Mikevan10

Never did understand the point of the Impreza line. Possible exception being the WRX sti.

If this is a cable actuated clutch and you are feeling vibrations in the clutch pedal when you depress it, I would suspect release bearing ("throw out" bearing) issues.

Yes, if I recall correctly, it looks like aluminum and is secured by countersunk screws. I saw no signs of leakage past this plate so I will not disturb it.

You are talking about the plate on the back of the engine block, on the right side, correct? I am replacing the clutch on a 1992 Legacy (2.2) that I picked up about a year ago, and the "separator plate" (if I am taklikng about the same plate) is metal. Does that mean that someone definitely changed it out at some point?

Any update on this?

Yeah, I was just going to suggest that: Drill the pilot hole from the bottom using the old nut-hole as your guide. Sucks having to work outside doesn't it? Good luck!

I am on the edge of my seat. Did you cut the hole yet??? Just to state the obvious, once I estimated where the hole should be, I would drill a very small hole and see how close I was to where I need to be. This way, if it's way off it will be easy to patch.

Please post back on how the job goes! I had to run a tap through one of those nuts last year and was afraid I was going to have to do what you are suggesting. Lucky for me the threads cleaned up and I was able to install a new bolt. But it would be good to know some details about the solution in case I'm not so lucky next time.

No, it is not very hard to change the timing belt(s) if you have a modicum of mechanical ability and a few hand tools. And if your "mechanic" is afraid to do it you need to find a real mechanic. My opinion. YMMV.

I guess you could call it "jerkiness". It is kind of a rumble. But, no, it did nothing like this prior to doing the work so it is too much of a coincidence for me to think it is not related to the tie rod replacement. I alo did replace the right side ball joint this weekend. Why? What are you thinking? I am not that upset about paying for the alignment ($80.00) since the right front tire is waring unevenly anyway (looks like the cambler is off).

I replaced the inner tie rod ends on both sides of the car this weekend. I used "genuine Subaru" parts purchased from a Subaru dealer. It was a pretty easy job. I compared measurements of the new and the old tie rods and they looked identical so I just counted the turns as I removed the outer tie rod ends. I hoped that this would save me the cost/trouble of an alignment. But now I sometimes get a vibration during sharp, low speed left turns. So I assume the alignment is wrong and I made an apponitment to get that done next week.

Remove the nut on the outboard end of the drive axle. Remove the lower ball joint to control arm nut. Separate the lower ball joint stud from the lower control arm. Remove the anti sway bar bolt that connects the sway bar to the lower control arm. Drive the spring pin out of the inner joint on the drive axle (where it splines onto the transaxle output shaft. Remove the drive axle.

OK, no theories, I guess. Well, just for the heck of it, the first thing I did when I started work to change out the right side ball joint Sunday morning was to drill a 3/16" hole, one inch deep into the threaded end of the pinch bolt. The next thing I did was to "tighten" the pinch bolt to 50 ft-lbs. I had been spraying PB Blaster on the pinch bolt for a week. I doused it a couple of times daily. Guess what? The head of the pinch bolt twisted off!! This is exactly what I expected to happen so this time I was prepared with a collection of brand new cobalt drill bits. I drilled the bolt from both ends in small steps, using about six increasingly sized drill bits ending with the 7/16" bit which accomodates the M10 pinch bolt (with a nut on it). Since I had the sharp cobalt bits and I was mentally prepared, the job went smoother than the left side but it still ammounted to a couple of hours of drill work. So now I have two new ball joints in and I should not have to do this job again on this car (1997 with close to 250K on the odometer). Mike V.

Wow, Gary, how does one DRILL the ball joint out of the knuckle? As hard as it is to say, I guess I was "lucky" in that I had no problem removing the ball joint once the pinch bolt was out. Of course, the area around the pinch bolt was worked over pretty good by that time.... Your theory that predrilling the threaded end of the pinch bolt causing localized heating, thus helping to "free up" the pinch bolt is the best one I have seen. I cannot come up with another techically sound reason why that would help. I would be interested to hear anybody else's theories.

Heat - I don't know how much I could get away with. The only rubber parts I would be concerned with would be the wheel bearing seals. The inner wheel bearing seal should be relatively easy to replace but I don't know about the outer one. Do you? But any the only heat source I have is a regular propane job for soldering plumbing joints. I can do the tightening thing with a torque wrench set to 10% over the specified tightening torque. I will do it but, to be honest, I can't see it helping. It seems like the bolt gets seizied in there over its entire length. It is not just over the threaded portion. I say this based on waht I observed as I drilled out the pinch bolt on the left side. The unthreaded portion of the bolt was definitely one with the knuckle...

Last weekend I set out to change out both front ball joints, replace the left hand side outboard CV joint boot and replace the inner tie rods on my 1997 Legacy. What I actually accomplished was to replace the CV joint boot and the left side ball joint. The CV joint reboot went well (see other thread dedicated to that task). Next I went after the left side ball joint. I had been spraying the pinch bolt area with PB Blaster for about 12 hours and also periodically tapping on the pinch bolt to set up a vibration and help the PB Blaster work. When I finally attempted to unscrew the pinch bolt the head twisted right off. You know the rest of the story. I had to drill the bolt out. This took hours of work and dispensed with a box full of drill bits before the job was done. Once the actual pinch bolt was removed, I went in with a 7/16" drill to allow me to install a longer M10 bolt with a nut. It was a very big PITA. Not to bi*ch too much, but as fate would have it I came down with nasty spring cold on Friday and my stamina was in short supply so I decided that when I finally completed the installation of the left side ball joint at around 2 PM on Sunday that I would leave the tie rods and right side ball joint for another time. Now I am trying to decide how to approach the job if the right side pinch bolt twists off. I assume it will, although I have been squirting a shot of PB Blaster on it daily just for the hell of it. The first thing I will probably do is to buy some cobalt drill bits. Maybe a 1/8", a 1/4", and a 3/8". I already have the 7/16" one. The pinch bolt material is too hard for your standard high speed steel drill bits unless you like dulling several of them and spending a long, hard time drilling away. I will also seriously consider removing the steering knuckle from the car but I don't know how I would hold it in order to do the job on my drill press. This was a horrendous job (admittedly made much worse by my poor health). Mike V.

Replaced front left outer CV joint boot this weekend. Not too bad of a job. Notes: Removed drive axle from vehicle. Disassembled inner joint (I believe the correct term is DOJ so that is what I am going to call it). The DOJ boot showed some cracking (though not torn open) so I decided to replace it while I was at it. Bought a DOJ boot kit from Autozone. Dorman brand. The rubber was grey. I do not believe that orientation of any of the parts in the DOJ is important with the exception of the ball cage, so I did not worry about anything else. The (outer) CV joint still had plenty of grease in it even though the boot was torn. The grease, and internal parts, exhibited no signs of significant contamination so I wiped off what grease was easy to do and packed in most of the new grease that came with the boot kit. I used smoothe bands that I bought at another auto parts store, who also lent me the tool to tighten them. I am pleased with the bands and the job the tool did to tighten them. Used same on inner (DOJ) and outer (CV joint). The Dorman boot that Autozone sold me for the DOJ did not fit (too large on the diameter at the big end) so I reinstalled the old, compromised boot. Will have to keep an eye on it and procure a proper boot in the mean time. No real issues with this part of the job (see ball joint thread for other news). It was really pretty easy and only reason for the actual axle "overhaul" process not being a 20 minute job is dealing with the mess. Mike V.

Thanks for the comments Hohieu. I don't want to come off sounding ungrateful, but you are using terminology different from the factory service manual and not familiar to me so I cannot really use it.. Using the same numbering as you used: 1) What "housing" are you referring to? If you mean the DOJ outer race, this does not make sense since the outer race does not fit directly onto any shaft. Also, what "trunnion" are you referring to? 2) What are the "free rings"? 3) Do you mean that the DOJ inner race should be refitted to the splined end of the drive shaft in the same orientation that it came off? Thanks again, Mike V.

Should I prepare for drilling by procuring a couple of cobalt bits or are people getting away with high speed steel? Thanks for the comments and support folks. And thanks for the thread, Guzzi!

That is a clever trick for getting the ball joint stud out of the control arm! I will have to see if the geometry is such that it will work on the Legacy. However, I normally have good luck with the old "smack the end of the control arm" method. Never really an issue. In fact, I just had both ball joints separated from the control arms two weeks ago when I replaced the clutch in this car. What I am concerned about (only due to reading horror stories on this forum) is getting the pinch bolt out and getting the ball joint out of the knuckle. I will not have "a week" to soak the area in penetrant. Maybe overnight at most but I more likely it will be a half hour or so.

Is replacement of the inner wheel bearing hub seal recommended if you are pulling the drive shaft out of the hub? The factory service manual seems to say you should do so if you are installing a new CV joint. That is not true in my case.

I plan to do the same job this weekend on my '97 Legacy - both sides. Also hope to replace both ball joints and replace an outer CV joint boot. None of this seems like it should be that difficult but I have been reading many tales of woe on this forum concerning all of these tasks! I probably should not have done that reasearch.... Good luck Guzzi! Mike V.

I just picked up a "CV Joint Boot Kit" from my local auto parts store. Cost was $9.00 and came with new bands and a tube of grease. Two questions: 1. Any tricks for tightening the bands without a special tool? 2. I just realized that I will probably have to destroy the bands on the inboard joint (DOJ) boot. Are new bands available as loose parts or must I buy a new DOJ boot kit? Any other tips or tricks? Thanks, Mike V.

I tried to get a hold of Shawn but he did not respond to my voice mail so I just picked up a pair of ball joints from my local foreign car parts store. They sold me joints that are packaged with brand name Autoparts International and are made in China. $21.00 each. Wish me luck... I started researching this message board for tips on ball joint replacement as well as CV joint boot replacement (I'll be doing that too). Man, there are alot of horror stories out there! I really don't think this job should be a big deal. Hope I am right. I'll let y'all know how it goes. Mike V.

The outboard CV joint boot on my 1997 Legacy EJ22 is ripped and I would like to replace it. Looking at the drawing of the drive axle assembly, it looks like the inner CV joint (DOJ) comes off of the axle after you remove a snap ring. Correct? So you would remove the DOJ and then you can replace the outboard CV joint boot? Any cautions, tips, tricks, etc? I am hoping I can buy the new boot from a regular (i.e. non-dealer) auto parts store... Mike V.