porcupine73

Maybe you found yourself on the 'persons of interest' list!!! Yes SUBARU wagons FTW! SUBARU Wagons unite! Round up the SUBARU wagons!

When you buy your parts from Subaru dealers selling parts online, try to buy more than just a pcv valve. I mean just to ship anything by ups these days is at least about $5-6. Order maybe two pcv valves, some air filters, a fuel filter, etc., rather than placing small orders frequently place larger orders less frequently. My suggestion is find a good Subaru dealer selling parts online that is geographically close to you, that way it takes maybe two days to get your parts if they have them in stock (a good parts dealer will stock the common parts), or maybe three days if not in stock and the dealer is near a Subaru RDC - regional distribution center.

I think the 105k timing belts use kevlar aramid or somethign that makes them so durable. I don't see many posts about the OEM belts breaking before their time? I think the 100,000 mile thing was originally due to Calif. emmisions saying the vehicle couldn't require certain kinds of maintenance/service before 100,000 miles. Some mid 90's-ish 2.2L soobs say 60k mile/60 months timing interval for the non-calif emmissions version, but 105k/105 months for the calif emmisions version.

Parts store rebuilt alts are junk. Yes ok so maybe you get a lifetime warranty but it's still your time, trip to the store, and possible vehicle downtime every time it fails. Many parts store rebuilt stuff gets only the faulty component replaced and maybe a few other things, gets cleaned up, tested and then sold. That means many parts in there can go untouched. See and in this case the OEM reman part from a Subaru dealer who sells parts online would have cost less than the parts store alt. 23700AA34ARA ALTERNATOR ASSEMBLY REMAN FOR 1995-1999 LEGACYS, approx $130 from Subaru dealers selling online (price includes ~$30 core charge).

Anyone need any pictures for this thread? some can be clicked to enlarge thermostat comparison metal oil separator upgrade oil pump is at the front of the engine between the block and crank sprocket in this pic it is behind the crank sprocket and has the red/orange colored crank angle sensor on it oil pump - can see the brown colored front crank seal in this pic Yes after removing the oil pump, make sure to loctite these screws on the rear. o-ring part # is different for certain engines. One appears to be just a normal o-ring, the other is a slightly flattened o-ring with a ridge on it. oil pump removed and o-ring location

The wheels won't spin freely like a bicycle tire. It should spin fairly freely and smoothly and if you give it a good twirl it should stay spinning for a little bit after you take your hand away. If you give it a good push and it stops immediately when you take your hand away then maybe something is hanging up. Yes the caliper guide and lock pins are common places where it gets hung up, as is dirt/rust in the caliper brackets making the pad ears stick in place. Sometimes the calipers themselves sieze up with age or if water gets past the rubber boot over the piston.

Thanks for the info rooster2! I'll check out what I can find. Current plan is to get a good metric double flare kit (assuming it must be metric for a soob), figure out what size brake pipe the soob uses and get some of that, and some unions and other fittings. Plan to tap into the good brake line portion under the seat and run the new brake lines to the rear wheel cylinders (this is a brighton so has rear drums :/ ).

Ok great! Thanks for the info. What's a good place to get the new brake piping and fittings? Will any auto parts store do that has the coated line? Anyone know what size this brake line is? How does this page look for instructions on double flaring (i've never done brake lines before): http://www.stu-offroad.com/suspension/flaretool/ft-1.htm

Excellent thanks for the info. Did you use normal compression type fittings, or the double flare? Do you remember what size brake line this is? I assume its metric....

Hi. Spotted this brake line leak on my '96 Legacy Brighton. It appears to be some rear section of line that runs what appears to be above the gas tank on the right side rear. The brake line sections in the rear appear very rusy and rotted. What's the best way to fix this for reliable long term service? Can you get OEM sections of brake line for this that are prebent with fittings? Or should I get line at the parts store and do that double flaring thing on it? Any help/advice/links are appreciated. I'm sure this is covered somewhere on this board already. What the heck is this thing? The rear brake lines run through it. Lines look fine where they come in under the rear seat inside the cabin.

Hm...do you mean the 'failsafe' or 'limp home' gear? I think that's 2nd gear.

Yes, you can register it at http://my.subaru.com If you just bought the vehicle, they won't be able to verify your ownership through normal channels, so they will e-mail you and ask for proof of ownership before letting you see the vehicle's history. I scanned the signed over title and my registration and sent it to them and they gave me access.

Yes price seems a bit high. On a vehicle with a lot of miles, maintenance is a key factor in its current condition and further life.

Not sure i've seen it for a soob. My boss builds his own race cars and he built his own flow bench to check peformance as he ports and polishes his cars' intakes/heads. He offered to do it for my soobs for $120/hr....hehe....i said thanks but......

For coolant, get either OEM genuine SUBARU coolant, or use something at least similar i.e. BASF formula G-05 licensed to zerex and some others. do NOT use GM dexcool or any similar dexclones (i.e prestone all makes/all models). And DEFINITELY put in the Subaru OEM coolant conditioner. That 2.5L sohc engine could develop the external head gasket peeping leak, and you may have additional warranty coverage if the conditioner is installed at EVERY coolant change and documented. Register free at my.subaru.com and see if the recall for the coolant conditioner was done at the dealer. It only covers to 100k miles but sometimes Subaru will cover head gasket leaks beyond that anyway.

The list looks good so far. wow only $200 for labor, that is a DEAL!!! There are tons of free articles on http://www.endwrench.com (official Subaru site) about how to do a lot of this work if needed. The timing belt geared/toothed idler near the water pump is different from the timing belt tensioner. There are also two other idlers on the timing belt, but those are usually ok, but should be checked for bearing smoothness/freeplay. The timing belt tensioner (the ~$105 part) can often be reused. If reused, recompression of the pin must be done veerryyy slowly. Personally I replace all the idlers and the tensioner on an interference soob engine just peace of mind that way. Here's all the idlers and the tensioner:

Might as well replace the spark plugs with NGK spark plugs and OEM plug wires (or magnecor) if you don't know when last replaced. You can get the NGK spark plugs anywhere (does not have to be from the dealer). The plug wires should be from the dealer or get magnecor. Don't forget the typical stuff, fuel filter, air filter, brake fluid flush, steering fliud, ATF, etc. Sorry I am a car maintenance NUT. It is expensive to have all this done at once at a dealer or shop; if you're a wrencher or have the time/space/tools/etc to become one you can save some $ and have fun doing it. Best to have a second/backup vehicle if you want to get into serious work of your own; it takes a lot of stress off.

Oh yes good catch, thermostat and gasket are a good call. Those should be OEM parts. There is a big difference between the Subaru OEM thermostat and aftermarket ones, there are pics available to show the difference. Drilled rotors will work ok for typical daily driver/street use. But there is a reason drilled rotors are not used in racing applications. A good value for a Subaru daily driver are Brembo blank (not slotted, not drilled) rotors avialabe at tirerack and other places. I can tell you rough prices on the OEM parts you are seeking: timing belt $70 accessory drive belts $35 for both water pump and gasket $75 front cam seals $5 each (two total) oil pump o-ring, $3 front crank seal $4 timing belt idler $105 thermostat/gasket $15 don't forget geared/toothed idler near water pump - it is the most likely to fail, ~$60. Someone just posted a failure of this idler on this board here. If you do the valve clearance check/adjustment (which you should while doing timing belt), you need a valve cover gasket kit with two valve cover gaskets, spark plug hole seals, and ~10 bolt hole washers, ~$60.

If you don't live in a hot climate and there isn't engine oil leaking onto the timing belt, it can very well last to 120k miles+. But you are on borrowed time past 105k miles/105 months and the expense of repairing the damaged enigine _plus_ timing belt if it breaks/jumps enough timing is far more than the timing belt alone. Many of those parts dealers you do not have to send them an e-mail asking for a quote for the parts. You can browse their online catalog for what you need. Many Subaru dealers selling parts online have somewhat close pricing anyway. My suggestion is to find a large volume Subaru parts dealer geographically close to you, as shipping will cost less and you will get your parts faster, and order all your parts from the same place (if you get satisfactory service). That way you build a relationship with that dealer. Not to be neglected is the possibility that your local Subaru dealer will give you a break on parts prices if you ask them. Many local dealers don't stock a lot of parts though, but if they are close to a Subaru Regional Distribution Center, they can get them for you in a day or two.

Maybe you have air trapped in the ABS hydraulic unit? Maybe you should bleed the brakes while putting the abs unit through sequence control.

Have you done the booster test? You know like hold brake pedal down, shut off engine, shouldn't drop pedal for one minute, then pump three or four times, pedal travel should decrease each time, then with foot on pedal restart vehicle and pedal should drop slightly? AFIAK brake fluid is all 'synthetic'. There aren't any dot3/dot4 'dino' brake fluids.

Hi mebirkle and to the board! The timing belt change interval is 105k miles or 105 months. Yes that the EJ25 phase II (sohc) and is a valve to piston interference engine. If the timing belt breaks it will likely bend valves and possibly ding pistons. (i.e $$$) If you do not know if it was changed, you don't have much choice but to change it now. It is quite possible it has not been changed. Sometimes the dealer may tell the seller it needs to be changed, which at a dealer can be pricey, so the person decides to trade it in or sell it instead. There are several things that are very prudent to do when changing the belt. The timing belt should be Subaru OEM. You can get OEM Subaru parts from Subaru dealers who sell parts online for less than walking in to the typical local dealer. just a few examples http://www.1stsubaruparts.com http://www.subaruparts.com http://www.subarupartsforyou.com http://www.subaru-parts-dealer.com http://www.subarugenuineparts.com Other things to replace: accessory drive belts (a/c and power steering/alt), water pump and gasket (will not last another 105k miles), front cam seals, reseal oil pump and replace o-ring and front crank seal, replace geared/toothed timing belt idler near water pump and at least check other idlers and tensioner for wear. Also valve lash should be checked at this time.

Hey hey yes wagons unite ftw! Round up the wagons! What is the purple one in the bottom pic? Is that an LSi?

cars101.com typically shows for that era outback: Rear Spoiler - wagon only $295. [i think the 'only' refers to the wagon, not the price ]. Rear Dust deflector $115

Hm....interesting. Maybe the non-open deflector is not available as an add-on part. Time to check cars101.com. The three soob lineup wagons unite!