idosubaru

slap a new belt on crank it over - it won't take very long actually. check this out. don't even bother putting the covers or even the serpentine belts back on. crank it with just the battery and jumper cables if you have to. will only take a few minutes to install a new pulley and the old belt actually and crank it that way.

speaking of that warranty, never seen the 99's listed in the recall but they have the first SOHC EJ25's in the foresters and RS. i have an 02 forester in the driveway now trying to help the guy out (i asked you about motor parts). i put a new belt on it before so not sure if it'll need another or not but i could possibly use the belt.

loyale was originally a 3AT transmission i thought? if that's the case you're going to need the entire wiring harness and TCU and more. if it happens to have a 4EAT i think you're going to have some hurdles. but yes getting the axles to work are not going to be the hard part. the newer 4EAT's are a few inches shorter and some other changes, i'd look into it a bit. searching would likely pull up some info. Gloyale has put a 4EAT into an EA vehicle before and I know someone else that's done it as well - but those weren't later trans like you're talking about. i'd search for Gloyales thread.

interesting thanks for sharing. did you leave it "open" or what?

tricky question. the headgasket issue is prevalent into very new subaru's beyond 2005 even. the frequency is fewer thus far and they actually fail in a complete different way. they leak externally and DO NOT overheat...well until you run them out of coolant. they usually leaky coolant but ocassionally it's just oil or both. they can run a really long time like that though - like 100,000 miles if you keep them from running out of fluid. newer EJ25's require a Subaru coolant additive. anyone I buy I'd flush the coolant and put one bottle of conditioner in first thing. it's not like the older EJ25D's you had in the 98OBW where they can overheat instantly and randomly and you're stranded. i have a 2002 Forester in my driveway....new headgaskets....motor is blown. did they say it was because of date? i think there's also a time limit on that too, not just mileage - like 8 years or 10 years? is that from manufacture date or sale date? and also sometimes different models get different motors so while a 02 GT might not qualify, an 02 L or Forester might.

yep the good news is that it doesn't matter if you replace the front one or leave the one that's in there, or install a known bad O2 front sensor with 2 million miles on it - the rear sensor has nothing to do with gas mileage so you can ignore it.

post back what you find i'll pick one up for my neighbor if it works. he's got overheating and swears it's not headgaskets but i'm doubtful. it's his first subaru, had to be an EJ25D unfortunately. he cant' really afford a repair of that magnitude at all.

nice hit, thanks for sharing. i'd be surprised if they're any different. how WEIRD you had two bad solenoids. was it obvious that the wiring was messed with or just looked warn...? pan kinked it for certain?

As already stated Trans X is unlikely to help (it'd be the first i've heard). Borrowing a solution for one specific problem to fix a completely unrelated problem doesn't generally work. Given that it now might be the failing Duty C, the solution to that is very clear, replace the solenoid. Or disengage the duty C "locking" the clutches and then disconnected the rear driveshaft so it's essentially a FWD vehicle until you have time to fix it properly....or just leave it FWD and get snow tires if needed. I'd do that if I needed to avoid the proper repair before additives. Trans-x is only for the very specific case of the 99 era trans. In general additives have possible long term symptoms or complications, so they're best to avoid in all but the most dire situations. Trying a different spark plug or belt isn't a big deal - if it doesn't work out you use a different one. Additives can cause issues, swell seals that don't need swelling all without helping the original issue at all. Additives are one thing that's generally best to follow experience on and not try on anecdotal experience (or thoughts). One additive that can help torque bind is a limited slip additive that can sometimes help free up sticking clutches. But it's not going to aid the Duty C solenoid at all. And I don't recommend it as I don't know the long term affects of something like that on the rest of the innards. It's a last ditch effort for a car that's not really worth putting time into. And the first step before that would be a simple fluid change.

nice hit, thanks for sharing. i'd be surprised if they're any different. how WEIRD you had two bad solenoids. was it obvious that the wiring was messed with or just looked warn...? pan kinked it for certain?

sweet, glad it's helped, that's awesome. this board is orders of magnitude more competent than any mechanic. but...to be fair, if you pulled any one person off of a subaru forum and made the same comparison the statement would still hold true. the value in places like this is the vast experience from multiple people, ability to specialize (i know who I'd ask about trans stuff, wiring stuff, engine rebuilds, body work, etc), and the very important willingness of folks to donate their time. dealers don't play, try new and different things and tinker either, so that gives a different kind of learning curve that has some advantages over the "do everything by protocol" methodology - which is also very powerful in it's own right.

i willingly admit my recommendations above are directly from my own personal experience.

agreed i've never seen one a tooth off run "exactly like normal". O2 could be bad and affect gas mileage, it would be the front one not the rear. but there's no gaurantee you'd have to analyze the O2 sensor signals to test.

i haven't seen that work on these engines. one person used one of those vented lever caps...maye leaving it open and drove it a couple hundred miles that way. he posted part numbers, etc, moneypit is his user name here.

i was kidding, , pardon the poor humor.

good job getting it up and running, that's great. as to the A/C, leaks are generally accompanied by wetness as the oil escapes too. pull both caps off and see if the valve stems are wet. if so replace those or tighten them. might just want to replace them anyway while the system is low. most common leakage point i've seen is the fittings where the a/c lines bolt the compressor. those commonly leak (makes sense given their proximity to engine temp changes, vibrations, etc)...and you just twisted/strained those connections on the engine work. it's only one bolt and they're really easy to get too. unbolt the lines and look for any signs of wetness extending beyond the oring area. That's a sure sign it's leaking. Replace the oring. Bolt it back together. both of those jobs are easy to do quick and no need IMO to pull a vacuum on it. do them quick and recharge and you're good to go. of course it could be something more ominous to track down with sniffers, etc.

should be the same converter. i've swapped different years/models and this ebay listing says it is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Eastern-Mfg-EMI-40497-49-State-Catalytic-Converter-New-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZMakeQ3aSubaruQ7cYearQ3a1998QQhashZitem20b6b52122QQitemZ140504277282QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories they're hard to get all cleaned up and bolted tight sometimes. rust, shifting, i don't know, but definitely sounds like that one wasn't totally seated if it was moving! woah! if you can install some new pipe at that point that would be sweet? either have a place weld it in or do it yourself. you can cut that section out, cut off both flanges and sleeve a piece of pipe in place where it's broke. if you get high quality pipe it'll last and not rust out in 2 years. cheap stuff will rust. converters are a tough spot because the subaru prices are outrageous and aftermarket stuff is expensive too or rusts quickly. buy the cheap aftermarket and powder coat it maybe? i bought one off ebay for like $100 or something...actually i think it was $89 and it was brand new. surface rusted completely over in a year.

was this the same solenoid from the 2001 vehicle? so it was the wrong part or bad solenoid? how hard are those solenoids to get too once the pan is off?

i've seen blown fuses and if those are all good i've seen a blown ECU once. double check all fuses....i'm not sure on yours how many would be relevant for this issue.

I wouldn't dump the money in that motor that's lost headgaskets twice. Unless they were knowingly improperly installed the first time - like aftermarket gaskets and you didn't overheat the motor too much and the car is still good and you'd like to have it a few more years - then maybe it's worth it. if you want to keep it, 2.2 swap it is the economical way to go. sell the EJ25 to recoupe some costs of the EJ22. moonlighting mechanic is fine as long as they're good. headgasket needs to be done right and you don't want someone cutting corners on this job - or repeat failures happen. it's too expensive and labor intensive to do cut corners, so yes but be very sure they are competent and preferably experienced with subarus. i would trust this job to fewer people than brake work, timing belts, etc.

the low fluid - you're assuming you're loosing fluid then? really low pads can cause the fluid to be low too, but sounds like you're implying you're loosing it? brakes are either really warn and need replaced and the cold caused the fluid level to go down too low and sucked in air. or you have a leak somewhere. brake calipers can leak and the drum cylinders are common to leak too. as well as the metal brake lines in the rear can leak too. leak could be where they pass above the rear crossmember and you won't notice any fluid until it finally overflows all the crevices, dirt, and grime and starts to drip.

avoidable with some preplanning during your US excursions. i agree it's TOTALLY annoying to go through such lengths to get a decent axle - but i want %100 or nearly repeatability my time is too valuable for anything less so the cost is worth it. but i can see that being unattractive. exactly - one out of three is low percentage. wouldn't surprise me if the other two had issues with significant mileage, etc. my best friend didn't listen, was pushed for time and got a napa job too - last about a year before it started vibrating terribly. for those of us doing a lot of axles that's a waste of time. far less of a gamble than aftermarket axles. i do it all the time. first trick is just to buy one that doesn't have a broken boot. but with a 90 loyale it may be hard to locate one like that.

normally i'd say heat, not sure if ATF and heat mix? if it's okay you'd heat the threads of the PAN and try to keep the bolt cold. heat around it for 30-60 seconds depending on heat source, then immediately try to break the cold drain plug loose. again - check into ATF and heat, not sure how flammable it is, what kind of heat you should use. if it's that tight you might want to plan on the thread or plug being ruined when you do get it out. but i don't know what tools you've tried yet, how big, etc. another option is to pull the trans hoses and pump the fluid out. that's one way to replace the fluid without messing with the plug. but there's disadvantages to that too. or pull the driveshaft out the rear and jack the car up. or drop the pan but that'd be interesting full of fluid.

nice info for folks considering axles to look into and check out. good job sharing the details. +1 aftermarkets are low percentage. i've personally seen tons of bad new axles and so have others, it's quite common and not worth my time any more, as you've well learned. even initially "good" new axles often have issues down the road, can't take much stress, etc. i reboot used Subaru axles or get MWE.

did the clutch feel tighter than normal or it should be? i had one like that a few years ago that also broke a clutch cable or two. someone had added a really big spring in the engine bay to "assist" it and i removed that spring. then i think i reinstalled it later. i have no idea why it was tight, i put a ton of miles on that car and it drove perfectly with no other issues. +1 to routing and installing it correctly. i can't recall what i did wrong but i installed one wrong once at the pin side by the pedal. pulled it off and reinstalled because it didn't look right. unfortunately it was long enough ago i can't recall how i installed it wrong.