idosubaru

Crow bar will probably work if it’s been apart and not stuck. The further you spread the receiving side of the ball, the easier it’ll come out too. I use a pickle fork to remove ball joints but that damages the ball joint boot and I’m almost always replacing them. Works every time even on nasty fused rusty garbage. Ive got a 100% success rate cleaning and repacking noisy axles. Some really bad ones. But I’m always doing it to my own axles I know their age exposure and some or all of their history. The noise is caused by lack of grease or it’s all watery and in terrible condition. pours out when you cut the boot, not like normal grease. If it’s seen sand or aggregate your chances probably go down. I have tossed some I wouldn’t bother repacking too if they’re unknown or saw copious sand. You don’t have much to loose to try. they basically drive forever on noisy axles anyway. My 230k Tribeca OEM axles have been noisy for awhile snd I’ll wait 10s of thousands more miles to repack and regrease them. They’re not broken and I’ll wait until I have to pull the axles for some other job. Zero worries. But I detest aftermarket axles so I’m not saying they’re a good candidate to approach the same way. But that aside, the axles are probably more forgiving than colloquial auto wisdom touts. As a test - if the boots are broken you can simply repack grease in through there with a grease gun and needle fitting. If it quiets down then you’ll likely be fine. I’ve done this before and they quite down immediately just like a freshly greased door hinge, but the grease will sling out almost immediately. So it’s not lasting or workable even as a short term fix. But it gives you a proof of concept and test if it’s hard to believe me over conventional axle “wisdom”

1. headgaskets 2. intake manifold gaskets leaking internally into the combustion chamber 3. another leak you haven't found yet Carefully look for an external leak. Pressurize the cooling system to check for leaks. When it's running hot look for bubbles in the overflow tank.

Hey buddy! I can't answer your question but it's good to see you again and hear the XT6 getting some tune up. I run stock, I'm too gutless to play with timing, it sounds mystical to me! I changed my username, but this is Gary.

1. *** Critical question - how positive are you the noise ever existed before the wheel bearing job and started immediately after the wheel bearing job? 2. Does it only start grinding with your foot on the brake? 3. If it starts grinding and you immediately respond with more brake pressure, or let off, does the noise go away? Front or rear bearing? Describe the symptoms and how long was it bad? Was a Subaru or aftermarket bearing installed? Did it fix the issues or was this "brake noise" the issue that the wheel bearing replacement didn't alleviate? If you replaced the fronts, maybe it's the back making noise? Or the other way around. Jack up the vehicle and turn the hub (with the wheel on and without the wheel on) by hand and reproduce the noise to help locate. Look for debris stuck in, or around the backing plate, or a bent backing plate that's rubbing the rotor. Open the caliper and check for a distorted wear indicator or bent brake pad clip touching the rotor. This would be very uncommon but as I can't see the car you want to make sure nothing is inordiately close to the rotor - pad clips, rear backing plate, and wear indicators are easily damaged/shifted. Aftermarket wheel bearings are lower quality and can fail shortly after install - is there any chance this new bearing is bad or was damaged during installation?

1,000 ft-lb 3/4" impact gun. Or a 3 foot pipe over the handle of a 3/4" socket wrench. Axle nuts routinely break generic/average 1/2" breakers/sockets all the time. Ball joints vary wiidly based on corrosion and time in situ. Yes a crow bar "is enough" if yours isn't bad. Have the ball joints ever been apart before in the past? If not they've sat there for decades. People here do it on the side of the road because they've probably done a bunch and often times have already had that axle/knuckle apart in the last couple of years so removal is easy before age/corrosion set in. A first timer with even minor corrosion/rust issues has zero chance of getting this done without a headache so you're right to ask. just look inside the axle hole and the stubby shaft hole. on one side of the axle *the VALLEY of the splined shaft will be in the center*, on the other side the TOP RIDGE will be in the center. Line it up appropriately. It's not hard, just need to know to look for it.

Get an FSM. The XT FSM is the same as an EA82 in terms of axles and was widely available free online. Try to find it but if not I can get it to you. PM me. It’s straight forward and not many fasteners or parts. The tricky parts are: Rust - if it’s rusty, ball joints are nightmarish and axle shaft sticks in knuckle. The boot replacement is a greasy mess. Have lots of shop towels. Other than that it’s really easy. Also make sure you line the splines up the right way - they only have one orientation, not two. There’s a through hole on the axle and stub that need to line up and at first they appear to just like ho either way. But they can be 180 Degrees off. Easy but if you don’t know to look it confused people. I’ve pulled one on the side of the road an hour from home. 1-2 hours without tools in a snow storm at dark. Knocked out pin with whatever I could find. then beat the snot out of the outer joint to pull the shaft and leave the outer joint in the bearings so I could drive home in 2WD without that axle installed. It was a brand new, about 100 miles, aftermarket axle that had failed. I forget which side failed, but that aided removal.

1. Push valve to let some refrigerant out. Done. 2. If you think it’s leaking, or don’t trust the amount in the system - I’d replace the orings at the compressor lines and put 20 ounces of refrigerant (put however much the sticker says that’s usually on the upper radiator support) in it and call it a day. The orings get brittle and hard like plastic instead of soft and pliable like an oring. Interestingly all the other orings can be fine in the entire system except those two. I assume it’s due to heat cycling at the compressor/engine increasing the degradation rate of the rubber. The cause doesn’t matter, what’s important is how common this is on older Subarus. Done it to countless Subarus, and importantly, only once to each one! Those lines at the compressor leak *all the time*.

Yes. Original gaskets start leaking oil externally. But at this age and probably already being replaced they can leak coolant and ocassioally over heat too. Radiators crack they loose like half or more of their material density over 5-10 years or something like that. It's not a surprised it failed or that it may have failed due to the job being done. There's a coolant hose that runs across the front bottom of the engine, make sure it's not that. If the radiator wasn't burped they can also overheat from having air in them. And the overheating and over pressurize the overflow tank which spews coolant everywhere and looks like a leak, but it is not. **It sounds like you filled it up and it just started coming out so that does seem to confirm a leak but I thought you should know these do overheat when they get air into them. Fill nose up and top off after running/cooling. The air bubles don't allow it to suck coolant in the from the overflow tank so that's not an ample solution to air.

Www.car-part.com Those 2002s usually just need new orings where the high and low pressure lines bolt to the compressor. Remove, replace $1 worth of orings and recharge. I’ve fixed those in 15 minutes.

He should Read the FSM to see what it says and ask Subaru when you pick it up. Or read directions that come with a aftermarket (though I wouldn’t buy one!). add a few drops if you don’t know. It’ll get distributed through a significant amount of interior surface area throughout the comrossor and lines so err towards adding if unsure. Residual oil in the system copiously migrates throughout too, oil goes EVERyWHERE when they spring a sundown leak. so if the compressor was dry and you didn’t add oil…. Nothing would happen. Not recommending that - I’m just saying they are very forgiving. Add a few drops or look up how many milliliters and you’re good.

Get new Subaru. Or used Subaru unit and realize you might do it again someday. I would never install any aftermarket on this. Exactly: unbolt compressor install new one Charge done. as to diagnosing - I replace Subaru compressors due to noise or poor cooling performance of an otherwise functionally tested system. put a mechanics stethoscope on it to cover firm noise source. It sounds like you have noise - verify the source if you’re positive the noise emanates from the compressor it sounds like it’s bad. some have messed with clutches in the past so you could look into that it you think it’s just the clutch or bearing. Not sure Subarus sells them separately or if they’re addressable on that year and model though.

Yes. Subarus are easy. After repairing the issue add about 20 ounces of refrigerant and done. That’s it. Read the amount of refrigerant needed, often there’s a sticker on the top radiator supper (roughly around 20 ounces for most Subarus) and compare to the bottle contents, it’s roughly “two cans”, can sizes vary. You do not need to replace the drier. But you can while it’s apart - they’re cheap and easy. If the compressor is bad then presumably the refrigerant is fine and no ambient air and moisture entered the system. Replacing a compressor doesn’t give much time for ambient air to saturate the drier. Even if it was open for long periods of time I’ve never seen issues and live in a high humidity area. But again - driers are cheap and easy. There’s zero need to pull a vacuum unless you absolutely need the AC to work 100% like new. The AC works fine in 95 degree 90% humidity summers even if you don’t pull a vacuum. if you want the AC to blow 48 degrees instead of 53 degrees (I’m making up numbers for illustration) then pull the vaccum. Maybe some people on coastal southern humid areas with dark cars that sit in the sun all day or something need it 100%. If that’s the case pull a vacuum. I have a vaccuum puller and gauges with adapters for all Subaru AC fittings and haven’t used them in 15 years. Subarus are so easy it’s not worth my time. I think I’ve used the gauges a time or two actually since then but it’s rare. When replacing the compressor replace the orings at the compressor - they’re the most common orings to fail by a looooong shot. Due to heat cycling from engine/compressor heat loads I guess. I wrote the now 10+ year old Subaru article about AC charging and repair that’s now many pages of comments long of raving success. I buy fix wrecked or totaled front impact Subarus and old Subarus so repairing Subaru AC is about as common as it can be for a DIY person who isn’t doing this for a living. I wouldn’t assume anything anout other manufacturers AC systems based on this.

*** Burp it. 1. Is it overheating and spraying out from overheating? or 2. leaking and spraying? determine that FIRST. They can look the same and be hard to distinguish. It does sound like a poor repair (or parts) was done and the headgaskets need replaced again. If you got a decent review, history and sense of integrity from the seller it sounds like the engine is fine and the mechanic did a poor job. If that’s true I’d just suggest redoing the headgaskets. The heads are unlikely to be warped or cracked. But a shop can check that. make sure they get resurfaced No matter what even if they are “in spec” or “not warped” Except do the headgaskets correctly. Subaru gaskets only, resurface heads, clean surfaces, lube bolts, torque properly.

Best to check when cold. Throw 5 quarts of oil all over your kitchen walls. How long would it take for all 5 quarts to get to the floor? It would take some time, it’s not water. The heat of the engine aids settling but it still takes time. It might help to pull the dipstick, wipe it off, then reinsert it and check level. 1/2 quart too much isn’t a big deal. If it’s leaking anyway it’ll be back down to normal in time.

‘Nope’ back at you! I didnt say *new* EJ! I said buy 5 of them - that would be a funny suggestion for new. OEM used arent hard for an individual to find. But it does take effort and won’t be worth it for hobby trail beaters or those needing a consistent supply Like you, I wouldn’t use a Subaru for off-road trail play, lift is for only for practical reasons on mine.

Take it back to them. Give them a chance to follow through and see what they say. Have you looked at it yet to see if it's in the same area or you'd just basing this off of drops you see on the ground? They either: 1. made mistake - which is possible if it "didn't seem to leak at first", in which case they fixed the leak but introduced a new one somewhere else. This would be about the most difficult Subaru sealing job there is - so it wouldn't be a wild surprise for a mistake. or 2. resealed the front cover, which wasn't the cause of the leak in the first place. In which case the rear cover needs resealed. This sounds plausible since you say it seems roughly the same as before.

Other option is 5 lug conversion so you can readily buy 5 OEM EJ axles.

that’s a lot of issues. Sounds like something is off or you had bad axle luck which isn’t that unlikely as you’ll see check that your front strut top spacers are properly clocked. They install rotated one way only. check engine and trans mounts for slop add an extra 1/2” spacers. call Scott and ask. I’ve always found Scott reasonable to talk to. 1. CVs are trash. I hear you said you tried OEM but I have my doubts on how rigorous that assessment is and maybe they were driven horrendously without boots at some point in their life or compromised or 250,000 miles like many used Subaru parts now from the 80s. look up all the people blowing axles on here and discussing which aftermarket trash or new brand garbage is going to be the next magic unicorn for Subarus. It’s not going to happen. Including the epic thread of me telling folks the HD trac motive or whatever garbage had zero chance of being worth the trial. Yep ended up an epic waste of time. Wash rinse repeat. Avoid aftermarket like the plague. No matter what anecdotal report you hear or add you read They suck for Subarus. I won’t even install them on *non-lifted* Subarus They’re that bad. It’s not going to happen. You need to go buy 5 OEM axles. Then regrease them with quality proper amount of grease and new boots. maybe you’ll loose one or two due to high miles or previous grit exposure. But you’ll end up with 3 or so that perform well enough you’re playing more than working. ive busted boots with my 2”+ lift with no spacers at 10,000 ft in colorado and drove 2,000 miles home. They were OEM axles with new joints that vibrated like crazy the whole way home my rear view mirror was barely usable it was shaking so bad. what’s better - I cleaned and greasers and rebooted them and still run them and one is on another members car on this forum right now and has been for 8 years after that epic trashing. Marshall I’m colored axles FTW. reread everything I just wrote. Aftermarket is trash. maybe at 30+ years old they’re impossible to find but it’s worth trying.

Smart move posting those pages. What stands out is every time front toe is horrendously out. The others just shift a little bit but toe has wild swings way out of limits. I don’t know what normal is, but that seems excessive for the toe to be drifting that far out between short alignment time intervals. 2000+ Subaru rear alignment and control arms/bushings are a PITA and I’m not experienced enough to say anything helpful so I’m focusing on the front and your pulling issue I would check your steering rack bushings for slop. Seems like they’re loose and the entire rack is shifting around. That would explain why both side front toe is waaay out of spec easy time. Almost Anything else should only impact one wheel. They could check alignment and get different numbers every day if that’s the case. Give the rack lots of force and have someone turn it lock to lock while you watch it from under the vehicle to see if the entire rack shifts at all. See more notes on that condition in a moment. But first…. let’s assume my first guess is wrong and be a little more thorough: your questions: 1. Front Camber is absolutely adjustable. Top strut mount bolt is a cambered bolt. Can Google image search it 2. they couldn’t get front camber perfect probably due to the lift from the outback struts. That’s not unexpected. You can get it within specs (that’s why it’s green on that print out) but it might be towards the end of its adjustment stroke. They might not get it perfect dead center But it is adjustable to within Subaru specs 2.There are no issues installing stock Subaru sized outback struts into a legacy. Commonly done - no doubt that’s why you did it. You didn’t hope it was possible when ordering parts, you’ve heard it was possible like everyone else. Camber can use all the adjustment limits available but it’s doable and should not pull to one side. What we might not know is which strut you used and if it’s taller than stock. But I doubt it - your camber would be the issue not pulling to one side. Questions: 1. Did this pulling start definitely after one of those jobs….struts, tires, alignment…?? That would be a smoking gun 2. Is this an area where Subarus are common? I’ve heard “camber isn’t adjustable” from shops in areas without many Subarus. Not sure why that seems bizarre but I’ve heard it before. 3. How positive are you there were previously ZERO pulling issues before the tires and all this work was done? (it sounds like you gave evidence that you’re positive but I just want to make sure I’m reading it right) suggestions: check the steering rack bushings they can swell from fluid contact (atf oil or ps leaks). This makes the rack loose abs it can shift or drift inside the mounts because the rack bushings are useless. It may only shift under loads so give it some good forceful persuasion Check all your replacement MOOG bushings. I’ve seen aftermarket bushings fail in 1-2 years. I don’t trust aftermarket or quick struts. The Monroe struts installed on a friends car drove like trash. It didn’t pull but I had zero confidence in them. A moog or Monroe top hat I installed in a legacy failed the first time I drove it - strut top blew right through the rubber of the top hat. Folks have posted pictures of them ballooning terrible before and I’ve seen that as well. it’s hard to assume those new struts can’t possibly be problematic. Im not sure struts can cause pulling but if toe is perfect I don’t trust the springs/seat or bearing somehow inducing torque.

“The seals” - which ones?

Oil starvation - rod bearings, crank bearings, and oil pump rotor and housing for scaring. That would be the easiest to check - the oil pump comes off easily in less than an hour with no special tools and no need to remove the engine. But if we are talking about real proof and not just mechanically inept lawyers talking to mechanically inept judges - that would be barking up the wrong tree. I would want to carefully document *sump damage*, bent, cracked, etc, which would be directly related to them replacing/resealing the oil pan and baffle clearance. Documenting oil starvation failure modes is of limited scope since oil starvation from a year ago can cause catastrophic failure tomorrow. It sort of just proves the engine failed which is already known. If I run my car dangerously low on oil today, fix the leak and have perfectly oil changes afterwards - it could catastrophically fail tomorrow....or next year. A shop isn't going to want liability for events from a year ago. We already know the engine failed, compromised oil is the likely culprit....you need to prove what compromised the oil. At least in mechanical terms that's what's most important.

Awesome. Glad you got it bacK and not all beat up. How do you keep a level head about it? That would bug me.

Rear tail lights work when parking lights are turned on. No tail lights when headlights are turned on. The parking lights and headlights use a different fuse and relay. I swapped relay with no change and all fuses are good. oddly the wiring diagram just shows two wires from the headlight switch - one to ground and one to MB-14 “tail and illumination relay”. Seems odd it doesn’t trace it all the way to the light fixtures. Tried a different relay in tail relay in the engine fuse box and it made no difference. gonna buy new bulbs and relay any suggestions?

Cheers that’s awesome ! Given how bad it was it sounds like that may have done the trick! I’ve done it, thats a horrendous job. Squeeze a 17 ft continuous bead of sealant that can’t be compromised when sliding that awkwardly huge cover in a tight space to line up the 60 bolts that hold the cover on. Good price for the headache.

A lot depends on paint condition, how much is all original - paint, trim, interior, and how well the vehicle currently starts and drives, and also how you sell it. $3k is a somewhat of a very rough starting point. More if paint/originality/drivability is better and less if those get some deductions.