Fairtax4me

How far did you go? And where did the oil go?

If the release lever is cracked it will just bend instead of pushing in the pressure plate. You may be able to see if it is cracked down near the pivot point by removing what's left of the torn dust boot and looking down into the bellhousing wih a light.

I stay away from poly bushings for the most part because I've seen too many wear out in the center and allow play in the bushing. If I have to take them apart and clean and re-grease them every 6 months its not worth it to me. Gary I went to the dealer and checked a set of new stock bushings and they were pretty soft. They didnt have the WRX bushings in stock and didnt want to order them unless I paid for them. I figured they must be a little stiffer than the Legacy bushings but I'm trying to figure out just how much stiffer are they before I order them. The group N bushings are actually the cheapest of the bunch at only about $19 per. And I know those will be pretty solid, but does saving $10 mean I'm gonna feel every time the rear wheel runs over a caterpillar in the road? The group N motor mounts I bought transfer a ton of nvh, I can only imagine the other bushings will be the same way. WRX bushings are right in the middle at about $25 per. Stockers are about $30 per. This is only the front bushings, the rear bushings seem to be fine.

I use an 8" c clamp to compress tensioners. Cold wont hurt it. Ive done head gaskets in sub- freezing temps with little-no heat plenty of times. The engines used in Formula 1 cars have to be assembled at operating temperature because the clearance between the pistons and cylinder walls is so tight they don't actually fit together when cold. The engines practically seize when cold because the metal contracts more than the clearance. A Subaru engine isn't made quite like that. Slap it together. Just follow the directions for the head torque sequence.

Makes a big friggen difference doesn't it, that one tooth? :-p

You have to be a big person to be able to completely disengage the clutch by pushing on the release lever by hand. There is a spring pushing back with about 1500 lbs of force at the other end of that lever. With the pivot at about 1/3 the length of the lever it means you need to push with about 750 lbs of force on your end to overcome the spring. With the clutch cable connected have someone push the pedal down while you watch the release lever move. It should move about 1-1/4". If the release lever moves that far or a bit further then cable operation is normal and there is some other cause. It could be a cracked release lever or there could be damage to the pressure plate or clutch disc. The hardware from the old cable would not have fallen into the bellhousing. If it did it would have fallen to the bottom and probably rolled out. You may find some of it somewhere under the intake manifold, but chances are it fell off the side down to the road. Those boots split all the time. It spreads open when the release fork is pulled back. When the cable broke the release lever shot forward (throwing any parts still attached to it) and the opening in the boot closed up.

They're all one wire units. Just swap the plug if you need to. It's not hard to slide the pins out.

Like I said, I needs 'em. I'm looking for replacements that are tougher than the bowl of jello stock bushings, but not polyurethane tough. I was thinking of Group N bushings, but think those might be too tough still. I want SOME pliability, just not as much as the stock bushings. Wondering if WRX or STI bushings are like the happy medium? Or should I just go for the group n bushings and save like $20? (They cost less)

You can helicoil the mount for the tensioner or replace it. That section is removeable, you can drill all the way through it of needed. Just don't drill into the block behind it. Drivers camshaft is in the loaded position when at the proper timing mark. It will rest in that position when set at the mark. I use a breaker bar to give me the most leverage and avoid turning past the mark. Good news is the pistons are all at half stroke when the crankshaft is set at the timing mark so valves can not clash. No chance of damage as long as you don't spin the crankshaft.

Glad to hear he is alive and otherwise well all things considered. The car is replaceable.

I have no possible explanation. It fits the MO of rod knock, but rod knock doesn't go away just by changing a spark plug. Keep an ear on it. Check for sparklies in the oil next time you change it. I would hold off on timing parts for now.

If it runs good then It's all good. Glad to hear it's running well.

1000 rpm idle is too high. It should be around 700-750. Kinds sounds like you have a vacuum leak. Check all of the vacuum hoses. Also check any hoses that attach to the intake tube. And make sure the intake tube isn't cracked or split anywhere between the MAF sensor and throttle body. Another possibility is a bad ECT sensor.

Grab that white thing with some pliers and pull it out. Then you can get at the lock tabs on the pins with a flat head precision screwdriver or other small pointed tool.

I'm not convinced that is a rod knock. It's not piston slap though. Still think you should poke around with a stethoscope and try to find the source of the noise.

The Felpro gaskets are good. I've used their blue gaskets on several occasions. Never had a problem with them.

New cables will stretch a bit and need re-adjustment after a few weeks. Have you been adjusting the hill holder cable out while adjusting the clutch cable in? Is the clutch cable routed exactly the same way as the old one? When the clutch cable is properly adjusted you should have about 1/4" of free play at the end of the release lever. The hill holder cable should pull the lever on the hill holder about 1/4" and should hold the release lever forward just enough so the TOB is not in constant contact with the pressure plate. That extra return spring should not be there. It's unnecessary on cars with the hill holder.

Did you remove or unplug the sensor for any reason I would first make sure the sensor is plugged in and the pins didnt back out of the connector. Next double check the large 16 and 12 pin connectors on the bellhousing. Make sure theyre plugged in tight and the pins are all connected.

Time it correctly and see what it does first. Odds are against you here but no point taking it apart unless you need to.

Use a long screwdriver or stethoscope if you have one, poke around the timing parts with the engine running. Obviously you can't touch the moving parts, but you can rest the point on the bolts that hold the idlers on. Listen on the block as well and try to pinpoint the noise.

Remove the strut/ spring and mount from the car. Compress the spring, put it on the strut, pull the rod up and put the mount back on it. My only other suggestion would be to use a jack under the control arm to lift the suspension on that corner. This will compress the spring and raise the strut at the same time. Use a n open end wrench to guide the rod into the right place. This second method, as stated before, is quite a bit more dangerous than the first.

You can't time these at TDC. Timing mark on the crank sets all pistons at half stroke. Look on the back edge of the sprocket at the reluctors for the crank sensor. 90 degrees counter clockwise from the TDC arrow. Line up the dot on the reluctor tooth with the notch on the top of the oil pump housing. Line up the notches on the cam sprockets with the notches in the rear timing cover.

Two things: make sure it's not the cooler line leaking around the banjo bolt where it goes into the case. There also appears to be a plug on the extension housing for the transfer clutch pressure feed. Make sure it's not leaking there.

So it's leaking from the very back of the transmission? Is it coming out of the driveshaft seal or is it forward of that? The extension/ tail housing seal shouldn't be too difficult to repair. Pretty sure it can be done with the trans in the car. Ill have to check out the FSM when I get home.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/90-97-1-8-2-2L-Subaru-Impreza-Legacy-EJ18-EJ22-Timing-Belt-Kit-AISIN-Water-Pump-/260925109309?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A1996%7CMake%3ASubaru&hash=item3cc059343d&vxp=mtr Good for at least the 60k interval. Aisin makes OE water pumps for just about every major Japanese manufacturer. They're good stuff. That kit also includes oil seals for the cams and crankshaft.