montana tom

Steve; Hate to tell you this but, under that trans pan are plastic capped solenoids. They are RIGHT under the pan. You can break them using a floor jack in the wrong place. You are going to have to drop the pan and inspect... no avoiding it, short of paying a shop to do it. If you find broken solenoids , hit up a wrecking yard for replacements. Rear suspension, could be trailing arms, could be strut, could be lower control arm got bent . Your just going to have to get in and compare to the other side.

Hi All; Been searching for a scanner to read ABS / SRS codes on 2000-2004 outbacks. The Snapon scanner of course works just fine. I no longer run a full repair shop and I only work on Subarus now , so a $3000 scanner for all makes is not needed. Talking to a local body shop, the mechanic showed me a vehicle specific scanner (never heard of one) icarsoft makes them for many different rigs. His was for Mercedes Benz . He had a transmission issue and his regular scanner would not access the trans system. The icarsoft had no problem getting in and finding his problem! He loves it, couldn't recommend it enough ! Best money they spent ! I rushed home, looked on line and sure enough there was an icarsoft Subaru / Asian specific scanner! Hot Dog ! $250 from the manufacturer or $150 from an authorized re-seller. Ordered it right then. Spend your money elsewhere it does not access the ABS OR SRS ... at least on 2000-2004 outbacks. May work on the newer ones but i'm not restoring them. They claim outstanding tech help... obviously they must never of needed help because they sure don't have outstanding tech help. I emailed 3 times before I got a response ....the next day! They have not responded at all to any of the following emails. I'm returning it Monday and next i'm trying the Autel maxlink 629 recommended here. I emailed Autel tech help, they responded within 2 hrs. They say it will do what I want... We will see.

Foreign engines, lynwood, WA , Coer D ' Alene ,ID. imports transmisions . They ship. 800-552-1595

Lets hope for low oil in the front diff.Or a wheel bearing. Rear diff is less bolts, but where deadeye lives is rust country. Changing out the tranny could be easy compared to breaking free large rusty bolts , robot tightened 22 years ago... Here's an idea !!! Installing a teenage sound system could drown out the other noises. Sadly your adult brain might implode or something listening to ear drum rattling bass. OR MAYBE that bass will loosen those diff bolts...

Vibration, pull the heat shield and inspect the drive line. I predict u joints Howlly growlly sounds like rear wheel bearings. My 94 was making a similar noise... I didn't even notice. We took some friends out to dinner and they rode in the back seat... we hadn't gone a mile before they pointed it out ... Bearing wasn't loose , didn't have a lack of grease, water had made it in and it sat long enough to rough up the race! Would have driven thousands of miles yet. After changing it out it was amazing how quiet it was... Did the other side the next week just because...

You don't have to do the job for years if you can keep the oil and coolant topped off. Soon though you will start to smell anti freeze as it drips on the exhaust... same with oil stinky but nothing you can't live with. Your car has 83,000 it can easily make 100,000 before you tire of the smell. Should it be fixed ? Yes, but with this engine its not critical to do instantly. Plan it out ,save the $ then fix it.

Johnny; Really cool car you have there!

While you are there. Change the waterpump bypass hose, and the iac water lines to the throttle body as well.

I believe those were "shrink tubing " to begin with ... the trim pieces above the door were.

Check out this scanner. Might just be what we needed for subi's , at a price a small timer can afford. https://www.icarsoft.com/Product/s-343-iCarsoft_HNM_II.html EDIT) I'll have one next week , Ill give it a spin and then give it a review.

That switch is installed for the Europe market but they install on them all. Apparently on tiny cobblestone streets , you pull as far to the side as you can... flip the switch on the column , flip on your turn signal so only the light,s that protrudes into said tiny street will illuminate. This helps keep your car from getting crashed... Europe... their different...

Known as the Subaru virgin switch. You hit it by accident. Top of steering column behind steering wheel is a toggle switch . If you look at yours now it will show a red line , Flip it the other way and your running lights will go off.

OK pitch is 1.5 , length is 2 7/8" or 73 mm from seat to bottom of bolt . The bolt I located was from a 2000 2.5 , it threaded in to a 2.2 crank no problems. Should be the same but maybe they used a slightly longer bolt on the 2.5 . If so will be easy wrecking yard part.

When I get out to the shop later, I'll put a pitch gauge on one and let you know. I'm guessing 1.25 but we will see. You will have to find a bolt specialty shop to located that long a bolt IF you can even find one.

If it were me, heck with working underneath, I would rent a cherry picker and with hand tools in 1.5 hrs or less that engine would be hanging and if all it needs is a clutch , 30 minutes later your reinstalling.

Larry ; I don't think that trick would work and I'm not convinced that you need a clutch...Of course you won't know till the disk is in hand. I'm wondering what they did to that transmission? I'm thinking they may have broke the shaft inside. Your friend might be needing a transmission not a clutch (lets hope not) Besides to pull back the trans that far you will have disconnected the drive line and the mounting bracket. About the only things left are some wires and the c/v axles . Why bust your knuckles... just finish the job and bring that tranny to the ground .

ball joint pickle forks get bent out over time. I have had luck sliding a piece of slotted metal under the fork to make it tighter.

I can tell you that a scanner that will read Subaru ABS starts at around $2500 !!!!! I'm sure that SRS is the same scanner. For some reason subi holds tight to that info. Only top of the line scanners can get access. I haven't heard of Scanmaster but its worth looking into.

You can make a tool to pull the ball joint from the knuckle , cheap cheap. few pipe fittings some threaded rod a lug nut a tack of welding and your good to go! Look on YouTube for subaru ball joint tool. It Works . They do sell this tool thru amazon but its like $80 +

Replace the MAF with a known original good one. Do not buy a knockoff. Cleaning rarely works. Borrow a buddy's or hit up a wrecking yard . Replace the pcv with original equipment. Recheck for cracked (but look good vacuum lines) Is the starting issue fixed with bat & alt. ? Is this car OBD 2 ready ? If so any codes? 96 with a 2.2 is one of the most reliable old subi's out there. As long as the body is good then don't give up on her.

Did that stuff at least feel like a lubricant ? Cause it sure looks like paint!

If you love your car and want to keep it.... Jump on this

Very good deal there for you guys in the rust belt

Good Luck, HEAT HEAT HEAT If it snaps anyway then pull the whole knuckle to drill on it ... much easier

Or you can contact SSI in Portland and let them fix it for you. If you want the best Subaru shop in town to work on it.