montana tom

Outbacks went full drive by wire in 2005 , calf. and other high emission state cars went DBW in 2004 or possibly sooner. Haven't seen any 2002 DBW outbacks.

Update; Its fixed ! Looked behind the radio first and found 2 quick connect wire taps ... not currently hooked to anything but I knew I was on the right track. Also a mysterious lg connector unplugged behind the factory radio with nothing to plug into... Next I pulled the panel under the steering wheel and there they were... quick connects tied into the main harness, that led to the lg connector behind radio. The first one I picked to unplug fixed it ! No more running with the key off ! Sadly I was thinking of keeping this car , but after finding out its a calf emission car with drive by wire throttle ... its going up for sale as soon as its ready.

96 was a crossover year. Some 2.2 were interference and some were not. water pump can be skipped (not recommended) seals if they are not leaking they can be skipped as well. Timing Belt and all rollers (Japanese made recommended) should be changed Yes, many people routinely replace timing belts themselves .

Was the valve, I cut open the canister and the charcoal was fine.

I bought a 2004 5 speed obw recently. Nice car, not counting some repairable deer damage , it had two definite things going on. A mysterious yet to be diagnosed symptom of continuing to run with the key removed ( addressed in another post) . And trouble filling the fuel tank , showing a 1443 code, "evap control solenoid" . I expected to replace the valve above the charcoal canister... i expected it so much (having repaired this before on others) that I ordered a new one without confirming things... Turns out , I learned something new...(Again) ... on 2004 outbacks that are built to be a California car , they run an impreza evap system ! Completely different than all the other "non calf" 00-04 outbacks . I had to replace the entire charcoal canister/ with the valve built in, way more $$$ than just the valve. Available from doorman thru rock auto. No more can you dry the charcoal and replace just the valve, when it's much better to replace the whole thing!..." NOT" !! In fact ,what this car is, is an early 2005 ! Made in January of 2004....and It's even a drive by wire ! Having the impreza system on an outback was something I hadn't run into before and i wanted to share this for the next guy. Installation of the new canister was a snap, fuel filling problem solved , after clearing the comp , no 1443 code or any other has come back. Now the CE light is off and the cruise control light is Not flashing and works as it should.

That rear sensor definitely should not be left loose. That is a neutral safety switch to inform the ecm if the tranny is in neutral or not. Sounds like your linkage at the rear of the trans got buggered up. Did you perhaps remove the tranny instead of the engine to change the clutch ? Drop the rear tranny cross member and inspect your linkage.

Yup, the check engine light & cruise are tied together .(wish I could change that ! ) Working on clearing a 1443 evap code, replacing the valve & hopefully clearing that code up. That will get the cruise working. On the other issue, the brake bulbs have been checked , I did replace 2 of them but no undue corrosion. I believe it is connected with the park brake light system as it works normal unless that light illuminates. Been busy on other work and haven't had time to open up the dash and see what has or hasn't been done to the wiring. I admit iv'e been driving this one about... might keep it and sell off the 01 limited ...

Here's an update on the 04. I've had a little time to look into it. I drove it home yesterday. Had to fill it with gas and it did its keep running thing after shutting the key off, but other than that it drove home flawlessly. Check engine light was on , cruise button was flashing and inoperative, parking brake light illuminated and no day time running lights. Early this morning I took it down into town. Just pulling out the driveway I noticed 2 things ...first every third tap on the brakes made the car horn toot toot quickly ?? weird... next I notice that when the horn toots the illumination of the clock/temp , the odometer and the radio lights all go out ??? I try the ign. switch and sure enough when the illumination is off ,the car will stay running without the key ... in this condition if i tap the brake the car will immediately turn off... If i leave the key on and tap the brake pedal the illumination will come back on and the car will run, until it's shut off normally... really weird . After returning from town I have it sitting in the shop running, hood up and i notice that the master cly is on the low side ... hmm . after adding just a little fluid to bring it up part way, I check and sure enough the park brake light is now working properly ...and the daytime lights are as well ! Next I check the codes on the computer, 6 of them all related to evap problems, the kind you would get if somebody forgot to hook up hoses in the engine bay... After writing down all those codes, I cleared them , fully expecting the check engine light to return before i could remove the scanner. Much to my surprise it stayed off ! With the C/E light off, the cruise button stopped flashing and the cruise worked normally ! Yes !! things are looking up . Sitting in the shop , running in neutral, with the park brake off ... the car is perfect ! Tap the brakes all you want , no toot toot ... no lights going out and best of all the key switch is working like it should !!! Wow I'm sort of shocked that so little accomplished so much ! While i'm sitting there having a cup of coffee my partner arrives. I cheerfully explain the whole process to him how it all progressed and how its now all working normal (SUPER MECHANIC ! ) LOL should have known better... As i'm telling the story I decide that maybe... I should have the park brake on while its running in the shop. I apply the brake pointing out how the brake light pops on and the running lights go off ... All good right ... just what it should do... UNTIL I tap the brake .... toot toot aww crxp! sure enough , the illumination goes out , tap them again and they are back on !!! If I leave the park brake handle released then all is perfect ... apply the brake and it all goes south again! Guess I'll be looking at that wire harness after all... I suspect an attempted stereo install, we will see ... I will post back as I learn more.

Used Japanese trannys are available. I just priced one for a 2002 outback. apx. $450

My first suspect is the ignition switch sticking ?? coffee/ soda pop or just a bad switch. Car is still over in Idaho, I'll pick it up later this week. Stelcom ; my first car was a 66 chevelle wagon in oh about 1975 or so. Same thing, key would come out no matter where switch was positioned , worn key worn switch ,.I think all the old GM stuff did it after 10 years or so.

Sometimes the exhaust valves get bet as well. Like HZ said replace all the valves & reassemble . Haven't seen any piston damage yet.

I haven't brought the car home yet. I haven't even looked under the dash at all. Under the hood I did not see any add on's. With a stick shift I doubt they tried adding a remote start kit. But you never know ....

Hi All; Went to look at an 04 outback for sale yesterday. Had the strangest thing happen. Started the motor, 169,000 sounded great no smoke no noises, even though it hadn't been started since winter .Went for a test drive, lots of power, 5 speed shifts great . Nice car, some cosmetic issues (like a deer crunched rt frt fender) pulled back in the yard ... turned off motor ... REMOVED key ...look down and the motor continues running !!! the key is in my hand , steering wheel locked ! Been working on subarus since the 1980's never has this happened before... Owner said this has happened off and on for years ?? Car will shut itself off after a short while??? I'm thinking maybe they spilled something sticky on the column ??? Or maybe an electrical (computer ?) issue ?? check engine light was on (didn't think to bring the scanner) the cruise light was flashing. Everything else electric seems good, other than a dead battery that we had to jump, to start it. yes battery connections were clean and tight. Has anybody experienced anything like this before ? I agreed to buy the car ,got the price down enough that I can afford to spend some time with it. Hoping someone out there has run into this before.

I would check all your power and ground connections. You were working around the battery and fuse boxes, very likely a wire came loose or disconnected itself. Adding a belt has nothing to do with this. BTW great place putney , I used to live there for a time back in the 70,s .

Hard to tell from your description , but if it sound like the rear, then start looking there. Check the rear differential for gear oil ??? ok ??? then unbolt the drive line , is the rear ujoint good ? smooth no tight spots ? If all looks good then proceed up the drive line, the carrier bearing has rubber bushings that can go bad but more likely is the front ujoint is going out. I have replaced many many of those. They are hard to diagnose without hands on. While your drive line is disconnected , rotate your rear differential to feel for rough spots. After all that, your up at the tranny where your 90% sure its not at. Good Luck

He might be referring to the thin plastic rectangle that comes with some timing belts. I have one, never did use it. I'm guessing it is to space the metal guide cover used on 5 speed engines.

Some do, usually off road people. Easy to poke a branch up into the belt, or fill it full of snow. Easier to just leave the covers off. Almost always it is the early 2.2 non interference motor.

I agree with mike on the small seep, very well could be the head gasket. You can live with that indefinitely IF YOU CHECK THE RADIATOR ! As far as the random overheating... confirm that both of your electric fans are working. Easy check for that, is have the hood up and motor idling , then turn on the air conditioning. Both electric fans should come on. If only one comes on , check your fuses. You need them both to keep the engine cool at idle.

After you install your timing belt and make 2 revolutions by hand. If the timing marks are not correct then you will have to do it over. The tensioner will have to be compressed ... DO THIS SLOWLY in a vice or you will ruin it. Expect to have to attempt this timing belt install more than once, rarely will I get a dohc on the first try and I've done quite a few. Take your time and try till you get it correct.

Are the electric fans coming on ?

If i'm reading your post correctly , you have the ballencer /pulley off , and you are trying to remove the sprocket so you can replace the key ?? general disorder's idea on tapping the holes and using a steering wheel puller would work well. careful placement of large screwdrivers prying behind the sprocket will help, just don't damage any of the rear ring on the sprocket, it is what sends the crank signal to the computer.

On my 2000 obw , when the low fuel light pops on, I take over 14 gallons to fill up.

Suprised that it runs, the 2000 2.5 MT has a different crank sender than the automatic does. Your ecm is confused. Slide the cogged wheel off of the crankshaft and switch them, it will end the confusion.

My guess is the starter solenoid.copper angles inside wear down and make sporadic contact . Easy fix if your mechanically inclined.

Hey for that price you bet it was worth it. The 05's are the first year of " drive by wire" no cable from the pedal to throttle body , (stupid, IMO). There have been connection issues between the pedal assembly and computer. Unplug it at throttle pedal , inspect it well then use dielectric grease when plugging it back in. May help.