porcupine73

Great thanks for the note. Yes 3/32" would go right through the middle of the spring pin hhaha. I have been having a problem with cutting numbers in half today. To make up for it here's a pic of my pin punch: Here's using a ton of socket extensions to make it easier to knock it out from up top:

hahaha that would be a good username. Some vBulletin sites let their members change their username once every 30 days. But it gets confusing because then you never who is who. vfrworld.com lets their members do that.

I can't find the picture I want. Basically it's check all the hoses and lines associated with that pressure sources switching solenoid on the RH / passenger strut tower. There is a little round plastic filter in that line that sometimes gets plugged up but I don't think this is the code it causes. Also the procedure shows the wiring or the solenoid could be bad.

I've got some pics to show you let me find them.

Ok what we have here is "DTC P0106: PRESSURE SENSOR CIRCUIT RANGE/PERFORMANCE PROBLEM (PS-R)" Hm I haven't seen this one in a while. Thinking back I believe this can have something to do with some of the lines/filter being plugged and those pesky metal EGR tubes that run under the throttle. I have some pics let me check.

Yes, how about a P0106! Well I happen to have a '96 Legacy too and I have the alldata subscription for it so let me take a look see at what we have here.

Ah here we go, this must have come up before because I had made up this photo too:

Sorry about that I saw someone mention arrows and I assumed they meant the arrows on the camshaft sprockets. The crank sprocket has a little hash mark that gets lined up with a mark on the oil pump. Here's a pic from my '96. I'm not sure if the crank sprocket has an arrow on it anywhere; I can't remember.

Right, the hash marks are for the timing. Ignore the arrows. Those arrows are for other purposes. The good news is that engine is not interference (if it's the '90 2.2L or 1.8L); engines after 96 would have bent valves now if cranked over timed with the arrows instead of the hash marks. You don't need a timing gun for this job. There is no way for you to adjust the timing anyway; the ECU is in complete control of the timing on that engine. If there is any question about the cam sprockets, compare the backs of the two. See if the reluctor marks are the same - these are the metal bits the cam position sensor reads. Ideally they should be identical.

The part #'s are all different so I'm not sure.

I'm not really sure which ones provide the most lift out of the Outback / Forester / Baja options. My original thoughts were they are all pretty close. But what I will do right now is check the KYB catalog and see what part #'s they list. If the part #'s are the same then they woudl be the same height. If the part #'s are different they might be different heights.

Ah yes cutting the notches, that does make it a lot easier. I was working on that on my '94 too. Then I use stainless steel safety wire to secure the brake lines back onto the strut. You could keep the original Outback struts on hand if you want to swap them out from time to time to get more height for playing off road. I would consider only really if you had the entire strut assembly kept together. It's already going to be some amount of work to swap out four strut assemblies. But if you're disassembling the strut assemblies to get the top hats and other bits I think that would be way too much hassle. All this talk is making me so excited that it's Friday and I'll be able to work on this project over the weekend!

The MWE's I've gotten did not include a new axle nut or spring pin. I think on his site it says he has plenty of axle nuts so if you need them to let him know before they ship and he'll include them. The spring pin it seems like a 1/4" of adequate length would work. I keep a few extra Subaru spring pins on hand since they are only $1. The new axle nuts are more like $4.

It will probably retract on its own, but just from the weight of the strut rod pushing down on itself. My '94s did this when I removed the strut to mount nut, they just under their own weight slowly collapsed into themselves. Hey on the new struts make sure to do the air purging procedure before assembling it, and then do not lie it down on its side after you purge it. I've had a few new GR-2's that you could feel the looseness that purging then fixed.

That's a good idea, especially for the more critical fasteners. I use Ace's metric fasteners for 'non critical' things such as holding the air intake in place, and low load things like that. I'm not sure I'd want to use it in a critical application. Good quality fasteners of good materials are not cheap especially as the size of the fastener increases, so getting a nice assortment from a salvage yard soob would be a nice little collection to have. Of course around this rust belt area just getting any fastener off the poor old soobs is a major victory.

Some axles come with a new nut and some don't. In a pinch I would reuse it, since once it is staked over good into the slot on the axle it isn't going to loosen up anyway. The spring/roll pin however I always use new.

Aside from the dealer, Ace Hardware has a pretty good selection of metric flange bolts in most of their stores. Otherwise maybe a Fastenal or a place like that if you have one around. Carquest locations usually have a pretty good selection. Also tractor supply is usually pretty good. Or I have noticed tractor / farm equipment places usually have good hardware.

Axles are fairly easy. The hardest part is usually getting the axle out of the hub if there is any rust in there. Even a little rust makes it very difficult to get it out. But even on my rust belt soobs I haven't had any issues with that and I've replaced probably five axles on them. Basically you break the axle nut loose with a 32mm socket, 3/4" breaker bar, and a long piece of pipe. The long piece of pipe is the secret, and I've had no issues once I lay on that pipe. I spray it with Kroil a week in advance though. You can use an impact wrench but Subaru doesn't because it can be rough potentially on the wheel bearing. People have broken 1/2" drive stuff on this nut. Just break the axle nut loose then jack up the front end. Do not do more than break the nut loose with the vehicle weight on the tire because it can damage the wheel bearing. Then you have to unmount the strut or unbolt some other parts; people vary on what they like to unbolt to get enough clearance to get the axle out. I like to do the strut to bearing housing bolts but some people do it other ways. Also there's a spring pin holding the axle to the differential stub that has to be driven out. A 3/16" (not 3/32") pin punch is required. Do not use a 1/4" pin punch because you'll get it stuck in there. And it is supposed to be driven out from the non fluted side. The MWE axles do not include a new spring pin or axle nut, at least none I've ever gotten. The Subaru axles include both. I've got some various axle pics here: http://www.porcupine73.com/pics/axle/

Maybe the bulb finally burned out!

Generally MWE axles have no problems. Genuine Subaru remanufactured seem to work ok too but are about double the price of MWE. The Subaru ones are reman'd by Cardone for Subaru to Subaru specs, (but that doesn't mean they're the same as what Cardone sells to parts stores). There might be some other options out there that are working for people.

Sure man, why just the other day this cat was telling me he was taking apart a '91 and they came out tie dye. haha just kidding. I don't think they changed color like that. Mine look like they were white but they oxidized and maybe got some rust color on them. They're not quite as dark as yours. It's like when something white is exposed to cigarette smoke long enough it turns brownish, that's sort of what it seems like happened to them.====================================================== Yes. My fronts are doing that. The struts even when new don't exert a ton of force upward. Because that is not their purpose. The spring is to hold the weight of the vehicle; the strut is simply to dampen movement.====================================================== There are marks on the bolts on the front, but that is for camber. And if you're changing height they aren't going to be the same setting afterward anyway. Toe you shouldn't have to worry about if everything is the same height. Even raising or lowering a little toe doesn't have to be a big issue, but it can change because of suspension geometry. I.e. the wheel moving up and down doesn't always move up and down in a perfect arc.

Thanks for the info. I had some 3/8" grade 8's. They are the right diameter but they're too long. So I'll pick up a shorter one and hopefully be good to go. Maybe I should leave it out though.....it just feels like if I put a bolt in there something will happen shortly thereafter requiring me to remove it (and a lot of other stuff)..........

Actually yes the bumpers i believe are originally white. I was disassembling my '94 and was surprised to see bumpers that same color. But I think it's just because they are oxidized and deteriorated. So I ordered the KYB bellows kits. Which I think I need anyway because the Outback struts are longer.

Thanks. It must just be their slip up, posting a lower price on the SVX when they are all the same part #. It's just something that caught my eye. A board member is hooking me up with a new genuine switch along with some other parts.

It is often cheaper to replace the axle than to replace the boots BUT BUT BUT you must tread very carefully here, especially with front axles on an automatic trans. Many of the parts store axles end up causing odd vibrations. Not just on Subaru's; it's just the nature of the axles for some reason. So if the original axles are salvagable it can be worth saving them.