porcupine73

The geared/toothed idler is the lower right idler looking at this pic: The crank sprocket is in front of the oil pump. The crank sprocket does not normally need replacement (unless it is damaged or has rough/sharp edges for some reason).

Hi. How often are you checking the coolant level? The coolant level must be checked (engine cold of course) by removing the radiator cap and looking in the radiator. On this setup, if there is a leak anywhere in the cooling system, the system will pull air back in through the leak rather than coolant from the overflow tank. So the overflow tank level might look ok, but the rad level is slowly dropping, eventually resulting in a climbing temp gauge which prompts checking the radiator level which then appears to be low.

I think they typically give a warranty on parts&labor. Doesn't sound like this engine has yet had the HG's replaced. From what I've seen repeat HG failures are sometiems improper/insufficient cleaning of head and block, heads not milled, improper surface finish (generally needs 50RA or better but not a 'mirror finish'), non OEM or 'old stock' OEM HG's, improper head bolt tightening sequence and/or torque.

Sorry I forgot what model and year soob this is? Most common soob misfire causes. a. non-NGK spark plugs b. non-OEM or Magnecor spark plug wires c. old/aged/in need of replacement spark plugs or wires d. coil pack cracking/carbon tracing e. oil collecting in spark plug tube (for soob engines where the spark plug tubes penetrate the valve cover). less common but can be f. one or more valves not closing completely (i.e. valve lash in need of adjustment - post '96 engines only as prior to that hydraulic lash adjusters HLA's were used). Can also happen if cylinder heads are severely carboned up. g. timing off/jumped tooth/etc of course there are other things too.

If the $300 includes parts and labor, for an extra $300 I would have the RH/passenger side done as well. Maybe you can get a deal on all the work you want to have done in addition, such as timing belt, water pump, seals, etc. Don't forget valve cover gaskets and valve clearance check/adjustment. Actually they should be doing that anyway after the heads are reinstalled. Since they are likely pulling the engine anyway to do the HG's, doing the timing belt, etc. is even quicker to do while it's out.

hehe valentine's day in smilies: Hm....good question, where is the module....(again this is for '96 legacy) Sorry the wiring one is so big but I didn't want to downsize it as there is so much detail.

snip snip. The closest I have is for a '96 2.2L, but if it's the same, probably cutting wire 3 at the cruise unit might be the easiest access point?

Neat pics of the machining! I'm assuming this couldn't be done on the harbor freight mini-lathe?

I would definitely replace the geared/toothed one. I think that one is about $60 for the OEM. The other two smooth idlers just check for freeplay/smoothness and replace if needed (though that can be inconvenient if you don't have them on hand while doing the job). Regreasing is also an option.

water pump gasket geared/toothed idler near water pump and at least check the other idlers for wear/freeplay has your brake fluid ever been changed? a couple turkey baster changes of the power steering reservoiur might not hurt.

If it's a '99 or '00 auto trans, one test is first thing when you start it up cold, put it right into drive and make sure it doesn't take more than a second or two to engage. Check front sway bar to make sure it's not broken. Like any used car, inspect the cv joint boots for cracking. Those aren't a major issue but if you find any cracked ones (especially right front inner) they just make a nice bargaining point. If it's a '99 make sure the speedometer is working properly.

hehe Katrina cars...it's funny this thread was started just so shortly before Katrina!

What you want to do is, go to the 'search' bar, then pick 'advanced search', then make sure you pick sort by 'relevancy' - that is key, then search. There is a sticky about it on here somehwere..... What particular things are you looking for?

zoiks! just be happy if they're not chewing on your wiring! Maybe put some of the nastiest stankiest dryer fabric sheets you can find under the hood, i hear they hate those. hehe I should take some pics of the numerous mice nests I am finding in my basement....

phew!

hahaha as my dad would say "yes but you have the pride of doing it yourself". He grew up during the depression.

Hi mrfeh! There are a number of things that can cause P0440. There are articles on http://www.endwrench.com about troubleshooting if you click 'archives' and search for 'p0440'.

Hello. If it's the OEM rotors/drums, it is M8. I always forget the thread spacing; it's whatever is 'standard' in that size. I believe it is 1.25mm or it might have been 1.5mm

hehe good point, you mean like these?

Also see http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=62563&page=2

Ah nice pic skip of the actual unit! hehe the pirate icon I got from buffaloscooby.com

Hm....good point nipper! So many gauges and gadgets, so little space! Even Night Rider would be envious!

wow skip that is awesome and a great idea! I read the other thread. Very interesting!

Yes that is a great idea, I do that often. In control systems that action is called feed-forward control. Like you know what is coming up, so you let the system know that so it can preact, rather than simply react.

I believe the trans shifts into 3rd when the ABS activates. That would be true AFIAK. I think it would be even more prone to downshifting then. When the cruise is on, the trans holds higher gears moreso than when its off. I don't know why yours would act differently. It might be simply because the tuning of the cruise control is poor. It reacts too slowly to a speed drop when hitting the hill, then tends to freak out and suddenly yank the throttle way open to compensate. It is poor tuning of the control loop during engineering. hehe maybe an anti-sport shift as it will want to hold higher gears moreso than with your foot on the throttle.