uniberp

Have you fitted those to a Legacy with +1.5 OB struts?

Cars101.com will give all specs. Forester is Impreza platform. My Forester seems to have more snappy handling than the Legato, but the Legato is roomier. Tradeoff.

I just put Outback KYB GR2's on the 97 Legato Vaggen , raising the car about 1.5 inches. Next thing is to put new tires, and I want to go up from the 185/75-14 on it now. I want to go up in diameter mostly, and it looks like that would be 195/75-14. Tire calculator at http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp shows 5% difference. There are no 185/80 or 85 or 90 -14's that I can see. I did the struts myself using basic screw type spring compressors with the wide hooks. I use an electric impact wrench to make the job go more quickly and avoid getting tired from ratcheting. I wrap the assembly in a heavy tarp while I'm tightening the compressors and working on the unit to avoid the possibility of flying objects. It goes pretty well. The fronts are a bit close but you can still compress them just enough over 3 coils to JUST get the nut off and on. Now the car rides better, firmer, and less like a Buick. For better or worse. Maybe the new tires will soften it up a bit.

I would think the metering system should match throughout. MAF-MAP, ecu, injectors, FPR should all match. There are probably blips in the curve/mapping that will cause you some oddity, but I think basically it would be like running a 2.5 with a restrictor plate. Whaere can you even find flow specs for those injectors?

I got the harbor freight scissors jack and it works fine with 6 ton jack stands under the frame rails. You WILL have to shimmy the tranny out from under the car, however. It's still a little tall, but worked fine. The jack has to be cenetered side-to-side or it will flop/collapse on the heavy side a bit I just finished fixing the separator plate and reinstalled the tranny. I'd do it the same way again. The platform on the jack makes it pretty easy to tip and align the tranny going in (blocked up in the front with apiece of 2x4). Be sure to support the front of the engine. I hung mine from a long 2x4 over top the AC bracket with a hook bolt through it, blocked up from the "frame" rails by the battery and ABS unit. Tightening the hook bolt let me alignthe engine to the tranny as it went in on the stub bolts. I had limited floor space and no room to push around a cherry picker.

No one seems to have mentioned that the most common reason for burning (oil/grease) smell is broken front inboard passenger side CV boot, spewing grease at speed directly onto the catalytic convertor. This boot is usually the first ot fail due to close proximity to high heat source (cat). Note: burning grease smells "hot" (especially moly cv grease). Burning oil smells "oily". Also, distinctions shoud be made between front and rear main (crank) seals. Rear seals never (hardly ever) leak. Fronts leak but do not drip on exhaust. If there is an apparent oil leak at the junction of engine/bellhousing, it may be the "plastic separator plate" issue. See my other threads for fix.

Are you saying increased turbulence within a larger pipe increases the exhaust pressure? I don't think that's true. I suppose it's possible, but the basic volume vs wall area calcs say otherwise.

The heat shields can be tricky, and can expand and rattle when warm. It could be an internal cat rattle, but the mechanic told my GF that about her Forester adn it turned out to be a heat sheild. The oneunder the center of the y-pipe is expecially tricky to tighetn. I recommend a narrow (.25) hoseclamp. The narrowness allows some spring to be imparted and handle heating and cooling. You can also cut down a wider hose clamp to a narrow profile for a few inches to accomplish the same thing,

Dues can only be paid in the rain and cold. A drivetrain or engine bearing will not have a stamped shell. That stamped outervshell probably floats around the machined bearing even if tightly fitting. You're young. Applicance carton cardboard is your friend for working under a car. Please use jackstands on a level surface.

Intermittant tapping noises can be caused by valves. Engines are typically designed such that the valve is made to rotate very slightly with each actuation by the rocker arm. This is accomplilshed by having the center of contact slightly offcenter of the valve head, so that when the arem pushes the valve, it slides along one side of the center ofthe valve tip and causes a degree or so of rotation. This keep the valve head round and evenly seated in the seat. If the valve did not rotate, it would heat unevenly and wear unevely, leading to bent or burnt valves. An intermittant ticking many mena that the valve is still rotating in the guide, but that at some point is is hanging up, seating too deeply, or otherwise causing a mechanical tapping. As long as the noise is intermittant, you are probably not risking additional engine damage. The valve is still rotating. If the noise becomes constant , the valve is probably not rotating and eventually will burn in one spot. I don't think a rod knock would be intermittant. It can disappear at idle, but woudl generally mirror engine load. Unless there is a serious malfunction in the lubrication system, I doubt oil pressure woudl be a factor. If it is, you have more serious problems than a valve.

I'm looking now for a less restrictive exhaust system for the Legato or Forester. The stock connector pipe is 2" id, which is the same size as the head ports. Seems to me a 2.5" ID Cat-back would be a better option. I know Borla makes a header for the dual port heads, but they don't make a larger cat-back. I expect the dual catalytic convertors are restriced to 2 inches for emissions purposes, so I don't know if a larger cat-back woudl benefit anyhow. In general I have found that less restriction is better overall. The old argument about backpressure being good is a myth. The parts guys checked Walker/Dynomax and the other major mfgs, and Borla and came up with nothing. Is my only choice: custom?

I think you should get a 14mm socket wrench and change in a new starter.

I'd just stick a nail in there if it were my car, but it's my GF's car and I kind of compete with her old mechanic for props. Now that I've straightened out his botched timing belt job and replaced the plastic zip tie he used to secure the cv boot with a proper stainless band, AND solved the exhaust rattle problem, I think I might get some credit, but probably not, because I'm just a code hack and he's a PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC. The Ace hardware .25x2.00 roll pins work, but they are MAYBE a little tight. BTW in this process I stopped by Bristol Hose, a hydraulics supplier, and asked them if they had some sort of banding straps I could use for the CV boot. He let me borrow a "TIE-LOK II" ratcheting tool and a handful of .25 "smooth inside diameter (SID)" stainless ties. Fantastic tool. Too bad it's $300. >400 here: http://www.gopherindustrial.com/eshop/default.aspx?ControlName=ItemDisplay&item_id=4334EB0E-F946-4FEA-8861-D4BA8159579F&category_id=

I just finished the oil separator plate replacement and everything seems fine. Photos of the parts and some of the job are at: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?ppuser=10133&cat=500 It took me about 10 (across three days) hours all told, plus waiting around for parts and finding sealant and dealing with 2 unexpected difficulties. #1 difficulty: not seating the Torque convertor correctly. COMMON MISTAKE. See my photos about the sealing ring. If the torque convertor slips out just .25 inch, and the sealing ring is old, it will slip out of the groove and prevent reinsertion of the TC. My advice is to have a new part on hand while doing the job. The new part is much springier, for a fiber seal, and will stay in the groove. What this part actually does I am not sure, but I think it serves as rotating bushing as well. I was not about to leave it out. Of course, I had to re-install and re-remove the tranny to discover this problem. Once I got the TC placed correctly, I tied it in with a ziptie through a bolt hole and around the starter bolt stub. Clipped the zip off and pulled it out when the tranny was seated. #2 difficulty not unexpected, but I removed the front axles by dismounting the strut at the lower bolts. The VERY GOOD Nasioc thread on this procedure says they can be slipped off the tranny stub when the tranny is dropped, but that didn't work for me. Other things: I did the front brakes while in there. Rear exhaust flange pretty corroded and leaking a little on reinstall. LOTS of bolts for driveshaft, driveshaft support, heat shields, tranny crossmember. Good to have an electric impact wrench for those. Don't install the starter until the AT dipstick tube, the tranny cooler lines, and the secret hidden bellhousing bolt is installed. I removed it twice on the install to finish those things. 1/4 x 2 (grinded to 1.75 length) roll pins from Ace hdwre will work for reinstalling axles on stubs, but they are pretty tight. I used loctite 518 to seal plate. Hoping not to see any leaks. Washed undercarriage in hope it will remain forever dry. Used better part of a can of antisieze. Drove it, the 99ForesterSOHC, to work today. Everything seems fine.

Thank you. I noticed aftermarket axles come with plain ole roll pins. As long as it goes in pretty tight but not too tight, I think I'll be happy.

Thanks that will get me there. And thans for the part numner. I'll see what they have.

Check that your crank pulley is not loose and wobbling. You would be able to see it when the hood is up and the car running. The additional load of the AC could possibly make the difference. Why would CV axles cause a problem at a stoplight?

Can someone please caliper a CV Axle spring pin for me and post the dimensions? I lost one. maybe I can get a roll pin at Ace. Of course the local dealerships have none in stock. I want to to get this on the road tonight, even if it's temporary. Thanks mpergielelmnhurstil99foresterL

Since this is a non-interference engine you are possibly surviving bad belt timing. If the crank pulley was loose, it can damage or beark the woodruff key and throw the crank sprocket off too, but that's a pretty catastrphic case. Bad cam timing can cause all the symptoms you describe, and the vac gauge will give you the answers. The Hayne manual has a procedure for vacuum testing.

The U-joints are staked in, and it appears the spline in the middle is swaged closed, although I didn't remove the rubber boot. I live in the midst of the Midwests largest collection of machine shops (west suburban Chicago) and I could NOT find a drive shaft shop to take the job on. I felt like very small change in the land of big diesel driveshafts.

One factor: how seriously and long was it overheated? If the car is otherwise in good repair, even an engine replacement is worthwhile. New outbacks are $30K. $2k at a dealer sounds a bit low for all that work, unless you are lucky. (ed. your quote sounds in line). Can you check their reputation for repairs any way? Check prices of timing belt kits on ebay. A proper job will replace waterpump all idlers and seals if they show too much leakage. The clutch is fairly cheap, I think. Reface flywheel, new pressureplate and throwout bearing. Since the engine (or tranny) has to come out to do that job, it may save you some labor cost on the HG job, IF your dealer is a good character. MANY thread on HG replacement on DOHC's here. MUCH advice on machine facing the heads and such. There are definite preferences for parts. Some old stock on shelves is suspect.

Have you done a tire rotation recently? Is there any noticeable difference in treadwear front and rear? It may be my imagination, but normal drivetrain noise seems to increase wen fronts wear slightly more than rears. When I bought the Legato, theh fronts were a little more worn, and it kind of lurched at constant speed 45mph and up. I rotated fron to back and rear side to side and it felt much better. Further confirmed this this past weekend, with my GF's Forester, who neglected a rotation for 12-15k miles. It's like it prefers to drag the rear along. Tires are just at .25 circumference difference.

You did remove the nut, correct? Spray with pblaster, leave puller in place with some pressure on it.

No. I have both. They are interchangeable. Check the part numbers online at 1stsubaruparts.com

There are also problems getting the exact configuration. I ordered NGK wires online for my 97 Legato, then found they didn't fit. 2 of the coil ends needed 90 degree hoods with female ends. The bad parts had striaght hoods with male coil ends. I had a good independent shop guy who traced down the right ones by cross-referencing a couple of books (paper ones) and handing the me the right part, silicone aftermarket wires. They work great. With new plugs, that is. I thnk the plugs made the biggest diference.