mrfixiter

Hi I received all the parts and started disassembling the components yesterday. There's a bit of difference from watching someone else do it on a video and doing it yourself. I have a few miscellaneous questions. The service manual gives these instructions regarding the installation of the thermostat: I know that the side with the coiled spring faces inward toward the pump but what does the second part of the instructions mean? Previously it was mentioned here that the screws on the back of the oil pump may come loose and cause some leaks. I checked to see how loose they were but I couldn't even remove them with an impact driver! While I had the oil pump off, I removed the old crank seal. It didn't look too bad but it took quite a bit of force to remove it. I had to use some needle nose pliers to pull it out. While removing it, I noticed a small spring, about 1 3/8" in diameter sitting inside the seal. Was that part of the old seal or something from the oil pump? The spring is still in good shape in case I need to reassemble it. The advantage of having the oil pump out of the engine was that I didn't have to worry about being delicate around the crank shaft. My question is, if the cam seals are that difficult to remove, and they don't look too bad either, should I just go buy a seal remover to do the job? There's no way I'll be able to remove them safely with the cam shaft sitting right there. I didn't see any oil leaking around them but maybe it only leaks when the engine is running. I don't know. There seems to be something in common with all of the screws in the front of the engine. A picture of one of them is here. http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixiter/images/Subaru/Oil-pump-screw.jpg At the bottom of the screw there is a white substance on them. Toward the middle, there is caked on grime. Some of the screws have so much gunk in the middle of the screw that it's difficult to tell where the threads are. The screws in the water pump seem to be affected the most. However, they were easily removed so maybe it's just a cosmetic problem and they don't need to be replaced? Thanks for your reply.

Hi I started with the valve cover gasket. Can you please tell me if I need to remove whatever this substance is indicated by the red arrow before I reassemble it with the new gasket? It's in a few other places too. It looks like grease but perhaps it was some type of sealant? http://webpages.charter.net/mrfixiter/images/Subaru/surface-for-gasket.jpg Thanks for your reply.

Hi I ordered the Aisin water pump and the timing belt kit with all oem parts. Do I need to drain the oil before removing the oil pump? I don't need any surprises here. Thanks for your reply.

Hi The blower motor in my 1997 Legacy GT Wagon will sometimes make rattling noises. I'm trying to remove it for inspection. I got the glove box out and the three screws that secure the blower. However I cannot remove the motor because part of a metal supporting piece is blocking the exit path. I've tried rotating the motor housing hoping to find a way out but no luck. Do I need to remove more adjacent parts to get the motor out? Thanks for your reply. Update: And of course 5 minutes after I posted this, I tried again and found the one orientation of the assembly that gave me just enough room to remove it.

Hi Emily Did you leave out a word in your reply? Did you mean to say, Thanks.

Thank you. That information was helpful.

Hi This question is for a 1997 Legacy GT Wagon DOHC. I'm trying to get everything together to change the valve cover gaskets, cam seals, water pump, crank seal, oil pump o-ring, t-belt, idlers, tensioner, and water pump My experience so far with this type of repair is watching a lot of youtube videos and reading many of the excellent topics in this forum. I'm fairly certain I have all the tricks figured out in replacing the timing belt. That doesn't worry me. What concerns me are the smaller details like what type of sealant to use for each part that needs it. I wanted to purchase a tube of Loctite-Permatex #599 Ultra Grey as suggested in this post. I have had good luck buying parts from advanceauto parts at good prices but the Ultra Grey sealants they stock are: Permatex Ultra Grey Rigid High-Torque RTV Silicone Gasket Maker (3.5 oz) Permatex Ultra Grey Maximum Torque Gasket Maker (3.5 oz.) Permatex Ultra Grey RTV Gasket Maker (9.5 oz) Are any of those sealers comparable to the #599 product? Is there one product that I will be able to use for the valve cover gaskets, oil pump gasket, and water pump gasket or will I need a particular one for each? Also, do you use Loctite on all the screws and is there a particular Loctite product number to use? Thanks for your replies.

Thanks for the info about the gaskets. Do you have any opinion about the GMB water pumps?

Hi I am considering purchasing this water pump http://www.ebay.com/itm/371245964137 but I was wondering, what are the parts shown in the picture above and below the pump's gasket? Also, is the GMB water pump, which is sold with many ebay timing belt kits, as good as the Aisin? Thanks for your reply.

That all makes sense but how would that explain why sitting at a red light for about 5-10 seconds sets the idle speed back to normal for the remainder of the drive? Thanks for your reply.

I have a 1997 GT Legacy Wagon, m/t, 2.5l. The problem which has been happening for as long as I can remember (since the car was a few years old) is that when I first start the car in the morning, the idle speed is close to the 1,700-2,000 rpm range. As I drive sometimes it settles down quickly to where it's supposed to be at 750 rpm. The glitch that I have found is that sometimes the idle will "stick" at about 1500 rpm until I come to a complete stop for at least 5-10 seconds. Then the idle always returns to normal. I remember taking it to the dealer when the car was still in warranty but I was told that they couldn't duplicate the problem. Since there is not much traffic where I live I can drive for 20 minutes without coming to a complete stop. When that happens, it's almost like driving with the cruise control on but of course the cruise control is not on. I live in Los Osos, CA which has a very temperate climate and this high-idle-until-stopped happens all year long. The temperature gauge always parks itself in the same place when the car warms up. My question is: Is this normal? One more piece of information. I do remember that there was a time a few years ago that it would never return to the normal idle speed even after stopping for a few seconds. Coincidentally, I had to take the car in for a smog check and when I drove away, the problem was fixed. I did remember seeing from a distance that the mechanic sprayed something in the vicinity of the throttle body assembly so I was wondering if it was sticking. But now the original problem has returned to where I have to come to a complete stop before the idle goes back to normal. By the way, the idle will not go back to normal if I just coast down the street with no foot on the gas. Thanks for your reply.

Pushing down on the compressor makes sense but how does that help if the compressor is still bolted in position unless you mean it only needs to flex just a tiny bit get the required slack? Thanks for your reply

Yesterday, I checked out the belts on my 1997 Legacy GT wagon. The belt to the A/C compressor was starting to crack. I had an extra so I decided to replace it. I got out the manual. Seemed simple enough. Start with the power steering/alternator belt. Remove the covers, loosen the alternator bolt, loosen the locking screw, unscrew the tensioning bolt, then remove the belt. Except it took a lot of jockeying to get the belt off. Eventually it came off. For the rear compressor belt, pretty much the same procedure. I removed all the tension on the belt (the idler pulley was not even touching the belt) and it still would not come off easily. Long story short, I had to use vise grips on the belt and a couple of screwdrivers to guide the belt off of the pulley. If the belt were in good shape to begin with, it could not have been reused. I tried not to leave any marks on the compressor pulley but there are a couple of tiny scratches on it. Was I missing something here? After I removed the old belt, I checked the part number on it. It was marked "Subaru" with the correct part number. I don't understand how I could have made this belt slip off any other way. Soon I'm going to replace the timing belt and I am certainly don't want to destroy the new drive belt to get it off. Thanks for your reply.

I used a low tech approach to solve this. Very fine sandpaper on the grommet. Eventually the sleeve slipped into place without a glitch.

The antenna recently stopped moving up and down even though I could hear the antenna motor turning. I ordered and received a new o.e.m. mast. When I removed the old mast I noticed that the plastic cable was shorter than the new one so I had to open the gear box again to remove the broken part of the cable. So far so good. When it came time to make sure that the new antenna was in good condition I noticed that the locking nut would not easily slide over the new grommet which is attached to a movable sleeve. I considered using a vise to push the nut over the grommet but I thought that may not be such a good idea. Is it normal to require that much force to slide the nut over the grommet? The nut slides quite easily over the old grommet. I used a caliper to measure the difference in the diameters. The new one is about 0.3mm larger. Thanks for your reply.

I saved the old parts for many years but they finally got tossed. I think it was the cylindrical type but not sure. The service manual makes a big deal about compressing the tensioner very slowly with a vice. It also says to use a vertical vise. I do not have a vertical vice. I suppose I could lay the vice I do have on its side to reset the piston. Is this being overly cautious or must it be compressed in the vertical position? Thanks for your reply

I haven't begun the job yet so I don't know the answer to that. I've never come across any mention of how many pieces it is in the manual's service procedure either. Thanks for your reply.

1997 Legacy GT wagon, DOHC. I had the engine die at about 75k miles 9 years ago (the car was 8 years old at the time). The mechanic who serviced the car back then didn't know how it happened but the timing belt jumped and caused valve damage. The timing belt, water pump, pulleys, etc, were replaced. Now I have 120k miles on the car and though it's way before the suggested 105k mile replacement, I was wondering if the 9 year interval meant that I should replace it again. You can see I don't put lots of miles on my car but considering the expense of having a similar failure, I'd rather do it before another failure occurs, which leads me to the topic title. I've watched lots of videos and read through many posts on how to replace the timing belt. I think I can do the job myself. In looking at the service manual, the parts blow up of the timing components show that the tensioner and the idler that sits on top of it are separate parts. If I buy a tensioner, do I also have to buy the idler separately (assuming it needs changing)? I have found some confusing results doing an internet search for "tensioner". This link http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/shop_years/subaru-legacy-timing-belt-tensioner-1997.html shows two possibilities. One looks like a toothed gear (not what the service manual shows) the other looks like a smooth pulley. This link, http://www.carpartsdiscount.com/auto/parts/97/subaru/legacy/tensioners_and_pulleys/parts.html?3594=2040 shows a combination of the tensioner with the idler already mounted on it and then it has them as individual parts. Can someone please help me sort this out? Thanks for your reply.

I had to snip off the plastic studs to open the control box where the pc board is. This is what I found: You might be able to see the connection that has a failed. The solder has cracked and it is intermittently making connection with the pc board. I reflowed the solder there and some other places as well. I was just wondering, how are you supposed to securely reattach the cover to this mechanism once the plastic retaining pieces are cut off? I can't believe there aren't a couple of screws holding this together. I wrapped electrical tape around the box a few times. I tested it on the bench and it worked ok. I reinstalled it in my car (what a p.i.t.a. that was) and so far so good. Thanks for your reply.

Once I took the nut off, it all became much easier. I needed as much wiggle room as possible so I removed the bracket with the 3 screws. I found the release pin for the electrical connection. There is a drain hose that's connected to the assembly and it's secured very tightly. I maneuvered the whole thing into position to get the best angle to pry off the hose. Then I realized that the other end of the hose isn't really secured firmly to an outside drain line with no hose clamp in between. (At least I think there's no clamp in between.) Then it all came out easily. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for that info! I'll report back with my findings.

The problem is that the antenna motor is intermittent. Sometimes when you turn off the ignition the antenna will lower completely, sometimes not. If it hasn't lowered all the way, then sometimes a few minutes later when I've exited the car and its locked, I might hear the antenna motor energize and lower the antenna the rest of the way. Other times, the antenna will not fully retract no matter how much time has passed. Initially, when strange things started happening, I would hear the antenna motor energize, but the mast would only go part way up. Now, I'd like to remove the whole thing and give it a good inspection. Attached are removal instructions for the power antenna in my 1997 GT Wagon which don't seem to match what I've found in my car. Maybe I've got the pdf for the wrong model/year. What I do have in the rear of my wagon underneath the trim are 2 screws (not just 1 that is pictured in the diagram) that are attached to the mechanism. Those 2 screws go through an L bracket and then into the mechanism. There is a third screw that attaches from the bottom of the L bracket, which is incredibly difficult to access, that also is attached to the mechanism. I was able to remove all 3 screws but things are still kind of tight in there. I can barely reach the electrical connector to unhook it. It's also difficult to see where the release catch is on that connector. Does anyone have any tips on how to remove the whole assembly? Do I need to remove the nut on the outside of the car that holds the mast in place? Thanks for your reply.

How much skill does it take to do this kind of a job? I've done tuneups, oil changes, and valve cover gasket replacements but never done any suspension work. Thanks for your reply.

I have a 1997 Legacy GT wagon. When I turn the steering wheel while stopped, there is a squeaking sound coming from somewhere. This happens whether the engine is on or off. When I put the front end of the car onto jack stands, the noise goes away. The best way to describe the noise is it sounds almost identical to the noise I hear when I pull out the hood support bar and swivel it into position. While I was inspecting the car from underneath, I noticed that there were two boots torn, one on each end. The one on the other side of the car looks pretty much the same as the photo below. First of all, how urgent of a repair is it to get this fixed? I looked at the service manual and it doesn't look like this is just one assembly that can be easily removed. Secondly, could this have anything to do with the squeaking? Thanks for your reply.

I think you answered my question with that story. I'll stick with the standard R134a formula. Thanks for your reply.