nicholi2789

So I'm assuming the tensioner that comes with this kit is for the 2.5 liter only? I know the 2.2 tensioner is the hydraulic one. So basically it comes with a tensioner I can't use?

Don't know why this got posted twice. So about that.

Also, as I said before, this car is old and has seen alot of miles. Is there anything I should worry about breaking when doing this job? Like the timing cover bolts or anything else I don't know about?

Thanks for the reply. Yeah the oil pump was the original reason why I wanted to do this belt (plus I knew it needed to be done anyways, and wanna fix my cam seal leaks). I figured that it was the crank seal just wanted to be sure. Where can I get the O-ring for the oil pump? O-reilly's?

Hey everyone, so i decided I would take everyone's advice and getting the timing belt done on my 95 legacy. It has 264k on it and I have no idea when it was done last. I ordered this one:http://m.ebay.com/itm/260925109309?_mwBanner=1 off eBay. It came highly recommended by several experienced members on this site. I've been considering this for a couple weeks now and have read as many tutorials as I could find and am confident I can do this. I had a couple questions about the job though. One is that I see the kit comes with 5 seals. The four cam seals and the fifth one. The fifth gasket would be the crank seal right? It doesn't say on the kits description. Another thing, what will I use to seal the water pump? I've heard RTV silicone will work but other said it won't. Any opinions from somebody who has actually done this? Another thing, this model of the Subaru is a NON-INTERFERENCE engine correct? Everything I read says that it is. Just wanna make sure as it makes this job a little easier. And lastly, does anyone who has done this before have any recommendations or cautions for me for a person who's a newbie on timing belts? Are there any other seals or small things I should take care of while I'm in there? Also, does anyone have a sheet of the torque specs on every individual component? I wanna make sure to get everything right. I have the FSM for this but it's in PDF form and I can't find the right page. I know this is a butt-load of questions but it's necessary. I like to know everything I can and have every contingency covered before hand. Thanks

Hey everyone, so i decided I would take everyone's advice and getting the timing belt done on my 95 legacy. It has 264k on it and I have no idea when it was done last. I ordered this one:http://m.ebay.com/itm/260925109309?_mwBanner=1 off eBay. It came highly recommended by several experienced members on this site. I've been considering this for a couple weeks now and have read as many tutorials as I could find and am confident I can do this. I had a couple questions about the job though. One is that I see the kit comes with 5 seals. The four cam seals and the fifth one. The fifth gasket would be the crank seal right? It doesn't say on the kits description. Another thing, what will I use to seal the water pump? I've heard RTV silicone will work but other said it won't. Any opinions from somebody who has actually done this? Another thing, this model of the Subaru is a NON-INTERFERENCE engine correct? Everything I read says that it is. Just wanna make sure as it makes this job a little easier. And lastly, does anyone who has done this before have any recommendations or cautions for me for a person who's a newbie on timing belts? Are there any other seals or small things I should take care of while I'm in there? Also, does anyone have a sheet of the torque specs on every individual component? I wanna make sure to get everything right. I have the FSM for this but it's in PDF form and I can't find the right page. Thanks

Wow. Now I don't feel so bad. lol. Looks like we have almost the same exact car too. I just worry a lot about my car cause it's all I got and I don't have the money to buy a new car or do any crazy expensive repairs. So I'm pretty keyed into anything odd going on.

Yeah I figured the ticking sound probably isn't hurting anything but man... This car is so quiet and runs so smoothly that a sudden noise like that is disconcerting. It's kinda funny I've spent all this time and effort on this 700$ car. I put some nice foglights on it, good tires, and have spent probably 6 or 700$ on my stereo system that I installed. lol. It kinda kills the awesome sound system effect when you hear the ticking sound in between the bass hits. haha. It's really not that loud. You can only hear the tick when you are standing outside the car.

Just goes to show that ANYONE can make those mistakes. Not just lube shops.

Thank you, I appreciate the advice. Weird thing is, like I said i've changed the oil several times already and have never noticed that ticking sound and I never have gone even a mile over 3000 between the oil changes. and right now I'm at about 2500 miles on this oil, and I noticed the ticking a while ago. That's why I wondered if maybe it had to do with switching oil weights. Though they are all multi-grade oils and the difference between 1030 and 1040 isn't that big. Anyways, it sound like the timing belt and checking the screws on that backing plate are next on the agenda then. I've known I needed to do that belt for a while since I have no idea when it was changed last, and it's basically the only major maintenance thing I haven't done yet. I will check out those kits on ebay. If I could get this whole timing belt job done for under 150$ I would be absolutely thrilled. Thanks alot.

Hey thanks for the reply! A little background first: I bought this car about 9 months ago. It had 253,00 miles on it (so I've driven about 10,000 miles since owning it). I paid 700$ for it. It has been a great car, and I drive it about 20 miles back and forth to work a day. It has never once failed to start on me. I have absolutely no idea of the service history on it except for what I can tell by looking at it. I've changed all the fluids in it at least once and done some other misc stuff like a new knock sensor. Obviously whoever had it took reasonably good care of it. It does have some leaks, as would be expected of a car w/this many miles.. I work in a lube shop and have pulled it over the pit many times to look at it. The bottom of the engine has always got oil on it. I replaced the valve cover gaskets about 2000 miles ago and it seems to have slowed them down. I can also see that it is leaking oil from the timing cover and cam seals a little. I am on the fourth Oil change cycle since owning it and have never had to put more than half a quart of oil in between changes. Which to me is amazing since 90% of the Subaru's I see come into the shop burn TONS of oil. It barely uses any oil at all. Which to me suggests that maybe the engine was rebuilt or something. Anyways, I have no friggen clue when the timing belt was done last and have been kinda planning on doing it in the near future anywaysl I just haven't had the money for a timing belt kit, and truthfully it hasn't been the highest priority since I know it is a non interference engine. Maybe I should bump it up my priority list. I also thought that maybe the Oil Pump was going bad or something related to that. You say it may just need resealing? I was really hoping not because it seems like a difficult thing to do. I thought I had to remove the oil pan to do it though..? Do you know of any good tutorials I can look at? I am pretty mechanically inclined and can figure out damn near anything if I really really try. Especially if I do some research first. Well I guess I will plan on buying a good timing belt kit, and get the belt, water pump, pullys and everything replaced. Figure while I am in there I can also do the cam seals. Do you think this is a job I could do myself? And does anyone have any good quality (cheap) timing belt kits they can recommend? I know that our Subies are particular about what parts you use on them. And I have thought about that Marvels Mystery oil too. I've heard great things about it. Just was kinda worried because my car has so many miles on it. Didn't wanna hurt anything. I am about 500 miles short of my next oil change so I will try it and see what happens. Thanks alot!

Hey guys, I have a 95 Legacy L sedan that I've been driving for about 9 months now. It has 262,000 miles on it and runs like a champ. Paid 700$ for it and aside from very minor things it's been great. Lately I've noticed an engine sound that has me a little concerned. For the record the car has always ran very smoothly with no engine noise, misfire, or anything. Lately I've noticed that when idling every once in a while it will have a ticking sound happening for a few minutes. It's not super loud or anything but I definetely notice cause I'm always on alert for odd noises. Like I said, it only does it intermittently usually after running for a bit then sitting at an idle and if I Rev it up a bit the tick will go away for a while. It never used to do this. The oil level is good. I always change my oil at 3000 miles. I used Castrol High mileage 1040 for about 3 or 4 oil changes then this last oil change j switched to 1030 thinking that maybe the 1040 was too heavy. I thought with the miles it has a heavier oil wouldn't hurt. Anyways, I don't know if that has anything to do with the ticking but I thought I would mention it. Has anyone experienced this on their 2.2 liter subaru? Should I be concerned? What could the cause be? Thanks in advance. I can always count on this site for good Subie advice.

Just wanted to post an update on this thread. I dropped the Scooby off at a mechanic friends shop today and he spent an hour or so looking at the front end. He couldn't find anything wrong at all with the front end. He did say that when he put it on the lift and got the wheels spinning then hit the brakes the front driver side tire would lock up. So the caliper was holding on a little too long. So I took the wheel off and caliper then doused the rotor and caliper in brake cleaner, applied a generous amount of antiseize to the pins and I no longer have a dragging brake or that God awful sound. Though I have only driven it one day it seems to have fixed the problem. As always, thanks everyone for your input. That's why I love these forums.

Here is a recording I did with my phone of the sound. It was the best I could get. I was going about 25 mph slowing down to 0. I did it twice. I uploaded it to my Dropbox so you gotta download it to listen. Here is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1njvrpo4lt2nrqh/Voice0002.aac?dl=0

It happenes daily. Like I said, every time I drive the car pretty much. That's great tho, suspension stuff is expensive.

Hey guys, I'm having a strange problem with my 95 Legacy L. I've posted about it before. It has 260K miles and has ran like a champ since I got it about five months ago. Over the last month or month and a half I have noticed a strange sound coming from the front driver side wheel. It only happens when braking and is speed dependant. It's kind of a strange popping/creaking sound that is Faster or slower depending on how fast im going. It is also intermittent. Doesn't seem to happen for the first 10 or 15 minutes of driving, then gets louder and louder til I really notice it. Like I said I noticed it about a month and a half ago and my first most obvious guess was that it was brake related, but my brakes work great. Taking the wheel off the rotors seem to be in good condition and at least 70% life in the pads. I took it to a local tire/brake shop for inspection two seperate times and they didn't have an explanation for me. They said as far as they could tell my brakes seemed to be in good shape. One of the techs went with a ride with me and of course it didn't make that sound while he was with me. Anyways, while looking at my car today I noticed something that really has me concerned. The tread on that tire (front driver side) is significantly more worn than the passenger side. I have all matching Toyo Eclipse tires and they all have like at least 65% tread left. Except for that one. It's a lot more worn. I don't think it has always been that way cause I have inspected my tires on numerous occasions, and rotated them twice. It could be that it has always been like this and I never noticed before, but i'm wondering if it's a result of the popping/creaking sound I'm hearing. Either way it's got me really concerned. Has anyone experienced anything like this or can hazard a guess at whats going on? What could cause a tire to wear so much more like that? My CV axles on both sides look great. No torn boots or anything like that. There is nothing obvious I can see that is wrong. Somebody please help me here, this car is my lifeblood and I don't want it to break. I am a person of limited means so going to a mechanic is a last resort. Thanks in advance

I work in a lube shop. 8.3 quarts is the TOTAL fill capacity for that automatic transmission. In other words the entire system. Newer Subarus take about 10. When you just pop the plug on the transmission pan and drain it, then fill it again, you usually only get about 30-40% of the fluid as there is still fluid left in the transmission cooler, lines, and torque converter. That's why a lot of places use a flush machine connected through the transmission cooler lines to get it all. My advice would be after doing that drain and fill, drive it for a bit then do a drain and fill again. It still doesn't get 100% new fluid in there as it all mixes together but it's about as close to a flush as you'll get without a machine or some macgyver ingenuity. Hope this helps.

Yeah I actually thought about using Redline MTL or MT-90 which are actually GL4-75/80 and GL4-75/90. But then I found out about the cocktail. The Redline 75/90NS is made specifically for Subaru 5 speeds too. I have easy access to all those fluids too since I am a PIC at a lube shop and we stock all those Redline fluids. Eh, if I try anything else it will be the Super S fluid.

Yeah the guy told me they sold it by the quart and that Subaru said officially that it was the replacement for super s. He said it was like 14$ a quart. Ouch. That means like almost 50$ to do my transmission again. It's cool this cocktail is working great and my shifting is only getting smoother the longer it's in there.

I actually called the closest dealership today and they said that Subaru no longer makes the super s fluid and and changed to a new one. Can't remember the name.

Yeah the closest Subaru dealership to me is like 3 hours. I can order the fluid off Amazon, but this cocktail is going good.

Yeah me too except not in 4th gear at all. And it happens constantly. What year is your soob? What year and how many miles? I didn't want to waste the almost brand new gear oil I had in my tranny either but I'm too paranoid about my car. I was worried about causing extra wear and tear with that grinding. Plus I work in a lube shop so gear oil is easily attainable. We carry Castrol 80/90 in 35 gallon drums. It's just like synchros in the tranny need a very specific lubricant at high temperatures to be properly lubed. I almost would be inclined to try 2 qts 80/90 and the rest heavy shockproof. But this cocktail seems to work good. I'll keep it in.

What gears do. You notice it in?

Yeah I love mine. I bought it with a ton of miles on it already though so I don't really know how it was treated. I am assuming it was treated okay since it runs so good. And to follow up on my previous posts and this thread in general. Switching out my transmission fluid to regular Castrol GL5-80/90 seemed to stop the gear grinding for a little while. After a couple of weeks though it was back with a vengeance. The only grinding i ever experience is in second and third gear. And only when I'm shifting UP to them, 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd. Not downshifting. And the weird thing is, the car doesn't do it at all for the first 20 minutes to half hour of driving. It shifts smooth as can be. It's like the fluid heats up and doesn't maintain the viscosity the synchros need at higher temperatures. Cause once I've been driving for half an hour or so It's pretty darn noticable, and it bothers the crap out of me. Not to mention makes me worry a lot. So after thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided to try Scotty's cocktail that someone else posted on this thread earlier. I did it two days ago and preliminary results seem to be really good. The drive from my house to work is about 20 minutes one way. Enough time for the fluid to warm up. Usually by the time I get to work the gears are just starting to grind. I've made the trip 4 times now and have yet to notice any grinding at all whatsoever. I'll post again after I have been running it for a while, but results seem good. Much better than regular 80/90.

Just so I understand this correctly: There is a wire that runs to the stock deck that provides illumination. When somebody removes it they just snip that wire since it serves no purpose anymore. So basically just open it up and look back in there for a wire that was snipped and not capped? Exposed wire randomly grounding on the frame blowing the fuse.. I suppose that makes sense because the fuse blowing is 100% random. So it's just when I happen to hit a bump and that wire just perfectly touches something. Sometimes it will last 2 minutes, other times 2 days. The fuse I'm on right now has been in for 5 days. Longest yet.