CNY_Dave

Well, something isn't right. Maybe they drained the front diff and forgot to refill? Does the whine seem to increase by the same amount as the increase in vehicle speed, or does it seem to increase 4x 'faster' than the vehicle speed? Dave

Factory only- the Subaru black filter that says "H6" on the box. I hear they are out of production, but as long as the dealer has 'em I'm using 'em. They are not that much- 9 bucks? Dave

Don't know about the goop, but the proper plugs are pre-gapped. Platinum and other pin-electrode plugs cannot be reliably gapped. Dave

Do you half-fill the filter or tip the car on its side? Bought my '03 H6 with 55k 4 years ago (or so), 170k now, 6qts castrol 5W-30 every 5k miles, it's happy so far. (50 miles each-way commute, mostly highway). We see 80+ degrees a fair bit in the summer, 90+ less frequently, 100 rarely but it happens. Dave

Kroil is a few notches better than pb blaster, and pb is pretty good. Dave

Oh, thx, I had thought you had a 00-04, similar to mine. dave

I've read through and am confused- why does the lateral link bolt need to come out? I thought the wheel bearing was a bolt-on unit on the rears, you undid the 4 bolts, pressed/hammered the axle out of the hub, then took the wheel bearing/hub assembly to a parts store with a press. I'm sure I missed something, so just prep the dope-slap mackerel and give me a good whack with it. Dave

Wish I was local to him- could use a few extra bucks and just replaced one of mine!

Yes, both rears. It's much like a GM drum brake inside the rotor. Tough part is de-adjusting the Ebrake and the adjuster enough to get the shoes to clear the rust ridge. Dave

Ah, 2 wires plus shield. If shielded, the shielding is important. If you can lose a bit of length, easiest to just make it shorter, joining the shield well will be the challenge. Dave

Seems nothing to lose, this is just two wires like a lamp cord, not one wire within a shield (like TV Coax), correct? The other question, is the wire pinched somewhere that it is keeping a gasket from fully sealing? Dave

That is unusual damage... I concur the sentiment to 'roadster' it! Glad you're OK. Dave

Check for vacuum leaks and exhaust leaks, most P0420s are from one of those two. Look at the vacuum hoses, check for cracking, hose nipples with no hose on them, hoses not going anywhere, broken plastic hose T's, listen for a whistling noise with the hood open, replace the PCV valve. You can also spray a bit of carb cleaner around the intake gaskets etc to see if the idle changes. Checking for exhaust leaks is easier. Dave

If the code is P0420 there is a good bit of free stuff to try before dropping cash on a sensor. P0420 is often caused by a vacuum leak (hence a bad PCV valve can trigger it) or by an exhaust leak, even an exhaust leak that is past the second 02 sensor. Dave

I think what he was saying was in the past the ball joint broke and the wheel (whole knuckle?) promptly splayed out and was repaired, and now x months later the damage to the joint is becoming evident.

Time's the factor here- 100 mi/day, trip early next week, work is too far to have my wife run me in. Have to do it this weekend. Or sooner. I called my subaru dealer- they use NAPA (A1 Cardone) for when a customer wants the rebuilt axle. He said they have been working well for them, so NAPA it will be. 52 bucks for a rebuild, 107 new. The other I have more time, maybe I will have time to see if the Napa axle proves out. Dave

That's my plan if my car survives waiting for me to replace an axle- do the plugs and valve cover gaskets at the same time. Due to the axle seeming to be ready to vacate the premises, looks like I need to take my chances and go for a cardone from napa or autozone. Seems the only ones more hated are the GSP and Fenco axles at Advance. Dave

This is a potential donor to replace my obviously bad one. If I can't get 100k out of it I'd rather get a MWE or cardone replacement. I do not have the scratch for a subaru replacement. Dave

That's my thinking, but wasn't sure. The outers are very tight, seems fewer wear surfaces on the inners takes a larger toll. Dave

I probably need to do this job next weekend- bump.

No, yours is in a small drum brake inside the rear rotors. Dave

Have an inner cleaned of grease, axle in the vice. How much rotational and lateral play is acceptable? About 190k miles on it, I can rotate it a small but eye-detectable amount, same laterally. Inner surface just shows polishing at the wear points, dull on the trailing side, shiny at the driving surface (let me figure out it was a right). Should I use it as a left side joint to maximize further use? Also, does anyone pull the inner rollers off to clean and pack in new grease? Looks like a small snap ring, not sure how I'd get it off. No place to insert a pick, etc. Dave

A1: Yes, absolutely. The inner joint changes very little when turning. My car has been doing the same thing, I got under the car without jacking it up, and I can rattle the inner joint. I think you have a bad inner on the other axle. A2: No. Edit- oops, didn't see the last post. But I'll leave my reply in case it helps someone else. BTW, I'd reserve judgement the rear trailing arm bushings and/or wheel bearing would cause a wheel-out-of-balance type vibration- but it could happen. Dave

Was a whining noise, but I had a bad sube front wheel bearing do the exact opposite- noise disappeared when the bearing was loaded more- left front was bad, noise went away when turning right. Tricksy buggers they can be... Dave

I could be thinking of a different discussion, but I recall a diagram showing a dedicated pump and circuit just for the trans cooler on subes. Dave