idosubaru

skip has you covered - sounds like CV (DOJ) issues. have the axles/boots been worked on ever? if you pay close attention usually you can just barely tell which side it's coming from. to me it's always been just noticeable that i think i can tell which side it is, but not enough that i'm positive....but it's always been that "i think" side. shouldn't deteriorate all that fast, particularly if the boot is still intact but don't let it get too bad. i left one go last year because, well i've always let the outer joints go for years and many tens of thousands of miles. but that inner DOJ is a different animal i found out the hard way, the speedometer gear is a plastic gear driven off the transmission stubby shaft that the cv axle DOJ connects too. all that vibration blew my speedometer apart....and that little part basically requires a transmission rebuild, for me it's easier to replace the transmission though. either way, not something you want to face. it would require a lot, i left mine go for months with terrible vibrations.

a turbo EA82 probably isn't a good fit. requires upgrades and work to get decent power and they have lots of issues. they blow head gaskets, are old, leak like a seize...if you get one it should be completely gone over first before installing it, then they can be good engines if you're not prone to up the boost! i think you said it best - it's probably best to stick with the EA82 and enjoy it for what it is. at least it gets decent gas mileage (or hopefully, some aren't that great actually). a motor swap is a lot of work for a car that old unless you plan on putting a lot into to keep it running over the years - wheel bearings, struts, u joints, cables, hose, tie rods, power steering, a/c, power widows...things will start creeping up eventually. making judgement calls on anecdotal experience really limits you, we're trying to help you. in terms of buying one right now there's really no comparison or debate as to what is the cheapest reliability money can buy right now - it's an EJ22 (or the nearly identical EJ18). don't rule out millions of miles and thousands of owners/mechanics and subaru specialists based on very few (or one) experience. i've owned 20 XT6's, they are far more problematic than EJ22's as well. they are great motors but require a lot of preventative maintenance and babying - CTS goobies, crank seals failing, oil pump seals sucking in, loud hydraulic valve lash adjusters, expensive and harder to find parts....they are a huge downgrade from an EJ engine, though i still love XT6's and am a moderator of the XT forum for a reason!

subaru driveshafts are typically considered replacement items. type in Rockford, staked in ujoints...etc and you'll find a ujoint specifically made to replace these staked in and "non-replaceable" Subaru ujoints. i've posted the part numbers required before on here and the XT forums as well as the instructions that come with the ujoints, so with some searching you'll find that information. you can try to swing that yourself or have a driveline shop do it, it requires some metal cutting, grinding, etc. not sure on the carrier bearing, i would hit a driveline shop up for info on those. i have new stuff in mine, but realistically speaking used might be easier, they're all over the place. at least they always give fair warning so if you have to get another one in 2 years...no biggie, they're easy to replace, they're not really a "leave you stranded" item.

yes the XT6 will bolt right up. although "messing with the transmission" on something like this is about 10% of the work of the wiring and computer issues you're going to run into. it'll drop in on the cross member, bolt up to the transmission, then the fun begins. swapping the ECU and wiring harness and then the front radiator support like she said. the XT6 ER27 is 145 hp. a much better bet is to do an EJ22 swap. they are a dime a dozen and better all around. lighter, smaller, easier to maintain, more reliable, newer, easier to find parts for, and no worries about the larger size and radiator support nonsese.... it will bolt in but will require work on the transmission end since it does not bolt right up. but there are solutions to that and lots of people have done EJ swaps and can help you out here.

these carrier bearings fail so infrequently that your best bet is to replace it with a used one if you don't have or can't find a drive line shop to look at it. some machine shops do drive line work or can let you know who does, you just have to call around and ask. owning dozens of Subaru's (many from the 80's) and working on plenty more i have not seen one fail yet. and even on the boards here...carrier bearing failure is very rare.

are there other years/models too? i see a fair amount of automatic 96 Legacy's (wagon and sedan, L, Brighton, LSi) with failed front differentials. saw/bought some last year and saw my first one this year today?

a helicoil is a proper repair for stripped threads, they are permanent fixes, not band aids. why would you want something different? if you want something "more correct", then replacing the head is i guess what you're after but i would not recommend that. and if you did i would have someone with subaru specific experience do that. my friend is a mechanic but has little subaru experience. i see what you're saying - O2 sensors are not typically 100,000+ mile parts, so you are right in thinking it's not a bad idea to replace them. they are often recommended 60,000 mile replacement intervals, though longer intervals are common. alternators can last quite a while if your battery, cables and charging system are in great condition and you don't have a lot of drains on the electrical system - constantly having things like laptops plugged into your car. but...i drive XT6's and i typically replace the alternator or have a spare in the trunk (subaru alternators are super easy to replace). they are one thing that can leave you stranded and don't necessarily give much warning, so not bad to replace. the timing belt components are a necessity really if you want extended use of this vehicle - you have an interference engine if any part of the timing system breaks you will experience significant internal engine damage. ATF change i already mentioned. that pretty much covers the essentials i believe.

at 230,000 miles i don't know that i'd put a ton of effort into the vehicle. all of your hoses, clamps, seals, gaskets and such are nearing 15 years old. i'm not saying it can't do another 100,000 miles but risk does not decrease. i'd probably stick with swapping more direct parts. the earlier stuff is much easier to find around here. the later impreza OBS and late 90's stuff is more around the $500+ mark like you said. i wouldn't be surprised if you could fit the 95 transmission harness onto the newer transmission, but i wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work either! you would have to choose which 2 of the 3 or 4 speed sensors to use, but that would probably be obvious. anyway, i can't say that it will work for this application but i know it's possible in others and have two transmissions ready to do this exact thing on, but different 4EAT's.

there's a thread about regreasing the pulleys without pulling the covers off as well, using a needle fitting on a grease gun. it's in the USRM - this looks like a good addition to that thread, keep them both together.

i have to go soon but 134k is not high mileage at all. you're like half way through the life of the car if it's maintained well. you have an EJ22, those things are awesome (that's why my wife has one). preventative maintainence if you want this thing past 200k then you want these addressed: timing belts, all the timing pulleys, water pump. you could wait until the next timing belt change at 194,000 to replace the water pump - at 10 years old i'd go ahead and replace it now but your original one probably won't fail either so you make the call. you'll want the ebay timing belt kits - at $200 for parts, dealer prices will be $500+ JUST for parts alone. automatic transmission - have the ATF flushed. have your battery terminals all cleaned, tightened and checked. it's good to check and keeps your alternator and battery from failing early. make sure you get the right parts replaced for that O2 sensor code, can you tell us the exact code (not someone's interpretation of the code)? remind me what you need worked on...i can't keep everyones cars straight in my head.

a friend of mine was talking about some kind of die for his leather in his landcruiser. don't know where he was planning on getting it but it wouldn't be hard to search for "leather die" or something similar in the phone book or call/stop in at a couple body shops as you drive around.

i forgot to mention that transmissions are cheap enough that i don't know that i would bother with this swap. i bought a 1995 Legacy transmission two months ago for $150 with a warranty. that's not even worth the time removing it from another car for me, much rather pick it up.

it will bolt up and physically fit. but the automatic transmission will likely incur some issues swapping those years. in 98 they made some transmission changes. the bellhousing bolts will be different. enough line up that it can be made to work but you can only use one bolt to hold the starter in place or drill & tap for the second bolt. you'll leave all the unused bellhousing bolt holes empty (as the 99 will have 8 and the 95 only has 4). the bigger issue is the electronic changes. i think they made some significant changes in 1999. the 1999 will have a screw on ATF filter on the side of the transmission that your 1995 will not have. a screw on filter is no big deal, just an indication that it's a newer style transmission that has other changes to it as well. the final drive of the transmission may be different as well, but that could be remedied by swapping the rear differentials as well. if you wanted to do this i would first look at the wiring harnesses and see how close they look. inspecting the plugs and the wire arrangement colors. this does not really prove much, but if they are identical that's a good sign. if they are different it doesn't promise anything. after that i would look into swapping your 1995 wiring harness onto the 1999 transmission. that would make it a plug and play affair for your TCU. others may know more about the 99 changes.

what is break in grease? better than oil obviously because?

any check engine lights or recent work? if the CEL is on, the ECU is flashing the code for you in the trunk. the coolant temperature sensors are common. the sensor isn't the problem it's the wiring harness connector that plugs into it, they get corroded and cause a bad connection. check that connector - green, dirty, nasty is bad. if this is an 87.5 XT Turbo the MAF sensor (by the air filter) is another possibility. i had one once that had a broken wire inside of it. remove it and looking very delicately through it as the wires are very, very thin, make sure none of the strands are broken. they are very fine strands of wire running through the air flow. before i found it the car did just as you said.

i would have the EJ25 repaired, but $1,500 is nothing to me. what i know is that not everyone has the same financial situation, so i'm providing him with an alternative. i buy cars for people that can't afford them, about to get another tomorrow, i help people and i know what it's like for those that can't afford good vehicles to be stuck and not be able to go with the best option. i'm giving him an option, i never said it was the best one. EJ22 $500 + install $750 - sell EJ25 $500 = $750. you can get EJ22's cheaper and find mechanics to do it for $500. i'm estimating high and that will make up for new timing belts, etc. and he's still saving $1,000 over the head gasket repair. i'll let him decide if that's in his financial interest. there are success stories on here of guys having mechanics do the swap after providing directions from this board. it's quite common. "Yeti" username i think is a recent example, he was very pleased. it's not all that hard to find a good used engine. yes be cautious, yes it's possible, but don't bargain shop and get a warranty. if the very odd happened and you have a bad motor you're still cheaper installing two engines - $750x2 = $1,500....but that shouldn't happen if you buy from a reputable place that compression tests the thing or verify it came out of a running vehicle. lots of people have known good motors sitting in their garages too, he could post here in the parts wanted forum and get one cheaper from a known running vehicle...or buy one from a pull it yourself yard for $150, or buy an entire vehicle for $300....there's lots of options. i'll put them out there and let him decide what works best for him.

great, thanks john. was the 8-way wiring already in place in your 95 or did you have to retrofit that? what models have the power movable seats? thanks guys.

What years Legacy seats are interchangeable for a 1996 LSi Sedan? I have 1996 Legacy LSi leather seats and wouldn't mind picking up a nicer drivers side leather seat...maybe even heated ones. The junk yards list the 1996 as the only suitable replacement, I don' think that's it though. Are there different color leather seats? (dark/light)? The wagon and sedans may have different rear seats? Are the door panels interchangeable too across what years? And are sedans/wagon fronts the same?

here's the easiest EJ22 for the EJ25 swap: 1-603-424-6122 they're in NH and have a 1995 automatic EJ22 113k miles for $450. these guys in RI have a 95 for $250 but it needs to be an automatic, you'd have to ask: 143,000 1-401-766-5422

do not replace one headgasket (i can't believe they quoted a price for just one), and do not get a used EJ25. head gaskets can be replaced for around the $1,200 mark, call around and see if there are any subaru shops (not dealers) locally. my dealer charges $1,500 for both. if you can find someone willing to do it an EJ22 swap it can be cheaper. it's a very easy swap and you can find tons of information on here about it. you should be able to find an EJ22 for $500 or less (i picked up an EJ engine for $150 last year). pay someone $500-$750 to install and sell your EJ25 for $500 (yes you can get that for one with blown headgaskets - they are in high demand due to the head gasket failures). you could get out of this with some organizational work and $500-$750....and no more EJ25 worries. i see more EJ25's with internal failures than EJ22's...and that includes EJ22's that are older with higher miles (since they came out 5 years before the EJ25). rarely do i see EJ22's with bad bearings or thrown rods. so why not pay less and have less worries down the road? here's the thing - you've essentially been faced with the two most expensive, although rare (particularly the viscous coupling), repairs on this car. that's bad...but now that they are out of the way this car should last a long time...assuming it's in decent shape. if it's a 5 owner, rusted out, beat down special then none of that applies. but with a proper engine repair/swap you could get another 100,000 miles out of this thing. of course in that time you'll need some minor things like brakes and maybe an alternator or something. CCR is the best Subaru engine rebuilder period, you may want to talk to them. it'll be more expensive but easier and you get a 3 year 36,000 mile warranty with it.

WAW - if the relay is stuck would it always be on or only when the A/C is pushed? or would a failed/stuck closed relay cause it to be on all the time?? relays fail often enough that i would check those first if that's a possibility. is there a reason this is a problem? the fans come on, that's it? sounds relatively benign.

why do they put it on some vehicles and not others? i've seen up to 1998 Subaru EJ engines (EJ22) without EGR. in 95 the auto's had it but the manuals did not? even in the 80's - all Subaru EA82's had EGR but the XT6 did not.

definitely what he said - get a used unit. subaru trans, particularly manuals, very rarely fail, doesn't justify the cost of new or rebuilt. you area probably is light on subaru parts. the OBS listed in junk yards look to be kind of expensive for subaru transmissions, looks like there aren't many to be had - $300 - $700. these guys have one in Fort Worth for $500 1-888-535-0063, texas is probably going to suck for subaru parts.

it's a time bomb, you better sell it to me. PM me with a good price! what kind of miles are theses - city miles are killer, highway miles are your friend here. i'd rather have a car with 150,000 highway miles than a 80,000 mile city driver. there's a HUGE difference. also a manual transmission has a much better chance of making 250,000 miles than an automatic, but if you're changing the ATF, not towing or plowing snow and keeping your tires rotated/matching then your chances are better for sure...which it sounds like you keep good maintenance. for real, keep driving it, 200,000 miles isn't a big deal for this vehicle. make your replacement decisions based on a few suggestions. if you don't like messing with any repairs at all then 200,000 is a good time to consider a new vehicle. it will be due for at least $1,000 worth of work then, but you still got 50,000 miles of payment free use so take it. you've essentially paid for it with good maintenance, so use it and pat yourself on the back! if you don't mind a few minor repairs here and there then you could shoot for 250,000+ miles. If you do, I would bet you would need to replace something like a wheel bearing or alternator to make that mark. People driving older Subaru's that like reliability will address certain items as preventative maintenance but I'm guessing you don't want to go that route so i won't elaborate.

grrrrr......server.....