subsince77

I just noticed this yesterday. Too bad I didn't see it a couple of weeks ago since I just had the car within spitting distance of MWE. Anyway, both inner CV's in the front appear to be puking a little bit of grease. There is a small build up showing on various parts in a vertical plane circle around them. I can't find any cracks, and they haven't made any noise. It isn't even enough on the exhaust to stink yet. Besides a cracked boot, what causes this, just age, heat, thinned grease and leaking out the edge of the boot? How long might I have before replacement is necessary? Will there be warning noise for a while, or just failure of some sort? These are original front axles with 197k on them, re-booted at 113k, 97 OBW, 2.5L, MT.

OK, one last post, then I'll let this thing die. CCR is a great place to deal with. They did exactly what they said they would do, in the time they said it would take. We drove the new engine back across the mountains on Tuesday under sunny skies. The car has a bit more power, particularly on the low end. We came up Monarch pass in 4th, and not pushing it hard at all, until we started getting into snow-packed conditions near the summit and had to slow down. On the trip home, over three or four passes depending on how you count them, I got 27.5 MPG. A little lower than normal, but not at all bad for a brand new tight engine. So far so good. It is great to have the Subaru back on the road, and not having to watch the temp gauge every second. The only problem I have had is that the car threw another 0303 & 0304 misfire code on the way up out of Denver. This is a problem I have been trying to get rid of for about a year now. It only happens on longer trips at highway speeds. It is always both #3, and #4, and I never feel anything. I had hoped that the problem was my 200k exhaust valves, but it seems not to be. After some conversation with CCR about turning around, I elected to drive on home. I don't think this has anything to do with the new engine, but is somewhere in my old parts. I already have new wires, plugs, and coil pack of all the right types. I am still frustrated that the plug wires that Subaru sells for this car are too short, and I have ordered a set of NGK wires on the recommendation of CCR. I can't imagine that NGK wires would be incompatible with the NGK plugs for the same vehicle, and they will hopefully be longer, so I think it is something to try. There is one other thing that I am going to try also on the recommendation of CCR, but I'm going to save that story for another thread. If it ends up solving the problem, it will make an interesting post. Thanks to everyone that coached me through the HG issue, the decision about whether to repair or replace, and all the information I gather about my car on this site. This is the best automotive site I have ever found.

I am only posting this because I know all of you are losing sleep over how this car is doing. I appreciate it, but you needn't worry, she's in good hands. Towed her over several mountain passes yesterday through ice, snow, blizzard conditions, closed roads and detours, but we got into Denver yesterday afternoon. She went "under the knife" er, wrench, yesterday late afternoon. and I pick her up late this morning with a rebuilt 2.5, and a resealed P/S pump. We then turn west to go back up over all that country to get home tonight. My only complaint is that CCR does not allow you to call in to the OR nurse for updates during the procedure. Don't worry, I'll let you know how it all goes.

I'm sure that is no kidding. I've done this.

WOW! You people have dirt! Real Dirt! Haven't seen that since November. Oh, yeah, nice car too.

This is it, my last full day with my old engine. Tomorrow afternoon she gets loaded on a trailer, and Monday morning we take her over the hills for major surgery. The operation is scheduled for late Monday, and she is supposed to be released again on Tuesday. I've been driving this car everyday since "The Incident." and it has not used one bit of anti-freeze, shown any inclination to overheat, thrown any codes, or misbehaved in any way. I have been SO tempted to take it out on the highway and make sure that the diagnosis is correct, but I haven't. No sense taking a chance on heating it up now. I got thinking that this car has never asked for an oxygen sensor in its whole life. So, after the surgery, I'll probably treat it to one. I'll also give her some new seat covers, re-glue the door gaskets, and give her a much needed mid winter bath while we are on the Front Range.

Unfortunately the nearest junkyard is 80 miles away, with no similar cars. Yup, the holes are worn out, I will try the adhesive. I had read on this forum to spray the area with silicon spray. I did that, but it had absolutely no effect. I never tried PAM. This happens when the daytime temp is a little warmer so there is some liquid splashing up, or when you knock snow off your boots getting in and it melts. Then it drops to 20 below at night and freezes really hard. Sometimes it is almost impossible to open the doors in the morning. For some reason the Subaru is really bad about this. I'll try the PAM on one door and see if it works.

How about Goop? I find that it solves nearly all of life's problems. Well, at least the one's for which duct Tape is ineffective.

I have been fixing a few of the smaller cosmetic items on the 97 OBW in anticipation of the new powerplant going in next Monday. Each winter the door weather strips, or seals, whatever they are called, tend to freeze to the car at night and rip loose in the morning when you open the door. I've typically been able to reattach them to the little clips that hold them to the door, but at this point that's not working any more. I'm looking for any suggestions for either repairing, or replacing them without spending $75 per door through Subaru. Any ideas?

Final comment on Ted: I have seen some really great antler jewelry, and there are a few people that do it. The name even sounds really familiar, I will ask around - just for fun. I still haven't been able to connect with this legacy owner. She and I have both been so busy that we haven't been able to be in the same place at the same time. As has been pointed out, it's probably not a money maker. I may still check it out for my friends, but since she has owned it for three years, and it has 185k on it, and she hasn't ever done the T-belt, I suspect it is due. To me, that pushes it far beyond being an investment car. My Outback will be repaired next week, so I'm set.

I don't think there is much of a market for antler jewelry around here. All of the deer and elk in Gunnison County are far too dignified to wear jewelry on their antlers. I think you are thinking of the wimpy critters you find on the Colorado Front Range, or in Montana.

Sorry, I forgot to ask this. Is torque bind common on 5 Speeds? I thought that was mostly an auto thing. I know, i know, do a search. Thanks

Thanks for the thoughts. For around here $1500 seems a bit low for this car, but certainly not spectacular. I think that car would sell at $2000 from what I've seem. These cars might be more popular here than most places, especially since we are in the middle of the hardest winter in over 30 years. But, we are in the middle of the hardest winter in over 30 years, my driveway is going to need yet another 2 hours of snow-blowing this morning, my roof needs to be shoveled, and I don't need a car project unless it will help pay for my new Outback engine. I will go look at it, review the maintenance records, and if it looks good, see if this other couple wants it. I bet they could buy it for $1200, I can help them do some minor work, and they will have a reliable AWD for a few years. Thanks again.

Sorry, what's a VSS2? No Emissions sticker No. I know a guy named Ted that made furniture from driftwood, but he moved. I was going to ask, if everything else is in good shape, and I repair these items, what do you think the car is worth. I thought i might be able to make $500 or so if I got it for $1200. Is that overly optimistic? Otherwise I know a young couple that might want a reliable car, and I might just point them to this one.

So I just stopped crying about missing that 94 2.2T earlier this week, when another good car, maybe, pops up. This one is a 96 legacy L 5 spd. with about 185,000 on it. I don't know much about it yet, but the girl that owns it drives it here from Crested Butte, 30 miles, and back every day. She says the car always runs great, but the E brake doesn't work, the speedo quit working in September, and the windshield is cracked down low. She wants $1500 for it. She is the second owner. She doesn't know when the last T-belt change was, but she has all the maintenance records from the previous owners, they are friends of hers. So I am going over to look at it, and tomorrow I can see all the paper work. I'm not really looking for a car. but I would love to find a couple of these to do some simple repairs on, and turn around, to help fund my CCR engine in the outback. I am thinking, windshield, parking brake probably not a big deal, it might need rear pads or a cable. Speedometer, I'm cluless, maybe T-belt/WP/seals. If I can get it just a little cheaper this might be a great car for someone.

I know nothing, but that has never stopped me from jumping into these discussions. As the owner of a 97 OBW that just started the blown headgasket routine at 197,000, I can assure you that some do go this long. I know a few others in this area that are now between 140k and 160k without having failed. My question is, would living at 8000, to 9000 feet, and doing a lot of highway driving be better for the headgasket situation. I take really good care of my engine in terms of oil, filters, and ignition parts etc., but the lowest this car ever lived was about 6500 feet in Durango for a while. just wondering.

By George, your right!

I use http://www.nissanforums.com for my 97 4wd truck. I have never been on the car section, but have gotten good info on the HB Truck forum. It is by no means as good as this site, but it's the best I've found.

Sorry everyone, it turns out it was over before it began. This guy had this car, and a Geo Metro that had been crushed by snow and ice falling off a building for sale, and someone bought them both last night while, or maybe before I was making my first post. Had I known what a unique car it was I wouldn't have even hesitated that long. There was probably only about a 30 minute window that was open to me. I couldn't reach the guy all day, so I was working on the assumption that as soon as I could get him the car was mine. I had left several messages and I had the cash in hand. I tried, I really tried! I was never even able to meet the owner because he was busy last evening - bummer! i didn't find any of this out until about 5 pm today. I am very disappointed, but what are you gonna do? I sure wish i hadn't spent all that time moving snow for someone else though. i have been getting enough of that as it is. Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

I don't know much more yet. I spent most of the time I had just digging it out. I haven't had time to pull any plugs or anything. I did jump it and turn it over. No bad sounds. It tries to fire about every three or four cranks it seems to me. It reminds me of a vehicle that is out of time, or the plug wires are on the distributor cap in the wrong order (old school) that sort of feel. Could be the timing belt jumped a tooth, but could be something else entirely. If I go over there with a regular timing light and turn it over, maybe I can tell when it's firing. I did see what you were saying, found the filters, O2 sensor, and MAF sensor right away. I am going back this afternoon to pull a plug. I haven't been able to reach the owner today. The car displays the requisite number of ski area stickers for a Colorado Subbie, so he may be up at Crested Butte enjoying the latest round of powder. Here are a couple of pictures of the car, the engine compartment, the emissions sticker, and the wiring harness that is spliced and taped.

Hmmm, OK, I thought there was an older type of scanner. In that case, I will be guessing. I think I will pull a plug or two and look at them, get some juice into the battery, turn it over and make sure there are no really bad noises. From the feed back I'm getting here, I think I will just get it and tow it someplace where I can begin to figure out what is wrong. I can at least do filters, plugs, wires, and )2 sensor and then see where I am. I don't think I can make a B10 scan tool, so maybe a little old fashioned hunting first. I guess I was looking at the chimney. Good thanks. I will post some pictures later.

Thanks for all the input. I'm going to take a code reader and jumper cables over there today and see what I can find out. Unless I see something really bad, I'll get it. You say "If it's really a Leg turbo." It's a legacy, I know nothing about turbos, but there was one sitting on the top rear of the engine under a scoop - could it be anything else? Another dumb question (the first of many as I try to fix this thing), maybe this will be obvious when I look at it again, but where is the air filter on that thing? All I remember is the black turbo housing going right into the intake. Where is the MAF on one of those. My Haynes manual doesn't seem to address this engine, and I have never been around a turbo 2.2. I'll let you know how it goes.

This will probably get a little long, so sorry in advance. As I am waiting to get my OBW repaired, I have been watching the local paper for Subarus. There have only been a few, but this week an ad showed up for a 94 wagon for $300. The ad simply says, "doesn't run, but might be a simple fix for someone that knows what to do." So Today I got in touch with the owner. He is a college student, lots of those here, and he doesn't know much about the car. He said he bought it from a girl he knew in Denver. She had started having problems with the car dying at stop lights. He drove it for a while, presumably brought it here to school, but the problem started getting worse. He said that finally it would die every time he stopped, then the last time, he could not restart the car. He said that this girl was told by a shop in Denver that it needed "a wire harness" replaced that would cost $400. That is why she sold it to him. So, he told me where the car was parked, and I went to look at it. It, like many other cars in Gunnison this year, is under about two feet of snow. I brushed off the front just to be sure that the small part of a front fender I could see was actually a Subaru. The hood had about a foot of snow, the rest of the car is really buried, so I don't know too much about it. I got inside after digging out the riders side door. It is a 94 legacy wagon with a 4 speed automatic transmission. The shifter has a button on the side (two actually) that says "manual" by it. Is that a 4wd button, or something else? The interior looks good, some college kid trash on the floor, but pretty clean and not torn up. It has at least some rust, and the riders outside mirror is gone. It also needs a windshield. Looks like a recent break, actually it looks like someone stepped on it. It has an electric sunroof, and, wait for it, the odometer says 120,000 and change. Practically brand new for a 2.2L There were some papers on the seat saying it had passed emissions in Denver last spring, and an oil change sticker on the windshield that was 3000 miles old. 10/30 though, too thick for a Gunny winter. He had told me the key was there but the battery dead, and that was right, no power at all. I popped the hood and climbed back out. As I pushed the rest of the snow off, I found an intake, must be a turbo says I, and sure enough it is. Opened the hood, it is as expected, a 2.2L turbo. The plug wires look like they might be original, so it might need new ones. Fuel filter looked old. Oil was full. One thing I saw was that the right (riders) side of the timing belt cover was broken off - not good, but the belt was there, so it has one. It did not appear to be leaking oil at the bottom of the timing cover, or onto the exhaust right below that. Left valve cover was dry, right valve cover had oil on top, maybe from the timing belt area? I didn't get underneath because of the snow. One other thing. On the left (drivers) side of the engine compartment there are three bundles of wires that come in right near the battery (an interstate by the way). The top bundle looked like it had been cut apart with a knife, then each wire put back together with electrical tape. Scary. Could this be what the shop was saying needed to be replaced? i don't even know what it is. So, those of you that have read my posts know I'm a really basic mechanic at best. I don't know why I'm drawn to this car, I guess it's just the possibility that it might be a jewel for $300 and some work. I haven't given you much to work with here i know, but what do you think? I guess my next step is to put some power to it and see if it has spark. Maybe give it a fuel filter and some plugs and wires. If I bought it, any serious work would have to wait until spring. Are these turbos a problem? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks

Yup pass on the '05. You love your 96. But do buy the '05 and give it to me. Think how good you'd feel. I've never driven one, but man I love the looks of those things. I hope to get one by the time my 97 dies again.

Thanks Porcupine. So back to my original question. Are after-market pumps OK, or is there a particular brand that is better? I would assume that a remanufactured pump would have new bearings as well as seals, so maybe that would be the better choice. Still going to wait to see what we find in a couple of weeks.