SuBrat84

In mine you actually have to remove the trim from around the shifter.. a small/thin screw driver works fine for this.. it just pops out.. then a normal or long phillips screw driver or the blunt end of a bic pen or pencil will hit the button down in the hole. With the ignition off, Check all your fuses. Uses a fuse puller and pull them out and look at them for being blown. The push button on the shifter pushes over and then push down.. you can take the shifter off and just try pushing on the "down" part and see if that helps. If you try this, be careful not to lose your springs/slides in the shifter handle. If neither of those things makes a difference I would go ahead and replace the brake pedal safety switch. You might consider crawling around underneath the car to see if all the shift linkage is still in tact. Especially look for loose/missing nuts and bolts and pins.

I don't know how much you can account for fuel expansion.. but maybe putting 14 gallons of COLD fuel into a WARM vehicle made the fuel expand enough to make a little bit of a difference? Not likely, just a thought. (On the motorcycle forum I'm on: a guy filled his motorcycle tank to the tippy top.. and then parked it.. and the heat from his engine made his fuel spill out of the top of his tank.) I like the idea about the saddle/air bubble thing. I've been known to throw a little extra fuel into the filler neck if I know I'm going to be driving it off right away. And it definitely 'settles' a little bit after the initial shut off.

Don't worry Brad.. this thread was from 11 months ago.. your snow will come.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the low fuel light is coming on with ~3 gallons left in the tank. depending on how the bottom of the tank is shaped it might not be able to pick up ANY gas with a gallon in there still.

If it doesn't have any major issues you should buy it and drive it.

I think even the smallest acetylene set-up will cut through railroad track with the right tank and tip. http://www.hoopersupply.com/tipchart.html There's a tip chart. It's for acetylene.. but should apply to propane as well.. just need a little more patience with propane.

It's a lot easier to feel for hot spots if you pull the fans off. You might try a cooler t-stat and see how it acts... How are the fins on the radiator? Are there a lot that are flattened down? or are they all fairly straight and open still?

Also, since you just did a flush and fill.. you might have an air bubble. Wait until the car is cold. Take the radiator cap off. Start and run the car until it is up to operating temp (so the t-stat opens and coolant starts flowing) and then top off the cooling system to help avoid air bubbles. (if you did this correctly in the first place, it's probably not the problem.)

Normal operation temp is ~190 degrees Fahrenheit. I think the red mark is ~220 or 230 Fahrenheit. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Even still it shouldn't really be going much above half way. It's possibly the thermostat is on it's way out and not opening as soon as it should. It's possible there is some blockage in your cooling system. When you noticing the needle moving up try turning your heater on full blast and see if that brings it back down. You could also try feeling around the radiator to see if it's getting "hot spots." Hot spots would indicate blockage in the radiator itself. You could have a failing temperature sensor.. I had a brat that did what you are talking about.. but only during hard wheeling under 10mph. I think it was an issue with the old radiator / desert heat.

I don't know how it is for the rest of the country.. but here in tucson the welding supply stores just exchange your old tanks for their full tanks. And it's really cheap once you "own" tanks. $30 lasts me at least 16 hours solid of cutting 1/2" steel. As far as using MAPP to cut 1/2" steel I would be surprised if it's efficient. The idea is that you get the steel glowing red and then when you blast it with oxygen it turns into steel oxide.. which has a melting point of about half that of steel. A good stable cutter can actually turn off the gas and cut with just oxygen after the initial heat up. What you can cut with a torch has more to do with how hot the gas burns, what pressures you are using on your gas/oxygen mixture, and what size cutting tip you are using.

I didn't really read everyones posts.. just sort of scanned them. If it was already mentioned sorry for PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH for cutting/welding with Oxygen/Acetylene. If you misuse this equipment IT WILL BLOW UP AND YOU WILL DIE. It's the little things like never getting your Acetylene over 15PSI. NEVER NEVER NEVER get any oil or grease on ANY of the equipment!! In high school some smart rump roast sabotaged my uncles torch with grease and he is VERY lucky to have lived through the explosion. There is some GREAT sites to learn about Gas Cutting and Welding. I don't remember them off of the top of my head, but there is forums and everything. They will help you learn pressures and techniques for clean straight cuts and good solid welds. What size tips to use for what you're doing and everything. I highly recommend spending at LEAST a few hours reading some basic "gas cutting techniques" before you go out and buy one. (Then maybe you can test the set-up before you buy it.. especially a used one. INSPECT IT with a fine tooth comb!!!)

What are you using as a jack point for "dead center?" It could be possible that the fuel tank is slightly off-set and when it starts leaning so does the fuel. That would make the left side a lot more heavy. Which side is the filler neck on? Do you have any cargo that could be making it lean that way?

Welcome to the board!! What a nice bunch of Subarus! And yeah, your English is at least as good as most Americans, and certainly better than some!!

Yup it's a pint between the lines. Good luck only draining a pint if you take the drain plug out.. it might be better if you disconnect a tranny cooler line or something and try to drain a pint out of the radiator or somewhere a little less messy.

I see people here in Tucson driving around without hoods all the time. The only thing that would concern me is people tampering with my engine / stealing my battery. But if you are just going from A to B that wouldn't be an issue. I also don't really see an issue with strapping the hood to the luggage rack.. just get a good pair of ratchet straps and figure out how to make a good "X" strap. (hook points: Front Left, Rear Right and Front Right, Rear Left.)

Yeah it sounds like dragging brake to me. You need to push the caliper in so the pads slide on to the rotor loose. You also need to make sure the slide pins are clean and free of rust and debris, etc. If the slide pins are nasty the brakes can't slide back off the rotor and will drag / produce a tremendous amount of friction / heat. If all the brake stuff was done properly and is in good condition it sounds like dry/failing wheel bearing. Hope you get it figured out before your trip. Good luck!

My bad... It has been so long I forgot yours is a 2.2. (my '97 is a 2.5 ) I would be willing to bet they are compatible. If not the same pump. Probably what I would do is take my fuel pump assembly out of the tank... take the actual PUMP off of the assembly.. head to the junkyard and ask where they hide the Outback fuel pumps. (At my local pull-a-part they take the gas tanks out of the vehicles before they send them out into the "yard.") I would imagine a pump out of any 95+ 2.2 or 2.5 is going to be sufficient. As long as it is an "in-the-tank" style pump and will mount up to your fuel pump assembly bracket. Good luck. (Edit: If you do take the pump out, and off the assembly, you could hook it up directly to 12v and see how it acts... just make sure you pump some fluid through it, in case it's good still.)

Good lord man get a wire wheel on a drill or angle grinder and clean up that rust a little. Throw a little grease or vasoline on there so it slides around better. Loosen up your top three nuts until they are at the "top" of the bolts. That should give you enough free play to get it to line up... don't tighten stuff down until it's all "on." Your hub has play in it, right? as long as you leave everything "loose" you should be able to get it.

Sounds like a dodgy pump. Your "tapping" on it is allowing the brushes to make contact, temporarily, but it sounds like they are done for. I don't know what pumps are compatible.. you might give a junk yard a shot.. the ones around my parts will usually do a fuel pump for 20-30 dollars.. if you can find a 96-99 with the 2.5 dohc with under 150k that might be your best bet for a cheap fix.

I wasn't trying to berate his math skills. It just seems like 18-19mpg on the highway vs. 10mpg around town is a HUGE difference. If this is truly the case then here are my suggestions: Have you tested the fuel pressure? Have you tested the fuel injectors? Have you replaced the knock sensor? Air Filter? Fuel Filter? (You said "Filters" but didn't specify.) Are you using the NGK PFR5B-11 Spark Plug? You need to get GENUINE SUBARU plug wires! Have you tested the coil and igniter to make sure they are in spec? Have you cleaned the MAF with a good MAF cleaner? Have you check for blockage in the air intake system? I wish you the best of luck and I do apologize if I seemed offensive. I was not trying to insult you.

I don't think the problem here is the car, my friend. I think it is your math. If you are going 250 miles on a tank of gas and only get 10 MPG then you have a 25 gallon tank. Can you put 25 gallons in your car at one time? The MOST MOST MOST gas I have EVER fit into my 1997 Outback 2.5 DOHC was 14 gallons. (and believe me I BARELY made it to the station.) I get 250-280 miles from that. 20 MPG x 14 Gallons = 280 miles. I Do a bit better if I ONLY drive on the freeway.. 22-23mpg. Maybe like 18mpg around town because I drive kind of hard. How to figure out gas mileage: Fill up your tank. Reset your "trip meter." (or write down your miles.) Drive for X miles. (X = 100.) Fill up your tank with Y gallons. (Y = 5) X miles / Y gallons = Z mpg. 100 / 5 = 20 mpg.

It is REALLY REALLY hard to hear the fuel pump in this car because it is in the tank etc etc. It definitely sounds to me like you having a "dying but not quite dead" fuel pump.. I know it's an expensive thing to throw money at.. Do you know if it's ever been replaced? With your miles I'd say it's about due to die anyway... Next time it's doing the 'wont start' thing.. try flicking your key to the 'on' position for 3-5 seconds then all the way off, then back 'on'; 5 or 6 times before you try to 'start' it. If this helps it start I would be 99% sure it's the pump.

It should be stamped. If you are looking into the engine bay it will be at the front of the block slightly to the left. Sounds like an EA71.

Sounds like out of gas / bad fuel pump to me. I would disconnect the fuel line pre-filter, try to start it, and see if you're getting fuel pumping up there.. it's POSSIBLE but unlikely that the fuel filter is clogged up. If fuel is pumping to and through the filter you need to check for sparklies. Good luck.

Genuine Subaru wires. NGK plugs. Gotta do it. Be careful that the plug wires are not touching or preferably not anywhere near the fuel injector wires. ("design flaw") Some people use that plastic wrap stuff to get a little extra "insulation" between the wires.