idosubaru

do you recall how many cans it took for one exhaust? you are not delusional...well not about Subaru exhaust, it's not stainless stel but it is corrosion resistant. galvanized annodized or something. it doesn't rust out as fast as cheaper exhausts. hopefully i'll be trying a can of the stuff before winter.

the fuel pumps can be noisy, they are external and easy to here on EA/ER vehicles. they are also prone to failure by this age too so hard to say if it's normal or ominous but if you can have an extra available that wouldn't be a terrible idea. yes - give the blower fan 12 volts and see if it spins. the resistor blocks can fail or the fan itself can fail. the controls could fail as well - are the controls lit up? any stereo or other work around that area?

the ones that go above the muffler look much better. the ones that go below it hang lower and are more apt to strike objects. other than that i've never noticed much difference - they're all metal frames that bolt to the bottom of the vehicle. I think the SUS is an oddball, being that one year/first year Outback sedan right before the body style changed - i seem to recall having issues fitting a hitch to mine, but i can't recall why and I no longer have it. you may want to find my old thread about it.

this is on an AWD XT6 which already has decent ground clearance and Canadian models come with height control as well, may be worse off than your wagon. i've installed lifts on XT6's with air suspension and got surprising results - it caused the rear air struts to leak on mine. the odd thing is the rear air struts are sealed up top by the bushings on the strut mounts which the strut rod passes through. the shaft comes out of the strut, through the bushings, and those seal the top of the strut where that rod comes out. i suppose it put enough strain/torque on those bushings that air leaks out. i tried different struts, took them all apart, cleaned them all up, reassembled, reinstalled and still the same thing. then i bought new Subaru bushings (they were surprisingly inexpensive) and installed them and still had the same thing. since then i've bought some high quality aircraft or marine grade sealant - Sikaflex to hopefully seal all the bushings, but with the strut rod moving through the middle of them that won't seal with a sealant....so i'm unsure it will work. since then, during all the experimenting over the years, i've simply ran front air struts (with holes drilled as he said for the lift) and rear coil over struts.

as long as yours is a 4 door, which i think it should be, then yes all impreza's should fit just fine, except don't get a door from a 2 door impreza to put on your 4 door, i believe they're slightly longer.

don't drive at 6,000 rpm's and you're okay?

the axle shaft can only go on ONE way. i'm going to try to explain it and it might sound like a lot - but it's unbelievably simple if you can open your eyes and pay attention - it takes like 3 minutes to line them up properly and knock the pin in. follow these directions and don't guess and you'll be done in no time, works every time. ***if one end of the pin is now deformed from messing/banging with it, make sure you're not installing that side first - install the cleanest looking side first or get a new one if you really banged it up. look at the holes on the stub shaft and axle that the pin goes through. you'll notice one side the hole has a valley of the splines in the center, on the other it has a high groove in the center. so the axle and stub shaft only line up one way. best way is to be directly under the stubby shaft of the transmission and make sure you install it with the holes lined up and the correct orientation. if you look before you install you don't have to guess. valley with valley or peak with peak for the hole on the axle and hole on the trans. while yo'ure under it - slide it all the way towards the trans. depending how you removed it - it could be under tension and pulling slightly away from the transmission misaligning the holes. align it and reuse your old pin. i have done at least 100 axles...if not more...and i've always reused the pins. unnecessary for new, but if it makes you feel better tear it up. was your old axle bad or just a torn boot? if it's just a torn boot i'd keep it. using aftermarket axles is generally a really bad choice. the original OEM axles are far better and last the life of the vehicle if rebooted. aftermarkets have a zillion issues and generally don't last very long without one popping it's head up on you. you can search google or any subaru forum to see how bad they are. better %100 successful solution is to buy a used Subaru axle and reboot it if yours is actually bad. i would not drive without that pin, that's a lot of weight slinging around that will cause some damage if it does slide off. not likely but on a 97 wagon there's bound to be some flex in the chassis...

a west coast forum member shipped me a spotless rust free exhaust and i installed it in February in my 2002 OBW. it's already showing rust. i was wanting to ask the same question before winter got here as i'll probably drop it and try to treat it somehow and get an extra month out of it. LOL

google it, they should be easily found online.

well done not throwing a master cylinder at it. most 1980's subaru's are running around with original master cylinders in them, they simply are not failure items. you sir are correct, it was probably bleeding off just enough to not bleed properly but not leaking enough to blatantly show itself. either way you got it, good deal.

i'm almost positive the newer style boots (2001+) can be installed on older legacy's. i'm pretty sure i've done it before, but the entire axles can also swap....been awhile and been too many to recall if i've swapped axles, boots, or both...i know i've done a ton of axles and think boots as well. the older split boots have a good chance of working on newer cars, someone else surely knows. if you go to replace it or have a shop do it eventually - use the Subaru boots they generally last longer. when is your timing belt due, let me know and i'll rent a house and fly over. i already have tickets to book when i get a chance. i'll rent a house and do your axles...though we were thinking Maui this time. i've stayed in a couple houses south of Kona. flying into that airport is awesome - all that black lava field!

car-parts.com i've found Subaru engines for as low as $150 before on there. i'm still running that motor, put 60,000 miles on it since then and it runs excellent still.

you might be able to convert to the newer 84 style without bushings? if it's just pins and guides and maybe mounting bracket it might be easy? *** subaru didn't have bushings on calipers for the rest of the 80's and 90's and decided to reintroduce them in the 2000's and they're a failure point. on newer ones the bushings swell and seize in the caliper, preventing it from moving. i throw them away on my daily drivers.

nice testing - you've nailed it. there's enough voltage drop from the battery to the ignition to render the starter useless. it probably is measuring volts but not carrying enough amps when needed due to corrossion, a connection, etc. since you already know the jumper points - you've jumped it yourself - fee some appropriate new wire to the ignition. it's kind of like jumping a car - you can often get power/voltage to the vehicle when initially hooked up to the jumper cables. everything turns on - then as soon as you go to turn the key everything goes dead. i've had that happen like 100 times. initial contact and voltage are good but drawing the large amps foils the compromised connection. i've heard of folks installing a relay as well - so the ignition triggers the relay which has new/higher quality wire from the battery to the starter or something like that. properly fused if rewquired of course.

simple fix, excellent. thanks for posting back.

i just did a 99 and 96 recently rear drivers side and it was easy so it must be something like you said - jack up the entire rear to alleviate suspension strain. i don't recall where/how I lifted those, if it was side or entire rear.

did you ask the dealer to reboot the axle rather than replace it? as a rule they replace the axle, so you have to tell them to reboot it - the procedures are in Subaru's own Factory Service Manuals so it's an expected and reasonable repair, no matter what they say. All of us that work on Subaru's extensively favor rebooting and you get a better end product by avoiding the aftermarket/rebuilt scene. get an independent mechanic to do it, Subaru axles are nothing special. the Subaru boots are higher quality though so may want to favor those if you get an independent to do it. ask them to reboot it, $50 in parts and labor is only an hour - though they may charge you for two hours. once the wheel is off it only requires removing one bolt and one nut to remove the axle, and knocking the pin out. 2 fasteners and a pin, not hard. another option is to get a used axle, install the boots yourself (since you can't work "outside") and then take it to a shop to install.

EDIT - you already have a post for this, I think it's advised to stick to one post per question.

the difficulty is that they don't all have the same number of ports for the hard brake lines that attach to them and they're orientation isn't always the same (like for his year it could be two on the side or one on the side with one up top. you can see the two pic's in this thread and how the ports face different ways. there are two bore sizes as well, though they may be perfectly interchangeable.

or maybe not, this guy just posted a pic of one today and it's not the same outlet. http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/67-classifieds/79818-fs-brake-master-cylinder-new.html i have seen quite a few variations in MC's - 2 hoses, 3 hoses...reservoir, etc. not sure if it's auto/manual or year/model/trim or ABS and non-ABS, but keep looking the one you need has to be out there. for instance here's one on ebay...looks like two styles - one with one port on the side and the other facing up and then yours - two ports out the side which appears less common: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARDONE-11-3079-Brake-Master-Cylinder-Reman-Master-Cylinder-/350630190946?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1999|Model%3ALegacy&hash=item51a3301f62&vxp=mtr

Subaru MC failure is almost unheard of. It's easy to find folks that try to replace it but then that's not the issue (been there done that, here's someone else that did it today: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/67-classifieds/79818-fs-brake-master-cylinder-new.html) what is more common is a leak, but don't think spraying, spewing. think initial start of one, like the metal is still covered but sometimes it can squish through cracks in the now rusty pipe. when they first start to leak it's a very slow seapage and random, that is just enough to cause give in the system but not show any fluid loss. the fluid lines that snake up above the rear crossmember and gas tanks can leak slowly, like a drop at a time (every time you feel that pedal go lower than normal), and not leak enough to run down over stuff and finally become visible from underneath. or it can leak past the piston seals and still be contained behind the dust boots on the caliper. i've seen both. in time they'll really fail as the hydraulic pressure works on that compromised area and blows it out for good. i've never seen a master cylinder failure on a Subaru and it's rarely seen on forums, but of course it is possible.

i'm not a suspension expert nor know anything outside of Subaru's so i'm not sure what you mean but you get new struts for them. there's no "cartridge" if i'm hearing your question right....just the cartridge which is part of the strut assembly. KYB's are highly favored in Subaru world. but there are cheap alternatives on ebay for sets of 4. rockauto.com is cheap advance auto parts often has high discount codes if you order online - like TRT41 is a discount code for $40 off $100 purchase. or P20 is %20 off. not positive they apply to struts since some items are exempt but i think struts count? if cost is a concern you can attempt the used route. i've never driven a "new" L or brighton model but they've all handled poorly. probably be fine once replaced but may want to lean towards GT or LSi struts if they're any different.

it works fine to simply install adapters, oil compatible for both - is it esther, i forget - and then charge it. cheap, easy, and I've never seen it not work. that's good enough for a 20+ year old car for me. if the system isn't totally empty, disconnect some hoses and push compressed air through them. disclaimer - all the HVAC pro's and sympathizers - the proper way regurgitated ad nauseum is all over the place, we know you should always pull a vacuum and do it all proper like or people will die. that being said, you don't need a vacuum pulled on a Subaru. they are robust and failure is rare. i'd prefer the heat over the humidity, it's sad when 75 feels nasty

yes - easy. could be done in 30 minutes. the only problems or hard parts about this are rust and that's not covered in an FSM or anywhere else.

ECU does not matter. leave it, drop it, forget it. if someone swaped the ECU when you swapped from auto to manual, they didn't need to and just didn't know it. i already outlined the differences you need to know in my first reply, read those and get them straight - mostly EGR. sometimes auto/manual is an indicator of other things - like whether or not the vehicle has EGR or not. for instance in 1995 - auto's have EGR and manuals do not. it has nothing to do with the ECU or any major difference, it's simply an indicator of other things I already outlined for you - all the EGR stuff in my first reply.