Rooster2

I am running 215 X 70 X 15 on my 99 OBW, which is the same body style as yours. I don't think you will have any problems with tire clearance, my concern is whether the 16" wheels will fit over the disc brake caliper??

Yes, start a new thread re: your tranny to seek advise.

and.......do a google search for wrecking yards in your local area.to get their tel #. Then, start calling the yards tell them what you need. I did this a couple of years back, when my daughter ruined the motor in her car. I found a good motor, and yard guy recommended a mom and pop garage nearby that would swap in the motor for $500, that they work with, and do a good job. I had her car towed to the garage for the engine transplant. The mom and pop garage even picked up the motor at the yard to bring back to their garage. Garage did a good job, best $500 I ever spent. I never went to the yard. The entire transaction was handled over the phone. Just gave them my credit card # for payment.

What's the Difference Between Serpentine Belt and Drive Belt The serpentine belt is used to run the alternator, A/C compressor pulleys. Where as, what you are calling the drive belt is probably the timing belt. It is behind the cam covers, and can't be seen without removing the covers. On a 99 Forester, I think that timing belt replacement is every 60 or 65 K miles. It is important to replace this belt religiously, because if it breaks, there will be serious damage to the valves. Replacing bent valves is expensive. About every other timing belt replacement, the pulleys and tensioners associated with the timing belt should also be replaced. If a bearing locks up in any of these parts, then the belt breaks, and you are back at replacing the now bent valves. Don't know the time and or millage schedule of replacing the serpentine belt. Your owner's manual may tell you this. I have replaced serpentines when I see cracks in the belt, or broken/missing teeth.

My 98 OBW came with one of those metal security bar.screen system. I never used it, but think it is to keep animals back there, so they cannot roam around in the car. I don't remember the particulars, but seem to recall that the unit gets wedged in against the back seat, and is held in place with brackets with threaded bolts that you thread down to tighten up the wedge effect. Maybe there is a u-tube video on how to install. U-tube has videos for most everything.

The 2.2 engine has a reputation of not breaking. It is bullet proof.

Sorry to read about your problem......Smoke began pouring out of the engine.........most likely was steam from the cooling system. Yes, good chance the motor over heated and blew up. Suspect there was some sort of a leak in the cooling system, perhaps a hose or radiator leaked. Doesn't sound like the engine is repairable. I live in Indiana, so don't know the MA area. A little story............ My daughter had similar problem of loosing coolant in her Hyundai. It blew the engine. I called around to local wrecking yards, and bought a used engine for $900. The yard worked with a nearby garage to do engine swaps. The garage picked up the used engine from the yard, took it to their shop, and installed for $500. All I had to do was have the car towed to the garage. If you go this route, make sure the rad hoses and radiator don't leak. Keep us posted on your repair progress.

All idlers and tensioners were replaced not all that long ago, less then 40K miles, so I will stick with them. I will just have the belt replaced at this time.

Recommend driving a few miles between the 3 drain and fills. Putting in reverse and backing up some is also recommended. Reason for the 3 drains, is that ATF cannot be drained from the torque converter, so only way to drain what is in there is the 3 drain program. From my experience Subarus are not that picky on ATF brand of product. I have been using Walmart house brand of ATF for over 10 years with no issues. I have a 99 OBW with the tranny that gets slow to forward engage. I use the 3 drain program with Trans-X to fix the problem, and having to do so about every year or so. Probably to do an external AT canister filter change when you change the fluid. Hope the fluid change helps your problem.

Bought the Beck/Arnley belt for my 99 OBW. No manufacturer name on belt, just says it was manufactured in Thailand. Belt was bought thru Advance Auto Parts. List price was $103, but with coupon cost down to around $74. A/A on line part description said belt is highly saturated nitrite (HSN). I guess the HSN is desirable, but who knows if any automotive part mfg in Thailand is good. I bought on reputation of B/A selling quality parts. I hope they don't let me down.

If starter cranks and cranks, then the starter is not the problem. Starter is working correctly. Could be something as simple as some bad gas. Next time fill up with Premium gas for one tank full. See if that helps.

Agree with Lucky Texan............sounds like a leaky heater core. If it is an older car, then tempted to go the radiator stop leak additive to the coolant system. You run the risk of plugging up the heater core to the point that there could be reduced or no heater warm air output. However, it should stop your antifreeze leak. If your car is newer, then it makes more sense to have the heater core replaced. That can be expensive, because it is labor intensive, but it is the thing to do on a newer car.

I have gone ahead and ordered a Beck/Arnley belt from Advance Auto Parts. I trust it will not be a Chinese cheapie.

91, with 2.2 engine will not easily transplant into a late 90's Subaru. The electronic control systems are different. One is OBD1, the later models starting in 95 are OBD2. Yes prolly worth $300. Junk yard would pay about $200 for the car. If it starts and runs for a minute, then quits, I am thinking it won't take much effort, or money to get it running properly. Prolly best to trailer it home. I think many of the 91's were AWD. I had a 91, and it was AWD. The 2.2 motor in a 91 is darn near bullet proof, They don't break down much at all. Easily can make 300K in miles.

I did not ask the mechanic for particulars, he just said 2 seals on driver's side. I just know I don't leak oil anymore. I have a call into him to ask if he would replace my T-belt, so I will quiz him more on what seals were replaced. Yea, I have been on this forum for many years now, and do remember discussion of best timing kits. With Chinese just being added to the mix, it is difficult to assess the quality of the kit components. The last kit I bought years back from either e-bay or Amazon contained all Japanese mfg products. I have always felt it is a safe bet on getting good quality if mfg in Japan. Having lived in Japan for 2 years, I learned that their society has national pride in producing quality products. Our driving Subarus is a testimony to that.

Thanks guys for selling me off Dayco belts. I checked e-bay for a mizumoauto timing belt for to fit my Subie. Just need a belt, as mentioned earlier, the rest of the components have about 40K miles on them, so not quite time to replace everything. Guess I will go with a Beck/Arnley belt. I started a separate topic on their belts. So far turned up no one bad mouthing their timing belts. Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it.

Is the Beck/Arnley timing belt any good?? I seem to remember that this company is a reseller of car parts to parts stores. I think put their name on other manufacturers goods. Cost is about $100 before using Advance Auto Parts internet coupon discount. With that price level, doesn't sound like a cheapie from China. Anyone have any experience with this company??

Mechanic said he actually replaced 2 cam seals on driver's side. I will have him replace the timing belt only, as I had a full kit of belt, water pump, pulleys, and tensioners replaced about 40K miles ago. Car now has 238K miles on the odo, and I am getting to the point of not driving the car more then 75 miles from home in case it should break down and leave me stranded. I also carry Roadside towing service on my auto insurance as a safe guard. Shopping at Advance Auto Parts on line, I can buy a Dayco timing belt for about $25-30 with a discount coupon. I have read on this forum that the Dayco belt is not particularly recommended as a quality product, but on my old car, it should be good enough for mostly local travel. I did price out a genuine Subaru belt on line. It was priced at $119.00. Seems too pricey, at least for me.

A good reminder. Just today, my OBW tires looked a little low. Checked rears with gauge and found both at 24 psi. I always carry a cig lighter powered tire pump, so it is ez to pump up tires. If one seems to be loosing air too fast, then I check for a nail puncture, or suspect that crud has built up where the tire bead meets the alloy wheel. If so, it is off to the tire store for a 're-sealing" of the tire/rim to make things right again.

Thanks for the advise grossgary. I appreciate it.

Posted a few weeks back about my 99 OBW developing a massive oil leak. The cause turned out to be a cam oil seal that blew out. Several posters thought that may be the problem before tear down. I had a good mechanic friend replace the oil seal, and all seems well now. However, I know the timing belt got soaked with motor oil. Should I have the belt replaced, or motor on?? Mechanic told me that the belt seems good and stout, and tight, but still I wonder if the oil will affect future belt performance. Thanx for your thoughts................Rooster2

Just replaced one of the struts on my 99 OBW. It took me a while to figure out that the rod will rotate, so the bottom bolt will line up. It took some serious hand twisting force to rotate the bottom fastener into proper allignment. Just remember, the struts are made specifically for left or right side. Be sure to buy the one for the correct side.

Years back, I had the same problem with the crank bolt coming loose on my Leggie with the 2.2 motor. Had it tightened several times, only to have it come loose again. Finally had Lock-tight added to the threads, and bolt really torqued down tight. It never came loose after that.

I understand with Subaru AWD, power to wheels is about 90% front, 10% rear. I don't know if that applies to both auto trannys and 5 speeds. As mentioned, the front tires wear faster because of this, plus more weight (from the drive train) being up front adds to front tire wear. I agree, swapping tires front to back, and back to front is a good idea. I agree, as mentioned, that as tires get old, the rubber compound hardens and does not grip the pavement as well. That too, could be a cause of your front tires loosing grip, and chirping. I would bet that new tires would clear up this issue, but I guess that really depends on how much tread life you have left in existing tires.

The transmission will work with an N/A clutch and slave but is not ideal. N/A clutch may not be robust enough to handle the torque of WRX motor. Clutch may not last long.