OB99W

Did you see this particular thread, and the link within it?http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=83302&highlight=remote

Sorry to say, I can't reassure you. I've heard some (my own, for example) do it for years without apparent problem, and some fail a short time after the whine develops. To some degree, it seems to depend on how loud the whining is. But... Are you sure the alternator is the noise source, or is it just that I made you overly concerned? Don't panic.

Agreed; I thought I had made that clear. However, just to put things in perspective, R12 is thought to be many times more damaging to the environment than R134a.

The torque for the knock sensor mounting bolt is about 1/5 that of lug nuts, so that probably won't be a problem. The issue might be whether you have the right wrench extensions, etc., to easily get to the sensor. Not necessarily; as long as the surfaces are properly cleaned and the bolt correctly torqued, any decent mechanic should be able to do it.

Ooops, sorry -- for some reason, I was thinking it was an earlier model. Nevertheless, please take the car to a licensed pro who can recover the excess refrigerant.

Many rental cars seem to get decent maintenance. However, I've needed to rent cars several times in the last few years, and maybe I can offer a cautionary perspective. In my experience, a particular rental company (which shall remain nameless) seems to have a hard time keeping tires properly inflated -- interestingly, that isn't at just one of their locations. The most recent car I rented (not from the company that's stingy with air) informed me via its computer readout that the oil was low; it indeed was, by nearly 2 quarts. I agree with Nipper that purchase of an extended warranty makes sense for a rental (or off-lease) car. EDIT: One more thing -- Cars that are damaged before they reach the dealer are sometimes repaired and purchased by rental companies at a reduced price (they aren't supposed to be sold by the dealer as "new" in most places). Also, any car may have been damaged while on rental. Inspecting carefully for signs of bodywork is a good idea.

Yes. Please recover it. Even assuming you have R134a (a '90 would have come with R12, and for it to be running R134a would have been converted), it can still cause some environmental damage if released. I'm not saying the 100+ temps in CA and the overnight near-freezing temps here in NY are the result of vented refrigerant, but ... No, that's not normal. If a conversion was done, an R134a charge should be about 3/4 that of R12, so overcharging can easily happen if the person doing it is unaware and not using proper gauges. It's also possible that if the system was previously malfunctioning, someone may have bypassed controls.

Whistling noises that disappear as the car warms tend to be from either exhaust or vacuum leaks, although some are caused by air passages that are "carboned" or otherwise "gunked". If the noise will show up when revving in neutral, you might be able to localize the problem. On the other hand, if it's a "whining" noise, the source could be the alternator; sometimes that sound will be heard until the battery charge used to start the engine is replenished.

You're very welcome -- I'm glad the articles helped.

You're apparently demanding performance but expecting good gas mileage. Unfortunately, the two don't tend to coincide. It's obvious that the engine is capable of decent mpg, since you saw 35 MPG at times. The shift points, etc., of "Sport Sharp" might be making you happy , but that mode uses the most gas. Try "Intelligent" mode for a while, take it easy on the gas pedal, and see what happens. EDIT: Of course, make sure your tires are properly inflated. I assume you aren't carrying a ton of stuff around, but if you are, lighten the load. You might see a slight improvement in gas mileage as you put on "running time", but don't expect much -- the days of roughly finished parts that caused excessive friction and needed to be broken in are mostly gone.

I do think that's the point. How are you running the SI-Drive -- "Intelligent", or "Sport Sharp"? How are you determining average MPG -- calculations based on several tanks of gas and odometer readings, or readout?

You've got it. The arrows wind up at 45 degs clockwise (1:30 o'clock) on the cam sprockets, 90 degs clockwise (3:00 o'clock) on the crank sprocket. Here's a link to another PDF file -- http://endwrench.com/images/pdfs/TBeltEWWin05.pdf Counting the belt teeth as in the End Wrench PDFs is a good way to verify alignment. Motor Magazine articles on 2.2 and 2.5 t-belt replacement: http://www.motor.com/magazine/pdfs/072001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/magazine/pdfs/082001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/magazine/pdfs/092001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/magazine/pdfs/102001_08.pdf http://www.motor.com/magazine/pdfs/112001_08.pdf Yes, the first of the above links has a flipped picture. The second has pics of the sprockets.

The only concern I'd have is if the engine wasn't well-maintained. Sometimes when oil change intervals were too long, the PCV system not maintained, etc., there is some sludge buildup. If a large enough piece of that material breaks free due to use of a high-detergency synthetic, it could lodge in an oil passage and create problems. As long as the engine has seen regular oil changes, etc., switching to a synthetic engine oil shouldn't be too risky. If you have concerns, you might try one of the synthetic blends first, and see how things are going before changing to full synthetic.

While it may not be needed, hopefully that's in writing. If you can prove that you authorized repairs only if the engine was good other than HGs, and got assurances from the dealer to that effect, then you likely have a strong position to stand on. An engine with 210k miles on it will be worn, no matter how well it was maintained, and could have problems beyond the obvious HGs. Any mechanic worthy of the title should know that, and verify overall condition before suggesting major work. The real issue is whether you were assured that the engine would perform well after the agreed-upon work was completed. What Nipper has already said is important. IMO, the dealer should have warned you of the possibility that HG replacement might not be all that was needed. If they didn't, it's unfair of them to expect you to pay further to resolve the oil-consumption problem. In your position, I'd politely point that out to them, mentioning that you felt the "cost of $3,000", especially if another $1200 were to be added to the figure, was "more than the car is worth, probably".

As I've said before, most of us will admit to occasional mistakes, and the rest are liars (or at least in denial). Ben Franklin said something like this: "Be wary of giving advice -- wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it." Now, that may be a bit extreme, and I'm not sure if Franklin ever commented on the giving of bad advice. I continue to post on USMB (and not certain other boards) specifically because "yelling" and other forms of disrespect are rare here. However, I've dropped out of threads when the original poster seemed unwilling to consider that a mistake was made, or to provide info needed to complete a diagnosis. Life's too short...

You're certainly not the first (and unlikely to be the last) to misinterpret the sprocket marks. However, you followed through, and found the problem, so you get points for that. Do check the plugs, and any other "easy" stuff. If you still have a problem, let us know specifics (which cylinder, any trouble codes, etc.).

They seem to have "infested" the Ithaca, NY area, seemingly replacing Volvo in popularity.

What is the code number (Pxxxx) (not the code definition as you've provided)?

Some "torque bind" info can be easily accessed by scrolling down this page and clicking on one or more of the "Similar Threads".

Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad that resetting the ECU has apparently resolved the problem.

From your description, the switch contacts are eventually "welding" together. That would indicate either excessive current is passing through the switch, or the switch isn't capable of handling the "normal" current. If the brake light bulbs are all the correct ones, and you're certain that the splices are good (no intermittent shorts), then I'd agree with Nipper and suggest getting an original switch from Subaru, rather than a replacement from AutoZone.

The swings between 250 and 1000 RPM are called "loping", and with engines that have electronic management, that's usually a sign of A/F mixture that's way off. It's possible that the ECU had adjusted parameters (long term fuel trim, for example) to the previous condition, and indeed it's readapting. It's also possible that the pressure regulator isn't functioning correctly, etc. You could try clearing the ECU's memory (disconnect the battery for about 30 minutes), and see if the problem resolves; it might, or could return.

Exactly; it's not that water injection can't help, it's that doing it so the results are consistent/reliable isn't trivial.

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/ethanol_motherearth/me3.html Above link provided without comment (other than that you'll probably either laugh or cry over the reference to the cost of the hardware versus the cost of a tank of gas at the time the article was written). EDIT: Here are two more, just for the heck of it. http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1979-09-01/Water-Injection-Wizardry.aspx http://www.remnantsaints.com/AlternativeUtilities/Hydrogen/aquatune.htm

It could certainly be a head gasket problem. However... ...since not holding sufficient pressure could be a cause, replacing the cap isn't a bad idea. Bad headgaskets will often cause grief even in winter, so it's still possible that this is a cooling system problem. Did you use an OEM thermostat? The aftermarket replacements usually don't function as well. This might be obvious, but make sure you're running about 50% coolant concentration, even in warm weather; ethylene glycol not only lowers the freezing point but also raises the boiling point.