porcupine73

Hello, I'm replacing the timing belt and water pump on my '00 OBW 105k mi and was wondering if I should consider pulling the oil pump, replacing the o-ring, and resealing it with Permatex Ultra Grey, or, since it's not leakingnow , should I just leave well enough alone? Thanks, Louis

I've had good results from http://subaru-parts-dealer.com/ I've ordered a lot of parts from them, it's all OEM, I think they're a Subaru dealer in South Dakota. Only thing is if they don't have the part in stock, then they have to order it from Subaru first, then ship it to you, which for me tends to take about 8 business days to get product after order. Basic stuff like fuel filters and stuff I think they stock. There are a lot of online Subaru parts dealers who use that Trade Motion site (including the one I mentioned above), which is pretty easy to use, but their organization of parts and their diagrams leave a LOT to be desired. A lot of their diagrams don't show all the parts in that assembly (i.e. the strut/spring/mount assemblies). So I always compare with the OEM service manual diagrams and usually I end up having to e-mail my list of parts in instead of or in addition to ordering on the site.

Dude you're too much and you have way too much time on your hands! Just kidding, but seriously that is really cool and looks like it was a lot of fun and this is the neatest thing I've seen in a while!

I would think adjusting that screw would simply make the ECU think you had your foot on the gas a little. I think maybe the normal idle ranges are on one of those 800 stickers on the underside of the hood somewhere....?

Thanks a bunch for the info Commuter and Gnuman. Interesting info on the coolant conditioner. Maybe I'll just leave it out and watch for the external head gasket leaks. I will plan to do everything else you mentioned, except the RMS's, as I wasn't planning on pulling the engine(s). Actually I don't (yet) have a hoist and stuff to do that.

Not sure if this helps a whole lot, but speaking of engine coolant temp sensor, I had a CEL/MIL indication a few months ago for it in my '96 Legacy, I didn't really notice much difference in performance after I replaced it. I had a similar rought idle/acceleration issue in a '91 Escort I had years ago, and it turned out to be the aftermarket PCV valve I installed a few weeks before was bad, the dealer replaced it and it ran fine after that, but I think you already replaced the PCV valve you said, plus Subaru and Ford PCV systems might be different. Louis :-)

Dude do it yourself and save $$$. You will absolutely need a spring compressor, which can be rented or had cheap at Harbor Freight. Make sure to check the springs over well; mine were kind of rusted so I replaced them. I couldn't find springs aftermarket, so I had to go OEM, which isn't a big deal if you order them from a Subaru dealer online or if your local dealer doesn't double the list price like mine does. The only real problem I had in doing my rear struts [96 Legacy, but not Outback] was that the nuts on the bolts securing the strut to the control arm were like really siezed, but I was able to cram an Ingersoll Rand impact wrench in there and it pounded them off without asking any questions. I think the strut nuts were 19mm socket, same as the lug nuts. I didn't know at the time you were supposed to replace those nuts any time they are loosend or removed; now I check the manual diagrams for replacement parts anytime I do a job. I didn't get an alignment after the rears, but now I am having some weird alternating tread tire cupping on the inside edge of the tires, so maybe I need to have that done. Oh yes and I almost forgot how I dealt with having to disconnect the brake lines when doing this job, just like yohy said. I simply chopped out the little piece of metal on both the new and old strut with a Dremel and popped out the connection without disconnecting. Then I drilled a little hole in the brake clip and put a small nut/bolt in there to hold it in the new one. My old Ford Escort already had the struts like this (didn't have to unhook brake line) so I figured why not! Especially when I started to round off the brake line nut with the flare wrench trying to break it loose. Best wishes and regards, Louis

I bought a used '96 Legacy two years ago at 80k miles and now it has 100k miles. After I got it I noticed that if you cut the wheel sharply from a stop, that at idle it would just kind of stop, you had to give it a little gas to get it going. I did an Auto-RX flush, no difference, switched to Mobil1 syn ATF no difference, switched to Amsoil syn ATF, no difference. The last couple weeks, I've been driving her through the hills and dirt roads in Colden, NY and Little Valley, NY, and on some climbs the ATF would reach maybe 210 deg. F. But now, it moves at idle with the steering wheel cut all the way. I thought that was kind of cool. Any comments? This '96 Legacy seems to work awesome in the snow, whereas the '00 Outback I bought used last year doesn't seem to like to give a whole lot of juice to the rears. --Louis :;

Does anyone think the 'half-boot'/'split-boot' put on/glue on type boots would be of any value in a situation like this? I've never tried them but they look easy enough. I'd flush 'er clean and repack with Red Line CV-2 red moly.

Thanks Legacy777, I'll check around the forums, I guess the TSB's would be a good place to look too. :-) Good point, Setright! I guess I'm so used to owning older Ford's and having about a $100-$200 repair bill per month (i.e. gas tanks, brake lines, exhaust, gas lines, oh, and I forgot transmissions, ignition switches, and starters), whereas my 10 year old Legacy has had only two jobs to be done, the front oxygen sensor and the engine coolant temperature sensor and those were easy to do myself and neither left me stranded! I guess I'm trying to figure out that of the relatively few problems Subaru's have, which of those are most likely to occur, especially anything that would leave you stranded, 'cause I would just rather replace it upfront. What about starters? fuel pumps? any of these concerns on 100k mile 96 Legacy and 00 Outback? Thanks so much you guys!!!! :-) Oh, and Subaru's rock!

Thanks for the info Subaru_for_LIfe The Schley tools look interesting, but it's hard to tell from the pics if they would work on these cam sprockets as the SVX tool has that bend to get into the cam recess but the Schley's look almost straight from the pics. Too bad HF doesn't have it anymore, man when you get something on sale there and use the 20% off coupon from e-mail there are some awesome deals to be had there. Thanks avk for the SVX info; $65 isn't a bad price, now I want to order it; guess I'll have to wait 'til Monday. I was thinking about trying to make one out of some of those weldable steel parts at Sears Hardware...but Make sure to get the crankshaft pulley bolt properly tightened afterward or else!

Yo Subaru_for_LIfe, how about coughing up the part # for that Harbor Freight tool you mentioned? :-) I'm hip to getting one. I sent a fax to Kent-Moore for prices on their cam holding tool but they didn't respond, but I think it's about $90. I used the huge Harbor Freight chain wrench to hold my cam pulley while loosening the bolt, and I swear it took 200-300 ft lbs to break it loose; I had to put a big pipe on a 24" breaker bar to free it, but I think I might have bent/deformed the cam sprocket, so I ordered new ones.

Is there a list of the most common late model Subaru common problems/issues/parts failures (other than things on the regular maintenance schedule)? I'm specifically interested in '96 Legacy and '00 Legacy Outback as I'm doing the 105k service on them and wouldn't mind knowing things to maybe look at while I've got the vehicles ripped apart. Thanks, Louis ;-)

Wow sorry to hear about that dude. One time when my alternator was starting to go bad, sometimes it would charge, and sometimes it wouldn't, alt light came on/off periodically, and eventually it just quit charging all together, then the fuel pump didn't have any juice after a couple hours of driving and she stalled out. Another time I was stuck in traffic for a long time in the winter with the heater on high, rear defroster on, windshield wipers on, headlights on, and foot on the brake, and after about 45 minutes, the radio started to turn on and off, and I noticed the voltmeter was only at about 9 volts, so I turned everything off and it charged back up. If the alt ain't putting out more power than you're drawing, eventually even the biggest, newest battery will discharge. Maybe if your voltage was low enough your fans weren't turning on or weren't turning as fast and so the temp just kept climing, and that'd also explain a warmer AC output, but when driving there may be enough air flow to keep 'er cool.

Hi billyboy. I couldn't find a Chilton or Haynes manual for my '00 Outback either; I don't think they publish them for recent models. I bought OEM manuals off eBay for not too much and well worth the money. I also subscribe to AllDataDiy and the info on there looks identical to the OEM manual except their pictures aren't too good of a resolution. There's lots of cheap manuals on CD on eBay; don't know the quality as I haven't bought any. I don't like Haynes manual too much as I have found many errors in it for my '96 Legacy, but it is a good reference for how they say to do a procedure without using those special Subaru tools. --Louis ;-)

Joe, howdy! The goop isn't pipe dope or anything like that. It is from what I remember it is silicone of some sort, kind of the consistency of Vaseline. It did not have Teflon in it. I lost the Sears thing that listed some Dow part #'s for it, but I used Dow high vacuum silicone from McMaster last time which seemed to work OK. The Sears instructions definitely said not to use anything other than the specified silicone as it might not be compatible with brake fluid. I'm guessing the speed bleeders are probably a lot easier to do and a lot less mess and you don't have to worry about what the silicone stuff is; I got speed bleeders from Summit Racing for $10 a pair I think. I would check the Subaru service manual for the bleed order, and any specifics for the model such as ABS or whatever. From what I remember the Subaru manual order was the exact opposite of what the Sears instruction sheet said. -Louis

dude that is so totally sweet looking I don't even know what to say. If you have the space/desire I was thinking about putting two of those big boy Optima Marine blue batteries in the back in parallel. I only have two KC 55W's on a custom aluminum angle piece I made on the front and the garbage relay shorted closed a few months after I put them in.

I have used the MightyVac method for bleeding my Subes' brakes several times and it has worked quite well. The secret to getting a good seal is you need some of that silicone goop (not RTV) to put around the bleeder; my vac kit came with a small tube of it. Then no air gets sucked in. First I suck out most of the fluid in the MC, trying to move the suction tube around in there to get any dirt I see laying in there. Then I fill 'er up with fresh fluid. Then go to each wheel in the order specified in the manual. Then I pump the device a dozen times or so and while it's sucking the fluid, I slowly press the brake pedal up and down to the floor a couple times; this seems to get more grungy looking fluid out. A couple things I learned were to keep an eye on the level in the cup that's sucking in the fluid because if it overflows, the brake fluid goes into the pump, which doesn't seem to harm the pump but it makes a mess. I used a small cardboard box with a hole cut in it to keep the cup upright; otherwise it tended to tip over and fluid got sucked into the pump. Also if you have a Harbor Freight nearby, they have a red handled brass pump and cup setup for this purpose for less than half of what Sears charges for the exact same looking device (it's not a MightyVac though; it's just a cheap Chinese unit but it seems to work fine). I bought speed bleeders but haven't installed them yet; learned about them after I used this method. I like to bleed brakes in the ABS in the winter on a snowy day because then I can easily take it out on the snow and get the ABS pump to run. I like to try to run the ABS pump periodically anyway so it doesn't atrophy. :-) Louis

I've been running Amsoil TRO 20W-50 racing full synthetic with a little TSO 0W-30 since last winter; no issues at all. Engine cranked a little slower in the cold....Buffalo NY weather, but started every time. Engine is much quieter on this heavy oil; no noted change in mileage [was running Amsoil HDD 5W-30 before]. Just got 30mpg! a few weeks ago on a 300 mile trip hauling 4 people through some PA hills. 2000 Legacy Outback Wagon 2.5L auto, 105k miles. I also switched to Amsoil SVG 75W140 in the diff's; no change noticed. --Louis

Dude I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new Subaru. [new Baja turbo...mmmmm, excuse my drooling] Or even a used as it a big money saver. I've owned all Ford's in the past as my dad was a Ford employee and got the discount, but those vehicles were pure JUNK! I would've saved money buying Subaru's from the start. So many repairs on the Fords and they were hard to work on yourself. Have two used Subaru's now, only a couple of sensor problems, and SOOO easy to work on! Plenty of room! Plus the AWD is awesome if you get snow in the winter or like a little off-road action and still gets good gas mileage. Parts availablity is no issue, I order online out of SD at less than list price. Local dealer doubles the list price on walk-in parts sales.

What's the consensus on the best coolant to use for Subaru's? OEM coolant? I think the manual typically specifies high quality ethylene glycol? I heard G-05 coolants (i.e. Zerex G-05) are excellent because they are OAT which provides a good layer of protection (but which may take a while to build up), and also have some silicate to provide immediate corrosion protection, but it's low silicate so there's not so much to precipitate out of it. I suppose it goes without saying to use deionized or at least distilled water if any dilution is needed.

Thanks so much for the info Wayne and hohieu. That helps a lot. I feel more at ease now. I did have all the timing marks aligned per the manual before I removed the belt. hohieu, just to clarify, when you say Permatex ultra-grey, do you mean the ultra-grey RTV type sealant, or do you mean that Permatex grey non-hardening stuff? Thanks! :-) Good point on the cooling system conditioner, I'll have to pick some up at the local dealer I saw they had it on display, or would maybe Bars Leaks or something be just as good? Say, how do you guys break loose the bolts on the crank pulley and cam sprockets? I don't have that Subaru special tool so I cut the old accessory drive belt and timing belt and wrapped them around the pulley and LH cam sprocket respectively, then used a huge chain wrench from Harbor Freight to hold the pulley/sprocket while using a socket and breaker bar. It worked fine on the crank pulley, but I think I might have deformed the LH cam sprocket from the force of the chain wrench. Thanks for the mysubaru tip; I checked that right after I got the vehicle and there were no open recalls (at that time anyway); the recalls that were performed were front oxygen sensor replacement and cooling system conditioner installation.

Thanks for the info grossgary. On a related note, is there anything else I should consider replacing while doing the timing belt & water pump, such as the cam seals, crankshaft seal, oil pump o-ring, resealing the oil pump [i think the 2.2L had an issue with the oil pump bolts coming loose?; don't know if that applies to the 2.5L also]? I'm at 105k miles now [00 Outback 2.5L SOHC]; bought used at 96k; don't know previous service history. So far I'll be installing all new OEM: timing belt, tensioner, and all idlers [should I replace the cam sprockets too? only about $30 each]; water pump, heater hoses, radiator hoses, thermostat. Thanks again!

Hello, I have some questions about changing timing belt and water pump (this is my first time doing work of this magnitude) 2000 Subaru Outback 2.5L SOHC 4cyl gas non-turbo Crank is set at #1 TDC (compression stroke) Engine layout is (according to OEM manual): #3 #4 RH LH #1 #2 radiator The story so far: In the process of removing the timing belt, the LH cam rolled backwards about 30 degrees, so I rolled it forward back to where it was. Then, I had to remove the LH cam pulley to replace the water pump, and in the process of doing that, the cam rolled forward about 30 degrees. I'm trying to determine if I might have damaged any valves from the LH cam moving. Someone told me that when #1 is at TDC on compression stroke, that #2 is at TDC on the exhaust stroke, which has me worried, as in did the valves plow into the #2 piston when the cam rolled? [it is my understanding from EndWrench.com that on the 2.5L engines, the valves can hit the pistons; is that true?] When I install the new timing belt, I'll have to get that cam back to its original position, so should I turn it forward about 270 degrees (maybe I can't roll it forward if any valves touch #2 piston) to get back to the original position or is it OK to roll it backard? I didn't see anthing in the service manual about being careful not to roll the cam when removing the cam pulley bolt or when removing the timing belt, so I'm _hoping_ that no damage was done (i.e. neither #2 nor #4 are near TDC and/or the valves can't interfere with the pistons). I mean, the OEM manual seems to be pretty careful to point out in big bold print every little thing that could possibly cause damage. EndWrench clearly says the cams must be locked on the DOHC version when removing the timing belt. Anyway, I guess if there's any risk I damaged something, then maybe I'll do a cylinder leakage test on #2 as EndWrench says to see if any valves might be bent or nicked. I told a friend who builds race cars that and he said it might be hard to tell because with the engine cold there might be leakage around the rings. He also said that unless I really plowed the valve into the piston with a lot of force they might have touched but not done any damage. Thanks in advance for all your help! Louis :-)