GeneralDisorder

No - when you turn you are side-loading the bearings and besides increasing the load on them you are causing the balls to run out of their normal track. Also 6000 series ball bearings aren't designed for side-loads so that's really their most common failure mode on an EA series Subaru. GD

If that were to happen (and I'm pretty sure it would take an IED to do it), you would likely end up in the ditch upside down if you didn't just wake up in front of the pearly gates. I've seen then with massive amounts of play - never had one actually come apart. If that happened I'm pretty sure everything from the side of the transmission to the lug-nuts would be a total loss. But I'm pretty certain it would lockup before that happened. GD

Oh you'll hear em alright. Either they squeek, howl, or they are crunchy like gravel. I had a front bearing on my Brat that was so loud even the radio wouldn't drown it out. Think about it - there are degree's of "badness" when it comes to bearings - you might not hear a slightly worn bearing but you will definitely hear one that has 1/8" of slop in it and if one bearing fails that typically leads to it's sibliing failing in short order causing a real nasty racket. Checking them won't always yeild much - remember to take the e-brake off as that locks the wheel to the knuckle. You probably won't be able to feel it at all but it doesn't mean it isn't bad. GD

I don't know the exact number but it was likely around $7,500 to $8,500.... somewhere in there. GD

+1 - probable wheel bearing. Eventually it will start howling at freeway speeds. Turn the radio up louder. GD

Sticking float - I've seen it multiple times on the Hitachi's. I'm not sure just what causes that, but every time I've rebuilt the carb and replaced the needle and seat and it's never come back. Make sure the tach isn't sticking - sometimes they hang up - smack the dash above the tach when the idle is "high" and see if it comes down. Otherwise the fast idle cam may be sticking. Sounds like a good carb clean/rebuild is in order. GD

The real problem isn't the R&P contact, as that is set by BOTH the side rings - the problem at this point is the bearing clearance - being it's a timken roller bearing it has a fairly tight tollerance that is supposed to be set with a specified amount of weight on the end of the stub (transmission on it's side, etc). As to why they aren't easily serviceable - they rarely fail - especially if the axles have the dust sheilds in place. I've seen plenty of transmissions make it their entire lives without a leak here. In fact most Subaru tranaxles make 250k without a leak *anywhere*. GD

Yep - still live in the West Linn. Grew up here and went to West Linn HS. Me too - I just got done cutting out some new peices to rectify the problems with my lifted wagon. I need it out of the shop and I've been working on new strut tower blocks in my spare time. I hope so! I do enjoy it when I get the chance. There is always something to be done - a tool to make, or something to fix that's perfect for the welder.... or could use a little treatment from the rosebud Now that's something that might be very useful. I assume it's designed to run from a DC buzzbox? It should be possible to run it from say a 140 amp alternator then shouldn't it? Although it might be cheaper to just find a DC buzzbox on craigslist since I have 50 amp's of 220 in my garage huh? Please - tell me more GD

I disagree. Many, many timing belts in the automotive industry are now at 100k or longer interval. That is industry standard. EA82 belts are 60k because they are thin, and mechanically tensioned. Hydraulic tensioned, thick (as the EJ's are) belts installed with good quality tensioner and idler bearings as well as OEM quality water pumps and properly sealed against dust, debris, and fluids should easily last 100k. At this point the materials technology of modern engines has come far enough that it shouldn't be a problem. And IMO, if you can't get at *least* 100k from a belt system then chains should be considered from an engineering standpoint. EJ belts should be 105k and ALL seals, bearings, and the water pump should be done at the same time. That is good practice, it's a value to the customer, it's insurance, and it's the RIGHT way to do the job. Anything less at 100k interval's is plain stupidity - the parts are cheap and it adds maybe an hour of labor. GD

The tranny has to be removed from the car and opened up, the VSS drive gear shaft removed from the tranny, gear and seal replaced, and tranny reassembled. Additionally, you can't just pop the side cover's off, replace the seal, and put them back. Those cover's set the front ring & pinion clearances and should never be removed without splitting the transmission and resetting the clearances. If you are VERY careful you might be able to count the number of turns on the cover plate, marking start and end posistions but did you? If not start looking for another transmission - bad front diff clearances and a shot VSS drive gear? No Bueno. GD

I swear - you get more done in the dirt than most folks get done in a heated garage. How do you do it man? And what do you do with the kids while you are wrenching? GD

My money is on improper installation. Monkeys with hydraulic presses are not to be trusted. They should not be packed FULL of grease either. That just causes them to overheat. 1/3 full is where the bearings should run. A bent stub shaft is highly unlikely but you can put a dial indicator on it and see. Pull the old bearing out and inspect - see what kind of failure occured. You don't need a press for this job. Just some careful work with a brass drift. GD

No but check ALL the fuses - most of them run circuits that they aren't labeled for. GD

I've seen a few get stuck but nothing that I ever had to use a torch on. Gawd that rust does suck. I would imagine that if I moved to the rust zone my garage would be much less zen-like than it is now. I just don't run across stuff like that often and when I do out comes the blue wrench and things start getting red-hot and melty. GD

I could train a chimp to replace an EJ alternator. It's three bolts.... all of which are the same size GD

I got this kit for $117 shipped from mizumoauto 32600+ feedback - 100% positive. I've got no complaints. The water pump was a cheap aftermarket but I see no reason why it won't hold up till the next t-belt change. For the price you can just do it every time. Came with everything and the bearings were NTN's - nothing to complain about there. No alignment marks on the belt but those are for wussy's. I don't need em anyway. Water pump "gasket" was paper. I used it - no leaks. I prefer the OEM metal one's as they aren't as fiddly to install but...... again: $117 shipped. The EA's used paper for years and never leaked so again I see no issue here. Packaging was acceptable. No crimped belt. Nothing damaged. Would I prefer higher quality? Absolutely - but not at 2x or 3x the price and I'm 100% confident that the parts I received will last 105k till the next belt change. I informed the new owner that in 105k miles ALL those parts need to be replaced. My hands are clean. GD

As with a lot of things, it also depends on what part of the country you are in. I would imagine that AC compressors are much more likely to wear out in Florida, Southern CA, etc. Here in OR/WA they are mostly used for defrost. I don't see a lot of failures but I've seen a couple. GD

Have you checked the fuses? Often the power supply circuits are different for the flasher circuit than for the turn signals. GD

Never heard of it. Likely a rebranded part. There aren't many companies the make water pumps. Atsugi is the OEM. If it has a cast impeller then it's probably OEM or at least high quality. If it's stamped then it's a cheap chinese part in all likelyhood. GD

Means the alternator is putting out AC = bad diode bridge. Could be intermittant - sometimes they are. Replace the alt and go from there. It's the only thing that will cause warning lamps to illuminate though. AC will defeat the diode's in the illumination circuits of the cluster - about the only way those will come on is if you have a bad alt or your really do have the brake on. GD

Yes - hopefully there is catastrophic malfunctory next time. Smoke and flames would be nice as well. Warantee's are designed to cover exactly these types of problems - things overlooked at the factory or design issues. GD

Yeah - I use the battery terminal spray as well after deactivating the acid in the area with baking soda and water. I try to wire brush any rust and throw down some semi-gloss black on the battery shelf to keep the rust at bay. I never seem to have issues with corrosion and my batteries last nearly forever - only on cars that I've just bought or one's that come into the shop do I see this. Never on my own rigs. I always wipe the battery down when I'm working in the area to keep dirt and dust from shorting the terminals. GD

Check the blue-book value and take about $500 off that. Start there and if you get no intrest in a week lower it by $500 and try again. I sell most of mine by word-of-mouth so it's hard to gauge. People know my work and will pay what I ask for the most part. My gauge is not so much what the car is worth but rather what "comfortable" number will both be agreeable to the buyer and properly compensate me for my time/effort that I've put into the car. Of course that probably doesn't work for you since you actually owned the car to drive rather than just buy/fix/sell as I have been doing. GD

It's all in how you use it. With the garden hose adaptor spliced into the return line of the core, you can then disconnect the supply line, and crimp off the return line on the water pump side of the hose fitting (vise grips and some quarters or washers). Then when you turn the water on it will force all the pressure through the heater core in reverse of the normal flow (and typically at much higher pressure and volume than the core usually see's). This will blow out any accumulated debris through the supply hose and (hopefully) improve flow through the core. You can put some radiator flush in the core - disconnect both lines to the core, fill it through BOTH hoses till it's full, and tie the hoses up so the flush stays in the core. Wait the prescribed time interval for the stuff to work, then flush as per my previous directions. It's really very simple and takes little time. GD

Depends on the vehicle they came from and how they have been handled since being removed. That's like asking "are used cars any good?" GD