NOMAD327

I used a sleeve kit on a ford a decade or so ago, problem initially is you have a steel bearing sliding on aluminum, at least on that application. The kit I had was greased oversize steel bearing on a steel sleeve, some I have seen use a plastic lined bearing on a steel sleeve. This is a good simple fix and shouldn't be too expensive if one is available for you. Mine is still running fine.

NGK PFR5B-11 is the original spec NGK double platinum which was standard in the 99 2.5 DOHC engines at least. You can use plugs which are no platinum, or plugs which are double platinum. I would avoid the single platinum plugs because our ignition system will cause two plugs to wear faster than the other two. The plugs are moderately hard to change, and I did not want to do it any sooner than necessary, so I put in the double platinum. The advantage of platinum is they will not wear out as soon. Whatever you use, they will normally not be in stock anywhere you go, (except Subaru dealer), So when they order them for you, they will check what plugs are correct for your engine. I found the PFR5B-11 NGK at advanced auto for $10 a year or so ago, best price I found back then, as the list on those plugs most places is $15 each and a lot of the internet sources wanted $12 or more with shipping extra. My kid who is on a budget bought Autolite APP3924 for about $4 apiece. They are double platinum and made in America. Very high quality appearance and seemed to match the NGK's for dimensions very well. The car has been running like it should on them for more than 30,000 miles, so they may be OK to use. The plugs on this engine are real difficult to change, so I bought the NGK not wanting to have to redo the job if there were any problems Some people say there are holes in the wheel openings to make spark plug changing on the DOHC engines easier, but they are not present on my 99. Some people say it's easier to do laying under the car, but it went pretty well on mine from above as follows: Once you remove the windshield washer bottle and battery (can probably just slide it forward on it’s tray a bit) on the left and the air inlet tube and mass air sensor and air cleaner box on the passenger side, access is fair doing a 2.5 in a 96 to 99 Legacy. I would do the front plug first on each side, as they are slightly easier to do. What makes it the most hard is that the plugs are really far down inside the wells in the heads. The rear plugs on each side are harder because the frame rails are closer in the back. My problem was that an extension was needed, but there isn’t room to get one in with the socket attached. You have to slide the socket into the hole first, then slide in and assemble the extension, and finally attach the ratchet to the end of the extension. I immediately removed the sponge rubber plug protector from my socket, the reason being it will be extremely difficult to get the socket off the end of the plug and out of the hole if the rubber is gripping the spark plug. I didn’t want it on for plug removal either, because there is a lot of trial and error with your socket set as to what gives just the right length for getting the socket stack down into the hole. As I recall, what worked best for me was to use a plug socket in the rear, and then use a ratchet with a standard socket on it to turn the hex on top of the plug socket instead of using an extension. On the front plugs, a 3" extension worked pretty well with the regular spark plug socket and a ratchet. There was at least one plug which worked slightly better with a standard deepwell socket instead of the spark plug socket, but that was not a critical must have item! I would recommend having a small hand mirror on a stick or a ladies compact to be able to glance down into the well to see what’s happening. I’ve done a few of these cars, and on each one, at one time or another, the spark plug socket became slightly jammed on some aluminum protrusions of the head that were down deep in the well. The impression is that the threads are pulling rather than the socket is cocked and dragging. If you experience this, Use the mirror to reconnoiter. If in doubt, reverse direction, and the condition should go away if it’s not the threads. This usually happens when it’s just starting to go real good to scare the heck out of you. Going back in with new spark plugs, make sure you check the gap first, then lube the threads with an anti-seize compound. Make sure there is a washer on the plug or you will wonder later on if it was in fact there. The big trick for installation, is to have a piece of rubber hose that’s about three or four inches long and a snug fit on the top of the spark plug. Stick it down over the top of the plug and use it to guide the plug into place. Twirl the hose between your fingers and you can probably get the new plug in half to three quarters of the way which ensures the threads are started straight. It's also much quicker and easier than a socket wrench as far as it will go. Putting all the stuff back on after the plugs are in, make sure the three quarter inch hose that connects to the bottom of the intake tract after the air flow sensor is reconnected, The car will not run without the hose connected, and sometimes it slips off unseen during disassembly, and you don’t even realize it needs reconnected.

The service manual says to use the bleed port, fill radiator method, but I am going to go against the majority here. The top hose method is not necessary on a normal car, with a top thermostat, but on the EJ motors, the thermostat is positioned in the lower hose. I have found with experience that the top hose fill method on a simple drain and return, allows me to put nearly every drop back into the system, presuming I then add the remainder to the radiator. Just putting the coolant in the radiator alone leaves a lot of liquid left in the bucket while the motor is idling and heating up. It takes 30 seconds to pull the top hose off the radiator and pour some liquid down into the engine, and considering the sensitivity of the EJ25’s at least to overheating, I don’t see a cause for argument here. So long as the thermostat opens before the engine overheats, there’s no advantage to backfilling the motor, but if I avoid engine overheating even once, it’s worth the moments spent. If these cooling systems are not special in any way, why does everybody here (including me) insist on using only a Subaru thermostat?

Check the oil pressure sending unit directly under the alternator with a flashlight. Mine was leaking a bunch. Not hard to tell, there will be a big pool of oil near it on the passenger side. If that's it, get a Subaru one, the aftermarket ones don't seem to have quite the same thread and leak.

The doors on my 99 OBW will not stay open on the stop, even on level ground they are always closing on your legs. Is this device replaceable or adjustable. I have the FSM and it doesn't even talk about the thing.

If it goes down overnight with the battery connected, and doesn't go down overnight with the battery disconnected, it's not the battery. I always suspect the alternator second after an internal short inside the battery. The charging diodes in the alternator also serve to prevent backfeeding current to ground through the field windings when the motor is turned off. I would disconnect the alternator as a test, because it's easier than trying to track each individual circuit in the car while looking for a parasitic drain. If the alternator is OK then you have to pull individual fuses and check for current loss one circuit at a time unless you can narrow it down by some other manner.

I have a 99 OBW 2.5 DOHC and the oil sender is leaking like crazy underneath. I replaced the sending unit (New Subaru Part) and removed and tried to reseal the little adapter under the sender while I had it apart. (It was also leaking) The threads looked good, but I was concerned the ground circuit wouldn't make up if I used teflon or some type of RTV. What has worked here for you guys.

The new aftermarket radio's have amazing features and are pretty cheap, but usually require aftermarket wiring adapters and possibly mounting kits. If you are considering this, I would look at crutchfield, for prices and a good place to buy, as they include whatever adapters are needed with the sale. The downside of the replacement radios is they usually have confusing controls to handle all the new features, and frequently red lighting which doesn't go with your green lighting at night at all. Another source for an original style replacement would be ebay. I know a while back, a lot of people here were getting WRX six disc changers (red lighting again) and putting them in older legacy's, a search would probably give more info.

A lot of times, on the bottom of your radiator cap, the small center disc about the size of a dime gets stuck to the big rubber washer. If you pull it off the rubber with your fingernail, and clean off any deposits that are there, the old cap should then work just fine.

Just curious, isn't the 2.2 in place of 2.5 swap that most people do a DOHC to SOHC swap?

If it's just ripped up a bit or has some holes, body shops have patch kits they use to bring torn up bumpers back. If it's completely ripped apart, you will obviously need to come up with a replacement piece.

could be a big pile of loose junk or excess sealant debris blocking the suction. Is there a pickup tube that can come dislodged on this engine?

The dipstick is where the oil goes in, and it's hidden pretty well on these cars, but is just under the brake master cylinder booster and the dipstick has a yellow top. My 99 outback was a stretch, but could be drained without jacking the car up, the plug is the same size as the engine oil drain plug 17mm, on the driver's side of the pan. I got fairly consistant four quart drains on mine on a very slight incline, and the first couple times, it drained out black. I added store brand Dexron the first couple drain and refills, and then name brand on the later fills. I did five partial drain and refills before it was clean as new after a couple miles of driving. The metal washer on the drain plug is mostly reuseable, but the last time I drained, I put a new washer on the plug.

If you want to register it in CA, there is a method for doing it, it involves paying a couple of special taxes, and passing a local test, which a good running 49 state vehicle should be able to do. The local test will do a visual to make sure it is a completely original 49 state car in good condition, followed by a tailpipe check. You will then get a smog sticker, which will get you through for a couple years. They used to do roadside checks a lot, and would wave you through if you had a recent smog sticker.

My friends with volvo use brickboard.com, but that's not the only volvo message board out there. The C30 and C40 are the same chassis as the Mazda 3 series which is based on the European Ford Focus which we do not get in the united states. The volvos do use the five cylinder drivetrain used in the 850s, compared to the price of some european models, they do not look too bad. I would stick with a Subaru unless there was no local dealer.

The best way to get a majority of air out of the system is to fill the engine by pouring the coolant down the top hose into the engine during initial fill. I have gotten nearly 100 percent of the drain quantity back in using this technique and it only requires undoing the one hose clamp. The bottom thermostat makes this technique a good idea

After starting the thread, I got the brand new NAPA axle put in, even got it free to replace the two bad reman units. This latest new axle has a click, especially if applying power with the wheels turned. I'm not out much money to this point, but my shop has been stuck in the middle, at least so far, and I'm going to move on elsewhere. I will now forget NAPA and buy another axle on my own, what's the best bet for a mail order new or reman front axle assembly? I have a local carquest outlet, and that sounds like a good choice from what I've read. Will probably go with them unless there's another idea.

99 auto OBW, replaced a driver front drive axle about 6 months ago due to torn rubber boot. My shop does a big trade with NAPA, and have had good luck with their axles on other than Subaru, so I tried one in spite of problems on Subaru discussed previously on this site. The axle caused an odd vibration when sitting stopped in gear which we diagnosed here as being a slightly long axle transmitting noise. It also occasionally clicked reversing, so it was replaced free after a couple months. That replacement axle was completely quiet until it had a catastrophic failure this week in the outer ball race. The car made it home, driven about two miles mostly downhill, with mostly the rear axle pushing via the AWD. The wheel can spin while the axle stands still, rubber boot still holding everything in alignment. I have since seen that NAPA has changed all it’s CV axle part numbers, which I suspect means they have a different axle supplier. They are also now offering brand new axles as well as the remanufactured units (autozone, and advanced auto do now too). I'm going to try one of the brand new NAPA axles, will let you know.

I had a proper sensor socket and full set of combination wrenches, and the best tool on my 99 was a box end with a sawed off (shortened) handle. I believe it was a 22 MM.

When a car goes around a corner, all four tires travel a slightly different path, and each path is slightly longer or shorter than the others. This is why there is a standard differential on two wheel drive. The same principal exists on all wheel drive, where the front driveshaft and the back driveshaft need to spin at slightly different speeds. On dirt or snow, the tires slip slightly on the road surface which is how old fashioned four wheel drive trucks managed, but modern systems need a system where the front and rear drives turn slightly different speeds when turning. The Subaru manual transmission models use a clutch of sorts consisting of small discs encased in very thick silicon grease. The Subaru automatic transmission models have an oil wetted conventional multi-disc clutch to divide the torque and allow mismatched output shaft speed. Both systems have to deal with any speed variation between the front and rear axles, and both can lock up which is what causes torque bind, same as an old fashioned four wheel drive truck trying to steer on dry pavement with the hubs engaged. On a Subaru, automatics seem more vulnerable to torque bind, but it's more trouble to fix on a manual transmission model.

Above listed solenoid does not look right for late 90's stuff at least, all I see have a nippondenso starter, which has more of a square solenoid. When mine went, the starter would appear dead first thing in the morning, and once in awhile after the first start of the day. If you kept trying the key, it would eventually engage, and spin perfectly and start the motor good once it woke up. If you see this, you just need to replace the two copper contacts in the solenoid. They cost pennies, but are hard to find. Toyota dealers sell the pieces, but the best place seems to be from advance auto website, (online sales only). There are threads here to look for about starter contacts.

It sounds more like a front seal leak than valve covers. This leak tends to not leave driveway drips, but you will get the burnt oil smell and the bottom of the engine and transmission will have a light oil coat. If you look at the bottom of the oil pump which is right behind the crankshaft pulley and adjacent to the oil filter, you will see two cylindrical protrusions that point down, on on either side of the crankshaft. If these have oil drops on them, it is the front crank seal or possibly cam seals or an oil pump leak. These problems are all somewhat common, and all fixed by renewing the front seals as part of a timing belt replacement. You are at a mileage where the timing belt should be replaced immediately, unless you are certain it has been done in the past.

My original Michelin's went 65,000 miles. I have had great luck with Bridgestone tires over the years, but my dealer said they would not go near that distance on a Subaru. I bought Michelin Hydroedge, and they are expensive, but do everything well. Quiet, good handling, outstanding in rain, and good in snow, all I need on an AWD vehicle at least. They were rated at 80,000 miles when they came out and I took mine off with tread remaining at near 70,000 miles. The rain performance was good up to the very end, but snow performance dropped off a little after 50,000 miles, but I still got around OK. I bought another set of Hydroedge, and recommend them for anybody that doesn't need a hardcore snow tire to get around. They are pricey, but last a long time if you keep the alignment good.

The answer to why is always money. As to what for, I don't know, always guessed it covered a spot where it simplified casting or machining that side of the block? In that case, why not one on each side?

e85 contains approximately 25 percent less energy than gasoline, and as such gives about 25 percent less economy than gasoline. It has higher octane, but on most vehicles, the computer is not capable of adjusting timing to take advantage of the higher octane. The big reason it's bad to run high concentrations of ethanol in older cars is that full strength, it may attack plastic components in the fuel system. It's hard to make a good judgement of fuel consumption without running several tanks through to minimize errors from variations in tank fill ups.