DrRock

Thanks for the tip, I'll pick up a vacuum pump and see if that helps. I'm starting to worry that the master cylinder may also be bad (although I know this is rare). If I were to disconnect the little metal tube from the side of the MC and then depress the clutch pedal, should that make a little shot of fluid come out of the side/bottom of the MC? (In its current state, this metal tube is already disconnected so the test would be easy. And if it weren't 4 am, I'd go try it now!) Kevin

Many thanks for all of the good advice. So, got a couple of new flare nuts and a 20" piece of 3/16" tubing and was able to bend it into a reasonable approximation of the original. Flared the ends (my flares were not nearly as beautiful as the factory flares but they weren't horrible) and put it all back together. I got my wife to help me with the bleeding. The clutch goes to the floor with zero resistance, and then requires a pull to bring it back up. I open the bleed valve on the downstroke, close it for the upstroke, and the end of the bleed tube is submerged in a cup with brake fluid in the bottom. Now here is my problem: After doing this about 50 times, there is STILL zero resistance on the clutch pedal and just a little frothy fluid is emerging from the bleed valve on the slave. I quit and started to wonder if maybe I had a leak somewhere (none visible) or if I need to do this many more times than 50 to get all the air out. Is bleeding the clutch usually this much of a pain in the rear? Thanks again in advance! Kevin

Thanks for your informative response! So now my problem is that the Subaru parts place will not be open until Tuesday (holiday weekend) so I might just try fashioning my own. Any tricks to bending the steel tubing without kinking it? Kevin

I have a 1998 Legacy Outback and my clutch pedal had been "sticking" after being depressed so I ordered a new slave cylinder, hose, and gaskets (per the TSB that has been posted here elsewhere). Removing the old slave cylinder was easy but I ran into trouble when I tried to remove the rubber clutch hose. It came off the slave with no problem, but the other end is connected to a thin metal hydraulic line that connects to the master cylinder. I could not unscrew the small threaded nut that screws into the end of the rubber hose and while wrestling with this, I ended up breaking the metal line. So, a few questions: 1. Is is possible to buy more of this thin metal hydraulic line at autozone, napa, etc. or do I need to get it from the dealer? It has some very precise bends in it and I wasnt sure if this was a "custom" part. Also, are the connecting nuts a standard part or do I need to also get those from Subaru? 2. Should the nuts that connect this metal tubing to the master cylinder and to the rubber clutch hose be REALLY hard to unscrew? Is there a trick to unscrewing them (e.g. left-handed threads)? I tried to unscrew the broken remnant of the tubing that is left in the old hose just for the hell of it and all I did was round over the nut. I then tried to unscrew the end that connects to the master cylinder, and that, too, was super stuck and I stopped before I rounded over that nut. I won't try again until I get a flare wrench, but I fear that may not be enough. Many thanks in advance! Kevin

Hi all, I, too, am getting the cylinder #3 and #4 misfire codes. I have no solution, but perhaps if I describe my symptoms it may be useful. Facts: 1998 Outback manual transmission miles: 149,000, CCR engine installed at 124,000 new coil, new wires, new plugs have not solved the problem. I started getting this code shortly after the CCR engine was installed, never had it on my original engine. I get the CEL only if I go over 70 mph (freeway) and the temperature is less than 50 degrees F. Warmer weather and slower driving don't cause the CEL to go on. For some reason the combination of high speed (or just high RPMs) for a prolonged time during colder weather cause the problem. Ideas? thanks! Kevin