johnceggleston

perhaps clean up the threads with the current size tap and a new bolt.

did you check your power steering fluid, it uses atf ? if it's over filled, i think i'd drain it and fill to the correct level.

the masters appear to be the same. there is a difference in the 'check valve' that leads to the rears. the outbacks appear to be larger.

i think the rears are the same, outback vs. legacy l 95 -99.

i added heated seats to a 97 gt and my 97 outback came that way. but my 96 leg donor car didn't have the wiring, i don't think. my conclusion, if heated seats were an option for your car, then the wiring is there. you just need the seats and the switches. i'm not familiar with the '02 interior, i know the seats will swap, but i don't know if the switches on the console are the same. probably are. before you throw away the old seats, make sure your seat belts connect to the new seat belt clip. they changed them between 96 - 97 so double check to make sure they didn't change them again. they are easy to swap. as mike said look for the wiring, i'd remove the 2 screws that hold down the center console cover around the hand brake and look for unused connectors. one of mine was blue, the other tan maybe. the wires under the seats are harder to find, no sense going to that trouble, if the other end isn't there. what year is your car?

i'm thinking about upgrading the front brakes on a 95 lego w/ 14" wheels to the brakes from an outback w/ 15" wheels (plus the wheels and the struts of course): i know the caliper/bracket will bolt right on and the rotor is a no brainer, but do i have to change the 'backing plate' ? anything else i'm missing? is the stopping power that much better? i have always wondered why there are different brakes in the first place, the outback isn't that much heavier or that much faster than the lego, why bigger brakes? just to fill up the space behind the wheel? just thinking....

you might consider adjusting the speedo to indicate the correct mileage. since the there has only been one owner, when you buy it the speedo mileage may look accurate. if there isn't anything on a carfax report about the mileage, when you sell it will just look like you drove it a lot in a short time. of course this doesn't matter if you keep the car, but it will be slightly more accurate for the next buyer. i have read that it isn't too hard to advance the speedo, just don't try to turn it backwards. just a thought.

when i did my 2.2 swap, i took the advice of someone here, start loose, if it squeals, tighten it up. this approach helps avoid over tightening and possible damage. if it starts off squealing just a little, it will get worse if left unaddressed. and it will deposit black soot-like rubber on your alt. and other stuff.

the timing belt isn't due until 105k so it probably hasn't been done. depending on who you ask, head gasket will go, it's just a matter of time, some went at 60k, but the ones i'm seeing for sale now are around the 160 - 190 mark. so who knows. but the $ question you have to ask is, if you have to do the gaskets this fall, will you still be happy with your purchase. some of the 99s w/ auto tend to develope a delay to engage from N to D. but folks have had good luck using 'trans-x' to correct the problem. apparently there is a seal that 'shrinks'? and causes the problem. this trans-x additive for this problem is one of the few times anyone suggests an additive for subarus. (seafoam is another.) enjoy the car, i would be so tempted to do the timing belt sell it for $5K and smile.

http://opposedforces.com/parts/

if he put the fuse in it's AWD, did he say he put the fuse in?

you are right, they do smell different, but over the net they tend to smell the same.

check your axle boots.

i seem to remember someone having trans? shift? problems when they added extra grounds. am i nuts... any one else remember this?

it probably has bent valves, but before you pull the heads, hang a new belt and pulley / pump and start it up. you might get lucky. you will use the belt and pulley on the replacement if you swap the engine so it's not a waste of money. do a compression check and maybe a vacuum gauge if it doesn't run well. no reason to crack it open if it's good and running some test might tell you about the heads and pistons.

the seperator plate is behind the flywheel / flexplate on the back side of the engine. a leak there will put very little oil on any part of the engine except the rear bottom where it meets the trans. it will, however, oil up everything from there back. if you have oil on the middle or front part of the engine bottom, it's probably not the seperator plate. for most owners, pulling the engine to replace the seperator plate is a lot of work which they are reluctant to do unless they are pulling the engine for some other reason. there are lots of places that can leak on the front of the engine which can be repaired with out pulling the engine. (and will also oil up the entire under side of it.) i would address the leaks on the front of the engine first, before pulling the engine, assuming there are some, unless you just want to get close to your car. then determine if the seperator plate needs to be addressed. leaks to look for on the front of the engine: crank shaft seal behind crank pulley. cam shaft seals behind the cam sprockets. oil pump o-ring and pump impeller screwes, behind the oil pump which is behind the crank pulley. all of these require removing crank pulley/harmonic balancer, timing belt covers and timing belt. just removing the cam sprocket covers may show you if it's leaking there. for a leak as bad as you have described, my bet is the oil pump oring or the pump backing plate screws. i think the sep plate would have to be cracked or broken to leak that much, but i'm sure stranger things have happened. let us know what you learn after you have the bottm side cleaned. EDIT: it is very possible that the selling mechanic replaced the easy stuff not realizing that the with just a little more work he could have resolved all the leaks. it is also possible that he did all the front leaks and sold you the car suggesting the oil pan gasket knowing it was really the sep plate and knowing the engine had to come out to fix it which was more work than he wanted to put in to it.

these subaru auto trans have a hard 1-2 shift, especially if accelerating hard. and maybe harder cold than warm, but i'm not sure, i'm used to how mine shifts. does it 'jolt' when the trans is warm and you are just driving away from a stop? the delay and surge is worrisome, is that in the 1-2 shift or the 2-3 shift? a 2-3 shift problem can be caused by a dirty tps? i think. changing the fluid can't hurt and is good insurance for the long haul, but if there is internal damage or exsessive wear, it may not help.

11831AA080 or 11831AA150 must be metal, and don't for get the screws.

that sounds about right. i used a screwdriver to pry the tensioner over with one hand and tightened a bolt with the other.

i didn't know the seperater plate would leak that much, a pupple under the car sound like oil pump to me. if you let the engine idle in the drive way, where's the puddle, front or rear of the engine? is the trans oily or engine and trans?

if the crank was in it's 'proper' timing position, the valves won't touch the pistons. even if the pistons were in the wrong place, i doubt there would be any damage, you weren't turning it at 3000 rpms. you should be ok. there's even some evidence to support the idea that the 97 - 98 ej22 are 'free wheeling' but i wouldn't bet on it (endwrench.com). the repair cost is too high to take the risk.

so if i hated to change my plugs, but hated to pay for it more, what plug should i use for extra, extra, very, very long plug life?

have you tried higher octane gas? with prices still sorta low it might be worth a try. i thought back fires were a timing iossue.

so i finally got around to fixing my speedo needle problem. i removed the cluster, and then removed the clear lexan cover and then reinstalled the cluster no cover. i removed the speedo needle and started the car, and then re-installed the needle so it pointed to '0' with the car on and not moving. then i went for a test drive. well, it was still off, about 7 mph too fast @ 65 mph, but not as bad as before. so i stopped at an exit to try to adjust the needle yet again. but here's the problem. how to install the needle so it reads 7 mph slower with the engine running and sitting still. the pin/peg is in the way and i can't install it past the peg and 'lift' it over, i have already broken one needle. what the hell, it's not right now, so i go for broke. with the needle installed and the ignition off, i use my finger to turn it all the way around past the 120 mph mark. i only had to push it past the top of the speedo and gravity took over. it came to rest past the 6 oclock position but not as far as the 7 oclock position. so i pulled the needle off and reinstalled it at 6 oclock. manually pushed it back around to '0' and went for a test drive. i ended up with the spedo ~1.5 mph faster than actual speed. not bad, i'll always be slower than it says i am. i think this needle adjustment method would work for legacys with outback tires, but since those are a percentage off, you could adjust it to be fairly accurate at hiway speeds, but it may not be accurate at neighborhood speeds. since i started this i have learned that the speedo drive gears for the legacy are different than those for the outback; and the GT is different yet again. apparently, generally speaking, the speedo drive gears are designed to match the final drive and tire size but since the GT has the outback final drive and the legacy size tires they added a 'special size' drive gear for 96 - 97 (98?) GTs. any way i got my speedo to read correctly and i'm happy, well satisfied with my car anyway. john 97 GT wagon 2.2L a/t 125k, i hope the car last long enough to put another 200k on it, but at 12k a year, that's a long time.

is this a DOHC or single??