simpreza2

I am replacing my rear struts and mounts on my 98 Impreza L because the one side was completely shot but I'm not sure if I should replace the springs as well. On my last Subaru, a 95 Legacy w/224k, the front left spring snapped one day while just sitting in the driveway and sliced the tire, thank God I wasn't driving when that happened. I obviously want to save money, as I'm currently jobless, but safety comes first. What do you guys typically do when a car has 180-200K. Is it safe to keep using the originals?

So I washed my a few evenings ago and let it dry out all night and the next day with the hood up and when I started it, everything was fine....for about 10 min. I had the battery light and brake light come on, along with the day time running lights flickering just like when an alternator is going bad. I have a scan guage and was reading anywhere from 12.5 (at idle) to 13.8 volts(when driving) I drove around for a day or two with no other problems and decided to take it to get the alt. load tested at advanced auto. The battery, alt. and drain test all passed. Test results- Alt no load - 13.51V 6.1A Full Load - 13.29V 9.2A Batt with car off - 12.71V meassured 660 CCA cranking voltage - 11.43V 145A The DRL are the only lights to flicker, when driving at night with low or high beams, I have no problems but the batt and brake light are still on. Another thing to note is that the DRL DO NOT flicker at idle, only when you push on the gas pedal. Do you guys still think its the alt. or could it be something else? Thanks guys!

Thanks guys for the help, I fixed it. When I put the intake manifold on, I was in a hurry and ripped it creating a vacuum leak. Shes all better now. Thanks again! And just to answer your questions...the EJ22 is from my 95 Legacy and I miss stated my earlier post I used a 95 intake manifold with EGR not the 97 EJ25.

I was reading that this should be an easy swap and a decent amount of people have done this however; I just put a SOHC EJ22 into my 1997 Outback (which was a DOHC EJ25) and now it doesn't idle or run right. When I start the engine it catches and runs for 10 or seconds before stalling. When it does run, it sounds like its missing or loping(sp) like a v8 with a huge cam. I can keep the engine running by giving it gas but the rpm's shoot up very quickly. I drove it a mile or so but didn't get any codes. I checked the vac lines and they seem to be routed ok. EGR had a leak that I fixed. Any ideas? Details of swap... EJ22 block and heads (dual exhaust ports) 97 Intake with EGR 97 Mass Air Flow and Intake 97 ECU

There are a few causes of P0420 codes. The big three are aftermarket header, exhaust leak, and faulty O2 sensor. It could also be a bad cat. How many miles on the car? When was the last time, if ever, were the O2 sensors changed?

Sadly, no updates. I lost my job due to the awesome economy we have at this current moment in time

I have used the PCI idlers and tensioner on my 95 Legacy and so far (6k miles of not so easy driving) everything is ok. I sold the belt in the kit and bought an OEM, not quite sure why, but I did.

I tired to get the other side off and I couldn't. Breaker bar broke, 1/2' impact didnt budge it, so I left it alone. Yesterday I measured to make sure everything is in line and square, which it is. And for more good news... My car is back together! So, yesterday I ordered a NAPA Maxdrive axle which they got in this morning. I just installed it w/ no problems. I installed it the normal way, hub side first then tranny side and put the pin in. When I lowered it to the ground everything looks perfect. I took it for a 10 min ride with no problems. When I measured the NAPA axle with the old axle it seems to be 1/4 longer but I think that was b/c I couldn't get the old axle to be either fully extended or compressed. However the inner boot is way different on the NAPA axle. It has 4 ridges/bumps/accordion type folds where my old axle and the rebuild only had 3 on the inside. I'm not sure if this is what really made the difference, but it looks good and she drives like she did before, so shes fixed for now. Thanks again everyone for the help and suggestions!

Due to our economy being in such great shape, I was told to take tomorrow off so, I'll return the axle and see if I can get the NAPA MaxDrive axle. And try to install it tranny side 1st, then put the axle nut on.

I agree its probably something stupidly simple that I'm over looking. I tend to think complex before checking simple stuff. I have had the car on the ground with the wheels straight and the axle still seems to be too short. I have not tried the 2nd option, I will when I get a chance. Advanced Auto, its a rebuild. The I tried the old axle and it does the same thing. The old axle also looks to be after market and/or a rebuild. The extra length is what messed up my "original" axle. I just forced it and put the pin in and drove it for 2 weeks and now the boot tore open due to excessive stress from being stretched so much. It was fine with the original axle before I pulled and reinstalled the engine. What I don't understand is that everything went back in w/o any issues, everything lined up. I didn't break or strip anything , for once in my life and now this happens. Its always something. :-\

It was not a swap, I bought the car w/ 220k and no service history, so I decided to do the timing belt, water pump, cam & crank seals, etc... along with the clutch which was on its way out. So everything is original, minus the new axle. The new axle matches up with old one I removed when working on the car a few weeks ago. Original tranny and the dog bone should also be original (I haven't changed it) The engine is fully seated, I checked and moved the engine around 2 days ago to make sure. There was no complications when doing the work. I have done 4 clutches, 5 or 6 t-belts and seals, and a decent amount of work on suspension. Never have I been stumped like this, or even seen anything this weird. I will try to measure and take pics tomorrow after work. Im not quite sure I understand how you want a pic of the hubs. Do you want it from under the car facing foward and up? Kind of how I took the control arm/hub pics today? It might be tricky w/ no lift, but I will try. Thanks everyone for taking the time to make suggestions and help. I appreciate it.

Probably sometime in the spring. I don't really remember but they have been on there for a while.

Nipper here are the pics you asked for. I hope they are what you needed. There are more pics in my photobucket gallery but most aren't labeled. Some pics look funny because I had to use my fisheye lens to get a wide enough angle to see everything. Underhood - R. control arm with wheel full lock R. - R. control arm with wheel full lock L. (both pics are with the female end of the axle on the front diff stub but not on all the way as seen in last pic)- You know you like working on cars wearing pajama pants when its 30 degrees outside Rust. You can kind of get an idea of where it by looking at the strut on the left hand side of the pic. -

I will get the pics you want sometime tomorrow morning. I'll get my work lights out and my good camera, so hopefully I can some some decent photos. And there is a small amount of rot on the R. side just below the front door sill, I will take a pic of it. It does not look bad enough to mess with any frame or suspension geometry. I can't believe this is almost 6 pages long. I guess I should have taken better pics in the 1st place. Now I know.

Yeah, I know. Its kind of confusing with everyone using their own terminology to describe the same or similar parts. I think thats what got some people misunderstood and arguing. The only thing I can think of now, would be that a suspension piece is bent or the body(aka mounting point of control arm) got messed up, but it's all ok. Im baffled, but its probably b/c my brain is fried form so much studying. Watch me get it in on Thurs. b/c I was doing something stupid.