psychsurf

Nice. Really wishing I lived near some good subaru junkyards.

So, since that's the only thing I'm finding thats fishy at all... Where do you get a new carrier bearing and the rubber that goes around it?

Jacked it up and fiddled with it yesterday afternoon. The only thing I could find that seemed like it wasn't "right"... Other than the alignment, of course... Was the carrier bearing. It doesn't look broken or anything, but it was the only part of the whole drivetrain that had any play in it at all. I could shift it probably 1/8" to 3/16" in each direction. But it just felt like the rubber was giving, not like it was seriously slopping around in there. After finding that, I took it out for a drive again to see if I could more accurately pinpoint what kind of sound it was making and where it was originating, and guess what? No vibration. It was starting and stopping spontaneously the day before, and now I can't get it to do it at all. I really hate intermittent problems.

So, bad front axles can feel like a vibration in the rear? And is there any other way to check them? I'll pull the boot back and see if I can assess the condition of the grease, but as far as I know the two fronts have been replaced within the last few thousand miles. They look like it, too.

Ok, now here's a dumb question... But I'm %90 sure all the action was at my right rear wheel, why would that point to a front DOJ?

Are there corroborating symptoms for a DOJ, or is it diagnose by replacement only? I grabbed and wiggled the rear half-shafts, and they seem tight to me, but again I don't really know. And is this something that would have just started out of nowhere like that, no slow failure or anything?

Nope, no response to throttle, no response to clutch, no response to brake. It's like its completely independent.. Like I said I haven't had a chance to jack it up and wiggle it yet, but it almost feels like loose lugnuts. Of course, if that was the case, I think (think) I would have been able to shift the wheels on the lugs when I was shoving it around with 4 wheels on the ground, but maybe not. It seemed like a surprisingly high frequency rattle for the speed I was going, almost like a machine-gun.

This just started. I noticed this morning on the way home that there seemed to be a very slight vibration at highway speed. When I hit the last light and turned down the road to my apartment, the vibration became SEVERE at very low speed, then went away entirely. Also sounded like a scraping sound at the same time, but it was hard to tell because the vibration was so loud. Plus, it came and went. I just went back out there and drove it around the block again, and it really comes and goes like an on/off switch. When it is vibrating at 10-20 mph, it sounds like the whole car is going to shake apart, and then it goes away for apparently no reason at all and sounds perfectly normal. It definitely sounds like it is coming from the rear, and I definitely haven't done any recent work back there. I crawled under and wiggled what components I could and nothing seems loose. Next thing is to jack it up and see what wiggles... Can't find my jack right now, doh! Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone had any ideas of a direction I should be looking for this. Oh, also, I don't know if this is related, but the inside edges of my rear tires are definitely more worn than the outsides, and you can see how they are tilted (canted, cambered?) in at the top. Could this have anything to do with it? Maybe a wheel bearing issue or something? I did lay my hand on the rear hub when I first noticed it and didn't feel any heat coming off.

Hi, noob here... What the hell is WTLW? Tried a search, but all I can find is that it is in reference to something that has already been posted before. I've seen the phenomeon on other MBs before. For example on ADVrider.com it is, "sorry if this is 205, but..." But you have to be "in" to know what 205 refers to there...

Well, that seems like an easy solution, woundedbrat... Now, should I take off the two front doors, or the two rear doors? Would taking off both the passenger doors have the same effect of making a two-door out of it?

Yeah, it's funny, I'm not that tall, 5'11" and my legs aren't that long, 32in inseam. And the position actually feels pretty comfortable and relaxed when I sit down, knees slightly bent. But after a while, it just feels like I need to be able to straighten my leg just a little bit more or my knee gets to feeling tweaked.

Sorry I've been posting so many threads with questions lately. Hopefully as I edjumakate myself I'll be able to contribute as well. Anyway, I was wondering if there was any "easy" way to get a couple more inches of legroom out of the driver's seat? My right knee starts to feel tweaked after about an hour, and it would be nice if I could stretch out just a little more.

Oh, my bad, I thought you were talking about that in reference to my other electrical gremlins. On the compressor, the shaft seal is definitely bad. They filled it with coolant and dye, and there's green stuff all over the front.

That sounds interesting, skip! Can you elaborate?

You shouldn't be modest, Daeron. I actually read it last night when I was searching for information on the possibility of a bad ignition relay. I've been working on my own cars for 15 years, and that was the first explanation I've ever read of a relay that made me say, "Oh, now I get it." Amazing what it simple concept it is, and how voodoo it all seemed before. So yeah, toot your own horn by all means, it was a very good nuts-and-bolts article.

Hey, I'd love that, 94Loyale! Just let me know what you need and I'll paypal you asap. If nothing else it would be good to have on hand as a spare. Oh, and the report from my commute to work tonight... It's actually running better even than when I picked it up! No codes, the throttle response is WAY better, and it doesn't feel like it's lugging at 55 in 5th gear. It actually responds to wide-open throttle now! My butt-dyno says I've gained about %20 in performance. Since the only thing I KNOW I actually fixed was the knock sensor connection, could it be that with the ECU detecting a fault in the circuit it retarded the timing as if the knock sensor was actually indicating a knock? That's the only thing I can think of, because it's running like a whole new car and there's really not much reason for it! I've got my fingers crossed it will stay that way. I just wish the other issues I had could be attributed to the same problem.

Ok, practical or not that's just cool as hell.

Crap, so then this one won't work because it only has one pully, right? Damn, that's a pain. Anyone have a good compressor like mine?

Excellent, thank you!

Hitachi, or panasonic?

Well, I don't know... I cleared the codes, then started it up and went through and wiggled every connection I could lay my hands on. Not a hesitation, not a stumble, not a problem. Took it out for a drive and ran the snot out of it, trying to elicit the same response on shifting. Not a hesitation for a second. Got back home and checked for codes, and they're all clear. I'm stumped. I'm going to have to wait for it to die again before I can fix it, aren't I? Guess I'll just put as many miles as possible (I commute 80 per day) on it, and see what happens. Here's an alternate theory... The guy I got it from suggested that the problem sounded like a loosening disty set screw, then when it wouldn't start it was totally loosened, and the mechanic just didn't want to let on it was something so easy (=cheap) to fix. I dunno. I guess it is running good now, I should just be happy about that.

Ah, yes, I do remember you saying it sounded like the test connectors were hooked up. I thought the light and pump were supposed to go in one-second pulses, though. Man, I wish I'd opened up the dash when it was doing that and checked to see if the connectors were connected. That possibility really throws a wrench into my figuring. I didn't connect the green connectors, so if they were hooked up at that point it would be because the mechanic had taken the initiative to presumably check for codes, then forgotten to unplug them before buttoning the dash back up. All this before even telling me the car wasn't starting well or asking me if I wanted him to check it out. Or maybe he was wanting to work me for some more cash, and did that to screw with me. It is "interesting" that the only time the car hasn't started RIGHT up was when it was at the mechanic. I almost hope that was the case. It would certainly be the neatest solution, but there being no way to verify it is pretty worrisome. That, and when I did open the dash to get the codes again when I got home, it had obviously been dug around in quite a bit. Ugh, this is making my head hurt. So, just to rule it out, is there anything other than D-check mode that could have caused what I was seeing there?

Actually, 94loyale, I just read your diagnostic thread. Very informative, and good on you for keeping after it like that. Have I mentioned I HATE electrial problems? As for getting new used relays, unfortunately, I'm in the south where we're not blessed with good subaru boneyards. That, along with my wife giving me hell for each additional dollar I put into the car, makes me want to do as much diagnostics as possible before buying parts. Oh, I thought of one more thing I remembered from when it wouldn't start at the mechanic's, just want to make sure I mention all the symptoms I can in case something jogs someone's memory. For whatever its worth, when the car wouldn't start and the CEL was clicking randomly, the fuel pump was coming on and off with it.

Looks like a solid foundation. You need to post up some pictures of it after it got the $7000 put into it, though. I'm curious to see where that was spent.

Ok, I did a little more searching and reading on the ignition relay, hopefully this will help me isolate the problem (which doesn't actually exist right now!). If it was the ignition relay, this would explain the ECU not getting power (not showing any output, as the mechanic said), and it would explain why the check engine light was clicking on and off when the key was in the "on" position. If the relay is bad, the CEL will be off with the key on, right? It would also explain why a knock to the underside of the ECU might have caused the relay to switch on again. Ok, I think I've got that. I'll definitely check into that. Question on that: Can the relay "kind of" fail? Like where it will go on and off, and refuse to push power through, and then start working flawlessly again the next day? Is there anything else that will cause the CEL to go on and off with the key in the on position like that? When I read that part about the ECU getting power, it did seem like a strong indication that it might be the relay or the ECU. I almost wish it was still not running, so I could more easily figure out what I'm supposed to be looking for! I almost wish that. :-\ Anyway, that's a good start for the issue it was having at the mechanic's. Speaking of problems its not having anymore, what about the bucking/power loss it did the day before I took it to the mechanic? Could that potentially be caused by the same relay, or do I need to look elsewhere for that problem? Again, the bucking took place right when I let off the clutch and pushed in the gas on upshifts, and the CEL would flash on as it bucked, then go off when it began running normally again. It did this a couple of times, then died at a stoplight with 1/8 tank of gas, again as I was letting off the clutch and taking off. After starting it (it started after maybe 20-30 seconds of cranking) I drove it to the next gas station, keeping the rpms high to keep it from stumbling. After filling the tank back up, no more problems. It seems like a fuel problem, but before I go spending the money on a fuel pump, I want to triple-check. I have a can of seafoam, should I run that through it and get the tank back down to 1/8 again and see if I get a repeat performance?