Trying to fix a couple of issues with the Outback, when I reassembled it last I got the steering shaft off by one spline which not only made the steering wheel slightly crooked, it faulted out the anti-skid stability control. Also, it had a O2 sensor heater fault code which for some reason faulted out and disabled the VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) part as well.
So, put it up on jackstands, take out the bolt holding the steering shaft drop the steering rack down, disconnect, realign over one spline, reconnect and tighten everything up. Sounds simple, takes hours of farting about contorted under a car. Think it's good now, have to drive to be sure.
For the O2 sensor heater I went to the wiring connector which was already screwy from a "recycler" cutting the wiring instead of disconnecting the plug. I pulled it apart to check the heater and when I put it back together it pushed out the two pins that were almost broken, so now it's totally screwed. Instead of screwing around with finding a new connector I cut the wires, soldered in an extension wire and bypassed the connector. Still throws the P0051 heater code. Check some voltages, it's getting power, but I'm also getting 12vdc on the return wire. I find out which ECU to engine connector it goes to, disconnect and reconnect it, code goes away, check engine light out. Wish I'd done that in the first place.
