1997reduxe

but don't they sell the split boots that you can just wrap around the axle and tighten or snap? I thought they did... I know there's an axle place here in Houston that's great and they do good work cheap but they say the same thing, they won't reboot an axle, cause of possibility of dirt already in it etc and it's considered "bad work" or whatever. It's just not in their interest to not be able to re-axle the car. But if you can get the split boot (if they exist) or go anywhere to get it rebooted, save as many miles on the axle as possible, because even clicking they last. I've driven them for years clicking, I just didn't accelerate during a turn. But I sure wish I'd have done the boot when I saw it...

I used to have a friend who's now passed who loved saying it's not the size of the army but the fury of the attack. Of course we weren't talking oil...

Hey all. So it's been about two months since my mechanic changed my timing belt. No probs yet, and last weekend I drove about 10 hours or so total to San Antonio, Austin and back to Houston, and yesterday I noticed a strange vibe/noise from engine, and saw the crank pulley's loose. If he were real nearby, I'd drive it right over to him, but he's a least an hour away. Can you tighten the crank bolt without taking apart the tb cover etc? I only did it before when I did my own tb, and had all the stuff off already. Thanks, Dan

If you have any duct tape (used, of course) you could cover the hole right back up! >

hmmm. my mech washed them with the greased lightning and tho that seems like pretty wicked stuff, the the brakes are running fine. The GL seems like a wicked sodium hydroxide soap. But just for completeness sake i'll put this link about taking cosmoline off of rotors: http://www.ehow.com/how_2211401_clean-install-new-brake-rotors.html and the basic idea i get is that the oil if left on will contaminate the pads and their braking quality. but, i guess that could vary according to pad type. didn't want to mess with my new ceramics...

just my two cents but i think there's probably a lot of difference between aftermarket pulleys. and this is such a big job (esp with your car being a 90 and who knows when it's been done last) so replace all parts and the better you use the longer it will last between jobs. I was lucky to get this kit for my 95 from some guy on ebay who didn't need it for $215 shipped, but i looked for a while: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CRP-Contitech-TB172LK1-Timing-Belt-Kit-With-Water-Pump-/280894423744?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item41669cc2c0&vxp=mtr#ht_1060wt_936 if you notice this kit also has the hyd tensioner (not just the tensioner pulley), and the aisin water pump, BUT NOT the main and camshaft seals, which should be bought from Subaru separately. i believe these pulleys which are green plastic are oem quality or made, but that's an assumption. but using a cheaper quality wp or whatever almost creates possibility of needing a new part within 100k (like my cheap wp i replaced with, once.) the oem parts last forever, for a reason. here's a post i made a while back about belts fyi: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=131610&page=3

The guy who's doing my brakes says he uses Grease Lightning? I guess that's ok? I may just use the Palmolive before I go. Thanks for all the other chem info, though. '97

I don't get it, what would be the problem with the non-chlorinated? Dan

Acetone? Acckkk! Shades of the old Pottstown Silicon wafer factory! No, no acetone, but thanks for the other suggestions. I do have Palmolive. I think that's pretty much plain soap. I know they recommend it to wash kittens for fleas. (Not that anyone needs to know that.) Good weekend, all. Dan

Hey all. What's the best stuff to clean the oil off of new rotors with? I heard simple green, soap? Any opinions? Thanks again. Dan

use a subaru cap, right?

Check this post going on right above yours. Good start. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=134010 I just can't write it again, at least not tonight.

Yeah and one thing too, you have to keep in mind this forum is mainly either people who work on cars a lot, mechanics, techs, car geeks, or people who come here because they are experiencing car problems. There are whole websites devoted to the hell of Sube head gasket failures, but then there are probably a lot of folks who drive a 2.5 and have never had a problem. So if you can find people who are reputable, or again the maint records or a local mechanic who has serviced the car over its lifetime, who can verify past troubles or not, that's what you're looking for. Small dealers are notorious for repairing and flipping cars. Stay away! '97

If I were you I'd reset the check engine light, and see when the light comes back on what they say at Autozone again. "If" it says both 2 and 4 now. It sounds strange to me that you can drive so far with it only coming on twice? With bent valves? I suppose that's possible. But it may only be intermittent. And look through the members on here and/or ask for shops in the city you'll be in. Lotta info here. Oh yes, one other thing, if one pulley went bad, the others may as well. I'm assuming they didn't change any of them when they did the belt, and it sounds like the 400 got you one pulley... Keep it in mind. (That was a good one about the stealerships, at first I thought you said Dealerships because you can also buy crack out the back door...) Good luck. '97

Anybody ever have any experience with BWD/NIEHOFF or Tailor Wires? It's strange, when I look up NGK it comes up sometimes with NGK/Tailor Magnetic Core Wires. Are they one and the same? Jus wondering if anyone ever used them. And, I see Tailor Mag Core Premium, Select, and Ultra. Thanks again.

I'll take the first plunge. To be honest, if you look around, I'd have to ask my brother how he searched and came up with so many, but for example on craigslist there are many for sale but they go fast, sometimes really cheap. I wish it was on cl still, but they had a really nice 2001 legacy outback with 130k that needed an engine the other day for $1650 here in Houston. If I had had the money I'd have driven straight over and bought it. The thing as I can sum it about 2.2 vs 2.5, in my experience if you find a 2.2 that has relatively low miles and runs well, quiet, and it has either had (verifiable) maintenance done, or you start it as soon as you buy it, complete timing belt kit changeout, pulleys, water pump, oil pump reseal procedure, all (subaru) cam and main seal, then you'll have a very good chance of it going a long long time, easily 300k+. And I have never heard of auto or manual being better, but auto is easier, and their autos if cared for, often even if not, run practically trouble free the life of the car. With the 2.5s, you can expect that they may well be selling because of head gasket issues, possibly not, but you will either be able to make it a while, hopefully a good while, without problems, but you might want to replace them (and all subsequent other labor/parts involved) sooner or later. Someone told me the other day when I was asking here, do it right away upon buying: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=133778 But that is just my general impression, I have never had a 2.5, but 3 2.2s. The other thing to consider is that pre-97 2.2s are non-interference engines, the valves won't be bent on a simple timing belt breakage, however a lot of other damage can be done, I have learned, such as damage to block from broken pulley bolts being ripped, etc. Post 96/97 changeover are interference, as well as are all 2.5s? Of course the problem now is that pre97 are becoming quite dated, though I see down here (Houston/TX) many early ones, 92, 93 etc that I suppose due to lack of snow and salt they look fantastic, and often have real low miles, 85, 90k, etc. I'm sure others who know more may chime in. Keep your eyes on CL, cars.com (it filters a lot of small regional newspapers that may be out in boonies so you may have a better chance if you don't mind taking a drive. I drove 8 hours to look at my 2nd one from SE PA to southern NY.) But REAL southern cars are better. Oh, and especially since you're in Colorado, check out this profile: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/member.php?u=358 She is one of the most knowledgeable people regarding rebuilding Sube engines on this forum, and she's in Denver. (They do it for a living). But if you pick through her posts you'll find a wealth of info regarding head gasket jobs, which bearings to use on a rebuild, any & every old thing. Good luck. Dan

Thank you very much FairTax. That's just the manual info I needed to figure out the size of my brakes to order etc. Dan

So I'm looking around trying to find/order brakes for my Legacy. (95, Wagon, 2.2, AWD, 4 disk brakes, built 2/95, 15 inch wheels.) The thing is some info I look at seems to say most all legacies 90-99 have the same size calipers rotors etc, other places seem to differentiate between 14 or 15 inch wheels. I see 57mm for front calipers, and 35mm for rear? Can anybody please tell me what size I need to find for rear/front? I am going crazy, every time I look at another place it seems they throw another variable in. Help!

Yes, thanks.

I love this website. Gotta donate more to it when I get my next "freedom" (ie, unemployment) check. And get Shawn to update my donor status, which I already am. I might get the bleeder, but I found my "Suby Savior" recently here north of Houston to do my car labor for me. I haven't as yet asked him about the brakes, but as an example he's gonna replace my inner AND outer tie rods, AND lower ball joints for 84 bucks. And he's so honest. I originally asked him to just quote price to do inner TRs and joints, and he said 84, then when I reasked about inner and outer and joints, expecting at least some more of a cost, he said "Oh, I should have said that included both." Amazing. Saving my life right now, I'll tell you...

You got the rotors there too? What brand? Thanks That so great. Def. will save a lot of money. I think that Dave's is even better than rockauto, at least for brakes.

Yeah, if they're that cheap then I will definitely just buy new rotors and thanks for the advice. But I had always been of the impression that you needed to buy "better" or Sube-type OEM on brakes cause Subarus are picky when they come to brakes? And what brand/type (ceramic, metal etc) of pads and rotors did you get? Thanks all. Dan

They did a four wheel alignment? jus thinkin... :-\

Can I resurrect this thread to ask something? I'm considering replacing the front calipers on my 95 Legacy wagon 2.2. There is definite brake vibration in front right, and as car has 180k on it I figured to possibly replace disks/calipers/pads and give it a new brake lifetime. That is if the local repair/machine shop says they can't turn the rotors. If they can I might go for caliper rebuild for now if they think feasible. But some of the loaded caliper sets say they come "with bracket", some don't mention it. Should I try to get ones that have the bracket, or if they don't, get a bracket myself, or doesn't this really matter? Are there any other parts you might replace when replacing rotors pads and calipers? (Other than brake fluid...) Thanks again. Dan

Yeah if you do go through Mike Scarff, don't know if you're close enough to them or they'd have to ship to you, always ask for Jason there. That place used to be called Auburn Sube or something similar, and it was the dealer that fed 1stsubaruparts website, not anymore, but Jason still sells net stuff for them, and he's real helpful and gets me the best deals. Of course, I always throw in how I've been buying from him for like 10 years from old 1stsubaru days etc. http://www.mikescarffsubaru.com/index.htm