AEROCOOK

An electrical short in the main engine harness has the potential to damage thousands of dollars worth of electronic components throughout the car and this consequential damage may only be discovered after the harness was replaced. This being the case, it's likely the insurance company didn't want to take a chance that the harness alone was the only component that would need to be replaced. If it was repaired in 2012 and there are no current issues, you should be safe.

Thanks for the replies, I thought this thread was dead. I cant say for sure where the rattle is coming from but I'll try to simplify my question... Picture 2 is the driver side end of the tailgate, just about dead center of the picture there is a hole, does anything go into the hole?

My 98 Legacy wagon has an annoying tailgate rattle that I've been trying to fix for months. Yesterday I noticed that the two spring loaded rubber parts in the door opening do not make contact with the tailgate when it's closed. There is a hole on each side of the tailgate right where I'd expect the rubber pieces to make contact but there is a gap that I think may be causing my rattle. I'm wondering if there is a missing clip or something that fits into the hole? I knew this would be a difficult post to follow so I've provided pictures. Am I missing pieces?

Winter driving is my favorite part of owning a Subaru. I have a 98 Legacy L wagon 5 M/T and the thing is stable, predictable and unstoppable in the snow. I also have a 2002 4X4 Nissan Xterra 5 M/T but when there's snow on the road my choice is the Legacy. Only dislike is the road noise, The Legacy has a lot of driveline / engine noise, but hey, it's 17 years old with 320,000 kms on it so no complaints, just turn up the radio.

I didnt machine the flywheel because there was no blueing or signs of overheat and the original clutch didnt chatter at all so I thought it would be okay, sounds like this was a mistake on my part. I've become quite familiar with removal and install of the transmission since I've done it twice in the last month, this will be number three! I'll be machining the flywheel and installing a quill repair kit just to play it safe. Thanks for the input.

I wanted to add that the clutch kit I bought is AMS Automotive brand, they have a tech support number so I gave them a call. The person I spoke with hadn't heard of my issue though he did have a theory as to what may be causing it... He asked me about the condition of the quill (shaft housing) that the release bearing rides on, I told him there were some high and low areas and that the release bearing was fairly snug on the shaft, enough that the bearing didnt move freely on the quill, there was some resistance. His theory is that since the bearing was already snug on the quill that perhaps when it got up to operating temperature, the metal quill is expanding enough to make the bearing even tighter thus not releasing as freely as it should. Any thoughts on this theory?

I just finished replacing the clutch in my 98 Legacy and I now have fairly severe clutch chatter but only when warm. If the car is started cold and driven right away, it will not chatter for the first 10 to 15 minutes but once warm, it chatters on take off. I've searched for other posts on clutch chatter and it seems it typically occurs when cold and goes away when warm, which is completely opposite of my issue. Looking for ideas on the possible cause, can anyone offer up some wisdom?

I have one similar to that, it's a Geniscan GS300, and I use it all the time. I read the specs / features on the Maxiscan MS300 and I didn't see OBD II readiness monitor listed, this is a feature that my Geniscan GS300 has and I use it quite often. If the Maxiscan doesn't have this feature, I'd recommend spending a few more bucks and getting one that does.

I feel your pain, I also have a 98 Legacy wagon and a 17 year old son who's effectively become the car's sole driver, every time I drive it now I seem to find new problems. Step 1, find out which DTC codes are stored. As for the rattling noise, it could be a lot of things, try to narrow in on the specific area using a stethoscope or another suitable tool. When were the timing belt, water pump and idlers last replaced?

Once I had the tranny on the bench I was able to extract the roll pin by tapping it from the top side down, I wasn't able to do this while it was in the car. As for the broken bolts, I was able to get them out without much difficulty, fortunately there was around 3/4 of an inch of bolt still sticking out so I was able to heat them up and get vise grips on them. The hardest part was separating the rear cover fron the case, it took quite a while to accomplish that feat. I hope the new (used) center diff is good or I'll be doing it all over again in a few days, but at least there there wont be any broken seized parts to deal with if I do.

Well I got another center diff and went to do the swap but ran into more trouble than you could imagine... The outer roll pin was seized in the shift shaft, so I had to cut the shift joint off, I had a new one to put on anyway so no loss there except for the time it took, which was substantial. Four of the six bolts broke when I went to remove the rear cover, I even heated them before attempting to remove but they still wouldn't come out. After the bolts were out, (2 completely and 4 broken) I tried to separate the rear cover but It wouldn't budge, the remaining portions of the 4 broken bolts were seized in the rear cover preventing it from coming off. After several hours under the car I finally threw in the towel and just pulled the whole tranny out so I could work on it on the bench, even with the tranny on the bench, it still took another hour before I was able to get the cover off! Had enough for one day so I'll go back at it tomorrow. Just goes to show that sometimes, relatively simple repairs can bite you in the a** hard.

A word of advice if you plan on getting a scrap yard transmission. Save the center diff / viscous coupler assembly from your old transmission. Scrap yard cars are usually towed in, likely with the front wheels up and the rear wheels turning, this will toast the viscous coupler. It takes all of 10 minutes to remove the center diff if the transmission is already out, so it's worth the effort. Ask me why I know all of this.

Bingo! "Rust in peace"... I like that.

I have no intention of dropping the fuel tank, I'm going to re route the lines as best as I can and call it good.

After I created the original post, I decided to Google "Legacy brake line" and found tons of info, seems it's a common problem. I'll be replacing (and re-routing) both rear lines. I plan on putting compression fittings on the lines right under the rear seat cushion where they're easy to get at and corrosion free. I'll then route them down through the floor making use of the existing rubber seal and from there, I'll find a suitable route to the wheels. Since I've decided to replace both lines, determining which line goes to which wheel is a no brainer now. Thanks for the reply.