heartless

both sedan & wagon should be on the drivers (left) side. You are looking for a small metal box - a little larger (more square) than a pack of cigarettes. have you checked the fuse(s) as well? What year specifically is your car? I know they quit with the auto belts fairly early in the 90's so yours is probably pretty much the same as mine. I will do a little digging thru my FSM to see what I can find out for trouble shooting (need to do this anyway since my passenger side belt quit working...drivers side still works fine)

I have NEVER been able to reuse the OE wire type hose clamps - in fact, more often than not I have to cut them off because they are so rusted (small bolt cutters on the rusted up screw) If you are lucky enough that you can reuse them, great! but it has never happened for me...guess that is what happens when you live in the rust belt. replacements are usually good quality SS band clamps - not the cheap ones, either... just dont over-tighten them to the point that they start cutting into the hose... Placement is also important - do not place them right up tight to the bump in the hose nipple - leave about 1/8" space between clamp & bump. If the clamp is right up against the bump it will be more likely to cut into the hose causing premature failure.

Gift cards are a definite plus! hehe and yeah, that is not a bad price at all for the whole kit & a Gates kit to boot. (mental note - remember to look at amazon for the next time...) But - does it include the oil seals?? I dont see any mention of those, and they really should be replaced while you are in there...4 seals: 2 cam, 1 crank, & 1 oil pump. I personally have never had a problem with the paper type water pump gaskets, but, I do give them a thin coating of ultra grey to help hold them in place during installation - perhaps that is why? for the heater hoses (that go to the heater core) unless they are showing obvious signs of leaking or damage, I would just let them be - but up to you... another thing to look at will be vacuum lines - those definitely get hard & brittle with age/miles. there are a couple of small ones on the passenger side, behind & under the intake that are especially prone to this. Stock, off the roll vacuum line by the foot is fine for replacing these - have done it several times. for future reference, here is the digital FSM for your year car: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy%20Outback/1995/Service%20Manual/ In all honesty, with a few common tools, a belt can be replaced in a matter of a couple of hours - the biggest issue with the EJs is compressing the hydraulic tensioner - this can feasibly be done with a large C clamp - and hang on to that little pin from your new tensioner! I learned (the hard way) a long time ago to carry a toolbox with the necessities on longer road trips. Had the main crank bolt come loose on my 89 GL once while on vacation, and I had NO tools with me! Borrowed a cresent wrench to snug it up then went to the local Walmart & bought a Stanley socket set with the right size socket in it to tighten it more. Still have & use that set regularly today. Necessities are: metric socket set w/ratchet - 3/8 drive - 10mm to 22mm - for almost everything breaker bar w/22mm socket - 1/2 drive - for the main crank bolt (may possibly want a cheater bar/pipe along with this for extra leverage) large screwdriver or prybar - to hold tranny flex plate (auto) while removing/installing crank bolt (manuals can be put in a higher gear & parking brakes applied in a pinch) a good philips screwdriver a large C clamp a pin to hold the tensioner after compressing (can use a small allen wrench in a pinch - alternatively, if the old one is still in good condition, it can be compressed at home, pinned, and carried with you, eliminating the need for the C clamp) a belt (a used one in good condition will work for an emergency - just make sure there are no cracks or other damage) pliers (both regular & needlenose) - for the spring type hose clamps I also throw in a can of PB Blaster (penetrating oil), a couple of rags, a roll of electrical tape, sidecutters, 3/8 extensions (couple of sizes) & a spark plug socket - just because...

the good news is the 95 should still be non-interferrence so if the timing belt should give up on you, it wont cause any damage internally. Rockauto.com and SubaruGenuineParts.com are both decent places to buy parts online - just remember to include any shipping costs for comparison purposes. Timing kits can be found on ebay for under $200 for the whole works.

upper & lower radiator hoses, the short hose by the throttle body (smaller diameter), and the little hose down by the water pump are probably the only "shaped" hoses you should need. the radiator hoses you should be able to get from any chain parts store...the little short hoses by the throttle body & water pump should be easily obtained from a dealer - price compare between local & online sources (dont forget about shipping costs!) the other heater hoses (going from engine to heater core) can easily be replaced with off the shelf, by the foot hose of the appropriate size (5/8" for most applications) - unless you are a fanatic about OEM appearances...in which case, again price compare between local & online dealers... Throttle body hose: #5 in this diagram Water pump hose: #6 in this diagram (edit to add - you didnt specify what year/model you have so I used the diagrams for my 98 Forester - most others should be very similar however)

hopefully the problem really is solved for you! But yeah, just throwing parts at it when you really dont know what the real problem is/was does nothing but lighten the wallet... I had one once that took several days to figure out with near constant emails back and forth with a member - We did finally figure it out, but dang it was frustrating!

do a search for frankenmotor here - several have already done this

i wouldnt discount a 2.5 out of hand - one that has had the HGs properly done should be just as reliable as any other motor. Seriously - I have a 98 Forester that had the 2.5 DOHC engine that has over 364,000 on the clock - the problem with it was, when the HGs were done, things were not properly torqued, which caused upper end failure... you dont get those kind of miles from a "bad" engine... The biggest problem you are going to run into is going to be wiring harness related - the first gens have very different main harness connection locations than later years.

either OEm or Stant Exac-stat - part number 48457 - this can be had for around $20

yes, changing the plugs, and changing the wires are two completely different tasks. And dont be sorry about your lack of knowledge - we all have to start somewhere. I would be highly suspicious of the wires if this is indeed a moisture related problem. If the problem is severe enough, you can often see spark arcing at night with the hood up and the car running...heck, I had one doing it bad enough that I could see it in broad daylight! I am also going to bet that there are stored codes in the ECU - go to your local chain auto parts store - AdvanceAuto, O'rielly's, Autozone - and they should be able to read the codes for you for free. I am gonna guess it has misfire codes... regardless - finding out if there are stored codes, and what they are, will help point you in the right direction.

keep an eye on craigslist in your area - really cheap ones do pop up from time to time... We just picked up a 98 Forester in good condition (for our area) with a bad motor (EJ25) for a ridiculously low $350 (plus fuel to go get it about 2 hrs away) I did find out why it was so cheap after I got it home - the so called "mechanic" the previous owner took it to started a fire under the hood causing damage to wiring & a few other things - nothing that cant/couldnt be repaired, but it would have been nice to have been told about it.... I currently drive a 1990 Legacy AWD w/auto tranny with 234,000 (give or take a little) on the odometer - no problems whatsoever with the tranny thus far. They are a little different than most auto trannies (shifting patterns/torque converter lock-up/unlocking) but you get used to it quickly enough. If you go to look at one, and it is a running vehicle, if at all possible take it to a large parking lot and turn slow, tight circles in both directions - any bucking/binding would indicate what is called "torque bind" - sometimes it can be fixed easily...sometimes not. a quick search here for that term will turn up tons of info on it. Look at the tires - all 4 should match in brand, size, and wear - mismatched tires can/will cause problems with the tranny on any of the AWD Subarus. high mileage is kind of a relative term - what do you consider to be high mileage? for some people, anything over 100K is high - for me, not so much...Both of my Subarus have had over 150K on them when I got them - the first one died from rust at 265,000 (I live in WI - lots of salt usage) - still ran great - the current one is around 234K as I said, and still running strong... my personal suggestion for you would be a Forester - mainly because it does sit a little taller than the Legacy/Outback - coming from a full size SUV, it wouldnt be quite as drastic a change as the Legacy versions would be...the drawback on the Forester is slightly less cargo space (not as long) than the Legacy/Outback. Either way, take a look at a few, sit in them, get a feel for them - you may find you prefer the "feel" of the Legacy/Outback over the Forester... With a little care and basic maintenance they are great, reliable cars.

1. cant afford the parts GD mentions (fittings & dryer) - regardless of how "cheap" they are... 2. Have no way of "vaccing" out the system - I would have to pay someone to do that - again - cant afford it. 3. The Lego really isnt worth putting much (if any) "extra" money into - she is rusting pretty badly... Right now any money being spent is going towards getting the Foz up and running (hopefully with fully functioning AC) So I live with it...It wont kill me, I wont end up in the hospital like the OP's sister (dont have any medical conditions that could cause problems) it is just rather (very) uncomfortable for the duration of a drive - not that I go that far - 30 minutes each way to town & back...if we have to make a longer trip in hot/humid weather, we usually take the other half's 04 Sable, which does have functioning AC... If the heat & humidity are really bad, I avoid going anywhere unless I absolutely have to.

if you are healthy enough that you can tolerate the heat/humidity, then I see no problem "not" using it, but from the sounds of things, your sister should be using it when the heat/humidity dictate she should - regardless of any (relatively minor) burden put on the engine and/or reduction in fuel mileage. I wish the AC in my legacy worked - heat/humidity are not my friend at all - but I cant afford to get it fixed - it is still an R12 system so there would have to be some necessary changes made before it could be operational again. This is also why I wanted "good" parts for the 98 Forester we recently got that already has the R134 system - once it is running again, it can be recharged much easier (& cheaper) than trying to update my current R12 system...

Hmmm - interesting question... just for grins, I went and looked up the wiring diagram for a newer model (97 legacy, chosen at random), and it does in fact show two sending units for the fuel guage - wiring diagram is laid out slightly different, but it "might" be possible to make a newer version work... '>1997 fuel guage system diagram (may need to scroll down to pg 50 of 92) 1990 fuel guage (pg 44 of 82) Would take a little more digging to determine resistance values (values for the 1990 are listed a couple of pages further in on the posted pdf, 1997 model has no trouble shooting in that particular pdf), but it just might be possible... If you want to do a little digging of your own - look here: http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

yes, 1st gen legacy sedan the controller is located in the trunk, behind the liner, up high near the hood hinge... kind of a pain to get to, but not impossible. For the wagon, it is mounted on the left rear wheelwell under the plastic cover, below the speaker.

I did not know that - so I learned something new...

It is very common to reuse the springs & tophats - dont usually need to replace those items unless something is broken, and that would (should) be pretty obvious when you take them out of the car. You can jack it up, take the wheels off and inspect the springs for any obvious damage, but chances are they are fine. Make sure you swap over the rubber sping seat cushions as well. You will probably want to take the car in for an alignment when you are done - you can get it pretty close by marking the positions of the 2 lower bolts (at the hub) - one is cammed (upper, i think) and controls camber setting - but for proper tire wear, I would have it done right. One last thing to note - do not overtighten the tophat bolts when reinstalling - they dont need much torque (around 14-15 ft/lbs) and will break if overtorqued. here is a suspension diagram for a 95 Legacy.

from what I was able to find out, there is more info, but you either have to pay NHTSA (min of $45) for a search or AllDataDIY ($26.95/yr for one vehicle) to get it (no guarantees the info you are looking for is available on there, tho) - or, you could possibly get it from a dealer service department if you have a working relationship with one... Basically, the detailed information contained in the TSBs is not available to the general public...

yup, your findings sound about right - works when full, then quits at about 3/4...might possibly start working again around 1/4 to the "empty" mark... does the little "low fuel level" light work in this one (mine does not - found out the hard way) it has been a while, but if I remember correctly, the main sender (passenger side, oval opening) reads primarily from full to 3/4 and then again from 1/4 to empty - the secondary (drivers side, round opening) is mostly responsible for the 3/4 to 1/4 readings...or something along those lines...kind of a goofy system, but there you have it. as far as "sourcing" parts - yeah, good luck with that one. the 1990 is 23 years old - you are more than likely not going to find "new" sending units for these cars (i tried several years ago with no success - even tried to source the entire assembly as "new" - nada). Pumps and strainers are easy to come by, but sending units? sorry, but not likely... You could try finding a decent used assembly, but chances are it will have the same problems as your current one, or will develope them soon after installation (ethanol eating away at the element? i dunno). I have used the trip meter method I outlined above for several years now and have not run the car out of gas yet - not since I first got it and discovered the guage only worked when it wanted to (first time I drove it!). As I said before, I tried replacing the assemblies with used in better condition, and the guage sort of worked for a while, but eventually they, too, failed.

bad cap is a possibility - keep an eye on things for a few days... unless you actually have the temp selector turned up for heat, one heater hose being "relatively cool" is perfectly normal - coolant only circulates thru the heater core when the temp selector is set for heat. just out of curiousity - do you open the temp selector to the "hot" position when refilling the system for complete circulation? if not, you should - air can get trapped in the heater core section otherwise, causing random issues later...

You are making illogical changes without knowing enough specifics. Changing stuff randomly does not really help and ends up just frustrating everyone. you need to find out what the code is that is causing the CEL - that will point you in a better direction. Pretty much any chain parts store should be able to read the codes for you (Advance, O'rielly, AutoZone, etc), or borrow one if you know someone that has OBD-II reader (maybe ask about possibly renting one at one of the chain parts stores?) just as an FYI - we picked up a used Actron brand reader at a pawn shop for about $35 - works great... In the mean time - some reading material for you... http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/Legacy%20Outback/1995/Service%20Manual/TROUBLESHOOTING%20SECTION/ON-BOARD%20DIAGNOSTICS%20II%20SYSTEM/MSA5TCD95L5876.pdf'>general diagnostics table Specifically Item #5 on that first table (the next few pages are for tranny problems), note the possible causes... Then, take a look at this - MAF code info scroll down to the 3rd page - Note the symptoms of a problematic MAF - sound familiar? Complete trouble shooting section for 95 Legacy/Outback The above is a huge file, but has GOBS of troubleshooting info in it... or, for smaller files, faster loading, try here - same info, just broken down into smaller, logical sections for faster loading times Get that code read - somehow, someway...

he isnt swapping transmissions - he is (wanting to) swap motors from a manual car to an auto car...so the drive ratio is of little concern here (it is not being monkeyed with)... to the OP - short answer - yes, the block and tranny will bolt up - you will only need to swap flywheel for flexplate. The bigger issue will be dealing with the upper end problems. johnc has given several options for dealing with the upper end of things. Ideal would be sourcing good heads from the same engine type, but there are other options as noted above.

owners manual should give you the correct type of spark plug to use - these cars like the NGK products. Cost - should be less than $2 each - no more than $3... Having a shop do this - labor is the big factor here - labor charges vary depending on where you live - around me it is typically around $45-55 per hour, but some have reported as high as $85 per hour, or more - usually in the larger cities...so yeah, you could easily save money doing it yourself (if you have tools) - plus, you get the satisfaction of having done it. Changing spark plugs is not all that difficult, per se - but can be a little time consuming for a first timer. Drivers side is usually the harder side - more things in the way - making it a bit awkward to get in there, but not impossible. The biggest issue with the aluminum blocks is to make sure you dont cross thread when installing the new plugs. A little trick that I use is turn the new plug backwards (as if taking it out) until I feel it "pop" into the threads, then turn in - I do this by hand...put new plug into the plug socket (with a short extension attached for holding on to), insert in the hole, and thread in...it should go fairly easily - if there is resistance, stop, back it out, and try again. Once it is threaded in by hand as far as you can, attach the ratchet and snug it down - do not overtighten! you only need to "snug" it - about a half turn after it 'hits bottom' In all seriousness - I am only about 3 - 3.5 hours away from you (if you really are in Minneapolis) - if you cared to take a little road trip, I would be happy to help you through your first plug change.

This x 2! initial (cold) startup is the most important time for oil distribution - thick oil does not distribute well right away, especially thru small oil passages - which these engines have. "Cold" startup has little to do with ambient temperature - more to do with the fact that the car has been sitting, and oil has drained away from areas higher up in the engine. Getting oil to those areas quickly is critical on initial start. You may "think" you have solved the mystery knock, but in reality, you are probably causing more damage.

Please do post back with the results of the kroil treatment - interested to know if makes any difference at all. and johnc is very right - pulling the fuel tank on an AWD Subaru would be a major pain in the backside! Pretty much the entire rear drive assembly would have to be removed to get that tank out - not something you want to do if you dont have to - especially if there is rust involved! That said - I live in northern Wisconsin - major rust belt here - and I have never had a problem with a Subaru fuel tank rusting out/thru - so far...(knocks on wood! lol) If your kroil trick doesnt work, just fall back to the old failsafe trip odo method - I have only run out of gas once in this old car - and that was right after I got it - guage wasnt working then either! LOL Fill the tank, reset the trip odometer, and drive - when it gets around, oh, say 275 miles or so on that trip meter, put a 5 gallon can of gas in the back and run it till it quits - make note of the mileage, put in your five gallons, and go on your merry way to the gas station - fill er up, reset the trip meter, and repeat - just make sure to pay attention to the number of miles driven since last fillup. With everything at optimums (tire pressures, fresh tuneup, etc) I can squeeze nearly 30 mpg out of my AWD wagon - as an average, I get around 27-28 mpg in the summer - about 25 in the winter. these cars have a 14 gal tank ...14 x 27 = 378 miles, give or take (winter = 14 x 25 = 350 mi) I dont typically let mine run real low - i usually fill up around the 300 mile mark on the trip meter, just because.