idosubaru

put your blade down...back away from your head...>LOL do this, a little set up time but it's SOOOO easy and excellent results: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/122588-diy-head-resurfacing-or-post-apocalyptic-machine-shop-techniques/

must have been a miscommunication on the rack, one of the earlier posts or something, Subaru steering racks basically never fail. how in the world do you live in the rust belt and you seem to have easily "disconnected both outer tie rods"?!!!! that phrase is never that simply stated in the rust belt! "recreate the problem...while vehicle is raise"...meaning all 4 wheels are off the ground? there's also a ujoint below the brake master cylinder. those can get rusty and lumpy feeling, doesn't sound like what you're describing though and none of your tests seem to point to this. torque bind: 1. install the FWD fuse in the holder on the passengers side strut tower in the engine bay. let us know if symptoms go away. (if they do go away then you have torque bind...if they dont' go away then we're still unsure). 2. if the torque bind does go away then fluid changes can often alleviate the issue. 3. if the FWD fuse doesn't work or fluid changes don't help then the Duty C Solenoid and/or clutches need replaced in the rear extension housing. The good news is the transmission doesn't need to come out for this job and it's not all that bad. So you can do it yourself or it's not that costly to have done (relatively speaking).

my knee-jerk reaction says "no" but his question above seems the most important first step...more description? left/right/front/rear? go test drive another one and see if it does the same thing. warranty if it doesn't?

change the coolant/add the subaru coolant conditioner and it's likely to go away. i'd do that now and see what happens.

i wouldn't think this an artifact of Subarus, i've owned like 50, can take a picture of about 10 right now, worked on many more, and never noticed this. take note both of those cars have headgasket issues - the 1998 is the more ominous of the 2 by a long shot. purchase wisely.

tire reviews can easily be googled or tirerack.com, other online tire vendors. did you search for defenders, i seem to recall a thread or two about them on subaruoutback.org or the forester forum, check those out. blizzacks are excellent. i would be surprised if the Michelin's weren't close, i rarely buy their stuff but i respect their quality. if traction is your driving concern, get studded tires. at least here in the rust belt your wheels won't loose clear coat/degrade with the winters too if you have a dedicated winter set and care about that kind of thing.

wow. well done, that's some serious skill you've got going on there. it's 10 times harder than it looks in my experience anyway...getting the plate all lined up how you want it, dimensions spot on, it's so easy for something to be off, not "square", lined up, flush, etc. i am notably deficient in this area anyway, but still tough stuff.

right - good call - there is evidence that Subaru did use the turbo style gasket design around 2010 plus.....but the jury is still out i think on exactly which year/models that is the case - for instance the legacy appears to have gotten it - but what about the forester/impreza?

needs primed more possibly - turn the steering wheel lock to lock multiple times should bleed all the air out. or the lines/oring/pump/hose got compromised during install like JCE just said.

they all have issues, though the symptoms differ for the 3 different flavors of EJ25s, but the issue persists all the way up until 2009 or 2010, whenever they kept using that engine. when you have it replaced you should use the Turbo EJ25 headgasket and have the heads resurfaced.

drill it until it comes out. the heat from the drill will give some localized heating too. you don't have to worry about scoring or marring the inside of the intake manifold bolt holes, they're benign. don't intentionally hose them of course, but just saying it's not a big deal. get everything free you can so you can "spin" or "rotate" the intake manifold around to break the tension loose. just try to move it like 1/2" or so to break the tension. of course you can't do that with two in place, have to get one out first. do not use EZOuts no matter what someone says.

XT6's have orings for all 3 channels in there, i always found that interesting. they are the same as the XT channels so you could use XT6 orings for that application...there are 2 orings that are the same and then the 3rd one is elongated. as to ivan imports shaft seal comments - if you've seen that many ticking EA82's, i'm surprised you've never seen a reseal not fix the TOD permanently. as outlined earlier, many folks have seen plenty of resealed EA/ER engines still tick afer resealing multiple times. oil pump replacement fixed them all so far that i've seen.

here is an attempt at a comprehensive thread about TOD, which combines/references this threads information as well. while you might not care to fix it, probably a helpful read if you're searching/posting here. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136547-ea82-er27-ticking-tod-hydraulic-valve-lash-hla-noise-diagnose-and-repair/?hl=ticking

if you want more detailed information take a picture and post it on here and we can give more detailed advice. a found a catalytic converter on craigslist for $25 too and it was aftermarket but unused, just welded on some pipe and good to go. exhaust is really annoying, but with a little effort you can find some options out there. ideally you get the rusty junk off and get some less-rusty pipe in there. the stock pipe is actually very robust and lasts a long time, it's much higher quality metal than most pipe or the cheaper stuff in stores/ebay. www.car-parts.com problem there is they usually don't sell catalytic converters. i have a few converters that are fine except for rusty flanges if you want something to work with and yours is too rusty. i've saved them just for that purpose myself. but one from out west non-rusty would be better. post in the parts wanted section here and other forums like subaruoutback.org

in general that car is easily capable of 200,000 miles so another year or two should be easy...better than getting a loan. headgaskets are leaking externally? weird for a 97 model, but if it's coolant I'd be adding a bottle of Subaru's Coolant Conditioner they require on all 2000+ EJ25's for the same symptom. It repairs an externally leaking headgasket (coolant only) almost every time if you get it early enough before it's bad. exhaust sucks. you can get a year or two out of the cheap ebay exhaust parts, i've gotten them as low as $80 a piece before for a new converter. find a used non-rusty one on a forum or have one shipped from south/out west. you should be able to repair this for $250 or less with a used part, ebay parts, welding in new pipe (which is almost zero cost and all labor)....etc. i'd never pay anywhere near $600 for this repair. i repaired one exhaust from the headers back for $225 for parts shipped from out west that weren't rusty. a friend had the rust cut out and new pipe welded in a month ago for $45. there's options, gonna take some work but it beats a car payment.

great, thanks Loyale, I included that. Here's a write up for USRM, pin, whatever is a good fit. I'll watch it over the coming days and add links, edit, etc. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/136547-ea82-er27-ticking-tod-hydraulic-valve-lash-hla-noise-diagnose-and-repair/

I believe we're attempting a somewhat comprehensive TOD thread for noisy HLA's in EA82 and ER27 (XT6) engines. ***Simply put, I would replace the oil pump if you have TOD. Details: I've solved every case of TOD with a brand new oil pump (once I figured it out, after years of monkeying with other things that were temporary or had varying results). themoneypit (member here), Austin (forum administrator of www.subaruxt.com), and others have had the same experience - new pump solved the issue. I wouldn't be surprised if they spec'd out just fine since I've never seen these cars have issues or notable wear/problems, but that's speculation and in any event the success rate speaks for itself regardless of the cause. Another 2 cases of replacing oil pump solving TOD: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/24586-tod-finally-fixed/ http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/124909-drriver-side-clicking/ I'm sure it's happened but I haven't seen it nor have I heard anyone say "I installed a brand new pump and it's still ticking". 4 step approach to diagnosis/repair: 1. Determine if this is likely oil supply related or HLA failure - See (*NOTE HLA Failure below) 2. Reseal the oil pump. Replace the mickey mouse gasket and oring (ER27 does not have that oring), shaft seal, and dabs of sealant on the very outer pump housing at 6 oclock and 12 oclock where it meets the mating surface of the two block halves. 3. In the cases where that doesn’t work, a new oil pump has always fixed it for me. *** If you are not time rich or you get annoyed doing a job twice, skip step 1, at this point it makes sense to me given how many oil pump replacements I've seen necessary. 4. GD suggests that replacing the cam carrier (cam case/cam tower) orings can also fix some instances of TOD. Earlier EA82’s (85 and 86 I believe) came with plain rubber orings which are inferior for this application. The later EA82’s and all ER27’s come with a metal reinforced oring at that location. Other than Subaru I’ve only seen them available at www.thepartsbin.com , though I’m sure other places have them. Just make sure they are the metal reinforced variety. GD's discussion on these orings and other HLA nuances: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/109575-ea82-lifter-ticking-tod-etc-my-recent-experience/ Oil/Treatments and TOD: Changing the oil or playing with oil viscosity or treatments is not the answer though covers up the symptoms for a bit, though possibly by inducing wear to the HLA's. GD covers the mechanisms involved in that in the thread linked above. Given the cause is likely still present (oil pump or orings), this is likely a band aid and not a great long-term solution. TOD is highly variable and as such a lot of results are anecdotal like changing oil weights, etc. *NOTE - HLA failure: If the TOD is isolated to one HLA then that HLA is likely failed and needs replaced. No amount of oil treatment or oil pump maintenance is going to help. The only time I've seen this is on HLA's with blown headgaskets that were run for an extended period of time (localized overheating, speculation). So I guess I haven't solved "every" TOD with a new oil pump, but every case that wasn't due to a blown headgasket/seized HLA. A good ear or mechanics stethoscope will isolate where one (or two) bad HLA's reside. Pulling the valve cover you can even see them if they're seized, you'll visually see a gap at various points of the cam lobe travel. Passengers side is far less messy to get access to and check that way. It's been a few years since I've seen one like this so my description isn't fresh, but I recall being able to identify the seized HLA's without disassembling anything - just pull the valve cover. New HLA's Mizpah engineering sells rebuilt HLA’s or will rebuild yours. Very economical, only a few bucks each. If you’re going into the valve train it’s not a bad idea to just get a complete set they’re so inexpensive. http://www.mizpahprecision.com/pricing.htm I have never been able to successfully pump up every single HLA's in a bag of oil like the FSM says, so I've just installed them as is and assumed they pump up on the vehicle and have never had a problem doing that. There is also mention that some HLA’s need shimmed, I haven't done that or found that thread yet but will edit it in if someone else does.

no point in looking into it, it's all but impossible and there are easy options to get a timing chain equipped engine/vehicle. oil pump, water pump, accessories, oil supply, everything would need modified, needs to be a sealed system, cams aren't offset on timing belt vehicles but they are on the timing chains due to it being one belt and two chains...there's like a hundred problems that need worked around. the easy way is to buy a car that already has one or install an H6 engine or the new 4 cylinder engines that have timing chains.

i just did a write up, i can post it tomorrow with links to threads I'm aware of like GD's cam tower discussion and HLA shimming, etc.....it can be a new thread to pin or USRM or delete it, whatever works.

no need to worry about one of them snapping out of place, it's not a big deal if done properly. if it moves - move it back!!!! if you're competent enough to swap an engine and do this job to begin with then there's hardly any concerns about moving one little pulley a few degrees. compared to the scope of that job - moving a pulley is chump change. line the crank up properly so there's no possible valve interactions and you're golden. it's normal for a cam to be semi-loaded due to valve train tension and they'll snap out of place, all Subaru engines are like that. no big deal, just rotate it right back where it was when you go to reinstall the timing chain (or belt on those models). there are some great pictures and write ups of H6 timing chain components and replacement on subaruoutback.org - i'd look at those threads first, all of those guys did it. of couse you can buy Subaru's special tool for holding them. check ebay sometimes special tools end up there, or make something similar yourself.

there you go - it's gear oil...still doesn't answer why your dipstick has ATF written on it...the front diff dipstick is far different...and i don't imagine interchangeable with the ATF dipstick so i can't imagine mixing them up on installing another in it's place...still strange. FWD transmissions are nearly the same transmissions as the 4WD versions...same front diff, most of the parts are the same, bellhousing, etc - they just install different shafts and rear end for the 4WD., gears and such are probably mostly the same too.

the baja springs are "said" to lift the car, truthfully if it did lift mine I didn't notice it. Out of the box - they are the same length as the stock springs, so the only lift would be less "settling" of the rear, which isn't much. someone has probably measured it, i can take pictures of mine.

It is NOT the converter, though that's often blamed. Let it be known that you can drive indefinitlely with this code, it causes no problems at all and is strictly an emissions code...and a really lame one at that. Cars with a P0420 code would actually pass an exhaust analyzer test were able to take it. The engine is not running 100% and the 0420 code is waaaaaay too sensitive. The cheap and easy fix is to install a $5 spacer and never deal with it again (hopefully). The proper fix is to find the fuel issue, tune up, ignition, exhaust leak or whatever causing the code. Cardoc has an elaborate post...with videos i think...of how to properly nail this thing down. But there are very few mechanics that will go to that depth to track it down, and the cost could be high depending on their willingness to learn/help you.

Wh And there's an FSM link above strongly suggesting 3AT is the same as all the rest. And your owners manual strongly suggests it's no different. There's also no hits on internet searches, if there was something that different I doubt it would take 30 years for someone to notice and ask on the internet!!! Everything points to gear oil....but the goofy dipstick....interesting. The dipstick - can you post a picture of the front differential dipstick. One thought comes to mind - early 3AT's could differ than later ones....seems odd but just trying to think what could be confusing here.

+1 triple digits sounds too high. the subaru's i've measured...though olde rhan yours...seem more around the 30 and 40 range, i wouldn't expect 5 times that even if yours is a little higher. i'm also notably not well versed in electrical talk though, you are in good hands with Cougar, he's who i always hopes peeks in on my electrical questions!!