RallyKeith

It's far from an antique. I love dealers sometimes. Find an independant garage that does AC work. In most states by law they have to first check your system for leaks and that costs some money, but if they don't find a leak they can top off your system with R12. Keith

It gets confusing with what people really mean by engaged. Do you mean the clutch disk is engaged to the flywheel (pedal up, driving down the road), or when you depress the clutch pedal? Also, is there sloppiness in the shifter? I have a sloppy shifter and when it leans in certain directions is makes a whiring noise. Moving it to a more neutral like position stops the noise. Thanks, Keith

Really? A Dime a dozen???? We need a 1.8 right now. How much do they seriously go for, and what yards? Most of what I've found is higher mileage. Keith

Your trans has the mesh screen filter that mounts inside the transmission. The newer models have an external thread on filter that I do believe is only found at the dealer. As for fluid stuff, Stick with whatever the owners manual says for weights and types. Diffs should have no issues with using synthetic, but I'd stick to regular ATF for the trans itself. Keith

I seem to think I saw that concept picture a year or more ago. If you look at the picture, the new 06 Impreza already looks alot like that. If they came out with ANY form of a real hatchback though, it would just be so awesome. I love my 85 hatch, still miss it.

No, it was of use. I really think I'm going to let the sleeping dog lay. I have records that show the oil was changed every 3k since about 40k. I agree that if I was going to do it, I better do it and re-ringing would also make sense. I think since I've got a lot of time into this thing from the trans already, I'll just do the gasket job and leave it alone. Car runs really amazing strong, so I have no reason to believe there are any issues. Maybe I'll just install an oil pressure gauge to keep my sanity in check. Keith

So, I'm doing the head gaskets this weekend on my 96 GT with a DOHC EJ25. Since I'm tearing the motor about 75% apart and it has 182K miles on it, I'm thinking I should tear it completely apart and replace the Main and Rod bearings. Am I insane? I know the car was pretty well maintained before I bought it, but I'm thinking $200 now is a lot cheaper than a new motor or re-tear down in the future. Thoughts? Keith

Well, got home today and looked at the coolant resivoir and it looked like there was oil in the antifreeze. Guess at this point I won't waste anymore time and just start tearing apart the engine. Keith

Ah, so that should be SOHC. So the odds are less in your favor that it would be a head gasket issue. Keith

Hate to ask, but what year/engine is it. Is it a DOHC 2.5? Keith

Um nope. Here. I took that pic and highlighted it. It's all in the back section. Keith

Not that I can tell, but if the leak is solely between the cyliner and the waterjacket I wouldn't expect much if any. Keith

Intersting... I hadn't thought of that. I'll stop and pick up a cap tonight and give it a try. The entire radiator is in sad shape, so this could be a posibility. I might have gotten a bit of dirt stuck where the cap seals or something as well. I guess I'll give that a quick try. Keith

Oh man, it doesn't get any easier than this for the website address: http://www.subaruparts.com It is a subaru dealer on the west coast. You can directly enter in the subar part number and get their price. Keith

Yeah, should! With the number of times I've gone in and asked about a TSB that my dealer never heard of, I think I'll ask for the specific part number. Keith

Nope, that was done as well. I'm extremely confident that I don't have a problem with the cooling system and in fact have a head gasket issue. How is this for even more proof. The overflow resevoir had gone from being on the full line (which is only about 1/4 full) to about 3/4 full along with bubbles. I'd say that's even more proof that there is a head gasket leak that is putting air into the system. Keith

Huh The only Major difference between the EJ18 and the EJ22 is the displacement. Looking at the two motors side by side you can't really tell any difference without looking at the EJ identifier cast on the block. You can swap heads and manifolds between the two easily. Both are 16v motors and everything. As for what years, the OBS only came along in 95. From what I can gather on Impreza WAGONS it goes like this: 93-94 only came with the 1.8 95 L and OBS came with 1.8, LX came with 2.2 96-01 They all came with the 2.2 Keith

Thanks for the advise.... but it's all already been done. Both fans works, and the system was bled (slight incline and used the bleeder screw on the radiator). I had flushed the cooling system when I got the car and there was an issue where by the system was almost half a gallon low after a 1/2 - 3/4 mile test drive which at the end of the temp gauge had moved almost completely to the top. I think I may have made the problem more than anything, but I've had other cars that wouldn't have blown a head gasket from what I did. So, based on how fast the temp goes back down (almost instantly) and the bubbles in the tank I'm just going to accept my fate and do the head gaskets. Keith

Well long story short, I don't know if they went bad on their own or if I helped the situation, but I appear to have a blown head gasket in this 96 2.5 DOHC legacy I just got. As soon as I come to a stop for something like a traffic light the temp gauge starts climbing. As soon as I pull out the temp gauge goes right back down to normal. Sitting at idle I poped open the coolant resevoir and saw bubbles coming up. Sounds to me like it's head gasket time. Question is, can I do that with the motor in the car? Also, if I just go into the dealership and get gasket, will they be the latest and greatest gaskets that won't just fail again? Keith

Duty solinoid C is also located in section 5 as you have refered to it. Picture showing section 5 and the clutch pack are in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=41148 The piece on the left is the rear case extension. The small gray thing is the C duty solinoid, and the clutch pack is the big brown looking thing.

FWIW, When I was dealing with the automatic transmission on my 96 Legacy I needed to figure out what the last two letters of the trans code meant. I just asked the parts guy at my local subaru dealership, who has worke there for probably 20 years, and he told me the last two meant nothing. I asked on the board here and got nothing. The thread is HERE Keith

All Talk: thanks for the pic, but I already had one of these apart and saw everything myself. Playing with the clutch pack I could see that with no pressure it was "open" and would require pressure to lock-up. However, It does seem that I had the duty solenoid's operation backwards. But, for the record, can we agree that if putting the FWD fuse in stops your torque bind that the problem is not the Duty Solenoid?

Since I'm now trying to absorb as much info on the automatics I've been reading all the threads on Torque Bind and people who think they have it. My question is this: How does the clutch pack for the center diff work as far a fluid/pressure presence vs lock up? I assumed that the clutch pack is locked until fluid/pressure is presented. This would explain how the FWD fuse works and why you can't tow with two wheels on the ground. Putting in the fuse would send a full signal to the duty solinoid allowing full fluid/pressure to the clutch pack and thus un-locking the diff. So my beef is this, if you have a car that is exhibiting torque bind, and putting in the FWD fuse gets rid of it, then how can the problem be the duty solinoid? By putting in the fuse and having it go away, that to me means the solinoid is working. This however then raises the question that if putting in the FWD fuse and applying full signal to the duty solinoid does infact open the diff, then to me the problem is not with the diff itself or the duty solinoid, but something else or maybe even the TCU that is supposed to be telling the diff to open. Thoughts? Am I way off on how I think the diff works? Please help me (and the rest of us) Learn! Keith

Well, I used the cork gasket and I must have over tightened it. It leaks a bit out the back, and every time I look at it the bolts seem to be lose. Since it turns out the rear drive shaft seal leaks also, I think I'm just going to drop the pan and use silicon and maybe even a little blue loctite on the bolts. Keith

Yes. any Legacy wheel will bolt on, and any Impreza wheel excluding the '05 STi will swap. SVX and 05' STi wheels are different. Keith