idosubaru

that looks to be the timing belt cover. the rubber on the belt covers are more like dust shields, they are not supposed to have any fluids behind them. this suggests the water pump or water pump bypass hose is leaking. if the water pump is replaced a subaru only water pump gasket should be used. the aftermarket gaskets are cheap cardboard. generally a complete timing belt kit - with new tensioner and pulleys is advisable. in the US they're $100 - $200 on ebay, amazon, etc for the timing belt, pulleys, and tensioner.

copy - that was answered in the first reply: 1993 - 2001 impreza wagon/outback sport = EJ22 Some early years got EJ18's - like 1995 manual transmissions...check cars101.com for more info on those.

what do you mean "the body style is 98"? if you mean it has a hood scoop then maybe a 97+ hood was installed on an earlier model. or maybe it's a later model. you might want to ask specific questions - like why does it matter to you whether it's a 95 or 98? it's rather immaterial on nearly all grounds for such an old vehicle - they are all Impreza wagons with a few trim and other minor changes. at this point i don't see the value in speculating about an "incorrect year". impreza outback sport details and changes all here: http://www.cars101.com/impreza_archive93_96.html

odd for sure, i'd try to ascertain if it leaked from the outside or inside of the seal. in my experience it seems the ID is most likely to leak profusely and get worse quickly, makes sense as it has the spring seal and seals a rotating shaft where there OD is static.

No - it's an EJ22. Outback Sport is an impreza. Outback Sport didn't get the EJ25 until 2002. No impreza came with an EJ25 before 1998.

more than likely just install a new Subaru OEM seal and you're done. shouldn't have to do anything special. make sure it's seated perfectly flush and everything is clean, light coat of oil on sealing surfaces as you install. was it a new Subaru seal used the first time?

www.car-part.com as a last resort and you can get exactly what you need for cheap.

it has a "security" light button on the dash that blinks red when the car is off - does this need disabled? not sure how to do that, but i've never disabled a security system before and have programmed before without issue. i've walked through the directions a few times but will try again being sure to stop in the "locked" position, which I'm fairly certain i've done.

99 Legacy LS with 99-04 Alpine alarm system. Trying to program a keyless remote to work with it: 1 turn key on/off 10x within 15 seconds 2 horn should beep 2x #2 is never happening.... When I get to 10 (turning key on/off) - do i stop and leave it on or does it matter?

nice! that's awesome. as mentioned misfires on that particular engine are usually due to needing plugs and wires. cheap aftermarket wires and non-OEM plugs don't do well in those engines either.... though you don't specify which engine yo'ure talking about, but that is true for them all in 1998. if it's a 2.5 liter engine then oil leaking into the spark plug tubes can also cause this issue. that can't happen on a 2.2 though.

as he said probably water pump, thermostat housing or bypass hose. can you post a picture of where it's coming from? does it have coolant or water in the cooling system?

not on a brat but i've pulled Subaru engines and trans together on ER and EJ's and that's pretty easy actually. need lots of clearance for the lift to go up and over the rad support but it's otherwise quite simple considering there's no bell housing bolts to disconnect insitu. can you get it off the ground and drop the trans from underneath like you're used too? i've done that before too.

96 Legacy brighton, L, LS are 4.11 final drive ratios. they will bolt up and work but the rear differential will also have to be swapped to 4.11 to match. 96 Legacy GT, LSi and Outback are 4.44 and will match the forester I can't think of a reason why the 96 won't work in the 98. the fact that the later trans doesn't work almost guarantees the 96 will work since Subaru didn't make that many changes. once around 95 and once around 99...very roughly. you can check ebay and car-part.com for interchange info. it's more restrictive...meaning you have more options than what they'll have listed, but if you fall in the scope of their interchange info you'll certainly be okay. AT interchangability is tricky.

no, go for it.

EJ transmissions are basically all the same, particularly for process considerations. yours will come apart exactly like that one.

cool - cig light battery monitor, no way! Cougar knows his electrical, you should get a smile on your face to see him replying to a question, i do!

if it is the car wash - then something is still wrong because a car wash wouldn't cause it. do you live in a place that has reasonable possibility of animals? squirrels, mice, chipmunks? loose battery terminal will prevent the battery from fully charging. it may be fixed now that it's been worked on and there's no more issue. was the battery tested? they can have bad cells and be troublesome in terms of starting sometimes and not others and show 12 volts just fine. i'm not a battery expert i've just seen it happen and seen them tested as such. odd and unlikely for a new car but it's an easy test to do at least. alternator voltage with car running should be like 14.x Volts. test that. if it happens again and it's not the battery or alternator then you likely have a drain. and the good news is that if you've already removed the battery cable and used a volt meter you can test it yourself. using amultimeter with milliamp setting you can easily test it yourself in a matter of minutes. i would have the meter handy just in case it does happen again. then you could at least verify "when it happens" so to speak rather than having it tested later only to find out it's fine. if it happens - or I might even advise testing it now and telling us what you get - remove positive battery cable and put a multimeter between the cable and battery terminal (some people will even use an LED). set it to milliamps to see how much parasitic draw you have - the current the vehicle is pulling just sitting there with nothing on and no keys in the car. 30-40 milliamps is normal. more than that verifies your drain. to track down the drain you measure milliamps and keep pulling fuses until the drain drops to normal levels...like from 200 to 40 milliamps. when that fuse is pulled you know the trouble is on that one circuit. then you look up that circuit and start unplugging all the items on that circuit until the drain disappears. you might not be up for that because you may not know where all the components are or have a factory service manual to track them down. but for a dealer it's not that big of a deal to do this properly and nail. *** keep in mind any momentary surge in draw will blow the fuse (or the unit itself if it doesn't have one) of the multimeter. so if you hook it up and then open the door - which pulls power for the dome light and dash door open light and chime if the key is in...that draw will blow the fuse.

i've done it, i'm sure you saw me post if you searched. cut the old ones out, fit the rockford joints in. it's fairly straight forward but a little bit of an art rather than just "remove - replace"....be careful of the needle bearings in the new joint, they won't want to go in easily/smoothly/straight.

Some people get aftermarket kits since the Subaru unit shuts the engine off when you open the door. Lots of folks that have installed Subaru and aftermarkets talk about it here: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/39840-remote-engine-starter-2.html Kit is a little over $300: http://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-SUBARU-OEM-REMOTE-CAR-STARTER-LEGACY-OUTBACK-2010-2012-H011SAJ200-/321226957742 Install it yourself or have a mechanic do it, here's the instructions from Subaru: http://subaruonlineparts.com/pdf/H001SAJ000.pdf You could also look into a used set...they'll get cheaper over time. The Subaru listing on ebay suggests all 2010-2012 Legacy and Outbacks are the same. www.car-part.com for used ones

keep changing the fluid and using TransX and you're golden for a long time. AT compatability in those years is very ambiguous and hard to determine. i'd use google and try to find someone that's done it. you'll have different number of bellhousing bolts if you look at the engine/trans mating surface. and the 96 won't have a side filter screwed on it like the 2000. though neither of those matter in regards to a swap and can be ignored/worked around.

TPS pops to mind- they can cause erratic shifting and downshifting. Common H6 issue around 01-02 with an updated part from Subaru. But - given the details on the fluid change it sounds like your transmission is internally exploding it's guts.

The AWD system is robust and not prone to anything. Those auto trans easily make high miles without issue. Change fluids, keep your tires matching, and never improperly tow it and it should be fine. Coolant changes are like $50 - $80 at a shop - follow the owners manual. Every 2 years would be very often.

It's not great - it's not true! people sometimes say, not just about headgaskets, but lots of issues "it happens at 150k" but EJ25D headgaskets blow at any mileage. EJ25D's were blowing at 30k and 50k when they first came out, i've seen it, i've bought them that way. it's easy to find folks that have had headgaskets fail twice before 150k, LOL! there's a ton on this guestbook log at low mileages: http://home.comcast.net/~skipnospam/guestlog.html there's other headgasket logs out there, subaruoutback.org has them too and google if someone doesn't know the scope of the EJ25D headgasket issues. the problem is one of perception. you don't see as many low mileage headgasket failures simply because you don't see many low mileage cars after 15 years. there's a member on this forum that had a headgasket blow at 30k on his 1999 Legacy GT Sedan Black. you don't see as many 200k+ EJ25D's blowing headgaskets because - again there's fewer of them. they're the most likely to be sent to the scrap pile, particularly in the rust prone northeast where gobs of people and Subaru owners live. The SUS is a great car, i love them, but it has a problematic motor. The reason I don't like them is they leave you stranded when they do blow (which is completely random, there's no mitigating it or symptoms prior). 2000+ EJ25's are much more forgiving in the way they fail, you can basically drive them like 50,000 miles after the first sign of failure...not so with the EJ25D in a 99 SUS. Personally - I'd still buy the SUS - sell the motor right away and drop in a much better EJ22. Don't even wait til the headgaskets blow. I just bought an EJ22 for a friend for $300 low mileage and installed it's probably not much more than I'll make selling his EJ25 (there's plenty of demand). And i've done that before too - bought a legacy sedan, made like $2,500 on the EJ25D and dropped in a $150 EJ18 that purrs like a kitten and i've put gobs of miles on it over many years. I make money and get a better motor for it, sign me up. I don't recommend an EJ18 that was just an experiment of mine, but Ej22's are awesome.

Why were the valves replaced, what happened? How low was it? How much did you add and how far up the dipstick was it after you added that amount? Knocking from front of engine, rear, or left/right? You had the valves replaced? That's a substantial job - how many miles have you driven since that job was done? Front of engine would be timing tensioner (drivers side front) Rear of engine would be flexplate cover Sides of engine would be valve train related Other may be bearing failure Or possibly a job related issue...

When is it overheating - day time, night time, sitting still, moving or both? If it starts to run hot - pop the hood and see if the fans are running (without letting it overheat obviously). If it starts to run hot - turn the heater up high - does the air stay hot? That engine requires Subaru's Coolant Conditioner - like $2.50 a bottle. Was that added? Probably not the cause of this, but should be done.