Polaridoo

Are you sure the injectors totally cut off all fuel to the cylinders when coasting down a hill in gear?? I could see them reducing the fuel (perhaps even adjust the timing too), but not cutting it all off. Not that I want to risk it with my car and my life, but while coasting in gear, if you turned the engine off (one click back of the key) that would shut the spark off. If there was no extra engine braking felt after that, then I guess there is no fuel in the cylinder and thus no injector spraying. (of coures this would only apply to a manual trans). Now when I was back in high school ( a long time ago), I was coasting down a hill and turned the engine off while it was in gear. Since my truck had a carb (and other low tech features), I immediately felt the extra engine braking, but I also experienced the biggest back fire of my life when I flipped the key back on. All that fuel that was getting sucked into the motor and then the exhaust did not get a chance to burn until I hit the key!!! Wow! Of course it was a stupid thing to do, but that's what being young is all about.

OK, I think I see it now. It looks like that triangle has nothing to do with alignment. The actual timing mark is one of the ears protruding off the crank sprocket. I will just have to look more closely to see which one of those has the actual mark. Thanks for great link and your help.

I am in the middle of replacing my timing belt on my 1993 Subaru Legacy with the 2.2. But have a question about the crank timing marks. On the crankshaft sprocket (that slides on the crank) it has a triangle on one of the teeth - is this the mark that is supposed to point to 12 o'clock? When I look at my repair manual and this site it seems that there is another mark that is supposed to point to 12 o'clock - if that is the case, I am not seeing it. Also, outside of popping off the valve cover, is there any easy way to see if I am at TDC on compression or exahust stroke? Thanks for the help.

Does anybody know if a front wheel drive '91 Loyale 5 speed tranny is the same as the one used on a '93 front wheel drive Legacy? thanks

Based on all the helpful insight, I think this might be a normal Subaru noise. I will keep a close eye on it just in case though. Thanks for all your help.

If the Subaru trans is normally a bit noisy then maybe mine is fine. All the gears shift excellent - including the 2nd to 3rd transition. The only two observations that my 'newbie' Subaru ears hear is input shaft bearing noise and a pronounced first gear whine (that changes up/down with the speed of the vehicle when in first gear). The bearing noise I am hearing is a perfectly even sound that maches the RPM of the motor while in neutral... no ticking, clacking, nothing... just a constant whirring noise until you press the clutch in and the shaft slows to a stop. Since I don't have much Subaru experience maybe this is just normal then? Any thoughts why first gear seems to be particularly noisy? Is that a normal Subaru thing too?

Yeah, I think you are right. I think it was more wishful thinking on my behalf. Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me... Thanks for your help.

The only other thing that might contribute to the sound is that the previous owner put synthetic oil in the trans (Amsoil). I am wondering if the synthetic is not 'cushioning" the same way petroleum based oils would??

I just bought a very nice (and my first) 1994 Subura Legacy sedan (front wheel drive) with a 5 speed. The car only has 57000 miles and is super clean... the only problem is it sounds like the transmission input shaft bearing(s) are going out. The symptom is a whine/wurring noise until the clutch is depressed. The one thing I cannot explain is that I also hear this noise very clearly in first gear... it does not seem very noticeable in the other gears. So, is it the input shaft bearings? Any other thoughts? It seems that I have read a few other threads regarding the input shaft bearings - were these a weak point for Subaru? Thanks for any input.