johnceggleston

the boots can be a little hard to get onto the end of the rack when the rack is on the car. buy a little lube will help with that. and the lock nut on the tie rod at the tie rod end can be hard to loosen if it has not moved in 15 years. but the real hard part is to put it back together so you do not need an alignment. if you do one side at a time and count the number of turns to remove the tie rod end, (and write it down) mark the tie rod so the same side is up when you finish, and reassemble the tie rod end the same number of turns, then you have a really good chance to get it right. that's how i did it.

do a search for ''Trans-X'' posted by rooster2 i think. there are over 100 replies on this thread. there is a known ''slow to engage '' issue with the 99 - 00 auto trans. you can eliminate it, or at least minimize it enough to avoid a rebuild or replacement, by replacing the old ATF with new and including a 1 qt. bottle of Trans-X. ($8) it may not help the 4-3 issue, but it should help the other. do the search, read up.

my initial reaction was to vacuum it out, put on new head gaskets and go. if the cylinder walls are not rusted the rings are probably not. it looks like the fire ring on the gaskets is the issue. but maybe pulling one piston to check the rings would not be a bad idea. although i don't know exactly how to do that. and i think it might be a lot of work. but if you are going to have to split the case, i wouldn't bother, just find a different engine or block.

i would start with the electrical connections, battery and alternator. maybe a ground wire. a low idle will not cause the lights to flicker, if the battery is good. but any of the three above can cause engine running issues. but my guess would be alternator. check the battery connections for clean and tight. check the alt connection. get a local parts store to check you system. it wouldn't hurt to look for a vac leak, that is the most common cause of an idle issue. but i don't think that would cause the lights to flicker. good luck.

please, please, please, read up on seating the torque converter before you install the new trans.

it is way easier if you remove the intake manifold first.

good work.

i think if you just unplug the connectors to the ''brain'' under the dash, the sysytem is disconnected and will not interfere with the operation of you car. (except for maybe your door locks.) but i agree wit cougar, it sounds like you have an intermittent power problem. every time the system loses power it thinks you are trying to steal the car. and when it gets power back, it triggers the ''alarm''. it either interrupts the ignition if you have the ''alarm part'', or it simply triggers the flashing parking lights if you only have the remote entry part. look for the brain under the dash. it is a black box about the size of a thin paper back book. it should have one oe two wire connections (white) on the side. follow the wiring back from the ''push button''. btw, if you have the push button, you most likely have a subaru alarm system.

parts yards usually charge $150, some a little more ans some a little less. but they have shipping accounts with the trucking company. walk-ins with no account will charge more, maybe $250. if you know some you who has an account you can save some money.

i wouldn't buy any special tools for installing seals. just find something that is flat and square and tap the seal into place. the cam and crank seals are not very hard to do. the large rear main seal is a b1tch. it is a large diameter and it is very hard to keep it square to the shaft. but i don't ever change them unless they are really leaking. they usually do not leak. so i don't change them. the common leak on the rear of the block is the oil separator plate , not the rear main. it is not unusual for a rear main seal to last the life of the car, 300k miles or more. you can't say the same for the other seals.

no problem, glad to help.

what timing marks did you use? NOT the ARROWS, NEVER the ARROWS. > TIMING BELT ARTICLES <____________________________ > Timing Belt Pictures <

your issue is probably air flow related. maf or just an air leak. the parts you need, what ever they are should be cheap and easy to get. once you get it back to stock you should be on your way. have you had tyhe codes read? this might tell you where to look.

glad you got it running. how long do you think the other 2 idlers are going to last? no valve damage? that is really lucky. timing belt issues usually cause bent valves. good luck.

check the trans fluid level with the engine off, just to see if you are in the ball park. i lost a rear seal in my trans once. paid a guy to replace it, and by the end of the day i had no reverse. i went back to the shop and asked the guy how much ATF did you add, he said none. i know i saw at least a qt. on the ground when the seal failed. the dip stick can be hard to read. so it would not be unusual if the trans got drained by accident, and no or the wrong amount of fluid was added. also check your engine oil. if they screwed up the ATF by accident, what else might have been screwed up. the flashinf AT Temp light means there is a trans code. you can read those by grounding out a pin on the black 6 pin diagnostic connector under the dash. do a search for it.

absolutely. look for the casting in the block to see for sure. but i doubt / hope a JDM seller would not make that mistake, assuming it came from an importer. definitely is a 90 - 95 block = dual port exhaust heads. no EGR = not required in the JDM if obd 1 vs. 2 is an issue just buy a 95 ej22 intake manifold. if you get one with EGR, you will avoid any possibility of an EGR CEL.

i had something similar in my 00 lego L when i swapped it out due to a bad rod bearing. i assumed it was due to the coolant conditioner, additive. but since the engine was coming out i didn't worry about it. you might pull the t-stat and see if there is any gunk there. that's where i found mine.

also, one fan runs any time the ac is on or is supposed to.

the best solution, in my opinion, is to pull your hub assembly and take it to a shop or a ma chine shop, and have them press the bearing in. i did this last summer and the bearing and the labor to press it in was right at $100. i think i got the bearing at wholesale cost since i bought it from the shop who pressed it. (fisher auto parts or federated ) a complete assembly, (housing, bearing, hub, lug studs?, ball joint? ) if they sell them, is probably going to be expensive. another solution is to buy a used one from http://www.car-part.com . ($35 ?) look in a southern state that does not have snow or rust and look for a cheap one. have it shipped to your door. swap it in for your bad one and save the bad one. (i've done this too.) if / when the new / used one goes bad, have a bearing installed in the old one and install it. (less down time.)

when the belt is off, spin the idlers and see if they all sound the same, are they all tight and quiet? this will give you an idea of how soon you need to replace them. loose and noisy is not good. when i pulled my 00 ej25 a part (bad rod bearing) there was a collection of crap at the t-stat. it looked just like a ''dust bunny'' but of course it was wet. i assume it was stuff left over from some off-brand kind of stop leak / conditioner. rather than just adding more to the system, i would remove the t-stat to make sure it is clean, re-install it and refill the system, (filter the old coolant and reuse if, you are careful) and then add the subaru conditioner, 2 bottles. you probably do not have this situation, but it can't hurt to check. did you pull the t-stat when you replaced the coolant last time? i don't know what caused the ''stuff' that was sitting on my t-stat, but it did not look healthy for an engine. i wonder if it contributed to the bearing failure?

the alarms in the 00 - 04 years are ALWAYS on unless you put it in valet mode. only then can you open the door with a key and no alarm sound. you can silence the alarm sound by turning the key on and off 3 times quickly, on the fourth ''on'' the car will start. but it will still sound the alarm the next time you use the key to open the door. the fob will cure all ills, and you NEED it to go into valet mode and programming mode. Subaru Keyless Entry, Security Alarm, Immobilizer Key, Remote Start Systems. Most years and models

yeah, wrong engine. it may run if you swap in your intake manifold, cam & crank sprockets. but i don't KNOW any one who has done it so it may not. i don't really think the ECU is going to care about the number of cams, but if any of the sensors are different, (cam, crank, temp, TPS, IAC ?????) and they probably are, it could create wiring issues trying to get it to work. other options at this point , use the block and bolt on your heads, intake, and sprockets. sell this engine and buy the right one.

my 97 GT does this occasionally. at one point i put a rubber band on the ''locking mechanism'' under the center console. but mine is intermittent. i think it happened when the clock spring failed, but i'm not sure. someone suggested a bad ground????? maybe. the switch on the brake pedal sounds like a good place to start. i was just about to replace the solenoid, under the center console, when it started working again. (you might vacuum out the trash in there.) so it just live with the occasional head ache. no real solution. i have even considered drilling a hole in the shifter trim to make it easier to ''relaese''.

this would suggest a coil or igniter issue. timing would / could cause misfires on the same side, 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. since he bought the coil , install it. but if that does not fix it it could still be the igniter. it feeds the coil in the same way the coil fires the plugs, front vs. rear.

you can get a knock sensor from ebay shipped for less than $20. fyi: the cheapest ones may be shipped from china which MAY take an extra day or two. i have used one or two of these with no issues. in my opinion, the oil pan gaskets do not leak often and therefore do not need to be replaced. the rear main seals do not leak often and therefore do not need to be replaced. (sometimes they leak after replacement if not installed correctly) i buy my seals from subaru. knock sensors (the cheapest?) , timing belt kits (theimportexperts) from ebay, a/c & alt. belts, pcv, valve cover gaskets, etc. from rockauto.com or similar. return the knock sensor and save $100.