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So this past weekend I spent a few hours working on rear tail light issues. My main objective was to try and fix this intermittent flasher issue. My second objective was to fix the leak in the rear hatch tail light assembly. I have the hatch light assembly that likes to fill up with water occasionally after heavy rains. To the point that when I open the hatch I better be ready for a shower. At any rate, this is a common issue and I tried to remedy it by taking the assembly out and RTV along the top seam (cannot see any other place where water could be getting in); we'll see if this works, it hasn't rained since... But also, I cleaned the bulbs and sockets from the all the lights in the rear, applied dielectric, the whole 9-yards. This flakey flasher issues still exists. Now I'm wondering if it could be in the turn-signal stalk or, maybe back to the relay. Anyone have any other suggestions? This is becoming annoying and I've cut a few people off because I signal, make a lane change, then realize my blinker wasn't flashing.

A bad connection or even corrosion might make more sense come to think of it. Both tail light assemblys are prone to filling with water when it rains for a long time and it's common for me to take a shower when I open the rear hatch sometimes. I've had to replace the bulbs a few times because they were burnt out from water submerssion. Yes, thats right... SUBMURGED!

2000 OBW I have a LH flasher relay that's getting flakey. When I signal left I can hear it clicking but it takes several clicks for the green turn indicator on the dash to start flashing. At this point I'm guessing it's bad contactors in the relay. Where is this relay located? and could there be something besides the flasher relay causing this problem?

If it says it doesn't fit I wouldn't risk it. Looking at the Crutchfield car-fit-guide they say it wont fit a 98 OB either, however it will fit my 2000 OBW. Not sure what the differences are but I'll tell you I had a Pioneer Avic GPS/Stereo unit (double din) that "fit" my car and it was a PITA getting it to line up and in the end it still didn't look good. The unit stuck out much farther from the dash trim than expected, and ultimately I just didn't like the look so I sold it and went with a Sony single din unit. Even then I had to slot the holes in the Subaru factory bracket because stock it didn't allow the unit to sit back far enough. Bottom line is, just because it says "din" or "double din" and you think this means there's some sort of ISO standard to the bolt pattern and dimensions, there's not. I would not risk it though, I trust Crutchfield WAAAAY before Best Buy. If they say it wont fit that means it wont fit... without serious modifications. By then it may not be worth it and you've already opened the box, etc....

A while back I had this same issue (misfire cyl 4). I spent a week going through the exact same troubleshooting tests as you; compression, vacuum, spark, swapped coil packs, new plugs etc. I even went as far as to tear into the timing belt to see if it had skipped a tooth. At any rate, after about a week I ended up throwing in the towel and taking it in. It ended up being a flakey fuel injector. Cost a little over 250 to fix and the car has ran great ever since. You can read the original thread here which also details all my troubleshooting steps along the way.

I just replaced the clutch in my 2k OBW less than 1500 miles ago. I bought this one from Clutch City http://www.clutchcityonline.com/products/15-021.shtml Couldn't be any happier. I noticed an IMMEDIATE difference just backing out of the driveway the first time. So much easier to depress and smoother, no more judder either.

Don't they have to tear the head down anyway to replace the cam and valve seals? Or is this a 'requested' service? I always thought it was implied, when you take your heads in to have them machined they clean and reseal them too.

This is more a question for my own sake, but if you leave the cam blocks intact and have them machined. will they disassemble them at the machine shop and reseal and reassemble them after cleaning? Soon I too will be doing the heads in my 2000 obw...

Thanks for the advice guys. I dont' know why I wrote EJ18. Total brain-fart I think. At the time I was reading the Wiki on Subaru Engine Types and I must've just had EJ18 stuck in my head. I knew it was an EA82, that's what my GL had only carbureted ... this is SPFI At any rate, I'm passing on this car. It's a project. Really nice inside and out but has a laundry list of issues: Clutch is about 10 miles away from leaving you stranded really far away from home grumbly wheel bearing or brake in the driver's side rear temp guage does not work 245k miles with no clue of engine maintenance history needs tires soon 4WD button is backwards. Push in to disengage, push out to engage. 4WD light on the dash is always on. and the worst... when you engage 4WD on the fly it makes a loud *CLUNK*. When you disengage 4WD it makes a horrible *BANG!!!* I swear I thought the diff was going to fall out of the car. its so loud it makes the roof oil-can. Although this car would be fun to mod and work on I don't need a project car just to get safely rolling. Bummer...

I have a 2000 Outback and prior to that had an 85 GL (which I loved! Gutless as all get-out but fun in the snow). My cousin just bought a newer outback and is selling his 1990 Loyale. It appears to be in decent condition but it has over 200k miles and will need a new clutch soon. He said $600 and it's mine. I feel like that's a good deal but I've never owned a Loyale. I don't even know what motor its got in it. EJ18??? So I realize it's impossible to give accurate advice on a vehicle you cant see, but from others who own a Loyale are they good and reliable? I'd like something I can commute in and give the Outback a break. I'd also like to lift it eventually... that looks like a fun project.

2000 OBW 2.5 SOHC I’m still trying to track down the source of a horrible exhaust rattle. The rattle became much worse after I installed a new clutch (engine out, not transmission). Not sure what could have caused the what was a slight rattle to become a horrible one after assembly but it is. I’ve been under the car multiple times tapping wiggling and banging on heat shields and nothing seems loose enough to cause the rattle I’m hearing. My question is, are the Subaru exhaust pipes dual walled by chance? I had an old Honda that was dual walled exhaust and it rattled a bit. I didn’t care about that car like I do my Subaru though so I never got it fixed.

So before I dropped a new clutch into my 2000 OBW this past weekend I was averaging about 360-370mpg (totally topped off tank to gas light coming on). Mostly highway, as I work 32 miles from home- 64 miles round trip. Before I noticed my clutch was slipping I had just fueled up but not quite topped off so the needle was just barely below the full line (not quite a full tank). While I had the engine out I adjusted the valves too. Intake valves were all bueno but all the exhaust valves were tight. Plugs looked great but I changed them anyway... Well fast-forward one week into breaking in the new clutch and I'm already pushing 400 miles and I'm barely below the 1/4 line! Keep in mind I didn't start with a completely topped off tank either. I haven't done the math yet but that's a substantial increase in mileage!!! I know I have another 60 or so miles left from 1/4 tank before the light comes on. So I'm not sure where the increase came from; clutch or valves or both, but I'm super stoked!

UH... PROBABLY!!!! Don't be a Darwin Award. I wouldn't try it. What about drilling the heads out?

2000 OBW. I just pulled the engine and replaced the clutch this weekend and now I've got some new exhaust rattles. Obviously exhaust rattles are pretty common with these subarus and I've been under the car before and used hose clamps to tighten the loose sections of heat shield. The new rattle (well it's actually two distinct rattles that happen at different RPM ranges) sounds deep and like it's coming from under the stick shifter. This rattle happens in low-rpm 2nd gear. The other rattles are higher pitch, more 'tinny' sounding like the typical heat shield and happens in 1st through 3rd low rpm ranges. I've just got out from under the car and everything feels tight, took a screwdriver handle and tapped all along the exhaust pipe; nothing noticeable. I guess my main question is if anyone has ever experienced new exhaust noises after removing/reinstalling an engine. The other thing, when I dropped the exhaust manifold from the heads I left the exhaust dangle from where ever it attaches further back, this would be near the flange. I wonder if I stressed that joint? Also, while I was shaking the pipe back and forth I noticed the transmission and drive shaft moves a lot also. The exhaust is bolted to the trans and the trans is on a rubber isolator but I never noticed this much movement before. Could I have broken something jacking up the trans while removing the engine?

Thanks GD! I understand the failure modes of the Phase I vs Phase II, I didnt' know if the LTD editions had any improvements. You raise another question though. How to tell the difference between old vs. new gaskets. You say the new ones are MLS (what's that mean anyway? Multi-Layer-Something or other?)? Can you elaborate a bit on HOW to tell? Like do the layers start to peel back along the exposed edge like an onion? I noticed when I did my clutch in my '00 2.5 SOHC last week I noticed the exposed gasket and it was a thin metal material with peeling 'paper' (or whatever) on either side of the metal...

My brother really wants an Outback but doesn't know anything about them so I'm going with him to check out a few tonight. Can anyone give me advice on what to look for? Our first one will be a 99 LTD OBW 5-spd with 130k miles (asking price of $5500). Were the '99 2.5's Phase I still or did they implement the phase II earlier on in the LTD editions? I plan on driving it obviously, and checking for noise, loose suspension parts, probably bring a 12 and 10mm socket and pull the plastic skid plate to check for HG leaks. Any specific question to ask regarding mainenance history besides the usual, "have you replaced the HG's and timing belt?" We'll also be looking at a couple 2000 LTD ones further out of town. Not too worried about those ones due to the phase II engines already being in effect... I think... Thanks

Did you buy this new? Wonder if it's been flooded or a victim of a Katrina-type disaster?

I have the whole Service Manual for 2000 Legacy but there seems to be a page missing in the On-Car Service Section. The last page I have goes into valve adjustment detail but the last step is step 6) Remove timing cover. then that's it, last pdf in the folder This is on pg 8 (aka MSA5TCD00L16109) in the path: Service Manual> ENGINE SECTION> On Car Services Logic would dictate the next pdf would be MSAxxxx6110 but I did a search through the whole directory and there is no 6110. It goes 6109 to 6111 I'm in the process of combining all these MSAxxxx files into one PDF per section. The Valve section is important...

...nevermind; deleted

Nevermind, I just called ClutchCity and he said there's no mark to worry about and he's never seen one on an aftermarket pressure plate. He said since they're externally balanced (hence the spot-welded square)you can mount it in any orientation as long as the dowels are lined up.

No holes or anything other than the welded 'square' to indicate balance. Any other suggestions before I mount this more-or-less in a random orientation?

On a hydro clutch? I thought adjustment was only for mechanical ones.

Kay so I've got the engine out and have had a chance to take a closer look at the leaking HG. I'd still like some feedback on whether or not this is bad enough (or not) to warrant an immediate repair. Again, I went in to do a clutch-only (136k miles 2.5 sohc) if I can get away with not doing these till the next timing belt that would be awesome. Otherwise I'll save up and do it closer to 200k and just do the belt then. Or... should I worry and do them now. Obviously in a perfect world I would do them now. But I'm not budgeted for this and I nee my car back. Also how does this rear main look? I have not cleaned anything off so most of what you see is clutch disc dust on top of oil, but is this considered 'leaking'?

question 1: Isn't there a specific way the clutch pressure plate goes on? the service manual says to orient the pressure plate so the white paint dot is opposite the white paint dot on the flywheel for balancing purposes. My new Exedy clutch kit came with a pressure plate but it's not marked at all. There is a small welded on square which I assume is a balance weight but my old OE clutch has two of these squares and the white mark is nowhere near either of them. question 2: Now that I've got my clutch out and can compare the old disc to the new one, it doesn't look like the old one is that far gone yet!?! I can still see the relief cuts in the disc friction surface; although very shallow they're still evident. I was expecting to see a lot worse since the clutch was noticeably slipping on me last time I drove it. question 3: The flywheel appears to be in great shape as well, I can still feel the corduroy grooves with my fingernail. Should I still have it machined? The pilot bearing and T.O. bearing are both tired, so regardless, I'm still replacing the whole package. Just wondering why the clutch would slip when there appears to be lots of material left on the disc...