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Found it. Part # 806730031 http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partdetail.php?partid=15394 Three different Subaru dealerships gave me three different part numbers that I needed... and none of them were right. One was at least close but he had the manual transmission part number.

I'm swapping the front passenger axle on my '02 Outback (as anyone who read this thread will know). With the axle out, Subaru recommends swapping the axle shaft seal. They gave me a part number (which they did not have stock of) and I purchased the cross-referenced part number from AutoZone. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit. Here's the picture without the seal: You can see where I believe that seal is supposed to fit - inside the inner most metal ring. We had to scrape the old seal out because it was falling apart. The new seal is clearly too big. It neither fits inside the inner ring, nor between the two rings: Only I can't figure out what seal I'm supposed to buy. The local Subaru place just parroted back the same part number they gave me initially (806732030). I verified that the auto parts place sold me the correct cross-referenced number, and checked the dimensions against the OEM part that I found online. It all checks out, so I have the seal that Subaru recommended, it's just not right. Thoughts? Does anyone have this part number? Thanks and sorry in advance for my n00b-ness! I have never had a garage to work on my car before, so I'm learning as I go.

Thanks for the feedback, guys. grossgary; I couldn't leave the bolt as-is because of what we had done to it trying to get it out. Thinking back on it, of course it would have been much easier to remove the strut bolts and I will definitely do that if we have to do the other side - thanks for the tip. I found a recently pulled knuckle that's getting shipped to me so I'll take a look at it once it gets here. If it looks good, I'll use it. If not, we may go the route of just drilling the hell out of the bolt and pinching it with a nut. Just wish I hadn't been a bonehead in the first place and I wouldn't be replacing it. Live and learn, though, this was my first axle job and it actually went well except for that - and needing a 4' cheater bar to take the axle nut off.

Thanks for that link. Wouldn't you know it, the guy 30 miles from my house has had the steering knuckle I need on his shelf for 2 years, and last week someone bought it.

I was replacing the front right axle in my 2002 Subaru Outback and the bolt that pinches the ball joint in the spindle sheared right off at the head. There's a fair amount of rust down there from being driven in New England for so many years, but of all the bolts to shear off... that one sucked. We tried using a bolt extractor and managed to break the extractor. Surprisingly easily. So one side of the bolt now has a hardened extractor semi-permanently embedded into it. Being that it was late and we were tired as hell, I had the genius idea to drill out the bolt from the other side - with, as you can expect, predictably bad results. Some of the threads are damaged now. So, here's my question. That's an expensive piece of metal, not to mention the wheel bearings pressed into it. I'm wondering if it'd be safe to take it to a machine shop and drill it out to a larger size? I do not want to compromise the integrity of the part, of course, I'm just trying to avoid spending $250 on the knuckle and $100 on wheel bearings. Any other options? Would have done it a lot different in retrospect, but hindsight is always 20/20.

So is it, in fact, a powered amp? It's a little Clarion box, and there are four leads off it - two to the antenna, one that heads up front (to the head unit presumably) and one that heads back (power?). If it's powered, where is the ground?

See, the Pioneer Supertuner was just fine. It's only after I've switched to my Blaupunkt that my reception dropped - but the reception was fine with the same Blaupunkt in my Forester...

Okay, so I just got a 2002 Subaru Outback The previous owner had XM, so the car has an XM antenna, box, and all the associated wiring. I replaced the head unit (whose ergonomics were freakin' terrible) with my aging Blaupunkt. My FM reception, which was fine with the Pioneer XM radio, and was fine with my Blaupunkt in my other car, is now terrible. I'm not entirely sure why this is the case, and was hoping that someone could help me troubleshoot it. The adapter that I must use for the Blaupunkt antenna connection is clearly cheap, but it is definitely making contact - I get zero reception when I unplug it, but pick up channels with it plugged in. The adapter was in use on the other car, though, and caused no problems. As far as I can determine, none of the XM wiring is interfering with any of the antenna wiring, so I think I can rule that out as the cause. I found what looks like a little powered amplifier(?) when looking at the antenna wiring - my reception is unchanged between having the car on and having the car off, but I don't know if that means anything. Could it be that this style of window antenna is just not good enough? Can I install a reasonable aftermarket antenna without too much hassle? Crutchfield lists none of their antennas as being compatible with this vehicle but I'm guessing that's because anything I do will require a modification of some sort since there's no antenna to replace, right? Suggestions for antennas? Thanks in advance!

Yep. The cat in my Forester just died and had to be replaced last year. Is there something I can do to help prolong its life on the Outback? Well, frankly, no - in that, I've not actually seen one in my hands to confirm. But it's a very reputable dealer, so as best I can tell it's very likely to be an OE sensor. Thanks for the info about the head gaskets, Gary.

They've been OEM sensors from the dealership. They've basically been replacing them for free because they've been failing so frequently. Nobody can pinpoint the problem. Catalytic converter has been coming up on the check engine light, which is why I'm assuming it needs one. I thought the 2002 Outbacks were not prone to this issue? Perhaps it shouldn't be :-p. I guess I'm mostly concerned that this car has seemed to require more minor (non-wear) maintenance than the Forester. Thanks for the help so far... Anyone have any other issues I should be keeping an eye out for on the 2002 Outback wagons?

So, I've received an offer to basically be given a 2002 Subaru Outback wagon with 125,000 miles on it. This would replace a 1998 Subaru Forester with 155k. The Outback has had quite a few niggling seal problems. Estimated about $1100 in oil seals here and there, oil pan, valve gasket cover, etc. Also, for some reason, oxygen sensors keep going - been through 4 in the last 4-5 years. It's also - ugh - an automatic. Those are my concerns. On the plus side, it's been fanatically maintained, is spotless and mechanically excellent. It is possible that the catalytic converter will need to be replaced soon, which will not be cheap. The Forester has been fairly mechnically sound. Wear items here and there have gone, plus a couple sensors. It needs a timing belt in the next 5000 miles, the clutch is on its way out, and it uses a lot of oil and refrigerant, so I figure the clutch/timing belt will offset the potential catalytic converter replacement on the Outback. My question to the experienced Subaru heads is, am I stupid to not take the Outback? If I take it, I drive it - it's not an option to sell it. I'm just trying to get a handle on if I can expect continuous seal problems, and if the oxygen sensors will just have to be replaced yearly. Is the older Forester with more miles a more reliable bet? Are the oxygen sensors easily replaceable at home? What's a catalytic converter replacement going to run me? Thanks for any insight you can provide. I hate the idea of going back to an automatic but feel that this may be a time to swallow my ideals and save myself some money for a couple more years before buying something newer.

Aha. Thanks for the response. Two things: I'm not much of an experienced mechanic. I'm mechanically inclined but have not done much work on my car outside of brake jobs and other such simple tasks. Is this something I could replace easily (i.e. accessible without taking much apart)? Second thing, as an extension of me having done little work on my car, I only have a vague idea of where that would be located . Could you give me more specifics or perhaps a photo? I scoured Google for a bit but came up dry.

Lately my 1998 Forester (5-speed) has been a little iffy with the reverse light. Sometimes it comes on when I shift into reverse, sometimes not... but often if I gently whack the shifter a couple times back into the reverse slot, it'll pop on... only to go off again if I hit a bump. Now, the shifter has gone loose on the left side - it won't center after popping it out of first/second gear. I found this thread regarding my second issue: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=57767 I think I can probably handle that repair myself. My question is, are these two issues related? In either case, anyone have any idea as to what is causing the reverse light issue, and if I can fix it myself? Thanks.

Okay, just replaced the DOT3 with DOT4, and let me tell you, the fluid was filthy. Absolutely filthy - cloudy with black sediment. After bleeding the system, everything feels awesome. The clutch, under normal circumstances and not regarding my initial problem, feels 100% better. Setright; I just want to mention that next time you give someone these instructions, mention that they'll need to pump the clutch 15-20 times in between bleeds. My clutch wouldn't come back up and my heart stopped briefly I scratched my head a bit, fiddled a bit, then took a few deep breaths, calmed down, and thought maybe it was like bleeding brakes and you needed to pump it. Sure enough, it worked! Thanks for the help, everyone.

Bump. The clutch fluid reservoir says "USE DOT 3 ONLY" on it. Can I use DOT4 without any issues? I only ask because I've got a container of DOT4 but would have to buy DOT3, and I'm a cheap bastard

Sounds, again, like bleeding the brakes on my bike - something I haven't tried on my Forester yet but am planning on. I think I can handle that. I'll poke around and find my slave cylinder and fluid reservoir tonight. Appreciate the help! hutch, I think that's just a return spring under there - at least, that's what I've been told :-p . Can't imagine what playing with it is doing, maybe it's just placebo in that getting out of your car, sticking your head under the dash and fussing with it is giving enough time for your clutch fluid to cool down?

I checked the boot and no problems there. Setright, is this something that's easy to do at home? I'm going to be honest here, I don't really have much of a clue when it comes to this stuff, however, I'm fairly mechanically inclined, smart, and patient so I don't have any problem attempting something if I have a guide. I found a great guide to changing my brake pads (which I did this past weekend, and found it shockingly easy and exactly the same, on a larger scale, as doing it on my mountain bike ), complete with pictures. Anything like that floating around? Is it even worth it, or is it something a shop will do for a few bucks and I shouldn't bother? Thanks.

Thanks George, I'll take a look at that. Sounds like that would be causing problems all the time, though - the clutch works normally most of the time, and these symptoms only crop up when I've been in heavy traffic for a long time, or possibly when it's unusually hot out. I'll check it out, though... I'd be happy if it were something that simple!

Alrighty, I did some searching before I posted but apparently not enough. I came across this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41393 Sounds like this may be my problem... Is this something I should take to a shop to get fixed? I can do things like brake pads/spark plugs/oil/etc., really basic repairs like that - this looks like something I shouldn't tackle. Any idea of the cost for something like this? A friend suggested the fluid might just be low - is it possible that's the only problem?

Hey - I have a question about a clutch on a 98 Subaru Forester. Occasionally, it starts acting funny. The catch point seems to sink really close to the floor, and has a very narrow catch range. It also becomes very easy to push the clutch to the catch point - there's not as much resistance as there usually is. Once it hits that catch point, I feel resistance again but there is almost no resistance at all up until that point. This tends to happen after I've been in heavy traffic and using it a lot. It MAY happen more frequently on really hot days - it's possible that it's just a coincidence, but I noticed it happen a couple times much sooner than normal on some super hot days we've had. Only leaving the car alone for several hours causes the clutch to feel normal again. Any ideas as to what might be causing this? Is this symptomatic of my clutch needing replacement?

Well, I went ahead and had the shop do the rears. The spring retainer had broken loose and was beginning to wear a groove in my tire; between my lack of time and my needing my car to be in running order right away, I couldn't afford to do it myself. The fronts will need replacing eventually, and I'll probably do that myself, since I can do it at my leisure, when I've got a weekend free or something. Thanks again for the advice, guys. I've got the thread bookmarked for future reference!

That's sound advice. I think I'm going to do that - it's getting dark when I get out of work, and I've got my consulting job on the side which means I'm working nearly 80 hours a week. I suppose it was more wistful thinking that I wouldn't have to drop $200 on installation... oh well. Thanks for the info on the struts anyway - I'll tuck it away in the back of my head if I'm ever in the position that I have time to take on a task like that.

Hey everyone - First post here, so hello. Looks like you guys have a great resource going here. I've done a search, and couldn't find the information I was looking for. I've got a busted strut on the back of my 1998 Subaru Forester. Now, I'm not a mechanic, but I'm mechanically inclined (I work on mountain bikes a lot and have a fairly good working knowledge of cars - enough to change brakepads, oil, etc.) and have some tools. The question is, is this a procedure that can be done at home with a little patience and some time? The shop quoted me almost $200 to install, and $200 buys a lot of my time. I just haven't done it before, and frankly, don't want to undertake a project that is going to leave me frustrated or lacking a tool that I need. Plus, it's getting dark early, I'm working late, and I'm not sure how long it will take. What am I looking at to do this? Should I just say "Screw It" and pay the mechanic? If not, where can I find some instruction on the procedure? Thanks in advance for your advice!