AEROCOOK

An electrical short in the main engine harness has the potential to damage thousands of dollars worth of electronic components throughout the car and this consequential damage may only be discovered after the harness was replaced. This being the case, it's likely the insurance company didn't want to take a chance that the harness alone was the only component that would need to be replaced. If it was repaired in 2012 and there are no current issues, you should be safe.

Thanks for the replies, I thought this thread was dead. I cant say for sure where the rattle is coming from but I'll try to simplify my question... Picture 2 is the driver side end of the tailgate, just about dead center of the picture there is a hole, does anything go into the hole?

My 98 Legacy wagon has an annoying tailgate rattle that I've been trying to fix for months. Yesterday I noticed that the two spring loaded rubber parts in the door opening do not make contact with the tailgate when it's closed. There is a hole on each side of the tailgate right where I'd expect the rubber pieces to make contact but there is a gap that I think may be causing my rattle. I'm wondering if there is a missing clip or something that fits into the hole? I knew this would be a difficult post to follow so I've provided pictures. Am I missing pieces?

Winter driving is my favorite part of owning a Subaru. I have a 98 Legacy L wagon 5 M/T and the thing is stable, predictable and unstoppable in the snow. I also have a 2002 4X4 Nissan Xterra 5 M/T but when there's snow on the road my choice is the Legacy. Only dislike is the road noise, The Legacy has a lot of driveline / engine noise, but hey, it's 17 years old with 320,000 kms on it so no complaints, just turn up the radio.

I didnt machine the flywheel because there was no blueing or signs of overheat and the original clutch didnt chatter at all so I thought it would be okay, sounds like this was a mistake on my part. I've become quite familiar with removal and install of the transmission since I've done it twice in the last month, this will be number three! I'll be machining the flywheel and installing a quill repair kit just to play it safe. Thanks for the input.

I wanted to add that the clutch kit I bought is AMS Automotive brand, they have a tech support number so I gave them a call. The person I spoke with hadn't heard of my issue though he did have a theory as to what may be causing it... He asked me about the condition of the quill (shaft housing) that the release bearing rides on, I told him there were some high and low areas and that the release bearing was fairly snug on the shaft, enough that the bearing didnt move freely on the quill, there was some resistance. His theory is that since the bearing was already snug on the quill that perhaps when it got up to operating temperature, the metal quill is expanding enough to make the bearing even tighter thus not releasing as freely as it should. Any thoughts on this theory?

I just finished replacing the clutch in my 98 Legacy and I now have fairly severe clutch chatter but only when warm. If the car is started cold and driven right away, it will not chatter for the first 10 to 15 minutes but once warm, it chatters on take off. I've searched for other posts on clutch chatter and it seems it typically occurs when cold and goes away when warm, which is completely opposite of my issue. Looking for ideas on the possible cause, can anyone offer up some wisdom?

I have one similar to that, it's a Geniscan GS300, and I use it all the time. I read the specs / features on the Maxiscan MS300 and I didn't see OBD II readiness monitor listed, this is a feature that my Geniscan GS300 has and I use it quite often. If the Maxiscan doesn't have this feature, I'd recommend spending a few more bucks and getting one that does.

I feel your pain, I also have a 98 Legacy wagon and a 17 year old son who's effectively become the car's sole driver, every time I drive it now I seem to find new problems. Step 1, find out which DTC codes are stored. As for the rattling noise, it could be a lot of things, try to narrow in on the specific area using a stethoscope or another suitable tool. When were the timing belt, water pump and idlers last replaced?

Once I had the tranny on the bench I was able to extract the roll pin by tapping it from the top side down, I wasn't able to do this while it was in the car. As for the broken bolts, I was able to get them out without much difficulty, fortunately there was around 3/4 of an inch of bolt still sticking out so I was able to heat them up and get vise grips on them. The hardest part was separating the rear cover fron the case, it took quite a while to accomplish that feat. I hope the new (used) center diff is good or I'll be doing it all over again in a few days, but at least there there wont be any broken seized parts to deal with if I do.

Well I got another center diff and went to do the swap but ran into more trouble than you could imagine... The outer roll pin was seized in the shift shaft, so I had to cut the shift joint off, I had a new one to put on anyway so no loss there except for the time it took, which was substantial. Four of the six bolts broke when I went to remove the rear cover, I even heated them before attempting to remove but they still wouldn't come out. After the bolts were out, (2 completely and 4 broken) I tried to separate the rear cover but It wouldn't budge, the remaining portions of the 4 broken bolts were seized in the rear cover preventing it from coming off. After several hours under the car I finally threw in the towel and just pulled the whole tranny out so I could work on it on the bench, even with the tranny on the bench, it still took another hour before I was able to get the cover off! Had enough for one day so I'll go back at it tomorrow. Just goes to show that sometimes, relatively simple repairs can bite you in the a** hard.

A word of advice if you plan on getting a scrap yard transmission. Save the center diff / viscous coupler assembly from your old transmission. Scrap yard cars are usually towed in, likely with the front wheels up and the rear wheels turning, this will toast the viscous coupler. It takes all of 10 minutes to remove the center diff if the transmission is already out, so it's worth the effort. Ask me why I know all of this.

Bingo! "Rust in peace"... I like that.

I have no intention of dropping the fuel tank, I'm going to re route the lines as best as I can and call it good.

After I created the original post, I decided to Google "Legacy brake line" and found tons of info, seems it's a common problem. I'll be replacing (and re-routing) both rear lines. I plan on putting compression fittings on the lines right under the rear seat cushion where they're easy to get at and corrosion free. I'll then route them down through the floor making use of the existing rubber seal and from there, I'll find a suitable route to the wheels. Since I've decided to replace both lines, determining which line goes to which wheel is a no brainer now. Thanks for the reply.

I have a leak in one of the rear brake lines in my 98 Legacy wagon and I need a bit of help determining which wheel the line goes to. The leak is right at a brass coloured block in the area in front of the right rear wheel, 2 lines go into this block and 2 go out, presumably to each of the wheels. The 2 lines that go into the block come from a hole in the floor directly beneath the passenger side rear seat. The lines that go out to the wheels are routed in such a way that you would have to drop the gas tank to see which wheel each of them goes to and I have no intention of doing that. My plan is to identify which wheel the leaking line goes to and then run a new line to that wheel. Can any one tell me which wheel each of the lines in the first picture go to? The second picture is the brass block where the leak is. Sorry for the long winded post, hopefully it's not too confusing.

As I understand it, the only way to keep the light off is to either transfer the existing wheel pressure sensors from the summer wheels to the winter wheels or to buy a second set of sensors specifically for the winter wheels. If you choose the later, you will have to have a technician initiallize the wheel sensors (to the receiver in the car) each time you do the wheel change over. I believe only 4 sensors can be initialized to the car.

The amount that the insurance company offers you is negotiable, If I were you I'd reject their original offer and tell them you will accept it if they let you keep the car. The difference to them will likely be just a few hundred bucks and in the grand scheme of things, is just a drop in the bucket for an insurance company. I'd be surprised if they didn't accept.

Thanks for all the help, I'll find out where I stand with my warranty tomorrow and go from there.

The old transmission was scrapped, I even called the guy who picked it up to see if he still had it but he didn't. I did get a 90 day parts warranty on the replacement one so I'll see what the seller will do for me. This particular transmission isn't all that common, the JDM place I bought it from had to do a search to locate one then had it shipped in, that being said, it may be easier and cheaper for them to just find me a good coupler. Are the M/T couplers in 3.9 ratio trannys the same as the ones in 4.11 trannys of the same vintage? If so, it should be an easy find.

6.3 US quarts (6.0 liters, 5.3 Imp qt)

Anyone smell a burning bridge?

I'll be calling the place I bought it from to see what they'll do for me. I paid top dollar for a 16 year old used tranny that was apparently tested prior to removal but my guess is they just ran it through the gears once or twice and called it good. When you think about it. many cars that are taken to scrap yards are on the end of a tow hook with the back wheels rolling and on one of these, that's likely to damage the coupler, maybe that's why this one is screwed? Is there any way to inspect or bench test one before install?

When you say drop out the last section of the driveshaft do you mean as a test or as a solution, as in make it a front drive only? If the front and rear diffs were different ratios, wouldn't the binding be constant, not just in turns?

No, the old tranny didn't bind but unfortunately I scrapped it already. Just to be clear, on the M/T models, there is no possible electrical cause, correct? I just want to eliminate any possible simple causes before ripping into it.