CNY_Dave

I bought my '03 in October '07 with 55Kmiles on it, wasn't looking for an H6 but since I do almost 100mi of freeway driving a day, it seemed to make sense to go with something geared up (see below) and less stressed. I believe the H6 version of the 4eat has slightly higher gearing, making it a little more of a dog off the line but plenty of scoot once it's rolling. It's no sports car, it's no turbo, but there are those around here that I think wonder what the heck that green wagon was that they couldn't dust... I'm doing 5K oil changes on mine, castrol 5W30 with a subaru filter (H6 filter is also different from an H4 filter), just under 100K, so far so good. Valve covers are still tight, knock on faux-woodgrain dash inlay... Dave

I don't have corrosion on the outer surface of the rim, or in the tire bead mounting area, but I do have some where the wheel attaches to the hub. I'm looking to extend the wheel life as far as I can. I'm thinking of hitting it with the pressure washer (no detergent), wire brushing anything loose, and pressure washing again. Is hitting it with some mild acid going to help arrest the corrosion? Once totally dry, not sure if I'm going to hit it with some aluminum primer, or just let it go commando with some anti-seize brushed on to help seal the surface a bit. Thoughts/suggestions? Dave

To be a little more specific- crud buildup in the intake/exhaust passages and on the valves blocks intake/exhaust flow valves open later, close sooner, and don't open as far as valvetrain components wear valve timing is retarded as the timing belt stretches (Probably only a very small amount) cylinder compression goes down as the cylinder and rings wear the fuel injector spray becomes less fine and even as crud builds up on the internal injector parts, and as the injector bits wear against each other. The muffler could be plugging up (not a frequent occurrence) The oxygen sensors could be a little out of spec, giving not quite the right mixture. The mass-airflow sensor could be a bit off, not sure if that is common on subes. The throttle-position sensor could be out-of-spec. the catalytic converter(s) could be somewhat blocked. If any of those last 4 go far enough out-of-spec it'll throw a code. Dave

Thanks- and all us 4eat trans folks will be watching! Dave

Not so much that, but if you change the intake system you'll hear a good bit of noise from the air cleaner. Dave

If you have been diligent on oil changes and coolant changes, all is probably well. If the change interval has been much above 5000 miles, from what I've heard, you MAY (or may not) need to do the timing chains in the next 20-50,000 miles. If the coolant change interval has been ignored, at some point the water pump may need to be changed, which is behind the timing cover with all the little bolts, and it is driven by the timing chain, so it could be a somewhat pricey repair. But those are just two guesses, the 3 liter 6's are pretty reliable. If you keep it, change the bearings in the accessory belt pulleys before too long. Dave

C'mon, you just have to cross the bridge and hit hunt's point market... Dave

A driveshaft repair shop can repair, or build from scratch, anything for less than you might think. I googled driveshaft repair fresno CA and there are plenty of shops, it looks like. Dave

The clutches are pressed together by hydraulic pressure, created by the transmission pump. The Duty C solenoid controls a valve (which controls a valve, I think) which relieves pressure on the clutches when activated. Duty C solenoid 'off' or disconnected- high pressure, no clutchpack slip. Duty C solenoid 'on' (FWD fuse in place)- no pressure, clutchpack should allow slip with no torque transfer. Normal operation- the TCU hits the solenoid with short bursts of power, the longer the burst of power, the less torque transfer to the rear. Dave

I replied with what I put here. Nice easy test anyone can do. Dave

Gas tank vacuum not being released is a possibility. When it doesn't run, pop the gas cap off and see if it will run. Dave

If you installed calipers with a different piston area, that would quite effictively alter the calibration of the ABS system, IMHO. Larger piston area would provide more clamping force for a given line pressure, and I'd guess the ABS is designed to dump/block a certain amount of line pressure (via strobing the relevant valves just so) , and you're maintaining more clamping force for the periods where the ABS is active. Interesting... Dave

On my '03 with about 60Kmiles with brand-new dunlop graspic DS-2 snows, my ABS sucks. Everything underneath clean as a whistle. Just tossing that out as a data point. The ABS is designed as way too sensitive. Dave

A 4wd-auto/awd-auto trick- if you hold the brakes on, apply throttle, and quickly take your foot off the brakes, then quickly take your foot off the gas and stomp back on the brakes, you get a brief moment of gen-u-ine four wheel drive. You get back on the brakes quick to keep that inch of progress you just made. Essentially, the torque that it takes to drive the 'free' wheel up to speed (especially since when you lock one wheel of a differential the free wheel spins faster) is also applied to the wheel with traction, for that brief moment before the free wheel spins up. Progress can often be made, but will be somewhat slow. This works really well if you are in a spot where rocking it will help, and you get a bigger gain each time you switch direction. Dave

No love for Dethklok, eh? Dave

OK, good to hear at least one positive experience. A buddy wanted me to fix the exhaust on his dodge horizon "the cheapest way possible" so I came off the cat with a 90 degree bend and just ran the exhaust out, no muffler, just in front of the rear wheel, but far enough out it wouldn't heat the tire. Sounded damn good, and surprisingly 'not too loud'. Dave

Yeah, a little widget like that working some kind of magic is contrary to my experience and engineering spidey-sense as well, it must have performed *some* useful service for subaru to stick it on, though. Dave

If there is a wire from the TCU to the trans to control the lock-up mechanism, maybe the wire is shorted or crossed or damaged? Dave

The H6 exhaust is 'special' and I am not sure if I mean that in a good way or a bad way. The muffler has a spring-loaded bypass valve to reduce back pressure above certain throttle settings, and there are varying reports that if you block it open (too little back pressure) low-end suffers, and that if you have a standard muffler without the bypass valve, top end suffers, and in either case mileage suffers. From reports, only the genuine subie muffler has the valve, and it is a pricey little bastard of a muffler from subaru. Dave

Well yeah, if it doesn't need a muffler I will just fix the leak, but I'm trying to be prepared in case it does- which it eventually will, in any case. Dave

Haven't looked under the car yet, but something is leaking back near the muffler. Almost 90,000 miles. Would love to find something that lent a bit of a growl to the exhaust note, almost wish it was a bit of a beater so I could just throw on a glasspack or a turbo muffler. I've seen various threads where folks ask for what's a good muffler besides stock, and have seen concerns about losing power from both not having the muffler with the bypass, and concerns about insufficient backpressure and losing low-end, but not much feedback on what was picked and used. Anyone actually ever put something on (besides stock) that they liked? 2003 outback LL bean H6 Dave

I had a ford ranger that was extremely prone to this little oddity. Figured out it was flooded, and knew just how to start it. The ol' floor-it trick from the carbureted days still works wonders on the FI engines. Dave

Don't forget the serpentine belt idler/tensioner bearings. Not a big deal, but at 145K it'd be a good idea to keep a close watch on 'em or just pony up the minimal bucks to replace the bearings. You can also spend a bit more and get the whole idler/tensioner assemblies. Dave

You paid only 650? Well, the heck with you then! Dave

Did someone sneak the FWD fuse in on you? Nipper et al, are there failure modes where the TCU will recognize there is a problem and energize the solenoid, similar to putting in the FWD fuse? Dave