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How are you guys still arguing over whether an engine is interferential or not? EVERY SUBARU ENGINE AFTER 1997 is interferential. EVERY.ONE. Geez, I've been gone a few years and you guys are still arguing this point? 🙄 We lost non-interferential in return for a lousy 5Mph power gain. Crap trade if you ask me.

I never repacked my wheel bearings when doing CVs or at the 60,000 mile interval (100,000km I’m guessing). I run sealed bearings with the inner seal removed as mentioned above. Before installing I always pack each bearing with fresh grease to remove the packing grease - do not just run on the packaged grease as the bearing will fail in a short distance! And I always run the outer seals with a little bit of grease behind them. I figure more seals the better for an offroader. Always use a quality Japanese made bearing too

Unless you have a run-in with a drunk driver, it'll run forever...

My daughter reported today that her 1996 Legacy (180,000 miles) this infrequent problem. If she accidentally stalls the car by letting out the clutch too fast the car doesn't want to start for a while. She says it's happened about five times in the last year or two. Typically she comes back after 30 minutes and then it starts. It cranks just fine but doesn't start. This morning it happened again and she only had time to wait 15 minutes but no success. So she borrowed my car. About seven hours later I went out and it started fine. Any ideas what causes this?

Well the mystery got solved and the solution is rather embarrassing! I had no idea this car has an immobilizer and that the fancy Subaru key is necessary to start the engine. Shortly before the starter motor issue arose I had a simple copy of the key made at the grocery store for about $1.98. l was using that key exclusively to try and start the engine. Finally on another Subaru Outback forum somebody asked about my key. As soon as I tried the fancy Subaru key the problem disappeared! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Maybe this thread will help someone else in the future with the same issue.

This is the smaller one, with jaw gap 1.125". That appears to correspond to the size of the tie rod end. They have a larger one with a 1.625" gap. But I'm really uncertain about that leg fitting between the knuckle and the brake shield. I just bought an old Bridgeport J-head I can use to cut it down to fit if necessary, but I'd also be concerned about making it too thin and fragile. Also, the mill is going to need work, starting with figuring out how to spin a 600V 3-phase motor when all we have on-site is 220 single-phase. (Note: I know what all the options are, so no suggestions needed, thanks.) Point is I need to get this car back on the road long before I expect the mill to be up and running.

That style works very well, but there are 2 sizes: large (for Pitman arm) and small (for tie rod end). Be sure to get the right one for the job at hand (or have both in your toolbox).

Yes I put new seals in. And I added grease to the hub but did not repack bearings when I replaced the axles a few years ago. I keep thinking the end is near for this car so I cut corners sometimes.

I've tried a lot of 'em, but none don't suck. Pickle forks (whether bang-with-a-hammer or air hammer) never quite fit and always tear up the ball joint boot. I've got a hydraulic spreader, but there are rarely parallel surfaces across from each other to use it in. I'm always happy to go with brute force and ignorance (i.e. just beat on it), but that's not good either. Does someone have the right answer? Is there a screw-type puller that fits in there and just works perfectly? [edit] I'm looking at this one, but just don't know whether the arms are too thick to fit between the knuckle and the brake dust shield. https://www.princessauto.com/en/tie-rod-end-pitman-arm-puller/product/PA0009065079 Could just go get one to try, of course, but that's an hour or two wasted if it doesn't fit.

Yeah, that's a lot of crap (including the engine) to move - when I get to that point. At the moment I'm just pissed at the bait+switch that DHL is pulling on me - again - over my shipment from Rock. UPS said it'll be here next Tuesday for a reasonable price. DHL said that for five bucks more they'd have it here tomorrow (Thursday). Tracking now says next Tuesday, and I strongly doubt they won't screw that up, because we're rural and just past the edge of their delivery area (by, like, a mile) so I have no idea how or where (let alone when) I'll get it. I'm an idiot, because I knew better. I'm Charlie Brown running to kick the ball - again.

Airbox and washer reservoir out, pitchstopper loose, remove motor mount nut on one side, lift the engine and it will tilt up. Easy access to spark plugs/compression test.

I believe those are just plugs that cover openings for sand to exit internal cavities after the casting process. Similar to the mini "freeze plugs" on the oil pumps.

And can still happen in an automatic too when bypassing the starter switches involved with an auto. Dad used to have a bad habit of leaving our old ‘71 Torana in drive when he got home after work. One weekend he asked me to move it out of the old wooden farm shed. I didn’t know he bypassed the starter switch when it wasn’t in anything but P and N. Being an old carb fed engine it needed some pumping and revs to keep it going which I was accustomed to - and in this case I almost drove it through the back wall of the shed! Gave me the fright of my life. When I told Dad he shrugged it off and made it out to be my issue because I didn’t check to see if it was in Park or Neutral before stating the engine. My comeback was “who does that unless it doesn’t start?!” So yes, an auto can still be bypassed and start in gear unless there is another part of the system in play - so you need your foot on the brake for it to start?

2026 we’re scraping and scrounging. Couple of hints. Old school Beck Arnley parts are often a genuine Subaru part in their wrapper. But not B/A made the last couple of decades. If you hunt eBay look close and be try to be sure it’s not made these last 20 years or so. I mean those probably aren’t really bad but certainly they begin to play the no name deal with bearings etc. Atsugi and Paraut pumps and clutches you can’t go wrong. They were also suppliers to Subaru. Match up any old dealers still in existence with your old dealer locator manual included with the owners manual packet from the 70s / 80s. Call after saying a prayer. Akebono - brake parts Tokico - suspension sometimes those will yield some hits and they are also factory suppliers.

Subaru says to repack every 60,000 miles or 5 years, whichever comes first... I don't do that... I repack them every new CV joint, which comes well before either of those! lol Did you put in new seals last time you did the bearings?

Nope. It's an 84. it has the honeycomb grill where the 83 would have a horizontal. I had an 83 Brat in the same color as well.

Thank you. That's what I thought but was puzzled by the short life. I greased them up good and filled the cavity ten years ago but I have not greased them since and the car gets driven through icy water a lot. I ordered the new bearings and seals today. I have a seal driver set. I snowmobile in to my cabin in the winter so I'm hoping they might last until spring but I kind of doubt it. Yesterday when I cranked the axle nut enough to gain another hole in the castle nut it seemed to tighten them up a little. If they wear down and loosen up again I'll change them out. That just means that I'll be doing it in the snow on the side of the road where I park in the winter. But hey it's a $300 car that I have been driving for 15 years.

im prety sure its related to the knock sensor i have questions though. as the title says it has no power until around 2500 rpm then like a light switch bam it takes off full power. if i unplug the knock sensor it has normal power at all rpm. i did some experimenting and moved the knock sensor onto the intake manifold and with the sensor mounted on the intake it does not pull power away and i can drive the car normally. i do not hear any knocking occurring with the sensor here. would it be safe to run the car with the sensor mounted to the intake? im 95% sure the sensor is reporting piston slap as the engine does do that. i do not hear any real knocking though beyond the piston slap. it is a 2001 outback with the 2.5 i have a small collection of used oem knock sensors and aftermarket ones they all work normally on a 2001 forester i have and have same issue when installed on the 2001 outback.

(A few months later, 'cause I had to clean out enough of the garage to get the car in over the pit and buy a Warn Pullzall (110VAC comealong - got a smokin' deal on it) to pull it in, then wait for a break in the weather, since the garage is unheated...) But now the cover's off and I've confirmed that the driver's side chain broke. Since the driver's side chain drives the passenger side chain, what sounded to me like just the crank and no cams cranking was in fact just the crank and no cams cranking. It's not clear whether the chain broke on its own, or whether it was caused by a guide fragmenting, and there are some loose plastic bits in there. Doesn't matter much, timing kit is en route from Rock. As for whether anything got hit, jury's still out. It's so damn tight along the sides of the engine that I'm not sure I can get a compression gauge in there. But I'm also replacing the steering rack while it's over the pit, so I'll be dropping the exhaust and can take a peek up at the valves. Otherwise, I'll just see how things behave once the new kit is installed. I do have an untested junkyard motor on the shelf (bought as a spare a couple of years ago), so I can draw upon that if necessary. But I'll see how it goes over the next few days.

Definitely an automatic transmission.

I found a $7 walmart oil filter socket (the many-sided polygon that fits certain brand oil filters) that was the perfect size for my gen2 wheel seals, and the thin wall fit around the seal lip perfectly. I've never done gen3 seals, but it's an idea you might check for a seal driver.

I'd recommend buying the sealed wheel bearings. Then you remove one seal from each bearing and face the unsealed sides inside the knuckle. Pack the inside of the knuckle with grease like normal. That way you don't have to worry about installing the seals. Installing the front bearings with the right tools is a cake walk. Installing the seals can be a challenge. Unless you're a heavy equipment tech, I don't know who'd have sockets that large to install the seals.

Yes, that temporary wire should work to crank the engine. Just a note of caution: If doing this on a Manual Transmission (MT), make 100% certain that the gear-shift is in Neutral (otherwise the car might leap forward)

No, the fronts are not adjustable. If you have play, and the axle nut is not loose, you need new wheel bearings. If they only lasted 10 years, they either didn't have enough grease, weren't repacked often enough, or got water in them from bad wheel seals.