Oaken Gearbox

I completed this job on my 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX Wagon (stock) in about 8 hours. That included a lunch break and a trip to Autozone for a 24mm deepwell socket. The vast majority of my time was spent on my back in the driveway trying to reach the bolts around the oil pan, several of which are located up under a frame member. RTV vs Gasket There seems to be some debate about whether RTV or a premade gasket makes a better seal. Most people I talked to advised using RTV, and since that is what Subaru used originally, that's what I did. I was not able to get as clean a bead as I hoped because of the awkward position under the car and I still had no leaks, so I'll add my voice to the opinion that RTV is a good option. Finding the Oil Leak A piece of advice: If you're looking to fix an oil leak, take the time to find out where your oil is leaking for sure and don't just assume its the oil pan. In my case I was pretty sure, because I damaged the oil pan drivin...

About a week ago the steering started acting up on my '02 Subura Impreza WRX. The only way I could describe it is, "notchy." It would be very stiff for half a rotation of the wheel, then very loose for the next rotation. My first thought was that power steering fluid was probably low, but a quick look at the reservoir showed  it right where it should be. I then began to worry about the differential, or some other component of the AWD, but I was able to rule that out since it did the same thing while cranking the wheel without moving the car. It this point I put the front of the car on jackstands, started the car, and had my wife turn the steering wheel while I looked under the hood for bubbles in the power steering fluid, a slipping belt, or any other issues. Nothing. Finally, I shut the car off and turned the steering wheel myself with the front wheels in the air and the engine off. Still notchy. At that point there was nothing left to cause it but the steerin...