GeneralDisorder

He knows the difference. I'm the one that schooled him..... And the one that fixed the car a few days ago. Replacing the axle nut will do nothing but tighten it up and eliminate the noise for a couple miles. The real problem is the cone washer which is really just a mechanical taper-lock as seen on a variety of industrial applications but rarely in the automotive world. From those pictures I can tell your cone washer is trashed - the gap isn't closed up enough so its not gripping the axle shaft properly. Also looks like your spring washer is upside down. GD

Frozen slide pins. GD

$400?!? Gawd. I charge half that..... GD

For reference - besides my history here, post count, and that I own and operate a successful Subaru repair shop I've also been through classes on filtration put on by Parker and Mann. And in my days in the Army and in a major industrial machinery repair facility I had many opportunities to cut open filters to inspect their contents. I believe I'm qualified to asses the viability of a filter for the application in question. For my money and for the longevity and reliability of my customers vehicles the Subaru factory filter is hands-down the winning choice. There are some acceptable alternatives but I haven't found any compelling reasons to prefer them. Price is certainly no issue. And size is based on factors known only to the engineers. GD

Filter technology and new insights into engineering and common oil change "wisdom" has brought about a revolution in oil filters. Smaller filters work better for several reasons. 1. The filter medium is generally rated in microns - that is how small of a particulate size the filter will trap with about 99.99% efficiency. The filter media is porus with many different sized openings and multi-layered so as to trap small particulate and large particulate with high efficiency. Research into how filters "clog" shows that as they age they actually get better at filtering smaller particulate for a time, plateau at a specific flow rate and particulate size, and then drop off when they get too clogged up. The length of time that the filter stays at that high-efficiency plateau range and how quickly it reaches that range are both dependent on the size of the filter. Too large and it never filters small particulate with high efficiency before being changed out and too small is no good either because the plateau may not last long enough before being changed. 2. The "conventional wisdom" in America of changing your oil "EVERY 3,000 MILES" is extremely pervasive. The oil companies want you to buy oil and the chain parts stores and chain oil change establishments want you to come in more often so they can up-sell you on additives and services you don't want or need. It's sad but true. Any way the oil filter has to be able to reach it's best state and filter for 3k to 5k and then be pitched. The small Subaru filters do this well. 3. One should also consider that the Subaru engineers probably knew what they were doing. There are hundreds of thousands of Subaru's on the road with these filters - many of them 300+ HP STi's. No one anywhere is complaining about insufficient filtration, flow, or performance. Why do you suppose that is? 4. The Subaru filter has a trapped (crimped) seal. This will not bunch up and is much less likely to leak. It also ABSOLUTELY has the right bypass valve setting inside it. No guesswork as to which filter on the market has the right settings. So in summary - larger is not better in this case. There is much more to the story than is evident from looking at filter sizes and making assumptions. As usual - assumptions are dangerous and those who are changing oil should very likely not be telling the engineers who build these things how it should be done. GD

I haven't seen an EJ belt failure due to cover-less belts. I feel they hold in as many demons as they keep out - easier to listen to idlers, look for wobble, and clean the whole area with the steam cleaner. I only consider this a viable option if the engine is non-interference. Just as a precaution against random foreign object damage. Though I have encountered that only once on an EA82 and the "object" was a red shop rag that accidentally got sucked into the belts. Snapped the EA belt instantly. I feel a solid EJ belt would probably eat the rag and ask for seconds. :-p GD

That's just silly. I can understand replacing the idler if you are economically challenged but there's no reason to keep any of the belt covers. Non-interferance engine - run it naked. GD

I've worked on models from the last 5 years and the improvements are not that huge. They seem fine when they are new and the consumer magazines don't get to see the problems they have within the first 100k miles. At the end of the day they are basically all Mitsubishi or derived from Mitsubishi technology. This immediately makes them suspect in catagory's the consumer magazines can't possible evaluate - long term reliability is very poor - electrical and electronics are lowest bidder and prone to failure.... etc. Their engineering is just not that good. Read up on the Sedona mini-van sliding doors that open while you are driving and the dealer can't fix em . GD

HG fix in a can? You really hate your car don't you? Seriously that crud will F your engine. Probably radiator, heater core and hoses also. It's also very unlikely to even cure properly because unless you pull the block drain plugs there will still be water in the engine around the HG fire rings. The walking cylinders and thick HG's of the 25D will not seal with some block sealer crap - the problem is a design flaw not a small leak that can easily be plugged up. If you can't afford to fix the HG's right then gut the thermostat and it should prevent it from overheating. GD

Pushing coolant into the bottle and bubbles indicate one of two things - radiator cap is bad or the head gaskets are bad. Since you already replaced the radiator cap you can probably guess where this goes..... It's almost certainly head gaskets. GD

EGR shouldn't have been hooked to the manifold in the first place - it should be connected to "late-ported" vacuum on the front of the carb - it's the one probably blocked with a small brass screw..... obviously whoever installed the carb didn't know what they were doing. If it's running too fast at idle make sure the mixture isn't too rich/lean for the idle speed and make sure the choke is fully pulled off before you set the idle. 20 degree's of advance is really too much - that's probably why your idle speed is high... should be about 10 to 12. GD

Yield by Chemsearch is the stuff. Works like nothing I've ever found in the stores. Frankly though - it won't help rusted hub splines - it won't get in to them more than 1/2" or so. Hub pullers are very cheap - they bolt to the lug nut studs and force the axle out. You apply pressure then hammer on the drive screw till it moves a bit then repeat. GD

Should work fine. GD

Probably just some bearings. Open the trans and replace them. Not an uncommon problem. GD

WD-40 is useless. You need to buy or rent a hub puller. GD

Don't know where you got that info - it's the other way around and the year is completely off. Somewhere in the mid 2000's ('05 maybe for the EJ255?) Subaru switched from pull-type to push-type on the WRX, OB XT, Forester XT, etc. The 6 speed remains pull-type to this day. Thus you cannot use ANY non-turbo transmission with a pull-type clutch and you cannot use many of the later model turbo 5 speed's either. GD

The Right Stuff *is* RTV. Used a lot of it in the military. From Permatex's own web site: "elastomeric formed-in-place rubber gasket makers" - which is exactly what RTV is made from. RTV stands for Room Temperature Vulcanizing.... I don't like the shelf life - has a tendency to cure in the can/tube. Anaerobic is still better and easier to use IMO. It has infinite shelf life and there's never any waste or worry about bits of it clogging passages because it doesn't cure except between the mating surfaces. GD

First year for usdm WRX was '02 so 98 to 01 would have to be JDM..... That said - yes the wrx clutch will work with any EJ turbo tranny from '89 to '04 at least. GD

Figure out how much he will slow you down and complicate your work and ask to be compensated for that plus a bit more as incentive to even take on this additional responsibility and risk. That's how I would pitch it and how I would ask to be compensated. If he slows you down by 25% then ask for an additional 25% of your hourly rate for every job completed as well as a base hourly rate increase commensurate with your new responsibilities and possibly a new title that also reflects your status in the shop. GD

I have only a single tube of RTV at my new shop and its copper RTV for high temp exhaust applications - to help seal exhaust gaskets on damaged surfaces which happens occasionally with exhaust.... There are applications where RTV is the only good solution - GM intake manifolds for example - where the gap is too large for an anaerobic flange sealer. But for an EJ Subaru engine I no longer use any RTV. I use 518 for oil pan, oil pump, water pump and any place else I need a liquid seal product. It's benefits are many and it has no drawbacks that I have encountered. GD

Actually - as you get older things get easier to some extent. Your body adjusts to the type of work you do and you exert less energy due to knowing exactly how to do the job and not having to redo your work or spend time spinning your wheels. I often run circles around the younger guys that hang around my shop - not because I work harder but because I get jobs done faster, I know where to be and how to use chairs, bring tools to where I'm working, use the right tools, use power tools where they save labor, work at benches when feasible, and generally move less, do more, and have a little extra time to relax between jobs. Don't get me wrong - when its 90 degrees in the shop I'm sweating and working hard - but on the whole I find that its easier now than it was when I was 18. GD

You aren't listening. I'm out..... GD

You don't need to remove the knuckle from the strut or the car. Just remove the inner control arm bolt and the sway bar link. You are making this a LOT harder than it needs to be. Front wheel bearings take about an hour per side. GD

It is not a phase-I engine. All '99 to '01 2.2 engines are phase-II. Besides that I can tell from your pictures that it's a phase-II. All phase-II engines have the spark plug wires going through the valve cover. Phase-I do not. You'll notice that your's has this feature.... Best to pull the engine out for HG's. They can be done in the car but it's not as fun or as clean. GD

Cheap chinese disc - which means a cheap chinese pressure plate that's probably weak and causing the slipping. You will regret installing that. Get an Exedy complete kit. GD