GeneralDisorder

Still - there is nothing in the transmission that can cause that kind of a problem. If there were enough slop to cause that - gear lash, etc - you would hear it and it probably wouldn't last a mile on the freeway before locking up. There is NOTHING in a transmission that can cause that. The tollerances are to the .001" and you would hear a problem long before it got to the point that it would cause noticeable driveability issues. Did you change the dog-bone as well? GD

Your bouncing slop is not in the transmission - it simply cannot cause that. It's mounts - engine, transmission, rear diff, etc. GD

If the gauge is reading half-way then you should be good on engine temp and coolant temp - not a bad idea to double-check that with a temp gun though. Sounds like your heater core needs to be flushed or replaced. GD

There are some EJ models that have problems with cracking flex-plates. They crack around the bolt holes to the crank. But I've never heard of this on an EA. And as stated if you don't have an automatic then you don't have a flex-plate. GD

That's typical of the 4 speeds - 3rd is always the first gear that goes on them. Time for a 5 speed swap. The 4's aren't worth rebuilding or even repairing. GD

In '95 they switched from the axles being pinned to the diff to being c-cliped on the inside of the diff. Instead of a splined female end on the inner axle joint, it's a splined male end that slips inside the diff and clips into grooves cut in the spider gears. So when you go to put the LSD rear into the Forester you can't just swap the spider gears from the Forester's old diff because they won't fit the LSD guts of the RX diff. You will have to source a set of '90 to '94 Legacy rear axles (oddly enough I think front's would work too) - these will just bolt in place and interface with the RX's diff. You will still need the input flange and the rear cover from the Forester's original diff. It will all bolt together and in fact changing the axles is easier than changing the spider gears but turns the car into a bit of an abortion - you will have three generation's of car parts under the Forester. Not that this makes much difference considering what your plans are for it GD

They can weep coolant or oil externally just like any other Phase II SOHC EJ25 - it's a very well known issue and Subaru has a "coolant conditioner" that should be done at any change or flush. But that doesn't mean they won't leak. I have a '99 Forester (same engine) with 234k on the original HG's. They have a miniscule oil film that developed around the head gasket area (not enough to drip) but that's all. The Phase II HG's usually don't cause overheating as long as you top off the coolant once in a while (if they are leaking) so it's not a real big issue with them. More of an annoyance if you keep up on checking your fluids every few weeks. The rear wheel bearings are a worse issue IMO. They eat them like crazy. I'm told that the fix is to install Legacy rear wheel bearings but I haven't done it yet. GD

Ultimately you have two routes: 1. dry out the inside of the car - no moisture = no fog or ice on the inside. 2. Get the heater working HOT. First thing you need to do is check the engine operating temp. If you aren't getting up to temp then the heater core isn't going to do much. You need to get up to 190 to get good heat and you need good flow through the heater core. GD

Crap - I forgot it's an LSD on those - you will need Gen 1 Legacy rear axles to make it work in the Forester. GD

There are so many variations that it is highly dependant on what you are looking at. As for Subaru, these are the systems: 1. 2WD (FWD - need I go further?) 2. 4WD - locked 50/50 torque split just like a truck. 3. Full-Time 4WD - Subaru did this in the 80's. It's AWD with open diffs all around. The 5 speed versions also had lockers in the center diff - when locked they are just plain 4WD as in #2 above. The automatic version is basically AWD (4EAT) as below. 4. AWD - in this scenario there is some form of traction device in the center - either an electronic clutch pack that can vary the torque split (4EAT) or a center diff with a viscous coupler (5 speed). In both cases there will always be power to the front and the rear even if you lift a wheel. Now other manufacturers do many different things - but one thing you fail to observe is that with ABS systems being ubiquitous these days it's a simple thing to add "electronic traction control" to an AWD system that has simply open diffs all the way around. When a wheel slips or has no traction you just apply the brake to that wheel. Done with a computer and wheel speed sensors this system is VERY effective. Also - from a performance standpoint - not just considering the "all 4 wheels on ice" scenario - even with open diffs AWD has much to offer. When you *do* have traction you now have twice as much contact patch for the same size tires. This makes starting, stoping, and handling much more responsive. GD

Yep - all EA rear's are pinned on both ends. GD

You won't need to remove any axle nuts - the rear axles are pinned on both ends just like the inner joint on a front axle. So a 3/16" pin punch. If the splines are frozen with rust, just pop the boots off and dissasemble the inner joint on the axle. GD

Yeah - you might have jammed the radiator fan with snow. Probably didn't blow a head gasket. 3/4 on the gauge wouldn't blow them and these are REALLY hard to blow. I've run them to the top of the guage multiple times with no damage. GD

A search will give all the info you need. It is bigger, and will give you more low-end torque. No increase in top-end power but it will feel faster. It's simpler too. GD

Rain-X makes an "anti-fog" product for the inside of the windshield - it works pretty good but it wears off after a month or so. GD

I don't understand - the carrier bearing's posistion is not important - you can just eyeball it. It's just a rubber mounted bearing assembly..... maybe I'm not understanding what you are after? The u-joints insure that it will run without vibration at any angle you put it at within reason. When I installed an EA82 driveshaft in my Brat I just made up some brackets, welded them to the floor, and bolted it up. I eyeballed it with the shaft on jack stands. No issues. Basically posistion it so the first section from the trans to the bearing is as straight as you can get it. Then do whatever it takes to make that happen with the mounts. I just bent up some 1/8" steel flat-bar that I had, drilled a hole for the mount to bolt to and then eye-balled how to bend/shape it so I could get a good fit with the floor pan - cleaned the area and welded it down. Just don't set your carpet on fire like I did. GD

Old Subaru's are not hub-centric and as such do not need to fit exactly over the nibs on the hub. Peugot rims will work, but you won't find much in the 4x140mm pattern out there. Basically old Subaru rims and 504/505 Peugot rims. You can machine the hubs to accept 6-lug Chevy/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda/Etc truck rims, or you can do the 5 lug conversion and use newer Subaru rims. Those are the easiest options though people have done other things. I think I recall that someone did a redrill to an older VW pattern as well. GD

No, not really. Sounds like a clutch adjustment is warranted and tell the dealer you want the gear oil drained and checked for metal. Something could be eating itself in there. If there is very little metal in the gear oil then it will likely be ok, and if there's a ton of metal in there then you have a good reason to ask them to replace the transmission. It is normal for the gear oil to be a dark amber color and for there to be a small amount of metal on the magnet of the drain plug. If there is a mountain on the drain plug, anything big enough to feel between the fingers, or metallic swirls in the gear oil (or, as I've seen - the gear oil looks like siver paint ) - strange things are afoot at the Circle-K......:-\ GD

If the mileage is less than 200k, the head gaskets are well worth doing. They are really easy engines to work on. It's basically a timing belt job + a head removal. You don't even have to remove the cams or valve covers! Although I know what you mean about the 2nd gen Legacy's - I've worked on enough of them that I don't like them either. They are much cheaper on the construction than the 1st generation one's. If it goes to the crusher - save the engine for someone doing an EJ swap. GD

The turbo transmissions are a bit different inside - wider, beefier gears, and such. It might not work but I don't know for sure. GD

1. The defrost function works better if the AC is working. 2. The inside of the windows will fog up if there is any moisture present inside the car - wet people, coats, carpet, towels, etc. If you want fog-free windows you have to get the moisture out and keep it out. GD

Could be the tank vent line as well - do you have the charcoal canister hooked up? One of the artifacts of installing a Weber is that you will occasionally get a whiff of gasoline - the float bowl vent on DGV's is just a hole in the top of the carb so without modification to the carb you always have fresh fuel present under the hood. Also most people disconnect the canister and leave the fuel tank vent line (the one next to the fuel supply line on the firewall) open to the atmosphere. GD

If you could get the RPM high enough (look around for B&S performance parts - you probably could), then yes. Probably have the best luck with one of those big v-twin's. There are some riding mower manufacturer's that use Generac 997cc v-twin engines.... you get that sucker up to 10,000 RPM and sure - a VF7 would rock it's world. GD

Could the clutch be dragging? Might need adjustment. If it's not, then I would say there's a good chance you need a new transmission. Have the dealer drain the gear oil and check for metal. I just replaced a '96 5 speed at 113k where 2nd gear had frozen to the shaft (needle bearing failure), and the tranny tried to be in 2 gears at once. Tore all the teeth off 2nd gear. It's not unheard of for the 5 speed's to fail but it's pretty rare. I've seen a couple. GD

Glad you got it fixed up. BTW - the rust and discoloration you see on the old axle shaft is called "fretting" and is caused by vibration between the axle shaft the inner bearing race. This always happens to some extent - what's going on is complex, but basically the two peices vibrating or rubbing across each other (were talking a matter of thousanths of an inch here) creates a place where there is no corrosion protection (no grease, no protective rust barrier, etc) and this results in rust formation and pitting of the metal in that area. They aren't moving relative to each other - if they were it would be called scoring and you would have MUCH bigger issues anyway. One of the side-effects of fretting is that new axles very often just slip in without the zero-clearance fit that new bearings will have with new axles. But that's ok. GD