idosubaru

i wouldn't have any concern at all just using sealant or the gap distance. a tiny fraction shouldn't affect it that much at all. these pumps/timing belt set up are robust and issues are almost unheard of so they should be very forgiving. hope that works. what a strange debacle. thousands upon thousands of these are done without issue...something odd is happening here.

something else is wrong - these things are cake and always easily seal when installed properly 100% of the time. i almost can't believe that sealant was used and it leaked, that doesn't make any sense at all. that's a lot of work already - i'd check threads of every bolt hole and make sure they're clean and not stripped. maybe use longer bolts to catch more/deeper/unused threads. get a new water pump

Gloyale - no ECU differences between turbo and non-turbo? They are plug and play? I have an unused sensor/plug on p/s strut tower after swapping EA82 into 1987.5 XT Turbo. I thought the FSM wiring diagrams to the ECU are slightly different? But that might just be a weird 87.5 thing? It did run enough to commute with it a couple times and all I used was an exhaust manifold and XT intake/intake manifold. But it has drivability and other non-swap related issues so I have never figured out if it's swap related or other stuff.

it doesn't get all that hot, shouldn't a concern and under operating temps of most epoxies. since many of us run without any timing belt covers at all for years, you certainly have gobs of time, don't stress out.

clean it up and epoxy it, it'll be fine. no big deal. get those two parts epoxies and clean it well, done. then you'll have more epoxy for another future project too. follow the directions on the label. or yeah, replace. someone on here will have them, i just sold a bunch for that engine.

i think that was my first suggestion, if we're talking about the same thing?: on one hand i'm inclined to think this since it happened so suddently with no warning/issues/prior history/symptoms - which as someone said is really weird for a transmission to do. on the other hand it's not very common...let's hope.

i ordered a power steering pump earlier this year or last and when i got it I too thought it had a bent pulley - wobbling while engine running. i swapped pulleys - it still wobbled. pumps are so simple, cheap, and easy to replace that i didn't bother to inspect the thing, I can only assume the pump shaft was compromised in some way. but that's the only occurrence i've ever seen so i'm not able to tell you if that's normal or an outlier or if the pulley alone can bend.... pumps are so cheap and easy to find i'd just swap in another used pump. no need to reseal or do anything while it's out, particularly if it's completely dry. hopefully you're not buying a wet (leaking) pump. www.car-part.com

This is the USRM - Ultimate Subaru Repair Manual for repair methodology and write ups- not for diagnosis. If everyone posts questions in the USRM it'll clog up the usefulness of it. Could you start a new thread in the new generation forum and erase this one and I'll do the same with this post? http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=new_post&f=44 Yours is also a brake issue. In addition to caliper pistons hanging, pads can also wear and heat up due to sticking caliper slides, rusty/corroded pad clips that hang the pads, and failing brake hoses - they collapse internally and fluid can move "to" the caliper due to hydraulic forces, but don't allow fluid to move "back" away from the caliper and release the pad. Other manufacturers this is more common, this isn't a typical failure mode for Subaru's.

check engine light - read the codes and see if there's anything relevant AT light blinking 16 times at start up means there's a code stored in the TCU telling you something is flaky with the transmission circuits.

1. the switch itself can go bad. unplug the drivers (and passengers?) side switches and see if that cures it. if it does then it's the switch. 2. the door lock timers on this particular year/model is prone to issues. search for the thread with "timer" here's a detailed thread about the door lock timer. user 1-3-2-4 has good experience getting to it and pictures posted in one thread - maybe this one but i didn't look as im' on limited internet at the moment: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/109378-door-lock-timer-location-95-legacy/?hl=timer

if there were no problems, noises, issues before hand and zero engagement - i would wonder if it's simply not actually going into gear - the inhibitor switch (passengers side of trans, easy fix). though i've never heard of those failing in that way i'd search and see if it can happen. or could the shifter linkage even be bad - so it'll shift to reverse/neutral but nothing else - i'd look at the passengers side of trans at the inhibitor switch and see if it's moving through all the gears as the lever in the cabin is being moved. can be seen from under the car or through the engine bay on passengers side just behind where the axle connects to the trans. this is a big issue so some important questions: 1. no symptoms at all prior to this? 2. check engine light on? 3. is the AT light blinking 16 times at start up? 4. any major work done on the vehicle? 5. how many miles? 6. how many miles have you put on the vehicle? #3 & #4, reading the codes will tell you the codes/issues. check engine light can be read by any OBDII scanner, parts stores do it for free or buy one cheap off ebay for $35 and do it yourself. AT light is trickier to do. like nip said, real odd for it to not do anything and all of a sudden give up the ghost.

the starting a new thread thing is done sometimes like FT said, you'll get far more views than this one obscure thread about a repair that few people attempt! i don't have cell reception right now or i'd hit him up for you. i'm also forgetting the name of his shop...

*** Don't replace the axle. Reboot it if it's an original Subaru (green inner cup) axle. Aftermarket axles have a high percentage of failures/issues, do not waste your time. Do not replace it no matter how much a mechanic begs. If you absolutely must replace the axle then: 1. buy a used Subaru OEM axle (green inner cups) locally, search www.car-part.com by zipcode 2. reboot it with Subaru boots 3. send me your old axle in the replacement axles box, i'll pay shipping and i'll reboot it for another 100,000 miles of use. If you don't know how bad aftermarket axles are or are unsure whether to take that advice, spend 30 seconds googling it to see how bad it is. Widely known by anyone that does frequent Subaru work. For the timing belt: 1. Get a timing belt kit from rockauto or amazon for $120 - $130. they have new pulleys, tensioner, and belt. that's an interference engine so you want all new pulleys and tensioner. the new style tensioner is also not terribly reliable (not as reliable as the old style tensioner) so it should be replaced every timing belt change on 105,000 miles interval engine or every other if it's a 60k change interval belt which some (all?) pre-1999 Subaru EJ22's are. 2. new cam seals, cam cap oring, crank seal and reseal the oil pump. once the timing belt is off all of that stuff is really easy and very little extra labor. an hour going real slow. 3. EJ water pumps rarely fail but it's a good thing to be done with as it is 15+ years old and requires removing the timing belt to replace, though you don't tell us the mileage. if it's like 200k then i'd definitely be replacing it now. 4. Go with Subaru water pump gasket and seals, aftermarket gasket is cheap cardboard and some seals are lesser quality materials, though plenty of the aftermarkets do have good seals.

if nothing is rubbing, then it's the wheel bearing. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/143097-is-that-my-wheel-bearing-easy-diagnosis/ or listen with a mechanics stethoscope on the strut spring/body for noise while rotating the tire with it jacked up.

you don't like Subaru's, commenting here will not help you or anyone else. in general large swaths of rural america are resistant to Subarus or foreign cars, there's really no need for those people to gang up on a forum of cars they don't like. it is very common to hear "I won't work on foreign cars", in the southeast, rural areas, midwest, slower economies. a general distaste for something always makes one less likely to learn, discern, and compare. and it's then approached with disdain...this is widely know and i have first hand experience - i'm just like those people! except i dislike american cars. every time i have to work on one for a friend/family i hate it, make fun of it, exagerrate, and talk about how stupid it is. it's probably 25%-75% true depending on the situation - most of it is my attitude. i would never in a billion years think to go complain to a Ford forum about what a stupid purchase an Explorer is due to transmission bands frying every other week..and well a litany of other things that have earned them well the moniker "Exploder", and Buick Lacrosse's for having every transmission failure mode possible and people needing 4 or 5 transmissions installed. every vehicle has a fit for someone, i'm not going to go try to "inform" or change people's mind. nothing would come of it even if i'm "right".

Subaru wheel bearings often don't have traditional symptoms, or at least I've never seen one have "play" by grabbing the wheel. I've seen them have play once off the vehicle though, but that doesn't do you any good trying to diagnose insitu. I've seen enough threads asking how to confirm and having trouble verifying wheel bearings that I snapped a couple bad cell phone pic's while diagnosing one this morning in the dark. I use a temperature gun which I mention often on forums and so far it's been 100% successful. 1. Drive the vehicle. Get it up to operating temps. Take temps immediately after driving. 2. Aim the red dot from an infrared temperature gun as close to the bearing/hub as you can. Use the axle stub, exposed on steel wheels, or pop the center cap on aluminum wheels. Or shoot through the slots in the wheels at the rotor close to the hub/bearing and get an "average" of like 5 or so readings - noting the highs and lows. Rotor temps vary wildly depending how far from the center you are - energy dissipation and heat transfer and what not - so that's the reason for a few readings. 3. Compare that reading to the reading on the other hub bearings. 4. If there's a large difference - usually 20-50 degrees in my experience, the side reading higher is a failed bearing. It's always been obvious so far for me, the highest temp on the "bad" side notably higher than anything on the other side. Other way around for the "lows". ***This of course assumes brakes have already been ruled out - not dragging, seized, etc. This particular vehicle had sound that wasn't noted until after snow tires were installed so it was a uncertain as to whether it was tires or wheel bearing making the growl. The noise wasn't particularly loud and I don't have stellar hearing so I wasn't even sure if it was front or back or both. It was dark so pardon the pictures but this explains it fairly simply and looks like i've confirmed another wheel bearing. First pic shows the passengers side at 96 degrees. Drivers side at 127 (highest). Both rears were 74 degrees. Looks like we have a bad drivers side bearing. This vehicle has all new brake pads, caliper boots, caliper pad clips, etc. And that's about the difference, from my bad memory, of previous temps too. About 30 degrees and around the same thing - 120's and 130's for the failed bearing side. ***Probably one of the "funnest" tools to own, can take it inside and play with it! You'll want to take temps of all sorts of things...campfires, food, kids, windows, doors, computers...

nice hit, enjoy!

i have a battery cable to make too, thanks for sharing and keep it up. i'm slightly unsure what all it entails....positive, negative, ends/terminals, etc.

all vehicles have a good place and fit for various people, to that end we are all right even if our oppinions differ. i tell family members to keep buying Fords even though I don't like them, they're a good fit for them. in my opinion - on a large scale with large sample sizes (not just 5 examples which is anecdotal to me) - a Ford car or exploder (i like their trucks) is not a good 250,000 mile vehicle. but not everyone needs to view and buy like i do. i'm not sure there's much to discuss, are you likely to start disliking Ford cars and exploders as much as I do? should I try? would you like me to list all the reasons why I think Ford vehicles are a bad fit for me? probably not. in the same way, arguing Subaru's (or any others) issues here i'm not sure holds much value for anyone.

ha ha, some similarities, my XT6 is lifted (though it wasn't when i towed that trailer), and a standard 18 foot dual 3,500 axle equipment/car hauler. that's beasty to through an SVX on there too! you still have the XT6?

it would have cost $59 if you had done the labor for the timing belt and taken less time than the brakes and wheel bearing on the Taurus. in the future you'd be wise to buy knowing if a vehicle has a timing belt or chain and when it needs replaced. it's the one big ticket item that's common on engines.

Your sister got ripped off by a shop/mechanic. I would literally come do that repair in her driveway for $1,000, like tomorrow, gladly. It would cost me $59 in parts so i'd still be making $900. Timing belts have been common since the 1980's and it's in the owners manual - every 105,000 miles or 10 years for that vehicle. Older vehicles had lower grade belts and they were every 60,000 miles. The timing belt costs $59 from Subaru and takes less than an hour to replace. Subaru charges $450 - $699 depending on local market. Indepedents can charge less than that. Sister is paying high labor costs and/or lots of additional parts.

i didn't even think about that, the 4EAT i was pulling that car hauler with that i just mentioned was a 3.7 of all things.

4EAT's are robust and hold up very well. i pulled a 16 foot heavy duty car hauler with my 4EAT and it struggled to get it going, lots of revving with little movement, but it did move it. i'd imagine lots of that wouldn't be good for it, but here and there probably fine. so if you're just needing grunt to get it up a ramp...it might work.

keep that up. moving air will do wonders to dry something out. did you punish him for not getting action pictures?! www.car-part.com or parts wanted forum here if you need any other parts. Ebay can be pricey.