Just finished separator plate replacement

[uniberp]

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.

[Virrdog]

Good to have an electric impact wrench for those.

I love my electric impact. It might not have as much breaking torque as advertised, but you can sit and wail on the bolt forever without running out of air.