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Whoops, sorry, meant to mention that it's an '02 Outback 2.5L The shop just called back and said they replaced the axle and everything seems fine. The CV boot was leaking, and it's possible that I cut it when I was getting the old strut out. I'm very relieved now. It's an expensive day, but I didn't think they were going to work on it until later, and I was worried it was going to be far, far more expensive than it turned out.

Yesterday I attempted to replace my struts. Had a *************** of a time because my air compressor couldn't keep up with the impact wrench, so I wound up compressing the springs with the coil compressor tool and a breaker bar. It took all afternoon but finally got the left front replaced before it was dark and it was time to stop for the night. This morning I drove the car an immediately realized something was wrong. Got it to the shop, and he called and said that I managed to pop the axle part way out of the transmission, though the strut looked good. So how much damage did I likely cause? Is there any way to know? I drove about 3 miles to the shop, never more than 30 mph. The vibration caused by the messed up axle was worse under acceleration and turns to the right, but went away when turning to the left. I'm waiting for a call from the shop, and going stir crazy while I wait.

Thanks guys, I'd finally figured it out and then came back here and found that you guys confirmed it. I can't seem to find any source that's consistent. One parts catalog lists the smaller PCV (the one I have) as fitting all '95-'01 2.5L engines, another one lists the same part as fitting all 2000-07, and yet another one shows that the larger PCV is the right one up to '05. I found the right part anyway, and my local dealer happened to have one left, so now I'm a happy camper :-)

Went to replace my PCV yesterday and found that there's no valve in it, it's just a straight pipe. Does this mean that someone replaced the wrong part in the past, or what? The replacement I got from the parts guy is the wrong size. Mine uses a smaller diameter hose, while the one he gave me uses a pretty big hose. Mine is an early '02. All the parts catalogs I've looked at say that the same part should fit '01-'08. Cany anyone help me out? How do I find the right PCV, and should it have a valve in it?

That looks like it. I'll call the junk yard tomorrow, and try to see if I can repair it somehow before I spring $85 for that little thing. Edit: I searched on that part number and ran across a thread on NASIOC where folks posted that they fixed it with JB Weld. I'll give that a shot first.

2002 OBW, 2.5L... I tried to pull this hose out of the way and the lower fitting broke off. It attaches to a plastic piece that's underneath the ignition coil, underneath the intake manifold. I've tried identifying it in the Intake/Induction system diagram and can't locate it. It draws a vacuum while only the upper end is connected, and with the lower end disconnected my idle is a little high. Can anyone help? I'm guessing I'm going to have to go to a dealer to find the part. Thanks in advance for any help!

I just paid $5900 in a private sale for clean and well-maintained '02 with the all weather package and 106k miles. Timing belt, water pump, and head gaskets had all been replaced. That was the low end for a car like that in my area. Anything lower in price was older, in rougher condition, had problems, was a lower trim level, had more miles, or was a combination of those.

I'm curious to know what causes that trademark Subaru engine clatter, and how much is okay. I've heard that it's pistons, I've heard that it's valves... My 2.2 in my '98 Impreza only does it when it's very cold, and the sound goes away when the engine is warm. I test drove an '02 Outback last week that was doing it on a 40 degree day. The seller told me that it's normal for a Subaru, but it seemed excessive.

"I read it on the internet, so it must be true!" :-)

Please don't take this as a sign of disrespect, but when you have access to a factory trained mechanic who has worked on literally hundreds of these things, you'd be wise to follow his advice. This is also the first time I've heard of this job being described as "relatively easy." Doable, yes... but it would probably take me far longer to do than I can really make time for, which would mean paying someone else lots of money to do it for me.

So I'm shopping for a Gen II Outback, and found that my local dealer's service department has been very helpful in looking up the service history on prospective targets for me. There's a real sweet '02 Outback LTD for sale, but no history of the headgaskets being replaced. I asked the service guy "Am I making too big of a deal about this? Would you buy one that hadn't already had the headgasket replaced?" His answer: an emphatic "NO." Doesn't get more cut and dried than that. To hell with Phase I vs. Phase II. His experience is that if the factory headgasket hasn't already failed, it most likely will.

Didn't the 2000 models have the Phase I DOHC engine with the headgasket problem? I'm getting conflicting information everywhere I read.

The 2000 model has the DOHC phase I engine, which is almost guaranteed to need a head gasket if it wasn't done already. If I found a really clean one really cheap I might look at it, but my experience with 10+ year old cars is that even if the drivetrain is good, everything else is getting worn out. Doors don't seal, windows get a little wobbly, they rattle like a maraca going down the road... That's what my '98 Impreza is like now, and it's how my '96 was in 2007. Trying to get something a little newer.

The "electrically charged wind storm" won't have any effect. If there was enough electricity in the air to disrupt your alternator, you'd be feeling like you were about to be struck by lightning. You're getting low voltage out of your alternator. This can be caused by bad connections, bad cables, bad belts, or a bad alternator. On a car that old, it wouldn't be at all uncommon if the negative battery cable is badly corroded where it connects to the frame. It's always best to diagnose the problem instead of guessing at solutions. So, either do like Mike said and test it your self, or do like Rooster said and have the parts guy do a charging system test. Personally, I like option B better because it's a more thorough test.

Thanks for updating the info, and I promise that I won't hold any mistakes against you So here's what the Service Campaign says: 1999-2002 2.5L engines may experience a leak Only Phase II engines are affected by the campaign (1999 and later) In 2002 they fixed the problem at the factory So... if I buy a late '02 or later model, it shouldn't be an issue, right?