alias20035

The transmission input and main shaft bearings do go from time to time. I think the center input shaft bearing went on my 93 Legacy, I was going to swap the whole transmission with a used one when the clutch went. But the original clutch kept going and going. The miles kept adding up and I did will over 200,000 with the bearing noise. I was about to make arrangments to have a replacement tranny delivered and hit a deer and the car was totalled... I had 466,00 km on the original clutch, and perhaps 210,000 of those were with the bearing noise. The last 40,000 km I had problems shifting from 5th to 4th going up hills, and it was always grinding 3rd. Towards the end the bearing noise was slowly being replaced with gear whine, third gear started to sound something like reverse. Sometimes Subaru 5MT's develop some problems with case flex and cracks that lead to noisy bearings and gears. It is rare problem and as far as I know it only affects certain overseas WRX models. Subaru's do blow release bearings from time to time too, but you might as well replace the whole clutch kit since it adds maybe 20 minutes work on top of a release bearing change (flywheel resurfacing excluded). Fool around with the free play adjustment and see what happens if the cable is tightened a bit. If it fixes it, great!, if not you didn't blow any money.... Check around for a whole used replacement transmission. I had secured one with less than 40,000 miles for $275 US including shipping from Minnesota to Canada!! Just don't get one from a Impreza 2.5RS as their drivers tend to abuse them. Also make sure the final drive ratio is the correct one, and that the engine mount is the same (4 bolt up to 97?, 8 bolt 98 onward?). The labour and parts cost quoted seem right. I was quoted $1,000 Canadian for a complete transmission rebuild (seals, bearings, synchros, etc), clutch and some minor exhaust work (heat shields and hangers). In fact if the $400 includes the clutch that is pretty good! My repair quote included a large margin of error in case gears had to be changed (they likely would have). The advantage of rebuilding your own transmission is you know how it was treated, and also know exactely what its problem is.

Most Subaru door panels come off in a similar manner as my 2001 Outback. See my post earlier in this topic for my guide. As for speakers, the Forester uses 6.5 inch speakers all around, see my previous port in this topic for my thoughts and recommendations on various speaker models. I have not had a Forester door panel off so I don't know if it has the plastic speaker retainer, if it does it will have to be cut like it does on the Legacy/Outback, very simple to do though. I also don't know about depth restrictions (if the window glass or its mechanism will require a short depth speaker for clearance. I would take the door panel off (20-30min) and see whats in there. Take the panel off with the glass down and you can even measure clearance to the glass to check for restrictions. My earlier posts in this topic contain information about sound imaging, installation and other oddities. I wish it were in an FAQ....

Yep, no problem, the plastic insert is just to hold everything together for shipping and also to hold the spacer that is between the inner races. The plastic insert is pushed out by hub when you reinstall it. I don't know it this is clear, so I will add it anyways: The outer bearing race is pressed into the knuckle from the inside with the roller bearing and inner races (and plastic insert) in place. Then a circlip (usually a circlip, but sometimes a threaded insert) is installed to hold the bearing's outer race in the knuckle The new bearing seals are installed into the knuckle and lubricated with a bit of grease. Installation of the seals can easily be accomplished by using the old seal and the old bearing outer race to press the new seal in. Sometimes I use a rubber mallet and the old seal to tap the new one in. Be careful not to damage the new seal, and install them in the correct orientation (note the orientation of the old ones when they come off. The hub is then pressed (or pulled with the Subaru or other hub tool) into the new bearing from the outer side. If using a press you can use the old inner bearing race to assist with this process (place the new inner race against the old one and hold together with the plastic insert). Then the drive axle is inserted into the hub (grease the axle shaft) from the inside, the knuckle is reinstalled and the axle nut is torqued (always torque this nut with the wheel off the ground and the knuckle fully attached, otherwise the torque will NOT be correct). There are be a few steps I am leaving out, such as brake disassembly and ABS tone wheels, etc. Do you have the Haynes service guide? It's instructions can sometimes be a little vague or slight incomplete, but it is the best inexpensive service manual out there.

If its engine speed related, check alternator, A/C compressor clutch, steering pump, and accessory drive belts and pulleys. An engine stethoscope will help, just place the tip on each component until you hear the noise. But an even easier way to rule out accessories is to remove their belts and run the engine, it will quickly rule these items out as a group. I had a whistling alternator on my 93 Legacy, it was a bad front bearing. I managed to get an alternator rebuild kit for $20, no rebuild kits are generally listed for Subaru alternators, but they are Bosch or Hitachi and you can go on their model numbers to locate replacement bearings, brushes and voltage regulators. Power steering pumps will also whine. If you can't find it on the accessories, open the timing belt covers and check the water pump, oil pump and timing belt pulleys for noise. Has the timing belt been changed every 96,000 km and the water pump and oil pump ever been changed? How many miles on your car now?

You will still need to pull the axle from the hub/bearing assembly, and also disconnect the hub from the lateral and trailing links. You may need to cut the lateral link bolt, but try several days of liquid wrench. The heat I mentioned is not to free the nut, it is just to aid the liquid wrench working its way in. From personal experience, repack the new bearing with good grease. All Subaru mechanics that I know also do this. Wheel bearings are a big issue for Subaru right now, since the Foresters use ball instead of roller bearings and they are failing very often. Subaru techs are now installing Legacy bearings on the Foresters, and they do repack them. If the grease is light coloured white or yellow, change it (I use green synthetic stuff). As for the OTC tool, it is a full kit with adapters to fit nearly any car, and as I said it is overkill for just Subaru's. Subaru has their own bearing pull tool (maybe several) and my home Subaru club purchased one (over $500), but it fits Subaru hubs like a glove and it is built like a tank. You should be able to find a less expensive tool or find one for rent. Doing this type of work on 10+ year old cars is always nasty. I always recommend the usage of threadlock and antiseize compound except where prohibited, it goes a long way in preventing stuck bolts and nuts. An electric or pneumatic impact wrench might free the lateral link nut, or break the bolt (either way it will be apart and fixable). Never reinstall any rusted components, and replace all the parts I indicated in my previous reply.

Probably wheel bearing or front driveshaft or internal transmission problem (gear whine or bearing whine, is the problem in one particular gear). Also check for air leaks on the intake manifold, sometimes these are heard at low speeds but not high speeds. I have heard a "whine" when the intake disconnected from the resonator, not at all like the exhaust sound I would have expected. My bets are on rear wheel bearing, but the whine is usually constant and increases in intensity at speed. Also check accessory drive belts. Is the whine car speed related, or engine speed related, when the car is going slowly, clutch in and rev the engine, any change? 2nd: For some unknown reason there is water sloshing around in my dash somewhere,now it doesnt leak anywhere and all things work fine like the aircon,heater and so on.But you can imagine that its a bit concerning hearing water slosh around every now and then. My 2001 Outback has the same problem and no leak anywhere. Two possible causes: Water in the ventilation air intake (hood/wiper area) external parts for which there is a drain, which evidently does not always work. This appears to be my problem, but after a short drive the water seems to have drained. Air in cooling system settles in the the heater core. Start the engine and the coolant flow begins to move the bubbles out, but they come back. I replaced my coolant recently and after refilling on level ground, I added the step of parking the car on an upward slope so the heater core would be low and the rad fill high so I should have gotton any trapped air out. Doing so did not correct the problem, so I think the water in my ventilation intake is the culprit.

Some models are two peice, some are one. I think they are interchangable. The two peice are nice when you accidently crack a corner light, much less expensive than the one peice. 1995 North American 95 models are two peice (96 as well?) but since then they are all one peice. I have been looking for information on the headlight washers, I don't think Australian models have these just the European ones. I want to add the nozzles to my car, as I too often have to clean road salt and other grime (Canadian winters) on my headlights. Where can I find these headlight washer nozzles? Is the headlight washer pump similar to the windshield pump? or is it higher pressure? I know that Audi's and Mercedes use high pressure pumps to not only spray the fluid but also use the fluid pressure to raise the nozzles from within the bumper. Is there an interior switch for the headlight washers? I was going to install a three mode toggle switch, headlight washers off, headlight washers on with windshield washers and manual headlight wash.

You might need to adjust free play (reduce the clutch cable slack). The shift fork my vibrate a bit, but a rattle would indicate that this free play is excessive. The clutch cover "fingers" are the spring that the release bearing presses against. Over time these "fingers" weaken and a gap forms between the release bearing and them. The clutch disc also wears and thins out also changing the spacing to the release bearing. Occasional adjustments are required (say every 20,000 miles). Cable clutches are adjusted by the cable end which attaches to the release fork on the top of the transmission (there may be a second cable for the hill holder as well). Tighten the cable to take out free play and loosen it to add free play. Be sure not to have the cable too loose, as you may not be able to fully release the clutch (generally not a problem) and more importantly do not overtighten the cable, there should be an inch or so of pedal travel before the clutch begins to release. If you take too much free play out you risk have the clutch partially released all the time which will quickly fail it, or the possibility of it being in a partially released state if there is even the slightest foot pressure on the clutch pedal. Free play is designed into the system so that inadvertant resting of the foot on the clutch should not partially release it. Too much free play causes long pedal strokes and rattling of loose components when the clutch pedal is up. Subaru clutch pedal throws are long to begin with, and you can not change this by adjusting free play. Hydraulic clutches will self adjust to a point (like brakes do by pulling more fluid in from the resevoir), but should also get an adjustment from time to time. Hydraulic clutches adjust by the rod between the clutch master cylinder and clutch pedal. Release bearings will sometimes fail on Subaru's, when they do they usually squeal when the clutch is not engaged, pushing the clutch usually stops the squeal. I have seen one case of the opposite where the release bearing will rumble when the clutch is engaged.

Correct, the code will only go from "active codes" memory to "historical codes" memory when the battery is disconnected. If the situation returns, the CEL light will come back on and the code will again be stored in "active" memory. Autozone or other parts stores can CLEAR the codes completely with their ODBII tools.

There is a total rebuild kit from Subaru that updates your transmission tailshaft with a steel liner which will likely prevent this problem from every occuring again. It should cost anywhere from $750 to $1000 installed. See this link for more information. It is not actually a big or difficult job, as the tailshaft of the transmission just has to come off, not the whole transmission. You could just have a sticky clutch pack, did the dealer try doing several dozen tight turns to free up the clutch pack, or is there a Check Engine Light indicating a problem with the solenoid? The torque bind problem plagues all pre-1998 Subaru's usually starting to affect them at about 100,000 miles or so. I am assuming that the dealer also checked tires to insure that they are all the same size (within 1/4 inch of each other IN CIRCUMFERENCE according to Subaru), and other possible causes such as driveshaft hanger bearing and U joints.... The Car Talk Guys boards are full of misinformation about Subaru's so I don't recommend it. For example they indicate that a ticking noise in cold weather on a 98 Outback is related to defective hydraulic valve lifts, but from 97 onward all Subaru's are SOLID valve lifters (the ticking is most likely piston slap). I have seen many misdiagnoses by these guys relating to Subaru specific problems such as torque bind and wheel bearings (where the problem seemed to be a wheel bearing but they pointed elsewhere). All they see are generally incomplete descriptions from the car owners, and have to make a judgement call and do not know all vehicles inside out, so I can't really fault them, I just don't recommend them.

Got a digital camera? If so photograph the fuse boxes (both the underhood and underdash ones) and post the pictures of them. A reader might understand the Japanese or it might be possible to translate using AltaVista's Babelfish web translation service (by translating english fuse names to Japanese and seeing if they match the Japanese text in the photos). This forum has a 51,200 byte file attachment limit, so you could email them to my email (up to 512KB per email) and I will post them on a web site and link this post to them, or you could do that yourself. To get my email address, use the email button on this reply to send a short message to me which will give me your address, I will then reply and when I do you will know my proper email address. I do not post my email addresses (even though they are faked (like my user id)) because I hate spam, and when I start to get to much spam I will become alias20036 or something like that. I was under the impression that the fuse boxes were all labelled in English on Japanese cars? I have disassembled Japanese WRX's shipped to Canada for parts (engine, tranny, etc) and I seem to recall that every label at least included English on it. Odds are that the fuse locations are the same or very similar on all Subaru's of your model and type. Are there any native NZ twin turbo Legacy's that you can check out? If you don't have a digital camera, how 'bout flying me down with mine, its like -19 c where I am in Canada right now!!

The CEL will not clear on its own. Disconnect the negative battery cable for fifteen minutes. It will clear your CEL (and radio presets and time). If the CEL returns, most auto parts stores can diagnose it with an ODBII scanner for free. You could do this before disconnecting the battery so you know what the codes are, and then clear the codes from the ECU and see if they return. Evaporative emmission purge valve, EGR valve, coolant temperature sensor are the common CEL causes for Subaru's, along with the occasional oxygen sensor. Less common ones are misfires (coil pack), oil pressure, camshaft and crankshaft angle sensors, and throttle position sensor. Most others CEL codes are very rare. If a sensor is bad, the CEL should return quickly. Have you noted any difference in engine running or performance? Subaru dealers will clear one CEL for loose gas cap for no cost, and then they charge you for it.

As Gilles noted spring compressors are not for the faint of heart, as if the spring comes loose it can easily kill you. The Canadian Tire one Gilles mention uses two U bolts around the springs and is much safer that the ones that use a simple hook over the spring. It is always required to use two spring compressors (one on each side of the spring) so that the spring will compress straight. Your struts might be perfectly fine with only 80k, my 93 Legacy went well past 140,000 miles (~230,000km) before I changed the struts. Try to bounce each of the four corners of the car. If the car rebounds just once and not bounce excessively, the struts are ok. Do you notice that the car feels "skittish" on rough roads when turning, if not your struts are fine. Also inspect the struts for signs that the oil has leaked out.

The hub tamer is first used to free the axle shaft from the hub/bearing assembly while the hub is attached. You could also take the hub/axle off in one shot by disconnecting the axle at the differential, but this should be a last resort. Be very careful to not damage the axle nut treads, I do this be loosening but not removing the axle nut while I use a tamer to free the axle from the bearing. Once the axle shaft is somewhat loose, I disconnect the strut bolts and lower hub bolt. If possible I pull the hub right off the axle without tools, but occasionally the tamer has to go on to persuade the axle out. Once the hub is off, you remove the bearing circlip (or lock ring, etc) and reverse the operation of the hub tamer to pull the bearing out from the inside of the hub. Use liquid wrench on the lower hub bolt, spray it every day for a few days before the repair. You can also heat the nut with a propane torch to allow the liquid wrench to penetrate, but be aware that you DO NOT want to heat the rubber bushings. Replace the lower hub bolt, washers and nut with a new one. This bolt should not be overtorqued, a torque wrench should be used, but I can not remember the correct torque (70-80 ft lbs seems to ring a bell???). My Subaru manuals are all in storage right now, as my Subaru is under warranty and I don't need them (yet). Also when before you install the replacement bearings clean them and pack them full of new high quality bearing grease. The grease that they are shipped with is shipping grease, not bearing grease. Forget this step and you'll be changing the bearing again shortly. And ALWAYS install new seals, some people reuse seals, but it is ALWAY the seal that failed causing contamination and bearing failure. Also use a new axle nut, and torque it properly as if not properly torqued the bearing will wear out. The same goes for the wheel lug nuts. The axle nuts are not reusable since they only lock once and once removed will not properly lock again. The OTC hub tamer is good, but costs at least $200. You don't need a complete OTC hub tamer kit as it is designed to fit most cars, just one that will fit Subaru's will do. There should be a $20-$50 model that will suffice. I've never seen any auto parts store rent a hub tamer, but some tool rental places might (they rent the big hydraulic presses...) Since you have an SVX that eats rear bearings for breakfast, the hub tamer purchase would not be a waste. Is there an SVX or Subaru club in your area, perhaps a group purchase of the hub tamer would be possible?

The ground clearance of the Outback is perhaps 1.5 - 2 inches higher, not a significant difference. I get my Outback stuck as often as I get my Legacy stuck, which is not very often. My Outback is 7.3 inches, the H6-3.0 models are 7.9 inches and I think the Legacy's are about 5.5 inches. My old 93 Legacy was 6.5 inches, so perhaps Subaru lowered the Legacy to make the Outback look taller when it arrived in 96. If you get a significant amount of snow under any vehicle's body the friction will prevent it from being moved. Subaru or not you have to shovel the snow out from under the car. I have done this a few times, like the one time when I could not see where I was going in a blizzard (no contrast between snowcovered roads and snowbanks) and I drove from a plowed section of a parking lot to an unplowed section with 3 feet of snow on it, my car made it about 15 feet into the unplowed area. I could not even open the doors, I had to climb out the window. After some digging an old dual range 4WD Subaru pulled me out. If you drive at a steady pace up your hill I doubt that you would have any problem at all, especially if you install winter ice radial tires. Only when your driveway turns to a hockey rink like surface will you have a problem. All 2000 and newer Outbacks have rear viscous diffs (at least they all do in Canada, not 100% positive on US models, I think it was part of the winter package (heated seats) which most WI models would have been ordered with. If you do go the Outback route for the the higher ground clearance (which will only help a little) and the LSD (again will only help a little) you should still install winter ice radials. The Dunlop Graspics are also good, as are the Bridgestone Blizzaks which I find that they wear out too quickly. I have 3 winters and about 35,000 km on my Michelin Arctic Alpins, and they should be good for another 2 years as the still have 3/4 of the treadlife remaining. Off lease vehicles can be ok, just check the service records for regular oil changes and the like. If the mileage is below 24,000 it is before its first major service (all fluid and filter change). I thought you had shopped a rental, which is generally not a good idea. The dealer should be able to tell you if any GT or Outbacks are coming off lease, they usually have the dates in their computers so they can call the leasee to sell or lease them a new Subaru. My dealer realized my bumper to bumper warranty is over and now they are mailing me monthly with deals on new Subarus. BTW the Legacy/Outback are about to be redesigned for 2005, so there are major rebates on 2003's and there will be even larger rebates on 2004's in the April-June period of 2004. You can check out the 2005 Legacy/Outback at Subaru Australia. Australian 2004's become North American 2005's (more or less). In Australia the Legacy is called the Liberty, as another brand has a Legacy nameplate. Subaru's have pockets of fans all over the world. In WA, UT, CO VT, NH, ME and MA Subaru's and Volvo's seem to rule the road. In Canada, aside from British Columbia, Subaru's have only recentely started to hit it big. I am in Sault Ste Marie now, which has the ideal climate for Subaru, but the local dealer had thier Subaru franchise revoked for low sales (maybe 40/year). They dealer told me it was because the Subaru dealer sold a lot more Kia and Hyudai vehicles and Subaru Canada wanted a dedicated dealership. Note to Subaru Canada: Subaru customers will not cross shop against Hyundai/Kia, so lay off on this exclusivity thing..... your not going to sell any with no dealer let alone an exclusive one..... There is also the issue of dealer support in Canada, in the US there are a lot more small town Subaru dealerships. If you live in more than 100 KM from any major centre in Canada, your SOL if something goes wrong. GM and Subaru were supposed arrange a deal so that GM dealers could sell and service Subaru's where no Subaru dealer was in range, but it did not come to be.

I don't know if blowing air through the lines could do any damage, low pressure would probably not hurt. Just don't blow the lines out with the external filter in place, as the air pressure could cause the filter to disintegrate. And after blowing the lines flush them out with new fluid (and reconnect them in an almost full state. Here is what I usually do: After I drain the transmission, I disconnect the two lines (outlet and return) to the transmission cooler and remove the external fluid filter. I then use a hand pump (I use one that is used to refill outboard motor bottom ends) to flush new ATF fluid through the lines twice, once for the line from the transmission through the cooler to the filter, and once from the filter line back to the transmission. You just dont want any of the "crud" getting into the transmission. BTW I also use my hand pump to refill the differentials, as the rear one is hard to fill by squeezing a bottle of gear oil into it. I flush the hand pump out with the new fluid that I need to reduce cross contamination between the different fluids that I pump, but my pump also comes completely apart for cleaning. Since you will likely need the filters from a Subaru dealer (I can't find them anywhere else, maybe you can) I would consult with the dealer on your problem, as they might know exactly what it is (this is such a unique problem that they will remember seeing it before). I did fix a GM hydramatic with a shifting problem (it would not shift at all) with a $5 seal (and a $20 filter and like 14 quarts of ATF...).

One thing to note is that Crutchfield prices are high, but they sometimes give free shipping. I would check out etronics. Their prices are usually 25-50% less. Other sites are even less..... As for speakers I would recommend Infinity Reference 6002i 's ($60) (also available in short depth (which you DON'T need and they don't sound as good)) or the Infinity Kappa 62.5's ($80) for a little better sound. You could install the Reference 6002i's in the rear and then install Reference 6000cs ($110) or Kappa 62.5i ($165) component speakers in front. The tweeters are a separate component and because of this the cone area is large and you will get a little more bass. Since the Outback's front speaker grill is oval it is possible to mount the tweeter beside the woofer. Just be sure that the tweeter is on the left side of the woofer on the left door and the right side of the woofer on the right door, so that the woofer will not block the tweeter sound signals to the listener. Also be sure that the tweeter sound output goes clearly through the door panel grill. You could also drill a hole in the door panel to mount the tweeter, and I recommend this so long as it is low and near the woofer for the best sound imaging. Component speakers have a crossover that you will have to install in the door, just find a place where it does not interfere with anything (including door panel reinstallation) and cable tie it in place or use double sided tape (recommended). Why do I like the Infinity's? - generally low price for the performance - good speaker efficiency (less amp/radio power required) - innovative I mount for the component tweeters (its been copied by others though) The tweeter can be aimed in any direction. - The coaxial (non-component) speakers feature a rotating tweeter for aiming, I have not seen this on other brands. - larger than normal cone (more bass) - the highs are nice and smooth, no harshness I currently use the Boston Acoustics Pro 6.5's ($450+), but I also have a set of older Infinity Kappa 62.2 coaxials, and aside from the Bostons better low end bass, I actually prefer my Infinity's. For about a year I ran the Kappa's up front and the stock speakers turned down in the rear. It sounded quite good. Unless you get a deal, just do the front speakers in which case get the Kappa 62.5's components in front and dial the fader forward. I have heard demo cars with Polks that sound very good too. I may take some flack for recommending Infinity's, but the truth is that all medium level branded speakers (Infinity, Polk, JBL, Kicker, etc) will more or less have the same quality of sound. The sound differences are generally related to equalizer tuning and installation. A few other notes: Since you will be cutting the watershield of the stock speaker retainer, I recommend installing a foam baffle to protect the speaker from water and/or rustproofing. I read earlier in this forum that nuts were used to space the speakers to fit. DON'T do this, as the speakers must be sealed into the door. Door speakers are "infinite baffle", and it is exceedingly important that the backs of the speakers be sealed from the fronts, otherwise you will get no bass and very little midrange. The stock Subaru speaker retainers are sealed, but not that well. I highly recommend the use of rope caulk (aka exterior crack seal) ($3 at Home Depot) to seal the speaker to the speaker retainer and the retainer to the door. Rope caulk is like playdoh or plumbers putty, it will seal very well but will not harden and allow easy removal. DO NOT use silicone or other adhesives, otherwise your speaker installation will be a permanent one. When installing the speakers be absolutely sure that the polarities are correct, otherwise they will be 180 degrees out of phase and the bass from each can cancel each other out. The striped wires are positive.

I think that is where it is, but ask the dealer when you get the new temperature sensor. You could also have defective wiring like my 2001 Outback did, I got a CEL for evaporative purge valve. I cleaned the electrical connector, put it back together and all is ok two years later. I'll take a look for more wires on my 2001, the only ones that I have worked on are the ones sticking straight down which are the purge valve. But it is possible that my Canadian Subaru does not have this sensor, as our emmisions controls are different, not better, not worse, just different.

Yep, go slowly on compressing the tensioner. Usually a vise is slow so I did not make this point. And anti seize compound is the right stuff to use on unimportant bolts such as the timing cover bolts. All important bolts (such as the crank, cam, tensioner, idler pulley, etc) should be threadlocked. I use threadlock and anti-seize religiously and as a result I NEVER have a problem with seized bolts. When my 2001 Outback was new I took many bolts off and coated them threadlock and anti-seize so I wont have any problems 10 years from now. It is also a good idea to check the crank shaft accessory belt after a 100 miles or so to see if it is still tight, just use a short wrench with a little effort (maybe 30 ft lbs) to see if it will rotate counter clockwise. I have had one that was properly torqued come loose after 100 km or so, but I had reinstalled a defective crankshaft accessory pulley (the slot for the crank key had worn to an inch wide!).

I would make an inquiry at the dealer, but they may be as confused as us. Since it only does it on the first shift, it sound like it is a problem you can live with until something more substantial occurs (hopefully it does not). It is not the usual Turbo Legacy 4EAT problems which are burnt torque convertors, and brake bands. I do suspect a drain back problem though. It may be taking the first shift to fill the hydraulics for second gear, and so long as there is fluid pressure the leak is sealed or controlled. Then as soon as the fluid pressure falls off (engine off), the second gear hydraulic drains completely. Perhaps its behaving like a defective hydraulic lash adjuster, where it will clack for minutes and then stop, but if you stop and restart the engiine it will clack again for a few minutes. It is VERY important to change the transmission fluid and its two filters (internal pan filter and external canister filter) ever 30,000 miles on cars with severe usage (any turbo car would qualify). The reason for this is that Subaru transmissions incorporate AWD and the front differential within the transmission case, which causes the transmission to run hot. Heed my warning to flush the old fluid out of the transmission cooler and lines, many 4EAT transmissions have died because of not doing this simple procedure (mainly on the SVX though). If you don't know when the ATF was changed, or if it is nearing the 30,000 mile interval have it changed. I strongly recommend that the ATF fluid be changed at a dealer or by an expert Subaru mechanic since Subaru 4EAT's are somewhat different.

The CV joints will go "clack - clack - clack" if they are bad. Is the sound a repetive constant clacking sound when accelerating? Or a non repetitive clunk as I understood it? When CV joints go bad they clack when accelerating through tight corners, and as they get worse the clacking gets worse and more frequent. And the clacking can be temperature related. You are at the age where CV joints start to wear out, and you should have had to replaced a few CV rubber boots by now (they last maybe four years up front, I've never gotton more than 3.5 years out of mine). Good point tcspeer. We'll know on Monday..... As for the transmission/AWD system, there is VERY LITTLE chance that something is wrong there. The 5MT is totally immune from the common torque bind problem that everyone worries about and any transmission problem will be a grinding, or rumble like vibration and sound, not clunking as described (unless it is a bad tranny mount).

I drove a non LSD AWD Legacy for many years in Quebec, Northern Ontario and the Canadian Rockies. All of which are similar to Wisconsin weather conditions (I am in Sault Ste Marie Ontario now, which like WI has lake effect snow). I have had very few traction problems. I have occassionally droped a side of the car off the road, but I have never had an issue with getting the car unstuck by reversing out of it. The only time I get stuck is when I high center the car, which tends to lift the wheels off the ground, or creates too much friction by grabbing the floor plan. I had my 93 Legacy teeter tottering on a 16 inch snow bank left by a slow plow once, that was not a fun dig to get the wheels back on the ground! Subaru's are very light compared to other 4WD vehicles (F150 for instance), and are very good at distributing traction. They do not tend to dig in, unless you like to spin the wheels. One thing to note is that the viscous coupled rear diff will not completely lock. If you get the car stuck, I don't think the LSD will get you unstuck. In fact you might overheat and fail the viscous coupler. The LSD rear diff is actually not an LSD like a Quaife or other locking diff. It has a viscous coupler which is there to prevent all of torque from going to one wheel. But once you get one side stuck, it may not be able to lock. The center differential is also viscous coupled and will not completely lock. I got stuck in mud once where only one front wheel was turning. If this happens you can quickly destroy the center diff if you don't free the stuck wheels. You are not likely to get stuck with one or two wheels of the road, just be sure that you don't accelerate if this happens and make the situation worse. Usually turning back onto the road and holding speed will work. Once the vehicle starts to come back on the road, you can start to apply power to pull it back up. If you have driven a 4WD pickup in the conditions you describe, the Subaru is just is capable in all but the deepest snow (like 12 inches or more). And the Subaru is a much more controllable vehicle, especially at speed. A good set of snow tires will do far more than any LSD ever would. I recommend Michelin Arctic Alpin or Yokohama Guardex tires, they are not cheap but the difference compared to all season tires is astounding. And I recommend mounting them on their own rims, as swapping tires off of rims each spring and fall is not good for the tire (and rims) and costs about $100 a year, which means the snow tire rims will pay for themselves in 3-4 years. Also by having winter tires on rims, all you need is a jack and lug nut wrench to change over the tires on your own. All four tires on Subaru's must be the same make, model and size, otherwise the AWD system will fail. If you really think you need LSD, then you'll have to get an Outback or GT, or try to secure the required components. Talk to a local dealer, they may know of a local wrecked Subaru with the correct ratio LSD.

Canadian Tire store in western Canada and Northern Ontario (where I am now) do not loan tools anymore (if they ever did). When I lived in Montreal though, I found that the Kirkland supersize Canadian Tire never had the tools that I needed... And they would not take tool reservations... I have borrowed tools from Partsource in Alberta which is Canadian Tire's standalone auto parts store. I think Pepboy's in the US also loans tools.... It is a fairly common practice.

I checked the fuel pump/fuel level wiring and there do not appear to be extra wires, so the temperature sensor does not appear to be in tank. I counted four wires (ground, pump, fuel level, and low fuel light). My car is built to Canadian emmission standards, which should be similar to US 49 state (non California). Given the location that you quote it could be within the evaporative emmisions system which is tucked up behind the right rear wheel (same location as muffler, but opposite side). I have had the interior cargo trim off of my 2001 Outback, and there is nothing related to fuel system in there, aside from the floor hatch for fuel pump access. Perhaps the 95-99 models were different. I have had to clean some wiring on the evaporative emmisions system. Because it is behind the wheel it gets hit by stones, slush, water, road salt, etc from the wheel. My evaporative purge wiring was corroded and I got a check engine light. I disassembled the wiring harness, cleaned of the contacts, and reassemblied using and sealant. No more problem....

The SVX H6 engine is one of the best engines on the planet. Super smooth.... and with a bulletproof short block (the heads are good too). I would not under any circumstance swap if for a turbo H4. As stated by others the SVX is some 3,600 lbs, much heavier than the WRX. You migh save 150 lbs by swapping the engines, but your power to weight ratio will not change all that much. Get a WRX-STi instead if you want raw performance. Especially since performance parts such as suspension for the SVX can be hard to come by (hey, the car was discontinued 6 years ago and there are only 13,000 of them, so what do you expect?). I have seen non-Turbo SVX's up to 250HP (20 HP gain) with fairly simple exhaust an intake modifications. And the performance is around 6 seconds flat from zero to 60, at best you might get an SVX down to 5.7 seconds unless you twin turbo the H6..... A stock SVX is generally faster than a Maxima or Altima V6 which tend to spin their wheels and develop torque steer rather easily. On dry pavement the SVX is a good match for the Infinity G35, which is the car that I consider to be closest to the SVX in fit and function. Infinity will have an AWD G35 shortly!! I have always wondered what a light pressure turbocharger would do for the SVX. 4 or 5 PSI (post intercooler) of boost might do wonders without too much added weight, reliability problems or turbo lag. The problem is the twin but not twin exhaust system of the SVX (look under one and you will know what I mean).