porcupine73

Doing a bunch of work on my '96 2.2L Legacy brighton wagon....and I noticed a squeaky noise when I accidentally bumped/rotated the alternator pulley. So I checked it out some more....rotating it often results in a squeak sound...and the pulley does not turn evenly, it vibrates in the axial direction. Then I checked the bearings.....a small but noticeable amount of freeplay. So I figure why would a soob alternator do this? I think this vehicle had the recall for the brush at high rpm or whatever that was. Then I spot the label in the pic below on the bottom this alternator, so I peel it off to read it. What should I do about this issue?!

Ok yes that is a low voltage. Assuming the meter is good, could either be a bad cell in the battery or something like that, or a bad alternator, or one or more bad connections. How about engine running, all accessories turned off, idling, check voltage at terminals? I wouldn't drive the vehicle like that because it may die in traffic and/or leave you stranded.

Wow! Do those make turns without rubbing?

When you say the battery wouldn't go past 10 volts, is that reading right at the battery terminals, or is that a reading in the gauge cluster? Some number of '99s seem to have had clusters that went south.

http://www.wixfilters.com 4eat phase II ATF filter is Wix 51365 also Napa Gold, carquest and some others are rebadged Wix That's only for the phase II's. If you have a phase I without the spin on filter on the side of the trans (or in the LH fender for H6's) then it does not use this filter. Both the phase I and phase II have the suction strainer screen in the pan but those are almost never dirty.

The original question asked was "what would you pay for..." Different people are willing to pay different amounts for different things at different points in time. It doesn't mean there is anyone willing to sell the item at the price the person is willing to pay.

I put grease on the oil seal lip, all over it, to help prevent it from folding over on installation and give it some lubrication. Usually I put a little engine oil on the outside of the seal to help it drive in otherwise it can be a little tight. Sometimes I use RTV if I gouged up the hole the seal will sit in. Permatex grey gasket sealant (not ultra grey, though that would be good too) seems to work well. It is liquidy but when it dries a little it is kind of tacky, so it helps the seal go in then holds it in while sealing. If too much lube is on the outside of the seal, it seems to make it more likely to 'tip' on installation, like the bottom will suddenly go in way deep and the top will pop out.

Much gasoline does now contain 10% ethanol whether there is a label on the pump or not, as many states outlawed MTBE, the stuff that was previously used that someone mentioned that contaminates ground water. There are some areas left where you can get gas that doesn't contain ethanol.

Hi. Here's a pic of some fastcam bolts I got from summitracing.com I still don't know why they would say the camber is not adjustable (for the front) - the rear I think is non-adjustable on that style suspension (provided it's not multilink) without using at least one of these camber bolts per side. The soobs I believe are generally 14mm. You can certainly install the fastcam bolt yourself. Adjusting the camber can be more tricky, unless you want zero camber. I have done zero camber myself with a level and just iterative adjustments. If you try to adjust the camber yourself, you need a level surface like a concrete garage floor that is not sloped too much, and you have to pull the vehicle in and out between liftings and adjustments. The camber bolt (on the front) is the top bolt:

I think often vehicles are capable of running this fuel even if it's not a 'flex fuel vehicle' (FFV) or whatever they're calling them, maybe that's just what Ford was calling them. Some of the issue may come down to materials compatibility, such as the fuel tank, fuel lines, injectors, etc, as to if they can handle that much ethanol long term. Some boat owners have had issues with fiberglass fuel tanks with gasoline containing ethanol; not that your typical vehicle would have such a problem these days. Fuel economy on a vehicle not intended to run more than 10% ethanol (most soobs) might not be as good as an FFV vehicle whose ECU may be better able to use the energy.

'99 auto trans especially thoroughly check out. Some of the autos got the delayed shift into drive syndrome as well. I think also some number of the speedo heads went south. Then also the potential HG issue. Not at all saying it's not a good vehicle; just things to be aware of going in.

Was it the sensor for the temp gauge? Or was it the engine coolant temp sensor for the ECU?

It could just be a coincidence. The only truly oil level related code I've seen is on the newer variable valve timing engines. Can you get to an autozone or someplace that reads codes for free? Not sure if you're in the U.S.....

Go for it! But yes the drain plug only gets about half the fluid out. You can use an OEM ATF filter, they are like $25; you can get a Wix equivalent from Napa (Gold) or Carquest or others if desired.

Hi. Yes RH (passenger) inner boot is a common one to go at that mileage. I just had it happen on '00obw. The OEM axles are very durable. I'd either have the existing axle rebooted (if it hasn't been torn long enough to get grit in there), or go with a Subaru OEM reman or an MWE axles reman, or many people like GCK axles from the auto parts store. I wouldn't put an auto parts store reman in there at least no if it is an auto trans; too many complaints about some strange vibration when stopped in drive afterwards. If you are talking about the axle seal on the differential, then the retainer has to come off and there is an o-ring behind there too. This is the part: If you are talking about the inner axle seal on the bearing housing, that takes only a few minutes to pull the old one and drive a new one:

Looks like someone is selling five on eBay right now for about $12 ea. plus $4.55 shipping. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lisle-Tools-58430-Shaft-Type-Seal-Puller_W0QQitemZ260155485195QQcmdZViewItem Correction...four left!

Nice find OB99W. That does look interesting and just crazy enough to work! Looks like they go for $15-$20.

I got the craftsman seal puller; some people say it works great. I couldn't get mine to budge with it but did manage to scratch the cam with it.

Sometimes the dealer can be the issue. Only if the dealer is willing/comfortable/able to submit a warranty claim will they actually do it. Usually they have to confirm the customer's issue, diagnose (see the issue happen), determine the cause, correct the issue, and confirm the issue is corrected to get warranty reimbursement.

New one goes back in with a seal driver if you're driving flush, or a 1" schedule 40 pvc female/female joint adapter (any hardware store) works great for me. These can be tough to get in straight, at least in my experience, this is probably my least favorite job so far in automotive work. Make note not to drive too much further than the original is installed.

congrats! Ahhh yes, the trusty soobs, vehicles which were (are?) still servicable and have space to work. Well for most jobs anyway...

Where you can remove the cam cap, I just use a regular seal puller like from napa and it pulls right out. On the RH side where you have to pull the cam seal in place over the cam, the only method I have had work is to drill two small holes in the seal, screw in two small screws, and use pliers to pull the seal out. Nothing else seems to budge it. This time on 2.2L I tried some pullers and stuff and gouged the heck out of the cam which I could not smooth out even with 400 grit sandpaper and scotchbrite; hopefully it doesn't eat up the new seal.

Sure he would then have a working starter, but the rest of us would have had nothing to do in the meantime. hehe..

Sometimes they get so carboned up the valves can't close completely.

Sometimes but not always ngk spark plugs with oem plug wires takes care of this issue. Soobs can be picky about these items, esp around that era.