Fairtax4me

Not really plating or residue. Looked just like a thin layer of lead/graphite. It had the same metallic sheen like if you used a pencil to color on a piece of paper. Not greasy or clumpy or anything like that. Just some lead that probably rubbed off of the gas pump nozzle and got on the fill spout over the years, and it stuck to the seal and built up over a period of time. I guess they probably use aluminum for gas nozzles now, since lead isn't kosher anymore.

Well if that amsoil starts feeling more notchy, try Motul 300. The amsoil may be better in the warmer climate. I tried a few different fluids in the trans in my 96 because it wouldn't shift into second at all when it was below 50° out. Motul made it shift like butter even in single digit temps.

Glad you got it back. Did you get any pics of the carnage? Have heard of FEQ but haven't talked to anyone who has used them. Might have to give them a try on something.

95 ej22 plugs should have a .039-.043" gap. 44 is a little wide, but better than 70 for sure!

Did you check the fuse? The hi/lo filaments use a common supply, and are grounded by the hi/lo dimmer switch in the column, so cleaning grounds under the hood won't change anything.

Outback one is a couple inches longer and won't fit the legacy.

2012 Outback 2.5, approx: 75,000 miles. She was driving on the highway about 40 miles into a 65 mile trip. Check engine light and traction light came on, Cruise and Brake warning lamps started blinking. Apparently these lights normally come on all at the same time when the ECU sets a code of some sort. Seems excessive to me. Scanned it and got a P0456 - Evap System Very Small Leak. Checked the gas cap and it was on and tight. Removed it and checked the seal, and there was a fine silvery layer of what looked like lead all the way around the seal. In some spots it was fairly heavy. Wiped it off with a rag and some light degreaser, also wiped around the filler neck where the seal makes contact. Reset the code and drove it about 30 miles while watching the monitors with my scanner and got the evap monitor to set about 5 minutes after I got on the highway. Rescan showed no new codes. Going to keep an eye on it and see if it pops up again. This seems to be a common occurance with these newer cars, and it looks like most people just replace the gas cap. Wondering if simply cleaning the seal on the gas cap is something that could be done periodically to prevent this problem.

Axles are the same. Grab those. Driveshaft varies depending on AT, MT, and L/base model or Outback. You can use a non-outback driveshaft on an outback if you fab spacers or stack some washers and longer bolts to lower the carrier bearing down so the angle of the driveshaft is correct. Wheels will stay on it well enough to get it to a junkyard. The spline shaft of the axle does hold the hub in the bearing and keeps pre-load on the bearing, but it's still a press fit so the hub shouldn't just fall out.

Balance the tires first. If the car has been sitting for a long time the tires may have flat spots and they can take some drive time to get rid of those spots. U-joint or bad carrier bearing on the driveshaft would be my next look after balancing the tires.

No, unfortunately there's no easy way to pop loose those ball joints. If the castle nut is spinning the stud, try putting a jack under the control arm to push up on it and see if it will hold the stud just enough to get the nut loose. You a Jon B. fan?

No. Just plugs and wires. Use NGK or Denso. I've had good luck with both.

How old are the plugs and wires?

There's a plug on the wire, it should be just inside the frame rail on that side. 12 ton may not be enough for these. They get pretty stuck in there, especially if you live in the rust belt.

If it's the black weather seal trim that runs along the seam in the wheel well, leave it off. That trim traps moisture and dirt on that seam and will eventually cause it to rust. Tape along the outer edge of the wheel arch and spray that seam with undercoat or bed-liner.

Main bearing failure is rare in almost any engine. would be more likely to have damaged rod bearings than a bad main bearing. None of those will typically make a whirring noise if they go bad. What caused it to break down, and what did you fix/replace to get it running again? Does the engine still turn over? Have you removed the timing cover to check the timing belt and idlers/tensioner?

Best reason I can think that it would change at higher rpm is that you may be engaging and releasing the clutch faster. Quicker pedal movement means higher pressure moving through the system. A quicker release may be causing debris to block the return flow of fluid? Just a wild guess.

Have you pulled the rubber dust boot off of either cylinder to check for fluid? Fluid inside the boot means the cylinder is bad. It's also somewhat common for the rubber hose(s) to degrade internally and will prevent fluid from exiting the slave cylinder properly. There will always be some play in the release fork/TOB mechanism. That's nothing to worry about.

I've never seen HID lights that I thought were too dim. normally they're obnoxiously bright. How long has this been a problem? HID bulbs do have a finite lifespan, after several years the light they start to burn at a lower temperature and the light they produce is less intense and of a more blue-ish/purple color.

I've owned at least two vehicles for the last ten years or better. At one point I owned 4 just for my own use. One of those was a pickup which hardly got driven, but it served it's purpose well on the occasions when I needed a truck. Having two vehicles is nearly essential for me. If one breaks I always have one to drive in the meantime while either waiting for parts or time to fix the other. Liability insurance and taxes/registration cost me only about $200 per year for the second vehicle. Maintenance costs may be another $200 or so, but I do use both of my current vehicles on a regular basis. I switch off every week or two so neither one sits for an extended time.

Did you check pin 1 with a voltmeter to see if 12v is getting to the plug on the red wire? If the engine runs, the fuse is fine. Same fuse gives power to the ECU, fuel pump and main relay. If you have no voltage at pin 1, there's a break in the wire somewhere between the connector and the relays where it splices into the supply circuit.

You have to remove the door panel to get access to the two lower screws. The gusset assembly is huge like an iceberg. You only see about 1/3 of it sticking out of the door.

Seats in the 95-up weigh much less than the 90-94 seats. Same with the door panels. There is less sound deadening material in the 95-up cars. They also changed from glass to plastic headlights, though that may have been a year or so earlier.

Don't bother with it. You don't need to remove it to replace the bearing.

Wire brush and chisel off any loose scale on the head of the bolt. PB or other penetrating oil on it. Then hammer on a slightly smaller socket. I've used a dremel before to cut new flats on a bolt head so I could use a smaller socket on it. Probably tricky to get a dremel into that space behind the bracket though.

Double platinum should be fine. Autolite isn't a brand I normally recommend, but I don't think those are the problem. Wires on these need to be a good quality brand and they should be replaced whenever you replace the plugs. Double check that all of the wires are clicked on all the way. Also check for any moisture in the spark plug wells. I've had to resort to RTV on the plug boots to keep water out of the plug wells because it will cause misfiring until the engine warms up.