johnceggleston

the 96 ej22 engine is a great , non-interference engine. if it has not been abused, it should be a good car. a good ''middle aged'' car. but any used car is going to need some work. an axle or two is not a big deal, and as mentioned, the racks rarely fail, so it may not be bad. if it is leaking i would replace it, but make sure it is the rack that is leaking, not engine oil leaking onto the rack. and since they do not fail often, buying a used one is a really safe bet. and much cheaper than new, only about $65. http://www.car-part.com sort by zip code. add a couple of new boots/ bellows before you install it and you are like new for less than $100. (you would have to drive on a long time with a torn boot / bellows to ruin it.) it sounds like a decent car. good luck.

pretty sure. items #12 & #13 go into the bracket. http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_7/engine/camshaft_and_timing_belt/illustration_2/

the tensioner bolts to a bracket that bolts to the block. iirc, the idler does too. just get a replacement bracket.

vac leak. while it is running, spray all around the engine and hoses with carb cleaner or starting fluid. double check the large hose that runs from the IAC to the under side of the plastic intake plenum.

what are the symptoms? no crank? cranks but no fire? fires but no start? starts but dies? runs like crap? idles like crap? any codes? more info please. or did i miss it?

what mark for the crank? where is the crank keyway? how do the marks look after you release the tensioner? how about after a couple of revolutions?

correct me if im wrong, the rubber and steel in a tire are not going to let the circumfrence change a lot . an under inflated tire can be smaller since the tire can flex in toward the center. but i do not think an over inflated tire is going to balloon up to a larger size. i'm sure there is some variation, but if you are looking to avoid buying 4 tires, this is what you have to work with. and it is better than not measuring anything. or buy 4 used tires all the same. or buy any two tires you want and mount one on the front and one on the rear. done.

the duty C is an electrical part that is designed to switch on and off multiple times each minute. will leaving it on all the time hurt it? possibly. but it all depends on the age and condition of the solenoid. you have mentioned 2 things that will cause torque bind, dirty trans fluid and mismatched tires. both of these are easier to fix than the duty c. and both are cheaper if you are paying for labor. tires need to be within 1/4 inch circumference, buy a 10 ft steel measuring tape and measure your tires. then you will have a target to shoot for. if you do find tires the right size, \you will need to keep an eye on the wear, so they stay within spec. rotate accordingly. or pull the drive shaft and drive FWD.

take a look at these links. make sure you are usuing thre correct marks. when the cam HASH marks are straight up in the 12 o'clock position, crank hash mark (on the rear flange / tab of the sprocket) is also in the 12 o'clock position. (the crank key way is straight down in the 6 o'clock position.) > TIMING BELT ARTICLES <____________________________ > Timing Belt Pictures < what year? model? engine? trans? miles? color?

ZIP TIES work for the re-install. that way you are not creating a rust point by exposing bare metal..

sorry, 95s will fit. it's just that there were no tall struts in 95, the 96 outback was the first.

the tensioner is expensive. they could have replaced everything else and not that to save the money. check the timing, if it is off, replace the tensioner. plus looks are deceiving. unless you KNOW when it was changed and what exactly was changed, you are at risk. but usually it is not the belt that fails. the toothed idler and the tensioner are the most common the failure points. and usually because they are not replaced when the belt is.

the KYB struts and your springs will work. 96 - 99 the springs are the same. newer springs would be newer, of course, and a little stiffer, and that ''could'' hold your car a little higher than old weaker springs. i reused my existing springs. used is a crap shoot. i did it , but i was buying several parts and and i got them really cheap. but now several years later, my GT is pretty bouncy. but it will let you see if you like it before you spend $300 on parts. none of the other parts NEED to be changed on the rear. the taller strut will push the rear tire closer to the wheel well , towards the fron. but there will still be plenty of clearance. i have heard, and i am not real clear on this so i may be wrong, that the forester rear struts are not quite as tall as the outbacks. the labor is not hard, easy to do, and easy to redo if you don't like your springs. but you will need to get the alignment done afterwards so keep that in mind. the alignment specs do not change.

as mentioned, the outback struts will lift it about 2 inches. and that is going to be the easiest and cheapest lift. for the price of 4 new KYB struts, ~$300 shipped i think, you get both lift and suspension. i did this to my 97 GT wagon, and my 00 lego wagon. once you are used to climbing out of an outback, climbing out of a lego is a pain, especially if you are over a certain age. the extra height would also allow you to install outback size tires, 205/70/15. these would give you almost another inch. but they would throw off your speedo.

with a busted front axle and an open front diff the front wheels are going to be free wheeling. think of it in reverse, a rear axle is busted. no mater how locked the center is, the good rear axle will have no torque, no torque means no binding. i don't know and have zero experience, but if the front and rear diffs are open, the binding must be caused by the average number of turns front vs. rear. in effect, the rear drive shaft vs. the front pinion shaft. seems logical.

with a busted axle it probably will not bind. no power to the front, so no binding. right?

if done right, yes if you have an auto trans, no if you have a manual trans. you need to leave the axle stub in the knuckle housing or you will destroy the wheel bearing. did the shaft snap,? or did it come apart at the CV joint? if it the shaft snapped, you can cut a piece of pipe the right size and slide it over the broken shaft. tape one end to the shaft. now you have a splint on it and it will not flop around and beat up your car. good luck.

i never knew the manual allowed towing with the fuse in, wheels down. but i have not read all the manuals either. and towing short distances, 2 mi. to the shop, well almost anything is possible. but i sure would not do it long distances or at high speed. and i'm pretty sure by 97 they changed the recommendations, but again, i have not read the manual cover to cover. i would be willing to bet that no dealer service department would suggest towing with the fuse in and wheels down. fyi, the fuse completes a circuit to ground. it grounds out a pin on the TCU. this energizes the duty c all the time. which dumps any fluid pressure . no pressure, no connection to the rear. (just like with the engine off.) i'm not sure what difference having the circuit complete makes when the engine is off. but this assumes there are no movement inside the auto trans when the engine is off. i guess there could be parts turning inside the trans if the front wheels are turning. but would the oil pump turn? would fluid move? idk, i'm not really familiar with the inner workings of the auto trans.

check the timing. misfires and low compression on 2 & 4 (same head / cam) could mean the timing is off. pull the driver side cam timing cover and pop the access plug on the passenger side , and rotate the engine by hand until the timing marks are at 12 oclock. if left and right sides do not line up, your timing is off. plus, compression should higher and equal. but lower numbers could be due to an improper test. it should be done with engine warm, all plugs removed, and WOT (wide open throttle). but if one side is lower than the other, this is probably timing .

a couple of thoughts, when the engine is not running there is no fluid pressure on the transfer clutch, therefore no power / connection to the rear wheels. so regardless if the circuit is completed with the key in ACC position, the fuse does not improve anything unless the engine is running. this means, with the engine off, you can jack up one rear wheel and spin the wheel freely, (90 - 04) so the fuse is useless unless the engine is running. also if the engine is not running there is NO AT fluid to lube the bearings in the transfer clutch / extension housing. so fuse in, engine off, creates a situation where you could damage the trans. this is why you CANNOT tow an auto trans car with the fuse in , engine off, and front wheels up, rear wheels down. and lastly, about the improved gas mileage with the fuse in, if in fact you could get 7 mpg improvement with the fuse in, subaru would be advertising this through every possible media outlet all over the world. did the push button 4wd GL / DL cars of the 80s get much better gas mileage when in 2wd?

phase 2 trans are ''new and improved'', and they have more speed sensors and an external spin on filter. the phase 1 auto trans was used in the 90 - 98 cars, both ej22 and ej25 engines. the phase 2 trans was introduced in 99. 99 was a transition year so there may have been some phase 1 that year as well. the final drive ratios can manipulate the fuel economy, and power output. in 96 when they introduce the ej25 engine, they also introduced a lower final drive ratio for the auto trans, 4.44, and larger tires on the outback, 205/70/15. but with all of these changes the fuel economy did not change very much. why do you want to know? are you going to buy a car based on the auto trans it has?

TIP #1: buy a car with the ej22, 2.2L engine, preferably 90 - 96, (non-interference). these engines will not die unless you run them out of oil. they are easy to work on and are very forgiving. there is a following of subaru owners who prefer the 90 - 94 cars siting more ''frills'' than in the 95 - 99 years. TIP #2: buy from some one you know or some one recommended by some one you know. i saw an ad recently for a 95 or a 96 legacy sedan. it looked pristine, low mileage, for $4000. being sold by a very knowledgeable and very frequent contributor to the outback forum, iirc. pricey for the year, but need nothing.

bstep, back up and tell us what you own, 99 forester? and what is wrong. you are much more likely to get a good solution that way, than if you ask specific questions without any background info. plus, look for used parts here, www.car-part.com sort by zip code.

two questions about the 95 - 96 ej22: 1/ if you remove the rocker assembly off of the right side head, can it be swapped on to the left side head as is without reassembly?? or are they specific to one side? 2/ what happens if you bolt ej18 (95) heads onto an ej22 block (96)? compression change? power loss? EGR may be a slight issue, but there is always the work around. i have both sets of heads, 22s and 18s, but the ej18s are dual port. i'm just wondering how big a mistake it would be. thanks, je

not bad. probably more than a reseal, HG and timing belt job, but when you are paying for labor it gets expensive fast.