Rooster2

The counter guys at my Advance Auto Parts have been very good to me, when I return parts for a credit or for replacement under guarantee. Just return items with your sales slip. Installing a caliper is pretty easy, just remember to bleed the brake line after installation. A "one man" bleeder kit works great to do this by yourself. Ask here for advise on caliper installation, if you have any questions. Be happy to advise you. I have found that buying on line from Advance and using their 20% discount code is great, then wait a half hour or so, and pick up the part at your local store. There is always an active discount code available from Advance. You can even google search under title of "Advance Auto Parts discount coupon" to find a list of available coupon codes.

Learned something new.........thanks guys!!

From what you have said, I would replace the caliper. I have had good luck with rebuilds from Autozone and Advance Auto Parts. Both stores have great guarantees with their calipers. Yea, I am sure you could rebuild on your own, but if you are like me, you are not exactly sure what needs to be done on a rebuild. I leave the rebuilds to rebuild companies.

Well, you certainly know what to look for, and how to unstick the pins. I had replaced pads numerous times on three different Subies, and never knew to grease the pins/slides. Never had any pin trouble until now. I certainly learned how to fix the problem. Thanks to all on this forum. You all are wonderful help!

Ok, got it.................Thanks!!

Update..........this Saturday afternoon, I did a brake job on the front of my 98 OBW. I used PB Blaster to free up and remove a very tight slide pin. The PB worked great. I could see that the pin had been sticking and holding the pad against the rotor, as one side of the pad was worn down a lot more then the other side. So, I installed new pads on both front sides. All went well. Brakes work really well now. Thanks for all the great advise, especially the idea of using PB Blaster squirted in, with the wand that comes with the can. It easily squirted under the rubber boot to free up the pin quickly.

Since the caliper rotates "up and around" on the pin, it doesn't seem likely that corrosion could "lock" the caliper in place to prevent free movement. Both my rear calipers rotated up easily, so I guess there isn't a great need to grease the pin at this time. Would this be right??

On the rear of my 98 OBW, one slide pin is easily removable, and therefore easy to grease and re install. The other is a pivot pin that permits the caliper to be lifted up and out of the way for pad installation. The pivot pin is not removable, as far as I can tell, so I am thinking it can't be lubed. However, does the pivot pin some how, some way need to be lubed to prevent it from seizing up? Thanks for advise!

burnt exhaust valve?

I am Rooster 2, who wrote the original post. Glad to hear that Trans-X is working well for you. From my own experience, a can of Trans-X will work well for about a year. Then, the trany will start getting lazy again on the shift from R to D. The solution, is to drain the trany, which will only drain about half of the ATF, (as the remainder stays in the torque converter,) and again add a can of Trans-X, and new ATF. You should be good for another, before you will need to repeat the process. I am on my forth year of replacement cycles, and Trans-X is still working well. The yearly attention is not bad, when compared to the cost of replacing the transmission. Motor on........enjoy your Subaru. Keep in touch on this forum to answer any questions or problems that may arise in the future! Lots of good people here willing to help others.

I have run the 20W50 oil during non winter months with no issues for several years now in my 99 OBW with the 2.5 motor. Like you said, it seems to leak less when using thicker oil. I have 194K miles on my odo.

Sorry to hear about your car. I can tell that you loved that car, and hate to have to part with it. Suggest you keep a memento of the car, like a body badge name plate or something similar. It makes for a good souvenir, and brings back good memories every time you look at the keepsake. I did that with my beloved VW, when it finally died from old age. Hope you stay with Subaru, and have a great relationship with your new car.

If it were me, I would go to a heaver weight oil, prolly 20W-50W, and drive on. It will burn less, and still lube a worn loose motor.

Sounds good, that is low km for a 1995 motor. It is always better getting an engine out of a car that was recently wrecked. It at least tells you the car was being driven, and not just sitting around, because the car broke down for a year or two. Ask how the motor became available.

This is correct!!

Just a thought.......go on line to car-parts.com, which will put you in touch with wrecking yards in a several hundred mile radius. Tell them what you want. There is a good chance, they may torch off a rear quarter panel, and have it delivered by UPS. There is a bit of trust involved, you give them your credit card, and they ship to you, sight unseen. Just a few weeks back, I found a driver's seat for my OBW from a yard. I had them ship it by UPS, and was happy with the transaction. The seat came wrapped in industrial size & strength Seran wrap for shipping protection. A quarter panel could be shipped with the same wrap. Just be sure to order the quarter panel cut to the largest size possible. That way, it can be trimmed back to fit your size needs. I found a guy, who worked out of his home garage, who did body work. I took my car and the panel to him, and he did a decent repair job on the cheap.

If you have towing coverage in your auto insurance, it would be far better to have the car "flat bed" delivered to your home.

What is the magic behind a '95 Legacy engine? The 1995, 2.2 motor plugs and plays into a 96-99 Subie, that came originally with a 2.5 motor. No modifications needed. 2.2 motors from other years require some minor modifications particularity with the exhaust hook up. I am driving a 98 OBW that came with the 2.5, but now has the 95 2.2 motor. It is a sweet conversion.

The rear is too crushed to pull out. The only way to fix is to cut out, and weld in a replacement corner. The front may not be as easy as you think. It won't be a simple swap in of a new fender etc. With your car, it looks like too much got bent, and new parts won't line up for a bolt on. Then there is the likely problem of broke, or bent suspension parts to deal with. I have been down this road before to know. Repairs become 10 times more, then you first think they are going to be. If it were me, I would think of buying another Subaru, and consider the wrecked Subaru as a parts car.

I have had that happen before. With no belts, your alternator is not working. Power is coming only from the battery. I seriously doubt that you can drive 50 miles back home, before the battery goes dead. Once dead, your motor won't run. Time to call a tow truck. You will need to reinstall the pulley. Check to see the condition of the key way, that it is not too buggered up. Use liquid thread locker to keep the bolt from backing out again. Really tighten the snot out of that bolt, then check frequently to see that it is not coming loose again.

I don't think installing a transmission cooler would affect fuel millage. My guess is that it is a small radiator installed in front of or behind your regular radiator. It would not be powered by the engine, and added weight to the vehicle would be very negligible. Your lower gas millage is due to something else. Maybe you need a tune up, check tire inflation for proper pressure, or PCV valve to increase gas millage. Do you have a check engine light on?

Thanks! Rooster2

I wouldn't be that concerned about using 1 quart of oil every 500-1,000 miles. Just be careful to check the oil level frequently, and don't let it run low on oil. If it leaks a little oil, I wouldn't worry about that either. All old cars leak oil. I don't think swapping out motors is the wise thing to do. With a nearly 20 year old car, it is hard to justify the cost of a replacement motor and labor. It would be better to take the money, add a bit more to it, and looks for a newer Subie. Unless, of course, you would do all the labor of the motor swap yourself. The vibration under braking is usually a sign of warped rotors, but you have already replaced those. You might want to jack up each individual front wheel off the pavement, and try to turn the road wheel/tire left and right, then up and down. If there is any looseness "Play," then check out ball joints and tie rod ends for wear causing the play. I don't know if bushings cause vibration, usually cause more clunking noises then anything else. Yea, the tires could be the problem too. Winter tires are made with hard rubber, so they make a car ride rougher. I am sure new tires will help the ride.

Thanks, I will use the PB Blaster. I am thinking the spray wand is needed to squirt the fluid inside the rubber accordion boot. Is that how to do it?

My 98 OBW brakes seemed weak, so I thought it might be time to check things out, and lube the slides. On the LF, the caliper bolts to a bracket with two bolts. Upon disassemble, the caliper bolts thread into a slide pin receptacle that has a rubber accordion boot cover. One of the slide pin receptacles moves easily in and out, the other seems really stuck. With pliers, I can get it to rotate left and right, but not in and out. Is it suppose to move in and out? I am thinking it is suppose to move in and out, but I am not sure. Maybe corrosion is holding it back. I need good advise. Please help.