Ionlyhave3suubs

Even though the KYB is generally considered a brand for imports, I even put a set on my '68 Camaro. Love em.

Are the gear ratios the same? Lower gear would give faster acceleration and lower MPG. Easy way to check that is to take note of the engine rpm at a given speed when the car should be in its highest gear, say for example 60 mph. If the gear ratio is the same, the rpm should be the same in both cars at 60.

I have the radiator mounted in, no problems there. Just had to move the big rubber grommets for the lower mounting pegs to the outermost holes and it drops right in. I used all of the upper bracketry from the L model radiator (along with the fans) and everything bolts right in (just in different holes). My question was not so much about making it fit as much as if the cooling capacity of the radiator for the 2.2 was adequate for the 2.5 engine. The radiator being swapped in looks almost brand new and looks to be an aftermarket unit. The parts car seems to have several parts that were recently replaced.

I am replacing the leaky radiator in my 97 outback with a radiator from a 97 legacy L parts car. The radiator is obviously different. I am swapping the radiator with fans attached as they are also a bit different. My question is regarding the cooling capacity of the radiator from the L with the 2.2 going into the outback with a 2.5. I don't want to have overheating problems. I don't think it would be a problem, but I am looking for advice from someone who has done this swap to verify it will be adequate.

If it were mine, I would just replace the axle. Once they start clicking to me they aren't worth trying to salvage when you can get aftermarket and rebuilt units as cheap as you can.

Welcome to the forum! Lots of good people here with good advice willing to help you out with advise on most any aspect of Subaru ownership. Nothing wrong with a Subaru automatic from that generation. 4 out of 5 of my '96 up subarus have been automatics. I prefer to drive a manual, however all the deals that have prettty much fallen into my lap have been automatics and I have pleased with their reliability.

I would definitley look into the center diff before splitting the case. I didn't weigh mine when I took mine out but it is a managable weight unless you have an injury. Problem with mine (02 outback 5mt) was the viscous coupler was going bad and the retainer band that holds it together started coming out, got into the two main gears in the center diff and broke some teeth. My theory is that in the midst of a torque bind, the retainer ring started to pop out and got caught in the gears breaking teeth and grinding up part of the retaining ring. All of this could have been found by disassembling the center diff. I tore down the trans too, just to be sure before I started buying expensive parts for it. The gears and bearings were fine in the trans.

Definitely rat it! Focus on it being mechanically sound and structurally safe. Re-inforce if needed but don't sweat the shine. Most older antique rats I've seen in my area (1920's through 1950's) have a theme. That could be a good concept to go with. Most of all make it safe. So many of the local rats look like (and probably are) deathtraps.

Thanks for the info. I called today and the car had been sold. At least I know now that I can use the older transmission if I need to. With regard to "needing the driveline" Does that mean just the driveshaft or driveshaft and rear diff?

I have a 2002 outback wagon with a 5spd. The viscous coupler in the rear of the trans has gone bad, popped out the retainer band and the band got into the gears and trashed the two main gears in the center differential (rear part of the trans). I have been looking for a salvage replacement and it looks as though the exact replacement trans is 2000ish model year up, and that trans in salvage yards is quite pricey. I have found a 97 outback 5spd for a price I can afford. Is the 97 trans compatible? If not, can it be made to work with a little effort? I am planning to buy the whole wrecked car, remove what I can use and part it out to help recover some cost. My question is just about making the 97 trans work in the 02. I need someone with some expertise to help me out here with some advice on making it work if it can be done. I have no problem with changing out the rear diff too if necessary for axle ratio reasons.

Well It looks like I need nearly $400 worth of parts, for 2 gears and 1 bearing. That's garage price. No luck finding a used transmission for a reasonable price, so far. Anyone out there have a decent used one up for sale?

It has been slow going but I got the trans out and the center diff removed. I cracked the Main trans case open to check it out and make sure everything looked good there, and it looked fine. Next I opened up the center diff and found what I believe to be the problem. Pieces of a bearing cage, what looks like a retaining ring of some sort (well pieces of it anyway) and a few pieces of gear teeth. Upon inspection of the gears i found a couple of places where a small chunk of teeth were chipped off the main gears of the differential. To answer the question on whether or not the diff could have been removed with the trans still in, I wasn't going to try it since it is the first Subaru trans I have removed, plus I wanted to go ahead and inspect the inside of the case for debris and visible damage. Does anyone have a good center diff or whole 5spd with diff to fit a 2002 Outback in or near Virginia for sale?

Working on getting the Trans out.

Not sure if you are a do-it-yourselfer or not. Either way, make sure you only use the Subaru brand oem gaskets, make sure the heads are checked while off the engine to make sure the sealing surface is flat (a machine shop can do it relatively cheap if you aren't sure how), and after the job is done use a bottle of the subaru head gasket conditioner, it helps with the sealing. If you hire a shop to do the work for you insist on the above steps to ensure a good lasting headgasket seal. Cheaper aftermarket gaskets are prone to failure, or sometimes don't seal from the beginning. Oem parts are worth the money when doing a job that requires this much labor.

Ok, I put it on jackstands and listened to the noise from underneath. It sounds like the noise is coming from the center differential.

Well, I replaced the right front axle, that wasn't it. The noise is still there.

No movement in wheel to indicate an obviously bad bearing. When I had it up in the air I noted that the inside of the right front tire tread is wearing severely. I don't know if this is related or not. Is there a way to test the cv joints without removing and replacing the axle? Prefferably a test that can be done without dis-assembly?

What is the best way to check for bad wheel bearings?

I inspected all of the axle boots, they all seem to be in pretty decent condition. The front passenger one seems a bit dry rotted looking but it is not cracked or split. It appears as if some of the grease may have seeped out at each end where the clamp goes around the boot on each side on the inner boot. The accordian shaped part of the boots have no grease stains at all and no splits. The only grease seepage seems to be at the ends of the boot where they clamp. Of course this is the side right above the catalytic converter so it's the first to get baked and dried out. Is it possible the grease all got out and the joint is bad and clicking? I am familiar with how when a joint splits and all of the grease gets slung out on the cars of aquaintances and they start out clicking in turns and it progressively gets worse. In my observation the clicking of a worn out joint is loud when applying power, the opposite of what mine is doing. On my car it is making this sound driving straight down the road while coasting (no foot on throttle, in neutral, or with clutch depressed). No low speed clicking heard making turns etc. I have always caught split boots on my subarus earliy so have not experienced unusual axle sounds before from a subaru, not that I assume it is the axle at this point. This car has the factory alloys, no plastic hubcaps to click or squeak. I am noticing a bit of grease seepage where the trans output shafts come out on each side of the trans, the splined shaft that the collar for the axle halves slip over and pin through, not the rear driveshaft output. The passenger side seems to be a bit worse Trans output shaft bearing? Wheel bearing? ????????????

I have a 02 legacy outback, 5spd. I have noticed that after reaching around 30mph if I you coast or the transmission is not under load, there is a clicking noise that sounds like it is coming from the right front wheel area. when applying power through the transmission it is either not as loud or does not exist. it sounds almost like a ticking lifter type sound but it is vehicle speed related not engine rpm related. Applying brakes does not seem to affect the noise. My first thought is wheel bearing. Anyone experienced this and fixed it? Not sure if this is related or not, when I checked the transmission gear oil level it was slightly below the add mark on the dipstick. I brought the level back to where it should be, noise persists. It is possible this has been going on for a while, this is the car my wife drove regularly up until we noticed the noise when I was driving with the radio off. She drives with the radio up most of the time so wouldn't have noticed, so I'm not sure how long it has been going on.

In contemplation of a re-wire, how extensive would that be? Are we talking a simple ecu and wiring harness swap are we talking ripping apart two harnesses and splicing and hoping it all works out? I prefer to use as much of the newer engine as possible, I don't have spare intakes, pulleys etc. laying around. If I can do the swap with harvesting parts form the donor car and maybe some 2.5d parts this may be a viable option for me. If it is going to involve a bunch of complicated splicing and tracking down and purchasing parts I don't have, I'll just continue my search for a decent 95 2.2.

I have a 97 Outback that i am looking to replace the original DOHC engine. I have found a 01 sohc with low miles for a price I can swing. what do I need to do to make this work? I may be able to get the whole donor car for a reasonable price.

Finally got it sorted out. Turns out the problem that got me started working on the truck was a cracked distributor cap. As I worked on it, I replaced cap, rotor and plugs at the same time. I still had the problem, just for a different reason. Well after changing the fuel pressure regulator and dropping the enormous fuel tank to replace the pump with a new one, that turned out to be defective, then the next new one was also factory defective, finally got a good one installed and still had the problem, that turned out to be a misfire, from the #8 spark plug being cracked. Not sure if the crack was a factory defect or happened at installation. Apparently the crack was not bad enough to misfire on every ignition cycle for that cylinder, which made it so hard to diagnose.

Maybe I was unclear, as the stumble happens, that's when the pressure goes up. As soon as the stumble goes away, fuel pressure goes back down to 50psi, running smooth. It looks as if the stumble causes the brief pressure increase. Possibly an interruption in signal to the injectors causing pressure to build for a moment while injector(s) not working?

Fuel pump replaced, no change other than a lighter wallet, dirty clothes, and a nice gasoline odor to myself. Fuel pressure gauge still reading about 49-50 psi at idle. I notice as the engine "stumbles" (miss or something like a miss) the fuel pressure goes up slightly until it recovers from the "stumble" (a matter of less than 2 seconds). Oh well, go fish. Next on the list, check for timing chain slop.