idosubaru

this topic has been covered twice this week. you didn't mention what car/motor you're installing them on. if it's any newer motor...i would guess you have a 2.2 or 2.5 then you want to install Subaru OEM wire only. the only aftermarket wires i'd even think about installing on the newer motors are magnecor: http://www.magnecor.com (you can buy them cheaper elsewhere though). some on the board say Subaru OEM wires only. either way you choose, don't even try some other brand or something from the parts store, bad idea on these motors due to the deep wells and difficulty in seating the wires.

if it's the same as the XT6: http://www.etoolcart.com./index.asp?PageAction=PRODSEARCH&txtSearch=SU-022&btnSearch=GO&Page=1

if it's a 5 speed from an XT6, they are all 3.9 ratio. if not, just turn it over by hand and count the number of revolutions of the front diff versus the output/input shaft. 39/10 is 3.9 and 37/10 is 3.7 obviously. you can always do the rear diff/driveshaft stuff later, that's not imperative to get it installed and running.

here's a picture of what the set looks like. there is one square bushing and one round bushing. each bracket is like 2 bolts, replace the bushing and bolt it back on. then you're done. $34.95 from these guys: http://www.esxmotorsports.com/html/contact.htm and you're done. though i don't see them listing these anymore.....not sure if they still carry them. hope so, i wanted a set too!

you're way ahead of yourself, i don't think you'll need a new rack. i've seen this before and it tends to just be the square-ish bushings, you can just replace those. they aren't that expensive and aren't that hard to replace. much smaller and less expensive job than replacing the rack. i know of one person who's bushing bracket bolts were loose enough to turn by hand even, so just the bolt being loose was the issue. i forget what model you have, but any soob from 90-96 should share steering rack bushings. they are easily to find and replace, i can't find a link to any right now though.

try new pads. or new rotors. the pads may be shifting rearward in the caliper housing and contacting rusted portions of the rotor that are rarely touched when loaded in the *forward* position. just a wild guess. i would think new pads/rotors would solve the problem regardless.

YES. definitely don't bother replacing the fuel filter, except as a tune up item, you will not find your problem there. i doubt it is fuel related. first thing you need to do is take it to AUTOZONE or some other auto parts store (call around) that reads your Check Engine Codes for FREE. once you know why that code is on then we'll likely tell you how to fix it. wires are a typical issue with these things. they need to be Subaru OEM or magnecor (some argue Subaru only). that's my first guess. but there's plenty of other possibilities. it's all just guess work and trial and error until you READ THAT CODE. a good tune up prevents alot of problems - batter cables clean/tight, spark plugs, wires, air filter, oil change.

probably easier to buy a die and chase the threads, that should clean them up just fine. then you'll have that die for when your next stud gets cracked up, as soon as you feel the lug nuts get tigth, chase them and all is good. or chase them all and feel how wonderfully smooth they'll spin on/off. the studs are press fitted into the hub. access is the pain, the back plates, calipers and not many access holes through the rear make it a less than desirable job. but it is possible with enough patience in the older roos. hold the stud in place, grab it and start threading the nut on it. thread the nut on (without a wheel in place) to seat and pull the stud through the hub.

good job on the t-belts and the covers definititely suck real bad. i run without covers with no ill effects. i would get that crank bolt tighter than that, sounds a little light to me even if it's the recommended value. it's a iron crank and iron bolt so you are unlikely to strip that big 22mm bolt. i crank it pretty dang tight with my 1/2" craftsman and a long pipe on the end. it's not aluminum like the other things on the motor, so no worries on stripping it.

if you can verify the clutch packs are indeed different it is highly likely you could swap the clutch packs between the two and have the better clutch pack on the trans you install.

aftermarket bearings are fine for this car. where in maryland? i'm in westminster, but work in greenbelt. if you were close i could look at it for you. might even be able to fix it for you much cheaper than a random shop. PM or email me. you'll be fine driving it 12 miles. if damage is done, it's probably already done to the hub.

a properly working head gasket is certainly better than an additive, i'd consider it a cheap fix. but no matter, you have a leak. if you want info, this site if full of EJ25 (2.5 liter motors) head gasket issue topics. look through those posts and find out what phase motor you have and if yours is a susceptible to head gaskets problems. different years/phases had more problems than others. the newer head gasket is designed to compensate for the original problem so replacing the head gasket while expensive is a good option. at that mileage yo'ure close to needing new timing belt components, maybe you can work a deal with them? cut the costs and get new timing belts in the process of this head work? best to go ahead and replace them both while it's all apart. or i would anyway. that being said - depending how bad the leak is, in my experience if there' no internal leakage then it's likely the gasket will hold up for a long time, but who wants to take that chance? best to replace.

also called the seperator.

double post

i agree, request OEM Subaru parts for timing belts, water pump and pulleys. that's what i always use on newer subaru motors i work on. if the OEM pulley lasts long, no point in trying an aftermarket one to see if it lasts equally as long. that's fine if he had bad experiences with independents, and he should mention it and be specific about details of the experience if he thinks it constructive for this guys' question or wants to start his own thread. but on the other hand there's no value added by equating 2 bad experiences (or was it bad choices?) with "the other 36,000 independents across the country can't work on newer subaru's". i'm an aerospace engineer, not a statistician but i'm pretty sure 2 isn't a large enough sample to start making assumptions like that. the thread is going from helping this guy get his soob tuned up to an emotional disagreement over independents vs. dealers, that topic has been covered enough in previous threads - do a search if you wish to persue/comment on that topic.

i would listen more to those that have worked on these motors than someone who drops the car off at any shop, regardless of dealer or independent. the information is then at the whims of experiences and emotions. you need information specific to that motor to make the best decision possible and you can get that here on this group, just need to pay attention to whose writing it and why....some info is good, some not as good....just like shops or dealers...some are good, some are not as good. check into it, you should have a 105,000 mile timing belt installed on your car. in that case, changing it at 60,000 is not necessary but not a terrible idea either. that being said - i'd hold off on the timing belt until 90,000 miles unless you don't mind spending the money then just do it now. at 90,000 miles have the timing belt, water pump, oil pump seals, crank seal, cam seals and timing pulleys all replaced. another option is to ask them to inspect it, the covers can easily be removed in a matter of seconds to do a visual check for anything significant if you trust the mechanic. or just do that all now and be done with it. pay the dealer $1,500 or pay me half that to do it.

he is right, it is highly unlikely that your rear main seal is leaking. other subaru leaks look like a rear main seal due to the engine layout. but they almost never leak. i've pulled a few 200,000 miles soob motors and have never seen one leaking a drop at the rear main seal. could be cam seals, crank seal, oil pump, head gaskets, cam carriers, valve covers. all of those are much more likely than a rear main seal and tend to drip toward the area under the rear main seal making a non-subby mechanic think it is the rear main seal. i would double check before going into all this work. with good equipment and tools and/or help, the transmission can be dropped faster than the engine pulled. but it is more annoying because you have to work under the car which ends up taking longer if you don't have good transmission jacks and equipment to pull/install from under the car. most people go with pulling the engine, it's an on your feet job and the engine lift does all the work. in those terms pulling the engine is easier.

do not replace with regular wires, the 2.2 motor does not like aftermarket wires. there is an existing long thread about using aftermarket wires. use either Subaru OEM or magnecor wires. any others won't treat the 2.2 or 2.5 liter motors very well. some people swear by OEM only wires. i've had good luck with magnecor and know they've adjusted the design to compensate for the problems wires have on this motor.

i say yes but i would add that you should install the transmission cooler no matter what. even if you don't tow, add the cooler. i just picked one up for my 1997 OBS and i'm not going to be doing any towing, but it's a well spent 30 bucks and couple minutes to install.

you can also drain your rear differential fluid, if the diff is causing the noise then there is likely parts or a gear tooth lying at the bottom of your diff which will come out if you change the oil (which should be done at 100,000 miles anyway), but if you're selling you probably won't want to. jack the rear up and check for wheel bearing play, very easy and quick to do. if it does it at slow speeds, get someone to stand on both sides of the car and see if it is louder on one side than the other. if it's louder on one side then it's obviously the wheel bearing. if it's the same on either side then it's the rear diff making the noise (centrally located).

does your steering feel sloppy at all, when you turn it takes a little extra time/effort to end up going the direction you want? if so - then check your steering rack bushings, i think that's what they are called. the steering rack is held in place by some brackets that have rubber between the rack and the brackets. these brackets can be loose and the bushings go bad, i've heard of both of these problems on http://www.xt6.net, a few people replaced the steering rack bushings and had great results with "drifting" for the lack of a better term. i can't imainge the struts would cause random drifting like this, but i'm no suspension expert either.

oh...and what am i DOING? someone just did this swap and even converted FWD to AWD in the process at ww.xt6.net (see my sig). he went from auto FWD to manual AWD and i don't believe he swapped instrument panels, but he may have. do a search there. and i appologize, but we added an email process to sign up to prevent advertisers/spammers/bogus sign ups. if you have any problems with it, email me.

shouldn't be anything different off the top of my head. swapping the entire instrument panel would definitely be straight forward, plug and play. you could probably get the auto panel to work just fine though....you'd just have the P,R,D,3,2,1 whatever things on there, but they'd never light up. and you might not have the DIFF LOCK light if you were going to install that option as well. but the auto MAY have the DIFF LOCK light, you just can't see it cause it's never lit. now i'm curious, hopefully i'll remember when i leave work to look.

they do nothing to enhance performance, magnecor will state the same on their website unlike most bogus aftermarket companies. stock wires fail as well, but there's no way to verify installer or product is to fault. i know for a fact that installers are often (usually) to blame but have yet to verify bad product (OEM or magnecor). actually i have had failed stock wires on an XT6....but you're talking a vehicle 10+ years old and 100,000+ miles. after 200,000 miles a magnecor wire will stand a better chance at being in service than a stock OEM wire. OEM wires are excellent but i wouldn't want one with 200,000 or more miles and lots of years on my car. but i don't conclude the OEM wires are crap because of that. magnecor wires will indeed last that long and offer out of the box reliability at that age. (been there, done that). i have yet to see a problem with magnecor wires. that being said, they (and other manufacturers) did enounter problems at first with the 2.2 and 2.5 liter motors due to the motor design. the design and lay out turns a spark plug job into the likes of picking cotton. the wires are extremly difficult to remove, difficult to install and a bad design for ease of maintenance. if you don't agree then maybe maryland has something in the air that makes them particuarlly stubborn with sticking, ripping and falling apart. i've seen screwed up stock wires, not because the wires are bad but because the motor tends to do a number on the boots and the remover can't get them out. they stick, they won't come out, i've seen half of boots still down in the hole attached to the plug (on stock wires) on low mileage motors. i would blame the installer or uninstaller before the wires. and i've seen stock boots also detached from the plug - i don't blame the wire, the boot or the contact but probalby the installation for the cause. they probably were not seated properly.....and that's almost always because of the layout of the motor and the deep spark plug wells. there's zero access to the spark plug, you have to be observant and care about what you're doing to be sure it is seated since there's no access to the plug. i also drive a bunch of old school 80's subaru's with up to 220,000 miles on them and don't ever see ignition wire problems on them. there's no problem properly seating a spark plug when you can touch it with all your fingers. i'm also moderator at xt6.net and ignition wire issues are nearly unheard of in the older subaru's. magnecor has made adjustments to the design to make installation and reliability improvements based on these considerations. subaru has great OEM wires and i feel magnecors are good for those that plan to keep a car a very long time and never want to buy a set of wires again. that's my situation. there are other car manufacturers that magnecors make a huge improvement in longetivity for in terms of ignition life due to poor OEM wires, but no need to mention those lesser makes here (cough *jeep* cough). i'm not in this for argument but it seems your oppinions of magnecor wires may be due to old information or bad installation more than the actual quality of the currently available product. i definitely don't want to argue, heck i want to order some OEM parts at good prices, i plan on talking to you soon! but i also want members to know i've had good experiences (as well as others that i've installed these wires for) with these wires in terms of longetivity. i drive 30,000-50,000 miles a year, the longer i can go without replacing the better. i'd like to offer the same opportunity to others who have the unfortunate task of spending that much time in a vehicle.

you need to run the RPM's up while in park/neutral. just pull the throttle cable by hand under the hood and hold it while you looking for leaks. or get someone else to press the gas pedal to keep them up. be sure it doesn't overheat while you're looking. no point in trying to guess, that's a terrible method of diagnosis. better to remove all the hoses and clamps and check them or replace instead of guessing which of the many possibilities it could be. weep hole of water pump water pump water outlet o-ring of the water pum two radaitor hoses small coolant bypass hose by the thermostat smaller hose coming from the water pump heater core hoses thermostat gasket drain cock cracked if it's leaking bad then running it then looking should show signs of wetness somewhere. if not, then intake manifold, head gasket are possibilities....