Fairtax4me

Grade 5 is good enough. I usually buy grade 8 stuff for important things on the car (such as the starter, suspension parts, etc.). Tractor supply sells it by the pound. Something like $2.99 here, and they have nifty tags on the bins that say how many of each bolt/nut are in a pound.

Backlash is not your issue, and adjusting it will not help. "Backlash" refers to the amount of play in a gear set. It is the amount of space between the teeth on the ring gear and pinion gear. It has to be set at a very specific margin for proper wear, heat production/dissipation, and overall longevity of the gears. Trying to correct the "wiggle" of the stub by adjusting the bearing retainer has no effect on the stub and will do nothing but cause damage to the differential. There is no adjustment for the axle stub. All it does is slide into the side gear and is then held in the differential by a snap ring. If the stub is loose, you deal with it. Replacement means you have to split the case and remove the differential. More of a PITA than it's worth. Here's an exploded view of the front diff so you can see what I'm talking about. http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_5/train/differential_transmission/illustration_1/

The converter needs to stay attached and fully seated to the trans because if the dog ears for the fluid pump come out of the notches in the converter shaft and it gets put back together and attached to the engine that way it will eat the pump to pieces. It can also damage the thrust bearing in the engine. But the transmission pump is the first to go.

Any parts store should have some. But if all others fail go to Napa. Permatex or Loctite will probably be the most common. Three Bond makes great stuff if you can find it.

That should work, but to avoid stretching, use the old belt to hold the cams while you tighten the bolts. Then reset and put the new belt on. A light smear of sealer means you put a dab on your finger and run it around the sealing surface until it's coated. Remove any blobs or drips on the inside. I usually make it thin enough to see through it. This (which just so happens to be a subaru oil pump ) is too much IMO. http://beergarage.com/imgs/Suby/OPump/14.jpg Crazy what you can find with google! http://beergarage.com/SubyOPump.aspx

The majority of the fluid is inside the TC. It's not pretty if it slips off. Make sure that the TC stays fully seated the whole time during removal. Ideally you want to use a torque converter retainer. It's just a bent piece of metal about 3 to 6 inches long that you bolt to the bell housing. You can make one pretty easy. Looks like this. http://www.handsontools.com/OTC-Tools-ZTSE9109-Torque-Converter-Retainer-_p_45783.html

Glad it worked for you! I usually just run a wire brush through them a few times to take care of corrosion and scale in there. Never had to use a triangle file for that specifically, but it seemed like it should work. Not sure how you ended up with "black rust" in there, but Id have to guess road salt and heat had something to do with it.

Driveable but barely. I'm kind of surprised I can still drive it to work. If I give it over about 35% throttle it will start slipping. It gets worse at higher speeds, especially if the engine rpm is over 2500 where the power band really starts to pick up. I don't think it could fight the wind on the interstate, and trying to make it up any hill is tense. I keep watching the tachometer and hoping that it doesn't start climbing while the car is slowing down. I appreciate the offer though.

The tire guy might be trying to get some extra $$$$ to make up for what he spent on Christmas. About the only way I could conceive that both rears would be bad already is that they're dragging. Which would be due to sticky or locked slide pins, degraded brake hoses, or the parking brake is sticking. That or the last job was done with very poor quality parts, which I would hope a Subaru dealer would not use. But you just never know with dealers these days. Normally the rear rotors will last twice as long as the front rotors, because they don't get as much use. If the rears are worn out already, the front rotors would be shot. If the brakes are/were dragging you would certainly notice it in your fuel mileage, and the rear wheels (one or both) would be very warm after a drive. If there were a problem, I would bet on the slide pins. But like I said, I think your tire guy was trying to come up with some work.

So, why does the service manual say that there's an ID sticker there? Maybe they just fall off easily? I mean, I know for a fact that my 96 doesn't have a tag, because I've looked. But I have nothing to compare that to. I do have the service manual though, and it says... Unless something changed between 96 and 99...

Aren't the mounting holes still there for the old style tensioners? Might be worth it to switch.

If you did an auto to manual swap the ECU is still looking for the Park/Neutral Range switch for the auto transmission. I seem to recall there being a fix for that, but I can't remember who posted it.

I know how you feel about the cold. I'm getting ready to drop the transmission on mine to replace the clutch. Too in depth for me to do at work on the lift (takes too long and our service director is touchy about non-service personnel tying up the lifts) so it will likely be in my friends driveway, rolling around in the snow that hasn't yet melted away, and probably won't before next weekend. Cracked runners in the sunroof, yeah that's a good way to ruin your day. I'd try for a junkyard unit. I wouldn't figure on spending more than a couple hundred bucks for the whole thing from a yard. Probably less from a U pull it place if you can find one.

You should be able to determine ratio by checking the option code on the number plate under the hood. For the 2004 models (closest year I could find a manual for) code EC, EK, or K4, Outback with 2.5 will have a 3.90. Code KA outback 2.5 will be 4.11. OR if the label is still on the rear diff, check there for an ID code. Again these are from a 2004 manual but I can't imagine they would be different seeing as the body style is the same. Code ratio LSD XJ 4.111 None T2 4.111 None VB 3.700 None EZ 3.900 Viscous XU 3.272 Viscous CF 4.444 Viscous XT 3.083 Viscous JE 4.111 Viscous

Check the fluid in the diff first for sure. It doesn't sound good but a fluid change may help. It uses just shy of a quart of fluid so a change is cheap and easy. Thank the genius designers at Subaru for putting a drain plug on the thing! My Lincoln has a similar style mounted rear diff with no drain plug. Draining requires either a fluid evacuator or nearly removing the diff to get access to remove the cover. Catch the old fluid in a clean container so you can check for metal shavings. More than likely it will have some. Most of the time some of that is OK, but if it looks like liquid silver, you have some real damage going on inside and should replace the diff.

A short lesson on "Black rust" that I found. Pretty interesting stuff. Found in nature it's known as Magnetite. Easily synthetically produced by mixing sodium hydroxide and Iron. Apparently it inhibits formation of regular red rust, is used in cosmetics for black coloring, and inside TV tubes. Assuming that these people know what they're talking about. http://www.finishing.com/95/49.shtml And then there's some stuff on Wikipedia, which should always be read with a grain of salt. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron(II,III)_oxide If it inhibits further rusting, maybe you should leave it in there?

You can find much better prices for OEM parts if you look online. Subarupartsforyou.com lists the converter set for $799, and they offer an aftermarket set for $499. http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partlistbymod.php?model=Legacy&subcat=Exhaust%2C+Converters&year=2002 Depending on where you live it may be worth it to order online and have the parts shipped, but not always. The converter is a fairly straight forward replacement if using the O.E. part. Unbolt the old one (usually easier said then done, I usually just cut the old bolts off and replace with new ones) Then bolt the new one in place with new gaskets. You may have to swap the heat shields, but that isn't too difficult once you get it off the car. Sunroof problems are... well just that. Most of the time unless there is a problem with the track (broken cable, worn guides) there is no reason to replace the entire unit. If it's not draining properly it usually because the drain tubes are clogged or not connected properly. There is a gasket around the glass, and the glass itself can be replaced usually. Perhaps you should consider that before opting to replace the entire unit. How did you come to the conclusion that the drains are not at fault?

That's Kent-More tool prices for you. Really nice tools though.

Well first you have to find which one it is. Hope for your sake that it's just the one for the rocker shaft. Usually removal of the rocker shaft will reveal the culprit and it can be flushed out with air or spray cleaner being fed from the opposite direction of normal oil flow. At worst you'll have to stick a piece of wire in there and try to dig it out. I'd remove the oil pump and reseal it with anaerobic sealer. It doesn't dry the same way that RTV does so it won't clog the oil passages.

Get a triangle file and try that? I've had to deal with some pretty rusty hubs living here but some of the horror stories I read on this forum are just insane. Using any kind of high temp grease or anti seize is better than nothing. Hell I bet even thread lock would work!

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Seems like the fix for that would be to fill it with RTV. Or cover the O ring with Indian Head before installing it. I will remember to check that on mine when/if I ever get around to pulling the engine.

Did you use RTV sealer on the oil pump? That stuff has been known to cause trouble by plugging up the incredibly tiny oil holes in the rocker shaft. The ones that feed the lifters.

Hmmm. I would expect a bit higher than that on the highway. But terrain, load, altitude can all make that change. Among other things.

Yeah checking the condition of the plugs might tell you if it's running rich. Do you have any idea what kind of fuel mileage the car is getting? Any complaints about driveability or rough running? What is the exact code you're getting?