RallyKeith

Ok, I'm back to this thread and hear to report that Steve was dead on the money. BOTH of my Silverstar bulbs went out on me today. The first one in the morning, and the second one tonight. I was left in a bind because One went out on the way to work, the other when I started my car tonight to go home. I guess there is no reason they shouldn't last about the same amount of time, but I was suprised that they were so close. I only had them in for about a year. So, at this point I'm going back to cheap bulbs and installing a set of Hella FF50 Fog lights from http://www.rallylights.com I feel that will give me not only more light, but a better coverage of light than just the Silverstar bulbs. Keith

Yup, I discovered the recall after discovering the tow hooks on the front of my 95 had been cut off. Real Bummer if I ever slide backwards off the road in the the snow or something. My 96 still has them though. I just thought it might be worth a shot. Keith

There is something you might want to investigate. They had a recall for all 95 and 96 Legacy models refering to the airbags. http://www.internetautoguide.com/auto-recalls/67-int/1996/subaru/legacy/outback/index.html If your car didn't have this done you might be able to get the dealership to replace them for free. Don't know, but it's worth a try. Keith

I would also recommend the Silver Stars. They are a much nicer color and do seem to put more light out. I also have a friend that put them in a nissan pick-up and loved them. Really... I've had mine for a year now with no failures. Keith

Wow, you guys are Noobs Just kidding. I got a 59.13 after about my 12th try in the STi on Snow and Ice in Ken Blocks car. It's kind of funny hearing Ken Block say things like keep it on the road after having seen first hand how much he can destroy a car during a rally. Game is difficult, and it took me a few tries before reading the instructions to find out where the breaks were. With no breaks the best I did 1:06 something. Keith

I did mine in the car. It's a pain, especially when it comes to the torqueing procedure, but I was able to do it. I asked my local subaru dealership's service shop foreman and he said they do them in the car. Keith

There was also a problem pre 97 where there was no bearing in the output shaft casing. Eventually the case wears and the clutch pack and tail shaft assembly can move and it binds up against the case walls.

I think it has to do with dirt getting in between the little disks and binding everything up. I think the dirt actually kind of glues things together and you can't really clean it out. I'm honestly not sure though. Keith

I posted a picture part down in this thread. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41300 You can replace it with the trans in the car. You just have to drop the exhaust, the drive shaft and then lower the back end of the transmission down a little. That is done by supporting the trans (I did it with a big jack and a piece of 3/4" plywood, the same size as the trans pan, on the pan) and then removing the rear crossmember for the trans. Then let the jack down a little bit. Not too much or you could damage the motor mounts. You may also want to remove the pick stopper bar. That's the bar that goes from the engine the back wall of the engine compartment. I did this just replace the seal on the back housing. It was a bit of a pain, but I found it possible. Keith

Wait until it gets dark and then go out and start your car and move to the darkest place on your property. Turn off your headlights and open the hood. Rev the engine and look for little arcs. If you don't see anything get a squirt bottle of water of a hose and gently spray water around the ignition compenents until you see an arc or it starts to sputter when you rev it. Most likely is bad plug wires agrivated by the moisture of rain. Could also be grounds, but I've seen several cars that had your symptom with bad wires. Keith

See my post. Same thing. Subura seems to be silly that way. It's just their thing. I'm 90% certain that in 96 when they introduced the 2.5 in the Legacy you could only get it in an automatic as well.

Lots of Manuals out there in the '05 Leg GT. Subaru has historically been retarded in offering new engines with only automatics. The early 83-84 GL turbos only came in automatic. The SVX in automatic. The first impreza with AWD I think only came in automatic. They learned their lesson on that and with the intro of the WRX and now the Leg GT they offered them in both Also, the '05 Leg GT I drove with the auto and sport shift was ok. The gear shifts took about 1-2 seconds. I don't have anything to compare it to, but it is called a Sport Shift Automatic, and not a racing paddle shift manual. It is what I expected, and for occasional sporty driving I think it is fine. Cheers!

Don't know where in PA you are, but give Octagon Spares in Felton, PA. http://www.octagonauto.com/default.htm He does a lot with Subarus. The problem you are running into is that the diff is part of the transmission, and why subaru transmissions are often referered to as transaxles. Most Junkyards don't seperate the diffs from bad transes and only sell the trans as a whole. Octagon might have something. Keith

So, the motor in my wonderful 96 Leg GT decided it wanted to self destruct. I drove some 350 miles wednesday night in the pooring rain we got in the northeast. Stopped a mile away from home, filled it with gas, drove it home and parked it. Came out the next morning to start it, and it made a horrible noise like I had spun a bearing in the bottom end and shut it off immediately. Check the oil to find it about 2 quarts low (so it still had 2 quarts in the pan) Funny thing is that the oil had been checked 500 miles before the trip and it was full. Anyhow, Put oil in it and started it up. Engine was quieter, but was also stuttering like it had a misfire. I picked up another motor, but talking to the guy I got it from, he thought that a bad Rod Bearing would allow the piston to move far enough that it could hit and bend a valve. Anyone know if that is true? Thanks, Keith

FWIW Saturday November 19th is the Pine Barrons Express TSD down there. I've run it in the past and it's a blast. Get to drive on some of the more tame roads, and a lot of it is at night. http://www.scca-nnjr.org/NNJR_Rally/PBX2005%20Flyer.pdf Keith

So, can I tow my 88 RX with just the front wheels off the ground for about 15 miles? It has an open center diff so I'm thinking it should be ok? Thanks, Keith

No, both are DOHC. Also, I'm 99% certain that the SOHC intake manifold is different than the DOHC. I think in order to swap to a SOHC you need the intake as well. For now it's just one DOHC to a newer DOHC.

The motor in my 96 Legacy GT (EJ25D) sounds like it's got a rod bearing going bad. I've got a motor from a 98 RS, still an EJ25D, that I plan on putting in. I just plan on using the long block assembly from the 98 and bolting my 96's intake manifold onto it. Does anbody kow of any problems with that? Thanks, Keith

Hah! Answered my own question a long time ago. Pistons are different. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39228

Ok, I'm back on this because my motor seems to be meeting it's demise. Reading other posts about piston slap they say it started in 97, and it is caused by shortened piston skirts. Also, the 96 EJ25 is rated at 155hp, and the 97 is rated at 165hp. So, something isn't adding up. The motor I'm getting is a 98. If the heads on it are straight, I think I'll just be putting new head gaskets on it and putting the entire 98 engine in with my 96 intake manifold. Keith

#1. Have you been driving around with the windows open? In my STi the passanger side seatbelt will rattle around and make noise with the window open. The tech wasn't completely BSing you on that one. It's such a small car that there is very little room between the door and B pillar. #2. With the door open, try lightly hitting the door panel and listen for the noise. You should be able to pin point a location this way. Keith

The best thing to do is have someone press down hard on the brake pedal while you look for fluid. Brake fluid loss is not something to mess with. Something that is even a small leak could fail completely causing a loss of all braking.

Are there any differences in the block, crank, rods, or pistons from a 96 EJ25D to a 98 EJ25D? Or for that matter any reason I couldn't use it along with my 96 heads, intake, and what not in my 96 Legacy GT? Thanks, Keith

Along the same lines I feel I must share. My girlfriend has a Pontiac Vibe. (Yeah I know, you don't have to tell me) The person that does the service scheduling at the dealership told her that if the oil light comes on it needs an oil change and she should call for an appointment!! I immediately pulled out the owners manual and showed her that it really meant there was no oil pressure and that usually means no oil. Either way I told her if that light ever comes on to pull the car right off the road (no matter where she is) and shut it off. Just can't believe someone working at a dealership could be that stupid, but it was a GM dealer. Keith

What does this mean for Saabaru Owners? Guess all those who ran out and bought the 92X during the GM employee pricing thing are now going to be stuck with a 1 off car that Saab dealers won't really know how to work on. Way to screw over everyone GM!