Fairtax4me

AWD in an auto shouldn't be doing much of anything unless the rear wheels start slipping. The rear diff should just be "tagging along" so to speak. My guess would be you chewed a tooth or three off the front diff or broke an axle. Check fluid in both diffs for chunks.

I think I'd be hiring a lawyer to write a nice little letter to his insurance agent. Did he have insurance? I though I read that he did somewhere in there. No, Don't got towards the light!!! I can't help it it's too pretty!!! :lol: What was that movie? I wanna say A Bugs Life.

Set the pedal height where you feel most comfortable with it. Some people like it on the floor. Some like it at the top. Right in the middle works best for me. It only takes a small adjustment at the lever to make a big difference at the pedal so make only small changes and check the feel. Chances are it will change over the course of a month or so as the cable "settles". It will stretch a bit and begin to wear a slight groove in the nylon shielding which will change the pedal feel. You probably won't even notice it until it's done though.

:lol: Never heard that one.

Just kick it. I sit on the ground a little less than legs length from the car and use my heel. If that won't do it get out the sledge. Make sure the car's on jack stands before you go kicking around on the wheels. You don't want it slipping off of a jack.

I picked up some wheels this weekend. 15" outback 6 spokes. Thanks again to Mike (Mdjdc). They're in rough shape. But they're not rashed or bent, just have the typical peeling clear coat and lots of corroded bare aluminum. So I'd like to clean these up, and I'm trying to figure out the best stuff to use to strip all of the old clear off. Anybody here played with aluminum wheel restoration?

It was just meant as a hypothetical example. I can see it going either way. I think in theory the tire essentially gets smaller diameter-wise since it begins to ride on the sidewalls as it loses air pressure. But what's on paper and what really happens can and often do differ substantially. As for diffs fighting each other. In an Awd car any differential motion is eventually transfered to the center diff/transfer unit, which means all 3 will experience the side effects of a problem on one axle. The center diff has to balance power output between front and rear. When one axle is "loaded" the limited slip action of the diff transfers that motion to the "unloaded" axle. But if the other axle can't physically spin any faster the diff has to take up that motion, and transfer it back into the transmission instead. Basically when one wheel spins faster or slower, the differential assembly as a whole reacts accordingly. Then each differential becomes a "wheel", one spinning faster or slower than the other.

You should be able to. The bearings have to be pressed out and in, but often shops will do it wrong and ruin the new bearing or deform the knuckle. Lots of people go the junkyard route and just grab a whole knuckle assembly. Just make sure you get an axle nut socket and take a big cheater pipe with you. Unless you happen to run into someone with a cordless impact wrench. Even then it's no guarantee that the nut will come off.

Yes, it can be an issue. The difference in speed between the two tires is translated to the over all speed of the axle (including the diff). As one turns faster than the other, the differential carrier has to turn at a different speed to accommodate that. Assuming that both rear tires are the same size and inflated correctly. The rear differential will spin at a lower or higher speed than the front, depending on teh circumstances. You can turn it into an equation to see the difference mathematically. Lets say your tires turn 800 Revolutions Per Mile properly inflated. In a straight line the diffs will also turn 800 rpm. One front tire loses a few psi now its turning at 790 rpm. By averaging wheel speed, this lowers the overall axle speed of the front axle to 795 rpm. 800 + 790 = 1590. 1590 / 2 wheels = 795. But your rear axle is still 800 rpm. Not a huge difference, but when you add up 500, 1,000, 5,000 miles like that (or more in some cases) all of a sudden you have several thousand extra rotations of one differential. Now at city speeds, this is probably fine. But when cruising down the highway at 70 mph, you start making a lot of excess heat due to friction between the gears. The heat is what ultimately kills the differential.

You will want what's called a Phase 2 EJ25. Some searching around here should bring up some threads about which years you can/can't use. Auto vs manual isn't a big deal. The major hangup would be an EGR vs non EGR engine but I think they all had EGR valves by then. You basically just need an engine with the same number of cams as what you have. Might I ask why it needs a new engine?

Yeah, I thought so. Think I'll send an email to bluegauges.com and see what they say about using the yellow box on a Subaru. I guess it should work, right?

Clear PVC with a zipper around it. Maybe cut up a shower curtain?

Absolutely. Just grab some Legacy Outback struts and springs. At most you'll have to swap the top hats on the rear struts. You'll get like 2-3" of lift that way easy on an OBS. If you have a 93 - 01 Impreza, the 96 to 99 LegO rear struts should just fit.

Change the fluid first. But yes the long and the short of it is, different size or improperly inflated tires will wear the differential. One tire spinning faster than the other means the spider and side gears in the diff are constantly moving. This wears the shaft and bearings that the spider gears ride on, eventually it throws off the alignment of the gears which causes the teeth to wear quickly and unevenly. They start filling the fluid with "silver" (metal particles), which floats around and causes more wear. Causes wear on the ring and pinion gears, as well as the diff carrier bearings. The silver causes more wear. The wear creates more "silver". It's a snowball effect. Change the fluid, and ride it 'til it dies.

I think they owe you a new transmission.

WTF!?!?! I swear I was in a different thread when I hit reply...

96. Pretty sure it's electric. I don't recall unhooking any cables except the clutch and hill brake when I had the trans out, but that was in Jan.

I'm not sure if wood would create the type of "ring" that the knock sensor is "listening" for. The knock sensor is "tuned" if you will, to pick up a very specific frequency range around 4000hz IIRC. Metal to metal impact generates a resonant wave closer to this range so the sensor is more likely to pick it up. But wood is worth a try I suppose. The only reason I say to use a ratchet extension is because you can't fit a hammer in there to tap on the block with. Use a long 12" extension, hold it vertically a few inches above the block and just let it drop a few inches from the sensor.

It's like you're describing the US Gov't. Sorry, that just cracked me up for some reason. Anyway, Knock sensor. You should be able to "see" knock sensor readings with the 3130. I'm not sure if it will show that actual values but, with the engine running, you can tap around the sensor with a ratchet extension and watch the 3130 for changes in ignition timing.

How did they test for spark? Just pulling the plug wire off and looking for a spark doesn't always work on wasted spark systems. I would guess the coil was bad if there was no spark on the front half. Did they use a Subaru coil or some cheap after market?

Thanks for the links Nipper. The yellow box thing looks like what I'm looking for. Just a simple converter, and cheap too.

Left it outside with no trans pan? So basically they left it undriveable so you couldn't take it back without paying them. They shouldn't need old parts. The problem is still present with new parts, so they should be able to diagnose what is there and find a problem. They can do their own line pressure tests, and check this or that solenoid. They can't charge you more for diagnosis without your permission first. If you agreed to $50 that's all they can charge you. If you didn't sign anything authorizing them to work on the car, you owe them the $50 which was originally agreed upon to diagnose the problem, they give you back your keys and car in the same condition in which it was brought to them. They don't do it, you call the State Police. They can't legally keep your keys or vehicle. Problem is, it sounds like you agreed to the $300 charge to diagnose. They have to find the problem, and do it for $300 since that's what was agreed upon. If they find the problem, you pay for parts and labor and ask them to reduce the diagnosis charge back to the original $50 that was agreed to. They don't do that then you get the BBB into it.

It doesn't matter too much. I don't recall one end being "longer" on mine but if it looks like it will get in the way of something flip it around. The easiest way I found to set the spring. It's much easier to pull the spring open when you have something to pull it with. The washer gives you leverage. Hold the washer in your palm in the correct orientation for installation. Hook the spring onto it, hold the spring with your index finger and thumb, reach up and hook the other end on the shifter rod. Pull back on the washer, slide it onto the stud, then bolt it down. Did.

Clutch discs are not always worn beyond the grooves in the friction material. With proper use the pressure plate generally wears out first. It loses spring pressure so it doesn't clamp on the disc as tight as it should.

Believe this would be better off in the New Gen section where the most action is for repairs and maintenance. If you scroll to the bottom of the page here, there will be some links under the heading "Similar Threads". Lots of info about properly installing torque converters on this board. Seems to be a common mistake. You might do yourself a favor and replace the input seal on the transmission before you put the TC back on, just in case it got cut/torn during removal. Otherwise, you'll get to do it all over again.