DerFahrer

As Wayne stated, check stuff like tires first. In your pre-purchase inspection, check the tread depth on the front and rear tires. I believe they have to be equal to within 1/16th of an inch, I could be wrong about that though...

Is it still doing it? Anytime you toy with the oil pump, you're going to lose all the oil with it of course, so it's going to take a little while for it to build sufficient oil pressure back up. I resealed the oil pump on my EA82, and even though I cranked it for 20 seconds with the coil pulled to get the oil circulating, I still had some lifter tapping for about 5 minutes, then it went away.

If you are just driving the car as an everyday car like a sane person then fade isn't your concern. You actually want pads that will work fine when they're cold and will fade when they get hot. If you get really fancy racing pads, your braking will be pretty bad for most of the time until you jam them really hard a few times and then you'll get some braking power. Albany pads are the cheapest pads at Autozone, yeah, but they're really not all that bad, and they have a lifetime warranty. I'm pretty sure they'll have Albany pads for your car. I put these pads on my Legacy before running up to Deals' Gap in NC, and while they did fade pretty bad, scared me quite a few times in some very hairy S-turns, they managed to get the job done, and I didn't nuke them like I though I would, I'm still driving on them right now and they work fine. For fluid, I use Valvoline synthetic brake fluid. It's a little more expensive but the word "synthetic" sounds pretty It's more important that you do your best to keep moisture out of the fluid than what type of brand you buy.

FINALLY got my lazy butt around to signing up! Can't wait! BTW, where do we submit Reader's Rides?

Don't forget to check the little O-rings on the air hoses that go into the top of the strut. Many times, what people think is a shot strut is just some leaky O-rings or hoses...

Just be sure to fix the places that have subauclub.com...

Definitely check out xt6.net for more info... Any EA-series tranny will bolt up, however, keep in mind the ratios in the 4cyl cars were designed to get a low-power engine moving as quickly as possible (read: VERY short ratios). You will run out of gears with a flat-6 so fast it would be scary... The accessories of the motor are pretty much the same, yes. Oil pumps are pretty much the same, timing belts, water pumps. The alternators, though are different, and the power steering is a night-and-day difference, as 6's have the electrically-driven Cybrid steering system.

You're right Corky, 89-only for auto RX's.

For snow driving, I can offer absolutely no useful information, look at my location For mountain driving, which I have done, HAS to be a stick. I can think of dozens of instances where I was happy I could leave it in a low gear while climbing a steep hill, whereas I know an automatic would shift up and then have to shift down again when it realizes there's not enough power. The only thing that sucks is you might be going through clutches a bit faster if you're not careful...

Agreed. This is the first incident I've heard of...

You had to maintain the MAF sensor attached to the stock airbox in your setup. If you removed it, you'd have far more than just a CEL. The car would run terribly, sputter, and most likely die, because it judges the A/F ratio mostly on readings from the MAF...

I wish I had room for an RX. If I had the $$$, I'd pick up your coworker's famous RX, WJM. Does he still have it? If he has it long enough, I just might be able to afford it in a couple years

It happens all the time. Us 90-94 Legacy guys have horror stories long as your arm... The problem is that people don't torque down the bolt enough. The Subaru manual calls for 80 ft-lbs I think, but it should really be 110 ft-lbs! After doing my timing belt, I heard some stories and actually went back and tightened my bolt down even harder, because I'd like to keep my crank from being torn to pieces, thank you very much I'm sorry though, the pulley from your XT6 won't work. The pulley on EA-series engines doesn't touch the key, it only has a little ridge that holds onto the timing belt sprocket. You might wanna ask in the Marketplace to see if anyone has a spare pulley... Also, try this place for used Subaru parts. www.4subarusuzukikiaparts.com

Bah! I misread your post... You said the stub in the axle came out with the tranny, so when I said this: I was dead on. Okay, you already said you got the pin out and the tranny stub separated from the old axle. Put the stub back in first, I think it just pops in once you have it lined up. Then line the hole on the axle up with the stub and slide the axle on, and put a new pin in. You should always put a new pin in when you do this, I myself have some 10 pins that I ordered from the dealer to have on hand... Let us know how it turns out!

I know there are two roll pins, same as the pins that go through the axles, except shorter. I call them "alligator" pins because there's a toothy-looking pattern where the metal splits. I know of no cotter pin My Legacy had two of those pins, an outer pin and an inner pin. The same situation with that, it took me days just to get the freekin pins out... But it didn't take me long to get the yellow part off, in fact, it popped off and clocked me straight in the face, cutting a gash in my nose I'm positive I got all the pins out, because I can see the difference between the yellow piece and the green part, from inside the hole... It really doesn't matter at this point, because I just got back from Sears where I picked up a Dremel and a set of cut-off discs. The yellow part is coming off in pieces I just hope the dealer can locate me a new one...

Bump... Am I the only one brave enough to tackle this myself?

That's the way it should happen. That's the tranny stub. Your replacement axle should look identical to that. It would be different if you had pulled the tranny stub out itself! It's not that big a deal, I think you can just snap it back in. But that would mean you would have to separate the tranny stub from the axle, which probably will be difficult since you yanked the tranny stub out anyway. But no, that's fine. Just put the new axle on and you'll be cherry :-)

You're making me wanna do one more and more WJM!

This should definitely work, click to enlarge:

Looks like the site is down temporarily, I'll come back later and link to it another way... Maybe the EA71-81's have something different, I dunno...

Just wait. Let the axle rip itself to shreds. Get as much use out of it as you can. Wait until it starts ticking, then starts knocking, then when it starts knocking when you're going straight! Chicks love the sound of clunking CV axles Then when the thing is just about to break completely in pieces, replace it with a reman axle from www.cvaxles.com for $55. They are one of the most recommended axle builders in the Subaru world (I'd say about 80% of it is me though ). Tough axles put to the test by rally cars, genuine lifetime warranty (I've tested it) and a great price.

Super! I'm actually going to replace all 4 of my wheel bearings! Two of mine are already bad, and I support the statement "If it ain't broke, fix it until it works like brand new!" Those pics will come in handy. Well done joeo! And this is my 1000th post!

True. Get both wheels off the ground, put the tranny in Neutral and turn the axle any way you want. And it doesn't matter which way you hammer the old pin out, or which way you hammer the new one in. Just make sure the hole on the axle is lined up with the hole on the stub. Start hammering the new pin in with a screwdriver that takes bits, so it has like a socket on the end of it. That will hold the pin in place well enough until you get it started in the axle. And remember to stake the axle nut back into the notch on the outer axle stub when you're done.

I agree with forester2002s 100%. If you change your oil religiously at the recommended interval, it doesn't matter what type of oil or filter you use. You should have no problems. But I do have an argument with synthetic oil. This is the honest-to-God truth, I'm telling nothing more than my own experience: I ran only partial synthetic oil in my Legacy for about 15k miles, Valvoline DuraBlend 10W40. I always noticed that the oil was being lost at about a quart every 1500 miles. I didn't think anything of it. Then it got worse, I was losing a quart a WEEK, especially if I was driving briskly. It certainly wasn't pouring out any seals, although my cam seals were leaking some. So there had to be only one other option: I was burning it. I had a friend drive away from me and had him get on it. In between the 1-2 shift, I saw a puff of blue smoke come out the tailpipe. I have never seen a Subaru burn oil in my life except for that day. So I switched back to dino, regular Valvoline 10W40. I don't even check my oil anymore, because it doesn't leak a drop. I burn zero oil. I even asked some of my fellow Dragonslayers if they saw anything at all while I was racing up the mountain, and they said they saw a puff of black smoke on occasion , no blue smoke. I didn't add one drop of oil the whole 1600-mile trip. That's right, it means my cam seals aren't leaking anymore either. So, take that for what it's worth, I'm not saying anything about synth stripping away varnish left by dino, I'm not saying anything in favor of one or the other. I'm only telling of my own experience!

Not so fast. All DOHC Subaru engines are valve-valve interference. Period. If one cam spins while the other is stationary, the valves will hit each other. Now, the EG33 is the only DOHC Subaru engine that has one set of cams driven by a belt, and the other cams gear-driven off the first set of cams. So, the gears on the camshaft would have to break, highly unlikely. But if they did, you would indeed have valves hitting valves.