cymbri

My 96 Legacy sedan has pulled to the right since I purchased it August of last year. I've replaced the driver side front axle 3 times, from boot rips in the outer joint. I've changed the rims and tires twice since I purchased it (The first time I had bald tires and bent rims, the second was for higher profile tires). In February, along with a driver side front axle, I put 05 Forester strut assemblies and outback trailing arm brackets on it. In March, along with a driver side front axle, I replaced the front rotors and calipers with 2003 WRX rotors and calipers. In April, along with the driver side front axle, I also changed the driver side wheel bearing, inner tie rod ends, and had it aligned along with tire rotation and balancing. Now, a local chain mechanic aligned it, and it still pulled to the right slightly. I took it back and they said the passenger side wheel was off camber because the stock camber bolt did not have enough adjustment. This makes a little bit of sense because it's lifted, but the fact that it pulled to the right before the lift makes me skeptical. Recently, the steering began acting up intermittently, and it slowly got worse and more frequent. While on the gas, the steering wheel would rock left and right and the wheels would not move and I could still steer ok despite the wheel rocking. When it did this, it also made a rhythmic, metallic tapping sound. When I'd take my foot off the gas, it would return to normal. Also, occasionally when I would slam on the brakes, the car would pull hard to the right. I put it on a lift, shook the tires around, moved the steering wheel back and forth while a friend listened and watched from underneath and on top. When moving the drivers wheel left and right by hand, a clunking could me heard coming from the steering rack, no where else. All the steering and suspension mounting brackets were secure. And moving the passenger wheel did not cause any noise. The passenger side wheel felt good and tight, while the driver side could move left and right more freely. The control arms and their bushing looked good. I assumed the rack was bad and bought a replacement. Before I could install it, the front left axle outer joint broke and I had it towed home. So the more free movement was from the axle being bad.. Now, obviously, the broken axles are a symptom, not the problem. Could the passenger wheel being off camber have caused all of this because of the added stress of the driver axle fighting the passenger side? If so, could something besides the camber bolt cause the camber problem? Could a bad steering rack pull to the right consistently? Would a car pulling to the right consistently cause the steering rack to go bad? I would think that a bad ball joint would have caused noise or looseness in the wheels when I had it on the lift.... Honestly, I don't know that much about cars, but I do know that I've already replaced most of the parts that you check when a car pulls after an alignment. I'm giving this car to my parents, and I can't have them replacing axles every other month so any knowledge, guidance, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Awesome lifts on this thread so far. 95 legacy 05 forester springs and struts outback trailing arm brackets 16" rims. Tires 26.6" in diameter I have 6" more ground clearance than before, for a total of 12" without drastically changing the look of the car. I see some steel tube bumpers and a flat paint job in her future

Fairtax4me: (Nice Cake siggy by the way) It is difficult for me to think in terms of American units when science is taught using metric. While I understand the concept of torque, your examples made me think more deeply on how it applies to my tires. The wheel surface is now farther away from where the force is applied to turn the wheels on the bigger tires, therefore less force is applied to the tire surface resulting in what feels like slower acceleration. Kind of how a large spinning tractor wheel will look like it's going faster in the very center and slower on the outer edge. Thank you for giving me the info on cam replacement. I don't think I can convince my "mechanic" to do it, his thoughts are that my engine has over 200,000 miles on it so why bother. I see his point, and I think the better, easier fix would be to put my low profile tires back on it for the summer and use bigger tires in the winter. My low profile tires are on another set of 16" rims. Additionally, being a bit under-powered in the snow is ideal for traction. I will definitely upgrade the brakes, since that can be done cheaply and easily (can get a used wrx brake/caliper/rotor set for $125) Now I just have an awd issue, which I will make a new thread for since it's not related to my lift.

I used a calculator like that to figure out how much faster i'd be going than what the speedometer says, I don't really know how to equate a difference in power in print to how a car drives so a calculator like the one you mentioned would be interesting for me to compare the before and after. I will look into the delta torque grind cams, are they time intensive to replace?

Thank you! It's difficult for me to get parts for anything older than 2000. My used parts source has almost any used subaru part you'd want 2000 and after, so I can pick up a whole wrx brake set, rotors, calipers, and pads from there. The outback rear sway bar i'd probably have to get from ebay, but I should be able to get a front tribeca one from my used part source. I've heard that thicker sway bars aren't ideal for off-roading because you want your car to be able to tilt. Right now there's 9in of snow that has turned to ice, and another 3 in of snow on top of it, so the roads that haven't been plowed are the equivalent of off roading. I need it to be able to drive with two tires up on 8 in of snow/ice and the other two in a rut if I want to pass someone driving down an alley...

Thanks, Bushwick! I didn't realize it would be so involved to use wrx sway bars. In that case, I will just upgrade the rear sway bar with an outback one if I bother with the sway bars at all. I don't do the work myself, but I will pass this on to my buddy that does the work if I want to swap out the sway bar. He has acetylene torches and a good arc welder at his disposal. The lift is done, and I had actually gotten 16" rims, and 215 60 tires. It seems to corner as well as it did before, though a do feel the body lean more. Overall, I'm very happy as I live in eastern PA and there's loads of snow and ice on the road right now. My biggest complaint is that it accelerates more slowly at lower speeds, I'm told it's because of the gear ratio changing from the larger tires... As far as I know, there's not too much that can be done to increase power in my car. I can also feel that it doesn't stop as well, but brakes are an easy fix. Are the rotors with the grooves and/or holes be worth it as opposed to getting a lest costly larger diameter rotor? Are there better OEM rotors and calipers that will fit my car?

I picked up a set of 05 forester springs and struts since my used part source sells full sets at a good price and doesn't carry anything as old as my car. I also got a set of 17" rims and tires. I have 16"s on it now but thy are low profile so that's 2 more inches right there. ​Apparently I also needed to get legacy outback trailing arm brackets to have the lift done properly. Later on, I may get wrx swaybars and bigger rotors/brakes, but it's not like my car has an insane amount of power that I have to worry about those right now. I should have the work done in a week or so, I'm pretty sure my friend wants to lift his forester before he does my car just out of principle.

I have 16" rims with low profile tires on it now, since i got them as a set for a steal. I figure the next time I need tires I'll get bigger beefier ones. I still haven't gotten around to getting it worked on, but I am definitely going to lift it, and the legacy outback struts with the forester springs and upgraded sway bars seem like the way to go. a friend of mine does the work on my car, since I don't have the skill or tools necessary. He hates working on cars, but does it for extra cash and because he knows how. So It makes sense that if i'm paying him to do the struts, that I have him do the rest of the work that requires taking the wheels off and suspension apart at the same time. I'll post before and after pics once everything is done in about a month or two. Just to be clear: 96-99 legacy outback struts 1st gen forrester springs longer sway bar, like from an outback and bigger rotors with calipers to match I may need to adjust my tie rod ends, does that mean I need to get them for a different model? I have to at least replace my front inner tie rods ends, and get a new alignment anyway. Should i just get new tie rods all around? While I trust my friend to do the work, I need to buy the parts, and he's never done a lift on a legacy so I appreciate all the responses, thank you all!

I generally take it easy, since I just got the car and it has 200k+ miles on it. But I love being able to corner hard and fast when needed, and handling, to me, is one of the most important aspects of a car since it goes along with keeping the car under control

that is very nice, wouldn't have though of it either. thank you!

I never had a car lifted before, but I'll be needing new rear struts and more ground clearance during a snowstorm is always good, so might as well replace all 4 struts and springs. It's a '96, sorry about the wrong year in the title.. I've heard the easiest thing to do is to get legacy outback springs and struts and that'll lift it 2" with no other work required. The person doing the work tells me i should just get forester struts/springs. I'm concerned about handling, this car handles better than every car I've driven in the past 4 years, but it's also lower. So for people who have lifted their subies, how much did you lift it and did you notice a large impact on how the car handles? If I use forrester struts/springs do I need to do anything else like lengthen the steering column ect? And does anyone know which years/models of other subarus would have pretty compatible springs and struts with my car?

UPDATE I think it was an air bubble, since a few days after the work was done, it magically stopped overheating. I had the CEL constantly on kicking a knock sensor code. Then I had intermittent starting problems. Sometimes, after sitting for at least a few hours, It could turn over forever but never actually start. Mostly it would start fine. And i even had it stall on me at a red light a few times. It would have intermittent problems accelerating. While in motion, I'd press the gas pedal harder, nothing, then it would buck, the rpms would kick up, and it would start accelerating. And it was leaking oil around the front of the engine, like a quart every 100-200 miles. I temporarily fixed the starting and accelerating problems by keeping the gas tank always over 1/2 full (after I found that i can make it start by banging on the gas tank) and adding a little mid or high grade gas. And temporarily helped the oil leak by using 20w-50 oil when I had it changed. My freelance mechanic decided that I should replace the valve cover gaskets, since they're easy to do and a common source of oil leakage. So I just recently had the knock sensor, fuel pump and strainer, inline fuel filter, and valve cover gaskets replaced. CEL is off and it accelerates so much better. Tank is still 1/2 full, I'm going to run it close to empty to make sure it's fixed. But wow, it's like I got a new car. I think I'm going to wash the engine to help see if it's still leaking oil. I'm so used to having cars that would act up, and then it almost wouldn't be worth it to fix because of cost or time, and cars that would be a giant pain to work on. But that's why I wasn't going to buy a car unless it was a SUBARU

If the press gas and no go issue was a tune up issue would it do it all the time? Cause it only does it sometimes and sometimes it keeps speed for like 30 secs or so with no gas on a flat road

I will try that, thanks!

I checked ALL of fluids when it started leaking, everything was fine except the oil was lower than the day before by about 1/2 quart.

I haven't tested for spark, but it sounds the same as it does when it doesn't start, as how it sounds just before it does start. I haven't pinpointed the source of the oil leak, but it pools just about under the oil filter, but is coming from somewhere above the filter. I will have the PVC valve looked at, thanks!

I'm sure it was installed correctly, not all of the pulleys were replaced, but I did replace the two bad ones

nope

I had a place read the code, they told me the code number but all i remember is Knock sensor. I'll have the throttle cable looked at, and I can have the TPS replaced if I still have problems after I replace the fuel pump and knock sensor, thanks! I took it to autozone and advance auto but the people who work there were all like it's a '96, and we only have obd2 scanners you need obd1, but the person doing work on my car told me that even though my car is older it should be ob2. I can always go back to an auto parts store and lie about how old my car is lol

It's a 96 Legacy LS 2.2 L SOHC with 202,000 miles on it, and unsure of previous maintenance. It had a bad water pump, replaced water pump, timing belt, thermostat, wires/spark plugs, changed oil. It has a slow oil leak coming from the front passenger side of the engine, so I am planning to replace both cam seals, crank seal, and cam oring(s). It has a constant check engine light, it kicks the knock sensor code so I am planning to replace the knock sensor too. The battery terminals corrodes really fast, so I am planning on replacing the battery, battery cables and terminals as well. It seems to run great most of the time, but it sporadically will crank and not start (cranks fine, not slow or tired at all). I have tried disconnecting the battery and reconnecting the battery in case of a sensor issue, and tried jumping it in case of low battery issue. Tried flooring it to start it as well. Previously, when it decides not to start, it won't start at all, but if I try to start it the next day, it'll start immediately. Last night I was out and it wasn't starting so i had my boyfriend bang on the fuel tank in case of a fuel pump/fuel filter issues. A few minutes after the fuel tank banging, it's started fine. It also sporadically has trouble responding to me depressing the gas pedal. I'll depress the pedal a bit more to accelerate, and it'll almost seem to do nothing, until I depress it a lot more, then suddenly the rpms will jump and it will suddenly start to accelerate. It seems to have this issue more when I am driving up hills. Other times it will maintain speeds of 40+ for a bit with my foot off the gas ans without decelerating much. So I believe that replacing the fuel pump and filter will fix the starting problem, and the acceleration issue. I am hoping that the acceleration problem is not the transmission. Do my proposed repairs align with the issues I'm having? And is there any other maintenance that would be recommended on my car since it's got so many miles and an unknown maintenance history?

No, didn't replace any seals while we were in there. My friend who works on cars said that it might be the valve cover gasket, after I explained it to him. I'll clean the engine to find the source of the leak. If it's either the cam seals, crank seal, or and cam oring(s), replacing all of them will be my next step. And if if have to I'll just take it to a mechanic to have it completed. It could be a month or so until I can have more work done to it. Would it be advisable to avoid driving it altogether until this is figured out?

The overheating problem magically disappeared, so I assume it was a big air bubble in the coolant system. It purred like a kitten, and drove great locked in FWD via the fuse. Drove it 130 miles or so, and now now my engine is dripping oil, out of the left side of the front of the engine as far as I can tell. (left as in, your left when you stand in front of the front bumper and are faced toward the car) Darn it Under the car in that area, there's a layer of caked on sludge... So it looks as if it had leaked for a while, but it just started leaking on me after I drove it for 3 days, I've been checking the fluids like a maniac, and it didn't lose any oil until just now after a small puddle of it appeared on the ground.

He probably does have it confused with a different 2.2 he replaced head gaskets on. The radiator was taken out and flushed with a hose, so I know it passes fluids. There's not that much of a savings on engines on the car parts website, and the engine on there are all 30-60 miles away from me, but I appreciate the link. The person I'd buy an engine from will warranty it for 30 days, even with my friend installing it. If by timing covers you mean those plastic cover things that go over the gears that the timing belt rests on, then those show no sign of melting, and almost look new on the inside.

the actual mechanic would charge me $70/hr, my friend who works on cars and provides cheap labor is the one who said it would take a long time. He is knowledgeable enough to do the work, and when stuck on something he'll ask the people who work on Subies everyday for their input. i'll talk to him about the head gasket replacement again, thanks for the info! I was also planning on checking to see if the thermostat opens by putting it in hot water before I have any engine work done. If it's not the thermostat or air bubbles, I will have the heater core looked into, thank you for that knowledge as well! When replacing head gaskets, is there anything to look for that would indicate more serious problems?

As far as I have been told, replacing the head gaskets is a very time consuming job, the brains of the operation behind the work in my car has replaced 3 subaru engines in the past few months for himself and a friend of his, so he can almost do it in his sleep. He's very very busy, and doesn't have as much experience with replacing head gaskets. So I can have the head gaskets replaced, but if it's not certain that that will fix it, then a replacement engine seems to be ideal. I know it's leaking oil from the head gasket, there's a small amount of it on the engine from sitting for months. It took about a gallon and a half of coolant, maybe more, and the upper radiator hose was filled and squeezed repeatedly. It was an aftermarket thermostat, I don't remember the brand, but I bought it from an awesome Subaru mechanic with a shop that only works on subarus, whom I know sells good parts. We ran the engine while parked until the fan kicked in, then topped off the coolant. Drove it 50 ft to put air in it, and it over heated. Opened the radiator cap, and coolant the coolant shot up a few inches escaping from it. Turned it off, added more coolant. Started it again, same thing. After a minute or two of idling, you could turn it off, open up the radiator cap, and the coolant would overflow out of it, shooting up a few inches. The thermostat did reflect that it was overheating.