hankosolder2

No spring on ours either. (98 OBW 2.5) If memory serves, there is a fairly light spring inside the slave cylinder to help "bias" the piston out. Does the clutch fork feel loose? Generally, the self adjusting nature of hydraulic clutches takes up any free play, hence no rattling/vibration. Nathan

--- I think the "fuel economy tradeoff" is not even measurable in normal driving. Remember that if an automaker can raise their corporate average fuel economy .5 mpg, that can equate to millions of dollars in "discounted fines." One can make the arguement that a slightly more viscous oil will offer superior engine protection, and it's definitely helpful to a high mileage engine with excessive clearances in the bearings, worn rings/bores. etc. For example, I had an old BMW which (running 10W30) would flicker the oil pressure warning light at idle in warm weather... run 20W50 and you'd never see the light at all. Nathan

Not to be jacking the thread- this is sort of related! Do you happen to know what the rules are vis-a-vis duty in the other direction? I buy parts for my Rover from Canada and get dinged with some irritiating processing fees (which I think relate to filing the customs paperwork) when I have them shipped to the US. If I were to personally import them- i.e. drive up and get them- what dollar value could I bring into the States? Nathan

If you can't manage to disable the ADL "feature" on the factory alarm, there's probably the option of completely doing away with the factory alarm/keyfob system and going with an aftermarket keyless entry system which is programmable. They're not that expensive-- I got one for $70 with two fobs. Nathan

Well, I'd say the car COULD run another 100,000 miles like that. Do you have the upgraded headgaskets? Nathan

Dan, I believe the first one is the cable holder for the oxygen sensor and goes on the bottom passenger side engine/transmission stud/nut. It keeps the o2 sensor wire from flapping around and rubbing against the halfshaft. I believe the second part is the main ground lug which goes under the top starter bolt. The bolt on the bracket goes to the ground lug coming from the battery. Nathan

The other issue is that few aftermarket sunroofs have proper drain tubes; the slightest imperfection in the seal and you'll have a leak. My advice: live with it as-is or trade it for what you want. It's just not worth the headache. Nathan

http://www.subarudrive.com/Summer07_2008tribeca.htm Scroll down a ways and you'll see the cutaway view of the new H6. It's kind of small on the online version of the magazine. Nathan

I was just looking at the cut away view picture of the new Tribeca H-6 in Drive magazine and each camshaft has what appears to be a large weight on the front of each timing gear sprocket. One appears to be a two piece weight/damper. I'm not an engineer, but it seems like that would add a LOT of rotational inertia to the engine and accellerate wear of the timing chain. Any thoughts? Nathan

Thanks so much. My guess of 20ft/lbs was not too bad! Nathan

Can anyone tell me what the proper torque is to secure the front Y pipe flanges to the studs going into the cylinder heads? It's a '95 Legacy 2.2 with the dual port heads, so there are three 14mm nuts & studs. My manual is a bit vague on the subject. I torqued to 20ft/lbs but am afraid to go further without knowing what the spec is. Thanks in advance! Nathan

Unlike older cars, the thermostat is on the RETURN from the radiator and is in the plastic housing on the waterpump down low. Two 10mm bolts, DONE. Subarus are notoriously difficult to fill with coolant properly-- it takes a LONG time and lots of "burping." Are you sure the starter motor is hanging up mechanically? I've not seen this in a Subaru, but in some other cars, I've seen the ignition switch hang up in the "Start" position. You could pull the wire off the starter soleniod with the car running to check... Re: other surprises from sitting- I'd just about bet that the brakes will have problems. Rusted discs/rotors, possibly rusted metal pad backing plates, possibly calipers/seals. Let us know how you do. Nathan

The level drop in the resevoir could be due to pad wear; as the caliper pistons move out as the pad wears, the fluid level drops. You could have driven through a puddle of brake fluid on the road--this happened to my family many years ago and proved baffling for a little while. Or, there could be a leak the dealer failed to spot...hmm. Nathan

I wonder if it could be something related to the charcoal cannister/evaporative emissions system. Try taking the gas cap off while the car is running, then shut the car off...see if the noise is still present. (of course, this test could set a CEL.) The only other thing which holds a vaccum when the car is off is the brake booster (as nipper mentioned) and sometimes there's a check valve for the vaccum motors in the HVAC system (does Subaru even use vacuum motors? I don't think so.) Nathan

Bill, I have a screwed up EJ22 motor stitting in my folk's garage (about a 45 minute trip.) Unfortunately, the crank pulley is still on it. I won't be out there until this coming Sunday, but _IF_ I can manage to get the crank pulley off to access the tensioners, and you haven't found a bolt by yourself by then, I'll just send you a bolt gratis. I'll drop you a line if I have any luck on Sunday, OK? Nathan

You want an engine out of a '95 Legacy 2.2 automatic, complete with the intake manifold, wiring harness, etc. It'll plug straight in, more or less. Search the New Generation forum for more info- this topic has been covered extensively. Nathan

The thing I think is hilarious about that eg33 conversion is that the radiator is now outside in FRONT of the car...it looks like the 6 cyl comes right up to the original radiator location. I wonder if that wagon has a bit of understeer with that lump of an engine up front? Nathan

That bolt is not eccentric- I just took one out last weekend on my Dad's Legacy. Why not try a different Subaru parts supplier? They can't ALL be fools! I'm a bit leery of hardware store bolts for automotive purposes. Given that the original, presumably high quality hardware failed.... Nathan

Bill, I'm sure any one of the various online Subaru wholesale parts places will be happy to sell it to you - the shipping will probably be more than the bolt, but so it goes. I've had good luck with these guys http://www.subarugenuineparts.com/ Do you have a shop manual? The timing belt tensioner needs to be compressed very slowly in a vise and a locking pin inserted ( a drill bit works well). Might also be prudent to change the front cam & crank seals and O-rings, if they weren't done at the last T-belt service. Search for timing belt threads on here and you'll get better info than I can provide! Nathan

Wow, I really hope you figure this one out just to satisfy our curiosity. This might seem low tech, but physically inspecting the timing belt and the teeth for the crank/cam sensors might be easier and more definitive than trying to deductively reason based on the waveforms. Who knows what might be floating around inside the timing belt covers? Nathan

I wasn't saying that 2.2 swaps all have CEL problems...the 2.2 swap in my wife's '98 Outback works great and passed Illinois inspection OK. The particular supplier of JDM engines I mentioned does not have engines with EGR, hence you will have a CEL for EGR flow unless you do a workaround of some sort. (Adding EGR or cleverly faking it out SOMEHOW.) Nathan

Well, I would verify that it is indeed "toast" first. As the others have stated, a compression test, checking cam timing and seeing what kind of noises it makes come to mind too. If you're up for an ej22 swap-- I bought a "JDM" EJ22 from Eric Japan engines on Elston Ave (they sell on e-bay; contact directly for a better price.) It's a dual port with no egr, so you'd have to either try tapping the LH head & swap in a US spec '95 intake manifold or deal with a CEL due to EGR. I have not yet run the engine I bought from them, but it's nice and clean looking...it just LOOKS low mileage. I'll report once I fire 'er up. Nathan

Yep, I told him the story. The crank pulley had some pretty serious road rash and I'm sure he would have wondered how the heck that happened. Anyway, anybody brave enough to buy a car _I _screwed together wouldn't flinch at such a trifling little problem! He got another 4 years out of the car, spent just about NADA on it and then SOLD it. Nathan

OK, I have a crank pulley story to end all crank pulley stories. This was some years ago. Friend in upstate NY had an '81 Honda Accord with terminal rust but a healthy engine. I bought his engine, brought it back to the Chicago area and went looking for a car to put it in. Bought an '82 Accord with a horked engine. Put the '81 engine in, had to swap over the different style crank pulley from the old '82 engine (V-belt versus serpentine.) I lightly tightened the crank pulley and intended to finish torquing it when I had an assistant to stand on the brake pedal while I tightened the bolt. (Manual trans car) Of course, I forgot. Drove the car 350 miles to college, did a deal with the guy I bought the engine from to buy the "new" car with his old engine in it. The catch was that I had to deliver the car in upstate NY. 150 miles into the NY trip, the pulley flies off...I see it in my rearview as all the dash lights go on at once. Fortunately, I was travelling in convoy. Find the pulley roadside, but could not find the bolt or the woodruff key. Did I mention that it's cold and dark outside? The only Honda dealer is some miles away and closes at 5...it's about a quarter to five. Drive like a maniac, make the dealership before closing, get the parts, get back. Have the "backup" car idling with the headlights on so I can see what I'm doing as I'm lying on my back...I smell smoke. Missing cat converter heat shield on the convoy car and the grass under it is now smoldering. Moved the car right quick before actual full on fire breaks out. Eventually got the loose pulley car together, but it needed a jump 'cos the hazards had been on for hours. On the road. AT LAST! Nathan