Rooster2

Thanks for all the advise. I appreciate it. Nice to see the step by step pixs of how to reboot a half shaft. That was very well ilustrated. After weighing options, my trusted garage will replace for $139 labor, $65 for a reman axel. Yea, I know it is a roll of the dice on using a reman half shaft, but so far have had good luck with reman parts from O'Reilly Auto Parts here in the midwest. My garage lets me bring in my own parts for installation.

I had to replace the slider. Got mine from a J/Y. Don't know if Dealer stocks the item, but prolly could order you one. Suggest you call other junk yards, if not too far from where you live. Any Leggy with 2.5 Gen 1 motor from years 97-99 will work. Maybe even a slider/bolt from a 2.2 or Gen 2 on the 2.5. Another thought is to go to any hardware store with the bad bolt/nut in hand. I know from going to an Ace Hardware store, that they have a wide selection of bolts and nuts in both metric and SAE sizes in stock. You should be able to find a replacement there.

I just did a thorough archives read on half shaft replacement. Most posts say to replace the half shaft when a torn boot is found. In my case, I have an inside torn boot on front driver's side. Not much grease is thrown out, and there are no strange noises to indicate that the half shaft joint is damaged. So, would my car be a good candidate to just have the inside boot replaced? According to reading the archives, there is not much labor to pull the inside half shaft loose to replace the boot. Any advise?

I read that it is the engine that is hesitating and nearly stalling. This sounds like an engine drive ability problem, not a trany problem. The Trans-X additive solves the problem of the trany hesitating to engage in the forward gear.

If the caliper has gone bad, that is not fully releasing when your foot is off the brake pedal, you will need to replace the caliper. If it has been "grinding," then the dragging caliper has worn down the brake pad and prolly put grind marks in the rotor. The bottom line is that you will need a caliper, rotor, and new brake pad. If you are somewhat mechanical, doing all the above work is not difficult, and by doing the work yourself, you will save a good amount of money. While you are at it, replace the brake pads on the other rear wheel. That way, you will have new brake pads on all four corners of your car.

I too, suggest rotating the tires to see if that changes or stops the shimmy. My wager is that the problem stems from a tire with a bad belt, or could be a wheel balance, or bent road wheel. Guess, I fully agree with what's printed above.

Read the post "Fixed Trany delayed forward engagement." It is listed back a page or two on this forum at this time. That post specifically address the problem on 99 and 00 Legacys with auto trans. The Trans-X added to my car a year ago fixed the trany problem. Vibration under load may also indicate that you need to tune up your car with new spark plugs and plug wires.

I checked at a car parts store, the correct product is the "Trans-X Automatic Transmission Slip-Stop & Leak Fix." in the 15 oz can. It is the right size can to use in a Subie transmission.

The above looks correct. I know it is not the Trans-X Premium ATF. I need to drop off some waste oil at the auto parts store tomorrow. I will check the shelf there, and I am sure will recognize the proper Trans-X product.

The little bubbles are prolly exhaust gas from a bad head gasket that enter the cooling system. On the corner of the radiator is a "burp" plug. You can unscrew it just a few turns to vent off the gas bubbles somewhat, while still using the radiator cap. It will help some to keep the cooling system from over heating. Does sound like you will need to replace head gaskets.

I own two ej25 motors, one in a 98 OBW, the other in a 99 OBW. Both bought used three and four years ago. So far, no HG issues. The HGs may have been changed, I don't know, since I bought both as used cars. I just keep my fingers crossed that the HGs don't blow. I have made it a point of keeping the coolant full, and put new radiator caps on both. I plan on changing the coolant this summer after three years of use, and have added water pump lubricant, with anti rust chemicals each of the three years. Maybe the added care I have given both has helped the HGs. So, my ej25 experience has been a good one.

best way to find out, is to go on line to a Subaru parts house. Check ps pump prices and part numbers for both vehicles. If the same, then should interchange.

I think I am driving the twin of your new car, a 99 OBW, green top, gray bottom, with a dark gray interior. Gee, $2,000 for a nice car in terrific shape. I spent a lot more for my car three years ago with 148K on the odo, with just a so-so body. You got a hell of a deal. Welcome back to Subie land.

If it were me, I would go with the NGK wires for $42. NGK is a good name, and I highly doubt that they would make junk wires. Suggest using the "vasoline like salve" think it is called dialectric grease on the tips of the plugs, and using anti-seize on the threads upon installation.

Fully agree with above, while you can purchase a car at auction at a reduced price, longevity is never guaranteed. If you can, go to the auction with your buddy, find a Subie that appears to have been well cared for, by being clean inside and out with minimal body damage. Avoid cars that have had body damage repairs. Once purchased, have the timing belt, pulleys, water pump, tensioner, and oil seal replaced at one time. There is a substantial labor savings when all this work is done at once. This work helps assure future reliability of the car. Good luck on finding a nice Outback. My wife and I drive 98 and 99 Outbacks, and love 'em.

IMO, it is not so much the brand name on the spark plug wires, as it is a price factor. I have been very happy with Bosch wires that have cost as much as, or more then Subie dealer wires. Where trouble arises, is buying a set of "cheapie" wires from a discount auto parts store, and having them perform poorly. IMO, if you buy a set of any manufacturer's wires at a cost of around $50-$60, they should work just fine.

Suggest you post your over heating problem as a new thread. You will get more readers, and prolly some good advise

I hope the above mention of adding Trans X to the crank case is a mental typo. Trans X is to be added to the automatic transmission, not to the motor oil crank case. Also, head gasket trouble with the 2.5 DOHC is such that exhaust gas enters the cooling system where the head gasket has failed. There will not be any contamination of motor oil in the cooling system.

Galling refers to the process where two different metals (ie. steel and aluminum, when bolted together, then heated repeatedly want to bond together, and become a bear to separate. This happens when steel spark plugs are bolted into the aluminum head of a Subie. Use anti-seize to prevent galling. I have seen galling when aluminum alloy road wheels are bolted to steel rotors. Remove the lug nuts, then had to wail on the back side of the tire with a mini sledge to get the wheels to separate from the rotor.

Is the motor over heating at the time the radiator does not hold pressure? If over heating, I would be concerned with bad head gaskets? Other thoughts, are, that the radiator leaks, or needs a new radiator cap. If you think it is a radiator problem, then flush and refill with fresh antifreeze. Suggest flush to get rid of crap that may have built up in the cooling system. I wouldn't think having the car sit in a lot would affect the cooling system. "$300 for a tank repair," does that mean buying a new radiator? If the $300 is in US dollars, then that is priced high for an installed radiator. What country do you live in to be able to import a twin turbo Subie and get it registered? Would guess that the Japanese model is right hand drive. Is that right?

Plugs can last a long long time. I bought my 99 OBW with 148K miles on the odo. The car ran pretty good, but I decided to change the plugs and spark plug wires, just so I would know that the plugs and wires were new. I quickly figured out that the plugs and wires were all original. I was surprised that spark plugs would drive 148K miles. To replace the plugs, you will need 3/8 inch drive swivel, appx. inch and a half extension, appx 3 inch extension, and a 6 inch extension, and 5/8" plug socket with rubber insert. Remove the air intake duct work on passenger side, remove battery and washer fluid reservoir to gain access. I have heard others say that they have loosened motor mounts, then jacked up the motor a side at a time to help gain access. The big problem is getting access to the plugs. There is just so little room to work with the inside fender well in the way. It took me about 3 hours over two nights to replace my plugs. I replaced only two a night to keep from getting overly frustrated. Just take your time, and cuss a lot like I did, and you will be successful. If the spark plugs have been in the car for a long time, the rubber boots on the spark plugs like to bake themselves on really tight. If they are really hell to remove, then the wires are prolly old, and need to be replaced as well. Use a lot of antisieze on the new plug threads. Antisieze helps lube the threads of the new plugs, assisting easier hand threading upon installation, and removal when you put in a new set of plugs many miles later. Good luck with your work!

I don't think any back flushing, or air hose can clean out existing dirt in a fuel filter, as the filter media paper is trapping extremely small dirt particles. My advise, if you want to reuse the filter, is to simply "shake out" any existing gas in the filter, wipe off any dirt on the inlet and outlet hoses, then install.

Welcome to this forum. A lot of good people here to help when problems arise. I am the original author of this thread, who found that Trans-X really helps cure the problem of tray delayed forward engagement. Suggest that you do a thorough drain of your trany fluid before adding Trans-X. Add and drain trany fluid three times to clean the fluid, with short driving periods between changes. No point in dropping the trany pan. There is nothing there to service, plus the trany pan is difficult to replace without leaking. There is an external trany filter on the 99's that screws on, and looks the same as an oil filter. However, internally it's made differently then an oil filter. Cost is about $30 for an external trany filter. Add the Trans-X after the three fluid changes for best results. It is amazing, Trans-X stops the lazy forward engagement problem within 10 minutes of adding the product and driving the car. Hope this advise helps........Larry (Rooster2)

Suggest coating the bolt threads heavily with anti-seize upon reassembly to prevent the threads from rusting, and allows easy unbolting should the water pump ever needs replacing again.