keltik

My thoughts thus far on the H6: Fuel Economy. Awesome...for a 3liter engine this is impressive. It easily beats the snot out of a turbo model, and the 2.5 motor isnt even a close comparison for power. The H6 is also classified as a LEV (low emmisions vehicle) which gets you some tax breaks in certain countries and means your being kind to the environment as the 2.5 doesnt get that status. Reliability. Very good. I have heard of only one issue with this engine....timing chain tensioners. Apparently after 150,000miles they may start making a ticking noise. All the other components are usually good for 250,000miles. Power. I have raced my H6 and found it to be well powered. Theres plenty of grunt for passing people and it will easily pull to the speed limiter (200kph). The engine is just as happy to rev out every gear, or to spend hours bumbling along at 1400rpm. I wouldnt say it has crazy power.....that title is reserved for the twin turbos...its got everything youll ever need in daily driving. Which gas to use? I use 95RON in mine and she thanks me for it. On 91RON gas i can hear just a touch of knock (half second) when pulling away from a stop. On 95 i dont hear a thing. VDC. Ive driven a VDC model and it was very well mannered in the corners. It didnt have the understeer of the GT model and was VERY nice inside. To summarise - the VDC models are awesome and come with a lot of electrical goodies. The interiors are very highly specced and in my opinion the cars are worth every cent. The 2.5liter model is good - the H6 VDC models are excellent.

Unfortunately the turbo models use a completely different setup so if your non-turbo, your strongest clutch is going to be from a EJ22.

a 2 meter square piece of cardboard is a lot cheaper than getting gaskets replaced. Personally i like to fix all my oil leaks, but thats because i like a clean engine (much more pleasant to work on). A set of gaskets doesnt cost much. Its the labour charge that kills ya. Theres no risk of mechanical damage here unless a major seal is shot (rear main) or you let it run out of oil.

Finally got round to making a wee video clip from some of my footage. Have learned this camera is really sensitive to motion and am gonna have to try and keep it still next time :-\

Im pretty sure the difference between the full mark and the low mark is less than hald a liter - its really not much. Also those heads do hold a lot of oil. I just check mine 5mins after running and fill to just below the F mark. Personally i ignore the reading when cold unless its WAYYY overfilled or low. A little bit high is fine to me. Final thought - are you making sure the dipstick seats fully back in the tube between checks? Thats about all i can think of.....

Holy chit! I can see YOUR house from here!! I know its a bit late but i finally got around to trying this and its slightly disturbing...... Oh well - yet another reason to keep the lawn tidy

I have the same issue but in my case im almost certain its because i was too lazy to put the axle pins back through the inner DOJ's on the front. Will be sorting that out tomorrow night and hopefully that'l fix it for me. Point of post = i second the motion of inspecting inner DOJ's

160,000kms on her I think i got a good deal, havnt had to fix any rust yet.....in fact i havnt even seen any.

A couple months ago i finally sold my dirt bike and went back to 4 wheels where i belong. Managed to pick up a 1990 Legacy GT Turbo for $700NZD with its only problem being a massive water-leak. Long story short; fixed the water leak, threw the 4AT away and put a 5speed from a WRX into it. Shes VERY low geared (3200rpm for 100kph) and moves quite swiftly. Plans are to use this car solely for track events and autocross so the interior has been removed and 4point harnesses and sports seats are in the process of being fitted. She weighs in at 1250kgs with a half tank of gas and just passed inspection Vitals: 1990 Legacy BC5 1st generation EJ20 motor with quad cams and coil on plug ignition IHI VF10 turbo (soon to be swapped for a TD05) 4.444final 5 speed AWD transmission with rear LSD Air to water intercooler Unsure of power figures at the moment but shes getting dyno'd next weekend. Official specs say 200hp @6000rpm and 191lb/ft @3600rpm Ive been keeping a log of my work on her over on the NZ clubsub boards as they know JDM quite well. Just couldnt resist posting the customary "yay i got a new car" thread. Cheers Keltik

The tool kit can be reduced down a few sockets (10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 22mm), appropriate extension bar and ratchet, a set of vice grips and 2 screwdrivers. I'd carry a foot pump over a compressor. Years back i remember being out in the snow with a flat and the electric compressor just blew fuses.... Basic first aid kit. Strong 2 foot pipe under the drivers seat (also multi-purpose) I have 2 flat profile cans that hold a quart of coolant concentrate and 1 quart of oil....keep em in the spare tire well. Now heres the clever one. Those 2 dollar LED headlamps you can get are awesome. Theres always one bungee-tied in the drivers footwell of my cars. Easy to find when you need it and convenient enough so you can grab it for small jobs. Due to the geography here i dont carry flares or warning lights....just the Subaru reflector triangle thing. I also carry a spare battery for my cell phone which doubles as a GPS and 2 blankets i 'borrowed' from a long haul flight. They can be tucked away inside the rear quarter panel through the jack-access hole and are usefull for many things.

The main reason i mention extra load finishing off the pulley is that the 2 ive seen come apart both happened at night in the cold. Heater, big stereo and main beam headlights all being used. Could be a coincidence but still something to ponder

My bank manager should be afraid.....VERY afraid! EZ37R + Turbo + Legacy = Will happily kill, steal and pillage to own one

I realise this is so simple - but i still have to ask. Is the battery well charged? Good contacts? If your belt failed it could be you were running on battery power for longer than you thought. As we all know a flat battery will give a clicking and no-go. Ive seen a few crank pulleys (harmonic balancers) come apart now and none of them did any damage other than the snapped belts. Edit: Adding to this theory - is it possible your battery was on its last legs? Could it be the extra load on the alternator is what finished your crank pulley off?

Crack a fuel line and pump some into a clear bottle - should be easy to see the quality of your gas then.

Technically the air bypass valve is found on turbo cars only and vents boost pressure back to the low pressure side of the intake (pre-turbo) when the throttle plate is closed. The Idle air control valve or just idle control valve is the one were talking about here. My new theory: (may only apply to JDM cars as ive never seen any USDM stuff) The IACV has a small bi-metallic spring in the bottom of it, this is fed coolant from the engine top crossover pipe and helps the valve set its workable range from when the engine is cold to when its hot. If this spring isnt getting a coolant feed - the engine will idle high when its hot. The rubber hoses that feed this part have a very small internal diameter and can gunk up easily, so it could be worth whipping the valve off and checking your getting a coolant flow to it. If you run a D-check on the car do you get any codes?

My 1995 FSM states the coolant temp sensor should be diagnosed in the following manner: 1) Make sure the fault is with the sensor not the harness connecting to the sensor 2) Replace sensor with Subaru Genuine part Im paraphrasing here of course but basically thats all ya get. No resistance values are given for this particular sensor and i checked a fair whack of the manual.

Wow i thought i was the only person putting holes in un-modified motors. Sounds like something went very pear-shaped. Do keep us updated as i honestly would love to know what happened! (mainly so i dont do it in future) As a side note - when i removed the intake from any car the first thing i do is wedge some rags into all the intake ports - stops any other crap falling in there.

Also you should be able to unplug it and the car should start as normal. If removing the sensor from the equation fixes your problem - then thats a solid diagnoses. The ECU will just guess the temp and should still start....well mine did. This method works for MAF sensors too.

Now THATS a good idea. Coppers here use standard mirrors in their commodores....we dont have that kinda technology down here yet Might be keen on one for myself but am concerned about how much it would distort the image to give such a wide field of view.

Ouch.... If next years model looks more manly - ill take one.

Well i can tell you for a fact their injection systems suck rump roast. I personally use AC Delco, Frams are really bad and the only bosch filter ive seen looked a bit cheap on construction. You could do worse but if its only gonna be on there for a couple thousand miles i wouldnt stress too hard.

If i didnt live in such a rural area - id seriously consider it. SH2 would be a hassle in that thing tho, id live in fear of being eaten by a logtruck. Dont spose ya got the l/100k figures or some performance figures?

http://www.acemotors.co.nz/result.php?lang=en&VEHICLE_ID=745&title=2004+SUBARU+R2+I Just found this one while looking for some pics of the interior......any idea how much id would cost to get a 2008 model here?

Id pimp that. With gas being $7 per gallon im starting to re-consider owning a H6 and a EJ20T.....not the most fuel efficient combo :-\

My old honda was funny like that. On smooth roads on the 2nd to 3rd shift and especially on the 3rd to 4th shift you could hear all the internals clicking on the shift. Never found out what it was but it never had any problems. On my current 1990 Turbo Legacy you could hear the clicks going into 3rd. I swapped the auto out for a manual so couldnt tell ya if it had any problems. Just saying your not the only one that hears it