ron917

Don't have your face under the hose when you start messing with it. When you clear the clog, water and stuff may run out.

What you are describing is a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). Instead of gears, it has a metal belt and variable pulleys. Many manufacturers are using them now - Nissan, Ford/Volvo, Chrysler are the ones that I know of that are available currently in the US. They've been tried in the past, but with poor reliablity. The old Subaru Justy had a CVT. Do a google search, there's lots of info out there.

procupine, Do you take pictures of everthing you do? Or do you disassemble your car every time someone has a question? Seriously, all the pics are very heplful! Good idea stacking all those extension on the pin punch!

The key is to use a 3/8 in breaker bar (flex handle is what the tool manufacturers call it). A 1/2 in bar, which most people have, won't fit. The nut on my car came off fairly easily, guess I was lucky. On the passenger side, I reached down from the top, like you did. One thing for everyone to be aware of: starting in 1999, there are 8 fasteners (6 bolts and two nuts on studs) joining the engine and tranny. One of the bolts is shared with the starter, not sure if that's the case with older Subies. Some Haynes manuals, and lots of post here regarding pre-1999 cars, only mention 4 fasteners.

Lots of good stuff! A 3/8 in. drive flex handle (a.k.a. breaker bar) with a 14mm 6 point socket is the tool to use on this one. It fits right into the space available from below the car. It doesn't slip or flop around like an extension plus U-joint. The handle is still somewhat at an angle, it's not extreme, but be careful not to let it slip. I followed the same procedure as mnwofltrack to make sure that the torque converter stayed in place. Mine didn't move at all, so there was no hassle with trying to put it back on.

Check a local tool rental place. You might be able to rent the 3/4" breaker and socket for a reasonable price.

In the past, IPD rented out a shim kit and the tool for Volvos. You paid a rental fee, plus the price of the shims you used, and returned everything when you were done. Not sure if they still do that. Maybe someone does the same for Subarus?

VDC is available on Outback Limiteds for 2008. Not just the H6, XT or LL Bean. See cars101.com. I think that stability control (VDC is Subaru's name for it) will soon be required on all vehicles? Not sure where I saw that, so I could be wrong. That's the way to get rich - invent something, and convince the government to require everyone to buy it!

Subaru has a bunch of tiny cars that they don't sell in the US. Poke around at http://www.subaru.jp/ to see the R1, R2, Stella, Pleo and Sanbar.

Lots of good info, Kostamojen! One thing I noticed: The North American market 1999 Legacy got the EJ25D 2.5L DOHC engine. The list above shows it as the EJ251 SOHC, which I believe is correct outside of North America.

The O2 sensor is ignored (open loop) until it warms up enough to give a valid reading. The ECU knows it's warm enough based on engine temp and/or time (not sure what the ECU in your car does). After it's warmed up, the system goes to closed loop and O2 sensor is used in conjunction with all of the other sensors.

When I did an engine swap on my '99 Outback, the torque converter didn't budge. I measured according to the factory service manual. There was a measurement in the transmission section for how far the torque converter was from the face of the mating surface. I checked that measurement, it was right on. Everthing went together with no problem.

If you do not have automatic climate control, Crutchfield has a kit that allows you to install standard DIN units. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DAXeZ6qxFyp/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=112200&I=120998901 If you do have automatic climate conrol, everything I've seen says you're stuck with the factory stereo. EDIT: Forgot to mention, there are DIN and double DIN center consoles available that fit between the HVAC vents, replacing the cubby (where the factory nav system goes). Rallitek sells them: http://www.rallitek.com/leac.html

Yes, you can just flop it over and rest it over where the battery normally lives. I was half expecting the hoses to break, but they held up. EDIT: nipper types faster than I do :-)

Don't do that. The check engine light won't come on for low coolant. The engine will overheat when the coolant gets low enough. At that point, you will be blamed for neglect, and warranty coverage will be denied. Now, to the problem: In cars I've owned with non-pressurized expansion tanks, I have to fill up the expansion tank about once a year. It usually takes half a quart or so. That goes for my '99 Outback, my Pontiac, and a Toyota and a Mazda I owned in the past. My European cars had expansion tanks that were part of the pressurized system, and they never lost any coolant. As for the coolant smell, it seems to be common on the newer Subarus. As far as I know, no one has gotten clear answer on it. I smell it occasionally with my new '07 Outback, but it's very faint. I can also sometimes smell coolant from the Pontiac, especially when it's really hot. I've never smelled coolant from the '99 Outback. My '07 may or may not have a problem with coolant loss. I bought it as a dealer demo (5800 miles on it). The expansion tank was just below the low mark. The radiator itself took about 6 ounces to bring it up the bottom of the filler neck, plus about 10 ouces to bring the level in the tank up to the top mark. I'm keeping a close eye on it. BTW, the radiator on the '07 has no bleed screw, but the radiator on the '99 does. Just by looking at it, I can see there is no way to get all the air out without a vacuum filler. The top part of the fitting where the upper rad hose attaches is the same level as the filler, both of which are above the top of the radiator body itself. It really needs a bleeder at the upper rad hose fitting.

Excellent work, thank you! What's the best way to pull that hub/gear/shaft assembly out of the tranny? I assume there are some seals that go with it as well?

Note that "budget" is still $1100. Cheaper than other coilovers for sure, but more than normal struts.

I bought the parts for the headgasket job on my '99 Outback 2.5L DOHC form 1stsubaruparts. I called them and told them what was doing, and they helped me get everything together. There was an engine reseal kit, which had almost every gasket and seal including HGs. I also added timing belt, tensioner, water pump, thermostat, V-belts, hoses, etc. I ended up handing all of those parts to a local independent Subaru specialist because I simply didn't have time to do the job. They re-used the head bolts. I ended up needing some valve work as well, a couple of the exhaust valves were leaky.

http://subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9725 Welcome! Go over to http://subaruoutback.org/ and search for other posts by wbanas. His Superu is sick!

The 4EAT does have a TPS input, and it is one of the inputs used to control front/rear power distribution. See the Subaru factory service manual for the vehicle in question. Also see the Endwrench article at http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/VarNov06EW.pdf Quote from the Endwrench article, a couple of paragraphs from the Active AWD section which describes the NA 4 cylinder with 4EAT:

Don't us fix-a-flat if you have the tire pressure monitoring system. It will destroy the sensor, and you'll pay $$$ for a new one plus a trip to the dealer to get it programmed.

I bought the rebuilt engine for my '99 Outback from CCR. Good people, good product. It's the infamous 2.5, I think the Legacy got the 2.2? I did the swap with help from my son (the car is his now). It wasn't a bad job. The engine is surprisingly light - shipping weight was 215 pounds, but two people can lift it easily.

In my experience, the rear drums have lasted longer in all cases but one. However, all of my vehicles with rear drums, except for one, have been FWD vehicles with fairly light rear ends. All of my vehicles with rear disk brakes have been RWD or AWD. The rear ends were/are heavier, and the brakes wear faster. I had one RWD vehicle with rear drum brakes, and those rear brakes wore out at about the same rate as rear disk brakes. What I'm saying is, I think it depends on the vehicle's weight distrubution more than the type of brakes. I have no way to prove that - I would need vehicles that are identical except for the rear brakes. Maybe someone else has been in that situation.

That's because the rear brakes provide very little of the braking force, espcially in something with a light rear end like a pickup. I bought a VW Golf new in 1986, and when I sold it in 1997 with 175K miles, it still had all of the original rear drum brake parts.

I also came to Subarus from old RWD Volvos (owned 3 240s). In my opinion, nothing is as durable as the old RWD Volvos. Note that durable is not the same as reliable. When they did break (usually an electrical problem), they were cheap and easy to fix. However, nobody builds cars like that any more, not even the new Volvos. Subarus are built tough, and can last a long time. The biggest problems will be the head gaskets and rust (rust is the car killer here in the Northeast USA). Subaru parts tend to be expensive, but they are generally easy to work on. The biggest issue in moving from Volvo to Subaru is the seats. Volvo makes the best seats, no exception.