jarl

Check your PCV. Increased pressure due to a gummed PCV may push oil out of the engine. At the front of the engine you have both the front crankshaft seal and the oil pump, both of which can be the source of a leak. The oil may be being pushed toward the back of the engine while driving, so you may want to check that. If possible, clean the engine until it's pristine, and then try to pinpoint the oil leak before driving too much.

I'll probably need to follow your steps at some point. One (or both... have not checked) ball joint boots is busted. Just in case, I'll start soaking with penetrant oil from now... Just one comment: if you need to replace the inner booth, you can replace both boots on the same axle at the same time. I replaced both inner boots with the axles in the car and it was kind of messy, but very doable. Once you remove the trunnion from the axle, though, you can easily replace both inner and outer boots.

This may be a stupid question, but: is your PS pump leaking? My '99 OBW PS pump was leaking really badly, and the engine I put on it (90K miles) showed marks of having at least a small leak originally. The rebuild kit is $15 or so Is it possible your PS fluid is getting aerated somehow? JR

You are not training this dealer correctly Next time bring with you a quote from one of these online dealers. If he wants your deal he'll have to budge. If he doesn't, turn around and buy it cheaper online

I have had the same experience with a local Honda dealer -twice- this week. Both times I took the quote from the online dealer and asked the parts manager to offer something similar... and surprisingly he did A bit higher, but it's worth to deal with a real person. They know no one can force you to buy from them Unfortunately every time I talk with my local Subaru dealer all I get is "we don't have the part and it would be a week before we get it".

@North: I don't doubt for a second you know exactly what you are doing, but that's not the case with a lot of people who ask for help in these forums. The difference between an interference fit and a tight/loose fit can be removed in a few seconds using the wrong sandpaper, and a newbie can mess up a perfectly working part in a blink of an eye

I had a similar problem when I needed the seals for my EJ22. I actually ordered from 1stSubaruParts, and although the prices were the best and shipping wasn't that slow it still took more than a week to get the parts. When I needed a filler neck for my OBW I looked at a few online dealers and the cheaper-closer one was SubaruOnlineParts

Uhm... "problematic" is being kind. 320 is still too coarse, and you'll end up removing more material than you should. Actually, any material is more material than you should (rust excluded )... the fitting tolerances are there for a reason.

"Every good action has it's well deserved punishment" Where do you order your parts from? I got a quick turnaround (2 days!) ordering from SubaruOnlineParts out of NY. I'm near Detroit, so shipping to your place can't be much worse than that.

Just to complement what the other people have said: the engine I put on my OBW (with their help, of course) apparently sat for 5 or 6 years, and it seems to be running without much trouble (the car itself, on the other hand... :-\ )

I saw your(?) video after buying the Turtle Wax kit for $6 and change at Menards. I did both headlights this afternoon, and I have to say I'm *really* impressed with the result. I wonder if I can use the same kit for the stop lights BTW: I think in the video you (I assume it's you?) only applied the liquid polish and removed it with the wipe included with the kit. You are supposed to use the wipe after cleaning the surface, as it contains a sealer. I used both the liquid polish and the abrasive pads, and all I can say is

How big is the press you use? Would the 6 ton HF press do the job?

If the reflector is not compromised I would consider repairing the plastic shell. Epoxy glue for plastics + fiberglass mat do wonders. Then again, a replacement from the junkyard is probably very cheap. If you can find it, that is...

Gentlemen... taking things apart is easy. Putting things together is the tricky part In my case I had no idea how tight was tight enough, so I tightened everything by the book using a torque wrench... that didn't fit with the axle in place. I think a swivel joint would alter the torque measurements, specially given the somewhat tight angle when doing the lower nut at the driver's side. Besides, I had already broken the 3/8" flex joint I had for my ratchet I didn't have enough space to do the flex plate bolts either. I replaced the inner boots of my front axles with the engine out, so removing the pin once again wasn't really a biggie. Harbor Freight carries a nice set of pin removing punches too

Holly smokes... you are doing 4.4 million RPMs there! I have a PDF that may -or may not- help you somewhat. Shoot me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you.

Comments from a newbie (me): - I think the FSM recommends separating the inner end of the front axles from the transmission to make it easier to undo the bolts (nuts) on the bottom of the engine. Smart idea (that I discovered too late) - I doubt the EJ25 is 300 pounds. I can move the block around by myself with a little effort. I think two people should be able to lift the engine out of the engine bay. Don't quote me on that, though - If you decide to buy an engine hoist, Craigslist is the place to go. You'll probably sell it again afterwards, anyway. I got mine for a little more than $100 - On the other hand, Harbor Freight has some decent engine stands for $39 or so, and you can find the 20% discount coupons everywhere. The cheapest one is enough to hold the EJ25 or an EJ22 - To loosen the flex plate to torque converter bolts, the easiest way I found was to remove the intake manifold bolts, and using a ratchet, a couple of 3/8" extensions and a regular socket. You need to keep the crank from turning, though. - Make sure you don't take apart things unless you really have to [Edit] forgot to mention: - Note *any* oil leaks you may have... you'll want to fix these while the engine is out. The local gururs say NOT to touch the rear crank seal, though. And I trust them... - Clean the engine really well before you start taking things apart. Leave it pristine, and you'll avoid running through 50 gloves as I did (they are cheap on Harbor freight as well ) - The engine holds a lot of fluids in several places, and every time you move it around it will spill a bit of oil or coolant -or both- on thah floor you were supposed to keep clean. The shallow metal pans at O'Reillys (or any other auto parts store) are wonderful to catch those spills... but make sure you buy the largest one - Since you are likely not to play attention to the previous point until it's too late: Sams Club sells some sort of clay dust/little pellets that is really good absorbing spilled fluids. I tried cat litter first, but it got messy really fast. The clay works fine - Pick a good penetrant oil, and use it judiciously. I should have started by soaking the timing belt cover bolts... but of course I didn't. Kano Kroil comes to mind, and there's an easy way of getting it for not too much more than what you pay for other penetrant oils at local stores.

If you tell us how you got those charts we may try to reproduce them

No idea what's busted on your headlamps, but maybe this helps: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126220

You should give it a shot anyway... I think they are the first online dealer I know that charges actual shipping costs. It looks like the studs+nuts are $15 plus shipping. How much are they locally?

Interesting... Isn't there any problem with the ABS whe doing the flush? I know some GM cars are a pain in the lower back (you need an electronic tool to command the ABS valves to stay open before trying to flush them)

From the sets I have seen, aftermarket alarms are not usually made to interface nicely with the car wiring. Maybe the PO had to replace the original alarm?

Rooster: yep... This car will probably never see off-road use, and the tallest grass it will see is probably the one on my driveway I guess I'll look for that loose shield with my dremel and a cutting wheel I have driven the car a couple hundred miles now, and the shaking of the brakes has reduced a lot, but I think I'll replace the rear discs and pads and clean the calipers just in case. I'll have the braking fluid flushed as well... the pedal doesn't transmit a lot of confidence as it is right now. '98: The reason I mentioned the low idle is because the car shakes somewhat at stoplights and the like, whether in gear or not. I used a bluetooth adapter and the idle was between 630~680 or so, so I guess it's just a notch low. The engine sat unused for years, though, so maybe I should run some Techron on the next refueling to clean the fuel system and the injectors a little bit.

Well... after much deliberation we decided against using the steel wheels for all-season shoes. We had the all-seasons transferred to the alloy wheels with new valves. Hopefully that will take care of the leaking. I'll keep my fingers crossed... I'll be installing winter tires on the steel wheels, and hope for the better But I still need the freaking open nuts

Pardon my ignorance, but does removing the shields has any negative effect? Risks?

Depending on the amount it may be normal to have liquid water. H2O is a byproduct of combustion, and a very cold exhaust may be enough to cause it to condensate.