Kingkoopa

Shameless self bump.

Thanks for the reply. That sounds easy enough. I have a few questions. Does the problem I'm describing sound like it's the center diff binding up? It's intermittent. Seems like it's worse after I've driven it a long distance. Second, after the rear cover is removed, is it pretty self explanatory on how the center diff comes out? Also, how does it disconnect from the shaft leading to the front diff? Is it just a spline that slides out when the center diff is removed? Thanks again.

I have a developing issue with my '99 Legacy Outback 5speed. When I am making sharp turns, I am getting a knocking/thumping sound and vibration coming from either the middle or the back of the car. The rate is speed related. It only makes this noise when the wheel is turned over 180 degrees either direction and gets worse the more it's turned. I have zero noise at any speed while driving straight or slightly turned. I originally thought that the half-shafts were going out, so I inspected them all and they all have good boots on them. Then I suspected that the rear diff was binding since it seems to be coming from the back. The diff is full of fluid and I jacked up both rear wheels and turned the wheels in opposite directions, trying to feel any binding. There was zero binding. Is it possible that my center differential is binding when I'm making a sharp turn? How can I confirm this? Is there any way to fix or lessen any damage being done without rebuilding or swapping the transmission/transfer case? Thanks much.

I am having some gear backlash noise in my '99 Legacy Outback transmission. I don't think it's excessive, but the only comparison I have is to my '94 Legacy L. Both are 5-speed manuals. The '99 has about 200k miles, the '94 has about 300k miles. I hear the same backlash noise in my '94, but it doesn't sound as loud, but that may just be because the car as a whole is much louder than the '99 and is making comparison hard. I'm pretty sure the backlash noise is coming from the front diff because I can hear the backlash while slowing down with the car in neutral and the clutch engaged. So, I still hear the noise with all gears in the transmission spinning at a constant rate. The noise decreases in pitch as I slow down and stop. I can hear it while slowing down in neutral, but it is definitely louder when the car is in gear and I'm slowing down using engine braking. So to the question. Is a noticeable amount of backlash noise normal for these transmissions or should I have something to worry about. Or at least normal for transmissions with this many miles. I've checked the transmission fluid and it's level is perfect and as far as I know, the front differential shares it's oil with the transmission. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Let me clarify that I have absolutely no noise when the gears are in forward motion. The transmission is very quiet while accelerating and on the highway in every gear. Thanks for any insight.

Roger that Rooster. I has just swapped antifreeze about 6000-7000 miles ago, but I will give it a shot. Should I swap the PCV valve or clean it? Also, FYI, I'm in St. Louis, Missouri.

So, quick update. I was getting ready to check and clean out the PCV valve when I smelled a tiny bit of burnt antifreeze. I checked the oil again and it looked fine, not milky or anything like that. I also checked the coolant resevoir. and it was all nice and bright green. Then I felt like checking the actual radiator. I opened the cap and stuck a twisted paper towel down there to soak up some coolant. It came out very dark. My head gasket is toast. Really sucks too because I bought the car not 10000 miles ago and the person I got it from had just rebuilt the engine from a failed timing belt. He had new valves, head gaskets, and everything. So, I think I'm back to the engine swap. Where would be the best place to get a '95 ej22 with the EGR? Imduw mentioned that it was a plug and play option for the car. Is that a good engine to swap in to the '99? Any other suggestions on engines that are still nice engines, but easy and affordable to get a hold of? Also, how much am I looking to spend on a replacement engine and where should I look. Thanks very much.

That exact same thing actually just happened to my '94 Legacy L. Tore up my balancer, but the crankshaft and woodruff key are fine. Oddly, I noticed it on the interstate when all of a sudden, right after coming on to the highway (got engine up to 4500 or so), I started smoking white/blue smoke A LOT. Killed the engine immediately and coasted to the shoulder. Get out only to see oil leaking like crazy from behind the timing belt cover. Start engine briefly to see if I can see if it is from there or was just splashed there and I see the balancer wobbling back and forth. I kill the engine and reach down and I can move the crankshaft bolt by hand. I assume the worst and get it towed home (GF has AAA). I take apart the front of the engine to see if I can see the leak. Amazingly, almost everything is perfectly fine. The bolt is in good condition, the timing crank sprocket is good, the crankshaft is good, all my other pulleys are good. The massive oil leak was caused just by the main front seal getting pushed out from the inside, most likely because there was no force from the crankshaft bolt keeping all the pulleys pressed against the engine. The front seal was pushed about about half a centimeter from flush. Just got all the parts I need and am replacing it today. I figured while I was at it, I would take off my oil pump to check the screws on the inside and replace the small o-ring for the oil pump. I'm putting a new timing belt on, but leaving the water pump. I never had any problems with heat and all of my timing belt pulleys and water pump pulley bearings feel nice and smooth. Go EJ22. 300000 miles and still going. My EJ25 is having serious problems and I think I'm going to try and find an EJ22 to swap in to it. The really weird thing about my crankshaft bolt coming off is that no one has touched that bolt since before I bought the car. I was told the timing belt had just been done before I bought it, and that was at about 225000 miles. So, it's been getting more and more loose for almost 75000 miles and finally came off.

Awesome. Thanks very much.

Sorry for reviving a dead thread, but I figured it would be better than just creating a new one. I would just like to clarify. I need a new harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley for my '94 Legacy L EJ22 asap. The only ones that are in stock in my area are for a '99 Legacy Outback EJ25. Will the EJ25 HB/Pulley work on my EJ22? Thanks very much.

It did overheat a bit after I had a shop look at the timing belt. They removed the radiator and didn't make sure the water pump wasn't vaporlocked when refilling the coolant. It got quite hot, but I stopped and got the coolant circulating. Would a bad PCV valve cause the oscillating pressure at the oil filler cap? I will try the oil cleaner. The oil I'm running in it now is Castrol GTX high mileage.

I think my '99 Legacy Outback engine has just about had it. It's the 2.5L DOHC engine. It is burning oil like nothing else, to the order of a quart and a half per tank. It's not smoking, but I have a ton of soot at my tailpipe. Very oddly though, the engine is still running great. Still plenty of power and I still get 25 mpg on the highway. My friend and I suspect that some rings have gone bad on at least one piston. I have a weird oscillating air pressure at the oil fill cap that's we feel is indicative of piston blow by. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before my catalytic converters are completely clogged and the car will barely run. Now, the rest of the vehicle is in pretty good condition so I want to try getting the engine good again. I could always tear the engine down and do a complete rebuild, but that would leave me with the same DOHC engine. Personally, I don't like having to unbolt and jack up the engine to get to one of the spark plugs. I was hoping I could get everyone's opinion here as to if that is the best course of action or if it would be possible to get an older and more reliable EJ22 SOHC engine and have it installed without too much headache. Most preferably, I would like an EJ22 that is non-interference. One less thing to worry about. My '94 Legacy L has 300k on the engine and is still doing pretty good and it has an EJ22 SOHC. Thanks much for any insight.