hohieu

Hey Porc, where have you and your photo skills been? Well, after reading "Hillier's Fundamentals...." posted by Legacy777, I went back and read this old thread on the two different types of pumps: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52560&highlight=water+cavitation The OP in this thread says: When I do a part number search: 21111AA007 (cast impeller) = for non-turbo applications 21111AA110 (stamped impeller) = for turbo applications I would presume that that the stamped impeller would be the "high velocity pump" intended to address the excess heat produced by the turbo charger. I'm thinking perhaps the key word may be "efficiency" as distinct from "flow." In other words, the cast impeller design may rob less energy from the engine to make it spin, but in this case, the stamped impeller actually creates more flow.

Here are some extensive thread on that very issue. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82714 http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52560&highlight=water+cavitation As for me, I've been replaced my OEM H20 pump (cast impeller) with a GMB pump (stamped impeller). The new pump has only 35K miles on it, but I'd be very surprised if it didn't make to the next timing belt service. I've noticed no differences between the two pumps in my car.

Interesting thread here that I'd like to revive: If the the pump with cast impeller is more efficient than the pump with stamped impeller, then why does Subaru prescribe the latter for turbo applications and the former for non-turbo applications?

Usually, yes -- but not always. I soaked mine with PB Blaster for 3 days and hit it with everything I had: impact wrench, 3-lb. hammer, impact hammer, and a torch. I had to to ultimately cut it off with a grinding wheel and replace the bushings along with the bolt. After I cut off the bolt head, I could see that the the sections of the bolt were corrosion welded inside the the bushing collars. Even with the collars sitting on a vise, I couldn't budge what was left of the bolt no matter how hard I whacked away at it. Pretty astonishing. I can't imagine they're all like this -- guess I just got lucky. Yes, and if you're replacing the knuckle, you're also messing with the strut. Provided you have the right tools, the bearing installation is the "fun" part. Even though it's usually the inner wheel seals that fail, it's really worth it to replace the outer one as well if you're this far into it, but this requires disassembly of the knuckle/hub unit. In any case, remembering to replace the inner seals at every cv half shaft service will prolong the the life of your wheel bearings. The outer seals are shielded from the elements by the rotor/drum and, therefore, tend to hold up longer.

I installed a GMB H20 pump at 105k M and am now at 140K miles. They're made in Japan, and I don't see much of a difference between the different pumps on the market. GMB also supplies the idlers for many of those ebay kits. For the accessory belts, thermostat, oil pump o-ring, crank seal, cam seals, and other miscellaneous parts, you should check out www.1stsubaruparts.com. When I did the first t-belt service on the same 2.5 Phase II engine at 105K miles. I reused both smooth idlers as well as the tensioner. It's usually the cogged idler that goes south, and I replaced mine even though it was still perfectly fine. So far so good at 140K miles. I hope others chime in, but it's my impression from reading on this and other boards that idler and tensioner failures are very rare, though also very costly.

Hey Michael, #1: Leaving the car for a couple of hours will relieve the pressure. To be safe, you could leave it overnight. I've never bothered doing anything else. #2: Yes, the little fuel that comes out will be captured by a paper towel or shop rag. #3 Rather than pulling the hose off, you can try pushing the ends of the hose with the flat side of a standard screwdriver. Avoid pushing with the tip of the screwdriver as this can damage the hose. Be careful as you can also gouge yourself in the process. A little wiggling and twisting may be necessary. #4 A little all-purpose grease will ease installation as well as future replacement. Just avoid greasing the very tip of the inlet and outlet. Good luck with it.

Indeed a great tip, tcspeer, but one for which I cannot take credit. I first found it posted on this great forum by color-blind: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50276 Subaru says to check for play, but once things degrade to that point, you're nearing a potential catastrophic failure. Edit: I meant "replacing the inner wheel seals."

Well, I had two noises going, a bad wheel bearing and noisy tires. Replacing the bad rear bearing eliminated the roar from rear and isolated a "a new" "wump, wump, wump" from the front driver's side and a slight vibration from at the accelerator and brake pedals. I thought it was the half shaft and replaced it with a good used one. Noise was still there. Then I did a complete overhaul of the front brakes as it was time. Noise was still there. The noise thankfully went away after I replaced all four tires. It's the quietest the car has been since I've owned it. All the while, my wife didn't notice any of these noises either.

Unibrook, yes, either one of the Hub Tamer tool sets will work with the only difference being that the Elite set is updated with an adapter for Fords. Are you sure your mechanic installed the old ball bearings last year? Most inventory systems will not provide the older style bearings. Here's a thread on the very same issue, and there's also an endwrench article on the replacement procedure. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69869&page=2 http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/WheelBearing.pdf

Skelly, that seems like like an average dealer estimate for that job, especially if it includes the housing, also referred to as the knuckle. There's usually no reason to replace the hub, which presses into the housing inside the inner races of the bearing. Depending on how the bearing sounds, you could go for some time without replacing it, especially if you're already planning on replacing the housing, which I think the dealer recommends in order to avoid comebacks. They're not very easy to measure for roundness in order to ensure the dimensions are within tolerances. However, if the bearing fails catastrophically, this could pose a real danger to you and your passengers, not to mention to others on the rode. If there's play in the wheel, then it needs to be replaced immediately. That said, my rear right bearing, which was replaced with the revised tapered roller bearings at a dealer by the previous owner, made the ominous "wump, wump, wump" noise 10K miles after replacement. I let it go for about 45K miles as the noise got progressively worse, but there was never any play. When I finally replaced it, I inspected the old bearing and realized that it probably could have gone at least another 45K miles without posing any real risk of failure. The other rear tapered roller bearing, which was replaced at the same time, is still smooth as silk after 80K miles/5 years of service. It's a relatively simple job after you remove the lateral link bolt -- yep, the one that tends to seize inside of the lateral link bushing collars. If you have to cut this bolt off, you'll need to add about another hundred bucks per side for a new bolt and new bushings. Removing this bolt alone can be the most time consuming part of the job. Having Hub Tamer type tools makes the job much simpler as it allows you to do everything on-car and, more importantly, without fear of distorting the hub and/or the new bearing. The hub tamer set along with new seals and bearings for both rear corners set me back around $300. Well worth the investment if you have the time to do the work. I used Koyo bearings, which have provided 25K miles/1.5 years of trouble free service thus far. Unibrook, if your bearings are failing this soon after replacement, there are a few possible causes: distorted hubs/bearings due to improper installation or to leaving a bad bearing go for too long, inappropriate or over-greasing of the bearing, and/or contamination of the bearing. For this last issue, you may want to check the polished surfaces of the half shafts to ensure they're not pitted or marred. A less then smooth sliding surface can chew up new seals in short order and allow grease to leak out of and contaminants to leak into the bearing. According to NTN, the OEM supplier for Subaru wheel bearings and half shafts, grease should fill approximately 1/3 of the open space inside a bearing. I use Mobil 1 Red Grease because it is a decent quality grease that is readily available. No need to get to get too exotic with the greases as it is the seals that determine the life of a bearing.

This is a 2.5 SOHC (Phase II) engine. I do not believe cam o-rings are applicable to this engine. I would be fine going with grossgary's suggestion for using one of the ebay kits. It looks like GMB, a Japanese bearing company and OEM supplier, provides the idlers for many, if not all, of those ebay kits. OEM suppliers to Subaru for the idlers are NSK and Koyo, also both reputable bearing companies from Japan. If you decide to go oem for some of the parts, Jason at Auburn Subaru (www.1stsubaruparts.com) gets my vote as well. Here are my notes on the t-belt service I performed on my 99 Forester -- same engine as yours. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=61525

I don't know of an aftermarket supplier for the spark plug well seals. Fel-Pro has never let me down. They sell a kit that includes the two gaskets and bolt grommets so you'd need to order the other seals separately. Edit: To head off any confusion, I see that the Felpro kits now actually include the spark plug well seals (4) as mentioned below by davebugs. The OEM seals started leaking on my Forester at around 75K miles/5 years. I can't imagine the aftermarket kit could be much worse.

The part # for the leaky spark plug well seals is 10966AA000. How many miles do you have on your car? I had slow leaks from these seals for about 30K miles, which caused no adverse effects. At 135K miles, I adjusted the valves and replaced these seals, along with the ignition wires and valve cover gaskets. If you don't plan on replacing these parts in the near future, you could try tightening the valve cover bolts about 1/8 of a turn.

NTN supplies Subaru OEM half shafts. You'll find it stamped on the inboard joint. On my 99 Forester, the inboard joint is powdercoated green, but I don't believe this is the case for earlier models. In any event, if they're aftermarket half shafts and have made this far without any unusual noise or vibration, it's a safe bet to pre-emptively replace the boots.

The conversion is 160 km = 100 miles. It may have to do with drivetrain warranty issues mandated by law. I'd imagine the parts are of similar quality. Perhaps someone who knows for sure can chime in. Much of it also depends on the type of driving you do and environmental factors (e.g., city vs. highway miles, ambient temperature extremes).

You surmise correctly, the belt has been replaced on your car. Those brown seals are made of a fluroelastomer branded Viton by Dupont. They're colored brown in order to differentiate them from black nitrile ones. The ones on your car are probably OEM seals, but not original ones so you're good to go. I did receive Viton seals from Subaru in August 2005 when I ordered parts for a timing belt job on my '99 Forester. The original ones were nitrile. The newer OEM rear main seals are also made of Viton -- not sure about the older ones as I haven't yet pulled the engine on this car. There are a few things you'll want to check while you have things apart. Make sure the tensioner and idlers aren't leaking and spin without roughness or play, especially the cogged one as it bears the highest load and seems to be the first to go. Also reseal the oil pump and check that the back plate screws are tight. Finally, your car may have the infamous plastic separator plate located next to the rear main seal, which has a tendency to leak. If so, you should replace it with a metal one of which there are two types. If you get the updated one, you'll also need to replace the screws.

Right on, grossgary. I would check the PCV valve before messing with anything else.

That's the lock pin, which has a rubber grommet on the end of it. They tend to be more difficult to remove. Try attaching the the caliper to the lock pin, tighten the bolt, and swing the caliper back and forth in order to work that pin loose. Then remove the caliper and grasp the end of the pin with a pair of vise-grips, being careful not to distort the pin, and pull outward as you turn the pin. If that doesn't work, reattach the caliper to the lock pin, pivot the caliper away from the rotor and hit the caliper with a soft-faced mallet to work the pin out. If the brake hose does not allow this, the easiest thing would be to remove in order to accomplish this task.

Well, it sounds like very good advice. It is possible that oil could contaminate the belt and cause it skip. Oil will also deteriorate your already old belt. It will probably be ok for your trip, but you'd probably enjoy your vacation much more without the odd chance that it does indeed fail. You have to raise the engine to replace the oil pan on my Phase II 2.5 engine, and I imagine it's the same for your 2.2. I suppose he could pull the engine entirely to make the timing belt job a bit easier. How much would you save in labor charges if you were to have it done now? The t-belt interval on your car is 60K miles, though a decent quality belt can go at least 10years/100K, and the water pump should comfortably do about the same (other will chime in on this point.) If it snaps, the worst that will happen is you'll need to have the car towed -- as mentioned by your mechanic, you have a non-interference engine If you have the funds, it would be a good idea to go ahead and do it for your trip, especially if you're planning on keeping this car for as long as possible. Subaru now uses the new viton crank and cam seals, which should hold up for as long as you own this car. If you go ahead with the work, also ask him to check tensioner and idlers -- particularly the cogged idler, which bears the highest load and, therefore, seems to be the first to go -- and to reseal the oil pump. .

You mentioned the connections to the battery are clean. Is it the orginal battery? As already mentioned by GD, you should go ahead and have it tested. The rapid clicking you heard was probably the solenoid cycling on and off. The solenoid is integrated into the starter assembly these days and supplies voltage to the starter motor, which requires a high electrical load to turn the engine. When actuated, this causes the voltage in the battery to drop, and with a bad battery, drop to an insufficient level to hold the solenoid switch closed. When this happens, power to the starter motor cuts off, the battery recovers, and the process repeats itself. Poor connections to the battery and/or internal corrosion in the starter lead (cable from the postive terminal on the battery to the starter solenoid), can also cause these symtoms, but I'm guessing it's your battery.

Sorry to hear that you're still at it. When it acts up, have you tried tapping the solenoid to try to get it going? If all your connections are clean and tight, this intermittent problem sounds to me like an issue inside the solenoid -- either the plunger is not moving freely or the contacts themselves are not aligned. Next time you have it open, check to see that there's nothing impeding the travel of the plunger. My Forester has a Mitsubishi starter, which comes equipped with a sealed solenoid -- different type of mechanism that performs the same function but that are more of a pain to rebuild. In any case, I had an intermittent starting problem that was caused by a misaligned spring preventing the plunger from closing the contacts. To test the starter lead wire, you can also remove it from the solenoid and test the voltage between the end of the starter lead and the body of the starter (ground). It should read at least 12.2 volts.

I've never needed the goop on the Akebono calipers, which work very well and are used by Subaru. Just make sure all the sliding surfaces are clean. You can use a small wire brush to clean up the pad contact points on the caliper.

Bendix has a decent reputation. In the $30 dollar range, it's probably their Bendix Global line, which will probably work just fine.

Bravo! Glad you got it fixed.

Cougar has it all pretty much covered. The starter motor brushes rarely wear out. Make sure that they're seated correctly and moving freely. You could also spray some contact cleaner on the commuator and brushes, while you're in there. On my jeep, the starter hangs right under the oil filter and the mix of oil and graphite/copper dust gummed up the starter brushes causing a couple of them to wear prematurely. If you're getting a click though, I would suspect something with your solenoid and connections.