heartless

one way to know for sure - unbolt the light, grind off a little paint, bolt the light back on and see if your problem disappears. Kind of thinking it just might. Good job finding that thread!

ah, memories! Yeah, I was a LOT nervous doing my first one - just take your time, and follow the directions in the write-ups you found here and you will be fine. One note is that some of the 10mm bolts that hold the covers on can be a pain in the butt to get out - the ones that go into the brass inserts on the outer edges - the insert likes to break free and spin in the plastic housing them - there really is no "good" way of getting them undone if this happens, but visegrips can be your friend here. remember - take your time! Good Luck!

The Sister-in-law recently picked up a really sweet '95 SVX (i hate her! lol - jk) anyway, the check engine light is on and they were told that the O2 sensor was bad... Now, I have ridden in this car, both city streets and freeway, and it has absolutely NO drivability issues (I just went thru O2 issues with my Legacy - BIG drivability issues) So, here are the questions... 1. I am going to guess that this car is an OBDII, needing a code reader, right? Or is there a way to get codes without one? 2. How many O2 sensors does the SVX have? just the upstream one, or does it have a downstream also? 3. Just how hard is it to change the O2 sensor(s) on an SVX? thier local mechanic recommended taking it to the dealer for this & dealer quoted them over $600.00!?!?! Thanks in advance!

Well, after making several phone calls, I ordered my O2 sensor from the local parts house - before I go getting flamed about it - it was the absolute fastest option for me - next day instead of late next week from a dealer, and i NEED the car! anyway, got that installed, cleared the last code and went for a test run. About 35 miles +/- out at about 75 mph, turn around and the same back and she ran flawlessly!! :banana: no hiccups, no power loss, no problems what-so-ever! the real test will be Saturday when we head to Madison again (3+ hours one way, about half 2 lane/half freeway)

Well - looks like I will be springing for a new O2 sensor anyway... swapped out the used one we had and it made the situation worse - it now acts up at lower speeds (50-60 mph) and it did throw the code 32 yet again... no one near me has one in stock (not even the small dealer I found an hour away! ) so i am gonna have to order one and wait for it to get here. :-\ totally bummed right now. anyway - thanks for the parts leads guys - gotta go make some calls & see how bad this is gonna hurt the wallet.

first and foremost check all your grounds on BOTH sides and connections on the vehicle side - sounds like something may be hooked up wrong on the right side? verify that the turn signal/tail light wiring is correct for that side. i am gonna guess that the wires are backwards here & the right trailer turn signal - with running lights off - is dimmer than the left side?

best bang for the buck - IMHO - would be an EA82 wagon with DR 5 speed and pugs! not the most comfortable car for long trips, but they do ok. for back woods adventures you do not want anything with a turbo! they just are not reliable enough for that... seriously tho - i got my first Subaru - a 1989 GL wagon, 5 spd FWD for $150 - drove that car for over 7 years! got 32-33 mpg consistently. and even tho it was only a FWD i drove it a few places that i probably shouldnt have! LOL was a blast to play on the snow with too (backwards donuts anyone?) EA82 timing belts are no big deal - just make sure they get done on schedule and it wont leave you stranded. and even if you did loose one, it wont damage the engine internals. Now if you need a little more creature comfort - the 1st gen Legacies are pretty nice - ride is much nicer, a little more elbow room - AWD is awesome, but i would prefer to have a 5 spd over the auto. the EJ22 is a pretty reliable engine with a bit more hp than the EA series The thing mentioned earlier about 97 & later - it is not headgaskets, but it IS an interference engine - meaning if you blow a timing belt on one of those, you can cause serious internal damage - 1990 thru early 96 are non-interference - no problems if a belt goes. Late 96 (97my) and on are interference.

Thanks for the info guys! it really is appreciated! Hoping to have everything sorted out tonight - keep your fingers crossed for me that the O2 sensor does the trick! (btw - if the used one does correct the issue, i will be springing for a new one for the old girl, just for the longevity factor - no telling how long the used one would last)

the set of wires i got were $22 & change - i know, you get what you pay for... lol $36 isnt bad tho for the dealer wires. for right now they are ok, but have had burn thru problems before with the cheap wires... any specific online dealer that I should look at?? havent ordered stuff from any before - always made do with either used or local store parts...

seriously - it is rarely the pan itself that leaks, even tho it looks like it is - it is usually something else leaking, dripping down onto the pan and making it look like it is the pan leaking. before you go spending any money on that, i would clean everything up good under there - use a degreaser of some sort to get as much oil off of there as possible. go for a 25-30 mile drive, then get under there and look at things closely (small flashlight is very useful here) - chances are the oil is coming from somewhere other than the pan. as for the exhaust problem - i'm with davebugs - unless you are made of money, get a sleeve welded in. Much cheaper! Just had my car in for a minor exhaust repair - we thought it was one of those joints/gaskets, turns out when he investigated further I had a small hole just ahead of the joint under the heat shield - $20 later it is welded up & all fixed!

Thanks for the reply, Gary - yeah, they are auto parts store wires, but only because i am broke, dont have a dealer anywhere near me (nearest is several hours away) & had to have them NOW! (no waiting for an online purchase) LOL Will be looking into ordering some proper wires later when the cash flow is better. (would appreciate suggestions for where to order from online...price, shipping, cust. service...) Going to try that used O2 sensor we have on hand and see if that improves anything or not. It looks ok, but looks can be decieving... May have to try to order one of those, too. Which begs the question - is there a difference between auto and manual O2 sensors?? I didnt see anything listed specifically for one or the other when looking at them online...

Coil packs seemed to be fine - could see a very strong spark in broad daylight no problem when pulling the wires to check them. like i said, the car seems to be perfectly fine as long as it is kept under 65 mph - drove it roughly 75-80 miles home saturday night, then 30 miles into town sunday eve, then 30 miles home. then 30 miles back to town this morning with no problems what-so-ever. but shortly after getting it on the freeway and getting over 65 mph is when it starts acting up. For now, i guess i am going to go with the O2 sensor getting lazy - will see about getting it changed out and hopefully it will cure the problem - got lots of longer trips coming up and really need it to be running right!

ok, update with codes... initial read (black conectors) code 24 - Air Control Valve Code 32 - O2 Sensor D check (green connectors) gave no additional info Checked the Air Control Valve per FSM Voltage check - FSM minimum 10 v - my reading - 12+v Ohm Check: FSM Spec My Readings pin 1 to pin 2 - 9 ohms 10.7 ohms pin 2 to pin 3 - 9 ohms 10.8 ohms A mechanic friend (over the phone) said the higher readings might be caused by the engine still being warm, but he didnt seem to think they were too far out of whack - thoughts anyone??? anyway, went ahead and cleared codes and took it for another drive - it did start acting up again. Checked for codes again when i got home - only one this time....drum roll please...Code 32 - O2 sensor! So, I am going to try putting in a used O2 sensor and give it a spin, see if it clears things up or not - or would I be wasting my time?

the car: 1990 Legacy LS wagon, AWD, Auto, 194,000 miles the problem - this past Saturday, while on a longish trip (approx 3 hours one way) about 1/2 way the car began to lose power, chug, sputter, miss, then surge & run ok for a few minutes, then repeat. Also saw an intermittant CEL - would come on for a few seconds, then go out - happened 2-3 times. (BTW - weather was cool - upper 40's to low 50's - had some rain on the trip down, dry on the way back) pulled off the hiway, shut off the car & popped the hood & checked things over - no obvoius problems. Started the car, idling rough - check wires again while it is running - found one bad plug wire (it was arcing out the side of the boot!) wrapped it with electrical tape to get where we were going (it ran ok with only occasional mild sputters) & got a new set of wires thinking that would cure the issue... return trip - car ran great for about 45 mins or so and began to act up as before - WTF?? stopped, checked things over again, could find no obvious problems - wires all seemed to be fine & were tight...we were stopped for maybe 10-15 mins w/car turned off. get back in the car, start up, no problem, took off and it ran fine the rest of the way home - no sputtering, missing or any other sign of the problem. Made plans to get new plugs, air & fuel filters installed on Tuesday after it got done getting exhuast leak repaired. FF to today (tuesday) Took car in for exhuast repair - ran fine on the 30 min trip to town. Went & got my tune-up stuff while it was being worked on - new air & fuel filters, new set of correct NGK plugs, properly gapped. Get the car back from the muffler shop, (sounds good) & get the items installed - time for a test run... Got up on the big hiway and got up to speed (70+) doing fine for about 20 mins, then it started again - loosing power, sputtering, etc...again with a brief CEL (only on for about 30 seconds or so). Pulled off the hiway, and pointed it home, had no power trying to take off from a dead stop unless i really got into the throttle, ran like crap then would surge up and run smooth for a few minutes, then back to running like crap all the way home...FWIW - weather today - cool and rainy This problem only seems to rear it's ugly head when the car is fully warmed up and running at hiway speed (70+) - if it gets shut down and allowed to cool, then kept under 65 mph it seems to run fine...at a loss here??? MAF??? O2 sensor??? Plugged cat??? I do have some spare parts available from parts cars, but condition of said parts is unknown... it is raining out right now, but i do plan on getting the stored code out of it as soon as it dries up (or i take it back into town) - in the mean time, would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, comments on what to check/look at... Will post back later with the code(s) retireved

thanks Tom. Cheers to you, too! longest I ever owned a car before Hildy was maybe two or three years - that ol Subaru was with me for darn near ten years! got pretty attached to the old girl.

for many years i used a two cup adjustable holder with a small storage compartment between them stuck on the flat part of the dash in my GL wagon - would hold some rather large cups (just not super tall ones) with no problems - only a short reach for the driver... some rather creative ideas out there tho.

Dear Friends, we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Brumhilda, the 1989 GL FWD 5 spd wagon that had served Heartless so well for nearly 10 years. She was purchased the summer of 2000 for the princly sum of $150, gave many years, and miles of reliable service, thru sunshine & rain, sleet, snow and ice....today, at 262,766 miles on the odo, she was taken to the scrap yard for recycling - or what was left of her, I should say - she will be missed. It is indeed a sad day to take a rusty but trusty old friend to the graveyard, but she did become an organ donor, passing many of her parts on to others so they might live on. On a brighter note, she did reward me by bringing me more $ as scrap than what I originally paid for her! On a related note - to those that I owe parts to, please pm me and let me know - I know there is someone who has actually paid me, but I cant remember who & for what, or if I got them sent out (Ben - working on repacking your stuff)... I have been battling some health issues all winter, and then computer issues on top of that. Going in for surgery tomorrow (3/17/10) but should be home in a day or two. for those that are so inclined - raise a beer in salute to another poor Subaru that has passed on, but lived a long and useful life! (i'm not allowed to today...)

go to a Body Shop - tell them what happened and you want the car checked out, any damage is to be reported in detail and IN WRITING!

Dont feel too bad GD, have had "Stuff" going on here too...between health issues & computer issues and just trying to take care of day to day stuff...:-\

welcome to the greatest Subaru site in the world!! doing timing & water pump on a Legacy isnt hard at all. I mean if a "girl" can do it (me) then you should be able to!! seriously tho - dont forget to check/replace the oil seals, chk & replace idler pulleys (some great timing kits on feebay with all the pulleys & stuff), check & tighten the oil pump backing plate screws & a new t-stat, and might as well do coolant hoses too while you are at it. the tensioner on these needs to be compressed s-l-o-w-l-y so as not to damage it - a vice does work, just dont get crazy with it. plenty of info available here - the "search" function is VERY useful - there are also "similar thread" links at the bottom of the page in a thread that can be quite useful...

WOW!! that is one clean looking Subaru!! Congrats on that one! I always thought the RX's were the 3 dr coupe variety, not a 4 dr sedan...guess ya learn something new everyday...

hello and welcome! aside from the fresh gas, battery & oil... check timing belts (outer covers can be pulled without having to remove anything else) fresh spark plugs with proper gap new disty cap & rotor (make sure rotor turns when cranking car over - if it doesnt it means either broken drivers side belt or the set screw is loose) possibly new wires (depends on the condition of the old ones) new fuel & air filters search this site for the HTKYSA pdf (stands for "How To Keep Your Subaru Alive" - it is a book in .pdf format - GREAT resource for the older Subaru!) Haynes & Chiltons manuals are ok, but leave a lot of stuff out or dont make it very clear... try to get a Factory Service Manual (FSM) if at all possible... Lots of great info in the USRM section and definitely look for the videos by Miles Fox - he has a knack for making these!! Good luck with the new toy - hope you get her running soon!

and dont forget to put a charger on that battery BEFORE you hook everything up and try to run it! trying to charge your battery with just the alternator will kill the replacement alternator very quickly!

gasket set on the cheap... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326162833&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

um, haynes - or chiltons for that matter - are not the be all, end all for auto repair - on ANY vehicle. That said - the ignition amplifier doesnt fail that often (just enough to cause headaches for those it happens to) so it isnt something that would "normally" be covered in a general purpose DIY manual. those manuals are for general common repairs... the "spare" you borrowed will most definitely get you to the junkyard so you can pick up one of your own (would actually get 2 just to be safe! lol) another good resource for you would be the "How to Keep Your Subaru Alive" pdf (search for HTKYSA) - informative and funny at the same time