johnceggleston

are you basing your conclusion of 'running crappy' on the movement of the gas gauge or on your MPG from gallons pruchased and miles driven. if you are using just the gauge, these guages are known for reading wrong (low). it could be mis leading you. if on the other hand you are actually dividing miles driven by gallons purchsed, it may take a a little while to show your actual mileage. how many miles are you driving it on your test drives, 5 - 10 or 100 - 150?? more miles will give you a better idea of what is actually happening.

how do you roll down the power window of a junker unless you haul in a battery?

read this on diagnosing piston slap. http://remanufactured-engines.com/page4.htm

i heard some one on tv say, the price of gasoline in this country will always be just below the the price that makes it economical to switch. in other words why would opec or the gas companies raise the price of gas so much to send us a packing to the conversion websites??? probably not until the supply dwindles.

i just picked up a 97 GT wagon with 145k, bad head gaskets, replaced trans in 05 at 130k (1750$ trans 575$ labor). a couple of burns in the passenger seat, power antena does not work, a crappy paint job, and there is a hum in the intake which gets louder when i unlatch the air cleaner. no rust. for a replacement engine, 96 L wagon 2.2L with 125K miles (with y pipe) or 97 outback 2,5L with 115K, (the car has 115k, i think the engine was replaced, may be less maybe more) with no known history other than it runs fine does not overheat. unknown t- belt, unknown gaskets. my plan is to keep the car and let my wife drive it. so i'm leaning towards the 2.2. but if she changes her mind, and i have to sell it i'll regret losing it. i might put steel wheels on it, she cuts a tire side wall about every other year, 4 in 10 years. i'll still have to buy the tires but not the expensive wheels. maybe i'll make the swap after she ruins them. what to do.? i have found a reason for a more powerful final drive on a more powerful engine. it makes for a peppier, quicker car, i think. the 97 GT wagon has the 4.44 final drive like all 95 - 99 2.5L legacys. but the it has 16" wheels with 205/55/16 tires. the circumfrence of these tires is within a 1/2 inch of the 195/70/14 on a legacy L with 2.2L engine. the 2.2L cars with auto trans all have the 4.11 final drive with 14" wheels. when they started offering the 2.5L engine, they went with the 4.44 final drive (more power). in the outbacks they used larger tires (less power). the GT has the 4.44 final drive, (more power), with the smaller tires. what tires and wheels are on the 97 LSi with the 2.5L engine.? it has to be something close to the 195/70/14 since only the outback has taller struts for more wheel clearence. i'd like to see a 2.5L engine with the 4.11 final drive, would it be sluggish, would it go faster, or would you even notice? wohoo, i got a new car.:banana:

i'm a bad member, i didn't read the entire thread, so if this is a repeat just skip it. didn't some one post a while back that the starter contacts were also used in a toyota or nissan and you could get them for 12$ at the auto parts store? i think i have a set. i'll look.

there is no chance the the splines are bad. there is a chance they are rusty and a bear to remove, you may need a puller from an auto parts loan-a-tool program. but you won't know until you get there. use lots of PB blaster, let it soak. keep it off the rotor. if the bearing isn't making noise now, it will not change as a result of the swap UNLESS, you remove axle nut with the car on the ground. putting weight on the hub/bearing assembly without the axle nut on is bad, bad, bad. you can break it loose with the tire on the ground but not very much. it's really safer to have some one pushing the brake pedal while removing the axle nut with the wheel off the ground. or air wrench. i recommend anti-seize for the splines so it's easier next time. it's very straight forward, except for the rust issue. be sure to mark the strut bolt as mentioned in the write up. if you had an extra roll pin (for the axle to trans connection ) that might save you some head ache but lots of people reuse the existing one so it's not necessary. make sure to use a 3/16" punch to remove it. too large will get stuck, too small will booger the pin. gyood luck.

to change the front diff you have to pull the trans, seperate the front diff, replace the front diff , install the trans. let's call it 5 - 6 hrs. labor @ $75 plus the front diff, if you can find one. to replace the trans, remove and install. call it 3-4 hrs. plu the trans. my guess is that the used trans is easier to find and install. where on earth would find a used front diff. now, if you had a used bad trans sitting around for parts, then i might consider just the diff. the work is not that hard, but....

major re-write edit: the gear that drives the speed sensor rotates with ring gear. this is after the gear reduction, 4.11:1. the speedometer doesn't care how fast the trans is turning, just how fast the ring gear is turning. assuming the ECU just counts the wheel rotations to get a mile, you'll be ok. this assume that the speedo drive gear on the 4.11 diff is the same as the drive gear on the 4.44 diff. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v204/All_talk/Subaru/4EAT/?action=view&current=Image019.jpg

final drive note: i think i read somewhere the the final drive in a FWD trans was 3.7. this must be for a manual trans since it's a pretty long way from the 2.2L - 4.11 or the 2.5L - 4.44 in other autos. i have also come the the conclusion the the final drive ratio, although different between the 2.2 and the 2.5 engines, it is really based on the wheel circumference. there is no logical reason why a more powerful 2.5L engine needs a more powerful final drive ratio. but in the early days, the cars that came with the 2.5L engine also came with larger wheels. larger wheels would be a reason for a more powerful final drive ratio. so you may lose some power and gain some economy with this swap. let us know if you notice any change.

TCU note: after i swapped the 96 trans into the 95 (it runs fine) i then swapped the TCU to see what difference that made. it was not happy. the TCUs are apparently programmed for the car, size and weight, and the shift characteristics, GT vs outback. so i'd stick with the one that came in the car unless it throws a code because of the FWD.

i put a 96 wagon 4eat AWD into a 95 sedan with no problems. i don't know the real difference between the model years, but the operational difference is none. i bet the reverse swap will work as well. i saw some cheap (250 -350) FWD trannys on car-part.com, how far is henderson auto in scottdale, pa, 3 @ $150 or staunton, va, $275 ords auto parts. good luck.

if you have a bad 2.2L trans sitting around , just swap the front diff. it shouln't take but a couple of hours once the trans is out and i would think you'd have have one considereing how many legacys you go thru. just a thought.

i've got used wheel sensors from a 96 leg wagon if you need them.

this is probably too little too late, but if you removed the clutch plates from the AWD transfer clutch, wouldn't that make it FWD. of course that doesn't do anything about swapping out a bad trans.

i saw a justy for sale on ebay recently, mid 80s i think, and the picture of the engine made it look like the engine was side ways. i've never seen one in person, but i was wondering if this was true? i've thought of buying one for around town, but i'd never sell my outback, so how many miles would i have to drive to save enough money to offset the cost of ownership, taxes, insurance and registration? probably not worth it.

click on the search tab at the top of this page and type in 'trannychart'. you'll find a link which will deliver a list of all manual transmissions, foreign and domestic with the gear ratios, final drive ratios and type of AWD center differential.

he has a 5 speed 2.5L, it's 4.11. 95 - 99 legacy final drive ratios auto trans 2.2L = 4.11 2.5L = 4.44 5 speed 2.2L = 3.9 2.5L = 4.11 i have always assumed that the reason they lowered gearing in the final drive in the when they used the 2.5L engine was because generally the cars were heavier and needed it. but now i wonder if the final drive ratio isn't more associated with the wheel / tire circumference. in 96 when they introduced the 2.5L engine with the 4.44 final drive, every car they put in had 15" wheels (i think) outback, GT, and LSi. why would a more powerful engine need a more powerful final drive ratio? i can see where a bigger wheel would need one. just a thought.

search trranychart.

fix the car, either do the head gaskets or swap in a 2.2L engine. drive it 100k and you'll make out ok. will you have other expenses down the road, sure, but they should come in 300-400 intervals for maintanence. the next big one will be timing belt at 200k. when the loans paid, re-evaluate. how many miles have you driven it, how much have invested, how much do you like it, how much can you get for it.?

it may not be the pan gasket. there is a sperator plate behind the flywheel that is notorious for leaking. thet come from the factory with plastic plates, the fix is a replacement metal one. but you have to pull the engine. make, model and miles??

i'm not 100% sure but, i'm pretty sure in the 1st & 2nd pictures with the big 'JH' on it is the Transmission Control Unit. is this what you are looking for?. http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3135/straightrz9.jpg

nipper, a great explanation. 1/4 inch difference, over approx. 700 revolutions in a mile (depends on the tire size) equals over 15 feet. now, how many miles will it take to cause damage? if you were buying a car, and the seller said there was just one little thing, "for every mile you drive, one tire will have to drag, unturning, across the pavement the last 15 feet". would you buy the car? obviously not the same, but the wear and tear takes place, just the same, if your tires do not match. it just happens to the internal parts.

someone comment recently that they could not get it to seat with the shaft in the trans. so they pulled it out, seated the shaft to the TC first and then installed the shaft into the trans. i'm not sure of the difference, but it worked for them. some one else said it wasn't to hard to do, once you knew to do it. but not knowing made you think it was seated when it was not. it can't be too hard, those of us doing it are not rocket scientists, well... i guess some are. good luck, Mr. W. Coyote Head of Marketing Acme Rockets

if you haven't towed a trailer before, you'll need to learn once you start. take it easy. tip #1... to back up, place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and push your hand the direction you want the trailer to go. don't think about it, just do it. 2. plan ahead, stop sooner, go slower, and make wider turns. think in advance about where you can park. especially at fast food places, parking is easier at off peak times. 3. your vehicle is now twice as long, it takes twice as long to cross over a lane of traffic so you can't dart out of a drive way any more. you'll need more time and distance. when passing it 's going to take a while to know when you can pull back into the right lane. 4. no sudden moves or steering corrections. so you have to keep your eyes on the road all the time. no more looking down to adjust the radio, if you look up and you are off course you can't just jerk it back on track. the weight of the trailer makes it act different. it could be dangerous. 5. no talking on the cell phone, reading directions, eating or alcohol. you don't need these distractions. since you'll be relaxing on vacation(?) pull over to make the call. i'm sure there are more. your situation may not be as sever as mine, my work trailer weighs 25% more than my truck, ford f-350. yours will weigh about half, but still, take it easy. my work trailer has brakes. i then pulled a 96 legacy wagon on a car dolly, i was very surprised. the load without brakes was about half of the big trailer but it didn't have brakes. my stopping distance was noticeable longer, i wasn't sure i was going to stop before i hit the car in front of me. get trailer brakes and have fun.