lostinthe202

My assumption is that I just need the HLA's. Perhaps I'll just pull those. I was going to get the whole rocker assembly since they can be had cheap. Thanks Will-

'96 OBW 2.2L, 204k (non-interference) I've got some noisy lifters which I would like to tackle. Since this is my daily driver, I want to minimize down time so at the suggestion of a board member I was going to pickup a rocker assembly at a JY to get some HLA's from and I would like to know which years of 2.2 I can use. Thanks!

So it sounds like it's not uncommon to have a lifter or more clog up or refuse to pump up without there being anything wrong with the oil pump. As I mentioned earlier, the oil pump backplate screws were loctited at the last T-belt change (160k). I realize that that isn't a guarantee that they didn't back out again, but it is less likely. Does a loose backplate (or slop in the gears as Qman suggested) cause poor oil pressure, IE could I check that with a gauge? One of the pdf's OB99W posted mentions that a bad oil pump may show pressure within spec but still not move the volume necessary. Is there any way for an over worked underpaid machinist to check that without pulling the pump? Sub360, good suggestion on the JY rocker assembly, I didn't think of that. Any idea what range of years are compatible? Thanks! Will-

Hmm... Thanks for the good info, I didn't think to suspect the oil pump. My T-belt still has another 20k or so, but I guess I'll move that up and check out the pump. I put loctite on the screws the last time I was in there, but who knows. Qman, thanks for the tip of the cheaper HLA's, I'll remember that if I need to replace. Will-

'96 OBW 2.2L 5spd, 203k I've got one or more noisy lifters. I'm ordering valve cover gaskets and the grommets so I could go in there and bleed them. In your (the collective "your") experience, how often have you (the collective "you") found that an HLA couldn't be bled and had to be replaced? I ask 'cause this is my daily driver and I want to minimize down time so I thought I might order a lifter or two at the same time as a preemptive measure. As always, thanks!!!

Thanks for the info!

Finding out how long you can run your oil is something that I'd be interested in. I put 500 miles a week in commute alone, so doing my oil and filter every 3000 miles has me changing my oil every month and a half and that can add up in a year. 7500 as my owner's manual suggests seems like too long so I've been doing it every 5000. But if through an oil analysis I could find the magic number, even if that number was 3000, I could save in the long run by getting more out of the motor. that could be worth 20 bucks.

Sorry, should've used more detail. What I meant was, assuming you found something in the oil like metal from somewhere or some amount of coolant or whatever, does this (depending of the level) give you some sort of opportunity to fix something that you wouldn't otherwise? Or can it give you a reasonably accurate idea of how long you have left before something blows? Like would you be able to say, "ah this engine going to develop rod-knock soon" or something like that? I'm trying to understand how to use this tool. Like if you were able to use it to detect early headgasket failure or early rod-knock or something then it would be useful when purchasing a car to gauge the condition of the engine or before putting down a bunch of cash on other kinds of repairs. Thanks for the info! Will- p.s. I don't mean to hijack, I think it is pretty related to the OP.

Interesting. What can one learn from an oil analysis?

It's quite possible the ID of the gear is not hard. Are they a smooth bore or are they splined? If they're smooth and not hard, then it would be pretty easy. If they're splined, you'd need the correct broach and that can be expensive.

Pickle forks work great if you are replacing the ball joint as they almost always tear the boot. Pullers are the best if you happen to have one. I've gotten them off by loosening the castle nut enough to cover the ends of the threads, then jacking the arm up by the ball joint end so the suspension is compressed (not enough that you lift the car off the jack stand though) then beat downward on the arm with a BFH of your choice. This doesn't always work and you stand a good chance of buggering either the threads or the nut or both if you're not careful. The puller or pickle fork is the preferred method, but as those aren't always available.... Good luck!

That's a bummer, do you see signs of wear on any of the other gear sets?

If reliability is important to you and you want to be able to get in and drive, then I would avoid getting a car at auction. Yes deals can be had, but so can the problems that caused the previous owners to ditch the car and the previous dealer to not be able to sell it. Imdew's suggestion is not a bad one provided your state allows an engine older then the model year of the car to be installed, something not all states agree on. Not a bid deal if you do the work yourself, but if you're going to have a shop do it, they might not want to if it is illegal. The 2.2l engine up to '96 is a non-interference engine and, while a little underpowered, is considered one of subaru's best engines in terms of reliability and longevity. Good luck with your hunt. Do some searches here and you should be able to answer any question you have. Will-

One of those auto-lore things I learned as a wee teen is that if you can get play in a u-joint in any direction by hand, then it is worn out. Don't know if that's strictly true, but they are cheap enough so I always abide by theory. I've had a couple of worn out u-joints over the years, but they were worn when I got the vehicles and like your GL, they were so bad it was amazing the shaft didn't drop. Will-

I've wondered if all the pulling and prying on these stubborn pulleys contributes to their self-destruction? When they get old, I'm sure that rubber doesn't like the beating. Not that I'm saying it isn't necessary to get the damn thing off the car, but ya know, just speculating.

+1

Thanks for the input fellas. My trans shifts beautifully, always has, which is why I went through the trouble of replacing the bad bearings in it. The rear double roller bearing on the main shaft had lost both cages. Parts of them were ground into powder and parts were in the process but still kicking around the case. I used the seafoam to help facilitate the removal of the metal paste that was left behind from the eaten cages. Will-

Too late. I know it thins the oil, but I wasn't planning on having it in there for very long. I added it at the gas station (15 miles from my house) then drove it home and did and oil change.

I made this to replicate Special Tool #123456 to pull the studs out of the tilt mechanism in the steering column of my G-pa's 86 scottsdale. It's just a 1/2-20 bolt drilled and tapped for a 10-32 stud. The 10-32 threads into the stud, the that aluminum washer goes between the column and the big hex nut. Hold the bolt stationary and turn the big hex nut... When I was doing my trans the other week, I ordered a 36mm socket for the big nut on the back of the main shaft. When it arrived, it turned out to be 3/4 drive instead of 1/2 drive. I don't know if it was their fault or mine, but either way I didn't want to wait for a replacement or buy another one so I made this adapter. It's a 3/4 square on one side and a 7/8 hex on the other. Made it out of some O1, hardened it and added it to the box!

That's friggin sweet. So you took the AWD pinion shaft, the 4.11 front diff and put them in the D/R case? Any mods to any of the parts involved? Any year restrictions on donar parts that you're aware of? Good job!!

PM sent

Cool, thanks Nipper. Are they switches or am I going to find a printed circuit back there? If it's a circuit board then I guess the only way to test is to replace with a known good unit eh? Thanks again! Will-

'96 OBW, 2.2L, 201k My climate control is stuck on the def/floor setting. I don't mean that I have sticky buttons, all of my buttons work but pushing a button doesn't change the setting. While my backlights have been out for awhile, the little green light under each button has alwasy worked until about a week ago when I noticed that it too went out. I can't say for sure if the climate controls stopped working at that same time but it is entirely possible. Anyone know which fuse these are on? Are they electrical switches or vacuum switches? Ideas please.. Thanks! Will-

I'm not an expert on wheel bearings or even bearings in general, but as a machinist in a shop that does it's own maintenance, I'll venture a guess. Any bearing that has failed, ie has a damaged race, damaged cage, damaged roller/ball, etc, is not going to evenly distribute the centrifugal force and, given enough time, I could see how it would knock the seat (or hub in this case) out of round even ever so slightly. Once the hub is out of round, the new bearing will suffer the same fate as the old since it does not have even support around it's circumfrance. I had a really noisy bearing in the head of a mill last summer. When I got it apart, it turned out to be one of the bearings on the motor shaft. It was a ball bearing and the balls appeared to be in good shape with just the slightest hint of wiggle indicating it was bad. But the section of shaft that the bearing was pressed onto was so wrinkled and distorted that one had to wonder if it was ever hardened. It was made overseas so I suppose one still should wonder, but assuming it was, that's at least one example of a bearing seat getting hammered. If I had tried to press a new bearing on that shaft, I'd be replacing it inside a month I'm sure.

As an avid searcher, I hate it when a post just gets dropped and the result of a similar problem as the one I'm searching for doesn't get closure. So I thought I would assure all those with my particular personality quirk that I will update this when new info becomes available. But so far, I have not had a repeat of the behavior. I have AAA so I'm not inclined to throw parts at something that has not yet made itself known and would rather have a crap day that costs me nothing but a tip to the tow truck driver then throw money at a problem that isn't real yet. My main bafflement and why I posted was that I didn't get a CEL, but Nipper's post about how you don't get a CEL until after the car is running makes sense as during startup all the conditions that the ECU is looking for are not present yet so I could see how it would want to complain and how they must've put built in a provision for that. Anyway, I'll say more when I have more, Thanks as always!! Will-