idosubaru

so it sounds like you mean "the ABS may *actually* be activating and it's not just a description or illustration?" somewhere around that vintage there were ABS relay issues on the pump. the typical symptom was the ABS freaking out when the car was turned off - but maybe other symptoms are possible? Does the ABS light come on when you turn the key to "on" and does it ever come on/stay on while driving? any recent work done - trans, engine, brakes, etc? i'd wonder if a sensor is flakey. but they usually give an ABS code and the light comes on - which also disables the ABS. you can disable ABS, just pull the fuse or disconnect it and just have regular brakes if it's unsafe. what's the history - did you drive the car 20 years since brand new and it just started doing this one day? or you dont' know anything about the car and it's done this since you bought it off craislist in a back alley of Tiajuana last week?

doulbe post

wouldn't a slave cylinder from another subaru work? like a 1996 legacy GT slave cylinder wouldn't surprise me if it's the same part or easily interchangeable.

very little rust for that era, granted it'll only get worse but so far looks like nothing big over the next 5 years which is 100,000 miles if you drive 20k/year. it's the same around here - pre-2000 is a dying market due to rust taking them out early and that adds the perceptive aging of nicer ones of the same vintage, they just seem old when there's fewer and fewer of them and more and more of them are rusty, holy, in disrepair. people dont' want them.

i don't buy anything pre-2000 any more unless there's a really compelling reason. Rusty knuckles, exhaust, brakes, suspension, brake lines, fuel linkes, 20 year old struts have wasted too much of my time. you can generally find 2000+ now easily well under $1,000 needing some work and most people are going to want that for a 95-99. some people will sell their subaru for $50 (happened last week), some people want top dollar for one with issues, you just never know til you ask. if he thinks it's only a tstat it makes me think he'll want more than it's worth. but - if you've got the time and get a decent enough deal it can easily be a great fit - a reliable 100,000 mile vehicle. EJ22, new timing kit, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, wires, knock sensor (the ebay jobbies are so cheap i just install one while it's out), and don't think about it again for 100,000 miles. Or yeah - repair it! resurface the heads (and the block if you can) and install new Subaru headgaskets and you're golden. the main suspicion with those EJ25's is how badly have they actually been overheated in their lifetime, not just the most recent event? has the current owner been the only driver in the past year? limped it around and driven hotter than they would guess? maybe there's been multiple owners over the years and it was repaired before. they were failiing under warranty in the 90's with 30,000 miles on them, so without compelling information it can be hard to verify if they are the original gaskets and it's never been overheated signfiicantly.

torque bind. 1. do all the tire sizes and tread depths match identically? assuming they do i'd simply fix this in like 30 minutes - change the fluid, add a filter (see below), and install a switch. more details on that simple fix: 2. install a toggle switch in the dash so you can just flip a switch between FWD and 4WD. some of us install a switch anyway so we can actually fully engage the 4WD in winter or offroad, it's a great mod to have. if the FWD fuse works then the Duty C solenoid is working and the clutches or grooves in the basket/gear are to blame and it's hanging up. check into the TSB or recall for 90/91 automatics - there's a fluid/clogging issue with them, i think subaru installs an external filter or something around the radiator to prevent it. with that issue in mind you might want to: 1. change the fluid 2. clean out the lines 3. install a filter or the parts Subaru provides for that issue. *** this probably isn't the cause or will help but i'd look into it while you've got an issue and are addressing this. to repair it you'd have to install new clutches and maybe a gear/hub/basket (whatever you call it) or file it smooth. the good news is it can be done under the vehicle and doesn't require pulling the trans. remove exhaust and unbolt the rear housing on the trans and you have access to the clutches. depending on your experience it's not a hard job really, annoying working under the car of course. you can get a used rear extension housing or buy new guts.

pictures might help for reference/confirmation: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/144419-some-assembly-required-struts-springs/

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/112006-front-coil-springs-96-legacy-which-is-which/

i know you know what you're doing and I sort of assumed some of those answers but just wanted to make sure since we only have words to work with. i doubt it - but maybe the grease will redistribute and they'll work themselves out shortly? my first hunch would be the same as yours, a bad bearing again, but i'd try to rule out simple things too. what was the condition/prior history of the hubs? legacy are all disc brakes i think right? i'm about to throw away a set of rear drum brake hubs for that year. i've had a couple knuckles that were notably questionable after sitting for awhile in my garage. maybe they would have worked fine or maybe time, dirt, seals don't do well sitting?

Heat is your only symptom? Get a temp gun to confirm? Maybe someone else can give their readings? If you suspect to much heat, thats caused commonly by: 1. Wheel bearing 2. Brakes dragging Most common brake issues: Slides can hang but you say they're good. Brake pad clips get bent, rusty, or the black dust build up can hang the pads. Less likely: Rubber brake lines collapse internally and act like a valve, keeping the pad on the rotor. This doesn't really ever happen on subarus like other manufacturers but anything is possible. Parking brake? Is that adjusted?

should be easilyl cleanable as chux said. the strainer is just a simple screen so it can definitely be blown/washed out in reverse direction. and given they usually have very minimal amount of material in them it should clean relatively easily.

this. i would suspect a burnt exhaust valve. if it was the spark plug cross thread you'd still have some compression, it would just bleed some of it off but still make some compression. it wouldn't be zero. if it's bleeding pressure through the spark plug you should be able to hear it when turning by hand or feel it by putting your finger over the spark plug hole. but again, i highly doubt that it would have a slight leak and show zero compression, this would only be for an ominous spark plug failure which seems unlikely. EJ22 swap is the best bet. can probably reuse the knock sensor on the new EJ25. alternately and possibly a little cheaper is to install a used head on that side of the engine. ideally the heads are resurfaced and new Subaru headgaskets installed on both sides due to the proclivity of that engine to have headgasket issues.

better off using years than "generation" as said. all EJ25 engines have headgasket issues to varying extents and failure modes. FB25 so far don't have issues but there hasn't been significant time for them to show issues yet either. the redesign and I think coolant not passing between heads and block give it a good chance of being less problematic if we want to guess.

i don't know about 90-94 fitment but there's some really good suspension interchange threads out there that would say it probably. last summer there were super cheap KYB FWD struts on ebay/amazon, since the situation warranted low cost i got them for an AWD. tight fit but they installed fine, no rake, and I didn't notice any handling difference (but i'm not prone to either so that doesn't mean much).

i wouldn't waste your time on the internal strainer, it doesn't do much. it's a screen - if it's so clogged as to be problematic then the transission won't last 10,000 miles no matter what you do. i've never seen one be anything but clean and maybe some specs.

it was sold for this reason - it had issues and they dumped it. correct - do is multiple fluid changes - this often cures/mitigates initial torque bind. then i'd wire in a switch so you can simply leave it FWD all the time and then flip the switch if you need AWD from the cabin and no messing with popping the hood/installing a fuse. really simple to do.

assuming it's got the ECU in the rear trunk shelf like 87.5+ XT's, read the flashing lights in the trunk on the ECU. retrieving codes: http://www.subaruxt.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1819

i installed FWD struts on a 95 AWD sedan last year and they fit/worked but they seemed inordinantly hard to get in. i haven't done a ton of those 95-99's so i never knew if they were different or it was due to rusty suspension/old bushings.

+1, rear is likely one of the arms. i don't think the rear shocks can bend independently of anything else like the struts can up front, but fairtax is much more versed in suspension and alignment than I.

some options: 1. used set of heads 2. EJ22 swap (you don't say but I'm guessing this is a 1998 forester so this would be an easy and great option). my preference would be to EJ22 swap it. used EJ22, new timing kit, spark plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets, reseal separator plate, and water pump and drive it another 100,000 miles...or whatever the equivalent to that is in Hawaii. then sell your old EJ25 block if the market in Hawaii allows it.

current oil level only verifies that failure wasn't caused by low oil since the last oil change. the issue may have been initiated at any time in the history of the vehicle. As he said - usually it's: 1. prior low oil conditions at any time since leaving the dealer lot. 2. prior overheating (headgasket) compromising the localized material/lubrication properties at the site of failure.

looks to me like you can remove it and throw it away, and drive another 100,000 miles. that doesn't look like a part that's supposed to be on the car (which might explain cheap materials/damage/rust). maybe i'm looking at it wrong or am confused by the picture but i don't recall ever seeing a part like that under the rear transverse mount busing shown in that picture. I'm familiar with the underneath looking like this, without that piece of metal in place: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.subaruforester.org%2Fvbulletin%2Fattachments%2Ff70%2F1725-silicone-leaking-bush-suspension.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.subaruforester.org%2Fvbulletin%2Ff70%2Fsilicone-leaking-bush-5705%2F&docid=0ebzfeYooS1knM&tbnid=XeS0vciyfsxeJM%3A&w=640&h=480&bih=667&biw=1366&ved=0ahUKEwj3-sqeubnMAhUIgj4KHcihAn4QMwhCKBswGw&iact=mrc&uact=8

disconnect the sway bar first? the rears can be really tight to get in on these - it took me quite a bit of effort, i can't recall what i did but they eventually go into place with heavy effort. i didn't compress the springs, but if you feel you can pull that off, by all means have at it.

The $700 price tag is highly suspect. Unless it's shop time (which will be way more than actual) $700 is high for a line replacement and insanely low for any trans repair/replacement/damage. Replace the line and drive on - Subaru's generally survive compromised/low fluid events like this, I wouldn't expect any issues. A super anal person could drain existing fluid in the trans or ATF cooler and have it tested at those oil testing labs. Or just glance at it yourself. Though if you're finding ATF hard to come by that wont' sound palatable.

you've left out what may be the most helpful bit of information - ***why*** didn't it work? length, style, spline count, OD...?? i've seen damaged splines where an axle wouldn't slide onto a trans stub or into a knuckle. it's possible the axle would work but is damaged. some early EJ axles from FWD versions have a different spline count on the inner joint. you can google which ones that is. people used to like them for transmission converstions or older gen conversions which has the same spline count on the trans side. that would be my first guess - they assumed it was the same but it's different.