idosubaru

sent you an email, i may be able to check it out monday or tuesday.

you do mean the inside of the wheel right? any clicking cv joints? it usually doesn't get a ton on the wheel, it's usually all over the control arm and suspension related gizmo's, but i guess some could get on the wheel?

i replied to your post in another thread. ball joints and tie rod ends are easy things to check as well, but yes this could be a valid diagnosis. use the search function and look for "torque bind", should find lots of info here. but, that should be noticeable in a parking lot, driving slow with the wheel turned to full lock. that's a typical way to spot torque bind.

severe vibrations around sharp turns may also indicate ball joint or tie rod issues. often they will be at certain speeds, or worse at certain speeds and may only happen when turning one way...say left but not right...etc. they should be easy enough to check though. the bad thing is that if it is "diff" related, the front or center diffs are far more costly and labor intensive to deal with. a front diff replacement on this vehicle may mean replacing the entire transmission, that's what i would personally do anyway as it's easier.

axles tend to make all sorts of various noises particularly the fronts and particularly ones exposed to air, dirt and heat...which the one you speak of gets much of. i wouldn't be surprised at all if this axle is causing noises. it should be obvious which side the creaking is coming from, if not then it must be in the center, trans side of the axle, which would probably be your passengers side that's already bad. i dont' have good hearing and i've always been able to tell which cide CV is making a noise...speaking of outer joints (wheel side). i'm all for running cv axles as long as possible, but if this is the joint closest to the trans, i would advise replacing this axle soon. that vibration and shaking will destroy the inner gear that drives the speedometer. it's a plastic gear and all the vibration does not do it any favors. i guess it might matter which side the axle is on and which side that speedometer driven gear is on...i believe it's the passengers side but i'm not positive. fixing that plastic speedometer driven gera requires replacing the entire transmission unless you want to disassemble the front differential which is quite a task. from my experience - clicking is no big deal. vibrations and shaking - not a good thing. this being the case, i'd go ahead and replace that p/s axle as soon as possible then see if the noise disappears.

you're speaking in broad terms, but in this case you don't want aftermarket ignition wires on an EJ engine. EJ engines are very sensitive to ignition components - plugs and most importantly, wires. aftermarket wires, right out of the box often cause problems with EJ engines. not the case with older EA and ER series vehicles, they can run most without any problems. the EJ engine is a bit of a freak for some reason though and it is best to stick with OEM or possible Magnecor i mentioned earlier if reliability and long term use are for you.

yep, i know lots of people use hose clamps. friends of mine have the tool and "corrrect" cv boot clamps but have problems getting them to work and leaking and find the hose clamps are much better. why they choose to have a "special" clamp for CV boots is beyond me.

another option is Magnecor wires and never replace them again. they last the life of the vehicle, i install them on nearly every vehicle i own. even on EJ vehicles which are ignition sensitive. in my oppinion and experience they are the only alternative to Subaru OEM for EJ engines. they are reasonably priced, high quality and you'll never need to replace your wires again. i've used them in applications where the user was going through wires every 15,000-30,000 miles (not subaru) and in those cases Magnecors went beyond 100,000 miles and last the life of the vehicle as well. order them from a distributor, not directly from magencor to get the best price. i ordered my last set (an EJ set) from a place in New York off the internet, that's all i can remember.

for the 99 it sounds like piston slap. the piston slap should not cause any failure, it doesn't typically. other issues - 2.5's have headgasket issues, i'm guessing you know about that.

"compressor bearing" brings up many threads that mention it. this one shows an exploded picture of the bearing: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58635&highlight=compressor+bearing i'm not going to search through them all, but there are more out there, including some replies from people that have actually done it.

Depends on your driving style and habits as well. For highway mileage on some vehicles you'll notice little difference, i haven't in my 1997 2.2 liter OBS...... of course the caveat to all of this is if your vehicle is running good. one that is running poorly won't help your numbers either way. as to your compressor being shot. if it's a simple failure you can just get a used compressor for $25-$35, charge it yourself and be good to go. if it puked up pieces all through your system then youll need to replace a lot of parts to get it back and running again without destroying your next compressor you install. if you open anything and see lots of black or pieces in the system, then you might as well forget it unless you want a rather large job and expense. i suppose you could try and source all used parts, but even still i can't imagine it being less than $100-$200. now, if you're really lucky the compressor does have a bearing that can be replaced on the vehicle without discharging the system. i've never done it, but others have. if this bearing is frozen you might be in for an easy fix, without discharging the system or replacing your compressor. use the SEARCH button here and you should find some info on how to replace this bearing and a part number for it as well. subaru will look at you cross eyed if you ask them, they'll say you need a new compressor. ..when really you need a $2.00 bearing. does the pulley free wheel at all? in other words if you try and spin it, does it turn? if not, then this may be the easy to replace bearing.

if you're driving with the windows down at highway speeds, on many vehicles it's worse on your mileage or a negligible difference anyway than using your a/c. try and turn the a/c compressor by hand. if it doesn't freewheel at all, then the bearings are shot and that's why they removed it. then try to turn the center portion, it should be tight, like turning an engine over as it compresses internally, if that doesn't move at all or feels rough/makes noises then the compressor is shot. if it appears to be working fine then throw a belt on it. it can affect mileage and performance some but it isn't much and would only make a noticeable difference if it's on. if it freewheels fine, which you can check and you don't use it, you won't notice anything at all. i think the XT6 has a mechanism by which if you're inducing a certain amount of load on the engine it temporarily disengages the A/C compressor, pretty sure i read that in the FSM because i certainly wouldn't make that up. if that's the case, i wouldn't be surprised if the legacy does the same thing. if not you could wire that up yourself.

not safe? jackstands, blocks, etc? or just drive it up on a huge curb or set of blocks or something high, that's what i'd do if i don't have appropriate jacks available. i don't think you can see it too well, if at all, mounted. you only need to remove 3 nuts to drop the diff. the two in the rear hanger/mustache bar. then the really huge one on the carrier that passes through the bushing you're trying to see. it's a 22mm bolt and a 17mm nut or a 17mm bolt and a 22mm nut, forget which way around it is. either way, put a wrench on one side to hold it and loosen it from the other side. remove those three nuts/bolts and the diff should drop down with the driveshaft and rear axles attached. inspect the rear diff bushing and you can reinstall it without removing the driveshaft/axles. it is quite heavy though and working under it is a little awkward when dealing with all of that weight.

change your oil. the oil pump may need new seals or the backing plate screws tigthened. i think your EJ engine may have hydraulic valve lash adjusters, if it does it is imperative to change your oil on time. realize "on time" is very subjective and hopefully for your sake this thread doesn't go into that abyss of a discussion or it will become completely useless to you! anyway, HLA style valve trains can get gummed up if you don't change your oil often enough. freeing them because a hit or miss type affair. timing belts may make more of a slapping style sound if the belt starts to come apart, but that is rare and it won't sound anything like a typical "ticking noise" of a subaru. ticking related to the timing belt would be like nipper said and related to the pulleys/tensioner. most that i've seen seize without making a peep and the belt slides over it. if you're due for a timing belt, it's time to change it. they are maintenance items and will not last the life of the vehicle. even if it's 6 months or a year from now...at least put it on the agenda. better to plan now than have it start to go out or break then not have the cash or time to do it.

i've bought a number of those exact kits. they are excellent and have always worked great when i've used them. they are much better than 20 year old bearings with not much grease left in them. we've seen a number of threads involving failed pulleys, it's quite common for those with significant experience.

i'd get an ebay kit that includes all of the pulleys. even though i've found the aftermarkets fine in quality and haven't heard of failures, i go with those for non-interference engines and stick with Subaru only for the most part on newer interference engines. i have no reason, and in the future i'll probably start using them more and more on the interference engines. if you want to avoid aftermarket stuff a cheaper solution than new from Subaru is to just replace the bearings in the all the pulleys. they aren't very expensive but costs can quickly escalate and it depends much on your ability to find a good shop to press them in an out, sourcing the bearings, etc. no matter what, i'd plan on addressing all or most of the pulleys as they are very old and most 20 year old pulleys don't have much grease in them. on the XT6 all of the bearing seals are accessible and can be regreased yourself. there's a thread in the USRM with pictures on how to regrease them yourself. not sure how accessible they are on the older generation EJ stuff though. i think most of the EJ stuff is accessible and this would be a good option as well. and it's nearly free...a few cents worth of grease i suppose and a needle fitting for your grease gun if you don't have one for a few dollars.

in my area, the used battery selection is a set of batteries that were brought in as exchange, they are old, replaced as preventative maintenance but still tested fine. they were good for old cars, used car lots, parts cars, farm trucks and the like, but i would never recommend buying one of those for a normal daily driver. except maybe for someone who just doesn't have a spare penny. what about amp ratings? up north they have higher amp ratings, does that come at the cost of lowering battery life? good info guys, time to do some battery maintenance on mine.

lewis, how did you fix those? you have to replace the speedometer cluster itself? got a friend with one like that and the shop she took it too said they've never been able to figure out how to fix the few that they've seen. probably didn't want to mess with the instrument cluster.

if the WRX springs are tapered i'm pretty sure they won't work. there are two varieties, though i'm not well versed on what the differences are or what models/years they were on, except to say i've been told not to use the tapered variety. picked mine up this weekend from a board member, be a week or two before i get them in.

is it like a one time clunk or clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk...etc..??? sounds like the rear diff hanger based on what you're saying but there are other possibilities. there is no real harm in driving it, if that's what it is. if you can get a look at the bushing you'll see a crack through it. i'm not encouraging you or anything, but i will recite my experience. i worked at a government facility before, security clearance, armed gaurds, car searches with dogs and all that nice stuff too. the last thing they were worried about is the legality of cars. i've driven with expired tags, the wrong tag on the wrong car, emissions expired, even bought some and let them sit for a few days before i could get them home, etc. the only problem they gave me was when i tried to tow a car through the gate with my truck that i had bought close to work. my plan was to tow it to work and tow it home after work. they didn't like it and said i needed a special permit. i parked it down the road, walked to work....then used a different entrance gate later. still drove my truck and trailer down there after that too, just used the "other" side entrance.

my guess is they weren't replaced properly before, probably meaning the heads weren't touched. some people will ignore the heads and slap on new gaskets. that's a bad idea. my concern is that since the headgaskets were replaced you know it overheated before, but not how much or how far it was driven like that. when your water pump went out, how bad did the car over heat? one of nippers common recommendations is to flush out your radiator, i think that's a good idea here not knowing what happened in the past.

no, not for just a radiator/hose replacement. there's plenty of lubrication in the system and it primes up immediately.

i wouldn't buy one unless it was really, really cheap or the headgaskets have already been changed. great engines, but they loose headgaskets often enough. you can visibly inspect to see if they have new headgaskets, the last one i picked up did and i bought it as a parts car with a good engine. or they are often listed as having been replaced or you can ask the owner. 99's often have a delay when shifting issue as well.

wow, that is bizarre. we should have asked if the headgasket had already been replaced, that would have been good to know when discussing all of this and you can check it very easily, just by glancing at the motor. if yours is the MLI variety, it sounds like it's been done before. let's start from the begining - how long have you owned this car, total miles, miles when you bought it. i'll be interested to hear the answers to those questions. it's possible they just didn't do a good install or check the heads. checking the heads is the first step i believe.

the 4EAT is a great transmission as far as automatics go, particularly AWD automatics. they can fail, but being well taken care of, fluids changed and not overheated they tend to last a very long time and not cause many problems. the great news about that is two fold. first, it wont' be that surprising if you never have any problems with it. second, if you did end up needing it replaced they are reliable enough that i consider a used one a very acceptable option. i'm a stickler about reliability in my wifes impreza, if the trans went out, i would not hesitate to find a used one, but i doubt i'll ever need to. you can get a used one for $500-$1500 where as a rebuild could run up to $3,000+. check for torque bind, have the fluid changed and consider an aftermarket trans cooler. i install one but i do a fair amount of mountain driving, some off road and towing with mine. if you expect any kind of hard usage you might want to consider that as well to keep you ATF fluid temps down. the coolers are only $30-$50. i've seen the delayed shift too...tends to be 99 models, hopefully yours is out of that. oppinion really, but manuals definitely feel quicker, even if they are not. the automatic XT6 sports quicker track times than the manual, but you'd never believe it if you drove one of each. point being, the manuals definitely feel and are typically quicker, but you shouldn't be disappointed in this 01 though, my cousins 99 or 2000 drives quite well for an auto.