MailManX

Ha, ha! Good one! Rumors that the Pedantic Setright is extinct are obviously incorrect.

Yup - sorry, I had it backwards.

I agree with you about the gear teeth. But you misread what I originally wrote because I mentioned the affect of "bearings", not teeth. Thinner oil flows into bearings better.

The difference is the thickness. Even though they both start with 75, the 75W140 will in general be thicker overall. Thicker oil doesn't lubricate bearings quite as well, but it won't hurt in the short term, expecially since it's still summer - at least it is here in Southern California. When the weather gets colder, especially in cold climates, you'd want to go back to the thinner oil for sure.

Darn, I'm sorry I missed your 3:30 deadline today. The offset is measured in millimeters, so the difference between 50mm and 40mm is 1 centimeter which is about 4-tenths of an inch. It doesn't sound like much, but that might just be enough to make a tire rub the top of your shock tower. I know that with the WRX wheels and tires on my 93 Legacy, I can't even get my finger between the tire and the top of the shock tower. If you already purchased the 40 offset wheels, I hope they work out for you. If you have not purchased them yet, maybe you could get the dealer (or individual) to give you a 72-hour return clause in case they don't work.

You can't, it's built into how the wheel is made. The only way to get it right is to buy it right. Here's a link that explains offset and shows simple diagrams: http://www.etddiscounttire.com/wheeloffset.html Note that there is both negative and positive offset. The Subaru offset is from 48 -55 POSITIVE offset, depending on the wheel and tire combination. Staying closer to 50 -52 is probably optimum.

I put a set of WRX wheels on my 93 Legacy and it dramatically improved the handling. They are 16 X 7. Got them from Ebay for $325 a year ago. As a bonus, they came with new tires directly off a new WRX. Yes, the bolt pattern is 5 X 100mm. Another benefit of getting a set of WRX wheels is that the offset is correct for Subaru's. Also, like GLCraigGT said, the slightly larger rubber corrected my speedometer which was wrong with the stock tires. Here's a picture. Sorry it's not closer, but it will give you the general idea:

I'm impressed with the doodler's resourcefulness. Sure looks like the same clip to me. As for the tape measure, it was in my transmission, too. Seems to be working better without it, although my car's auto-retract mechanism doesn't work any more. It's a trade off.

It may have been, but I was lying on my back under that car and the plug got away from me as the oil started to rush out. The plug bounced around in the pan a couple times as I was worrying about my really hot fingers! Ouch!

I tried bending it with my fingers, but it was too stiff for that. I could barely even make a deflection. I'm not even going to bother trying to bend it with pliers because I'm convinced that the bends in it were designed to be there. I have had some wonderful feedback here. You guys are great. I've decided to just stop worry about it and drive it till it breaks. I'm fortunate to have a pickup that I can use as backup transportation.

The clutch job was done professionally two years ago by a mechanic that I really trust in Tacoma, WA. I wish I still had easy access to him. The piece sure looks like the release bearing clip in the link that was posted earlier. If that is the case, it sure sat around for a long time before deciding to drop in unannounced. Kind of reminds me of my mother-in-law...

Very valid point. I considered that last night as I made my post about the bends. But what makes me think otherwise is the lack of scarring on the small end (my picture doesn't show that end very well - wrong angle and lighting). If that wire got crushed between the teeth of two gears, it should be mangled and the two radii should be flattened. Yet that end of the wire is pretty much flawless. The main scarring to the clip is on the larger radius and the end which is broken. Sadly, it's all just speculation. You could very well be right, or I could, or none of us. I hate it when that happens!

I agree it's not the release bearing clip since it was in the transmission. However, it also does not appear to be any of the clips posted by Dr. RX. The bends that are in my clip are too specific and intentional, not the random and crazy bends caused by being sloshed around between hard moving objects. For example, the center radius of my clip is perfectly symetical and shaped like half of a sound wave unlike the full circular radius of the synchronizer springs. The tight bend at the non-broken end is actually a "square bend". That is, there are two tiny radii separated by a short straight. It reminds me of a very small version of one end of the Indianapolis Speedway. That was not an accidental bend and it doesn't match anything on the synchro springs. Thanks to snotrocket for giving me peace of mind about transmission failure. I should have know that since I watch a lot of racing of all types and transmission failures rarely if ever cause accidents.

I just finished thoroughly inspecting the underside of my car up close with a flashlight. I wish I hadn't. Now I'm back to worrying that my transmission is going to disintegrate on the freeway. Here's what I found: Nothing. The transmission is tightly secured to the back of the engine. There is no gap, space or inspection hole that I could see designed into the bottom or sides of the bell housing. Therefore, that retainer gizmo could not have come out of the bell housing. And since I change my transmission oil a couple times a year, the likelyhood of that retainer sitting on the cross member for several years before deciding to fall off this time is very, very slim. On a hunch, I took the broken retainer under the car with me and compared it to the size of the drain hole. Turns out it could fit through there pretty easily, epecially since one end of the retainer is broken so that it's narrower than originally designed. I also conclude that the retainer could not have gotten from the bell housing into the transmission. My reasoning for that is that if the clip could get in, then oil could get out causing my clutch to be a slippery mess, along with the bottom of my transmission. But everything under there is clean and dry. Thereore, I conclude that the broken retainer came from INSIDE the transmission. I guess Subaru transmissions must be very unique. Maybe it's a retainer for a synchro as some have already suggested. The bottom line is that whatever used to be retained is now unrestrained, ready to thow itself into the grinding teeth of nearby gears, thus causing my poor transmission to demolish itself in writhing agony. Sorry, I got carried away. But the damn thing had better stay together on my trip this weekend. After that, I'll see about getting it fixed.

I'll check for a gap or for loose mounting this evening. Thanks!

Now that's a very smart deduction that I'd never thought of. And this information is very conclusive. It is absolutely true that I never saw this part come out of the drain hole and that it would be darn near impossible for that to happen based on the size and shape of the part (I wish I'd have thought of that). So now I can quit worry that my transmission is going to disintegrate while I'm driving. Good thing, too, because I'm supposed to make a 600 mile round trip this weekend to visit family. With any luck, the partially retained release bearing will hold out until I finally need a clutch job.

Thanks! Sounds like my release bearing needs to be thrown out! Too bad I don't need a clutch job 'cuz it sounds like replacing a release bearing would be the perfect time to also replace the clutch. Oh, wait, now I'm confused. If you don't have to take apart the transmission to get to the release bearing, how could that broken retainer piece end up inside my transmission?

That's great info. Such an inexpensive piece to cause so much aggrevation! But isn't that often the way it goes in racing - the all important "five dollar part" that brings the mega-thousand dollar racing machine to it's knees. So, is a release bearing the same as the "thrust" bearing that Sasquatch referred to? What could happen if an improperly retained release bearing moved out of place (fell off, fell apart, etc.)? And if it's the release bearing making the noise, can that be replaced without the need to rebuild the whole transmission? Since I know absolutely nothing about transmissions, I need to gather all the knowledge I can before I take the car to a local mechanic. I don't want to get a diagnosis such as "Hmmm, you've gotcha one o' them bad release bearing gizmo's. I hate to say it, but when that fails, it usually takes the muffler bearing with it which is one of the main causes of premature head gasket failure. What we need to do is replace every single part on your car, including the door latch mechanisms. But you're in luck because we just had a cancellation, so we can have it all done by close of business today and it will only cost you $9,000 dollars. Trust us, we've been doing this for years."

Has anyone recently had a 5-speed tranny rebuilt in a 90-94 Legacy? I'd like to find out what the approx cost will be if I decide to have mine done. Thanks! Michael

You want it back? I could send it to you. I thought that thrust bearings only came into play when the clutch was pushed in. My "whirring" noise is when the car is moving under power. The whirring speeds up and slows down with the car, but it's definitely somewhere in the transaxle based on the location of the sound and based on the fact that if I push the clutch in and coast, the noise goes away. The noise does not sound to me like a grind or like a rattle that's turning. I suppose that if I was limited to only those two choices, it would be the rattle that's turning. But I chose the word "whirring" because, to my ear, the sound just doesn't fit anything else. It's almost melodic as it speeds up and slows down with the speed of the car. Michael

I'm the person who posted a couple weeks ago that the manual transmission in my 93 Legacy L AWD was making a "whirring" noise. The general consensus was that it was probably the main bearing and that I should change the fluid and look at the magnet on the plug. Today, I finally got around to changing the fluid (Redline 75W-90NS). The fluid that came out was still in excellent condition. It was the right color and consitency. It should be since the last time I changed it was only about 15,000 miles ago. There was a fine mist of tiny metal particles on the plug magnet. I figured that was acceptable for an old transmission with 203,000 miles on it. However, when I emptied the oil drain pan, this little guy was staring at me from the bottom of the pan. I have never been inside a transmission before, so I have no idea what kind of parts are in there. At the very least, I'm pretty certain that if it's supposed to be in there, it should not be out here in this picture! It looks to me like some kind of retainer. The left end appears to be broken off, but I can't be certain. The rest of it looks as if it's been chewed on a bit. After changing the oil, I took the car out for a 10 mile run combining freeway and surface streets. The transmission still "whirs". It also still shifts perfectly. If it weren't for that little part that fell out, I'd just ignore the noise and probably get many more years of use from the transmission with no worries. However, when I drive the car now, the back of my mind keeps reminding the front of my mind that there's a piece missing. That worries me. I keep expecting the transmission to freeze up on the freeway at 80mph and throw parts all over the road. Possibly even parts of me. I'm not fond of that idea. Are there any of you excellent shade tree or professional mechanics that know exactly what this doohickey is and what my car will do without it? I'm really hoping it's like a gall bladder. You know... Something the transmission was meant to have but can get along fine without.

I think it's kind of cute, in a Forester sort of way.

Darn, I don't see the EJ22 engine listed on the MizpahPrecision website. I guess I'll have to call them. My 93 Legacy has one noisy HLA and it's really bugging me. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm in the wrong forum. I'll just shut up and slink back to my own side now.

I hope that AutoZone can read the later models of Subaru because they sure as heck couldn't read my 93 Legacy. They didn't have the right connector for it.

It depends on the year and model. They were pretty reasonable for my 93 Legacy. I've had them for a couple years and can't remember exactly, but I think they were about $75 including shipping. If memory serves, they were quite a bit more expensive for later models with 2.5L engines.