peril

Driving that sucker in there was a bit scary - I used a 32 or 36 impact turned around and it fit PERFECT into the same space as the bearing - scared the crap out of me that I wouldn't be able to get it out.

Can you even get the clip to close if they aren't in right? It seems like you would bend the crap out of them.

Hey all - I'm considering doing a drain and fill or a flush and fill; anyone have any opinions on which is better. Car is a 3.6 ~155k miles. what is the flow direction of the tranmission cooler so in case I want to drain that I pick the right one and don't make a mess. Any fluid recs? Appreciate your help --Adrian

https://charm.li/Subaru/2011/Legacy F4-2.5L SOHC/Repair and Diagnosis/Lighting and Horns/Testing and Inspection/Headlight System/ There look to be 3-4 sensor / paths to test - Go stepwise thru this triage. I would suspect wiring, where I live it's not uncommon for rats / squirrels to chew on stuff - also would check the ground straps - you can have wierd stuff happen if they are torn up. (either bad ground strap on the engine or bad ground in the bcm path)

you low beams are not on - they are the DRLs - if your low beams were on -the projectors would be bright. Take pictures at night with the switch in auto - and another with the switch "on" and onother with the switch on with high beams.

so are you solved now?

Where did you get to with this? Did you try not using the auto light sensor and turning them on / off? (I'm not sure it's clear where you got too) - the only problem that I had was that rats ate the wiring out of the my driver side headlight (and part of the box) - did a bit of splicing, and got it back. /wrt it being a pain - just get used to dropping the skirt -it just adds about 10-20 minutes on either side, and once you do it a bunch of times - it gets fast.

I did 30ish lbs with a box wrench - tight - but not crazy tight.

All done ! The idler mangle on the bracket is manageable for now - if it dies again - I replace the bracket. idler pulley (mine was bent ..) (following worked well) -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009HL6VY2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bearings for tensioner pulley -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XZHN9NS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and just a standard belt. and this little diagram is the shiz.

for hte actual tension of the tensioner pulley - what is that torque? Is that the same as the idler pulley? I don't see that here

now to the fun part - the air conditioner mounting bracket has a post that got chewed up - going to need to replace. Also on a bit of a rat hole to replace the bearing on the tensioner / idlers as maintence items. going to fix up the tensioner bearing while I have this on the mind. (The idler is toast - need a new one.) 6203 steel caged bearings from amazon here I come. Adrian

ah -yes - well - idler pully bearing gave up the ghost - shredded the belt - pretty obvious.

Hey All - so I did this serpentine belt in the past year or so - and it just snapped as my kiddo was driving up. car is about 160k miles, (all is well otw) - any diagnostics or replacements you recommend? order for me is 1) check spinny and bearing noise on tensioner pulley, (check alignment) (this was ok last time) 2) new belt - duh 3) check "feel" of alternator Is there anything else you recommend I check out? He let me know he felt the power steering get harder - so figure the belt snapped as he was driving. he got about 10 miles ish - then the battery died (or at least started acting wierd in the car when the voltage started to drop ) --Adrian

They are practically the same car; just xref rockauto or the subaru parts site. What are you doing?

I got the detroit axle ones for my sienna - and they made that job possible without a press - however - I still have the originals in case they let me down (and then I will buy a press) . I was looking at the sienna ultra cheap assemblies (knuckle + bearing) rockauto and some of them seemed like the hubs were thinner etc. The detroit axle ones were solid - but not sure if they have them for the subaru.

5eat tranny needs fluid changed and all boxers need oil kept; mine have been solid rides.

standard stuff - sparks plugs are a pain to do but not impossible, control arms will need to be done at some point - also front / rear struts, bearings go on these cars, the serpentine belt will need to be changed, interior stereo is a little more difficult change out if it's a premium audio (b/c of amp integration), it also sucks to change the inner tie rods cause they have them hidden like turtles, but nothing impossible to do just hard to figure out the first time. I would check frame and front / rear subframe for rust - it's pretty easy to see underneath. check suspension (ball joints, control arms, links) - drive the car for 30 minutes on the highway at speed and see what the mileage / suspension feels like. In particular listen for clacks from control arm bushing on road reflectors (this is a technical term); i would look for vibrations at 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 mph to see if any are there (if they are there just means that something needs to get changed), and plan for it. I have 192k on my 2013 outback and about 100k on our 2010 legacy (owned them both for about 250k of road miles over 15 ish year.) I wouldbuy these again in a 2nd no reservation

And the front ball joints do suck too (to echo) I ended up having a shop do control arms - and they ended up fking up one side and needing a new knuckle becuase they didn't know how to finesse the ball joint - Ii..e kroil and SLOW pressure over a day or so) For my daughters car - did it control arms and the balls joints weren't a problem at all with kroil and patience. I've done 3 bearings and the first one was the worst.

The hub buster will work fine - do not loosen the axle nut until after the hub is loose / mostly free -it will come out after 2 or 3 whacks (and you will feel it move). by not loosening the nut either the whole bearing assembly comes out or none of it. there is enought movement in the 1/2 shaft that you will feel it.and then you can loosen the axle nut.

RUSTLOCK of the hub assembly to the knuckle (or spindle). makes you think very seriously of just buying a whole new knuckle when it get frustrating.

sounds like the job went well -that nut is butter for a 3/4; i use a long crow bar as a wedge between the hub studs and the ground and it works ok; just go gentle on the pressure to keep the bar on the studs

I just did 3/4 bearings - you need an impact, and unless you live somewhere with no salt on the roads the bearing hubs will be rust locked into the spindles - so much so - that you might think they won't come out. before you loosen that axle nut - remove the hub bolts, and knock that sucker off with a sledge and a bearing buddy. The procedure isn't hard to work thru - but I spend a LONG time hitting the bearing buddy with a sledge with that nut off - and it seperated the bearing. my first one took about 4 hours of beating over (2) days - my next ones took about an hour or so apiece top to bottom - if you search my posts you can rougly see the procedure. For tools - highly recommend the bauer 1/2 impact (the good one) from harbor freight; if I had it to do over again -I woud have gotten the Hercules.

Subaru bearings suck, but you could have done it with a bearing buddy (breaker). take the bolts out the the bearing where it attached to the spindle and leave the cv nut on it, and beat it with a sledge - they come out pretty quick. (2 days is god awful - sorry you had to go thru that; it took me like 4 hours on the first one I did and mostly because I wasn't using the tool the right way). The "secret" was to knock (2) lugs out and get 2 x 1/2 bolt or 3 x 1/2 bolts and washers and security bolt the breaker to the hub, and leave the nut in. If you ever need to do another happy to try and coach you thru it - the 2nd one is so much easier than the 1st.

That is fantastic - now gets to the big list - do transmission last or not at all. It it probably burning oil around the rings, my 3.6 probably burns 1/2 quart every month, esp when it's driven hard in the hot; so just keep on top of it and those engines should last forever.