pzookey

A couple of 97 Outbacks Daughters 97 and the 98 parts car that donated its transmission and later its engine. 98's leather seats are in the garage waiting to go in my 97.

Its been a couple weeks and the shifter is still nice and tight. Easy to shift and no guess work trying to find the right gear. Shifter stays right where you put it. Easy enough to replace everything. Should have done it a long time ago.

Thanks again Fairtax and everyone else. The linkage came out easily. A roll pin punch made quick work of it. I took the extra 10 minutes and pulled the support for the trans mount. Gave me a straight shot to the roll pin. I found going back together to be more off a pain than coming apart. but then My big hands don't like fitting in those small places.

I love the way the shifter stays in place now instead of flopping around....lol

I used to work where the AC compressors are made. It is a Toyota Denso joint venture and has been for quite a few years. They have some issues.

Rebuilt the shifter linkage today. This is the shortest throw shifter I have ever driven and I had a short throw Hurst shifter in a Beetle I owned many years ago. All the bushings from Subaru were Urethane and fit perfectly. The new large bushing I got from Amazon and was a perfect fit. I did have one issue. I went to test drive and my hand hit the dash going into first. The shifter had spun around when I was underneath and I bolted it back in that way. Pulled the bolt spun the shifter and back to working. The return spring was there and in good shape so it got re-used.

Well the post office apparently had a delay in their shipping. The parts were supposed to be delivered yesterday but according to the tracking number they are still in Atlanta. That pushes the work back to next week.

Kudos to subarupartsandaccessories.com. When I ordered the parts online from the diagram it showed the bushings as separate pieces from the joint. I ordered them that way. Yesterday I received an email informing me that the joint came with the bushings already installed and asking if I wanted to cancel and get a refund for the two bushings that I wouldn't need. Today I got the refund and the tracking number for the rest of the parts. Most places would have not said a word and just shipped ​what was ordered. I appreciate the time taken and I saved $23 int he process.

Lucked out with info from the outback forum. I have ordered a urethane bushing from Amazon that someone else used in a 97 outback. At $23 it was half the price of the original. It should get here at the same time as the rest of the parts. I forgot to order the return spring but I am hoping my new local dealer has one in stock or can get it before next weekend.

Ok, just got in the house from an oil change and new pressure sender on my Dodge and checking out the shifter on the Outback. I found just about every bushing is worn out. I am glad I ordered just about every bushing. I may have to get a spring and I am trying to locate the right big bushing aftermarket as Subaru want $46 just for it. I may drop the cross member to make it easier to get to everything. Fairtax4me, thanks for mentioning the #21 bushing. It has quite a bit of vertical slop in it. Good thing is that it does not look very rusty anywhere.

I found the #17 on a Subaru parts page but at 46 buck for one bushing I think I am going with an aftermarket urathane one provided I can find the right one.

And yes fairtax I did order the #21 bushing. There was no part number listed for 17 but I may have found a urathane replacement. Just have to confirm it.

Just ordered the parts from a Subaru dealer in CT as they were a lot cheaper than the locals. Next weekend should be a good time to work on it.

I have a brand new local dealer.. I usually order from one closer to Atlanta but I was a little annoyed when they charged me for shipping twice but everything was shipped in one USPS flat Rate box.

Thanks for the big picture. I had found it on the Subaru parts site but the picture was small and hard to read the part numbers. It sounds like you have run into this before.... I have a set of roll pin punches and a gallon of PB so that part is good. Time to get the parts located and ordered, A subaru dealer up north had the $60 joint on sale for 46 bucks. I will be pricing and ordering tomorrow. Thanks again.

97 Outback wagon with the 5 speed. Shifter has been loose the whole time I have had it but on the way home form work today I had trouble getting into anything other than third or fourth. Interesting when trying to pull off from a stop light at a Highway entrance ramp. I assume it is just to worn to mess with so here is the question. Does anyone know the part number for the shift linkage and is it still available from Subaru? If not where can one be found? I have a back up vehicle in my old 86 Dodge truck so I am not in a rush but the roo does better in the fuel department so if I can get it and back in by next week it would be great. TIA for any answers.

She has had the car for 4 years now. The deal was it would be hers when she graduated. I did not expect to have to put the work into it that I did nor did I expect to have to replace the trans 3 times due to 2 bad ones from the auto wreckers. Now it is hers. It is time for her to start maintaining it.

Well it did get up to 37 just as I finished. She also got a fresh oil change as I had no idea how old the oil was in the engine. It also has MLS head gaskets already in it so someone had the honor of doing that some time in the past. I am happy I did not sell the engine as the car it came out of was acquired for the automatic transmission and the running engine was just a bonus.

Engine is in and running now. I had to do a little vacuum replumbing and the knock sensor on the replacement engine failed causing some crappy running. Pulled the sensor off the old engine and it is running great now. It sure is fun working in 30 degree temps. Inside warning up now waiting for my daughter to come over and get her car out of my driveway....lol. As she graduated college just before Christmas we signed the title over to her as her graduation gift.

I worked for a Toyota Denso joint venture and we made a specific part for quite a few brands. 5 different models of the part for Ford alone. Subaru and Chrysler were easy, they used the same type for most of their vehicles.

Still below 20 degrees outside. Waiting for it to warm up a little and the sun to hit the driveway. Then back to work getting the engine in and running.

Top bell housing bolts are in. Fixed the coolant leak in my 97 Outback. Sun is out and things are drying out so I am hoping to get her outback finished tomorrow. Still cold out but if it is at least dry I can get it done.

Very light snow outside and a soaking wet driveway. Hoping it warms up and dries a little so I can finish getting the engine back in tomorrow.

No further progress last week due to the rain. Hoping the 2 - 4" of snow misses us here in GA so I can get the damn thing back together this weekend.

The permatex is good stuff. There are different grade for different uses. One place I worked at we used a nickel based Permatex antisieze instead of the basic copper based. It was much better working in the high heat environment of an Aluminum remelt furnace.