edrach

September rallycross moved off of Labor Day weekend. Now Sept. 12th. http://www.oregonrally.com/rallycross.cfm Combine the weekend with the Rally against Parkinson's on September 11th. http://www.oregonrally.com/Event_Detail.cfm?EventID=614

If you weren't here this weekend you missed a great time. Saturday afternoon was rainy and the wet course proved who had control of their car in slimy conditions. Sunday had a totally different course and fine weather. Congrats to Off Camber Enterprises and ORG for a fine double billing of rallycross events. Nice new venue. Interesting contrast of course layouts. Saturday was very tight and technical. Sunday wide open and fast. Great clash of the super cars in M4 on Sunday afternoon. As we've all come to expect, great timing and scoring from the ORG crew on both days. Thanks to all the workers who came out and let us play! Results posted at www.oregonrally.com.

'97 Impreza L wagon with 5MT transmission (189K on the car) dropped this code on me recently. It will clear, but comes back the next day. I've checked the gas cap and it looks okay; and it's tight. Not sure where we would go from here.

Good job. I don't have a model that uses such a key (oops, maybe my '99 forester); but you should submit this to the USRM forum so the information doesn't get lost.

Not much to go on here but I'll try to give it a go. I'd be surprised if it's a fuse issue. I don't know of a fuse that will allow power (even if only 10V) to the fuel pump when the ignition is off and no voltage when the igition is on. However, it would indicate a poor connection somewhere between the power source for the fuel pump (fuse block or ignition switch). When no current is flowing (fuel pump off) there could be some residual voltage there; as soon as you put a "load" on it by switching on the ignition, that 10V is dropped across the bad contact somewhere along the line and can't get to the fuel pump. Maybe someone has a service manual and can send the wiring diagram showing where the fuel pump gets its power and what connectors are along the way which could use checking/cleaning contacts, etc.

The dealer is correct about the tire size being critical. But unless you have ABS brakes there are no wheel sensors on all four wheels. My '97 Impreza L with 5MT came without ABS (thankfully:)). What kind of readings did you get when you ohm'd out the VSS unit?

Check the VIN plate in the engine compartment for the original transmission number. Look up the number in the transmission listing found in the USRM and it'll give you the original rear diff ratio. Then check the number on the replacement transmission (found on the bell housing near the starter motor) and look up that transmission for the rear diff ratio. Besides that, if you have the incorrect rear diff/transmission combination, you would certainly know it when driving. Whine is not one of the symptoms. Your 96 Impreza likely came with a 3.900 rear diff. It's pretty likely that the replacement from a '95 Legacy is also a 3.900.

Battery is only active when starting the car. Once it's started, all the electrical needs should be supplied by your alternator. While you are at Autozone, have them check the alternator output also.

Check out the OLD USRM forum. I'm pretty sure those links are still intact. Yup, install pics are still there; just follow all the links to the weber install section.

I'm interested. Can you scan the bulletin and send it to me (edrach@spamcop.net). Maybe copy and paste it into the USRM for future reference. I'm glad it fixed your car's electrical problem.

Title says '90 so it's a '90. It's not unusual for FUJI to start building the next model year cars in the last three months of the previous year.

I'd think about fixing the turbo; exhaust leak might be the reason it doesn't spool up. It's a killer car if you get it running.

Welcome. Come home safe. Lots of people on the 'site for info and help. I'm glad you found us.

Is that Dale who owns the shop in Hillsboro across from the private school? Great person to do this work for youl.

On-line registration has been set up: http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.advert/uidEvent/D2BD3F75-B56A-2059-8668EFE8FC3778B9

From your earlier post, I'll assume you have a Brat. Is it manual or automatic transmission? Socket you need is a 22mm. Might as well get one since it'll come in handy. You should be able to turn the engine over with a 22mm socket and breaker bar provided you are in neutral (make sure the ignition is off or battery is dis-connected). I'm with the bad terminals on the battery. Then the battery itself; is it fully charged? Glad to see you have a copy of HTKYSA. Great book for a new owner that's not too mechanically experienced. More suggestions iavailable f you have eliminated the battery and terminals as being the problem.

Too bad you're not local anymore. There's a double RX weekend in Chehalis, WA in August. Hard to believe there's nothing in NC.

Smart Service in Shoreline and Mukilteo. Pacific Import Auto in Tacoma. All Wheel Drive in Kirkland. Shop in Burien has been under new ownership for 5 years now; original Subaru guru is no longer there. If Snohomish isn't too far for you, drop me a PM and I'll get you a phone number.

EJ22 dipstick is weird. One side looks like too much oil and the other side seems correct or the other way around. From a 30 year experienced mechanic (only on Subaru), the correct way to read the dipstick: Notice that the dipstick has a hole at the upper end of the fill reading; and a notch in the side of the dipstick about 1/2" higher. If you've just pulled in to a level spot and waited about 5 minutes to check the oil level it should be up to the hole. Let the car sit overnight and the oil level should reach up to the notch when you check it again.

As GG said, make sure all the tires are the same size and equally worn. If it's the center diff, start looking for a good used one; a new one runs around $575 from the dealer. Okay to run it for a while that way; I ran mine for about 4 months looking for a used one. It finally got bad enough to buy a new center diff and replaced it.

Someone else will need to supply the details, but it boils down to XT6 parts or early Impreza parts. In either case, I believe, is the need to use custom front axles.

Two places to investigate. Do you have the same size tires front and rear with the same amount of wear? Small difference in tire size will give you the symptom you describe. If the non-suby shop did a service on the rear diff it's likely they just replaced the diff with a used one out of a junkyard. I'm not sure what rear diff is correct for your car, but it may be that the shop installed a rear diff with the wrong ratio. For the manual transmission cars of your year a 4.111 diff is the correct one; but a 3.900 diff is much more common in the junkyards. Somewhat far-fetched, but it bears looking into. I'm not familiar enough with the automatics to know what rear diff ratio is correct for your car.

5 lug conversion for the rear is easy if you pull the parts off an XT6. The front is a little more difficult. I'm still trying to decide how best to do the fronts and complete the conversion on our '82.

My understanding from the person I spoke with was that the VSS output alternates between 0 and 5 VDC.

Answer to question one: look in the Old USMB Repair forum. Follow this link: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65969. Someone else will have to offer info on your second question.