turboguzzi

well, being the DIYer I am, built a tool.... half an hour of work with some old iron angles and it worked like a charm. What sucks is the length of the shaft! you really have to pull out the hub outwards a very long way! Didn't manage to disassemble the bottom steering ball from the housing like the manual suggest, every time i tried it would cock when half way out and get stuck, so for now, on one side i had to disassemble the whole bottom suspension arm and only then it went ok... Compared to the old style CVs this is hell... on my old Legacies it was just removing the front arm bolt, pull a little bit and CV was out of its short stub. Same with the a first gen forester, on 2nd gen they really went backwards in serviceability. or is it just me? any tips for the newer CV removal are welcome ...

wasnt expecting this, but i am in middle of a clutch change and turns out that my inner CV joint are of the integral shaft type, no rolled pin to push out.... odd because all my previous subarus had the pin holding the green CV on the stub these have the stub as an integral part of the CV.... so how do i remove the CVs from the gearbox? looks like some sort of forked instrument is needed ? or simply a hammer blow on the housing? thanks in advance

ok, good to know man. thanks

Really enjoying my recently bought professional OMCN 2500 lbs. jack, it's one of those thing that make you ask "how did i do without one all these years"... Was new old stock sitting in a shop that closed, cant complain at 150$ One question though. Following a post ive read here, i lifted the rear pushing the rear diff, but didnt really like what id does to all the rubber mounts that visibly compress..... Am i worrying for nothing or are there better ways to lift the rear wheels? Cheers TG

Hi all some might remember my 5MT box trouble post... so my 5MT gearbox transplant went well, following the directions in this post it took about 12 hours, including a clutch swap while i was there https://www.rs25.com/threads/diy-clutch-replacement-pictorial.128163/ all noises have stopped so successful surgery, but quite a bit if work to be sure... I had an exedy FJK2037 clutch kit i bought originally for my other 2nd gen forester, was pointless not to fit it to my GF's 1st gen while the G/B was out So trouble is that i need now another kit for my own 2nd gen... I found at a super low cost FJK2024 kit, Exedy site says it's for a 1st gen. SF Forester... Question is - Are there any differences between non-turbo 2.0 5MT 1st and 2nd gen clutches? specs show that both FJK2037 and FJK2024 dimensions are 225mm/268mm and 24 tooth spline. Like i said, the "2nd gen clutch kit" went into the 1st gen no problem, but asking just to make sure.... Tnxs!

https://www.girardo.com/car/1999-subaru-impreza-wrc99-0/ thought some of you might enjoy.....

ok, trusted mech verdict after a test drive is bearing or bearings gone on the input shaft, quoted two full days of work to drop trans out, open it and put back together + parts ( can vary) and i could be spending a nice 800 -1K add to this a kit clutch which at this point would be stupid not to do while trns is out and it swells even more. think im going to give this 250$ trans a chance and try to DIY it.

had the same problem with my 05 forester, slow leak from the seam, there's no good repair for that. managed to find a Denso DRM36002 radiator (OEM quality) for around 150 euro, (about 160 $), really easy job to change

Hei Texan, checked out that car-part.com site, serves only north america, USA, CA, MX, not Italy Will gonna drop by my trusted mech thursday, but preparing myself mentally for a "gearbox gone" verdict..... Is there a way to tell from outside the front diff ratio? im pretty sure this is same as mine as in italy there was really just one version of the non turbo 1st gen sold. wonder if the white label (red area in pic) can say which ratio is in there.... https://www.subito.it/accessori-auto/subaru-forester-cambio-usato-subaru-ej20-bologna-312421015.htm?from=areariservata

Tnxs for the info guys. As for your questions: All gears slip in nicely, no slip out of gear, oil was clean and nice, most of the 4 liters that go into an 5MT went out, collected about 3.5 Can add that while driving in all gears, noise only present when pressing the on the gas, no noise when coasting. The cyclic thing sounds to me too like a bearing From previous experience, is damage usually limited to just the bearing? or likely i need to change some gears too if i decide to open the box? cheers back

Noise from the 5MT box is never a fun thing to sort, but this weekend I had some time to do some pocking on my GF’s 99 forester (120K miles). It is a light to medium grind/rumble/whine, very similar to an old rear drive car with a worn rear diff, but comes from gearbox / center of car. It is cyclic, not steady, sort of wa-wa-wa. I can hear it also in while in neutral, goes away if I press the clutch pedal. Then, while driving, whine gets louder but not excessively and is present in all gears, from 1st to 5th. I drained the oil so to check for stuff attached to the magnetic plug. Was half expecting to find quite a bit of shavings, but actually there was very little of stuff that could come from a failed gear, BUT, there was on the other hand, a shiny broken piece which on the external face is spherical, and on the internal side , looks like broken off form somewhere due to fatigue. Was suspecting it was coming from a ball in a bearing, but too big…. About 1/4 “ long, and also the radius is too big. Any ideas? So something is amiss with the box I’d say, just trying to decide how much I can wait, and if try to find a used G/B and do a quick-ish swap or try to open it and fix, no idea what I will find inside… I’m an expert motorcycle mechanic, can do top to bottom overhauls on anything wiht two wheels, but not sure I have the means to handle a huge gearbox repair (got no press) and the time to stop the car for long while DIYng the box. Your opinions are welcome…. Tnxs

that's it? no more guzzing?

I wouldn't describe a ujoint symptom as a rumble, more of a vibration, and usually only while under load. It's not generally play in the joint, but they seize. It can be felt by hand, but only after removing the shaft from the car. Tnxs Numb. Will crawl under car this weekend, in my 16 years of soobing, 1st time i read about this UJ issues, my 2 Legs and 2 Foresters never had UJ issues untill now, only experience with a failed UJ was in my only a motorcycle with a drive shaft, a Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850. Rumble is also present in idle/neutral, goes away when pressing the clutch, so was thinking it was clutch plate springs or something, but then again, it could be two separate problems/rumbles. Just like the OP, not the best season here to be doing this outdoors... sorry for the hijack but if its any help, heres the best trans removal guide ive seen, https://www.rs25.com/threads/diy-clutch-replacement-pictorial.128163/

Casually reading this.... GF's 99' MT has developed a light rumble while driving... could it be that UJ on it's way out? Can the freeplay be felt by hand?

The AT trans radiator fitted my MT perfectly, no bother with the nipples, so Ido, tnxs for your tip. Did a timing belt change while there, was all a pretty easy job honestly, much easier to do than on my 1st and 2nd gen legacies due to all radiator screws being at the top, just disconnect hoses and plugs, and it's off in a jiffy, then drop in inot the holes just as easy

tnxs! now i understand what were the two tiny nipples that came with another aftermarket radiator i got back at the time for my 2nd gen leg! indeed, I never used them.... thought they were for heating sytem.... never had an auto in my life

Good day The leaking crimping on my 2004 2.0X MT radiator is getting worse, time for a new radiator Would like to go with OEM quality DENSO, a bit unclear if there are differences at all between the radiator of the M and A/T. Denso catalog says, M, then other models M/A..... Main reason i am asking is that i am able to get the DRM36002 at half the price of the DRM36001 or DRM36004, dimesnionaly they seem all the same Wonder if anyone is aware of difference between MT and AT radiators... tnxs

95% Viscous coupling inside the gearbox gone.... regretfully not a super cheap fix. Had to change it in my girlfriend's forester, means gearbox out and changing the component.

ok, had a deeper check and turns out that ruville (link in my first post) is a german company that belongs to the schaeffler concern of INA and FAG bearings. They claim to be "made in germany", so that's kinda ensuring. Will tell you once i get it if there's a "made in china" stamping in the small print

tnxs ido always compressed the tensioner slowly, even over 15-20 minutes, so that's not an issue, didnt know about the tensioner swap.... ciao from italy TG

tnxs guys parts geek kit looks similar to the one in my link, also in price BTW, i completely agree that the idler on the tensioner should be changed too, but in the tensioner itself, there are no bearing to speak off or parts that wear as you can see here, for the EJ20 gen1 leg motor you can get just the idlers, including the one that sits on the tensioner no tensioner mechanism forced down your throat https://www.autoparti.it/ina/2384801

Hello all got a new belt and water pump for next change in my 2004 90K miles forester, but stupid me, no idler wheels. Is there anyone selling a reasonably priced kit of just the idlers? I seem to find only full kits with tensioner mechanism too (like this one https://www.autoparti.it/ruville/7742820 ) In 14 years of EJ20 1st and 2nd gen Leg ownership never changed the tensioner mech itself, cant see the reason why my (new to me) SG forester would be different even if the tensioner mechanism is different. tnxs!

yes, i know these are not subarus, but as i live in italy found it quite odd that two japanese imports would top the chart. i travel for work to USA every now and then and although i can see hondas are more popular than suabrus, they must be behind corollas in sheer numbers. maybe because they are kind of racy for joy rides?

who would have guessed? the even more interesting bit is that most of the two top stolen models are from 97'-98' 2nd legacy owners beware! https://www.statista.com/chart/6551/the-10-most-stolen-cars-in-america/

also remove and clean the idle air valve, my 95' leg would die occasionally when coasting to a stop, cleaning deposits with thinners solved it,