jimdanahand

Turns out the front right tire (just had mounted on rims) had uneven tread. The mechanic said it was ready to separate so I'm lucky it didn't happen while I was driving 70 mph! It's the same mechanic who just mounted the tire on the rims but he says it was uneven when he installed it (unlikely). It took care of the steering wobble. I still have the warped rotor to take care of to eliminate the pulsation that occurs while braking. Jim

I just got a 1990 Subaru Legacy and it has steering wheel wobble and pulsations when braking. I know the rotors are probably warped which is causing the pulsation when braking. The steering wheel wobble is most pronounced between 50-65 mph. The car doesn't pull at all so don't think it's an alignment problem. The car doesn't shake, just the steering wheel. I raised the car and tried to move the tires perpendicular to the car but all four wheels were snug so I don't think it's wheel bearings or ball joints. I just changed from studded to summer tires (both used) and have same steering wheel wobble with either so don't think the rims or wheels are the problem. If it's tie rod end or u joints, How best to check (how much play is acceptable)? Any diagnostic suggestions would be appreciated. Jim

UPDATE: I finally got the old car running like new! After I pulled the radiator, removed the sheared crankshaft bolt, I went ahead and removed the timing belt cover to check out the timing belt condition. Since I was already that far into the front of the engine it made sense to go ahead and change out the oil pump seal, tighten the oil pump back plate, replace the cam and oil pump seals, and replace the water pump. I found to install the cam sprocket seals that a 2" dia 3" long piece of plumbing pipe from Home Depot worked great to tap the seal into place. In addition, I was able to finally remove the crankshaft sprocket with the deformed woodruff key. This was critical since the sprocket had excess play which would have resulted in a future failure if not addressed. It took some work with a screwdriver and small prybar to pull the crankshaft sprocket over the deformed woodruff key but it was necessary since the crankshaft sprocket key slot was widened due to the woodruff key movement that occured after the crankshaft pulley started to wobble. Fortunately, the key slot in the crankshaft was still in pretty good shape. After I installed the new woodruff key and new crankshaft sprocket it fit tight as it should. The only problem I ran into was when I installed the new timing belt, I over torqued the bolt that holds the timing belt sprocket onto the waterpump resulting in stripping the threads! I didn't exceed the torque rating but I noticed when I backed out the bolt some coil spring came out with it indicating the re-manurfactured water pump may had been re-threaded which may have weakened the thread. Fortunately, I was able to purchase a longer bolt at Home Depot and grab on to some deeper threads and only torqued it to 20 ft-lb. When I finally got back to installing the replacement crankshaft pulley I decided to only torque the bolt to 105 ft-lb but I put some blue quiktight to help keep it from backing out again. I just didn't have the courage to torque it again to 125 ft-lb and risk shearing another bolt! Once I put everything back together again I had no extra pieces and the car started without a problem. Thanks everyone who provided input to help me work through my first mechanical encounter with a Subaru. Next up, I need to replace a rockerarm gasket (oil leak) and figure out how to get the drivers "automatic" shoulder strap back to the retracted position so I can use it!

Just thought I'd give an update with my broken crankshaft bolt that I needed to remove. I'm happy to say I was able to drill a hole into the broken bolt using a left hand turn drill bit then easily extract the broken portion of the bolt with an extractor. I removed the timing belt cover to better inspect the partially bent woodruff key and think I'll leave well enough alone. There is some play in the crankshaft sprocket but I believe when I tighten up the crankshaft pulley it should be snug enough. I'd like to have changed out the oil pump seals but I'm afraid if I use a puller to get the sprocket off, I won't be able to get a new woodruff key to fit into the slightly deformed crankshaft key slot. So I think I'll just change the timing belt (the old one looks fine but I don't know how many miles are on it). Should I stick to Subaru timing belt or is aftermarket okay? I've pulled the water pump and it seems fine other than a little rust on the outer surface of the impellar so I'm going to re-use it. There was some oil on the timing housing but not sure if its coming from the cam seals or oil pump seals. I've still got mixed message on how much to crank up the new crankshaft bolt. The Subaru dealer told me 105 ft-lb but then one of the mechanics came out and told me they tighten the bolts to 150 ft-lb. I broke the last bolt just before I reached 125 ft-lb but it may have been fatigued from crankshaft wobble. I'm not sure I want to pull another broken bolt so I'm thinking of going to 105 ft-lb and using blue lock-tite. Hopefully, will get it all back together tomorrow afternoon. Thanks again for all the helpful advice.

Thanks Skip. I've already removed the radiator and the bolt is even further recessed than the chalk! Tough angle to work at.

I would try one more simple thing on this job, and since we are planning to weld to the broken face of the bolt, I don’t see any harm in this, but you all can correct me. I would obtain a very small cape type cold chisel, (slanted diamond shape tip), and try tapping the bolt out. The failure described in this thread should have caused no thread deformation, and I can’t believe the bolt is stuck that thoroughly. I would heat to about 200 degrees, then quench the threads with oil, this is not hot enough to harden the metal, but should wick the oil into the threads. Then pick two opposite points on the face of the broken off bolt face. You don’t want to do anything that would mushroom the end or make it fit tighter into the bore, but slight impacts at say 3 o’clock, and 9 o’clock directed at an angle like pushing a broom, and in counter clockwise direction may spin the thing right out. Not too close to the OD for fear of distorting the bolt diameter, but not too close to center, or there’s no leverage. It’s easy to try, not expensive to set up, and if it doesn’t work, you just have to flush away the oil with a spray solvent and you can then do the welding fix. The one thing that would mess this technique up, is if the shank diameter of the bolt is less than the thread diameter. In that case, the bolt will tend to rock left and right in the unsupported diameter, instead of rotate. I think it would still be worth a try in any case. I'm not sure I'm comfortable using a torch to heat the crankshaft. I assume it's safe or you wouldn't suggest it? I'm not clear on how I use the chisel. Since I'm planning to use a left turn drillbit. Will using the chisel mess up my ability to get a good center punch for a starter hole? How am I using the chisel? I think the broken bolt is too far recessed to get the angle you suggest to help back the bolt out by hitting it at an angle. I still don't think welding is feasible given the small diameter and how far recessed the bolt is. I took a break from this job to go catch a King Salmon on the Deshka river! I'll probably start back up on Saturday.

BTW I did thread the longer bolt into the EJ22T crank with out the pulley - it did not bottom out before the bolt shoulder hit the crank. Skip - thanks for checking. Great news that the longer bolt didn't bottom out. That gives me more confidence that I might be able to back it out.

Look close the one is 0.32" longer than the one that came loose. The longer one is from an EJ25, the shorter from the engine in question an EJ22T. It looks like my broken bolt is longer (judging from the pic). Just to confirm, my threads start 1-3/8" down from the head. If this is the same as yours, they may have used an EJ25 bolt in my EJ22 engine. Not sure if this means my bolt bottomed out and the remnent will be highly torqued! If so, I may not be able to back it out.

Okay, I tried the JB Weld and as most suspected it failed. I had bought the Easy Outs but after seeing all the comments I've elected to go buy a few left turning drill bits and try to back it out while progressively drilling a larger hole. I was planning to use a punch to get a pilot hole to avoid the bit "walking", but in addition I like the idea of using a tube to help keep me centered and protect the threads. Not sure what I'll use as a tube just yet. Because the bolt is recessed inside the crank, I'm going to pass on welding (even though I found a friend with a welder). I've never tapped a thread so I'll investigate further if the bolt doesn't back out while I drill counter-clockwise or after I get my hole and stick the needle nose in the hole to try to turn it. Wish me luck! Thanks for all the advice. Jim P.S. - There are no identification markings on the broken crank bolt P.S.S. - Spoke with a local Suby expert who says he had never heard of breaking the crankshaft bolt. His guys usually use a impact wrench to tighten!!

In the early 90's a lot of cars started adding automatic seatbelts to the front seats. When the door is closed and the ignitiion turned on, the chest belt comes from the front of the door to the back of the door thereby holding the passenger upper torso in place in case of a crash. They obviously turned out to be a bad idea and have been replaced by the modern shoulder harness. Jim

Or did you use Loctite? I didn't use Locktite fortunately so hopefully it should be easier to backout the bolt. But I'm still not convinced JB Weld will hold enough to back it out. Jim

The "easy out" is a screw extractor. Even with the radiator removed I don't have enough room to get my drill in for a straight shot. I've picked up a right angle bit to drill the hole. Maybe I should wait and get a left handed drill instead of using the right handed bit to drill the pilot hole for the screw extractor. I also picked up some JB Weld but my son has tried it before and found it not to be that tough. I've got to be careful not to get too much on the end of the bolt or I'll end up "welding" the bolt into the hole. Does anyone else think JB Weld is worth a try before drilling a hole? Jim

I've removed the radiator to give my self some working room and bought a set of easy bits by Powerbit. I already triet to just back the broken bolt out but it won't come back. I assume there is no torque left on it unless it bottomed out. The bolt broke 1/4" down the treads or 1-1/2" down from the bolt head. I'm concerned about drilling the pilot hole and avoiding damaging the crank threads. I don't have any welding equipment so I'll just have to go for it unless some else has any good idea. Jim

We'll I just tried to torque the crankshaft bolt to 125 ft-lb and it broke!!!! I know have half a bolt stuck in the crankshaft!! Anyone know how I can get it our or am I know looking at a complete engine rebuild. I caution anyone to crank a bolt this high. Lesson is I should have got a new bolt before putting this much torque on it. I'm extremely frustrated. Jim

I've got an old 1990 Subaru that the automatic seat belts don't work. The manual doesn't list a fuse for the seat belts and all the fuses in the box look fine. The cable on the driver side looks like its out of its groove so that may be part of the problem but don't know why the passenger side doesn't work either. If there is a fuse, please let me know where it is located. Thanks. Jim