babyfacefitz

Got it put and thanks for the help. michael

With the help of this forum (gary and ben) I have a working driveshaft installed. The male end of the shaft looked good and I slide the seal onto the male end. I figured the seal would slide back to the appropriate placement. It did not work. I am still getting a lot of ATF coming out. Any suggestions? This is a 98 OBW with a rear driveshaft replaced. Michael

Gary's right, the seal in the drive shaft. I tried to upload the photo but even when I reduced the file to less than 50 MB it would not upload. The bell housing is what I was calling the outside collar. Now that the driveshaft is removed, I started it up and ATF comes out of something that looked like a square channel. I assume ATF is suppose to flow thru this channel, there are two square channels. Once I put the seal on am I suppose to put back on the male end of the drive shaft. I was going to do the cheap fix but Gary has turned me on to a good priced driveshaft I am going to put in. Will replacing the two part rear shaft do the trick? I thought I was suppose to change the front and rear but seeing two sections to this "rear" driveshaft is this the front and rear I heard about? thanks

My rear drive shaft broke a u-joint. The ujoint did not fail completely but there was a lot of play. This happened on the off ramp and I drove it about a 1/2 mile and parked it. The rear seal has been leaking and I got the drive shaft removed. I expected to be able to pull out the seal but it looks like I have not found it yet. The ATF drips from the bell housing and the inner sleeve the outer drive shaft rides on looks scared. Should this seal be able to be snagged out? Is the a more inner seal I could have damaged?

I will be looking and taking photos this week. Thanks John and Gary. michael

My rear drive shaft broke its u joint. The shaft stayed mostly whole but there is a lot of play in the u joint. When coming off the highway on the off ramp, heard some bad knocking and grinding. When I looked under the car ATF was leaking out. Once it was parked it did not leak much. But once the tow truck pulled the car, more ATF came out. Once parked again the tranny is not leaking much. I plan to take a look at the situation this week and hopefully replace the front and rear drive shafts. Hopefully I did not damage the tranny much and its just an easy to get to seal. Any help and speculation on my problems will be appreciated. Michael

On my 98 OBW, I had trans bind issues and put in the FWD fuse a year ago. Things were fine but I had a good mechanic look and he stated that the back wheel drive train was going to bust at the u-joint. With the drive train price at $700, I will be hitting the junk yards looking for a cheaper replacement. If I keep in FWD driving will the u joint go and cause damage? I have decent experience with working on cars but have not put in a drive train on a Suby, only old trucks. I here I have to unbolt the exhaust and put her in. Is this an easy thing to get off the junked car and put it? Does anyone know of a good drivetrain for sale? thanks guys. mike

I would love to get this plug out and work with that but I don't think it will be possible. The plug just spins and does not work out at all. Just enough to leak. Michael Babyface

A local shop did it last. I don't think I have the receipt but the vinyl "sticker" is still on my windshield. Michael

I am used to finding drain plugs way over torqued, but this one was too much. With a regular 1/2 driver socket wrench, I eventually got it to move. Now it is spinning and stripped. I assume I can get a used pan and a OEM gasket to get passed this issue. Anybody have some advice on this? Oh Yeah, it is a 97 OBW, and I knew from the start which way to turn it. Michael BabyFace FitZ

Hello, On a 95 legacy I had headlight issues and found much help on the forum. Here is a condensed packet of related info. Replaced the connectors with a car quest part S-526 (around $3) The wires were replaced following the position of wires, I needed to remove the rubber cover to see the placement. Here is a color code for the wire placement on the 95 legacy. Top wire yellow/blue Driver side wire red/blue Passenger wire Red Michael

I replaced my pigtails with the part from car quest. The wires were replaced following the position of wires, I needed to remove the rubber cover to see the placement. Here is a color code for the wire placement on the 95 legacy. Top wire yellow/blue Driver side wire red/blue Passenger wire Red Michael

A friend of mine has a 99 outback with the headgasket issue. He had it overheat and I told him any sign of this take it in. Well the dealer tells him it is the HG. Any one with an opinion on selling it, fixing it or offering a price? This is located in St. Louis, MO. Michael

the car is fixed now, the dealer mechanics put it back together correctly. My frustration levels got to me and I should have stuck with it. I assumed there was more too it, put back in the wire harnesses are simple enough. But what got me was the CEL light. It was one b/c the fuel gauge was not put in at some point and I turned the key. I should have cleared the codes after putting it together myself. This forum is great. learn from my mistake. Michael

the car is fixed now, the dealer mechanics put it back together correctly. My frustration levels got to me and I should have stuck with it. I assumed there was more too it, put back in the wire harnesses are simple enough. But what got me was the CEL light. It was one b/c the fuel gauge was not put in at some point and I turned the key. I should have cleared the codes after putting it together myself. This forum is great. learn from my mistake. Michael

It is a 98 outback with a 2.5L. Michael

well I called another dealer and they said $513. Thanks for the reply storydude, I am going to take it to the dealer for some diagnosis work, at least. I need to get a working car. This site is great. thanks michael

Thanks for the reply and a note on the "rules". I just called the dealer and they said the ecu would be $1500, is this correct? Michael

If I replace the ECU, will the car need to go the dealer anyway for something? Is this a DIY project? Where can i get an OEM besides the dealer? michael

thanks for the reply. Where do I find the ECU? What is a diagnosis for it being broken? I do believe this might be the case. Michael

I cleaned the ground connections on the battery and the two leads. I took out the bulb for the CEL and my fuel gauge is not reading.

well I cleaned the battery connection and the two medium wires heading to the body and the top of the tranny. Used some dielectric grease too. It has not solved my fuel guage, cel issue. the fuel gauge worked before I replace the CEL bulb, but now even when I get the bulb out the fuel gauge does not work. On the security light, there are three wires, but the blue one is not connected to anything, is this something or just an extra wire? Michael

Before I went I delt with the codes, anti knock, misfire. Once the car was running good I was "ready" but did not know the bulb was needed to pass. Once I put it in...I have some instrument issue. I went in to get the CEL light working, and found the CEL bulb missing. Got a replacement and now it stays on. Now once I have the panel together, my fuel gauge went to low and the with my driver door open, I get the signal for door open for the driver side and the rear hatch. I checked the wires,and all seem plug in. NOW that I read an old posting, it sounds like I have the ground issue like you mentioned. How did you fix that, put in a new ground wire to the battery? Thanks for the help.

I would like some advice. I have some instrument issue. I went in to get the CEL light working, and found the CEL bulb missing. Got a replacement and now it stays on. Now once I have the panel together, my fuel gauge went to low and the with my driver door open, I get the signal for door open for the driver side and the rear hatch. I checked the wires,and all seem plug in. NOW that I read an old posting, it sounds like I have the ground issue like you mentioned. How did you fix that, put in a new ground wire to the battery? this site is great. michael

Well I got into the instrument panel for a CEL issue and found the CEL bulb missing. Got a replacement and now it stays on. But I think the code should be clear. i will be checking on that tomorrow. Now once I have the panel together, my fuel gauge went to low and the with my driver door open, I get the signal for door open for the driver side and the rear hatch. I checked the wires,and all seem plug in. Any ideas what I did to get the fuel gauge off and the when the door opens, the red open lights go on dim for the door and the rear hatch. Michael