Gnuman

15" rims vs 14" rims. you need the struts, springs and lower control arms, IIRC

Considering that you will want to replace the timing belt as well (for reasons mentioned above), I would pull the engine, and reseal the whole thing. The seals last for about 150K miles, the timing belt lasts for 60 or 100K depending on what kind of smag requierments you have. I would get the 100K timing belt, all the seals, perhaps a water pump, certainly the thermostat and gasket. That comes to about $250 online, and you can get the new clutch from the same place usually. I would get one that is made for a Legacy Outback, as those engines have 30 more HP, and the clutch is just a tad better (interchangeable with your engine, no problem). When you are done, you will have a car you can truely depend on! Oh, and welcome back!

Couple of things I can think of: 1) get a Genuine Subaru tensioner for the timing belt. 2) with the belt off, and the crank sprocket lined up with the timing mark, turn each of the cam sprockets and see if one or more has more drag than the others. YOu should be able to turn them freely when they are not pressing on any valves (each cam has one position that does this for a few degrees. on the passenger side, it will be when the timing marks line up) If one of more camshaft is binding, it could cause the timing belt to jump teeth, even if the tensioner is good. If the tensioner is bad (and not giving enough tension) then you will be jumping teeth no matter what you do.

The outback is lifted 3". given a two tone paint job, and several features that are optional on the Legacy are standard on the Outback. Oh, and the Legacy comes with a 2.2L engine, and the Outback came with the 2.5L that had the headgasket problems.

You may also want to take a look under there to be sure the sway bar/ end olinks are still functional. If it has a sway bar but it is broken, then it really does not have one, does it?

Mine's a wagon. Could never get an engine hoist into a sedan. They don't fold up that much. . .

My subaru hauls . . . tools. I load my folding hoist, and engine stand, two boxes of tools, my oil catch pan, a work stool, a coolant catch pan, my creeper, my floor jack and two jackstands, as well as a drip pan in the back (and still have room left over), then drive to a jobsite and pull an engine, reseal it, and reinstall it in three days or less. . . Hmmmm, I wonder if this has anything to do with my struts being so worn. . . .

You are correct. from 92 to 94 (perhaps later?) the L has no sway bar in the rear. the LS and LSi do. 90 and 91 do not have this problem. Of course, it could also be worn struts. . .

Take that VIN to the dealer parts department. They can tell you exactly what that car is supposed to be.

th3e 17 is likely the cause of the problem. the pruge control solenoid is also a part that I've had to replace a couple of times (on other peoples cars), but I'm not sure how it would relate to the misfire problem.

Are the springs significantly larger for the Outback than for the Legacy? I just PM'd you about the springs and tophats you have for sale. I'm interested in the rear springs, as the rear of my 92 squats so low I get tire-strike on my admitedly oversized tires. I know my struts are worn, and I'm looking at getting new ones (GR2's), but if I could find a bigger spring for the back, that would make a lot of difference. . .

And the 105K belt is slightly thicker, making for longer wear. The 105k belts will fit in cars built for the 60k belt, with no problems. The tensioner pulley has plenty of slack to handle it.

I'm looking for the free length spec for several cars, so I can compare them prior to purchasing springs. the free length spec is the free length of the coil springs that go on the struts. I need the length for the rear strut springs on a 90 Legacy wagon, a 92 Legacy wagon, and a 96 Outback (wagon, if that is a question on this car.). I have not been able to find that spec in any of the manuals I have (chiltons and Haynes). THanks in advance!

OK I searched, got nothing. I'm looking for the free length spec for the coil springs ( that is the one at the top of the struts) for a '90 legacy wagon, a 92 Legacy wagon, and a 96 Outback. The springs I'm interested in are the rear coil springs. I need the info in order to compare lengths before buying them. Anyone have this info? neither of my manuals (Chiltons and Haynes) have it anywhere.

Yes, but he said that he pulled off the throttle body, where that coating lives. Also be sure that you replace the gasket that goes between the throttle body and the plenum. You don't to have introduced an air leak, do you?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure missed this place this last week. . .

So is that Outback struts with the '91 lego springs? with that lift, di you use outback struts all around, or just in the back?

The wheels that were taken were LS alloys. I'll check the local PNP to see if they have a couple of steelies there. . .

The tool for the job is a Craftsman 12mm/14mm offset box wrench. The space is too small for a socket wrench (unless you use a 1/4" drive, which would not give you enough torque), and a straight box wrench does nto go all the way over the bolts. As you work more on these engines, you will find that this tool will, over time, become one of your favorites.

Hardest part is that little plastic "sail" behind the mirror. Pry that very carefully, and slowly, one tab at a time. Other than that, there is one large screw at the top of the door pull (inside handle), and one midway along the underside of the bottom (behind a plastic cover. the one at the top will have a sponge "plug" in it). Next, use a butter knife to release the clips on teh back of the door-handle trim (the rear clips are right at the pivot point for the handle) and wiggle the front clip off to release it. Now there are 3 or 4 screws around the front speaker grille, then you can actually pull the rest of the tabs by hand, or use the garden tool/screwdriver trick mentioned above. At this point the door handle just comes up and off, then you unclip the wiring connections so you can work with whatever you need. Now that you have the door panel off: Three screws attach the window switch to the plastic that turns out to be that bit of trim that also holds the pocket on top of the door-pull (armrest). Often, one of the screws will have just fallen out, so you can simply replace it and all should be well. On the other hand (you will find different fingers). . oh yeah, If however, you discover that the post that the screw goes into is actually broken, I actually have a spare for you. This is, of course, providing that the dark grey matches your interior to your satisfaction. You can let me know by PM or email if you need the part. It will come with or without the switch attached.

I'm assuming you mean the headlamp (bulb inside the housing), which should be pretty easy. For the most specific directions for your car, we will need the year and model of your car (some minor differences between some models). Also, if both of them are out, have you made sure it is not the fuse? That would be even easier than the bulb, if that is the case. Also if it is the fuse, replacing the bulb will not fix it. We can help you, though. Let's just go through this one step at a time.

The ex-wife got robbed the other day. They took the wheels off her Subie and left it sitting on the ground. The wheels stolen were LS alloys with decent tires. Also taken was the alternator out of the Subie I gave my daughter. Both are 90 Legacy wagons (EJ22). Does anyone have a set of steelies laying around and perhaps an alternator I could buy from you? This happened in Richmond CA and the cops will not do anything unless someone got shot during the theft. . . I did take the step of putting a set of keyd lugnuts on the wheels. Right now, the car is sitting on one caravan tire, two full-sized spare Subie tires and a subie spare. . . No, I won't let her drive it untill she gets tires. . . (even with the fuse in). Stealing the tires off of a car just makes me sick.

I'm with this one, but I'd add $50 to the parts estimate, if you get them online. The parts I would get are: headgaskets timing belt cam seals front crank seal and oil pump O-ring Valve cover gaskets valve cover bolt seals Optional: rear main (crank) seal (add 10 to parts cost) waterpump and thermostat A(add 50 to parts cost) idlers (add 270 to parts cost) I would also get all of these parts OEM from an Online Subaru parts house. Several are available. I use 1stsubaruparts.com (866)528-5282 and ask for Jason.

If you are talking about the rubber bit that goes around the glass, you have to buy the whole glass, if you get it from Subaru.

Heh, mine also started life as an L. I'm turning it into an LX. For '92, the L did not have a rear sway bar, and I added one, I grafted in the sunroof, put on the roof rack, added the spoiler, put in the LX seats (hight adjust version. But I used the ones from a 91, which had the headrest that goes front to back as well, as well as the organiser pocket in the back), I even had the 91 radio headunit, with the CD player out of an SVX for a while. That was kool, as it was factory radio from that long ago, with a front AUX jack. I was saying that my car was so old, it had come back into fashion. . . Well, the finals died in that radio, so i went aftermarket. I got an HD radio that also had the front AUX, front USB, CD, SD card, Sat ready, iPod ready, and a detachable faceplate. Since it is a 1 DIN radio, I had to get the larger pocket to close up the hole. I also put on a tow hitch, and I scored a lightweight flywheel and racing clutch (really heavy pressure plate), and that is on as well. I had put LX alloys on, but the tire store kept giving me a hard time about the "old alloy rims" not holding air well (bullsquat) and saying that that is why I kept having leaks on the tires they sold me. I got pissed at this and went to the competition to get my next set of tires, and that store had these really nice 7 spoke rims bundled with tires for cheap. . . Well, I bought a set of 5, so I keep the full sized spare. projects left on this car are the driving lights and lifting the back just a bit. With WRX suspension, it sounds like you are looking for the handling to be "sporty" to support "spirited" driving on road. I'm going in teh other direction. I tow things, and often have quite a bit in the back. What is "quite a bit" you ask? let me see. . .There was the time I hauled a pair of engines 600 miles (and SVX EG33, and an EJ25) to a company that was going to use them in Vanagon conversions. I also carried an EJ25 still attached to the 4EAT in it. Oh, and I make a living doing mobile auto repair. I carry two tool boxes, and engine stand, an engine hoist (folding version, but still. . .), a floor jack, jackstands, oil pan, coolant pan, drip pan, lots of rags, a stool, and a "torque multiplier" in case of need. . . Yeah, the back end squats down a bit when I have all that in it. . . Bigest problem I have now is that my rear struts are worn out (I wonder why. . . ) and I had gotten oversized tires (215 60R14) that are wider than the stock (185 75R14) ones. So now when I have any kind of load in teh car, The back end squats down and the fenderwells hit the top outside of the tire and "chirps" Not wearing the tire, and it does not seem to be wearing the plastic from the fenderwell much, so if I can just get new rear struts, and perhaps some Outback springs in the back, I should be fine. That will put perhaps an inch or two on the back, and give me the clearance I need.