Fairtax4me

What year is the car? What kind of audio system?

Check Subarupartsforyou.com They list part numbers for the STI axle boots. SPFY sells all parts individually so the part number they list is just for the boot. Band clamps, grease, circlips are not included.

The back to the future version! Used to could edit thread titles but that went away with the new board.

California was where it all started so we blame them for everything. Who are they to tell is that smog is bad!? Emily, In what ways are the blocks different? Something having to do with reducing friction is my best guess, bit thats more in line with piston/ring changes.

Basically Just means it has Af ratio sensors instead of regular O2 sensors, but it has 5 of them. Pretty much all of them were PZEV by that point. Most mods won't make much difference. If you're doing major stuff a tune will be necessary anyway to get the best of the mods.

Not gonna happen. Separator leak is too slow. I've watched oil constantly drip from the bellhousing because the separator leak and it never makes it even near the clutch. Rear main, different story. Shaking that doesn't go away or change with a change in engine speed is usually drivetrain related. Cv axle, u-joint, carrier bearing, something like that. If it's having power loss that could means its having a misfire problem (weak spark due to faulty coil pack or old plugs). An oddity that occasionally happens with those engines is the ports for the hydraulic lifters clog and the lifters can pump up too much and hold the valves open.

Transfer bearings... Easy fix IMO. Of course, a dealer has to go by their book labor time, which probably includes totally removing the trans from the car. Hence their 8-12 hour estimate. I don't think there are any special tools required to replace those. If your second mechanic has a press he should be able to replace either of the driven gear bearings pretty easily.

Unless you're rallying this car... There's no point. Get lock-down bolts. Or buy some square tube from lowes and make your own.

I recently ordered a bunch of EMPI axle boot kits from partsgeek.com. Might try looking there because they had a fairly large offering of axle boots. The EMPI boots are well made, (much thicker than dorman) and the kits include new snap rings and band clamps.

Yep.

Easiest to pop a used trans in it. The bearing costs about $65 IIRC, then you have to tear down the trans, press the old one off and the new one on. A good 3-4 hours between disassembly cleaning and reassembly.

Bad mainshaft bearing would be my guess. Lets the shaft walk fore/aft and it knocks the center out of the clutch hub. 4th is usually the first gear to go when the bearing goes bad.

No need to pull the rotor. 1/4" of play is pretty substantial. Any chance you can rent a car for your trip? Weekend rate!

Thank you Mr Dash for posting that link! Lots of good info there. I was looking for that flow diagram and couldn't remember where I had seen it posted.

If it's sitting at idle and starts doing its stumble thing, will it eventually just cut off? Or does it have to be driving for the problem to happen?

It is ridiculously easy to change an axle on that car. $390 is probably the cost of a rebuilt subaru axle and about .3 hr labor. There are many better options for axles than paying $350 for a dealer part. Same goes for the knock sensor. Dealers put huge mark-up on those, and the OE brand (Unisia- Jecs) can be bought on eBay for about $30. Takes 10 minutes to change. Part of their game is to inflate prices so you're tempted to walk over to the sales dept and buy a newer car. Find an independent shop that knows Subarus. All of that can be done for well under $1,000 if you find the right shop.

Go to Subaru dealer, Subaru reman alternator: 23700AA34ARA $78 list ($67 online) $50 core. They're usually in stock. Check that you have 12v reaching the alternator on both small wires that plug into the back.

I'm not too familiar with the canister setup on that year, but check the hoses that go to the canister for anything obvious. Try to squeeze them and see if they feel like they're full of dirt. If there is a filter mounted above the canister check the hose that runs from the filter into the frame for a bugs nest in the end. Try to blow air through the filter and hoses. There are some valves that can be tested by putting the ECU in Test mode. (Green connectors under the dash) and making sure you can blow air through them as they click on/off.

The only potential issue I can see is smoking the clutch trying to get started up the ramp. Depends on how steep the ramp is. An auto trans won't have that issue. Add an auxiliary trans fluid cooler to keep fluid temps down while towing the boat.

Any recent work done like replacing the filler tube?

It's been a while since I've pulled one of these with an automagic trans and I wasn't thinking earlier about the width of the pan flange. Try this approach with a 3" extension.

The Pw breaker is usually under the dash. Kind of a small silver rectangle with two spade tabs sticking out of it. Should say the amp rating on the side. Battery > 40 amp slow blow fuse (mount close to the battery or draw from one of the SBFs in the underhood fuse box) > circuit breaker (it can get warm so mount where it can breath, preferably inside the car where it's not exposed to the elements) > wire to the seat

Sending units on these are notoriously inaccurate. Even with a brand new unit it probably still won't read correctly. And that low fuel light will only come on when it wants to. It has a mind of its own. Not worth worrying about. Where are you measuring to get 11.57v? Is that with the pump running? How does that compare to the battery voltage? If your battery is only at 11.8, then 11.5 at the pump isn't too terribly far off.

Relay. A whole solenoid is extreme overkill when a 30 amp relay will work fine. If the solenoid on the starter is engaging (clicking) then it isn't a problem of power getting to the solenoid. The problem is inside the solenoid, or in the starter motor. I've dealt with plenty of rebuilt starters that do exactly this, and it's usually due to a problem inside the starter motor. Either damaged connection between the solenoid and the motor, or damaged windings in the motor. It might look all nice and pretty in the box, but that rebuilt starter got slammed all around and dropped plenty of times on its way to and from the rebuilder in (insert name of developing industrial country) to your local parts store. Then there's always the question of the quality of replacement parts used by the rebuilder... If they did anything more than slap a coat of cheap silver paint on the outside.

That car doesn't have the tone wheel on the back of the hub so you won't have to worry about that. The clearance between the stud and the housing of the knuckle can be an issue though. The only way to really know how much room you have is to take the brake rotor off and look. Find the most open area and see if you can get enough room to knock the stud out. I've never had any trouble knocking these small studs out with a hammer. And they can be driven back in with a hammer and punch.