eagleb

So what if i think i feel some signs of torque bind (keep in mind I sometimes think things are worse than they really are), even though the light isn't blinking. Should I take it to a tranny shop? Does anybody know of a good suby tech in the portland, OR metro area who won't make me give up all my cash?

Truth be told, I havent driven for over a week (i bike to and from work, it's only 2 miles) and i've been letting my girlfriend take the car to work (yes, I'm a brave soul), so I thought the at temp light might have been flashing... but it's not. it comes on when I turn the ignition on, and goes off a little bit after the car starts. No biggie. Also, I put the car in reverse, and don't need to touch the gas at all. It backs up just fine on its own. I've said it before and I'll say it again... I apologize for the fact that I am a hypocardriach and always expect the worst. One thing is for sure, I need to get my brakes fixed because they're grinding something nasty. I checked the front pass. side rotor, and there's a rust colored ring, about 1.5" wide... definitely cause for concern.

I do believe I have felt a sort of drag on some tight turns, but not backing up, seems like it depends on the day. I just had a tranny flush a couple months ago... so what should i do if i have torque bind and the tranny flush didn't fix it? Driving around town there aren't any problems, most of my highway driving experiences have been trouble free, except for a problem spot on one highway. Mostly I'm just paranoid about going on a long drive, especially over the mountains because of the small problems I have every once in a wihle. I'm just hoping that there isn't something sinister waiting to pop up when i'm most vulnerable.

What is the definition of torque bind?

96 OBW 2.5 AT So after reading some posts on this forum, I started to realize that I am not sure if the AT temp light is supposed to come on at all when the car is first started. I noticed the light blink a few times on start-up, but not 16 times, and sorry but I do not know the exact number of blinks. Should I start counting the blinks? What will the number of blinks tell me? The only problems I've had with my transmission (if they're even caused by the tranny) are an occasional hard shift out of first, and a problem that only happens on one stretch of highway where the car will shutter as it passes over the top of the hill, and the tranny doesn't seem to want to stay in drive, only OD or 3rd, but that's only in one spot on one highway (so far). Any help you all could give me would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Sorry, didn't fully read the link (dummy). Thank you for the help.

thanks for the clarification OB. Isn't there a way to force out any air pockets without fully draining the system? I seem to remember seeing someone say that adding coolant with the engine running, with the occasional rev would do the trick. Is that not a good method?

tstat and gasket were changed with the tbelt. The only cel codes have been cylinder 4 misfire, which was fixed by a new injector. No codes have been thrown for weeks. I think i'll burp the coolant system just because, who knows. The tstat seems to be working fine, and the car will heat up after a few blocks, maybe that's how it's supposed to be and the last tstat was faulty. who knows. Any links to a proper coolant burping technique?

96 OBW 2.5 A few weeks ago, (which was a couple weeks after getting a new water pump and timing belt-coolant flush) the temp gauge would rise to about 3/4 of the way to hot as i got on the highway, then would settle back down after a few minutes. this happened for a few days as i commuted to work (never happened on the way home from work). I was told by some of the members on this board that it could be bubbles in the coolant that would likely work themselves out. The temp gauge doesn't rise anymore, but it seems to take a little bit longer to warm up. Also, when I first turn the car on, the idle shoots up to 1500, sometimes even close to 2000 rpm. . I am wondering if it's possible that I have vapor lock? can the symptoms just not be present during daily driving? I'm planning to take a trip over the cascade mtn range pretty soon, and I'm afraid of having an overheating nightmare, or the dreaded HG failure. Any ideas? Should I try to correct for vapor lock even if it's not an issue?

I've never seen my low fuel light... but I usually fill up before 270 miles... so i don't even know if the light works, and would like to know how to check it

If i do find a leaky seal, like the tail lights, or even around the rear hatch... what's the best quick fix? or the best permanent fix?

96 obw legacy, not cold weather package, cloth seats. Any ideas of possible common water leaks, maybe toward the rear of the vehicle? Hopefully it's nothing major, I'd like to get it fixed before the rain stops for summer, cause then I'll be SOL when it starts raining hard again in the late fall.

I'll take it in to check the alignment this weekend, couldn't hurt. On a separate note, there's a little mildewy smell in the car, any quick ideas about leaky areas in a 96 legacy outback wagon?

I didn't floor it... don't want to do anything to hurt ole blue. I had a tranny flush when it was in for the timing belt. I thought I had the problem licked. Any chance it could be due to water? It just started raining again Sunday night/Monday, there had been sun pretty consistantly before that. Just one factor, probably unrelated, but I'm not sure. On my way home tonight, I'll try flooring it, but I just don't think the car should shudder like that. I guess I'm just a hypocardriac

96 OBW, 2.5, 108000miles new timing belt, water pump, tstat, other belts, and #4 injector in the past two months. Merging onto an uphill stretch of a highway right after work, there seemed to be no problems. but as i reached the top of the hill (under 1/4 mile from the ramp), the car would shudder as I stepped on the accelerator. Approaching the next section of the hill, there was no easy downshift, and no acceleration. The RPMs and speedo were both slowing ever so slightly as I stepped on the pedal. I put the car into 3rd (automatic), and the car was able to accelerate. But back into drive, the car would shudder. I eased off the gas, and powered through the hill at about 45 (no shuddering). At the 25mph offramp (to the next highway), the car seemed fine, and on the next highway (fewer hills), there were no problems accelerating. It seems to only happen every once in a while at that one spot on that one highway for that half mile. Any ideas? No CEL, no other symptoms (that I've noticed)

I am wonering if, in all of your combined years of experience, the members of this forum can provide advice on driving tips that will increase gas mileage, minimize wear, and prolong the life of our all important subarus. Any advice, tips, leads, facts, or general knowledge would be greatly appreciated, and maybe even make me break some bad habits!

The tstat rose again, but came back down pretty quick. Air was blowing hot, and the cooling fans worked. The events seem to be bubbles, I was driving on gravel roads a bit before this most recent event, so maybe that stirred some loose? Should i take the car back in and make them bleed the coolant system?

I just checked my service receipts, and I got a new t-stat with gasket during my timing belt service. On the way to work today, the tstat rose a tiny bit (barely noticeable to someone who is not paranoid like i am) for a mile or so, then I came to a stop, and it rose to about 10 o'clock, as i pulled from the stop, it lowered to it's normal level, and stayed there for the rest of the 15 miles. The air blew hot the whole time, and the car ran much better than usual... but i'm still weary of problems. The next week will be the true test of whether or not I'm in need of a HG, or if I've just been stressed to the max for something far less serious. Again, thanks for all the help

The overheat was sporatic, and a one time event on my commute of about 25 miles. It happened about a week and a half after the timing belt service, and about a day after an oil change, and the mistake of a gas station attendant which left we with a tank full of premium 92 octane (instead of my normal 89 octane). The guys at the shop, my dad, and I haven't been able to get it to overheat since that event, and even during the overheat event, the needle was at about 10-11 o'clock (pretty far below the red in my opinion)-normally the needle is slightly below 9 o'clock. If the car over heats and i turn the heat on... if it blows cold what should i do?

I just bought the car in January, and I'm unaware of any servicing on the coolant system. I did get a new timing belt, water pump, and some other servicing done a couple weeks ago... would that require flushing the system? If so, then the shop did it. If not... would you recommend servicing? How difficult is it to replace the t-stat, hoses and cap and much do they cost? I'll wait to see if there are any more quirks with the t-stat or temps over the next couple weeks, and if so... I may need some help with a coolant system servicing. Thanks for the help

The shop couldn't get the outback to faulter once again. I opted to replace the injector for cylinder number 4, maybe that will take care of things. As for the head gasket, they found no signs of failure. I'll see how long it takes for problems to arise again (they usually hide for a week or so after the cars been in the shop). Keep an eye out for more of my posts... I'll be needing help before too long.

Well, no murky coolant in the overflow tank, looked like the radiator was normal, no leaking coolant anywhere, and the CEL is again reading a cylinder 4 misfire. I drove the car home on sideroads through town, and the temp gauge never went above the halfway mark. The car is in the shop right now, hopefully it acts up for them and the whole ordeal gets dealt with. I'll give an update about what (if anything) the shop finds. Until then, wish me luck...

Thanks for all the help, I'll give you all an update once I can get some time to check out the car today (i'm still at work). Assuming the car doesn't blow up on the way home, I should be able to get a better idea of what's going on from all the advice. One more thing... would it be better to drive home through stop and go traffic on side roads (stoplights, a bit longer drive), or take it at 55mph on the highway? or will it make any difference? Thanks

how much would an ej22 cost? I don't have the equipment to do a motor swap, or enough of the knowhow. I'm too scared to forget something. However, I would consider it if I knew that the engine swap would be feasible and economic

Please tell me it's not the head gasket... even though suby blue has 106,000 mi I started my car up just fine this morning, drove through some hills, and when I got to this one hill (where the car historically acts up), the car wouldn't accelerate (RPMs weren't rising either), and I could hear some sputtering (for lack of better descriptor). I pulled over, and the car sputtered, on the verge of dying. Usually at this point, I turn the car off, restart, and it's fine. But the sputtering in park continued, so I just kept going (needed to get to work). The car ran a little rough, but no more sputtering, and the CEL came on. Now for the scary part... the temp gauge started rising, the needle got to the top of the picture of the thermometer, then would go back down. It would go back up, mostly on uphills, (once or twice on flatland) and stay at that point (never higher) and when I started going downhill or flat, it would go back to normal. I know overheating and new headgaskets in the 2.5 can be good friends, so now i'm scared. Anybody have any ideas? any help will be much appreciated.