WoodsWagon

The synchro is meant to spin the input shaft and clutch disk up or slow it down to match the speed of the selected gear being engaged. It has a friction cone clutch, usually brass, sometimes carbon coated, that engages on the flank of the gear and is splined to the shaft the gear freewheels on. As you push it into gear, the shift collar (more of a sleeve really) pushes the cone clutch into the side of the gear. The drag of friction matches the shaft speed to the gear speed, and the cone clutch shifts sideways a 1/2 tooth while this is happening to block the shift collar from engaging the dog teeth on the gear. When the speeds are matched, the rotating force on the cone clutch drops to the point that it no longer blocks the collar. The dog teeth line up, and the collar slips onto the gear, locking it to the shaft. Now, that's all well and good, but if there's a large speed difference between the shaft and the gear, the synchro has to work harder and longer to bring the input shaft and clutch disk up or down to speed. This is what's happening while your pushing on the shifter, but it wont go into gear. If you push steadily but longer, it will go in properly, but you're essentially smoking the clutch surface in the synchro. Once it's worn out, it won't provide the friction that offsets it a half tooth and blocks the collar from going into the dogs. You will now "grind the gears" which is actually the shift collar grinding on the dog teeth on the side of the gear. These are much less substantial than the gear teeth themselves, and once you grind them enough, you will get it popping back out of gear under load. Wear the dog teeth down further, and you will have to forcibly hold the shifter in gear to get it to work. So.... there's a couple things to do. You can double clutch, or no clutch, up and down through the gears. You're using the throttle to match the engine, clutch disk, and input shaft speeds to the expected speed of the gear your going into. You're doing the job the synchro was intended to do, so if you do it right, you reduce the wear on the synchros. Do it wrong with no clutch, instead of double clutch, and the synchro is now fighting the power and inertia of the engine instead of just the input shaft and clutch disk. That will destroy them in a hurry. People that think they're cool by not using the clutch, but aren't good enough to accurately speed match the engine, do this by briefly unloading the drivetrain, popping it into neutral, and pushing on the shifter and letting the engine speed come down until it pops into gear. This is hell on the synchros and why the transmission in my Tacoma is in such bad shape. I caught the previous owner doing it on another car of his and that explained why my truck was so balky. Second thing you can do is sequentially down shift, so rather than jumping from 4th down to 1st as you come to a stop, keep the clutch pushed in and shift through 3rd and 2nd on the way down to 1st. That will spread the load of bringing the input shaft and clutch disk up to speed through 3 synchros instead of putting it all on one. Third thing is just wait until it's stopped, and put it into gear. That's the simplest, and the least wear on an already old gearbox. There are Subaru 5mt's out there that will shift into first while moving. They came from cars that were only shifted into first while stopped. I've had one, so I know they exist. However, with "normal" use, the synchro will quickly wear to the point that it takes a while to work, so the shifter is blocked for longer than you expect. That's indicative of an undersized synchro for the job demanded of it. It's strong enough to get first to go in reliably without crunching when bringing the shaft speed down from 1000rpm to 0 when first engaging it, but not enough to bring it from 1000 up to 3000rpm when shifting down into if from a higher gear while rolling. 3rd gear synchro has the same problem as Miles pointed out, it seems to wear out prematurely. However, it's unrelated to 1st gear. This has nothing to do with low MPG's, and shouldn't descend into name-calling, sarcastic, and caustic comments. Really people.

Running thicker oils in older engines is a bad idea, and a self-fulfilling prophecy. The thick oil cant flow into the bearings properly, so the bearings starve and wear quicker, then the clearances open up and you need the thick oil to build any pressure. 10-30 should work fine, and improve the mileage a fair bit, especially on short trips around town. Oh, and don't trust the oil pressure gauge on the dash, the senders go bad quite often and give false readings. Now, an 86 carbed 4x4 shouldn't have a feedback carb, computer, or 02 sensor if it's a federal emissions car. It may even say it's a 1986 "light truck" on the emissions sticker under the hood. Check under the steering column above the pedals and behind the lower dash trim to see if there's a big silver box bolted to it. Most 86's have the bracket with studs sticking out of it on the column, but no computer. If your exhaust y-pipe rusted out, someone could have swapped one from a SPFI car onto yours, and just left the cut off O2 sensor in as a plug. Don't shift into 1st while moving, the synchro is undersized for the job that's being asked of it, and it's 25 years old. The same 5mt design was used up into the 2000's, and most of them balk at shifting into first while moving. You can jam it in, but that's worse on the synchro. Just wait till your stopped and put it in. If your choke isn't hooked up properly or moving smoothly, and you have to pump the gas to get it started, that could mess with the MPG's. Make sure it's fully closed when stone cold, and fully open when warmed up. Taking the carb apart, cleaning and resealing it, and replacing all the vacuum hoses could do great things for it. But you need to be careful to make sure all the parts go back where they came from. The hitachi non-feedback isn't a bad carb.

One of the vent tubes that connects to the top of the fuel filler neck is clogged. It's a 1/2" diameter pipe that goes through a separate hole in the frame next to the filler neck. Follow it down and see what it connects to. You can unhook hoses and use large pipe cleaners to chase through them for debris. When your putting gas in the tank, the air in the space the gas is trying to fill has to get back to the top of the fuel neck. Even if it is the tank vent valve, I'd cut through the floor before I dropped the tank. A 99 impreza from Maine is going to be nothing but a pile of broken bolts and tears when you get done dropping the rear subframe out of there. There's a pair of access panels under the rear floor to get to the pump and sender. You can cut the floor starting from these holes and peel it back, fix the problem, and weld the floor back down. But, that's a last resort. Try the hose hooked to the filler neck first. Edit: Here's a pic Turbone took of a car he had to do this to: For filling it in the mean time, rather than turning the pump on full and having it click off, just barely squeeze the handle so it creeps fuel in.

I'll take this one step further and point out it's very easy to hook an OBDII scan tool up and look at the live data from the sensors to the computer. The temp sensor for the computer will tell you the actual temp of the engine, and you can compare that degree reading to the gauge on the dash. I had a 98 Forester that would peg the gauge, the guy figured the headgaskets were gone. Checking the temp reading the ECU was getting told me the engine was fine, and I swapped the gauge and tach out for one from a junkyard car. Fixed the "overheating" problem. Now the flip side of that is the possiblity of the computer's temp sensor going bad. That won't tell the computer the engine's getting hot, so it won't turn on the fans until it gets the right reading. Usually they fail open, so the computer sets a code and turns the fans on full time, but you might have a rare failure mode. The ECTS for the computer is like $35, it's the 2 pin temp sensor vs the CTS being the one pin flat blade connector that runs the gauge.

Vibration, moisture in the headlight assembly, or most likely, oil on the bulb from the fingers of the installer. You have to make sure to never touch the crystal off the bulb (that's the glass part) with a halogen. The crystal runs wicked hot, and if there's oils on the surface, it destroys the bulb. The natural oil in your skin is enough to do it.

Well damn, it doesn't have a generic part #, though I think it's a toyota part. Here's what the sticker says: "Order replacement bearing TSK1-B Smart Service 206-417-0880" It's $53 from Sumo parts. The quill kit was probably installed recently, so the bearing you have probably doesn't have much mileage on it. I'd reuse it if it spins smoothly and feels tight. Probably had a new clutch in the donor car too, if you could go back and grab that.

I can get you the part # for the retrofit throwout bearing, I put the sticker that came with the quill kit on my dad's car and it has the replacement part number on it. The steel quill sleeve is a huge improvement over the aluminum mistake subaru made. EA transmissions all had steel snouts, then they combined that part into the case casting on the EJ's. Dumb.

One important point that a lot of people miss- the alternator is what supplies all the electrical loads in the car while it's running. The battery's only supply power when the system voltage is below 12.6v, so either a huge load that the alternator can't keep up with, or the engine off. Since most of the time your using the stereo is when the car is running, the batteries don't matter. They do some AC noise suppresion, but a capacitor would do the same thing. Once you start the car, you can literally take the battery out and everything will still work as normal and you can drive the car around. This isn't recommended because the unsupressed AC noise can damage the computer, however I've done it a few times to move cars around my property that I didn't have a spare battery for. The only reason for dual batteries is if you're going to use the stereo for long periods with the car shut off. You need to concentrate your efforts on the alternator and the cables (ground and positive) connecting it to the battery, and the battery to your load (the amplifiers). Here's a 140 amp rewound stock case alternator for $180: http://www.maniacelectricmotors.com/13752ho.html

The rack has fixed stop points and the bushings locate it, so it's pretty solid lock to lock. What can be changed is the tie rod ends, and if someone isn't paying attention when they have the rack or steering column out, you can center the steering wheel by adjusting the tie rods until the rack is off-center but the wheel is straight. Count the turns from center to full lock each direction with the steering wheel. If they're different, then you need to center the steering wheel to the rack by setting the rack at the point where it's equal turns from each side, removing the steering coupler u-joint thingy, and installing it so the wheel is straight. Then take it for an alignment so the tie rods can be adjusted to bring the now centered to the rack but not the wheels steering wheel back into line. Make sure you don't spin the steering wheel around with it unhooked from the rack if you do this. There's a coiled ribbon connector called the clockspring that all the buttons and the airbag in the steering wheel use. If you spin the wheel around further than it's meant to go, the clockspring will break. It's not cheap either. If the turns from lock to lock are equal, then something is bent or mis-aligned in the front suspension.

Yup, it's fine to run it with the rear section removed. I belive Rockford Driveline sells replacement u-joints for the staked in ones in the driveshaft, but you need to call them and ask.

A neighbor/friend has an 02 that's been beaten for the past 175k, and even had the rear transfer gears shredded out of it doing donuts. 1st-5th is still fine, and it's living behind a EJ257 now. We may pull it out to swap 4.44 finals into it, it could use the lower gearing with the big tires we run on it with the lift. I don't buy the glass tranny bull****. People that were used to wheelspin and launching cars by sidestepping the clutch at high rpms bought their first AWD "performance" car, beat the bag out of them, and the trans let go. Weakest link in a chain. They put a clutch damper in in 03 so it wouldn't let you sidestep the clutch, and suddenly reliability went up.

See the wheel on the front of the brat on the right? Those are rugged 15" wheels off a 4x4 dodge d-50/ mistubishi mighty max pickup. The other style of wheel on those trucks is like this: They're pretty heavy because the rim is made out of thick material, but that makes them a good candidate for re-drilling. You can also fit the stock small subaru hub caps that clip to the lug nuts so that they look clean in the middle.

I have found pressure plates to have lost their spring tension so it slipped like a bad clutch. I put a new disk in and a used pressure plate from a known good donor car, and it worked great. I then took the disk from the slipping clutch and tossed it in a 2.5l WRX, where it's been working great. So a slipping clutch may not be a worn out disk, it could be a failing pressure plate. That's why it's best to replace the pressure plate along with the disk and bearings.

So as a resolution to this, I installed my grafted electronic speedo head in the early legacy cable speedo dash, ran 2 wires out the firewall, and put the vss in where the cable went. It works great, computer's happy now so the car doesn't stall all the time, and you can tell how fast your going without gear oil dripping on your ankles.

Yes, the part in the red box is the VSS. However, the VSS is wired directly to the spedometer head in the dash. The speedo head then generates the signal to send to the computer. So a faulty speedo head could cause the same thing. 99 legacys seem to have a lot of speedo head failures for some reason. 96's it's not usually a problem. The vss unthreads from the transmission, it's a 17mm wrench to pop it loose. Junkyard one should be fine, it's a rare failure. Just make sure the plug is the same as yours. Take yours out first and compare it to the junkyard one before pulling it. No gear oil will leak out with the VSS removed.

I've use a scotcbrite wheel in a die grider to break the glaze on the surface before on quicky clutch jobs I've done. If I'm doing it propper, then I take the flywheel to a shop and get it resurfaced. If they're at all competent, they grind the friction surface and the step the pressure plate mounts to so that it matches the original brand new spec. It's the same machining process the flywheels go under when built brand new, so if it's done right it's just as good. Anyone that's had problems with a resurfaced flywheel had a bad machinist. Oh yeah, phase 1 EJ25's have heavier flywheels than the EJ22's. That helps starting torque and makes it harder to stall. It conversely makes the engine less free-revving. So depending on how you drive you can choose different weight flywheels.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-aluma-blast-set.html

The 2.5 pulleys are the same as the 2.2's, but they have an extra weight donut pressed into the middle of the hub. That's why the crank bolt is down in a hole instead of exposed. Any ej pulley will fit, it's not like fords with 28 or 50oz imbalances. If the pulley and keyway are trashed, you need to replace the crank bolt and the timing belt sprocket too. The surface of the head of the bolt and the front surface of the sprocket have to be flat to properly clamp the crank pulley. The power to the pulley isn't put through the key, it's only for allignment. The static friction between the surfaces mentioned is what transmits the power. So they have to be flush and smooth. You can toss another pulley on and crank the bolt down, but chances are it will come loose again if you don't replace the bolt and sproket too.

The factory hose is probably a pre-molded piece that's formed to make the bends in the right places. If a generic hose is used, then it will kink where the tight bends are. You may have to buy the right hose from the dealership, they can look it up for you and you can point at which one in the picture is the one you need.

Trans-x swells seals, which is why it works for the very specific 99-00 4eat delayed engagement. It won't help much for torque bind. Agree with grooves worn in the transfer clutch drum. If it goes away with the FWD fuse in, but isn't cured by changing the fluid, the clutch plates are having a hard time moving around. Generic dex/merc fluid works fine. It's not too hard to get into the transfer clutch, you can do it with the trans in the car no problem.

Have you put on the larger diameter pipe exhaust yet? The EJ18 pipe is seriously tiny, EJ22's and 25's use the same pipe and cat sizes.

Yes, pressure plates can wear out. My dad's 95 legacy was slipping if you engaged the clutch under power, took it apart and found the disk was still in OK shape. Everything looked normal in there, so I grabbed a pressure plate off my spare parts pile, cleaned the rust off it, and slapped it on. Clutch works fine now, so the pressure plate had lost it's clamping force. Chucked that one in scrap metal, didn't want it getting mixed into my spare parts stash.

Autozone will sell you a reman clutch disk for $50. They've worked OK for me in the past, and I'd throw a fresh disk in each time I had the motor or tranny out. Which was more often than I would have cared, but I beat the ************ out of it. I've used the take out disks from my wheeler in a WRX and a turbo legacy because they were better than the disks that came out of them, and they worked fine. If it's worn to the point that the cross grooves in the disk that divide the friction surface into pad sections are pretty much flush with the surface, it's time to replace it.

They are not nearly as rare as the "Internet" claims. The 1100 number ge's tossed around be people trying to sell them as rare. I don't know where the number originated, but there's way more than 1100 of them. How would Legacycentral.org exist if there were that few? I've worked on 3 around here, and most of them disappeared in a poof of rust by now.

double post madness