johnceggleston

there is no chance the the splines are bad. there is a chance they are rusty and a bear to remove, you may need a puller from an auto parts loan-a-tool program. but you won't know until you get there. use lots of PB blaster, let it soak. keep it off the rotor. if the bearing isn't making noise now, it will not change as a result of the swap UNLESS, you remove axle nut with the car on the ground. putting weight on the hub/bearing assembly without the axle nut on is bad, bad, bad. you can break it loose with the tire on the ground but not very much. it's really safer to have some one pushing the brake pedal while removing the axle nut with the wheel off the ground. or air wrench. i recommend anti-seize for the splines so it's easier next time. it's very straight forward, except for the rust issue. be sure to mark the strut bolt as mentioned in the write up. if you had an extra roll pin (for the axle to trans connection ) that might save you some head ache but lots of people reuse the existing one so it's not necessary. make sure to use a 3/16" punch to remove it. too large will get stuck, too small will booger the pin. gyood luck.

to change the front diff you have to pull the trans, seperate the front diff, replace the front diff , install the trans. let's call it 5 - 6 hrs. labor @ $75 plus the front diff, if you can find one. to replace the trans, remove and install. call it 3-4 hrs. plu the trans. my guess is that the used trans is easier to find and install. where on earth would find a used front diff. now, if you had a used bad trans sitting around for parts, then i might consider just the diff. the work is not that hard, but....

major re-write edit: the gear that drives the speed sensor rotates with ring gear. this is after the gear reduction, 4.11:1. the speedometer doesn't care how fast the trans is turning, just how fast the ring gear is turning. assuming the ECU just counts the wheel rotations to get a mile, you'll be ok. this assume that the speedo drive gear on the 4.11 diff is the same as the drive gear on the 4.44 diff. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v204/All_talk/Subaru/4EAT/?action=view&current=Image019.jpg

final drive note: i think i read somewhere the the final drive in a FWD trans was 3.7. this must be for a manual trans since it's a pretty long way from the 2.2L - 4.11 or the 2.5L - 4.44 in other autos. i have also come the the conclusion the the final drive ratio, although different between the 2.2 and the 2.5 engines, it is really based on the wheel circumference. there is no logical reason why a more powerful 2.5L engine needs a more powerful final drive ratio. but in the early days, the cars that came with the 2.5L engine also came with larger wheels. larger wheels would be a reason for a more powerful final drive ratio. so you may lose some power and gain some economy with this swap. let us know if you notice any change.

TCU note: after i swapped the 96 trans into the 95 (it runs fine) i then swapped the TCU to see what difference that made. it was not happy. the TCUs are apparently programmed for the car, size and weight, and the shift characteristics, GT vs outback. so i'd stick with the one that came in the car unless it throws a code because of the FWD.

i put a 96 wagon 4eat AWD into a 95 sedan with no problems. i don't know the real difference between the model years, but the operational difference is none. i bet the reverse swap will work as well. i saw some cheap (250 -350) FWD trannys on car-part.com, how far is henderson auto in scottdale, pa, 3 @ $150 or staunton, va, $275 ords auto parts. good luck.

if you have a bad 2.2L trans sitting around , just swap the front diff. it shouln't take but a couple of hours once the trans is out and i would think you'd have have one considereing how many legacys you go thru. just a thought.

i've got used wheel sensors from a 96 leg wagon if you need them.

this is probably too little too late, but if you removed the clutch plates from the AWD transfer clutch, wouldn't that make it FWD. of course that doesn't do anything about swapping out a bad trans.

i saw a justy for sale on ebay recently, mid 80s i think, and the picture of the engine made it look like the engine was side ways. i've never seen one in person, but i was wondering if this was true? i've thought of buying one for around town, but i'd never sell my outback, so how many miles would i have to drive to save enough money to offset the cost of ownership, taxes, insurance and registration? probably not worth it.

click on the search tab at the top of this page and type in 'trannychart'. you'll find a link which will deliver a list of all manual transmissions, foreign and domestic with the gear ratios, final drive ratios and type of AWD center differential.

he has a 5 speed 2.5L, it's 4.11. 95 - 99 legacy final drive ratios auto trans 2.2L = 4.11 2.5L = 4.44 5 speed 2.2L = 3.9 2.5L = 4.11 i have always assumed that the reason they lowered gearing in the final drive in the when they used the 2.5L engine was because generally the cars were heavier and needed it. but now i wonder if the final drive ratio isn't more associated with the wheel / tire circumference. in 96 when they introduced the 2.5L engine with the 4.44 final drive, every car they put in had 15" wheels (i think) outback, GT, and LSi. why would a more powerful engine need a more powerful final drive ratio? i can see where a bigger wheel would need one. just a thought.

search trranychart.

fix the car, either do the head gaskets or swap in a 2.2L engine. drive it 100k and you'll make out ok. will you have other expenses down the road, sure, but they should come in 300-400 intervals for maintanence. the next big one will be timing belt at 200k. when the loans paid, re-evaluate. how many miles have you driven it, how much have invested, how much do you like it, how much can you get for it.?

it may not be the pan gasket. there is a sperator plate behind the flywheel that is notorious for leaking. thet come from the factory with plastic plates, the fix is a replacement metal one. but you have to pull the engine. make, model and miles??

i'm not 100% sure but, i'm pretty sure in the 1st & 2nd pictures with the big 'JH' on it is the Transmission Control Unit. is this what you are looking for?. http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3135/straightrz9.jpg

nipper, a great explanation. 1/4 inch difference, over approx. 700 revolutions in a mile (depends on the tire size) equals over 15 feet. now, how many miles will it take to cause damage? if you were buying a car, and the seller said there was just one little thing, "for every mile you drive, one tire will have to drag, unturning, across the pavement the last 15 feet". would you buy the car? obviously not the same, but the wear and tear takes place, just the same, if your tires do not match. it just happens to the internal parts.

someone comment recently that they could not get it to seat with the shaft in the trans. so they pulled it out, seated the shaft to the TC first and then installed the shaft into the trans. i'm not sure of the difference, but it worked for them. some one else said it wasn't to hard to do, once you knew to do it. but not knowing made you think it was seated when it was not. it can't be too hard, those of us doing it are not rocket scientists, well... i guess some are. good luck, Mr. W. Coyote Head of Marketing Acme Rockets

if you haven't towed a trailer before, you'll need to learn once you start. take it easy. tip #1... to back up, place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and push your hand the direction you want the trailer to go. don't think about it, just do it. 2. plan ahead, stop sooner, go slower, and make wider turns. think in advance about where you can park. especially at fast food places, parking is easier at off peak times. 3. your vehicle is now twice as long, it takes twice as long to cross over a lane of traffic so you can't dart out of a drive way any more. you'll need more time and distance. when passing it 's going to take a while to know when you can pull back into the right lane. 4. no sudden moves or steering corrections. so you have to keep your eyes on the road all the time. no more looking down to adjust the radio, if you look up and you are off course you can't just jerk it back on track. the weight of the trailer makes it act different. it could be dangerous. 5. no talking on the cell phone, reading directions, eating or alcohol. you don't need these distractions. since you'll be relaxing on vacation(?) pull over to make the call. i'm sure there are more. your situation may not be as sever as mine, my work trailer weighs 25% more than my truck, ford f-350. yours will weigh about half, but still, take it easy. my work trailer has brakes. i then pulled a 96 legacy wagon on a car dolly, i was very surprised. the load without brakes was about half of the big trailer but it didn't have brakes. my stopping distance was noticeable longer, i wasn't sure i was going to stop before i hit the car in front of me. get trailer brakes and have fun.

what's " a ong 18mm spark plug non fouler" ??? this sounds like what i need on my 95 leg w/ p0420 code, it comes and goes. thanks

why the rebuild, what's wrong with your trans? what are the symptons, bearing noise?

how much work / money to replace the input shaft bearing? obviously the throwout bearing would be done with the clutch, but i have no knowlege of the input shaft bearing. it sounds like it's doable when the clutch ids done.

i'm going to drive the car today or tomorrow so my information is all from the owner. he said the noise stops when you push in the clutch. according to murphy, this porbably means input shaft bearing. but the guy did say he's not a mechanic and doesn't know what it is, this could be a dodge. he said he might take it to a shop to get it checked out. i can't believe he's selling without having done that, but who knows? he commutes 200 miles a day round trip 4 days a week. that's a lot of miles, 40k a year. i'm not sure how long he's been doing it. but he's gotten a different car. i'll test drive it and check to see if the noise is present with the clutch pedal depressed (throwout bearing) or while in gear driving (input shaft bearing ?) and/or not present in neutral (confirms input bearing ?). does this sound about right? once the trans is out of the car, how much work to swap the input bearing or should i just plan on swapping the trans? or this a situation where if you have more time you do one and more money you do the other? EDIT: what changes did they make between 98 and 99 on the manual trans, bolt pattern, what else? thanks, john

i have a 400 watt inverter which can handle my laptop. but i plugged in my cell phone charger (120v) the other day and the warning tone on the inverter would sound occasionally, mostly at stop lights. so i think my problem is one of 2 things, either the altenator is bad, or there is sever voltage drop in the wire run to the lighter. running heavy gage wires to the battery would be good. if her laptop battery is good, it will run the laptop and the inverter will charge it. the printer is just a straight pull. how about adding a Uninteruptable Power Supply (charger, battery, inverter) this would give you power for a limited time and you could leave it plugged in while you drive around keeping it topped up. then it's just a matter of size and money.

i'm looking at a 97 outback with 180k miles w/ manual trans and a noise. the noise goes away when you push in the clutch. would a new clutch , throwout bearing and pilot bearing fix this and how much for parts, how much for labor?? thanks, john