Chef

No kidding. No fair saying "fixed" and not saying how!

I have noticed my power steering pump makes a "slurping" sounds, like air and fluid are mixing. It's not too loud, but when I put my ear to it it's quite distinct. Not sure if this is normal or not. But, considering my problems with my steering at WOT, maybe this is true. A guy I work with went through 3 power steering pumps on his 90 turbo legacy. Says the car kept busting them.

My 92 legacy wagon auto AWD does the same. But has been getting a bot worse recently. I've always attributed it to weakening motor/trans mounts, but checking mine recently showed only a little play. Not sure what is normal though. Can also be driveshaft related, worn u-joints perhaps.

Try removing the ash-tray in the same way to find screws at the bottom. Pull the trim plate off, and there are a screw on either side of the radio, and possibly underneath it too. Don't forget to remove the antenna connector too.

Worn lower oil rings. Letting oil into the cylinders, particularly under heavy load. Like climbing a hill. I am sorry to say, but you may need the upper end rebuilt.

How much are they asking for it?

Been considering that route too... I figure with another used car I should always have one up and running

Ack! That's ugly looking! I tightened my belt tensions today, especially the one driving the AC. Seemed fairly loosened, although not ridiculously. I'll monitor things to see if the noise returns. Does anyone know where this legendary plastic cap over a hole in the auto trans bellhousing is? Supposedly it's opposite of the starter on the passenger side and can be used to jam the flywheel, but I looked high and low today and couldn't find it. I ask because I was going to try and tighten my crank pulley. Maybe the belts were just loose enough that with the slight wobble on the crank it squealed pretty bad at the crank pulley itself. Sure was loud, but that's because I nearly had my ear to it. I called the dealer this morning - apparently the only difference in crank pulleys is whether it is an auto or standard tran. They had the same number for 2.2s and 2.5s. They also wanted $230 cdn for a new one - key was a cuple of bucks. I tried calling a bunch of wreckers, and either no one had subarus or wouldn't sell the crank pulley separate from an engine. I'm telling you, financing a slightly used Ford Focus wagon is sounding better and better each day.:-p

I'll give her a look over today some time. The pulley itself is looking pretty rusty and the rubber worn, wouldn't be surprised if it's starting to separate a little. I could try the welding of a steel strip across it to see if that helps. But I suspect subaru made it the way they did for a reason. I should mention that yesterday I qiuckly investigated under the hood while this noise was occurring, and it seemed to come from the pulley. Hard to tell, and it was deafening with my ear right there, but I'm pretty sure.

Great news! I hear you on the combination issues, seems I've had more than my share recently... Cookie - Man, if I could commute via transit to work every day I would. Unfortunately I drive from a small city to an even smaller one an hour away. I wish I could move there, but I'm stuck in a lease here, and it won't be easy to sublet. PLus my fiance cannot move with me because she goes to university here.

I have noticed recently an intermittent squealling on some cold starts that has been becoming more frequent and louder. I figured it was a belt, but upon inspecting them they all appeared fine. There is a sticker on my belt cover indicating they've all been replaced less than two years ago. I've also noticed my crank pulley seems a tad wobbly - not much, but it caught my eye recently. I've also noticed that under hard acceleration (WOT or close to) my steering stiffens a LOT - pretty much locks. I thought these to all be separate problems. But then I read this thread: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=775&highlight=noise+crank+pulley and I'm fearing that my pulley is about to kablooey. What are your thoughts here everyone? I am probably going to replace it regardless. Never done this before.

Good to hear it seems likely to be better. Funny this, all this talk about CV axles and yesterday morning as I set out to work, pulling from a stop I hear Click-click-click. I JUST had those replaced. Haven't heard the noise since, but seemed very clearly a CV axle click. Boot seems fine. Bloody cheap-rump roast remanufactured axles.

There is a lot of information here on this board regarding these questions, I'd suggest searching it out first then asking some more specific ones afterwards. I'd also suggest trying bbs.legacycentral.org - they have a lot of specific info on turbo legacies. Good luck, Chef

I think you're confusing the transmission and rear diff. The rear diff is connected to the rear axles, and is driven by a drive shaft from the transmission. In the case of torque bind, it is not often the culprit. The rear extension housing of the transmission is the very end case on the transmission where the driveshaft connects to. It is in here that the AWD clutches sit, and solenoid c. To be honest, it is a straightforward procedure, but I'm always very paranoid about these kinds of operations, mostly because I NEED my car for work, and it's my only one. cookie - That's a good idea, but the problem is so few Subarus seem to end up in junkyards around here, and when they do, they often seem to have ok trannys (go figure). I guess that speaks well about subarus, but doesn't help me much. Still, I will call around.

I've had the same issue, only seems to happen when temps get colder than -15°C and not consistently. Noise increases with speed. First time it happened it lasted for several minutes, but later times only for a few blocks. I attributed it to the speedo cable, especially since it was slightly bouncing while this happened.

heh, thanks. Twice I did this, first time my inner boot was torn (actually when I bought it). Covered it with a plastic bag and duct tape for a few weeks before having the boot replaced (joint was still fine). Another time I had my FL outer boot clamp come off at the hub, not sure how long it was being exposed because of an exhaust leak at the time. After the exhaust fix I swear I heard some not so nice noises down there and I took a peak. Well, I picked up some CV grease, plastic ties, and cleaned that joint as best as I could. I then proceeded to pack it tightly with grease, and put some in the boot as well. I then clamped that boot on tight as I could with a couple of ties and it seemed to quiet down completely. I replaced the axle 6 months later, but still question if I really needed to. But, I figured it was the safer thing to do.

Changing the solenoid and clutch packs is easy - it's removing the rear housing extension that is a pain. I think it goes something like this - drain trans, remove the driveshaft from the tran rear and collect fluid, undo the exhaust hanger, move the exhaust out of the way, put a jack under the rear of the tran, remove the crossmember from under the transmission with tran mounts, then lower the rear of the tran slightly - not sure how much it can be lowered safely. Then remove the 14 bolts or so around the rear housing, pull off, get covered in tran fluid, clean up, and take a peak. The solenoid is attached with 2 bolts, and the clutches pull right out. When reinstalling, there's a new gasket that needs to be installed, then reverse instructions. But, i may be missing a few important things here. Search for info here and on bbs.legacycentral.org.

Heheh - that is quite the compliment my friend - thanks! I'm feeling much better about my ability to work on my car these days - too bad it's my daily (and only) driver. Missed a chance at a 91 passat 5spd diesel wagon today - d'oh! Could have had a spare for when I'm working on the soob. Only needed new rear calipers, rotors, and pads to pass safety. A few small other issues easily remedied by a few hours work.

Nice job - I need to do the same, having dimming lights slowing fans syndrome when idling. Looked over for grounds today, only found a couple. Trying specifically for the tranny ground, could not find it for the life of me.

Done - flushed by a shop a while ago, didn't help. I figure I'm in this proper now. Old cheffy might get his first taste of transmission work. Great... I'm mostly worried about not being able to put the rear housing back on properly.

The bearing is a real PITA. They are sealed in the hub, and require a press to remove. You'd need to separate the knuckle and take it into a shop to have it done. Separating the knuckle isn't too bad, but if you're doing this you may as well replace the balljoints. Not too hard. But I'd worry about that after replacing the half-shaft first, then seeing if the noise persists. Wobbly steering shouldn't be caused by bad CV joints. More likely bad ball joints or struts. Or, could be a bad wheel bearing too.

I've heard of several people driving on torn boots for a long time provided the axles were original subarus ones. Rebuilds are notoriously less reliable. However outer CV joints usually make clicking noises when going, not rumbles. Rumbles are more likely Wheel bearings. But given your situation I'd presume the joint is screwed and replace the half-shaft regardless. If you're worried, clean off the joint with some rags and repack with some CV grease, then wrap a thick plastic bag around it and seal with duct tape for now. Then replace it proper when convenient (sooner the better).

He mentioned a replacement 2.2 because they are much more reliable than the 2.5 engines. The 2.5s are much more susceptable to HG failures, especially the early DOHC models. The cost at a shop is often $1200+ to have it fixed, and many people opt to replace it with the more reliable 2.2 which has noticably better fuel economy and little reduction in power output. You will probably have to resurface the heads in addition to replacing the HG and other associated components. You may consider swapping a new engine in a much easier and possibly more reliable long-term alternative. That being said, the new gaskets from subaru are much better than the old, and less likely to leak. Good luck

Replying to my own post - is that like talking to yourself? So I checked the resistance at the pins 4 and 11 on the connector from the trans. registered about 12 ohms, fluctuating mostly between 11.7 and 12.2 occasionally up to even 17 ohms. Checked on the other portion of the connector, not sure if possible, but no continuity. Should be good, but since my problem is intermittent, I imagine it would only occur when running. Maybe I could disconnect and check after I notice torque-bind begin. Not sure if this might cause the system to crap out. I also noticed that when I plugged the connector back in, it made some kind of odd noise (buzzing) from the transmission for about 5 seconds, then it went away. When I started my car the power light flashed 16 times. I also tried pulling stored codes - problem was that removing the connector and putting the key in the on position produced all sorts of errors, basically every possible one (e.g. 24, 32, 11, 22, etc). I currently have the battery unhooked and hopefully this will clear the codes. I'll check again later.

If you're looking for good mileage, then consider something else - unless you're comparing to other 4x4s, in which case the soob shines. But compared to other 4 cyl cars with similar HP, soobs score much lower. My 92 legacy averages about 18 mpg city, 27 hwy. Hardly comparable to an accord or camry, but then again, neither of those cars have AWD.