idosubaru

gAH! that's horrible! at least she's well, but man that's bad. get a great lawyer and doctors, that is one horrific looking accident. hopefully she was moving and not standing still? anyway, don't let down on doctors visits and let a lawyer take care of all the headaches of insurance, vehicles, etc so you can focus on the most important thing...doctors and health. my best friend has permanent issues, and not to be gloom and doom, but his car didn't look nearly that bad.

you guys are great, that's funny and insightful all at the same time. i'll probably just tow it because i can. but it sure is tempting to just drive the thing since strapping it down and towing is annoying. see how the test drive goes. i'll figure out which wire is for the duty C solenoid incase somehow the front diff can "free wheel". i may drive to get it with my truck and have someone with me. drive it until it blows and load it if i have to.

doubt it's the cam sensor. i think his starting point and where to go after is pretty well laid out right now.

got a front diff making a racket, can i drive it 100 miles? 4EAT AWD automatic. i'm doing a trans swap on it anyway, so i don't care what happens to the one in the vehicle or how bad it grenades the transmission. any comments?

if you just swap wires, both ends that is, then it doesn't matter what the firing order is no more than installing new wires, you're just rotating them. in other words put the #3 wire totally in place of #1...or however you want to do it. odd that you're both listed from NY, from Long Island, misspell things in a similar fashion, seem to communicate similarly, like the smilies, joined the group at the same time and don't use punctuation...then you questioned your own comment about fuel injectors, had me going.

uumm...are you playing around with usmb! are surfsubbe and kc reale the same user? looks like it.

the wires are more important than the plugs. i can't gaurantee that it's the wires, but it's likely. to rule it out you could swap wires...cylinders 1 and 3 and 2 and 4 so to speak (swap sides) and see if the cylinder misfire code moves with the wires, then you know for sure. that requires clearing and reading codes later, may not be very definitive and i'd much rather have Subaru or Magnecor wires on an EJ engine anyway. even if the problem lies elsewhere, i wouldn't be at all surprised for those aftermarket wires to cause issue later, so to sum all that up, i'd just replace them whether they are the problem or not if it were my vehicle. highly unlikley to be injectors, but that's a common thought. misfire...injector...sounds plausible.

i am thinking that was the original poster replying under a different name as a joke...which would have been really funny.

doesn't matter. what plugs and wires were installed? i know what you're thinking, but in this case it is highly possible...actually the most probable explanation, is still that you need Subaru wires and NGK plugs. could be something else, but you need to find out what plugs/wires were used first.

did you clear the code after installing new parts? make sure your plugs and wires are clean, seated properly and gapped correctly. it is imperative that the wires are snugly fitted. if NGK plugs and Subaru wires weren't used, then that's probably the issue. these EJ series engines are very sensitive to ignition components. i've seen brand new wires cause cyilnder misfire codes right out of the box on these motors.

sounds like a motor mount, but could be other things. check the pitch rod device on the top of the motor as well, they can crack, though i've never heard of noises resulting from that. not sure of a good way to test motor mounts.

am i the only one that is seriously bothered by the function of that big air box? i've always wondered what that stupid thing is for? and...while we're on the EJ intakes, how about that dead space that some have, that 45 angled pipe that just ends after 6 inches, what is THAT for too?

they're easy. generally $150-$200 to have a new axle installed. $60-$100 for the part and $75-$100 for labor. i would only use a Subaru axle or MWE, aftermarkets are prone to far more problems. yes, i know people will pipe up about it "i have an aftermarket and it's fine", i know people use them and i've seen them used before, my point isn't that all aftermarkets blow up, but that they are far lower in quality. if you mean to do it yourself, they aren't that hard but there are some tricks involved so to speak. once the wheel is off there's not much more to it than 3 nuts - 1 axle nut and two strut tower bolts. a little more work after that, but not much. but....you have to get the axle nut off (one of the hardest to remove on the vehicle), uncrimp the nut, line up the cv axle splines...things that aren't that difficult but you need to know about at least.

you need a new cv axle, now to determine which one - passengers side or drivers side. take a look and see if the boot is broken or leaking grease on either side. sounds like drivers side based on your description, but definitely want to make sure before going ahead with the work. and have this fixed as soon as possible, this can get worse rather quickly and all that vibration is not a good thing.

doubtful it's a fuel system issue. get your codes read as soon as possible, that will take all the guess work out of it. my guess - a cylinder misfire code - which means most likely that your spark plugs and wires need changed. make sure to use NGK plugs and Subaru wires ONLY. as a matter of fact if you've had these items replaced before and they weren't NGK or Subaru, then that is likely the problem. but again...there are plenty of other things it could be, let the computer do the work for you. some questions - miles, automatic/manual, last tune up, last time the wires/plugs were changed?

tranny breather hose, it's supposed to be vented to air and not connected to anything. you're good to go. if you do attach it to a coolant line, let me know what happens!??!? argh, doubt it would be pretty.

i may take them for my XT6 if he doesn't want them. pm or email me.

to get bigger rotors and calipers, you need larger brackets as well. so yes, you could do it, but you'd need the bottom bracket for each side and the parts store won't carry those. but if you found two, yes you could easily do the swap, you have to remove the bracket anyway to remove the old rotor, so there's no extra work at all to upgrade, same work. you'll need the bracket, rotor, and caliper for each side to do the upgrade. you'll buy pads for whatever vehicle the brackets come from. i don't know that you'll get significant increases in pad life, but it should give you better braking. i have all of these parts to upgrade my OBS brakes.

gah, i figured i was reading it wrong but was not seeing it. thanks j!

lots of information here. if you're doing the headgaskets, use the Fel Pro Permatorques (PT), they don't require retorquing. the cam tower to head orings (two per engine) are available from subaru only or http://www.thepartsbin.com, that's it. it's a metal reinforced oring, not normal. take your time on the oil pan, they can be hard to seal good when reinstalling. don't overtighten. don't try and remove the oil pump sump either to replace the oring at the base. everything else should be covered in detail here, i know i've written loads about it. good luck!

i don't think this is the case, not with the EJ25. the ones i'm seeing have heat available, so in my experience this doesn't rule out anything. but surely a thorough cooling system check is advisable and it's good that you can do it yourself.

sounds like you got yourself a beast there m. some solid wood and large hammer to whack it with sometimes helps. penetrating lubricant anywhere where it may be seized if it's partially coming off. if you can afford it, taking a break may help, frustration really saps all the fun out of stuff. wait until the head is off to diagnose the cylinder wall condition. i wouldn't consider coolant in there the end of the world just yet, too many variables to guess. good luck!

thanks jamal. i have your caliper brake-down on my computer and i'm confused: 260x24mm.......... Applications: 90-99 Legacy non-turbo/-GT/-Outback 276x24mm........ Applications: 91-94 Legacy turbo 96-02 Legacy GT/Outback am i reading it wrong so that it looks like 96-99 Legacy GT's fit under both categories? i have a 97 Legacy GT at home, so i can find out by looking if it's the first (single pot) or second (double pot - which is what i thought they were)) variety, but figured i'd mention it.

ha ha, jamal thanks for piping in. wanted to speak to you about it! so no matter which way i go...whether it's 01 or 02+, just make sure i get the corresponding bracket to go with that caliper and it'll bolt right up right? rotors and calipers are the same. brackets and pads are different?

well there you go, like you said, either way you've chosen a better path by going with the NGK's. they come widely recommended for EJ series engines and cause the fewest issues.