davebugs

What condition was the top mount in? That would be my first place to investigate if the strut and coil seemed decent - and if the coil was setting properly. Often when a strut goes bad it swells the rubber piece that helps to hold the coil in place on the bottom. I keep meaning to save them from a scrap car but typically don't pull struts since that makes them too hard to load. I don't know if they are dealer only or other folks handle them. How special could that rubber bushing/coil holder be on the bottom?

That was it. I just stopped to see the situation for myself. They had the tranny in the car and were doing the TC bolts. Stub shaft was missing. He said it was really difficult removing from the old one. He used a large slide hammer. Thanks for the info.

Thanks for the timely reply. I forwarded the info in that thread about the stub axles mostly to the folks that had called an hour or so ago. He was saying htat the seals, etc looked totally different. The diff is trash on the old tranny so he was gonna try pulling the stub shaft to see what was up.

A local garage just called me. 99 Legacy Outback needs a tranny. Customer got a tranny that reads TZ1A2JEBAWZ Garage says same as the vin plate. Problem is that one has 2 female axle connections(splines) and the one the customer obtained has one male and one female. They are 10 miles away and I can go look if necessary but I'm hardly a tranny expert. Ironically my last tranny postings I believe had to do with this same tranny code. Anyone seen this different sexed problem for axles? Is it as simple as buying another axle? I've seen sex/compatability issues with coil packs but not tranny/axle. These guys were ready to lift the repalcement one in when they noticed this. So they are currently stuck.

Shouldn't this original question be a sticky, or FAQ? Or is it and noone seems to find it?

A 2.2 swap on the 97 is easy. On the 99 a little more plumbing on the EVAP stuff since the canister is a different place. The 99 has 4 "extra" bolts/nuts to mate the engine and tranny but doesn't effect much really. Do some searching.

GG, Along with "in the woods", "in the mountains", "up the gravel road", "up the river", and other very useful locations. If you believe that describes it all. How about helping us challenged folks out and out the closest city someone from the other end of the country may have heard of? Or in my case perhaps SW PA incase folks think that "my" Pittsburgh isn't "the" Pittsburgh. A lot of states have city's by the same name in them.

On 2.2's I usually leave the bottom smooth idler till last. I also use the vise crip style plastic clamps to hold the belt on the crank and cam sprockets.

That and a USEFUL location tied to their ID. East "Bumbf ck" while cute doesn't really tell anyone much. There are moe of them than you think! If you're in the witness protection program just the closest major city would be nice. I doubt they'll be looking for you on Subaru forums. This way other members close to you may pay more attention and be able to help you out more.

You should be fine. But if not I've got literally boxes of brackets if you need one.

This might be the rare case where I'd pay to have it flat bedded to me. Them maybe chain it to a tree to get it off. Then you can work on it, jack it up, remove axles, whatever you want when you are at home, have the tools, and there is no sense of urgency. I'm just talking about effective use of your time. Let alone any safety issues.

Don't forget to budget for alignment. I usually use Monroe Sensi-Trak's (sp?). Don't forget to check the mounting gizmo's. I replace as many of them as I do struts.

Something to add to my startup process. Disconnect a different wire (crank position sensor). Thanks.

The MMO really is to make the engine quiter sooner. I doubt it would have effected the oil pump "prime". I forget where you are at. My cliffnotes from my poor memory: 2.5 HG job. Assembled engine, ran for a few minutes and a cam seized. You're redoing it again looking for an oil circulation issue. Assuming the oil passages are all clean and not clogged from the oil pickup tube and Oring, to the oil pump and Oring, passages in the heads, etc. I did see here tonight someone asked basically if you installed the HG's upside down. I have heard of it but never seen it. Did you double check that? I'd assume they would only fit the correct way. But being paranoid I'm always dry fitting thigs making sure the mating surfaces are very clean with the engine on it's side for each head. I double check that the passages line up then.

I've had success with 5w30, MMO, pulling the connector to the coil pack. Cranking several times lets guess 5 seconds a time. Perhaps 4-6 times. Usually by then the fuel filter is full and you're smelling gas which can't be good for the cylinders. But I figure it's only one time. I plug it back in and she fires up. Those cranking sessions help build up oil pressure but also dump fuel in the cylinders. Unplugging the injectors just seems like an unnecessary hassle. If you're a bit paranoid fill the oil filter before installation - that should help a little. Not from the FSM and I don't know what others do but this "works for me".

You haven't done much research have you? Perhaps that was a bit harsh. Please do some searching. There are excellent threads on compatability of engines and parts. As well as the procedure itself. Answering the same simple questions all of the time gets a little old. And you're bound to have more if you don't do some searching and reading. There is lots of good advice and experience on this board.

Don't know about the AC compressor - I just know to look at them. Sometimes the hoses come off at different points and if you have the whole car you can just switch hoses. You'll be using the 2.5 flywheel so get the clutch for it.

Gotta get HG's each time. Think about it - they get squished, unsguished, squished again to make sure the get squished properly and seal. I don't see how they could go through that process a second time successfully. Never had an oil pump issue. Be careful and try and make sure the Oring ollks like it was in place. I should have good used ones if you go that route.

If I think about it I'll look tomorrow. I have 2 good used ones on my Breezeway I was debating about putting on Ebay. If not I'll keep them around I know they were good. Some of those little clips are kinda bizarre. I've had to replace some on Volvo's. A bit over engineered. I've always replaced the whole assy on Suby's rather than just the strut. If I may ask what breand did you buy and what did they cost?

o.k. - misplaced my camera this afternoon. You'll have to take my word for it. At the bottom where the ball joint is there is a nut where it attaches to the body of the car. INSIDE the car there is a nut that will take a socket. The nut on the outside is for an open end wrench to hold things while you take off the nut on the inside. Don't pull apart the joint.

I believe sometimes the front calipers are different on L's versus Outbacks (we're probably talking 2.2 vs 2.5). I believe I've run into it even when they are all 15" wheels. But my memory isn't so great.

Ground/battery is good. Tone rings look rusty but they have always set the light in the past. I'm gonna pull the fuse.

Dots and hash marks. NEVER ARROWS.

All 2.5's are interference I believe. Update your state in your profile. There may be a helpful member near you.

I have trouble getting valve seals. But I've never had any be bad. And the shop I use for headwork says they don't even stock them for Suby's cause they almost never go bad. I was gonna offer a head that I have but they shouid be bent - idler failure. The other heads I have are 97's (that have the shims) and a 99 good engine that I wouldn't tear down to sell a head.