jarl

Hi Fairtax, Thank you for replying. There are a couple of cars on craigslist being parted out and I wanted to be sure if the transmissions will work (one of them is an Outback Sport), but asking the sellers for the transmission code is already a tall order, so I doubt they would know if the transmission fits a specific car. I'll check car-part anyway. I think I'll do what you say and replace the ATF. I'm going to replace the filter as well and see what happens. Thanks!

Hello people, I asked this on another subaru-oriented site but so far I've had no answers, and I need an answer soon. The transmission on my '05 OBW is going belly up. When cold (specially if the car has been sitting for a while, e.g. for a weekend) it takes a while for the forward gears to engage, and then shifts like crap until it warms up somewhat. The tranny was overfilled, and when I removed the extra ATF (about 2 Qts) the fluid that came out looked all but "bright red". There were also some friction material bits on it (not too many, but still). In any case, I think this transmission will fail this winter, and I'd like to be ready when that happens. I've been trying to find information about compatible transmissions (specially from Foresters, as there seem to be way more of them than Outbacks on the junkyards around here) but so far no luck. Is there any way to "decipher" the transmission code (mine is TZ1B7lCACA) to see which transmissions would be compatible? I googled that code and didn't get anything significant. The only search that gives something is for "TZ1B", so I assume that's the most relevant part of the code. But which cars have compatible transmissions? Thanks!

Hello people, This may sound ridiculous to some of you, but for others -like me- this would have been very useful. I have been very busy lately so I have barely done anything to my '01 Legacy. Something I did, however, was to fix an *incredibly* annoying vibration of the gas pedal, which I had felt since I put the engine back after doing the head gaskets. Some time ago I read a post by someone asking for help with a similar issue, but (s)he ended up taking the car to a dealer, who diagnosed an incorrectly routed gas pedal and/or cruise control cables. They fixed the problem, but this person didn't offer a more detailed description of the solution. Last weekend I went to my u-pull of choice, and found a '00 Legacy sedan "totaled" (light right side damage) with a *pristine* -and apparently untouched- engine bay. After getting what I needed (power steering pump), and somehow I remembered to take a picture of the junkyard's car engine bay. When I compared it to my car's, I found the routing of the cables was fine, but I had (mistakenly) fixed them to one of the A/C hoses. The car still runs a little rough, but at least you don't feel anything on your right foot, which I consider an absolute success So... here's the picture: The cables are fixed using plastic clips in three places: - The (wrapped) positive wire from the alternator to the battery. - The positive wire from the battery to the starter motor - One of the A/C hoses (only the cruise control cable) Best luck!

Hello people, I'm -finally- putting together my '01 Legacy L summer project, which I started too long ago. So long ago, in fact, that I forgot one or two things already :/ Among those things is where the ground wires/straps go on the engine. I know there are at least two of them: one going from the firewall to the engine (intake?), and one on the passenger-side suspension tower that probably goes directly to the block. But where? Thanks!

For a second I had one of those "oh cr_p" moments Then I understood which tube you were talking about The answer is yes, I got the OEM o'ring/washer and remembered to replace it. Back when I started taking apart this engine (too long ago) I made this long list of the things I needed, and checked it a thousand times. It included the o'rings for the oil pump, the oil fill tube, the two for the dipstick and whatnot. Everything you can imagine and then some. Except the <...> oil pickup o'ring :/ In fact I ordered even the screws for the rear cover, except I ordered the ones for the stamped steel cover and after I placed the order I discovered the one on the car is the cast aluminum variety. Live and learn...

Thank you people. I found slightly different numbers (17.4mm ID x 2.4mm), and ended up buying a Dorman set of viton o'rings including a 17.1 x 2.6. I closed the oil pan after dinner and started installing the timing idlers. Hopefuly by the weekend I'll have a running car (knock on wood)

Interesting... Would the Ultra grey do the same? [Edit] would any Viton o'ring do the trick?

Quick question: which o'ring can I use to seal the oil pickup tube (inside the pan) against the block? I was 100% sure I had all the stuff I needed to finish putting together an engine over the weekend but,alas, this [expletive]o'ring was missing. The part number is 806917070 but the local dealer won't have it before Thursday, and I really want to close the engine asap, but since this is a rather important o'ring in contact with oil I'd like to play it safe.

I've had this problem before. The corrosion at the end of the unusually long stroke you use when bleeding the brakes damages the seals on the piston.

Thank you guys. Wire harness and ECU is doable. As long as there's no fabrication... Unfortunately the car is already sold, but there is an unusually high number of cars with snapped belts these days. I'll keep an eye open. Thanks!

Replace "half" the car. Damn autocorrection...

When the head gasket starts to fail in these cars the coolant gets mixed with the oil. That's another way to know if things are working the way it should. Another thing that may or may not be on borrowed time is the timing belt. The engines for that year are interference, so if the belt snaps the valves may/will hit the pistons. Not good. If your car has a sticker from a dealer you can call them and ask to see if they have maintenance records. Or look to see if there's any paperwork on the glovebox that may allow you to know where the P.O. was taking the car for maintenance.

Hello people. I'm looking for a newer car to replace my '99 OBW, and I just saw a Legacy GT not far from here with a snapped timing belt. I know I can rebuild the heads and whatnot, but to be honest I couldn't care less for the turbo' extra power, specially if it means using premium gas. So... I'm entertaining the idea of buying the car and replace the engine with a normally-aspirated one (which can be found relatively cheap). The question I have for the local gurus is: how difficult would this be? Do I need to replace have the car if I decide to go this way? Thanks!

Will do

I apologize for the delay in getting back. Life has kept me away for a few days... and prevented me from working on the engine So... you agree it's only the separator plate leaking? I ask because you can see some oil around the bottom edges of the seal, and it's not clear to me how oil from the separator would get there. I'll do the wrist pin and the separator plate for sure. I just don't want to close this thing and find the now infamous (among our family) oil-into-exhaust smell with this car too. Regarding the sealant: do the anaerobic go bad after some time? I kind of know the answer, but just in case...

Yesterday -finally- I pulled the engine on a new-to-me 2001 legacy. There are leaks everywhere -including head gaskets, apparently- but the one concerning me right now is -I believe- through the rear crank seal (see picture). I've read here -numerous times- not to touch it because of the difficulty installing the new one, but it would be ridiculous to reinstall the engine with a know leak. So... is this a rear main seal leak that needs to be adressed, or not? Also: the wrist pin cover on the left seems to be in good condition. Should I replace the o'ring preemptively? Merci beaucoup!

Well... it happened to me. Again While trying to remove the engine it didn't come out straight (I think something got caught on the exhaust) and the bolt on the passenger side of the engine got jammed. In my efforts to dislodge it the tip of the torque converter apparently got caught on the hole on the rear of the camshaft, and when I pulled the engine again the TC got dislodged. Yippee... Now... I didn't tighten any bolts, so hopefuly nothing is broken/craked.The question is:how do I know? And then the obvious: I reseated the torque converter on my '99 when I replaced the engine, but now I can't seem to be able to re-seat the TC on the '01. Was there a change or something? Or is there a trick to do it? Fairtax: how/where do you bolt the wrench to the bellhousing?

Missed the "manual" thing. So it was, indeed, an idiotic question

This may bean idiotic question but: have you tried to run the car in 2WD mode (with the fuse)? Or maybe disconnect the driveshaft (if the differential is so bad it doesn't disengage even with the fuse)? If I understand correctly, if running the car in 2WD mode eliminates the problem then you'll be sure all you need is the center differential

Unibrook mentioned it but let's make it more explicit: do keep in mind you are getting rid of the old filler tube! That is: if you need to destroy it to make it easier to remove, so be it. That being said, make sure you have the right part to replace it, and that you don't destroy more than you have to

The outcome will probably be insane amounts of noise The heavy padding underneath the carpet is there for a reason... What I did on my OBW was to wait until a parts car showed up on Craigslist and just replace the whole thing. Usually the cars at the junkyards have had a rough time right before they get there, while I have found some nice stuff on craigslist (or on the ads section of forums like this one). On a minivan I had before I had to replace the headliner and the carpet and spray the whole interior with Odoban (the car belonged to a smoker at some point in it's life). It takes some time to do things correctly, but once you are done you won't regret it.

5 1/2: Water pump as well? It's one of the timing components and, although 55k is low miles, it's 10 years old. As nipper says, the age also counts.

The flame propagation inside the cylinder would be very different using that spark. Just like the headlight bulbs, the cylinders are usually designed to have the flame originating at one very specific point

That's the rust-proofing mechanism In these cars all the leaks end up making a mess like the one you see. You'll have to clean the engine to be able to pinpoint where it's coming from, but a rear separator plate comes to mind...

I haven't take a look at the Subaru's door handles, but from what I can see it's similar to others: http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b12/type_20/body_equipment_exterior/door_parts_latch_and_handle/illustration_1/ When you pull the handle a bar is pushed down, which in turn actuates the door latch. The bar is usually kept in place at both ends by a plastic retainer (#5 in the image) that -sometimes- breaks, letting the bar to get out of position. When that happens I just go to my preferred pull-a-part and get a used one Taking apart a car at the junkyard also teaches you how NOT to break the part you are getting (sometimes it's a bit tricky). One of my cars (Pontiac Trans Sport) had the bad habit of breaking the lever where the bar is attached. But I don't think that's the case with Soobies.