JohnVT

clunk in the rear of my 97 OBW was a bad strut.

Hi - wife called today barely making it into a parking lot with the 97 OBW 2.5 engine. At first she said it squealed (or whined), then killed on the road, but she restarted and made it barely into a parking lot (well, my son had to get out and push it the last several yards into the spot...). From her first description I had thought timing belt, but then it would not have restarted, nor would it be turning over. So now, it turns over, making a kind of whine. But it won't start. Fuel? I just changed the plug wires back to OEM, and cleaned the plugs (NGK). It's got 150000 mi, and had a new timing belt at 90000, including new oil seals (cam, main, oil pump o-ring and rtv). It does have oil in it. And I've had a rear O2 sensor heater code for a while, but haven't had a chance to change the sensors... It's cold out, and I need to clean the garage some to get it inside. Not much to go on, but any hints on where to start looking?? thanks!

Colder up here in Vermont! Change the camshaft and crankshaft seals, take the oil pump apart, reseal the rear of the pump(rtv), and tighten it, and change its o-ring. John

well, I DID use only a Haynes manual to rebuild the manual gearbox on my 82 Saab 900. It had all the info I needed for that fairly complex job. But, the instructions to remove the intake manifold to replace the Subaru knock sensor is simply ridiculous .

this may be obvious, but did you try various internet sites? although I did notice that www.napaonline.com says they do not ship internationally "at this time". Their rebuild kit is $20 (USD), Beck Arnley. some dealer/supplier must be able to ship to you... good luck

sometimes you need to ignore Haynes! I did remove the clutch cylinder for easier access, but as others have said, just need extensions to reach it, and a magnet to hold the bolt when replacing it does help.

thanks - if it gets annoying enough, I'll probably take it out and open it up. otherwise, I sometimes have a small flashlight in the car, but that's a little hard to use if I'm alone... I'll try to respond if I dig in.

does anyone have instructions/experience, or know where I can find instructions to replace the lamp in the radio behind the clock/tuner display? This is a stock cassette am/fm radio on a 97 OBW. didn't look obvious with the little glance I took at trying to find a solution. thanks - John

The flange broke off the converter assembly, which I had not anticipated. I bought the center pipe and the muffler, since there were a couple of leaks in the center pipe, and in the muffler. So to save having to buy a $600 converter which doesn't seem to have other problems (well, I've seen prices from $300 - $900??), I bought a $6.50 'split flange' that I was able to put around the remaining piece of flange on the converter pipe and bolt to the center pipe. It's only been there for two days, but looks good so far. John

take off the oil pump, replace the o-ring on the rear of the oil pump, and reseal the pump with RTV. read other posts for details on that. Probably a good idea to change plugs at 93k if they haven't been changed, and wires too since you're there. Valve cover gaskets should be ok if not leaking now.

last year I tried to use aftermarket (warranted, such as Walker) exhaust parts on my 97 OBW. Never did find parts that fit right. SO now I've purchased the muffler and center pipe from the dealer, but found the flange broke off the back of the rear converter. Don't want to spend another > $300, so will try a split flange. Has anyone done this? The only one I could find today is one that looks pretty simple, but appears to be about the right size. Hope this works ok? thanks for any comments, advice... John

no - a few old (80's) Saabs and a 4Runner. Actually I don't think it's racing from lights, seems to me that it's more being hesitant from stop signs, especially on hills... thx

97 OBW, first clutch lasted 70k, then 40k, now 25k on third (ok so far). three regular drivers, obviously different styles. BUT no other car these three drivers have ever driven (regularly) had such short lives on clutches...

Since I had to take it apart again to seal the oil pump since I didn't do it the first time on my '97 OBW, I'd reseal it now while you're there... Some on this board will tell you to replace the oil pump and the water pump while the timing belt is off, since it's so hard to get there. I would change the cam and crankshaft seals and reseal the oil pump though. That's relatively easy and cheap, and you'll be under there soon again if you don't. And make sure the tensioner is ok, but I think most people agree it should last to 200K.

well, somebody will say it - if you read this forum much, you'll find many people recommend ONLY using NGK plugs and OEM wires. I was planning to call Burlington Subaru tomorrow to find a set for my 97 OBW, because I think the Belden wires I bought a while ago are causing some of my 'rough' running problems. So, even though it's doing MUCH better now, it may not last. Having said that, others will disagree, and the proof is in what works for you. Good luck.

I'm guessing there must be some hint in the owner's manual... my father-in-law changed one on his 97 OBW last month when I was out of town, and the owner's manual was on the front seat when we returned.

I bought Cardone new for $79 in Burlington VT. Don't have many miles on it yet, but went on with few problems. (that's in another thread) They had remans too, $5 less, but said they will only get new ones in the future... any experience with this company? thx

is there a place to find which vehicles (VINs?) are affected by a specific recall notice? thanks -

dikes are "diagonal cutters", or electrician's wire cutters. Most popularly Klein with red plastic handle covers. (Home Depot has them, for example. The other sources mentioned above are good too) seanliu, I did use considerable force to get the pin in. It was slow, and hard to get a good angle to hit with the hammer, BUT I could tell that the holes were lined up, so the same diameter all the way through. Of course this is tight for the pin, since you don't want it to move once it's in...

on my 97 OBW, (and I assume the Forester is similar), it looks like 180 degrees would line up about half the hole. There are an odd number of splines, so one end of the hole is centered on a spline, and the other end is between two splines. But I don't see how that's big enough to get hardly ANY of the roll pin in there. But then, if the holes are lined up correctly, once you get the pin started (for me, that was the hard part, just getting it straight) it should hammer right in. Would have been easier with a longer punch though, and it did take some force and patience - and I'm not good at those . And I don't really have any experience with this, but although it won't fall off with no pin, you'll get movement which could wear the drive shaft, and even the transmission housing if the axle isn't held steady. Not sure about that, but it sure looks like it could do that...

update - the CV joint did seem to be causing the 'wobble' in the steering wheel, and it was obviously bad, but there was still some vibration in the rear. Turns out the left rear tire has a separated belt! SO, the Hakk1s won't finish what was their last season anyway, and the summer (all season) tires are back on. Rides smooth now!! Funny how a combination of things can make diagnosing problems even tougher! This has been a mild winter in northwestern Vermont, but it's getting colder again this weekend. Maybe this is an opportunity to take advantage of end of season snow tire sale??

I changed the bad one this afternoon - took about 2 hours, with most of the time spent fighting with the ball joint. Sheared the cotter pin, then had to drill it out, but took some effort to separate it from the A-Arm. Finally got a gear puller on it, and then hammered a piece of pipe on the arm until it gave. This took a few tries... But then, without help here, I wouldn't have gotten this done! thanks. It appears the noise is gone, though with rough winter roads (frost heaves), and old studded Hakk1 snow tires that may need balancing, it's hard to tell until I can get out tomorrow. The bearing seems to be ok - it looked good on inspection. Hopefully I can wait until better weather to change the other side. Looks like it's much easier, and maybe not much more $$ to just change the axle, and not bother with just replacing the boots. A new Cardone axle was $70 locally, and a pair of boots is $27, plus at least grease.

thanks to all. since the car belongs to my father-in-law, I'm going to change the axle shaft assembly, even though it sounds like cleaning and greasing the CV joint and a new boot might last a long time...(if it was my car, ) BUT I'm afraid to see the bearing. It is not hard to turn (had the front end on jackstands yesterday, and front wheels both turn easily), but as I said it 'rumbles' and at low speeds the steering wheel wobbles some. Hope the hub is ok, as they're harder to find. And, off to find a machine shop... and try to take this afternoon off to do it, since now I've made my wife afraid to drive it . again, thanks!

Don't put Bosch plugs in your Subaru. I used to get annoyed by the kid at the local car parts place who always made a big deal about that, until I had problems. I replaced the new Bosch Platinums with NGKs and the missing went away...?? Some on this board will differ with this, but it sure made a difference for me.

thanks - is the bearing exposed to dirt with a torn CV boot, or is it sealed in the hub behind the CV? (did the boot aggravate the bearing too?) And now that you mention it, CVs I've experienced did click. darn. Is the bearing much harder, or is this process very similar?