AdventureSubaru

And as I think of it, do I need to disconnect the drive shaft? I don't want to damage any good parts, but if the diff is OK I won't waste my time

Looking to pick up a new project outback. Has a blown automatic transmission. Anyone forsee any towing issues of 25 miles in neutral if I disconnect the rear drive shaft? I know its a big nono in general but if the trans is already blown, I'm not concerned with damaging it. Just getting it home.

How many miles on it? For this generation of subaru, I would be amazed if I didn't see head gasket seepage as this motor does it all the time. As long as it isn't consuming coolant you should be fine. Even so, if the head gaskets have never bwent replaced they will need it sometime. Read up on how to catch it early and fix it right. Done properly they will last about forever. My wife's former 2000 outback lasted past 362000 miles and was sold still running strong. As for the other stuff, it's a 12 year old car. Find one on car-part.come or row52.come and just buy your missing pieces to dress it back up cosmetically.

You can buy that stuff on ebay and cut it to fit. No idea the quality of the end result though.

pics would help. If it's just the rear quarter panel and nothing structural the above mentioned fix or similar is the way to go. You can weld in new tin. Fiberglass, bondo or the redneck fix of expanding foam and roof flashing. Unless you have severe rust where the structure is compromised, its simple and easy to do a few patch jobs to keep the car on the road for a number of more years,

In the wake of hurricane Matthew, the Outback not only survived but is being used to transport food and such as Haiti picks itself back up again.

Same belts. And as long as you have the corresponding bracket the two bolt tensioner combo will be the same.

A little more description so I'm clear Shifter pushes trans into each gear but car will not accelerate? Look for broken clutch fork. Shifter moves but does not fully engage transmission into gear? Look for the rearmost section of the linkage that sits BEHIND (As memory serves) the shift boot opening from the interior. If it was hit hard enough/bushing worn enough for the rod to push forward and free, the shifter will move but not engage all the way. Had to chase that one down on a 96 Impreza a few months ago. Thought the clutch or trans was bad and that rear rod had just popped free. Either way the trans is probably fine.

I see nothing of consequence or anything recognizably subaru. Things don't just fall off cars unless severely rusted or already removed. Keep on driving. Your car is fine.

Located on top of the transmission. You can pull the console and shifter boot to shine a light down there. Get the front on jack stands and slide under the car to reach up to get to the linkage. You'll have to pull the arms and push/cut old bushings out and press the new ones in. They are a tight fit to get to but it's not a terrible job. 12mm sockets and wrenches will get it separated.

No hesitation on modern subarus. No worse than any other make. Just inspect for existing rust when buying used and then care for it according to where you live thereafter. I seem to remember that the older 70s and 80s cars were more prone to rust than some competitors. Rumor was that they were made out of more recycled metals but I'm not sure. The old GLs do seem to be eaten more quickly by salt than the newer generations.

Yeah. Everything points to a failing tensioner and/or bracket. A gates timing kit for these cars is not that expensive. Cheap insurance vs a failed motor. As Heartless mentioned, inspect the aluminum bracket that the tensioner bolts to. If the threads have stripped, get a good replacement. (If you end up needing one, I know I have one or two around collecting dust.) Get it up to speed with new parts and it will be ready for another 80-100k

I just went around with a scissor jack and did one at a time. You'll want to disconnect the swaybar and probably remove the whole strut assembly. I don't think it would give enough room to just unbolt the top to slide it in there. Breaker bar and 19mm socket gets them loose.

Worth it for me as I've done it twice. Both were to squeeze just a little more lift out of a forester strut/spring swap. One was for a 97 Impreza. The other was a couple weeks ago for my new daily driver 98 Legacy. 3/8 is not a lot and wont be a night and day difference, but it's also a quick and easy job. Low cost. Low time. Not a lot of work. With longer bolts you could go up to at least an inch. If you want a little more, a set of struts and springs from a 96-99 outback or 98-08 Forester give 1 1/2 inches of lift. If you use junkyard parts it's pretty cheap too. Having done it twice, I far prefer it. Sits up a little higher and provides me much better ground clearance for mountain roads and snow storms. If you do the 3/8 spacer and it's not enough, you'll only be out $10 and a couple hours of time.

for 3/8 spacers you don't need longer bolts. Just did it to my 98 L wagon. easy as pie. Just get a 3/8 cutting board from walmart etc. cut it to size and put it between. Drill and a jig saw takes about 10 minutes each. For 1/2 inch and up, yes. There wont be enough thread on the stock bolts to hold it well.

Was towing my 98 legacy on a tow dolly across the country. Rear drive shaft pulled. After 2500 miles it threw a rear wheel. Rolled a while before I could get pulled over. It crunched the brake guard into the rotor and ate a chunk off the rotor. 2 questions. With open differential does it matter that the one rotor was locked up for a time while the other spun? If I keep the drive shaft out, can I run difor rent brand tires on the back until I get a good matched set?

Check the timing marks and see if they line up. If it's not the timing the o2 sensors can make them gutless and buggy sometimes. This would be the next logical step to fix the problem. How recent are plugs and wires?

Never had an issue with it. I put an 01 trans into a 99 and it was a direct swap.

Swap the crank sprocket and drivers side cam pulley from the original motor over to the JDM. USDM have different teeth on the back side than JDM. It's sending incorrect signals to your USDM computer. Swap those and everything should be good to go.

Yes. Both are phase 2. Confirm that they have the same final drive ratio by the trans numbers in front of the starter. (They should be. Both came standard with 4.44 but always double check.)

I've seen far worse. No worries on the structural integrity/safety for a while. Some decent solutions have been mentioned to slow the spread. For me it's not fixed until you take an angle grinder and sanding disc and grind back down to bare metal. Then build it back up. I use rustoleum rust reformer and then heavy coats of rustoleum paint. For the really bad parts a welder helps but it looks like you've got some years before getting there other than cosmetic stuff like that rear quarter panel.

I wouldn't be worried about it. Probably top it off with some fresh premium gas and just run it out. I once got a car running off of 12 year old gas that was parked way back in the woods of vermont.

It doesn't pop out super easily. I make sure it's fully seated before beginning the install and take a measurement between the front of the starter hole and the back of the torque converter. Once the trans is sitting on the lower two guide pins/bolts of the motor and is ready to be slid and bolted together I double check just in case. Never had one come out during reinstall though. It's only ever been while pulling the trans.

Phase 2. Technically that 2.5 block is a phase 2 block that had phase 1 heads. 99s were an odd year.

Yes. Bolt it together and drive it. I have a single port Y-pipe For $20+ shipping if you want it.