idosubaru

lower air pressure in tires. ground clearance is the limiting factor - if the sand is soft enough it will get high centered.

+1 they're great cars. as long as you're okay with higher chances of maintenance, issues, and cost than a non-turbo vehicle, go for it. if you're going to be upset about high repairs or a blown engine (the turbo motors are $$$$$) then walk cautiously. there's a billion "my turbo engine blew up" threads: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/blown-turbo-60k-now-seized-engine-74k-171767.html http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/another-blown-engine-2005-legacy-2-5gt-turbo-162696.html http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/might-have-blown-turbo-long-can-drive-117644.html or search NASIOC for "blown engine" - and read all week long. they're good motors but they aren't forgiving. it needs a complete timing component kit too - not just the belt. Gates kits on amazon are very reasonable. was it always run with synthetic oil? subaru requires it and turbo's run without synthetic are prone to issues. turbo's have more parts, more heat, more stress on oil and cooling - and are much less forgiving of non-turbo vehicles just based on simple physics and math. if turbo seals, bearing, oil and coolant feed lines are in new condition - it's a great and reliable and low cost vehicle. guaranteeing those things on a 10+ year old vehicle with that many miles is anyone's guess. ***As long as you know all that and the nature of a forced induction engine, you're golden. Some people buy a FI engine and are floored when things happen. If that's not you, then no worries.

It doesn't have "traction control", do you mean VDC or ABS? there's a fuse panel down by the lever to pull the front hood - some of the fuses are buried behind the lowest portion of the trim - with the small access door dropped you can look between edges and see some of them. there's also a fuse box in the engine bay drivers side - pull the cover of that off and look there. fuses are labeled on underside of cover. the owners manual also discloses which fuses control what. pull the fuse for whichever one you want. pulling the ABS should also disable VDC. ABS pump resides behind the front passengers head light - you could also disconnect the motor to that to disable ABS. only 2001's came with the switch

Headgaskets - they leak externally on the lower corners front and rear. Check both sides. If it's dry - awesome. If it's wet it's not the end of the world, you can drive them 10's of thousands of miles by adding fluids, but it will slowly get worse over the years. That's a nearly $2,000 repair from Subaru though the parts are less than $200. Torque bind - drive in tight circles on drive pavement, steering wheel fully turned. If it hops/brakes then it's got torque bind. If not, yo'ure golden. ***It'll need a complete timing belt job. Timing belt is due at 105,000 miles but even with that the tensioner and pulleys should all be replaced. It can be done in an hour and the Gates kits are only $115 on amazon - very good deal. It's an inteference engine so if any of those fail yo'ull likely have bent valves and a huge repair bill. These engines easily see 200,000+ miles but those components should be replaced for long term reliabilty. They dont' fail often but when they do you've got the interference and huge expense thing to deal with. You generally don't get top shelf sound, trim, etc with Subaru's.

ha ha - thanks dave! of course i'd prefer just getting dealer shims but it's terribly inconvenient due to distance and other logistics. i would have just bought a bunch of different ones, but there's so many i wouldnt' even know where to start or what a "typical" shim thickness even is.

Looks like one issue with grinding a shim - if they are case-hardened then you remove the hardness from them. If I have time to drop the engine in tonight I'll grind down the bucket side of the shim so the cam lobe only rides on the "case hardened" side, if that be the case.

Why can't I just grind down the shim and make it thinner? That seems like the easiest solution. Engine goes in today if all goes well, i may try this first. Engine sat for a few months - is it possible the bucket or something is just stuck from sitting? I'm thinking of just running it and rechecking after it's run a bit. It's hard to imagine all the valves having plenty of clearance except for one.

nice! that's pretty funny that we've met in two different venues. i PM'ed you some selling information/tips.

great, then should be all good. if the correct crank mark is lined up you can rotate the cams endlessly without interference or issue. just make sure you use the right mark, some people use the wrong one. get that right and it's cake, can't harm anything. if the cam snaps - rotate it back the way it went - it snapped clockwise - rotate it back counterclockwise so to speak .

1996 is an EJ22 i'm assuming? yes it's a plug and play direct swap if you swap the engine and exhaust manifold. if the 1996 doesn't have EGR you'll have a check engine light. it doesn't effect anything but if your area has inspections/emissions you won't pass if they look for it. if it has EGR then no issues. EG25's have EGR, EJ22's in 1996 can go either way. l

pull VDC fuse no it won't hurt anything at all, not a big deal. the system can turn itself off for various reasons and run indefinitely like that with no issues. you're not the person i talked to off the board about buying your Outback are you? did you text me last week about pricing?

Fluid level good? Torque converter issue would be very bizarre. Vehicle history: 1. are you the original owner? 2. has the engine/trans ever been out? there's a small metal cover plate under the bellhousing that's attached by two 10mm bolts on each side. if those bolts are not tightened probably or it was ben you'll get a knocking, whirring, or other sound depending on how/what it's interfereing with on the torque converer (starter teeth, etc). cracked flexplate and low fluid will causea chirp, chirp chirping sound.

I would igonre it until you get a nice 200 or 300 mile trip - that would be far more accurate in determining anything relevant. That's about right for in town driving. particularly if you're in the mountains, heavy on the gas, always running late...lots of variables. And it's summer blend gas now right? And you're probably running gas with ethanol? Brakes - dragging brakes are common due to old dirty/corroded slide pins. 1. Clean the slides well, make sure all pins slide smoothly and are well greased. 2. Clean or replace the metal pad clips if they're twisted, rusty, gunked up. they hang the pad and keep it from easily pushing off the rotor when you left off the gas. Leaky injectors Lazy front O2 sensor (rear can not affect mileage) Air filter, PCV valve

was the engine in known good running condiion? as long as the PROPER crank mark is lined up (people often use the wrong mark), you should be able to spin the cams withou issue. line up the crank line up both cams install belt done

wheel bearings and brakes are not causing the diff to be hot. those fail *all the time* and never cause what you're describing. call 911 immediately! lol what were the original symptoms? in other words why did you think the first differential was bad? something initiated the desire to want to touch it, determine it's hot, and replace it. what is that "something"? what were the symptoms? i.e.: binding, jerking, noises, vibrations, dragging, locked up diff, leaking fluid, etc? please detail it preferably with punctuation and specific SYMPTOMS. we only have words to work with which is really hard when trying to repair something mechanical. be specific and concise and we will be able to tell you what to do next.

I guess I should investigate - it's one thing if it's tight, another thing if there's zero clearance. Will do Monday when I get back in town.

yes, but the engine is not disassembled. if i get to installing the engine tonight or tomorrow I might grind down the shim to a lesser thickness if it's holding me up from installing the engine. otherwise i'll get one from Subaru. i've never heard of a burnt intake valve though or intake valves causing issues...so i'm also tempted to leave it. wonder what Gloyale, GD, or Shawn would say to this one intake valve situation? well i guess they'd just say - adjust the valve!

if you're asking about a newer Subaru turbo engines you have to run full synthetic. severe conditions like racing or heavy duty towing would also be wise. but in general, it doesn't matter on non-turbo Subarus. follow the owners manual which says oil must meet standards, blah, blah. which all oil does unless yo'ure buying something wonky. the value to synthetic oil is in it's extended drain intervals. synthetic is excellent - but you're not gaining anything by using it in non-turbo applications because the car will make 200,000+ miles regardless of which oil you choose. it's like buying titanium and bolting it to your car - titanium is excellent material, but if there's no need for it there's no gains to be had. your car will last longer if you wax it daily - it will be more aerodynamic, less drag, and put 0.0000000000034 less stress on all the engine and transmission components. i can argue that from an engineering stand point and i'm right. but it has no practical, real world value. same is true with synthetic - it's great and true and good - but if you're engine/uses don't need it, there's no gains. in general the blends, like the "part synthetic" that you got are the worst value. they put enough synthetic in it to call it a "Blend" or "Semi-synthetic" - but you might as well just regular oil. sounds like you got a good price this time, but in general the blends are pointless. go with synthetic or regular oil, unless you get a good deal again.

wonder how many shims they normally have? could i simply remove a shim. i wont but sounds tempting.

DOHC, shim over bucket fairtax. no rocker arms. lobes directly engage the buckets. .008 int and .010 ex like most subarus i think. definitely more than zero! .003 & .0015 gauges wouldnt fit. i checked them all a few times, rotated engine over.

My 2002 H6 Outback with 220,000 miles. One intake valve is tight - can't get my smallest gauge in it. The other intake valve in that same cylinder is fine. All the exhaust valves are fine. If it were an exhaust valve I'd be concerned, but will intake valves cause any issues over time?

knock the race out of the knuckle. unless i'm missing something. you should tell us what year/model you're talking about as there are some changes in bearings.

Yes. As long as your legacy was ORIGINALLY an EJ22 engine. Is it a 1999 Legacy L (if not - what model is it?). The Wizard of Oz Subaru - it has not intake manifold.

whatever is triggering the engine code is likely to be confusing or compromising the transmission. fix the engine code first, or at least read it. those early legacies also have a problem with clogged ATF cooler lines...i think in the radiator. There was a Subaru recall or part offered for them I believe. Look into that issue or bypass the radiator cooler and install an auxilliary cooler.

if the 99 Legacy is originally an EJ22 (which an L model would be if that's what the l stands for) - they are the same. if on the other hand, the 99 legacy originally came with EJ25 - and was previously swapped with an EJ22 - then the 99 Outback Sport engine would not work. Because a 99 EJ25 legacy is Phase I so someone would have had to swap a Phase I 98 or earlier EJ22. but 99 EJ22 legacy's are Phase II.