idosubaru

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that's insane. like i said earlier, you can source struts for not much money. i bought some last year for $35 each...not that hard. certainly not a reason to pass on an otherwise good car. $40 in new jersey here: 1-800-735-8464

so you want an actual full size wheel to use as a spare, not a stock spare wheel right? the ones i have are off a 1997 Subaru OBS, will they work? do you want 1 or 2 and do you want tires on them? i can pick them up next weekend.

AWESOME! cheers to an easy fix and working center diff hotdog!

AH HA!! that's what i was missing. thanks a bunch, that really clears up what was confusing me - i thought both the drum and rear disc set ups had separate ebrake components. awesome, i have an entire vehicle at my disposal so i should have everything i need...even the ebrake if i have to. if anyone knows whether you have to swap the ebrake cable for sure, let me know. i haven't seen any conclusive evidence here or at nasioc either way. but i have seen people say "you need the ebrake cable".....but i'm wondering why on that as well.

he brings up two really good points - use a 6point socket on this and make sure it's really tight when you reinstall. preferrably make sure you're torquing it to factory spec's and make sure the spec's are right, i've seen incorrect info posted on these before.

is it possible you just don't have all the air out of it yet? i guess it's loosing coolant you say? or maybe it's still settling? you reattached everyting to the radiator properly...hoses, fans, wires/sensor....

better wrenches. breaker bar. 3/4" socket. a decent 1/2" socket should work fine, but they are very tight and one of the toughest bolts to knock off. if your socket is bending i'd get another socket wrench, i've done dozens and dozens with the same 1/2" sears craftsmen and it's never bent or broken. the easy way if you're having problems is to let the starter do the work. be very careful and make sure you know what you're doing. place the socket on the crank bolt. rotate it around until it's solidly resting on something solid...if it's not long enough, use a pipe over the handle of the socket. then disconnect the coil wires so the car won't start. then bump the starter motor...as quickly as you can. just enough to turn the motor over. this will knock it loose, then finish by hand.

do you mean full size wheels identical to yours to use as spares, or two full sized spare tires? i went from 15" to 16" wheels on my OBS. if the original spare (it came iwth 15" tires) is not the same as my 16" wheels now, then i'd like to get an appropriately sized spare for my 16" wheels. in which case i'll send you the old spare for the cost of shipping. it's not here or i'd check the diameter. i used to have a set...and think i still do of 15" stock steelies as well. i'd also send you one of those for cost of shipping. they are at my other place in another state, but i'll be there this weekend.

why is it necessary to swap the ebrake cable? i can't just remove the cable from the hub and reinstall it once i'm finished the rear caliper install? and do i need all the ebrake parts from a disc equipped vehicle or do the ebrake components that are in there now, stay there? since this is the wifes car i'm trying to minimize down time.

it would have signs of overheating as well...i see no mention of that? have you checked the timing belt pulleys and tensioners? maybe one is loose or jacked up and causes a problem under load? i'd still expect it to be off teeth but what i'm reading seems scattered.

nipper said everything i would have said, but more succinctly!

since your vehicle is 10 years old and has 60,000 miles i would look at the belt. if you can't find proof anywhere, then that's your next best step. it only takes three 10mm bolts to look at the timing belt, it's very easy to do. the right and left timing covers come right off very easy without removing anything else. most likely the belt was recently replaced...if it all....so it should obvious if it's only a year or two old or if it's 13 years old. also...if it doesn't show up in Subaru records, maybe it wasn't done by Subaru. if that's the case you'll see the writing on the belt will indicate an aftermarket belt, which obviously means it was replaced. if you can do it yourself your best bet really is to remove the belt anyway. check for play in the water pump, oil pump backing screws, and replace any pulleys, or the bearings, that are bad. by this age there is normally at least one, usually the sprocketed pulley at the bottom, that needs replaced. i replaced the one on my wifes 97 OBS with only 68,000 miles and a friends 97 Impreza with only 80,000 miles. they were both noisey and spun freely. most shops and dealers aren't that cautious about those items. age is against you here, not mileage.

what exactly is it doing? when you assemble everything does the fluid leak anywhere? the power steering just doesn't work? does it make any noises? turn the wheel with the cap off the reservoir to keep it from blowing out. when you unbolted the power steering line from the pump did you reinstall the spring and banjo bolt properly? you disconnected the line at the pump didn't you?

i just posted about an auto to manual swap in this forum like day or two ago and they posted links to two websites with excellent information and pictures on the 5 speed swap.

yeah, i dig the air suspension. i have pages in the USRM about how to maintain your struts so the strut bags last the life of the vehicle. do that and replace all of the orings now, rather than wait until they start leaking and it's not that hard to have a reliable air suspension. it actually rides quite nice, i like it better than the coil overs i've had on the XT6. that being said....i would recommend most people get rid of them. spend the time sourcing the struts and you can have coil overs for $200 - $50 per strut isn't that hard to do. lots of options for swapping too, so it's easy. then sell your air strut parts to get some of your money back. unless you have a use for the air suspension or are completely set on keeping it stock or like the coolness factor of them, there's really no point in keeping them because if they have problems it can be very hard to figure out without someone who knows the system very well...and you won't find any mechanics who know this system and the dealer will just replace 4 different items at one time for $1,000+.

friend has a 97 impreza sedan automatic and may be needing a new driveshaft. anyone know what models/years are interchangeable on newer gen driveshafts? front and rear halves? a board member has an 02 impreza driveshaft, any chance of that working?

everyone say together "brake booster vacuum hose". at least it was simple. i should have went with nipper vacuum testing, i probably would have used that port! yep, checked the fuel lines, my wife has an outback sport with identical fuel lines...now why did i double checked some things and not others??

i removed the exhaust (at the exhaust manifold) and unplugged the O2 sensors and it ran exactly the same as it did before. so the exhaust and O2 sensors shouldnt' be the problem. i used a 97 GT intake manifold in a 98 GT vehicle. slight vacuum line differences and the 97 had the charcoal canister lines that the 98 did not have. it all seemed to go together right, but i'm hoping the problem is there since that's easy enough to do. so i'm swapping manifolds right now so it has the stock 98 GT set up on it.

i would use nippers method, rack fittings/lines are annoying.

GAH!!! i left out a step, sorry about that. you need to break the drill bit in half for it fit in front of the engine. do that and it will work with no engine pulling nonsense. heck, even revoming the condensor and maybe even the bumper would be easier than pulling the engine. they come out very easily actually. should have given you my phone number. well, now you'll know what to do if it's starts leaking. given the heating, expanding and contracting it would not surprise me at all if it starts leaking at some point, so keep an eye on it.

make sure the final drive ratio didn't change between years either. probably didn't, but you want to be sure.

i noticed some hex plugs on a steering rack the other week. pretty sure you could probably unscrew those. might have to remove the jack plate to see if there's access from underneath. turning the rack lock to lock pushes a lot of fluid out. so disconnecting the lines is probably a good way to go. i'd think disconnect the return line down by the rack, disconnect the other line at the pump. then you would also have the option to refill the rack through the pressure hose at the pump and flush it two or three times to get all of it out...kind of like doing an ATF refill in the trans.

use NGK plugs and Subaru only on the wires. that's probably a problem as well. that will 95%..or some high number, of the time solve the problem.

want to send a picture of the pan? if it's not close to the sump it won't matter. it'll just displace a little fluid. but if it's by the sump, then you need to do something right away. the pan can be really annoying to replace, they often leak after reinstall. the holes get rusty and corroded and the holes may be concave up...cutting into the new gasket as you tighten it. also make sure you clean the mating surface of the trans and pan very, very good. and use a Subaru gasket, some of the aftermarket gaskets are thin and whimpy. some people like to throw RTV or sealant of some kind on both sides of the gasket to avoid the leaking issues mentioned above. of course some newer gen vehicles don't have a gasket, i think they just use sealant, not sure when that changed though. and don't bother replacing the filter while you're in there, just fix the pan and go. the "filter" isn't really a filter at all, it's just a screen. they are never culprits to worry about. the oring at the top of the filter might be worth replacing though if you feel so inclined while you're in there. but you wouldn't have replaced it anyway had the pan not dented. you could also drill a hole in the middle of the dent, drain rinse the ATF out, pull the dent out and then weld it shut. that's what i would do, much quicker than pulling the pan. but most probalby don't feel comfortable doing that. along those lines, i'd check out some body dent pulling methods maybe..i'm not well versed in body work.