CoupedUpSubie

If I were to just "blank" off the ends of each joint I would find a shop with a lathe to cut off the extra and make it nice. Total of 2 minutes per stub.

any vibrations? center, front, rear, left/right? center, sounds closer to the drivers side though has it gotten worse over time or came and stayed the same? it has been about the same since I noticed it but is aggravated by the cold any recent work done? around the time the noise showed up I had tried the Bosch Platinum +4 but went back to NGKs because I lost 4 mpg. are the axles original Subaru or aftermarket? Both axles are napa replacements. One is a little over 2 years old and the other was replaced in an attempt to fix the noise. I have had no issue with them what so ever. The only ujoints I know of in the car are in the steering column. Its front wheel drive. Brakes are great. Just replaced the master cylinder. No vibrations. Just a clunk clunk clunk clunk while taking off. I know it happens in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I am not sure about 4th and 5th because I use them for cruising and not much accelerating.

For a couple months I have had a repetitive clunk coming from the drivetrain when I take off. It is more noticeable at lower rpms. I can't hear anything at idle. Disengaging the clutch takes it away, riding the brakes does not. The colder it is the more it happens. The car is a 95 impreza 1.8L fwd.

There is actually a kit made for this Double Plus Racing runs one they made. You can also buy the kit for around $500. From there it's just modifying a couple shafts so there is a stub. Then no need for a rear diff.

I had mine rust from the inside out. Two months or less prior to this picture I didn't see any signs of problems. Muffler was probably 4 or 5 years old. http://i.imgur.com/730Yr.jpg I bought all this for around $200. http://i.imgur.com/4fpHL.jpg Also check where the resonator section has a mount. I've seen a number crack there. I attempted to pull mine in one section but it broke at the mount.

My car is a 1.8 fwd impreza 5 speed. It moves right along if you drive it right. Being fwd its more like driving a civic. It will do a one wheel peel around corners. Pretty sure it would get both going also. If you do a swap I recommend going with 4.11 or 4.44 gears as you will get better response. You can go with 3.9 gears if you want a bit better gas mileage.

The ebrake function mechanically pushes the shoes out. Not much pressure is on the wheel cylinder at this point. If the shoes are frozen to the drum then the wheel cylinder will be able to move around a bit. Maybe the whole hub needs to be removed and put in a bath of penetrating oil.

Well my german car knowledge is very biased. How cheap did you get it? Miles?

The 1.8 is a tough engine. It is an under bored 2.2 so the cylinder walls are extra thick. It's rated at 110 bhp and about 70-80 whp. Very few have head gasket issues. Also they are non-interference so if you break a timing belt you still have a good engine. Many people ask how to get more power out of it. You don't. Just swap a earlier 2.2 in as it is plug and play. I get 28-33 mpg depending on the season and how I drive. Your probably wonder if rebuilding it is worth it. How many miles are on it? Is the body of the car in good condition? Do you want more power or think you need more due to hills? If you do then consider a 2.2 swap as you will need to pull the engine to do the repairs anyway.

Using a large hammer isn't the way to go in most situations. Get a 12-16 oz ball peen and use that. It will vibrate more then just slam. The vibrations will loosen the rust. From the sounds of it nothing for penetrating fluid will work where the shoes seem to be frozen to the drums. Heat and hammer.

If a valve is burnt it needs to be removed. Depending on severity you may be able to lap it back into shape but a better choice is to replace it, along with all the others. Check the timing first. On the front of the engine there are 3 covers. Remove them and make sure the marks line up. There should be a guide somewhere you can look at. If the timing is good then its tear down time.

Could the popping be something other then the throttle body? Where your having shifting problems it tells me something is funny with the transmission. I'm not familiar with automatics.

Here is a list of things to check: Timing Timing belt condition Spark plugs Also clean the MAF sensor(buy the cleaner made for it) and the throttle body(there is a cleaner made for this also) and while cleaning the throttle body look for anything foreign in there with a flash light. Also make sure your check engine light hasn't been disabled. There are two wires under the dash with a green connector I believe. Plug them together and see if the check engine light comes on.

All depends on the resources you have at hand. I suggest trying to find a local forum and seeing if anyone has parts so you don't have to deal with shipping. If you can spend a few hundred on struts and trailing arms I suggest going with KYB GR2s for struts and just a stock trailing arm. They are a good replacement that handle a lot of abuse. I know people who autox and rallyx on them. Otherwise you can look to see if anyone has their stock forester struts they pulled off that are still good. As far as spacers to give you some lift I have no idea. If you want a properly lifted car with suspension that is garunteed to last a while go new and budget for $600 for just the struts and trailing arms. Remember that lift = wear on some parts, ie wheel bearings and cv joints. Here is a tutorial: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50268

I am pretty sure that swapping forester struts in will give you atleast another inch. On the imprezas you get 2 inches. You can do a simple lift via spacers. You may need to put in the trailing arms off the forester to set your wheels back to where they are supposed to be. Forester trailing arms are a bit longer if I remember correctly. There has been a lift Outback wagon at a body shop near me, I'll try to take a look at it.

Pull your starter and have it tested. I had a similar problem and the starter ended up quitting a few hours later. If you absolutely need the car to get somewhere and its a manual then roll start it if you can. They fire right up.

Torque Converter

The hard to change spark plugs must only be on phase 2 engines. It took me 20 minutes to swap plugs and wires on my 1.8. I removed the battery, windshield washer tank and intake which took me 5-10 minutes. From there it was a couple minutes a plug then a couple minutes getting the wire setting right. Took 35-40 minutes at the most.

If you were unable to get the key out and can move it to the "run" position you can remove the plastic from around the steering column and take the switch off the left hand side of the column and start the car that way with a screwdriver. With the key in the ignition your steering wheel won't lock.

Well to my knowledge the clutch is original. So about 165k miles. Makes sense when a 1.8 will slip the clutch under power shifts all the way into third gear.

Engine speed related. Disappears when the clutch is pushed in but not when I ride the brakes(was told to try that to rule out axles). I really only notice it when I first start driving after starting my car, doesn't matter how long I let it sit. Makes me think its something clutch/trans related. More so trans as the clutch would continue to do it and make noise when shifting.

I have seen a lot of people say that NAPA axles are junk but I haven't had a problem with either of mine. One has 30k+ on it and 2k on the other. EMPI has good reviews but will cost a bit more then reman axles. Maybe its something with the fwd trans having a different inboard spline count. If a boot is torn make sure there is no dirt in the grease and there is plenty in the joint.

I have a similar noise with my car. Seems to happen more after just starting to drive down the road. Left hand side and occurs between 1800 and 2500. Is it more of a thunk thunk noise that happens slow at first? After talking to some people I thought a inboard joint on the cv was the culprit but it was not so. Right now I'm driving it until it lets go on me. Once that happens I can replace whatever broke.

Bring it on. I'm finally ready for it.

Either you got a bunch or you didn't plow. We scrape the driveway so my mom can drive her car for as long as possible. All bare gravel. Most of the snow elsewhere is gone.