lostinthe202

do it... or don't do it. No do it..... or maybe you shouldn't.... no do it, yeah that's my final answer... or maybe it better if you held off..... aw what the hell, you only live once right?... but maybe it would be better if you sit with it awhile longer.... you deserve it!... no you should lose that five pounds first and make this your reward.... instant gratification feels good!.... making the right decision feels better.....................

I would guess that you would bleed whichever is lower first. Air rises, so which ever cylinder is lower to the ground would be bled first. I've heard of tapping the lines and cylinders before. I've done it and not done it on bikes, cars, trucks, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Take that for what it's worth. Will-

How's your oil pump? Did you check the screws on the back-plate that covers the impeller? It may just be worn out, how many miles are on it. Will-

Just to add one small bit to Sub360's excellent description, the pedal height should be the same as before the clutch job. It wouldn't have been moved as a normal part of that job.

my '96 outback is a cable clutch. The adjustment is made at the clutch fork by loosening/tightening the cable. I think it's 1/8th at the fork, 3/8ths at the pedal?

Just picked these up for free on Sunday, an '86 and '85 Yamaha FZ600s

an ashtray from any 96-99 should work

It depends on which engine your outback has. If it's a 5 speed, then it should have the 2.2 liter engine which is non-interference. However if it's an automatic, then it has the 2.5 liter engine which IS an interference engine. The belt interval for the 2.2 is 60k and the interval for a 2.5 is 100k I'd check your receipt for the 90k belt change and see what else was done, like the waterpump, idlers, etc. If none of those were done, then I'd definately consider doing it. If all those were done, then you should be fine till the next belt interval.

I like how they suggest that it could somehow be the car's fault and not the numb-nutted teenagers that are doing the "driving"

good theory That's weird, .005 ain't much, but weird that it would be there at all. Too bad no phase 2 ej22 peeps are speaking up. Good luck! Will-

yup, dual port heads. I couldn't swear that my engine hadn't been swapped either as I got it with 120k and no service history whatsoever. I was mostly basing my earlier comments on cars101 info and info from the board. But it seems Subaru was not shy about putting whatever they had on hand into whatever they had on hand. Of course, none of this helps you with your flywheel question except to perhaps look for a part number for a '97-'99 ej22 that would be undoubtedly a phase 2. 113k and the disc is already down to rivets? Does it still drive or was it slipping like mad? I can't imagine the flywheel won't need at least a turn to get off the glazing that must be present from riding the clutch hard enough to fail by 113k.

huh, I dunno. I'm pretty sure mine's dual port, but I couldn't swear to it. I'll check when I get home if you're interested.

From everything I've read on this board, the '96 ej22 is a phase one motor and thus a non-interference engine. The ej22 in my OBW is non-interference. When I did my clutch a few months back, my flywheel had NO step. I remember reading a post once upon a time about people stepping the flywheel to achieve more grab. Perhaps an angle to research? When I priced new flywheels, I remember seeing only one part number for the ej22 for whatever that's worth. The run-out spec for the flywheels is pretty small, .002 or .001 or so. I turned mine at work and it was cake using a carbide cutter. Will-

incidentally, what brand of axle did you use? There are pages and pages of posts complaining of shudders and vibration due to poor quality axles on legacys. MWE or OEM seem to be the only reliable choice. I'm not saying you can't get lucky with a store-bought axle, just that those two reportedly have the least chance of failure.

80% of the braking happens up front, running with one would be pretty dangerous, especially on the freeway or highway. Not even sure if that would work since every time you hit the brakes, the loose caliper would travel unrestricted robbing the force from the other calipers the same as if you had a leak. If he's in a town already, she should be able to have something shipped to a local post office which should hold it for pickup.

It is pretty much that simple. I did this recently on my '96 2.2 (same engine) and it is just three bolts along the center line as you describe. I would clean up around the valve covers before you remove them to minimize crap from getting into the valve train. I don't remember removing the airbox, but I did remove the batter for better access. Also remember to change the grommets around those three bolts on either side as they can leak too. Oil won't come pouring out, but you will get some drizzle so a pan or piece of cardboard or something underneath would be a good idea. Will-

That's pretty typical of that kind of wreck. the offending car is usually in a nose dive putting it's bumper below the car it's going to hit, especially if it's a truck. If it's plastic and sheet metal against a bumper and frame rails, it's not going to be any contest no matter what kind of car it is. My mother in law and grandfather both have CRV's and I don't care for them. I think their mileage is poor for their size and I just don't like the way they are set up. But they are a Honda and neither has been in the shop for anything other than routine maintenance (160k and 120k respectively). I agree with Bucky, buy a repair manual and tackle the strut job yourself. it feels good to take care of your vehicle, not to mention to save the money!

I believe Dusty meant use a tow-bar and tow the XT6 loaded with gear instead of the trailer, but I suppose an XT6 full of crap is still above the towing weight of any Outback.

I agree with those saying that you should be upfront about it. I was certainly capable of A's and B's, and I got them through most of school. Until my senior year of high school when I just stopped going to classes. I found welders, and bicycles and suddenly had no interest in continuing school. It wasn't because it was hard, it just wasn't as interesting as the rest of the world around me. I'm willing to bet that a very large percentage of the regulars on this board were more into the physical world then the theoretical one. If your son shows an inclination to working with his hands, I would encourage that as much as possible. Somebody that can figure out the physical world will always have work in a country filled with people who can't unclog their own toilet or change their own oil. I'm not saying you shouldn't make a good education a priority, I'm just saying that a scholastic education isn't everything. Whatever way you decide, I think it's fantastic. It was my pop paying me $5 for oil jobs and $10 for brakes that got me started. That and the statement, "if you can read English, you can work on cars". My first carrot was a '76 Datsun 510 sedan. When we went to get it, he handed me the "keys" a 16oz hammer that I used to "release" the parking brake. Will-

This is coming from a non-offroader, but a seasoned long distance trip taker. take the car you know. From what I've read, it seems you know XT's better then your own feet. Have a good trip! Will-

While there are different forks, there is just one "finger" on the end of the shift rod that pushes the fork around. The sideways, or twisting motion to get to the next set of gears is really very slight, like a degree or two motion on the rod, then for 5th reverse you have to depress a spring, it can get tricky but you should be able to find each gear. I had a similar problem on my '96 with a manual trans and when I pulled the trans, the clutch fork had split at the pivot ball. The result was that when I depressed the clutch, not all of the motion was transfered to the pressure plate. Instead the fork was just bending in at the pivot. The clutch action felt normal, it just wouldn't shift. I was not able to see this from looking inside the fork hole unfortunately, I didn't find it until I had the engine out. However, mine was paired with a grinding noise when I push the clutch pedal in which was caused by the split in the fork cutting across the surface of the pivot ball. If yours managed to crack someplace besides the pivot, you wouldn't hear anything. If your clutch is fine otherwise (not chattering really bad, not slipping) you could probably slide the engine and trans far enough apart to get the fork off and replace it. Be sure to get new clips from the dealer to hold the throwout bearing onto the fork. Good luck! Will-

Sweet ride! My '96 Outback 2.2, 5spd gets 30mpg average with a 100 mile, mostly hwy commute at 70 mph with some stop and go traffic. It's been getting that for the 2.5 years that I've been doing that drive. With winter gas I see a drop down to 29 average, but that's not much of a change. I did see a drop down to 25 this last winter. It had had a recent tuneup so I replaced the front 02 and I was back up to 29.

What's the Check Engine Code, how long has the light been on, and under what circumstances did it first appear? Take it to an Autozone if you have one near by and they will read the codes for you for free. I don't know Shyte about AT's but the above is universal. Good Luck! Will-

The clips are only for the throw-out bearing, they hold the bearing onto the fork. If the clips break or fall off, the TO bearing causes troubles, what troubles I don't know specifically. The pilot bearing has no clips, it sits inside the flywheel and it held in place by friction until you mate the engine and trans then it's pinned between the input shaft of the trans and the back of the crank.

I bet you'd be fine as well considering you've got a good brand of battery. I've got a story too, I lost the alt in a chevy starcraft van and didn't realize it. Drove it around town for three days before the battery finally quit. Not lots of mileage, but lots of starter action. You're probably thinking that you don't want to buy an alt 'cause you have a box full of them at home, how about someone brings you one? Good luck! Will-