Rooster2

With that high heat and humidity, could you have had vapor lock?

A good story. I am aware if the system is over charged that a sensor will prevent the compressor from working. So, how and why did your compressor turn on with that much over pressure?? I am always concerned that I am adding 134a to the low port. On some cars, it is not easy to identify which port is high or low. I make darn sure that I am using the low port. That is always my main concern.

I have sprayed white lithium grease in the window tracks, and that has worked well, if it is simply a binding problem.

I use AZ axles. Occasionally, I will get one with a worn bearing that causes some shakes, but not that often. AZ guarantee is good on replacement, so it is just the labor to R & R. Okay, if working on your own car, but not something you would want to put on a customers car if you are in the repair biz.

I am glad you reported back that Trans-X is a success in you car. Good to hear that it is working well for you. I have been finding that Trans-X treatment lasts a year. Then I start to notice the trany getting just a little bit lazy in shifting from R to D. When that happened, I drained about a pint of ATF, and added a pint of Trans-X. Immediately, the lazy shifting was gone. The added amount of Trans-X now makes the trany shift more positively, and I like that better.

This thread should be on the Subaru Classified forum, not here.

Grossgary.............. Yes, the instructions did help. Drop me a PM, if you want to know more specific details about using one of these hub/bearing kits. The kit does work well enough for me to advise using one. I have more advise on how to use the kit, but don't want to tie up this forum with small talk ..........Rooster2

Harbor Freight calls their kit a "Front Wheel Bearing Adapters." Not a name easily remembered or very descriptive. Pretty similar to a hub tamer or Hub Shark in operation. Upon opening my kit, I found no instructions. I went to the Hub Shark website, studied their instructions to figure out how to use my kit. Cost wise, I saved some money doing it myself, vs having a garage do the work. The kit should be useful in other work. Cost is about $100, including sales tax.

Update................ Last Thursday, with the help of a friend, we tackled replacing the RF wheel bearing on my 99 OBW. It took 5 hours to complete the job. Most of that time was spent removing the races from the spindle and knuckle. The hub tamer kit from Harbor Freight worked okay, but was not of the highest quality. The large bolt with the fine thread came with a flaw in the thread. We had to file the threads to be able to thread the bolt. So much for Chinese craftsmanship. Afterwards, I got to thinking that maybe the races could be removed more easily if antisieze was used upon installing the new bearing. I don't know if I would want to do this job again. It is just so labor intensive and frustrating to remove the races. It is a job prolly better left to someone who has a press, or access to one. My car sure drives better with a new bearing. On Thursday, I am getting a 4 wheel alignment, and hope I can drive on for many more miles.

From what you have just written, then I am really leaning toward the main fuel pump being bad. It is a rather nasty job to replace an in tank pump. Not particularly difficult, just nasty. Breathing gasoline fumes will give you a bad buzz, and make you sick, if you don't take frequent breaks to breath fresh air. I have replaced several on VWs, but not on Subies, but I don't think there could be much difference in the R & R process.

I have not changed a Subie fuel pump, so don't know for sure where it is located. However, like most cars these days, I think it will be an in tank pump. If so, best to swap out when fuel tank is low. By any chance, did your problem begin just after getting a new tank of gas? If so, it is possible that your problem could be the result of bad fuel. Buying gas that is contaminated with water does cause nasty driveability problems.

I would replace the fuel pump filter first to see if that helps. If not, yea, I think it could be the fuel pump. Over all, it sure sounds like a fuel delivery problem.

I recently put a set of tires on my 99 OBW w/ 15" wheels. I went to a larger tire size, going to size 215X70X15, from 205X70X15 OEM size. I would recommend the 215 size. It jacks up the car almost an inch, with no rubbing, and lays down a little wider foot print. I bought the Yokohama AVID TRZ tires. They drive and handle well, but have very stout sidewalls. They ride a little rough, like having too much air in the tires. Even running at 32 psi in the tires, I now feel every small bump and imperfection in the road. A friend put Yokohama AVID Touring S tires on her van. They drive nice and smooth, but I would think not as performance oriented as my AVID TRZ tires.

It is always very satisfying to solve your own Subie problems. Congrats!

The EJ22 can and will blow a head gasket. I had a 91 EJ22 that blew a head gasket. The EJ25 is more likely to blow a head gasket. When the head gasket blows, it allows exhaust gas to enter the cooling system, thus the over heating. It does not break by letting coolant and oil mix. It will idle all day in your driveway without over heating, but drive 10 miles +, and it will over heat. It is hard to say if, or how much damage has been done to your engine by repeated over heating. At 165K miles, I would question the worth of just replacing the head gaskets. You may have warped heads, and main bearing damage. All that is a big question mark. Since you say the car is really trashed, I think I would be reluctant to rebuild.

What year Outback? What size wheels?

Don't be surprised if your car rides about an inch taller with the new springs. That has been my past experience. It was not work on a Subie, but I bet it will still sit taller. Over time, it will settle down somewhat. Do you have a spring compressor tool to remove the springs?

Spray some white lithium grease around the top of the strut mounts, where the rubber meets the metal tower. My wife's 98 OBW was making that clunking noise. It did not immediately quiet the noise, but after about a week, the grease worked its way in and around the strut mount, and the clunking noise went away.

To test your plug wires........... Wait until dark, then using a squirt gun, or Windex bottle, spray water or glass cleaner onto your plug wires. If the plug wires are shorting out, you ought to be able to see arcing sparks in the dark, and hear electrical snapping sounds. Use a flashlight to see where to spray, and later to pin point the arcing sparks, if there any.

The top strut mount, nicknamed a "top hat," eventually suffer from wear over time and miles, and develop some looseness. That looseness can be seen by observing any movement by the top hat, while pushing up and down on the fender to compress the strut. If bad, the top hat will move around slightly, and can make a creaking noise. There isn't really a bearing in the top hat, though it is called that. It is a just a rubber covered steel ring or plate. It is prolly the rubber covering wearing out that results in the looseness. If you have any evidence that your top hat is worn, then I would replace it. I don't think they cost much.

GD, thanks again, sounds like sage advise.

I would just replace the broken spring and strut and see how it looks and rides. You can always do the other corners later.

I read one testimonial on the HF website advertising their FWD Service Set, stating he used an electric impact wrench in conjunction with the FWD. Is this a good idea??

Well, as you can tell, I have never done this job before. Would a dremmel tool have the cutting power to remove the outboard inner race off the hub?