svxpert

<<$211 out of my pocket, and the tech hands me my invoice. I look it over and note that "head gasket leaking oil" has replaced the "head gaskets seeping oil" that was present on the invoice last time. >> i think its time for a new mechanic since the headgaskets don't "control" or seal any oil flow.

holly shifter, Batman! that things huge!

10W-20 is used in some Honda's. i doubt subaru advises to use it in north america though. give us the link to the article.

<<I drained fluid by removing pan plug then put full fluid amount specified in Chilton manual (10 quarts!) following process described which said nothing about only getting partial drainage of fluid. I checked my fluid after filling and it was high but I am not too experienced and thought it was OK because I put the amount specified. Two week later I found a small amount of fluid leaking around passenger side upper transmission case. I removed about 4 qts of fluid to get the dip stick to read correctly.>> the whole transmisson holds 10 quarts. did you really have 10 quarts in the pan you drained into? by using the plug, only about 3 quarts come out.

who quoted: "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute"

one more thought to add to MUGS reply. you have to know how far to put the rear main seal in. if its not put in correct, it will leak.

<<This is NOT cool! So it sounds like there's no way of knowing untill I have the whole thing torn apart. If I have the wrong belt I'm SOL! According to the contents list on the box it's a 223 tooth belt.>> thats why its so much easier to buy a timing belt from Subaru. give them your vin and they can give you the correct part number at least for the belt

<<Hi folks. The left directional on my '99 Outback is oscillating at about twice the normal rate. I don't see any burned out bulbs.Anybody know what the problem might be? Thanks!>> look for your turn signal relay. its under the dash, possibly above where your left leg would be. another spot it could be is on your engine fuse box under the hood, left side near battery. should be a black plastic assembly, 1-2 inches square or a metal round one like this:

pics of the correct tools: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=72575 as for the tensioner, i always use a vice, as long as you do it slow you'll be ok.

unplug the plugwires and turn the key over for a few seconds to get the oil circulating.

<<I am doing the timing belt on my 92 legacy right now and I noticed my cam is damaged.>> how can you tell your camshaft is damaged from doing a timing belt?

<<It does need more work too. Nothing major. Needs brakes and 2 tires.>> that might be the reason you need a new tranny! AWD vehicles need to have the same tread depth. how bad are the tires?

<<really? overtightening the axle nut is bad for bearings? i've always tightened XT6 axles nuts as tight as i can get them with a long pipe. maybe i'm destroying my EJ bearings by doing this?>> i'm talking about tightning them with a airgun and cranking them down. the axle nut is in line with the wheel bearing components, the lug nuts crank against the lug studs.

<<Can anyone tell me where the VIN number is located on both the tranny as well as the engine?>> your cars vin number isn't on the engine or tranny. they have engine numbers and trans numbers the coorlate (SP?) with the vin. why didnt you do this before you bought the car?

<<Herb Gordon of Silver Spring gave me a quote of $570.00, including tax, to replace the rear wheel bearing (and hub) of my 1997 Impreza. Is this price reasonable? I was told it was priced at nearly 3 hours of labor. How urgent is this repair? I was told there was possibly a crack in the bearing. What are the usual causes - ie, going too fast over a speed bump with a back load, ie, some guy over-tightening the lug nuts during a tire change-over ... Thanks>> why do they want to replace the hub also? have they taken it apart and confirmed the issue? no, overtightning lug nuts wont damage your bearing, overtightning your axel nut will though...

<<FWIW, on an auto trans if you remove the front section of shaft, the AT fluid will run out. i don't know if manuals are the same. >> no, atf won't come out, gear lube will. SCREWBARU, if you want to take measurements of the driveshafe, end to end, end to center bearing and front to center bearing, i will check my supply of driveshafts i have in my garage. i think i only have about ten left. all from cars with less than 1000 miles on them. taken out before they were scrappped.

if your car is a "1995 MY" you dont have a 2.5 engine. you have a 2.2 engine. post the vin and we can break it down for you so you can see it. does the tranny go into any gear at all? <<Said they hadn't properly sealed the gasket between the transmission housing and the engine block.>> theres no gasket there. they were pulling your leg. <<I'm thinking of sending the place that installed the 2nd transmission and didn't seal the gasket the bill for the new transmission, asking them to pay for it.>> unless you have a 40,000 mile warranty dont waste your time. go to a different tranny place and get a third opinion.

<<Presently doing timing belt change @ 115k, >> <<Not touching the oil pump,>> you might want to rethink that. your original oil pump most likely isn't going to last another 105,000. its only a $60 part anyway...

<<It makes a classic (to me the mechanic, in a past life anyway) wheel-bearing noise, but it also made this noise, more softly, when I bought the car, and it stopped when I put snows on last season. The noise came back when I put the stock potenzas back on, and the noise recently has gotten worse.So, I think it could still be the tire, have not jacked it up to check the wheel bearing yet, just doing the background work for whenever it needs doing.The noise was actually worse and funkier on a recent 50 deg. F morning, which I have not seen a wheel bearing do before.>> wheel bearing noise doesn't come and go, its continues(sp?). awhile back, some used a hub-tamer type tool to do a wheel bearing. i always use a press. hope it helps

<<I've driven it probably too much a couple of times while it was overheating. Never more than 5 minutes though. Did i kill my car?>> sounds like you overheated the engine and blew a headgasket. <<I did not have the Subaru running when i filled it back up though.>> being that you didn't correctly bleed all of the air out of the coolant system, my bet is still blown headgasket. <<Any idea on how to remove the left camshaft pulley? the nut is huge. The directions say to remove the left camshaft pulley, is that the pulley left of the first one on the right? Any way to stop the pulley from turning so i can loosen it?>> before anyone tries to work/repair a vehicle they should get the proper tools and manuals for the job. since its a 2.2 engine, you should be able to find one easily in your area. then you can just swap it in your car.

<<Not sure about the synthetic coated pistons, then again it's what my Subie dealer uses.>> what are you talking about?

that "valve" is the Fuel Pressure Regulator. it steals vacume off your manifold to work. maybe its (or the vacume line) is clogged?

is there a reason you think you need an extra oil additive? changing your oil on your non turbo forester every 3000 miles isnt good enough? how many miles do you have on your vehicle?

i don't work for autozone but i'll chime in with my thoughts. 1. i have never heard of any lifetime warranty parts store giving money back for a returned defective part, they give another rebuilt part. 2. << But first, to add insult to injury, they said that they would “test” my alternator and if they determined that it was O.K. they would not give me a new one. That really got me going… Why the h____ would anyone return a good alternator???>> well, alot of people don't know how to diagnose a bad alternator. so in reality, its really a bad battery or bad starter.

<<On the bottom nut and washer, I used a 17 MM deep socket, and two different size extensions. >> are you sure it wasn't a 14MM?