lstevens76

Yep, same as the "L Sport Wagon". When you read the 1997-1998 they cover the fact that the Outback Sport had a 6.5" clearance while all other models had a 5.7" clearance and in 1999-2001 it was a 6.5" to a 6.1" clearance. The problem is they don't state how they obtained the different clearance. Whether by struts, springs, or some other method. It's odd.

That gave me a good read and a decision against Forester Struts. Although I like the idea of the lifting it a little which would make it easier to get in and out of, I'm simply not willing to give up the handling performance. Now to research what my other options are, including used.

Why not just go test drive one and find out? You understand the problem and symptim. A single test drive and you could test for it. :-)

Cleaning will have to wait as mechanical is the top priority. Finally found my wobble,both front ball joints are bad. Plus I need to out a camshaft sensor in it. Seems mine has intermittent failure causing no-start issues.

I think I have that EDM manual and a lot of it does match up to the USDM market stuff. And it wouldn't be that bad if it was "complete". lol The biggest thing I'm looking for right now is the towing install information. In the manual I have, Section 6-2 (Body Electrical) it lists a "10" that is towing electrical connector. That is primarily what I'm looking for because U-Haul did there typical fubar electrical install in this car and I intend to remove it, but I don't want to lose the ability to tow and want something that looks right and nice (not a nasty looking wiring mess).

So, I have my '90 Legacy L up for sale and someone came by and told me what I already knew, the rear struts are shot. Thinking about that I thought it might help sell it if I replace the rear struts. Now, of course I'm selling an older car and I really don't want to spend $150/$200 on new struts as I probably won't recoup that outlay of cash. The local pick-a-part charges $20 a strut assembly (whole thing). Basically I'm wondering what will interchange with those rear struts. Of course another '90 Legacy FWD rear struts will work, probably up to '95 as well (at least i would think). But what other models, etc...? I want to know because if I'm going to go pull struts I want to find the best set of struts I can that will fit this car. Thanks.

That knock sensor is probably not very expensive. Based on what you have said I would replace it and see of that slight knock goes away. Plugs and wires may help that as well

Uh, no you pull it off the car and have them put in a system to test it. They test it at current low RPM's and at high RPM's this way to verify there is no fluctuation. They have been doing that for 40 years. And that is the only way to properly get a full accurate test of an alternator. Testing it on the car does not show if you have fluctuations at highway speed, if brushes are giving out at higher rpm, etc.... There has been more than one occasion that I've been in where an alternator appeared to be working fine, but when you have it tested off the vehicle it turns it was the problem. It's a different kind of test because of the fact the machine spins it at various speeds and checks readings from what it is supposed to be. Off the car tests is also how they test them at rebuild and new manufacturer places and provide the specs as to what they are supposed to produce at various points. Oreilly, NAPA, Autozone, and most other parts stores will do an off the car test free of charge if you take it in.

This is kind of for me. I did like the car, just not the body style. The 5MT is why I had to replace it as I'm having shoulder issues and driving it is just causing me pain.

The only way to get a proper test an alternator is to pull it and have them test it off the car. The one on my 90 legacy l was charging but the voltage regulator was bad so it was producing too much power. Killed the battery and just caused headaches. To note 2 parts stores and interstate all said the charging system was fine even though I had dash lights on. Replaced the alternator with one from pick a part and all was good.

Here is how the interior looks now. I want to take my Kirby to it, but out of steam for the day as I have someone coming to look at the Legacy so I had to get it cleaned up. Sad part is the Legacy has a nicer interior and I already did the TB, Idlers, water pump, plugs, wires, PCV, ECT, and more to it. Just can't drive a 5MT anymore.

Oh, farm fresh is an understatement. lol There was actual dirt, and I meant dirt, caked onto the back seat (not all off yet) and under the back seat. The carpet will just flat out get replaced and I'm considering just replacing the lower back seat out of a junkyard (yes it's that bad). I'll post interior pictures in a bit of what it looks like now that I've done some cleaning. Just ended up in pain so stopped. To get it fully clean is probably going to take a while and may not happen till I buy the carpet. I need to pull the seats and clean the tracks, plus I want to replace the drivers side seat I think. I believe the springs are collapsed just like my Durango, but a used Subaru seat is a whole lot cheaper than a used Durango seat that is "tan" and in good condition. lol

ok, vacuumed it out and did some cleaning. The blower decided to work, then not work. Not sure what's going on there yet. It wasn't working at all before. But, in the process of cleaning I went to the car wash (rather damage there vacuum then my kirby. ) and got it washed. So now I have "daylight" pictures.

Is the CD player working? I've read it's pretty common for the CD player to malfunction and keep clicking on eject.

It seems they are readily available online for newer models, but those of us in the '90's seem to get shorted. Does anyone know where to get a "FULL" scan of an FSM for the 1st Gen Impreza's? It looks like Legacy and Loyale's are the same way with missing information. A great example is the one readily available for the '93 to '96 impreza is missing pages. The electrical section, on two different sites, does not include section 10 which covers the towing connector. There was something else I was looking for as well that should have been present but it seemed the pages were missing. Thanks

It sounds like the lock actuator is bad. I would pull the lower trim pieces off the hatch and see if you can manually lock it. This would at least give you some piece of mind. If the Lock Actuator is not working once you have the hatch trim off you can monitor it and hear it directly. If it doesn't appear to be working unplug it and through a multimeter on it (or even a test light) and see if when you click the fob if it actually gets power. If it does then your actuator is probably dead.

On the passenger seat the sunglasses and OBD2 Bluetooth adapter are mine. I cleaned out everything that wasn't mine and most of the stuff that was mine in prep to go to the car wash. I do have a few of the trim pieces for the back (mostly just the hatch stuff) so that will be a junkyard run for those and probably replacing most of that back trim anyways since some of it's beat up and cracked.

Ok, so I got all the big trash out of the inside and now (after I do a couple of things) I'm heading to a carwash to try and get the interior clean. It may not be possible, I don't know yet. lol

Does it have a keyhole on the back? If so try doing that. My '96 Impreza OBS won't unlock from the power locks nor the key so I can feel your pain, even though it's the opposite. Not locking can be just as frustrating as not being able to open it. lol

I agree the struts need done. I don't have any Wander on it, the only issues are when I hit potholes/grooved pavement and wind (literally wind hitting it causes the rear end to sway when at interstate speeds). The big question is struts, not sure what route to go, etc....

Personally I don't own a scan tool, and I'm glad I went the route I did. Although I do wish I had gone USB instead of Bluetooth. I have a bluetooth ELM327 scanner and about 8 different apps on my phone and I think 5 apps on my kindle. The reason I went this route, and will stay with this, is because of the information. Knowing the codes is all great and dandy until you get to the car that isn't throwing codes and your scanner isn't telling you anything. With the adapter I have and the apps I can see realtime information and Torque provides other tests showing sensors, etc... that may be reading out of range but not quite enough out of range to through a code yet. Seeing real time info can also show you if your sucking too much gas or air at an idle causing a rough idle. I had a slight rough idle on my Durango. Torque showed the TPS was slightly off from where it should be, but not quite enough to through a code. I replaced it and problem was gone. A normal code reader couldn't have done that. Just my 2 cents

Ok, my grandfather is addicted to Harbor Freight since they opened here in Boise years ago. It took me a while to go in because of all the bad I had heard, but I'm glad I did. For the most part the hand tools are as good as any other lifetime warranty brand and the nicest thing is you get no argument, no question, when exchanging a broken/non-working hand tool. On the flip side of the hand tools I still keep my craftsman stuff handy due to the tolerance level difference. On nuts/bolts that someone has started to round or those that are in just to damn tight I tend to grab a craftsman socket or wrench because it has a tighter fit. But over 70% of my tools now are Pittsburgh. The engine crane works great, I know from experience. My grandfather owns one and I used it to do an engine swap on an acura legend. To give you an idea I pulled a 3.2L V6 out and put in a 3.5L V6. The whole time the car was up on jack stands so I could get under it. The crane lifted high enough and never let go (it sat overnight w/ the engine on it). As for the electric tools, well they are cheap..............

So I don't clutter up other threads, and hopefully get some good responses, I'm starting this one. Let's start with the issues, and what my thoughts are. First one local shop already confirmed what I thought that I have bad struts, but they don't believe the issue I'm experiencing is struts. I believe it could be if the struts are collapsed to the point I'm riding on springs. The issues: When going over a bump you get a "spring wobble" noise that is reflected in the steering wheel with a wobble. Going down the interstate at 65/70mph wind and other road conditions cause the rear end to feel like it's swaying back and forth. This isn't "externally visible" from a vehicle behind me, but I can sure feel it from the drivers seat. It does handle well and any other time you really wouldn't know something is wrong. When I say bumps I'm referring to pot holes, grooved pavement (yes they did that stupid stuff on the interstate here), etc.... It turns well, etc... I'm also not sure the height is right. I was under the impression that an OBS should be higher than say an FWD Legacy. I parked front to back last night (legacy front end is about 2" from the rear end of my OBS) and they look almost the exact same height. I'm trying to get some confirmation on my thinking the struts are collapsed and I'm riding on springs. Whether that's the issue or not, I do need to replace the struts so I've been looking at all my options. 1.) I do want to gain a couple inches to make the car easier to get in and out of. Nothing drastic, just a little higher. 2.) I do not want to drill new holes. From what I've read this means swapping top-hats for say Forester Struts, but I can't find any confirmation that the tophats themselves will work without spacers/modification. 3.) I don't think it would be good to re-use the springs that are on the car right now if I am riding on the springs. I just bought it so I have no idea how long this has been going on and there could be damage so I want to plan to just swap all the struts and springs. Ok, I've already replaced the tires and they are all balanced, just an FYI. I can get a full used set of good OBS Strut Assemblies for $160. But as I said I think the car is a little low. This could be due to a variety of reasons all strut related and they might be fixed after replacing the struts so........................ Help/advice?

P1507 is the Idle Air Control Valve and could easily be the culprit of your problem. I've never done a Subie swap, but on others (like Honda's) you have to swap the ECU from an MT or always have a check engine light. I'm not sure if a Subaru is the same, but it's something to check out.

Have you fully tested your neutral safety switch? Every automatic somewhere (not sure where on this one) has a neutral safety switch to make sure you don't start it in R, D, 1, 2, etc... If you were not having any shifting problems and the transmission was shifting ok before these problems started I would start with the NS switch as that is the most likely culprit.