Chef

I think it's actualy NGK. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Mine has a similar problem (92 legacy). I always thought it might be a loosening engine or transmission mount.

No. If the solenoid is the cause of the torque bind, it is simply the failure of the solenoid to activate and minimise rear power distribution. If the problem is due to a worn clutch pack or residue buildup, maybe. Eiterh you'll have to deal with the clutched wearing out now until it thne becomes FWD, remove part of the drive shaft, or replace the solenoid (i.e. lower transmisison, remove rear housing extension, and replace solenoid and or clutches).

I checked the rear top mounts for a 98 outback, and found they were not compatible with a 1990-1994 legacy. I suppose you might be able to use your existing top mounts, not sure how they fit the top of the outback strut though. Most likely they could. Try this link - lots of good info http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=2153 Good luck.

If you're really concerned, take the belt back and say it dowsn't quite fit - seems a little streched perhaps. Then ask to exchange for another.

Would that wire be the one on the left hand (passenger) side of the tranny near the rear housing that leads to a rounded end? I happened to notice this earlier today. I've been having intermittent solenoid problems. Perhaps it may be a lousy connection.

Good to hear, although I'm slightly concerned. My steering feels REALLY stiff now, more than I think it ought to. Especially when I hit the gas hard and try to steer - sometimes it nearly locks up. Mind you, it's been doing that intermittently for some time now. PLus I've heard some odd noises coming from the last side I put the ball joint in, some popping-like sounds especially on left turns. Maybe I'm being paranoid... I don't have a torque wrench. I tried not to torque the pinch bolt and sway bar bushing bolts too hard. If I over-torqued would that cause some issues?

Probably a good call. I didn't, although I compared the two against one another and could see no real difference. I any event, I ended up getting the "premium" one they had in stock for the sale price ($43). I didn't care, I just wanted it in. Took me only half an hour tops. How much should the ball joint bolt portion be able to freely move in the socket? I didn't check the first one I installed. The second one seemed to move very stiffly with what felt like metal grinding. The thrid one I got today felt the same - very stiff. The old ones moved very freely, with no resistance. Is this normal? I also ended up dropping my exhaust frmo the flange between the second converter and the muffler. Pried the nubs out of the hangers with a screw driver, scrapped the rust off, and lubed with tons of grease. When I lowered the muffler section, it popped right off the flange which had been leaking badly and the bolts rusted. I cut off the bolts, drilled out the remainders, cleaned off the surfaces with a screwdriver and sandpaper, then glued a gasket with muffler cement to the muffler side. Crappy tire didn't have the right gasket for me, so I used the next closest one. Two actually, because they were thin. Then I re-hung the muffler section, fit it to the flange, used 7/16 bolts, washers, and nuts to attach. Now it's silent. At least that part of the exhaust is anyways! Whew. Tired. Going to pick up a movie and drink some beer. Girlfriend is out of town, time to relax by myself. Have fun all! Thanks for the info from everyone.

|You certainly aren't getting poor mileage for a turbo legacy - they are quite bad on gas. about 17 mpg city if you drive nice and 22-24 highway. I've seen trucks that get better mileage. Subarus are simply gas guzzlers. Even the FWD models are pretty piggish due to weight and the boxer engine. But they're cool...

I'd recommend a search. there is a lot of information on swapping to 5 spds and swapping engines in general. I don't think there's been much discussion on putting a WRX engine into a 2nd generation legacy.

I couldn't wait until Saturday to chaneg the ball joints, and it was really nice out tonight, so i decided to use my trouble light and get to it. Well, the driver's side went pretty well, took me nearly 2 hours because I went slowly and methodically, and cleaned out the knuckle sockect nicely and lubed all bolts and the ball joint itself excessively with CV joint grease (had extra). I removed the sway bar link bolt to let the control arm drop, and the job was MUCH easier this way. Definitely recommend it. Take no time at all. The second joint was removed with slightly more difficulty than the first, but no big deal. Aagain, cleaned everything up nicely, lubed up the new joint, and attached ti to the control arm. Then I lowerd the knuckle onto it, and used the jack to lift the control arm to pop the joint into the knuckle. No go. The joint bent over at an odd angle, went partially in, and refused further entry. So I removed it to try again, and noticed the joint was really stiff. Very hard to move the bolt portion, with a scrapping feeling like metal on metal. I pulled the boot off and it was full of grease and looked fine, but felt off. Plus it was missing a new pinch bolt like the other one. So I had to put the old one back in with a torn boot. I pulled the boot off and filled it with more grease, then cleaned it, rubbed more grease on it and installed it. The threads on the bolt portion weere a bit mangled, but I managed to get the nut on tight with a bit of effort. So tomorrow I head back to Canadian tire. I had to have these ordered in specially, no outlet seems to keep them in stock. They have one, but it's the expensive premium one. I will try to get them to give it to me for the price of the "economy" one, tellling them I cannot drive on this worn joint until tuesday. Otherwise my steering is now noticeably improved and the clunking duiring slow bumpy driving is gone. Yay! Hopefully tomorrow I will egt the other ball joint and install it, and do some exhaust repair. Then maybe remove the snorkus and have some fun! Thanks for the information folks.

Could be a sticking lifter. But that sounds more like an aggressive tap. I wouldn't buy anything with a distinct knock. Could lead to something as nasty as a broken rod.

Talking to myself here I suppose, but oh well...:-p So I picked up a 36" pry bar and rented a picklefork tool. Saturday the plan is to do this darn balljoints. I will have a sledge on hand, and try to find an even larger pry bar if necessary at work. I may remove the sway bar link from the control arm to be able to lower the arm better. Than I will crank down on the control arm to pop the ball joint out of the knuckle, and use the pickle fork to pop the joint out of the control arm. Hopefully I can get this to line up fine myself as I don't have someone to help. Any word on this? BTW, having never done a balljoint before, I only now have become aware how the ball joints are upside down on the subaru compared to most other vehicles. That, and I think my haynes manual is in error. Figures.

Ergh. Well, I braved the chilly weather (no garage) and I went for a preliminary try at replacing the one ball joint that has a substantial amount of play tonight. The good news is I managed to get the stubborn pinch bolt loose. I removed the pinch bolt, took off the cotter pin, loosened the castellated nut, and used a tire iron to push the steering knuckle from the control arm. It pushed the ball joint out a small bit, but it was stuck after that. I had little pry leverage and the tire iron had little room to catch and pull. With a bigger bar I might have been able to separate them, but I didn't. Canadian Tire has 36" pry bars on sale for $9, maybe I'll try that tomorrow. I tried pushing on the bottom of the control arm with the jack, but all that did was lift the freaking car off the jack stand (which is supporting the car by the crossmember near the exhaust downpipes, one of each side). Seems the suspension is a little... stiff. In the end, I used that technique to pop the ball joint back into the knuckle (a little scary when it popped in and the car suddenly dropped about 1 cm). But, my concern is that if I manage to pop the balljoint out, will I be able to get the new one reattached? I can use the pipe technique hitting the end of a strong pipe with a hammer to knock the control arm down - but not if I lift the control arm from beneath. Or should I remove the bottom end from the control arm first and then worry about separating the ball joint from the knuckle afterwards? I think that is how the tool I saw for rent functions. Maybe I'll try that. Or, I could always try to take the tension off the knuckle by detaching the strut... Some advice would be really nice, because I need to do this ASAP. I commute 200 km every day on icy windy roads. Thanks much! Chef

No, I have not. I understand it to be a pain in the rear, but steps can be taken to help. I'm considering renting a ball joint removal tool from Canadian Tire, but not sure if it will work. I have a haynes manual and have read a fair bit on it here. The idea is: Remove wheel remove cotter pin from balljoint nut loosen castellated nut loosen pinch bolt at sterring knuckle pry the ball joint out of the knuckle remove castellated nut and knock out ball joint installation = reverse This sound about right? I understand that using the jack on the bottom of the rotor (with wood block) helps take the pressure off the joint and makes "prying out" (read hammer out) easier. Some people here recommend a pickle fork. Some say pry bar. The tool Canadian Tire offers (free of charge, deposit only) seems to be some kind of clamp with disks/cylinders and and threaded rod. I'd like to use this, but have no idea how it works. Maybe it's for people with shocks andf not struts.

Thanks nipper, just wanted someone's opinion on this freaky suspension. I only tried this oil because it was on sale, and wondered if my car might like it for somereason. It might be a coincidence with the sticking tappet, but the timing is rather telling I think.

You're probably better off trying to just sell it as a whole. I'm sure someone out there might buy it for at least a grand, maybe $1500 if it runs well. That being said, I might be interested in a few parts. Let me know what problems you're having and I'll see what I might be interested in. Also some general details about your 93 would be nice (e.g. kms, trim, etc).

You don't really. The only way would be to confirm the mileage of the car it came from. I find it hard to believe a 96 only had 50 000 km on it, unless it was a replacement.

Okay, maybe over simplified, but I'd start with just changing 0ut the fuel filter. The symptoms described fit a clogged filter well. Besides, the car is 9 years old and due for a change anyways.

1992 Subaru LEgacy LS AWD auto 242000 km. Ever since replacing my air suspension with a spring/strut setup my handling has not been so good. It tends to wander at high speed, the steering feels intermittently loose/tight, my tires slightly cupped in the front (rotated to rear now), and very prone to crosswind movements (really irritating). IT often pulls to the right, but largely due to crosswinds I think. I definitely need an alignment, but after bring it to the shop the guys told me my ball joints were worn out, especially the driver's side, and until that was repaired they couldn't align it. Fair enough. I want to confirm a few things. I will buy and replace the balljoints myself (hopefully). The main auto chain here offers "economy" balljoints for $27 and premium ones for $55. I'll probably have the car for less than a year or two. IS there really a significant difference? I just want to have a car that doesn't handle so oddly. What is the best way to test my tie rod ends? Should I just replace them too regardless? Two mechanics looking at my car so far didn't seem concerned about them (one I don't necessarily trust so much). Anything I'm not considering here? BTW, a bit off topic, but I put in some Quaker state high mileage 5w30 the other day and for the last two mornings in a row I've had a sticking tappet. It cleared out with a bit of revving, but should I change the oil again to regular 5w30?

Nice... I wonder though how it affects the handling.

Thank Gary, I appreciate the info. One followup question though. If I remove the rear half of the driveshaft, is there concern over leaving the remaining portion free spinning? If so, is that why there was the mention of using the fuse simultaneously? Because It would seem that it shouldn't matter then if the fuse is in provided there is no problem leaving the front portion of the driveshaft spinning (which I don't see why there should be). Not that I want to be without AWD, but if worse comes to worst... p.s. - this actually should improve gas mileage slightly due to reduced friction on the rear diff I believe, unlike just using the fuse

What kind of issues? My duty c solenoid is having occassional hiccups, and I was thinking that rather than replace it should things take a turn for the worst I would simply disconnect/remove the driveshaft until I have more time/money. Since the rear CV axles will be in place, the differential will be kept in motion, so siezing up shouldn't be a factor. Also, why would I need to keep the fuse in place to run without the driveshaft attached?

Besides the fact that in 95 the body was changed substantially in appearance. i don't know if the half-shafts changed, but I suspect they did since they had a wider wheel-base than the 1990-1994 models. I recommend when you speak with him you do not lose your cool, but make it clear you have the upper hand and that you are certain he will want to remedy his mistake without outside involvement (hint hint). Good luck.

Yikes - that's why people call them stealerships. Forget those guys. For that price they better replace your transmission with a rebuild (doubtful), or else they're really ripping you off. Are you experiencing torque bind symptoms? If not, then there is no real urgency. I have the same problem as you, with mostly minor torque bind during slow turns once in a while. But it will get worse, rest assured. The best thing you could try is a transmission flush, but it may or may not help. Given the issue is most likely the solenoid, probably not. What most likely needs taking care of is to remove the rear housing of the transmission, replacing the solenoid and clutch pack, and resealing the deal. A dealership should be able to do this for about a grand. A smaller shop less. Try a small shop that deals mostly with Japanese cars, get some quotes. You may also want to consider installing another used transmission - with 280k that one is probably nearing the end soon. I'd probably just drive it until things got really bad, then hunt down a reasonably priced used tranny (1990 - 1997). Have the it checked for wear in the rear housing (or do it yourself). Me, I might hunt down a used solenoid and test it, then pull my rear housing off myself and replace it. But that doesn't seem very enticing right now. Good luck