Kilroy

http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=20604876&selected= The stereo is in with the exception of some tweeters on the dash to fill the sound in the middle of the car. Now I have to add the hi flow cat and muffler, new expanded metal grille and rewire and install driving lights. This DD is turning into a real project! I'll add pics as each stage is completed.

Well, ~2000 km. and hardly any leak at all. On one stop on the way there I saw a few drops of it burning off the top of the exhaust, but the rest of the stops and during my running around after arriving at my destination there was nothing. Also, no leak on the way home, 9 hours straight on the highway each way. I checked it each time I stopped and the dipstick level never went down at all. Is it possible that the long distance drive could cause the seal to reseat itself? I'll still be keeping an eye on it, if it leaks once again I'll replace it right away. Oh, the car ran flawlessly! I went over and back the highest point on the Yellowhead highway with the cruise set at 130 kph (80mph) most of the trip and it ran like a champ!

Use VillagePhotos. No size restriction and you can direct link. http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?folder_id=1440133

I'm a steel fabricator, creating a tool to rotate the retainer shouldn't be a problem. I may just grab an old socket of the appropriate size (we have them up to 9") and do some cross cuts on it. Thanks for the info, I'll get on it next week when I get home.

Well, if I want to replace this seal before I hit the road I would have to do it tonight after work (around midnight). Should something go wrong, no stores will be open and I would have no way to repair it in time for work tomorrow. I think at this point I will have to make my trip and just keep a close eye on the gear oil level, then repair it after I get back next week. Thanks for the link johnceggleston, I've sent ShawnW a PM and I hope to hear back from him soon.

Is this the thread that you recall seeing grossgary: "Careful here.... The trans seals are retained in a threaded insert that threads into the side of the transmission case. This threaded seal holder is threaded to a certain pressure against the differential stubs. If you arent having any trouble with clunking in the front end then mark your trans case and the threaded seal holder to each other before you start unthreading it out of the case. This is known as "backlash" and messing with it is not for the novice mechanic as you can do SEVERE damage to the front ring and pinion gears. Leaks from these seals arent limited to any model and they all use basically the same seal from the factory. Not sure how there would be something special limited to Foresters but i suppose thats possible."

ANY info is appreciated and will not be disregarded, thanks for your suggestions johnceggleston! I have had to top up the gear oil twice, so that is why I am quite certain that is where it it coming from. I am positive it is gear oil burning on the exhaust, it is a golden color and sticky. This has been ongoing for about a month now. Since I haven't had time to do anything about it (and the sticky little puddles can just be cleaned up) I have just been keeping an eye on the gear oil level. I can see a shiny gold ring that the halfshaft fits up against, I had figured that was an external seal. There is also a flat thin piece of metal coming out next to the retainer and it is bolted down to the housing, any idea what that is for? Thanks for the info grossgary, I knew that the retainer came off and can see that someone had been whacking away at it in the past as there are a couple of teeth missing on it. Would attempting to tighten the retainer help with the seal and would it be a forward or reverse thread? Would removing the retainer give me direct access to the seal and is it as simple as just removing the retainer and replacing the seal?

It's an automatic, I'll be sure to update my sig to include that. I used engine cleaner twice to remove all the oil/debris from the underside of the engine and transmission and then went for a drive. The oil seems to be leaking from just under the point where the halfshaft inserts into the front diff. Each time I stop there is smoke from the burnoff on the top of my muffler and if I lift the hood it is very evident (and embarassing). I'll try to find the thread that shows how to repair this, I have to do a 1200 mile trip this weekend and I'm trying to get the car running perfectly.

I just got finished crawling around under my '90 Legacy, I was determined to find the source of my 'vibration on deceleration'. My problem started the day I drove it out of AAMCO after they rebuilt it, I was told 'it needed time to break in' as the cause of the noise . It's been 4.5 months now and the vibration has remained. I found the cause though, they stripped an outside bolt on the transmission mount and it wasn't holding anything. This caused the mount to drop about 1/8" on that corner (3 bolts on each side of the mount) bringing it into contact with the heat shield around the muffler pipe when the motor 'flexed' while decelerating. You could barely see a wear mark on the topside of the shielding, I accidentally found it while checking for loose bolts in that area even though earlier I had been looking for contact points exactly like this one . If any one of the other 5 bolts were removed this would not have happened as the muffler pipe just happens to cross the transmission mount at that exact corner. Go figure! You had extra load upon deceleration while towing a trailer when your vibration started, perhaps it cause more 'flex' in the motor resulting in the muffler pipe moving upwards. It's a shot in the dark, but it couldn't hurt to check for a contact point in this area.

My Legacy is leaking gear oil from the passenger side front differential. I replaced the halfshaft a few months ago and it seemed fine at the time. Is there a seal there that can be replaced from outside the vehicle or is it an internal seal?

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

My brother was at the wreckers last week and there were 2 Subarus there, he grabbed me the trim for around the radio off of one. I may be going this Sunday, I'll keep you posted.

Been looking on eBay, have we?

I am hoping and PRAYING that this is the source of the vibration I am getting from decelerating! Thinking back, my vibration may have started after jacking the rear of my car up as well. It was months ago and I have been living with the vibration, but I will check it first thing after I get up in the morning (around noon). :-p EDIT: I now recall that the vibrations started as soon as I picked up my car from AAMCO. Perhaps they f*cked it up when lifting it on the hoist, but I have also found info that says it could be the torque converter which they say they replaced.

ROFL!!

Automatic shoulder belt? I simply put on my seatbelt and it comes over my shoulder as I attach it. Do US vehicles have the single lap belt and the automatic shoulder belt that runs along the top of the side window? What year/model are you looking for? Myself and my brother hit the wrecking yard once or twice a month.

Wow, 6 quick answers and everyone one of them very informative! I realize that 5mm is very little, but I ordered the wheel/tire package from Tire Rack over the internet and got a phone call the next day from the sales rep stating that it was a very 'aggressive' fitment and that I may need to roll my fender wells. The tire size is almost identical to stock, with the exception that it will be a touch wider. I measured the distance (taking into account my current tire wear) from my tire to the inner fender well and have at least 2" to the front and rear even when turning, this left the only problem being the suspension compressing during hard cornering. I just wanted to be prepared to install the sway bar should it be necessary and available. Thanks for the info guys!!

I have ordered the 17" wheels/tires for my car and the offset will bring them out 5mm further than stock, thereby creating a chance that the inner fender wall may rub on hard cornering. I am considering installing a stiffer aftermarket sway bar (anti-sway bar) on the car, do they make such a thing for this vehicle? I've been searching the net, but most aftermarket parts are for newer or sportier Subarus. 1990 Legacy Wagon AWD auto.

I paid $52 including shipping for an ECU for my '90 Legacy Wagon Auto. I hope you used: http://www.car-part.com I just did a search and there are 9 pages, you just need to check and be sure the part number matches. My car needed the ECU that was only available for 6 months, had no trouble finding it on this website.

I am Canadian, but I always use http://www.tirerack.com to check stats on tires as well as comparisons to other tires in their class. You can check what other people think of each tire as well, I typically try to find feedback from people who drive a vehicle with the closest handling characteristics to the vehicle I need tires for.

Standard or automatic transmission?

I changed the plugs on my Legacy and my Odyssey (those plugs are deep!) over the weekend, I used an extendable/collapsable magnet to get mine out.

Do you feel a lot of difference over the stock setup?

Mine is off by about 10% as well, I'll have to check that the final ratio is the proper one for my car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140121098206&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=140121099869&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=active_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget I'd sure like to see somebody here snap this up and put it in their '90-'94 Legacy.