lstevens76

first thought is that tire has broken steel belts and they are sticking out of the tire. if not that it looks like you ran over some wire somewhere

Ok, so if I understand correctly when you turn the key the engine cranks but will not start? find the two black plugs under the dash and connect them together. Turn the key on and count the flashes, both the long and short ones.

You can buy most Freon with oil in it now. I would add dye though. It will be a lot easier to trace down leaks in the future.

Ok, so had to stop driving the OBS Tuesday due to the do coolant loss, which is going out the reservoir and not the tailpipe. Yes, blown head gasket. So, starting tomorrow afternoon/evening I'm going to pull the engine and start work. I'm trying to first make sure I have everything, and second see what i should and should not do along with a few other questions. What I have for parts: Full Engine Gasket Set; Fel-Pro Head Gaskets (pair); Complete Timing Belt Kit w/ WP, Idlers, and Tensioner; TYC Radiator, Camshaft Sensor (probably don't need it but I have it); new o-ring PS Pump resevoir; new o-ring AC Low Pressure line; Separator Plate (metal); Tube of Subaru RTV I'm also picking up a used set of fans to fix the AC Fan the PO proceeded to cut and hot wire to the battery (yeah, don't ask). I know the AC Works, just leaks right there at that O-Ring (recently charged and tested, until it leaked out all the freon). Now for the questions: 1.) On the engine itself what all gaskets/seals should I replace while its out? This kit appears to have included everything. I already planned to do the head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, and remove/clean and reseal the oil pan along with the Valve Seals and the Camshaft seals and the front oil pump seal. 2.) Is there any way to test the rods/bearings on a Subaru Engine without disassembly? I know I can see them after removing the pickup tube assembly, but not sure there is enough room to move them and check for a bad bearing. 3.) Based on these questions, what's the largest & smallest torque I'm going to need? I can't find my torque wrenches (moved recently) and may have to buy new. I want to try and limit cost so if I know the lower and upper variance I can try and find 1 or 2 torque wrenches to cover it all instead of the 3 I can't find right now (had 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" Pittsburgh ones). 4.) While I am in here other than cleaning out the engine bay completely (including cleaning the subframe) what else would be smart to do?

Knowing that my car can be 1/2 a quart low (maybe 3/4) and parked wrong the dipstick can show little to no oil is why I'm asking questions. The whole scenario just doesn't add up. Had oil been put back in before trying to start it? How much oil was added? Questions I meant to ask sooner.

Have you checked the neutral safety switch? The ignition switch is on the steering column, but I would check that neutral safety switch first.

Without basic diagnostics or a video/audio file my wild guess would be fuel pressure. But it's a wild guess without more info. If you want the help of the board in coming up with a diagnosis then we need some information. First, submodel (L, LS, GT, etc...) of car and engine size (i.e. ej22, ej25, etc...) Pull any codes (harbor freight has code readers for around $10) and post them here. Take a video of what is happening and post it up here. That will give us enough basic info to start throwing real ideas, not guesses, at you for what is actually wrong.

If the Neutral safety switch is out it isn't going to correctly register neutral or park for the car to start. Someone should know the test procedure. You can also look around and find the Factory Service Manual.

http://sl-i.net/FORUM/showthread.php?18087-Subaru-Factory-Service-Manuals-(FSM)-Every-Model-USDM-EU Download your service manual. Check the various diagnostics and what it says.

And if you check codes (A $10 harbor freight code reader will do) and those are the correct plugs it will be throwing codes for both of them.

did you check codes? Have you tested air conditioning heat and all those things?

Comatosellama what does it matter anyways? This persons car is not a Manual (Standard). This persons car, as they noted above, is an automatic. Your comments weren't relevant whether you were right or wrong.

Could be the ignition switch. If you have the key in the on position and jump the starter does it start? Also, automatic or manual?

Is it throwing any codes? Does it turn over or not?

Subaru Struts, from what I've gathered, will last over 200k. If you can find a good set of struts around 100k or less you should be able to swap the complete assemblies. If you buy new struts, your going to have to swap your springs, top plates, and either purchase or re-use your strut months. Strut mounts average $50 each (4 of them). A full set of struts and strut mounts your looking at $400+. Your strut mounts may be good, but it varies. Struts alone your looking at $200 to $250 new. That being said check craigslist. Local to me (Boise, ID) there is a set of Forester XT Struts and in Pocatello there is a set of Forester XT STruts. Both of these are complete sets for under $200 (springs, top hats, strut mounts, etc...) Now, checking seattle I came across a set of Forester struts from an '01 for $100. I'm just throwing options. Now if you want the outback version you can watch for someone parting out an outback. We get them here occasionally so I would expect you get them up there as well. This route you can get all the struts and anything else you need.

Put outback struts and trailing arms on it.

Why do you believe your cats are the problem? And hollowing them out on a newer car isn't going to help. In newer cars the second O2 sensor is behind the cats so it reads what it expects to "AFTER" the cats do there work. If it can't read the correct information it's not going to clear up your problem.

Why is everyone forgetting he has the entire car (per his post). The 2000/2002 Engines may fit both older and newer Legacy/Legacy Outbacks if your willing to do the work. You will probably have to swap the dash, dash harness, engine harness, and motors out of the outbacks. You may also have to swap the body wiring harness as well. This comes down to time, motivation, money, and what the status is on the cars you have. I'm saying it this way because if you have a wrecked 2000 Outback w/ a Good motor (that's complete) then finding one w/ a blown motor of any year that the dash will fit is a plausible swap (regardless of engine changes). The main thing is the ECU needs to stay the same and the sensors. Whether you could do this with a 2006, I don't know, but that dash and harness isn't going to fit into an '06 RS.

Tools required: Breaker Bar (1/2") at least 21" 1/2" Ratchet 12MM Deepwell Socket (1/2" if you are going to the minimal tools, 3/8" if you using optional tools) 19MM Socket (1/2") 19MM Wrench 17MM Socket (Deepwell is better but my 17mm impact socket did work) (1/2") Either jack in the back of the car or floor jack Jack Stands (don't be stupid and try with the jack because if it collapses it can cause you serious pain) Flat Blade Screwdriver (for pushing the brake line bracket out if the Legacy has them that way) 8mm wrench for bleeding the brakes Phillips Head screwdriver for removing paneling (will need the flat as well) If the legacy is like the impreza wagon you will also want a 10mm deepwell to remove the speakers. If you only have the struts (no springs) you will need a Strut/Spring compressor which is rentable at most auto parts stores (about $50 to rent) Although you can do it with these few tools I would add these to the list. Optional Equipment: Impact Gun (electric or air - either one will be easier on you and faster) 3/8" Ratchet (easier to handle for top strut mount bolts) Decent length punch (makes it easier to get the lower bolts of place)

Well I got the blower motor in and I'm 90% sure the bolts are back right and the glove box is in. All screws/bolts are back in so even if they are wrong, it's not coming out again right now. lol

Ok, the FSM is a miss for which size/color screw goes where. The online parts system doesn't seem to even list the screws (not in the blowup)...............

If the repair is done right the car will probably see another 150k+ miles. The difference here is that when you research the EJ25 and head gaskets you get mixed opinions. Is this because the jobs weren't done right? Or is it because of the engine? I don't think the research has been done to show it either way. If it has been done that research is buried pretty deep out there. If you end up without a choice, just make sure he uses Subaru OEM Head Gaskets (newest superseded part number). Hope this all works out for you.

Ok, so I took my blower motor out a week and a half or so ago. I didn't completely reassemble it and now I can't remember which bolts go where. (yeah, I know dumb on my part). Anyone have any pictures of the bolt/screw locations for the glove box and the bar that needs to be removed for a '96 era OBS? Figure it will be the same for a '97 possibly up to '01. Thanks.

Ok, called my local dealer (Team Subaru in Nampa, ID). Ended up at the parts department since one of the guys owns one. To check the banjo bolt w/ filter in question for shop tech should be about 1.5 hours for just the one in the TSB. Now here is the confusion, I guess there are 2 (one on either side) and to check both of them is a 7 hour job because the driver's side is much harder to check than the passenger side (where problems occur). For a person to do it themselves he said it's about a 3 hour job.

What I'm saying is a TSB does not inform that there is a problem. Nor does it say that the problem "WILL" occur. It says it can occur, and that it "should" be checked. But the matter comes down to the TSB says "Informational". This means it is not required to be checked, the TSB isn't even required to be read. I'll give an example I can personally reference by Chrysler. There is a TSB for 93-99 (affects later years as well) 3.9L V6, 5.2L/5.9L v8 engines. The plenum gaskets "CAN" fail. What does this TSB provide? A list of symptoms when it does fail, how to test for it, and the fix (replace the plenum gasket which the cost is the customers responsability). But if they don't have symptoms then they don't know that's wrong. And the symptoms for this can also be caused by other issues as well. I'm not questioning you being upset. I'm not questioning whether there is a problem here, because I don't believe that turbo should have failed at 50k. What I'm saying is based on the way that TSB is worded, the amount of miles, and the dealer probably had service records on the car, it wasn't a fault of the dealer. Basically if they had service records, knew the oil changes had been done, with 50k on the motor, and read the TSB they would have no reason to suspect a problem with the Banjo Bolt filter at this time. This has nothing to do with a moderator, but based on what you said you were blaming the dealer. I'm not saying the dealer was right or wrong, but the TSB is not the solution to putting blame somewhere especially after purchasing a used car that could have been massively hot rodded without your knowledge. I could have misread what you were saying though, which is why I commented on contacting Subaru of America. But you did come in here asking questions that left questions open about why. Now, aside from all of that it sounds like you have a bad turbo. A1 Auto had a blog post (can't find it right now and I have searched) talking about this exact problem along with a solution. They removed that screen and put an in-line filter (think a spin off) on to avoid it happening again. Personally, before I buy any car I research common problems, cost of repairs, etc... But that doesn't always work since when I bought my OBS one of the "LEAST" common problems was a bad Head Gasket, so I didn't fully check for one and I ended up with it. But I purchased a "used car" so problems can happen and repairs are a lot less than a new car payment.