themoneypit

a bad CTS harness/plug on an xt6 mimicks MANY other faulty parts, and many people throw parts at them not knowing its as simple as fixing a couple wires. im willing to bet he will post back all happy that the car is fixed once he replaces that corroded wire harness.

maybe my radiator still is the trouble? i just found a NOS replacement, so i guess ill try that first b4 reversing the a/c back. for the xt6 the radiators are dealer only, and discontinued, so i got lucky finding this one. i searched everywhere last year for one and couldnt find one. so i had no choice but to have the stock one flushed....

i bet thats your problem then. easiest way is to unplug that, and the oil pressure sending unit wire from the sending unit, and pull that part of the harness out behind the intake, undo the loom/tape and keep cutting the wires for CTS sensor back until you find nice clean wire. then you can solder new wires onto the sensor, put male/female connectors on them and connect it back up to the wiring harness. UNLESS you can find a (i believe) gen 1 legacy that has the same plug but it makes a better seal, if you find one in a junk yard (bring your sensor with you) then cut it off of a junkyard motor and splice a whole new plug into it.

my 88xt6 loves to run hot when using the a/c thats been converted to r134a. id like to go back to r12. i have recently scored a few cans of r12, and an oil charge. my question is this. i have the guages and evacuation pump to completely evacuate the system. is this good enough, or do i need to somehow flush out the system? let me know, thanks. i had the radiator professionally flushed and didnt help. when it starts to run hot, if i shut off the a/c the temp comes back to normal. thats what has me convinced the r134 is causing it to run hot.

post your problems/symptoms over at http://www.subaruxt.com/forum and they will surely tell you EXACTLY what the problem is. also, its been said, but you didnt respond if you did it or not. the coolant temp sensor right next to the thermostat housing is NOTORIOUS for causing havoc in these cars when the plug gets corroded. sometimes the wires themselves upwards of 6inches into the harness are bad. check that, clean it, wiggle the wires with it running etc. if u see any change, then clean/replace that plug and cut the wires back far enough so theres no green corrosion in them! my first xt6 went in to the shop for a clutch replacement, b4 i had the skillz to do it myself, and when the mechanic put the engine back in it would barely run, had no power, etc... ended up being the damn temp sensor wiring, once changed never another problem... just sayin

yep their a piece of cake to pull/re-install. make sure you reseal the cover on the back of the engine with rtv. the rear mains are usually fine, but that separator cover is prone to leaking. i would pull the engine (for me about 2 1/2 hours in an xt6) and do it on the stand like your thinking.

usually on these if your having troubles with the steering, a new set of brushes for the electric motor are needed. they are pretty easy to do, and there is a great write up, with pictures, in the tech info thread on subaruxt.com/forum they even have the subaru part numbers for the brushes you need.

yep, start with the fuel pump. my old loyale did that too when the pump was shot. pretty easy to change too, since its not inside the tank, just 3 10mm bolts from underneath, couple hoses, and an electrical plug. thats where id start first. also change the fuel filter while your in there, kill 2 birds with one wrench.

that SUCKS!!! i hope he recovers it!! id be heartbroken if my xt6 got stolen. if they find it, make sure u break the theifs arms and legs so he cant steal any more for a good 6 months

i think you should pass on the car. send me the guys phone number so i can buy it just kidding. however, if you do decide to pass on it i would def be interested. im located in CT, only 1.5 hrs from NYC.

i think he is talking about the bypass hose. its a small diameter hose that goes to the top of the water pump. next to the big pipe for the radiator hose.

couldnt hurt to change out the 2 fuel filters. the one by the fuel pump is usually the culprit thou. especially if its still bogging a little at the top of the hill when it flattens out. thats where id start and see if it helps. i had an ea81 that had a rusty tank, i used to carry a few extra rear filters in the glove box. every month or so id notice a bog down, and sure enough change that rear filter and itd be good for another month or so. i could usually see the rust in the filter when i pulled it off.

on the old ea81s, make sure you look at the cross sections from the unibody to the rockers for rust. seems thats where they start to rot usually. theyre located under the driver/passenger floorboard area. otherwise i would take a good running clean 83 sedan over a 92 wagon any day of the week!! the ea81s are pretty much bullet proof, and IMO more reliable than any newer subaru with the exception of the 2.2l engines. if the 92 is a loyale with the 1.8l spfi the 83 will be more reliable. if its a 92 legacy 2.2l, then both are good engines and pretty much bullet proof.. so it depends on what you like better... the sedan or the wagon.

heres one of my current xt6s, and digging deep in the archives i came up with this pic of my fleet from a few years back...

one more thing that just crossed my mind is the timing belt. if you believe it has 130k on it, i would change that immediately!

on my 05 baja turbo, i have the sport shift automatic. when i start it, the A/T trans temp light comes on briefly, and i believe thats what gary is talking about. if that light flashes then it indicates trouble. maybe they are set up different here in the states, but im thinking u should have that A/T trans temp light no matter what country?? i dont have an econo button either thou, not sure if thats again something different from the states or not. but in previous experience with toyotas that had the econo mode, all that does is change the shift points of the trans to try and save fuel. in econo mode it would shift at say 3k rpm instead of 3.5k my trans also has a small spin on filter that should be changed when doing a tranny service. its actually nice, when u remove it it drains for awhile getting all the fluid out of (im guessing) the tranny cooler. when i did mine it took between 5-6 quarts of the 9quarts the book said it holds, to fill it back up. the other 3 were locked away in the torque converter.

nope, brand new OEM subaru turbo , oil line/screens (which are coming out after 1st oil change), pan cleaned/engine flush, was all done early last week. all paid for by the dealer i got it from in jersey. this weekend it got new plugs, timing belt, idlers, waterpump, t-stat, crank seal, oil pump seal, and rad fluid/filter change courtesy of yours truly . this things ready for the upstate ny commute it will be doing almost weekly starting next month. I LOVE IT and couldnt be happier with it!

hey DUDE mice will eat dry cat food too... mice will eat ANYTHING including wires DUDE. go head, put some food near your car and see if you end up with mice too. your suggestion is just f-ing assenine DUDE

dryer sheets dont do sheet! that is a myth. my buddy had two boxes of dryer sheets strewn about his camper last winter trying to keep mice out. they came in, sheet on the sheets, and ended up caught in the traps that he also set. dont waste your time and money on dryer sheets, the only thing you gain is a "fresh outdoor scent" in your car, or in his case camper...

ok nice, good to know, prob wouldnt hurt to throw on a set of vc gaskets anyhow while im there... i hear the turbo puts a hurting on the passenger side one anyways. ill pick up a set this is an 05 baja turbo btw

thanks, kind of what i figured... looks like ill start tearing into it tonight, or tomorrow. ive done a few t-belts in the past but this is my first DOHC, so just wanted to be sure.

i had posted looking for the torque specs, but bought a manual instead. so anyone know a good trick for holding the two cams on each side together instead of buying a tool for it?? also, if im removing them to do the seals, then nothing is holding them once the sprocket is off. so not really sure this tool is needed. i plan on loosening all the sprocket bolts slightly before i remove the belt, and torqueing them once the new belt is on, so any help or tips on this would be appreciated.

all that will do is feed the mice dude. ive found mice in my house before in the basement, and guess what was in their nest.... dog food!! the LAST thing i would do is feed the mice by leaving a bowl of food out for them.

if you have never had problems before with mice in your car, good chance it sat on the dealers lot and thats where the mice originated from! it happened to my friends mom recently, she bought a new toyota matrix, garaged it in the same place she has for 15yrs with her previous car, and ended up losing radio signal one day. the dealer ended up pulling down the headliner and it was FULL of mice!! they had chewed thru the antenna wire! she had only had the car a couple of weeks. that is my best guess, they originated from the dealer you bought it from... on a side note, her comp part of her insurance covered it, she only had to pay $500 deductible. that may be an option for you to pursue. ive also heard the product "cab fresh" works outstanding to deter mice, and it can be found at many hardware stores (the little guy ones not the big box stores). many farmers use it in their stuff and swear by it. good luck!! mice def suck, and stink, and can really mess up a car quick!

planning on doing my timing belt this weekend along with tensioner, seals, waterpump, idler pulleys, etc.. the haynes manual i picked up today says to get a special cam tool to hold the two cam sprockets together so they wont move and chance bending the valves.. is that really necessary, or is there a different tool/trick i can use instead. thanks in advance