BB's93LegacyL

Yes, it is a broken release fork (part no. 30531AA220). The hose was leaking at one of the end crimps, but removing the boot showed the broken release fork. Here's a photo of what it looks like. The car has nearly 99K miles, so a timing belt is due, and I'm thinking I may want to have head gaskets done as long as the engine is out for the clutch repair. I'm wondering how much is to be saved by doing all 3 of these jobs at one time vs. separate visits to the shop. What are your guesses on total cost of all 3 jobs together? Thanks.

Ok, in the past few hours I've been searching the web for info and videos about this type of failure. Now that I have better light, when I look at the slave cylinder, the plunger is not even contacting the part that the plunger pushes against. I don't see fluid on the plunger or anywhere on the slave cylinder where the line attaches. There is fluid on the line that runs from the slave cylinder to where the line attaches at the bracket on the firewall. There is no fluid on the small line between the firewall bracket and the master cylinder. Is it likely that the line has cracked, or is it more likely to be the connection at the firewall bracket that is leaking? Can this line be replaced without taking off the airbox? Access is pretty tight. I can see everything but I don't know if tools will fit in there. Thanks again.

2008 Impreza 2.5i MT, 98K miles. This morning I went out to start the car, and my foot couldn't find the clutch pedal. The clutch pedal was down to the floor. When I parked it yesterday, I depressed the clutch to put the car in 1st gear, and shut it off. I'm thinking the pedal stayed that way until this morning. I started it in gear while holding the clutch in, but the engine was under load, so I knew the clutch was not fully disengaged. It started OK in neutral, and I manually lifted the clutch pedal and it popped back into position. With the engine running, it won't shift into any gear. I removed the reservoir cap, and the fluid is still near the full mark. Free play in the pedal is over an inch as best I can tell. That is too much isn't it? The pedal feel is softer than I recall, like if there is air in the system. Sometimes when I am testing the pedal movement the pedal binds when I lift my foot off, and then pops up to the normal position Reading through the forum, I'm seeing mention of a cracked release fork. Does a slave cylinder failure cause these symptoms? I had noticed in the past few weeks that I had to have the clutch fully depressed to the floor when shifting gears or the gears would make light contact. I thought it was maybe just the fact that I was not feeling the clutch travel while wearing heavy winter boots. There was never any sign of clutch slipping while accelerating. At the start of winter I thought I was hearing a slight rasping sound when the engine was running and the clutch pedal was pressed down with a cold engine and car sitting still. It may be that this has been a progressive failure, but it seemed odd that it drove OK yesterday, and today it won't shift into gear at all, even once it's warmed up to low idle. Even if I need major clutch repair I'd still like to know where to look at the visible external components for signs of trouble. Is there a way I can inspect the slave cylinder for proper functioning? Thanks for your thoughts on this.

The previous owner of my '08 Impreza showed me where the filter installs up near the manifold and explained what tool he used. After looking at different tools, and then deciding to use Amsoil oil and filters, I bought a cap wrench. I use my 3/8 ratchet with a 6" extension. I like it because it keeps my hands away from the manifold if it has't cooled down completely. The Amsoil cap filter wrench retails for $3.45. My filter uses a 64 mm wrench.

Just a note: In checking prices for Amsoil, I logged into my account, and couldn't find any record of my purchases. As a new customer this was a concern, so I called them. In a few minutes the problem was solved. I was speaking to someone who I believe was actually at the company headquarters in Superior, Wisconsin, not an overseas call center. That's refreshing these days.

One reason I started using Amsoil is that a friend who uses it went way beyond the recommended change interval and sent a sample of the oil for analysis. It showed the oil had held up very well except one category out of spec, elevated silica content. Yes, that was the result unique to his vehicle, and shouldn't be extrapolated as a generality. I agree oil analysis is a very useful tool. JP, do you have a recommendation for a good independent used oil test lab? The only one I recall hearing about is Blackstone Labs, and that was years ago. I'll have to ask my friend which lab he used. I don't want to diverge from the OP's questions and hijack this thread, but I think the oil analysis option enhances the discussion and puts science ahead of hearsay. Maybe if there's enough interest, there could be a thread dedicated to oil test results.

According to Amsoil, if you are using their Signature Series synthetic oil and their EaO filter, the drain interval is 25,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first (normal service), or 15,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first (severe service). They have a pdf file on their website that defines normal and severe service. https://www.amsoil.com/lit/g1490.pdf If using any oil filter other than the Amsoil EaO, the recommendation is to use the OEM oil change interval recommended by Subaru. Paying $10. for a trial 6 month membership as a preferred customer knocks the price of the Signature Series oil down from $12.05 to $8.55/qt, and the filter drops from $16.65 to $12.35, so about $55 for an oil change once a year (5 quarts and a filter purchased). Annually the preferred membership is $25, so if you have more than 1 vehicle, or other power equipment you probably come out ahead going the preferred customer route. I'm not a distributor or connected with Amsoil other than being a customer. I'm just passing along info.

The blower motor brushes eventually wear out causing these symptoms of intermittent failure. Sometimes just removing and cleaning out the motor helps if something is physically interfering with the fan. Here is what a dirty motor looks like when you remove the base plate, and what the worn brushes look like.

I am running Amsoil signature series 5W-30 with an Amsoil filter in my '08 Impreza, driving about 10K miles per year. In my case, Amsoil recommends changing the oil and filter annually.

Your comment from 12-01-17 is telling. An indentation in the crack suggests impact from a projectile rather than a defective windshield. Every so often but rarely, when I am in the horse barn that has a metal roof, I hear something hit the roof and roll down. When I check it out, nothing. Every so often things do fall out of the sky. Maybe natural, as a small meteorite fragment, maybe space junk, pellet gun as has been suggested, or a spent round fired by a hunter far away. Birds will carry things and drop them, like dropping a small turtle on a hard surface trying to break open the shell. There are many impact possibilities. Since it sounds like impact damage, I would go the insurance route after having an auto glass place examine the damage. If the insurance company will not pay for an OEM replacement, check your state's insurance laws. Your insurance should restore full functionality to EyeSight. Thanks for posting here. This is one of the few auto forums where members try to help each other instead of posting insults. Welcome! It's pretty easy to post images here as the OP. It takes an extra click when replying (look for the "more reply options" button in the lower right.)

It is worth looking at the blower motor fan. The original poster said the fan works, but only at level 2 of the slider switch. My experience with a dirty blower motor/fan was that it worked at all speed settings, but was noisy. Then it worked intermittently, and would sometimes turn on after I hit a bump. What finally convinced me that the problem was in the fan motor rather than a relay or resistor, was if I tapped the bottom of the fan, it would turn on. I just bumped my post from 2014 where I talked about removing and cleaning the blower motor. But on a car this old, if the motor fails, it could be dirt and crud in the motor or worn armature brushes and a worn/scored commutator. I'm thinking the OP's heater motor problem may be the resistor or relay, but I'm not an electronics person.

I am bumping this topic just for closure and to help a recent poster. After doing the blower motor removal and cleaning the second time, it didn't work. Disassembling the motor showed totally worn brushes. I found a salvage yard blower motor that worked for that winter, and then it failed, also due to worn brushes. I found a source for brushes, but I didn't polish the commutator well enough, or maybe the commutator was worn beyond repair, or the brushes were the wrong material. The new brushes wore out in 3 days. I should mention the reason I went with a junkyard motor was because all of the aftermarket motors were not designed to mount property (I had to return one to Rock Auto). The OEM motor has an asymmetrical bolt hole pattern, and the aftermarket motors were designed with symmetrically arranged mounting holes. I can't recommend an aftermarket or salvage yard heater blower motor. You might still find a local shop that rebuilds electric motors. I see an OEM motor is still available from Subaru Parts Online for $147.06

I found this diagram a few years ago, hope it helps. It shows the locations of both the blower motor resistor and the blower relay.

A 215/65/16 would be a better bet as far as clearance. Again, go to the tire size comparison website I posted earlier in this thread, and then look at Tire Rack to see available tires and prices. I am assuming that because you live in Baltimore, with average snowfall of less than 2 feet/year, you are looking for one set of tires to use year-round, rather than going with a second set of dedicated winter tires on their own wheels like many of us do where winters are more severe. So you will be looking at all-season tires. Considering where you live, and the excellent AWD system in the Subaru, all-season tires should suffice, especially during the first 50% of tread wear. On the other hand, if you really want the best performance in snow, and on ice - cornering, braking, and acceleration, buy some wheels for your dedicated winter tires. You would be looking for "studless ice and snow" category, since Maryland limits studded tires to just 5 counties from Nov 1 to March 31. If you live and drive in those counties alone, you might check out studded tires. They are illegal in WI now with exceptions of postal service and law enforcement because of how they tear up the roads, but back in the day, I used them, and there is nothing better on ice.

Yes, the Altimax 205/55-16 tires are 1.7 inches smaller diameter than OEM, so your OB will sit .85" closer to the ground. The tire section width is 8/10 inch narrower. The tire contact patch will be only 85% of what the OEM is. The idea in snow is not to reduce the size of the contact patch, but to make the contact patch slightly longer and narrower. You will be using these tires on dry and wet pavement, where cornering and braking traction are critical. I'm concerned that reducing road contact area by 15% may not be safe.

Wondering if by "sand tire" you are looking for a tire that performs well off-road in deep loose sand where a low-pressure, large, wide tire would be best. If so, that's not a good tire for driving on snowy roads, where a taller narrower tire is better at digging in and compressing the snow underneath, getting to the surface of the pavement without pushing through as much snow as a wide tire. At this website you can use the calculator to compare sizes of tires as well as what happens to clearance when you change wheel offset. Look for the link to the wheel offset calculator below the pictures of the tires. https://tiresize.com/comparison/ I believe the OEM tire size on your OB is 225 - 60 - 16 on a 16 x 6.5 wheel with positive 48 mm offset. That'll get you started on plugging in other sizes for comparison. I imagine your OEM spare will be incompatible, so maybe plan on having a 5th tire/wheel too. This winter I bought dedicated winter tires for my "new" '08 Impreza 2.5i. I went one size narrower and one size higher sidewall than OEM. The results have been better than I hoped for. I have gone out of my way to try driving up hills in fresh snow, up to 10 inches deep. I don't even need a running start. During that storm I was at a stop sign behind a full-size pick-up that could not get started in the deep slush/salt/sand on level ground, even though he was in 4WD. I waited a bit, and then just slowly pulled around him with no problem. My Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 tires are 195-60-16. OEM size is 205-55-16.

Given your location in Oklahoma, all-season tires are appropriate. I agree that researching tires on TireRack.com will help you find tires that meet your needs and budget.

Looking at specs for the '98 Legacy Outback, it shows 205-70-15 as the original size. The OEM wheel was a 15x6JJ, but I don't see the offset listed. Your free tires will still be 1" smaller diameter than OEM. Your free tires will be 0.4 inches wider and taller than the tires you have on now. This website is great for comparing tires size specs. https://tiresize.com/comparison/ You could also check the circumfererence of the spare vs the new tires to see if it is within spec for protecting the AWD system. If the tires were made after 2000, the date code is four digits, with the first two digits indicating the week of the year. The third and fourth digits show the year. So for example, 3109 would be the 31st week of 2009. Since you live in snow country, be aware the wider tires are worse in snow.

Very nice! When I saw the lack of rust I looked to see where you're from. Texas -- not a lot of road salt there

Maybe these photos will help, even though you are dealing with a newer Subaru. These photos are from my '93 Legacy. The first shows the screws to remove to access the base of the motor. From what I have seen, aftermarket motors like the VDO brand from Rock Auto have no access point here Next, what a dirty motor looks like. Then, the commutator and worn brushes. Note the grooved wear on the commutator If you decide to use new brushes, it is hard to remove the original brush pigtails from the crimp connections. it's easier to cut the original pigtails, leaving enough to splice in the new pigtail with solder. I think the commutator needs to be polished smooth to prevent premature wear on the brushes. Subaru Online Parts sells OEM motors if you need to do a genuine replacement.

Your symptoms are indicating worn starter solenoid contacts. They are available from http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/densoparts.html for a reasonable price. But because you already replaced the OEM starter with one from Rock Auto, it's a tougher diagnosis because they should have replaced worn contacts. If the Rock Auto starter is not a NipponDenso original, it may not be re-buildable? It's an aggravating problem for sure. If you still have the OEM starter, maybe look into this fix.

I've had this happen to 2 OEM blower motors on the same car. One was the original, and the other from a salvage yard. Same symptoms. At first, occasional failure to come on, getting worse with time. Tapping the motor as mentioned, or sometimes just hitting a bump would cause the motor to come on. I disassembled and cleaned both motors, and at first that helped, but finally the problem was permanent, and was worn brushes. I found two places to buy brushes. One set wore out in 2 days. Not sure if it was the brush material, or the commutator was too rough from wear. It may be possible to put the armature shaft in a drill press and polish the commutator with fine sandpaper/emery cloth, but I haven't done that yet on the other motor. I found that the aftermarket motors were all designed with the wrong mounting hole pattern for the 93 Legacy, so that's why I went with salvage yard. For my 93 Legacy, the brush size is .31x.31x.55" with a 1.5" shunt wire. I found them at Eurton Electric. http://store.eurtonelectric.com/brushlowvoltage33e-2-1-1.aspx Not sure if your motor uses the same size brushes. Check them with calipers. You might find the commutator is so worn that by the time you polish it smooth, there's nothing left.

Will do, thanks.

Looks like the Impreza base models including and after 2012 (2.0L and 2.0i) used 15 inch wheels. Thanks for your knowledge and input. But the 114.3 bolt circle diameter won't work. I understand what you are telling me about the 15 inch wheels, and I appreciate your help. Thank you.

This is impressive -- thank you for your dedication.