Fairtax4me

Different fluids can make a difference. The 4eat uses dexron 3 spec fluid, so if the fluid you used does not say it meets that spec you should change it with fluid that does. A bottle of Trans x additive could help improve shift quality if fluid changes didn't help.

Does it get better or worse as the fluid warms up?

That's pretty much it. Not sure about the grease on it, maybe one of the cv boots split? Of course the whole thing would look like the bottom of a grease pit if it was leaking oil (probably was). The usual culprits are valve cover gaskets, cam seals and o rings, and the separator plate. If you feel industrious you can reseal the oil pan while the engine is on the stand and easy to flip over. Then you can replace the pickup tube O ring at the same time.

That's actually funny, because I was thinking along the same lines. Even with big tires, you could still get off the line in Lo without trouble, then shift into hi around third gear and keep on rolling. I thought the plural of mouse was meese?

I've never used anything on those. I'm not sure why the one bolt needs the sealer. The flex plate bolts won't back out if you torque them properly.

For any long period of time I keep it around 2500 rpm. Works out to about 60 mph in my 96 sedan 5 speed. I average 33 mpg on trips driving like that.

Could have been an accidental repossession. Ive heard quite a few stories of Repo drivers picking up a car then driving around the corner with it before checking the VIN. Although, if it was obvious that no-one was home, it would have to be a really stupid person to just hook and go like that.

Thanks! Now I gotta go find one. I had this grand idea for lifting my sedan, but now i'm thinking along the lines of putting the lift on my wagon, swap out the automagic trans for a dual range 5 speed. Then I could sell the sedan and have room to park my truck in my driveway, rather than my friends backyard. You know I always kinda hated the "official" title on threads, but if the idea gains some momentum we could make a "Official Simple Everyday Answered Questions Thread" thread. :-p

We should start one of those threads. Maybe we can do it here? Maybe it's better suited for the Off topic section, I dunno. Anyway. My random question. I'm looking rather seriously into a dual range transmission swap into an EJ car. But I was thinking, since the low range unit is in front of the transmission on the DR, is it possible to shift between lo and hi on the fly? Or, at least by pushing the clutch in, while rolling, is it possible to shift from lo into hi range? I mean I'm sure it's do-able, I've shifted my Ranger from lo to hi while rolling. Kinda tricky but I went from 4th gear lo to 2nd gear hi, with no crunching. Is it designed to be able to do that or do you have to be just stupid enough to try it?

Depends on how bad the leak is. If its a few drops here and there that's not a big deal, just keep an eye on the oil level. Like Cab says keep an eye out for coolant mixing in the oil as well. You might be able to go 6 months or 5 years with it like that.

Guys, if the bolt was loose, why would he post asking how to hold the pulley still so he could get the bolt loose? :-p Rubber deteriorates with age, heat cycling, chemical and/or oil exposure/contamination. The constant spinning/moving doesn't help either. Eventually the balancer will fail just due to normal wear and tear. Its hard to gauge how long one will last. Your car might be the best cared for vehicle in the world and you might get the balancer that falls apart in 50k miles. On the other hand some will last the life of the car.

I dunno why it's a big deal. I don't have plastic trays on either of my Legacy's. Never really had an issue. Although I did pack the engine bay of my sedan with snow once. I think it was just the right combination of snow coming down and thick slush on the roads. It packed up all the way to the hood, was all around the belts and packed into the radiator fans. I had to park the car and let it melt because I was worried it might overheat. There was no way any air was getting through the radiator like that.

Wait, where's your can of Flex-Seal? https://www.getflexseal.com/?tag=im|sm|go|tm&a_aid=011&a_bid=a4cc8494 It fills cracks and holes! JB to the rescue! A friend of mine broke the inlet off of the radiator on his Volvo once. There was about 1/4" left on the radiator, he rest was stuck in the hose, so after we cut the hose off we got out the JB and cleaned everything up really well, then stuck them together with duct tape to hold it over night. Next day we put a second coat inside and out for extra hold. That fix lasted for years. He drove it through college, and about 80k miles with it like that.

I've had the same thing happen with mine a few times, but it's only when I have about a gallon and a half of fuel left in the tank. The fuel pressure pump is on the right side of the tank, so going fast around a hard right turn pushes all the fuel over the hump in the middle and over to the left side of the tank, then it takes a few seconds for it to flow back. Go fill it up, see how much it takes (it's a 15.9 gallon tank) then go try the same corner again and see if it still does it.

I've used both Permatex anaerobic and Ultra Grey RTV, haven't had trouble with either. I apply a thin bead, about 1/8th inch wide all the way around, smear out any uneven spots then stick it on the engine. Cleanliness is key with this, as is with any gasket seal, It MUST be clean and dry. NO residue from oil or cleaners. Wipe the block and plate down with acetone or brake cleaner and allow them to fully dry before applying sealant. Blow any cleaner/ oil out of the bolt holes with compressed air to prevent anything from bleeding out of the holes as the bolts are tightened.

Welcome to the Board! Nice lookin Brat! I'd like to find a first gen as well but $$$ and space just aren't on my side right now.

This is one of the most commonly replaced seals on an older subaru. Any dealer should carry these in stock.

On the 4 wire sensors I don't know exactly which wire is which, but typically if two wires are the same color they are for the heater element and one of the others is the signal. Why there are two other wires is unknown to me at this point.

How far away is your closest dealer?

Subaru o2 sensors are nothing special, and they don't work any differently than what's used on any other car. I have read of several instances where o2 readings are much higher than what's considered normal, in the 2 volt range rather than > 1 volt. The only valid explanation I've seen for this ( and this only seems to be an issue on subarus) is that the diagnostic reader isn't decoding the data correctly. I think if you tested the sensor directly with a VOM you would get a different number.

Red locktite maybe? Plus a few stripped/crossed threads? I like it when people put bolts on with an impact wrench, and they tighten each bolt before even installing the next one. E.Z.out = I have a set of the socket type. They just round even more off of rounded bolts/nuts. Vice grips = If that don't work, Cobalt tipped drill bits.

Probably not the oil pan that's leaking unless someone has taken it off and put a gasket on it before. Much more common leak , and almost always mistaken for an oil pan leak, is the separator plate. Did you replace reseal that? If not, you need to. http://beergarage.com/SubySeparator.aspx

HEAT will make it much easier to remove. Warm up the exhaust system by running the engine for 10 minutes or so. Wear long sleeves and heavy gloves. This can be done from above if you remove the air intake tubing. It helps to be able to smack the end of the wrench with a big hammer though.

That one. Here is the result of a loose bolt. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=121676&highlight=Pulley Here is a separated balancer. This is the failure of the rubber between the two sections of the pulley. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/1998-2-5l-harmonic-balancer-crank-pulley-failure-pics-162882.html

That would be the crankshaft pulley. This is a dangerous problem, though the initial damage has already been done, the pulley can become a projectile if it works it's way off of the crankshaft. The crankshaft pulley, also known as a harmonic balancer, is made up of two sections joined by a band of rubber between them. The rubber can deteriorate and cause the outer section to separate and wobble off of the inner section which is bolted to the crankshaft. Another common issue is after a timing belt change the bolt does not get tightened properly, and after some time it works it's way loose, which allows the whole pulley to wobble around on the end of the shaft.