yohy

OK, background; 1997 Legacy L sedan with 149,000. I just finished up with timing belt/water pump/hoses/etc. Prior to the work, the car exhibited a severe case of piston slap when cold, matter of fact, it could have been the poster child for the symptom. Since finishing the timing belt job the car has become almost quite on start up, with minimal “slap” noise. I cannot come up with any reason for the change and am baffled by any sort of connection between a timing belt and the issue of piston slap. Now it is not that I am unhappy about the change, but just baffled as to why. Anyone?

Gnuman, Roger on the 1st Subaru, I have been dealing with them for years and the only reason to change was this other place was overnight by UPS ground. Lesson learned, incompetence doesn't trump cost, looks like back to 1st Subaru or will give SubaruGenuineParts a go.

Kilroy, You asked: Last Monday I placed an order for about $300 worth of parts for a timing belt/water pump job. As I was to be passing through CT on Wednesday, I decided to stop in and pick up the order. When I got there I was told the entire order was there. On checking it, I found a rear timing belt cover was missing. With surprise I get the “OH” let me check, then the “OH” it didn’t come in I guess we will have to wait till tomorrow (Thursday). So now I have to put finishing up the work till Friday, they get it Thursday, ship it and I get Friday. So I wait, calling on Thursday to verify the part was in. Yes and they will ship out. Well, Friday morning I call as I didn’t get a tracking number, only to find out they were too busy and didn’t have a chance to get the part out. Long story short, I take a 4-hour, 244-mile drive to get the timing belt cover so I can finish the job (this was the closest dealer with the cover). Overall, they didn’t the order all of the parts, I was overcharged on the entire transaction, they gave me one wrong hose and failed to give me the 4 hose clamps for the two radiator hoses I purchased, even though they sell the hoses WITH the clamps. Then they failed to ship the cover as promised. Now I have purchased from them before for some nonessential items, mud flaps and cargo mat for the Forester, but every time I have ordered parts, they have screwed them up. Last year I needed an inner tie rod end for my 97, they sent me the wrong one, I guess I should have learned. Lesson, if you need something you can wait for, go for it. If you have a car torn apart and need M/Y specific parts, forget about it. Again, IMHO.

Dr. RX, Here is the link: http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/ Prices are similar to 1st Subaru but that is where the similarity ends!

mattocs. Do it yourself and save the labor. I replaced all 4 struts on my 97 last summer, KYB GR2's (rockauto has them in the $70 range) and have been very satisfied. One tip is to cut the bracket for the brake line support so you don't have to open up the system, just one less hassle (bleeding and getting 10 year old fittings apart). Just cut the bracket on the old strut, fold one side up and remove the line, then do the same on the new strut. Also, when replacing rears (I would suggest doing all four corners), you don't need an alignment. OH and standard hand tools are all that are required although a torque wrench is handy. If you shoot me a PM with your email address I will send you the FSM pdf on strut replacement.

Please, do yourself a favor, before you order from these folks, shoot me a PM.

BigMattyD and edrach, Thanks for the replies. And thanks for the tip on the "grenade pin", I would be the one to put it so I couldn't get it out!

elmwood22, Thanks for the advice, sounds logical and roger on the compress slowly. In this application (97 Legacy L 2.2) it is mounted horizontally, so looks like the bench vise will work. Again thanks.

Attempting my first timing belt/water pump replacement and have a question regarding compressing the tensioner adjuster. All the literature I have (FSM, Haynes, Chilton) shows the compression being done with the adjuster in the vertical position, is it acceptable to compress it in a horizontal position (in a bench vise)? Oh it is the old style tensioner, tubular about six inches long. Thanks and I am certain this will be the first of many questions.

Hey if anyone is interested I actually figured it out. On the front of the brown connector along the lower edge is a turquoise colored bar. I removed this piece with the aid of a small jeweler’s screwdriver. It seems it is a locking mechanism for the pins. Once removed, I was able to seat the pins, reset the turquoise lock and all is well. Wires secure and I actually got the three wires in the right spot! YIPPEE.

Yesterday some nitwit cuts through a parking lot and clips the left front of my 97 Legacy L sedan, ripping off the bumper cover, left headlight assembly and the grill. I am trying to make the car driveable until the shop can get it in but when the headlight was ripped off, it pulled the wires out of the back of the connector for the turn signal/front marker. Now for the life of me I cannot get them back into the plug. If you look at the wiring diagram, the plug number is number F19, the connector itself is the brown one that then connects into the back of the gray plug that holds the bulb. There are three wires (I have figured out the placement) but again, I can figure out how to reset the wires into the plug. Anyone got any tips on how to get the wires back into the plug? Thanks.

Hey, you may want to give these guys a shout: http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/index.php they are located in CT (should be overnight to you with UPS ground) and give a 25% discount. Web site isn't as detailed as 1stsubaru, but very helpful on the phone.

Had a similar situation with my 97, went to a junkyard and for a couple of bucks, clipped the whole assembly (socket, boot and all) off a junker. Worked like a charm, soldered it in, used heat shrink tubing, it’s been two years and no problems.

Jeremy, Sorry 'bout that but reading the other thread brings up this question, is it gone because of money or is it down because the "Admin/owner went to Washington DC over the holidays......due back any day to unlock / reload / otherwise fix the site since it broke." Again curious as it was a great resource. Thanks.

ferret, Thanks for the update, far better than what I was thinking (the highjacked thing). I was bummed as it was/is a great resource, as is this group. Regards.

Anyone know what happened to the Forester forum? For the last few days my link for the forum comes up as http://pricebustershosting.com/suspended.page/ Did they get highjacked?

ron2368, I have used Bosal products on a few vehicles including a y-pipe back system on my '93 Legacy wagon. I found the price reasonable and the fit was perfect. NAPA does carry the line as well as other parts stores. You can get part numbers and a diagram of your specific system at: http://www.bosalnafta.com/usaindex.php just click on the "PRODUCTS" tab to screen left and then follow the prompts. Good luck and as Gnuman mentioned, with your rack boots, if they have allowed road grime into the inner tie rod joint, that should be cleaned/greased.

redroo, I have put Yokohama AVID Touring on two of my Subaru's (93 Legacy AWD wagon and 97 Legacy L sedan) and have been pleased. They wore well, performed just fine in the Maine weather and never, never lost any air. And then the added plus, they are affordable. Check them out. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+Touring&partnum=07SR5TOUR&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&place=2

http://www.obddiagnostics.com/ See response #2 to this thread.

friendly_jacek, Well your response did it, I Paypal'ed the purchase price last night. I can't wait and will update the forum on my experience. Yippee a new toy.

ferret, Thanks for the info and now I know why I kept that old Dell laptop, just have to let the wife know what she is buying me for Christmas.

Al_SemC, Curious if you have had any experience with this scan tool? Looks pretty thorough for the money but would like to get some feedback from an owner/user. Thanks.

grossgary, Looks as if you answered your own question, but just as added info, I bought a factory CD player off ebay, from a '03 Forester and installed it into a ’97 Legacy sedan. Entire process took about 20 minutes, as you said, “plug and play”.

pandaB, Gary was spot on, I had to twist the cover back and forth while pulling outward. I was just a bit, check that, a lot nervous about pulling that cap off. Just to easy your nerves, it came off and went on without a hitch. It doesn't have any tension on it like it is actively supporting the cam (so when you pull it off, things go twang and fly all over the place!). Oh, the torque specs on those bolts is 12 ft, lbs. and you will be replacing an o-ring on the cap. Again, I was nervous about pulling that cap, but it was a non event, no leaking oil, no parts flying around the garage. Go for it.

Subarob007, How about $29... http://www.subarupartsforyou.com/cp_partdetail.php?partid=909 or $31.16.. https://www.1stsubaruparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_27&products_id=452&osCsid=37ab281785af434d59660f8c8f42c154