Kwhistle

I had to replace the boot that goes over the inner tie rod. Had some trouble loosening the jam nut, so the whole tie rod was all over the place. Once I finally got it off, noticed that there was a small amount of grease leaking from the boot on the outer tie rod end. There is a ring restricting the boot at the larger diameter, but nothing on top. I pried the boot with a screwdriver and injected some grease in there -- I have a small syringe I packed with grease -- but it seems like a little bit was still seeping out of it. How bad is it? Should I replace the tie rod end or not worry about it for the time being, since there are no problems otherwise?

heh, that could be it... hell I don't wanna change the rotors just yet, and they are too thin for machinning. Guess gonna get in there tomorrow and see what it is. Hopefully, like adema2626 said, a small rock stuck in there. The pads are pretty fresh, about 2 months, shouldn't be an issue. Thanks!

I have a 98 OBW. Noticed some sort of a low grinding noise from the passenger side at low speed. Seemed to be coming out of the pass side front wheel well, but I didn't notice anything there. The undercar covers are fine too, not loose, not touching the wheel or the ground. Any ideas?

I'll have to do a timing belt on my 98 OBW, and have been looking into that. 67 sounds like a good price for the tool. There are plenty of these online for 55+ plus shipping. Just search for subaru crankshaft tool. Here's a homemade one that I found, though not sure if the time, effort, and tools to make it, plus the chance that it will break at the worst possible moment is worth it. http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f113/diy-crank-pulley-wrench-75029/ The way I break down the prices: Metal plate--10-15 bucks online, haven't seen it in stores Pipe -- ~7 bucks Nuts and Bolts -- ~ 5 bucks Drill bit (not every metal bit will drill high-tensile metals) -- ~7 bucks Band saw or hole saw for the middle hole--no less than 3 bucks so this will all come out to no less than $32 plus your time and chances of scewups, unless you already have the tools and materials.

If it can be plug and play, then that's pretty awesome. I'm not so interested in heated seats, that's way too much for me. But to leather up the car would be really nice. About the harness, would that just plug into whatever's under the carpet, or is there more to it?

How much would it cost for a leather kit for both front seats? Or both front and rear? The foam is in pretty bad shape, but I could get a used seat just to gut the foam out of it. About rewiring it, is it more than just hooking up a few wires? Did you have to do some special modifications? Really, I wouldn't mind reuphostering the seats, just trying to weight my options as far as reupholstering versus bolting in power seats and running a few wires so they are adjustable.

So I'd like to replace the seats on my 98 OBW. Saw some nice leather seats at a junk yard, but they are power, mine are manual. So no plug and play here. Is it possible to wire these up, with minimal amount of labor, or would that be too much work and a danger of blowing a bunch of fuses? Also, has anyone here ever tried repainting/recoloring leather? My interior is gray, but there are a gazillion of junk cars with beige interiors and really nice seats. I saw some leather paint online, but really wouldn't want to buy some just that would rub off.

No.... <now feeling kinda stupid> would that work on 98 OBW? I actually have a regular open end wrench that would fit... could I just tighten the new tie rod end with that, or do I have to torque it?

Tried that. Not enough room to lock a monkey wrench and too tight for the channel lock.

Would this work? I saw something on youtube about it, but couldn't find the right sized one. Spent half a day grinding a piece of metal to resemble the right size crowfoot wrench, but it didn't work, just kept on slipping. I'm thinking of ordering it online, but it will end up costing me around $20 including shipping. I need two of these because the tie rod end I bought (Beck-Arnley) is different from the one in the car, width differs by about 1/4 inch. Also tried autozone tool loan, but the one they have doesn't work for Subaru. Any other chain stores that might have the right tool for loan?

Thanks Fairtax, good to know! And I just looked up Pull a Part online, and apparently they have their inventory online, so I don't have to go search though the yard. No recent subies there though, but good to know I don't have to make a trip there.

That is a great advice to loosen the fill plug first... wouldn't have thought of this myself. About the front diff, I just checked the dipstick, and I noticed that it doesn't sit in the hole very tight. It took me no effort to pull it up, at all. Is it supposed to be like that or am I missing something there? the o-ring was on it and and all, but it really feels like it's just sitting on top of the hole, not really plugging it.

Thanks Larry, that's good to know. I got a few free days coming up, will check these out. Ebay is too pricey and shipping itself is more than what I think I'd pay at a local yard. Would be awesome if I'd find an LL Bean one... my interior really needs a complete redo. The previous owner really did a trick on this one, even managed to wear-tear a hole in the carpet under gas pedal, like where the heel of the foot goes!

Thanks for the pic! Gonna go look for it later today. About the rear, should I replace the washer there as well? I haven't looked around there yet, but does it have dipstick as well? And I assume the whole thing is much like transmission fluid change, drain from below, fill through dipstick hole?

So this is probably a really noob question... how do you check the differential oil? Would it be a good idea to change it? I got a 98 OBW with close to 200k on it. Doubt the previous owner(s) were as maintenance inclined as I am. And what kind of fluid would I fill it with? It is just ATF?

Been a while since I've been on this forum... well it's that time again to try and get my OBW in a decent shape... I really need to replace the interior, decided I'd start with seats. Not sure that I can find a junked car around here--Indianapolis area--so was wondering if I could take seats out of some other car. Anyone know if Camry or Accord seats can be bolted onto the 98 OBW? Any other cars that would do? Or if there is a junk yard worth checking out around Indianapolis? Thanks in advance for all the advice.

I'm having the same problem, and so glad to be popping into this forum once in a while. Never even thought about it too much, was kind of like, old car, whatever, until I came across this thread. This seems like an easy fix, and I was looking for parts on RockAuto. They have two items along these lines: 1. colant temp sensor with two wires 2. the other is radiator fan with switch that has one wire, looks like oil pressure switch. Which one is it to fix the fan issue?

Hi nipper, Would that be the one labeled "blow-by hose" on the pic below? Should it connect to the box that I marked with red arrows? Thanks.

So here's a pic of where it's coming out of: Now where do I connect the other end?

Thanks, will definitely take some pics tomorrow.

Was changing front oxygen sensor on my 98 OBW, and noticed this hose. Comes off the top of engine block (don't know what the specific part it's attached to is), and just hangs there. The pic is from the passenger side. Is it supposed to be like that?

Thanks for all the replies. This forum is a really great asset to all the poor grad student Subaru owners. Just a couple more questions--are the universal 3-wire sensors as good as the regular replacements? As I understand it, it's just a matter of connecting the wires. Also, are the front and rear sensors interchangeable? And should I get heated or unheated? It's for a 98 OBW with a P0420 code.

Just a simple question, hopefully someone can help me.. really need to pass that inspection, then I can get on to actually fixing the thing. I read/understand (I think so at least) the non-fouler trick. Now, what size non-fouler do I need? Does anyone by chance know a part number or which model car it should fit? I check autozone web site, and what they have differs by car model/manuf. Or do o2 sensors come in the same size as spark plugs?

What do these do? How when do I use them? Just asking in relation to this thread, I googled somewhere that I may need to connect them in order to get OBD to record readiness codes for the emissions. Do I need to do this for a 98 OBW?

Thanks for links, nipper. I read the wikipedia article about tie rods, but really couldn't wrap my mind around the concept from what they wrote. I guess, I'll call a couple places and see how much it would be to replace it for my car. There is no way for me to do it myself. Just one more thing--I did see them "shake" the wheel when they raised the car, so from what you guys are telling me, it seems they did know what they were doing, and didn't really make it up. Also, I did notice what seemed like excessive vibration at high speeds. The speed at which it would vibrate depended on the road, and seemingly also on the wind. Could that be related to the alleged tie rod end troubles?