Fairtax4me

There's no airbag resistor that I'm aware of, and I've studied these Subaru airbag systems pretty thoroughly. There are some other things under there that like to smoke. The illumination module is the most common. There is something under there that Subaru calls a Short Connector, but I haven't determined its exact location or function. Pics will certainly help here.

Depends on what year GT. 2000-2004 GT used basically the same exhaust. 2005 and later the GT was turbo and the exhaust was entirely different. Cat-back was similar, but I'm not sure of fitment between 2005 and prior years. Try to stick to 2000-2004 year range and everything should fit fine. It's really easy to poke under the car and just get an idea for the shape of the exhaust that's on the car. If what you see in pics online doesn't look anything remotely like what's on your car, chances are good it won't fit.

Gates has good kits. I think amazon had the cheapest price on the gates kit. eBay has some decent kits as well. I like the MizumoAuto kits with the Aisin water pump. It comes with an OE style rubber coated metal gasket. You get all of the front oil seals with the kit as well. Whatever you get make sure it has the new tensioner pulley, all 3 idlers, and the water pump.

Heat shield sounds more likely to me. Possible the flex plate has cracked but you'll usually get a knocking/clicking type sound from that.

X2 Try a headlamp restoration kit. The 3M kit that chucks into the drill works great. Just be careful of the painted surfaces around the lights. Use masking tape to keep them from getting scuffed up.

New video link on yootoob. Should have just posted it there to begin with. Yep, $23 for Beck Arnley double sealed bearing. $15 for new hub seals from napa for double protection. $420 puller kit so I can do it all again on the GFs car when I figure out which bearing/(s) is making noise on hers. Her 95 Legacy has been making noise for about 15k miles now with no play in any wheels. Her new 06 Forester also has a bad bearing. She's put about 6k on that one with a faint grumble. I heard it when she bought it, and it just got loud enough that she just noticed it last week. Of course, after driving her 95 for a week, I noticed mine makes an awful lot of tire noise, so that bearing may have been making some noise and I just couldn't hear it. I spend enough time in that car though, I'm pretty sure I would have heard something.

Yeah I just hit the damn things. Get it with the corner and it might take a headlight out but at least you can drive home. Hitting a deer is much better than smashing the curb or running across the ditch and down into the woods, IMO.

Depends on what your using them for. Dry-gas and Heet products are nothing more than fancy alcohol. Alcohol absorbs water, up to a certain amount, and it will then mix with the fuel so it can be burned. Kind of a neat experiment to can do with gasoline to determine its water content. Pour about 100 mL into a graduated cylinder, add about 10-20 mL of distilled water. Cap it off and shake vigorously for about a minute, then let it settle. All of the water will settle to the bottom of the cylinder. Compare the amount of water that settles to the amount you added earlier. If you added 10mL and now have 18mL of water, the water content was approximately 8mL or 8%. This only works with ethanol gas. Non-ethanol gas should not absorb any water.

Normal and normal. That bushing should not be tight against the control arm. There is a certain amount of clearance that's supposed to be there to allow free rotation of the control arm and prevent the control arm from hitting the metal frame of the bushing. If the bushing is pressed tight against the control arm the control arm could be bent.

Normal and normal. That bushing should not be toght against the control arm. There is a certain amount of clearance that's supposed to be there to allow free rotation of the control arm and prevent the control arm from hitting the metal frame of the bushing. If the bushing is pressed tight against the control arm the control arm could be bent.

Are they a male torx head or female torx head? A male torx head would be an "E" torx .the E meaning External. Those should be commonly available. If its a female torx head a regular torx bit should fit and work.

Is the belt old? Just because its tight doesn't mean it can't slip. If the rib surface of the belt is glazed it can still slip even if the belt is tight. Is the fluid old? Old fluid, or incorrect fluid, can cause problems with the pump and the valves in the rack.

Check fuses. Check for power getting to the pump. Access plate is in the trunk/ cargo floor directly behind the passenger rear seat.

The hell is a torx plus?

Won't hurt it any. Make sure the edge is smooth so it doesn't cut the belt. The pulley doesnt really balance anything. Harmonic dampener is a better term for it.

Probably needs an Alignment. If you have any play in the tie rod ends or ball joints replace those before having an alignment done. Make sure all 4 tires are properly inflated. If it's all solid, take it and get a 4 wheel alignment done.

Got the hub pulled out and discovered there was no outer axle seal. The bearing has been replaced at some point and a new outer seal was not installed. So the bearing has been exposed to water and whatever other dirt/grit can float its way up between the knuckle and the hub.

I think you have a good plan. Filter efficiency increases as the filter traps particulate, so leaving the current filter on there will actually catch more stuff out of the fluid over the course of the next few fluid changes.

I like to share some of the odd failures I see from time to time. This one went from no noise to complete failure in about 5 miles. Got it all torn apart today so I can try out my spankin' new Hub Grappler kit tomorrow!

They completely changed the rear struts and springs in 2000, they're in no way compatible with each other. A 2000 rear strut http://www.subaruoutback.org/gallery//500/10308shockchange3.jpg Vs a 98 rear strut http://www.sspparts.com/e2/items/9110/IMG_8659.JPG

Different internals, but its a straight drop in for the 96. The only parts you need to worry about are the same.

Gross! That's pretty nasty looking to have only 47k on the car. Old/burned ATF can smell like all kinds of rancid stuff. Drain and fill at least two more times and see how it does.

Better check the u-joints or the driveshaft if you had it unbolted. I wouldn't drive it until you give it a good shakedown and make sure none of the wheels are gonna fall off. Its possible the trans you put in has a different final drive ratio than the original. What trim level is your car (L, GT, outback)? And what trim did the "new" trans come from?

It wobbles? Bad rod bearings wood make a solid knock sound, but no wobbling. Bad main bearings would give low oil pressure, and quickly lead to bad rod bearings, and knocking. If it isn't knocking, there's probably nothing wrong internally. Wobbling could just be a loose crankshaft pulley. The bolt in the center will come loose and let the pulley wobble all around. Doesn't hurt the engine a bit. Just need to clean up the crank nose some where the pulley was wobbling on it. New keyway and a new pulley and torque the bolt to about 140ft-lbs. Or wobbling could maybe mean it its misfiring. Its hard to tell based on something that a friend told a friend who told you.

Good deal. Stay frosty!