kit online for cheap. Since the cylinder heads only share 2 pistons each, I consider them to be SUPER easy to deal with considering they are light and compact. If you have some muscle or friend, you can pull the entire top end by yourself, then unbolt the block and lift out of the donor. With the donor engine out and sitting, you can trial fit everything from your car onto it and see if there will be gasket issues and/or bolt hole issues or not with your intake manifold and heads (take care not to gouge the head mating surface and unbolt the heads in a proper manner). Also, degrease donor engine FIRST (oven cleaner works G-R-E-A-T). Probably want to use an ej20 head gasket kit while making sure every coolant passage matches up with the ej18 heads, but I'm shooting from the hip here so you'll have to investigate more, especially with the final compression ratio (10.5:1 is the highest cr you want for a daily driver on premium 93 octane pump gas; 10:1 would be better and can tolerate 91 octane). IF the donor is DOHC, you'll need to find out if the crank pulley is balanced differently or not i.e. the weight of the balance and if the outside diameter is different. Ideally, you'll want to use whatever your engine has and attach to donor. I'm not sure if Subaru changed that up or not between different blocks or not? If you are wrong, it'll create an imbalance and a rumble that'll destroy the bearings and seals. Since the 94' is an OBDI? getting the sensors to work, etc. will be a potential headache on the newer engine, hence swapping the full donor block would be fairly straight-forward assuming there's nothing goofy about it. If you are intent on just swapping the engine as-is, you need to swap the entire engine harness from donor over and get it powered up. Lot of work, and you'll be down on HP. Focus on the block swap and getting it running (I mean do your research and make sure everything will work out OK). Unless you want to go off road, I wouldn't mess with the AWD swap as it's pretty pointless in lower HP engines on dry pavement, PLUS trying to get AWD from a different year working in a non AWD car won't be fun. If you are low on funds, you can EASILY make quick cash parting out the donor's stuff you won't use, just don't tell them what you paid for it or else they'll think you should "give" them the stuff for nothing

I don't think it has an extreme leak or anything. The 1st warm up we had that I tried recharging was about 4+ weeks ago, and we were followed by an onslaught of snow and cold until finally hitting the 50's-60's+ now. It's still blowing cold, but I'll wait until tomorrow (supposed to be 70; 77 Sunday) to check again as it's low 50's now. I'm not worried about the crudity of the gauge. But, it seemed before that the pressure was going too high, then it'd cut out. AZ guy thought it might be the pressure switch. I'll update after it warms up.

No idea what they did in 2010, but on my 95' there's a little plastic fuse holder up against the firewall. If the car is to be towed for example, you can either stick a small 5 amp fuse (or jump with wire) in the holder and it'll disengage the AWD. On mine, a dash light comes on saying "FWD." Also, I noticed running it briefly the car behaved very different i.e. it really feels like a FWD car and takes turns differently, engine revs slightly quicker while driving, cars squats more in the rear while accelerating hard, etc. Some people are adamant there's no difference in MPG since they claim the added weight of the AWD is still being "pulled" as the car moves and the rear differential is still spinning. I haven't tested MPG, but the simple fact the engine revs differently and isn't actually powering anything beyond the front wheels it's gotta make a slight difference. Just like adding a 30 pound AC compressor means there's extra weight and you still spin the pulley with it off, but unless the AC is on you aren't getting the parasitic effect it creates with the engine's load. As far as 7 MPG difference I'm calling BS on that. For example, a true FWD Legacy will only have about 1-2 mpg difference from it's identical AWD counterpart. That's going off the factory EPA MPG ratings. Also, it's said to be hard on the solenoid that controls the AWD engage/disengage function if left disengaged for long periods of time, BUT there are people here that run FWD all the time and leave the rear disengaged.

No idea about the seats. I'd suggest getting a measuring tape and measuring the floor pan bolt holes while noting the contour of the bracket ends, AND also measure the bolt hole locations on the actual seats where they mount to the actual track. You might get lucky and might be able to swap just the seat itself i.e. keeping your seat tracks and getting the newer seats to mount to your tracks. If you have a drill or small welder, you can definitely make just about anything work.

The day I tried charging the system it was only in the upper 50's. I'll check again in the next day or so (going into the upper 60's low 70's) and see where it's at, while inspecting the switch. Yeah, that's a little pricey for this car Worse case I'll live with it. Thanks for the advice.

It'll fit if that's what you mean. 94 is OBDI correct? 96' will be OBDII, so there will be differences with the sensors, ECM, etc. if you try and swap the entire engine. The ej18 was essentially built off the ej20. Putting an ej25 block on an ej22 top-end, is a common cross breed here in the US and provides a nice bump in output from a base ej22 since it raises the compression ratio slightly plus the larger bottom end. Might want to look into an ej18 top-end on the ej20 bottom-end deal to avoid messing with the sensors. I'm pretty sure you'd get a similar bump in performance. Both of your engines are non interference, so that's a plus. Also, I know Australia has strict auto laws, but if you leave the top-end alone and just swap the block over, it should fly well under their radar. Try searches for "frankenbuild Subaru" or "frankenmotor Subaru" and see if others have done this with those 2 engines easily.

I used the gauge that's built in to the recharge hose. It was accurate when I recharged my Lincoln Mark VIII with it. The Mark was doing the same thing (on/off, cool, but not cold) and after a can that stopped the on/off cycling on that car and the gauge reflected correctly with outside temp. I still had an unused can from that time, so I put that in the Legacy. It got cold from that, but still cycled. Ran up to AZ, bought another can (half size can) and put that in while watching the AC clutch to see if it'd stop cycling, but it didn't. Ended up overcharging and bled a little out. Fairtax, is there a way of testing the switch? And what do you mean by manifold gauge? You mean a vacuum gauge to a vacuum port??

If you like the newer body style better than yours, you can pick one up for next to nothing. I paid $850 for mine. It needed a rear cross member (not too hard, but takes a day if everything is rusted) which is VERY common failure point. Only cost $18 at Pull-A-Part. Exterior has some typical rot, interior was very good, and everything worked from AC to power locks, windows, etc. I think I have about $300 into it total (upgraded to 130 amp alternator retrofitted from a Tribecca, better headlight bulbs, timing belt, battery, rear OB sway bar, and 4 new valve stems). If I really wanted, I could do a full Outback treatment i.e. front & rear bumper, hood, heated seats, rims, etc. for a couple hundred and still have the simpler car with the ej22 but with upgraded exterior. Or just get an Outback and call it a day, then sell yours to offset the price.

I bought the car as a winter car last Oct. PO said the AC worked, and the AC did at least blow cold, but the car was never driven in warm temps until now. Anyways, first warm up we had I noticed it felt cool, but not cold. Also noticed the compressor was constantly cycling on/off about every 5-10 seconds. Hooked up a gauge and a 134 refill can, and charged it some. It finally got COLD and will remain blowing COLD (or it's cycling on/off fast enough that I'm not noticing a temp difference), but AC clutch is still constantly cycling on/off every 5-10 seconds. It has the proper amount of refrigerant now. That's not normal on these, right? I was thinking there might be a high/low pressure switch bad. Any thoughts?

Crank sensor will come out with vice grips if needed. It's plastic, so don't waste time with penetrating oil. It's just stuck and needs to be twisted to break the seal. A screwdriver acting as a lever against a bolt tab can help, but no promise the sensor will be OK after. Get your ohm/volt meter out and check the cam and crank sensors with the engine cold. Compare the values to oem. If one (or both) sensors are off, replace. If both values are OK with cold engine, run it until the engine cuts, then retest both sensors again. I know with Saab it's usually a bad crank sensor.

@Jarl If it were me, I'd search out a set of NON airbagged seats with heat. It'll be safer and MUCH lighter. Airbagged seats on average (other cars) can add 20-30 pounds per front seat. More weight = slower car with exaggerated handling and slightly less MPG city. My Saab 9-3 has heat (front/rear) and bags (both front seats) and weigh 62 pounds each for fronts). Pulling just the passenger seat made a huge difference with handling and acceleration and that was with a turbo and slightly above stock HP levels at the time. Given a non turbo Legacy with roughly 1/3 the HP as my Saab and roughly 500 pounds more curb weight, adding 50-60 pounds of dead weight will probably be disgusting. Also, leather + dog toenails = scratches and sliding dogs. Better off folding down back seat and putting a heavy blanket down to catch the hairs. Get some cheap seat covers for the fronts and invest in a $40 shop vac from Lowes.

Just register it in your dad's state and keep insurance on it from your dad's state as well. If you ever get stopped for some reason, can explain you are moving, or you are in CA for work reasons, etc. You'll need to keep a cat on it regardless unless it's strictly an off-road car. A large 3" race cat will be OK (spool-wise) and most importantly be legal so a CHP riding behind you won't smell a catless exhaust and stop you.

You can't give people advice like this. If he pulls the ABS fuse and slides into a car full of children and kills 1 or more, you could be liable if the DA is aggressive enough, not to mention the OP will be ROYALLY screwed for bypassing a safety feature. This is the same as disabling an airbag and your passenger gets killed, guess who gets blamed? Even if a drunk driver plowed into you, disabling a safety feature is a no no and can cause serious legal headaches. OP, if your ABS is activating you are driving too fast or trying to stop too quickly. Slow down and put more room between you and the car in front of you. If the roads are snow covered, and you are sliding, SLOW DOWN. ABS pulses the brakes under hard braking to prevent skidding. If it's activating, you are braking too hard or driving too fast, or following too closely.

Aren't you guys worried about RTV clumps getting into the oil pump or clogging the screen or starving the engine of oil? This is an issue with Saab's and we use Loctite 518 (required by factory) as it won't harden inside the pan area and clog oil passages, etc. as it ONLY hardens in the absence of air i.e. only hardens where the pan contacts the block. Anything squishing in or out of the area will remain soft and dissolve in the oil, so no clumps or risks. Saab also use the same rotor style oil pump as Subaru.

With the FWD fuse in (or a jumper wire), there should be no power going to the rear tires, so not sure how you can be doing donuts? FWD running in circles won't donut unless you are pulling the e-brake and that's different. Over/under steer will also be very different between FWD and AWD, or at least it is in my wagon. Feels like a completely different car between the 2.

Sorry, I was referring to the connecting rod bearings on the crank. It's not a traditional "spring." It's a flat piece of metal that's formed with contours (think of an "S"-like shape) that keeps some tension on the rocker IIRC. If you decide to ever pull the rocker assembly, it's something like 8 bolts, then the entire assembly lifts off. Very nice and simple setup. You'll need to remove an extra screw to get them off the rocker arm shaft.

Why was it a quart low on coolant? Was the reservoir empty? What was the code it was storing? If it's knocking really bad, it's probably a main bearing. Best bet is to drain the oil, BUT, go and buy a strainer with a metal screen (or get some metal screen at Lowe's with a fine hole count). Drain the oil COLD and let it all pass though the screen. If you see a bunch of glitter or chrome/copper looking specs, etc. it's safe to say a bearing got chewed. I'd pull the pan at that point and inspect the connecting rods (w/o unbolting the caps) and see if they are really loose or if you might have a snapped connecting rod. It's possible the engine isn't original, or got a hack replacement job, etc. Also, with the timing cover off, does the belt tensioner bounce? That can cause a knocking too, but I forget which year they started using those.