heartless

parking brake released? possible that the rear brakes are seized up.. have had that happen before.

yeah... that is not emergency brake parts.. that is tone ring for the ABS, looks like the cylinder, too, and the various springs that are supposed to hold the shoes in place... not really sure what the screws came from tho.. unless they are from the destroyed tone ring?

holy cow... I have seen some nasty brakes over the years, but that mess takes the cake!

the tires are most likely what caused the problem (or hastened it along) but the real problem is the duty c & the transfer clutch pack - the only way to really resolve it is to replace them. buying mismatched, used tires for these cars is a really bad idea.. for future reference, AWD Subarus really need to have matching tires all around - same brand, same model, same treadwear, and within 1/4 in circumference on all 4.

its age alone is going to throw it in the "not much" category (more than 10 yrs old), add to that the need of an engine replacement... yeah.... I would be surprised if you got any kind of a trade value for it

that is "cover your backside" speak... LOL The Outback was based on the Legacy platform - basically, taller suspension, a few trim bits, and higher end options were the only real differences for a long time.

another possibility is a blockage in the heater core... or you have a major air bubble that is not clearing.... Most of us have learned to fill the block from/thru the upper radiator hose first, then, once that is full, connect the hose to the radiator and top off as needed.

Have to agree with idosubaru - this is a fantastic learning opportunity for your son and he should be helping you with things, even if the dipstick issue is not on his car. It is a good way for him to learn about taking care of his own car by helping you take care of yours. I also completely understand about the arthritis. My hands are not nearly as strong as they used to be either because of it - it can be quite frustrating at times.

depending on where the crack is (and yes, they do crack fairly easily) you can try super glue, but my personal preference would be some 2 part epoxy - just a small smear in the crack itself, then more on the backside, with something stuck on to help provide a bit more strength - a piece of a popsicle stick, round toothpicks, you get the idea.. allow it to set up completely before reinstalling. I use a 5 minute epoxy i got from my local hobby shop meant for building balsa wood airplanes, LOL it is great stuff and I have enough to last me a LOOOONNNG time. For the dipstick - try twisting to break it free - I know it is awkward to get in there, but they do have an o-ring on them to seal the stick to the tube to prevent fluid from seeping out and it is possibly baked on good & hard.. if you can twist it a little you should be able to break it free.

a basic strut lift does not generally require anything extra.. I did the forester strut lift on a 95 Legacy wagon with no other mods at all and had no issues

taking the lighter housing out is not hard, but not exactly easy either.. it involves removing the entire trim plate around the radio & heater controls... start by removing the cup holder - pull it out normally, there is a small section in the center to press to remove it completely behind that there are screws that hold the top portion of the trim plate. pull the ashtray out completely and in that slot, facing upwards are 2 more screws - you will need a stubby screwdriver for these.. once all the screws are out, you should be able to gently pry the trim plate off to gain access to the back side of the cigarette lighter & its wiring.

Brown - main power Green - Fuel Pump Blue - multiple possibilities, depending on exact model/options Red (pink?) - multiple possibilities, depending on exact model/options White/natural - daytime running lights (maybe) try looking through the wiring diagrams here for more info - you know what options your car has, we don't

what he said about the OBDII - turn the key to on, then plug in the reader... and he beat me to it with the link to the FSM site.. chuck that Haynes manual in the recycling bin. also - sometimes one or more of the pins will push out as the reader is pushed on to them, thus not making a good/complete contact... if you continue to have problems getting the reader to connect, it may be worth popping the connector out of the dash to check for pins backing out. On my old 95 Legacy, i sometimes had connection issues as well, but wiggling the connector a little usually got it to complete the connection.

LOL - you can not tell just by looking at them.. you need to disassemble and check the bearing itself if it rotates smoothly with no binding, no slop, no crunchiness or notchy feeling then yeah, it is fine. but if there is ANY slop, binding, or anything other than smooth movement it needs to be replaced. As an example - the other half has a 2006 LL Bean Outback with around 180K that we just put new struts in... the top mounts "looked" fine, but once we had things apart it was VERY obvious the one was completely shot, there was a lot of slop in the bearing..

the only other strut mounts I would consider are the KYB - put a set of those in the 95 Legacy I had and they were just fine. Car handled and rode great.

personally, i have never bothered much with the boots, but that is personal preference. Top mounts, most likely are needed if they have never been replaced. Unfortunately there is only one way to really check them, and that is to take the assembly apart. I tend to be proactive on a "new to me" vehicle that has obviously worn suspension and will just order new front tophats, just because. They are a somewhat important part of the steering after all. Also take a really good look at the springs - my 95 had a broken one when I got it.. it is not super common, but it does happen

ok, there is no "probably an OBDII" - a 1995 Legacy IS OBDII - I should know, I had one... wish I still did in some respects. Code readers can be picked up fairly cheaply, and if you really can not afford one, most chain auto parts stores (Advance, Autozone, etc) will read them for free - they will not clear them for you, but at least you will know what you are dealing with. It is important to note the order the codes appear in, and the P-number.. example: P0301 (cylinder 1 misfire) The reason for noting the order is that one issue can set off a bunch of codes.. kind of like a domino effect. Fix the first one on the list, clear the codes and see what (if any) comes back. for 95 especially - Plain old copper core NGK plugs - you do NOT need anything else - it is just a waste of money in a bone stock 2.2 of that age. New plugs at the proper gap are in order.. don't guess, make it so Plug wires - either OEM or NGK ONLY. Parts store wires WILL cause problems - been there, done that. If they are anything but Subaru or NGK - plan on replacing those as well. Knock Sensor - this car can use the cheap one, so plan on replacing it, just because.. one bolt, fairly easy to do. Chances are the timing did not jump - easy starting and smooth initial idle would bear this out. My money is on something else.

yes, one bad mount can affect both directions, but being a 13 yr old car, chances are both are shot.

yeah, the one under the intake on his is starting to show signs, but is not too terrible yet.. maybe we should go ahead and order one, just in case tho, LOL that oil cooler line, however... looking pretty nasty. maybe not as bad as the one we replaced yesterday, but not too far behind. that little bolt - yeah, after reading your post asking about it.. I kind of figured it was gonna be a bear.. but the deepwell socket worked quite well - that and my smaller hands, lol the only other difficulty we encountered was one of the exhaust studs.. several of the studs came out (rather than the nuts coming off) most went back in fine and tightened up fine, but on one, the nut broke free so rather than actually turning the stud back in, it was threading up the stud.. grrr Pulled it back out, cleaned up the rust on the wire wheel (was not too bad), got the nut off, then used the bandsaw to cut a slot in the end to use a screwdriver to re-install the stud.. then put the nut back on. it worked.. everything seems to be in order after getting it refilled with coolant.. even took it for a short test run to go get dinner.

part arrived Friday night via UPS.. we spent the better part of Saturday (about 6-6.5hrs total) getting the old one out & the new one in. the hardest part was getting the darn thing wiggled out, and the new one wiggled back into place.. even with lifting the motor. holy cow what a pain.. the one on the 2.5 was far easier! (even with having to pull the intake!) john in KY - you asked me to let you know how long it took to get that bolt in the back reinstalled.. less than a minute. LOL - used a deepwell socket, bolt in that, slipped it through the bracket (no chance of dropping it), found the hole (standing on a small stool (car was up on jack-stands), leaned way over and could just see the hole) and threaded it right in. (all heater hoses were disconnected & other stuff was out of the way). And after looking things over, there was no way that sucker was going in from the top side... while doing this one, we took a good look at the one that feeds the oil cooler... that one is next - not looking good. (thankfully, coolant was on sale recently so he bought plenty) but can someone explain to me why it is that the oil cooler line which is pretty much straight, one inlet, one outlet & 2 hanger tabs is around $80 (reg retail $114), while the other one, with multiple bends, a 2nd stub out and 2 hanger tabs is only $50?? this is completely bass-ackwards... you would think the simple one would be the cheaper one, and the more complicated one would be more expensive.

try here for a wiring diagram (and the rest of the FSM for that matter): http://jdmfsm.info/Auto/Japan/Subaru/

my first thought as well... front strut mount.

oh, without a doubt, the older ones ARE more than just acceptable to me. =) If I could have any one of my choosing - completely rust free, in good overall condition - I would seriously enjoy another 1995 Legacy wagon (LS?) - sun/moonroof would be outstanding.. i miss that. I would then put it up on either Foz or Outback struts & the 15" wheels like I did with last one. Of all the older Subies I have had (89 GL, 90 Legacy LS, 95 Legacy - all wagons - and now the 02 Foz), I think I liked the 95 Legacy wagon the most. It just fit me (with better seats tho... I had swapped the '90 LS seats into my 95 - the stockers were just shot) And glad to hear you are liking the Mastercraft tires. They have been great for me. I do have a set of Cooper CS5s on the Foz right now, but only because they were on sale at the time of purchase and actually came out just a tad under the Mastercraft version price. Mastercraft snow tires are pretty awesome, too - Glacier Grip, i think it is.. Had a set for the 95 Lego.

yeah, i would love to do that, but sadly, it would not stay rust free for long. not here anyway.. my other thought is just to move out there to the land of rust free Subarus.. I lived north of Seattle for a couple of years.. Loved it up there. But that was a lifetime ago

Thanks for the tip, John! will be sure to let the other half know.