McDave

Success! Since I had the car up on stands this morning to do some exhaust work, I decided to check out the right side preload. With the bolt and locking tab off, the retainer plate was loose as a goose! I was able to hand tighten it a half notch, then went ahead and used a brass punch on one of the fins to tighten it another 1 1/2 notch to where the lock tab would line up again. I checked it after getting home and the left side was dry, and the right (the side that leaked the worst) had just a tiny bit of gear oil below the retainer. I'm betting that was just residual from the groove. If not I'll go ahead and put the new seals in when they arrive next week. It smells better already! Thanks guys!

Definitely replace both pumps. The motor has been sitting so seals dry out. It's cheap insurance, you don't want to risk blowing your new motor, not to mention the trouble of having to change them later in the car.

I told ya that 5 posts ago. Mine is set at 23. Glad you got it figured out!

Yeah, that's true... when the ecm gets a throttle signal it should rich-en up the fuel. But when you get more airflow through the maf, the same thing should happen. Flip a coin. Or... the ecm could be napping. Better grab one of those too.

How did you test the maf?

So now we're back to air intake leaks, vacuum leaks, or a bad maf as the likely suspects. It's definitely a lean condition since the gas mileage is so great. (almost afraid to fix it)

Thanks GD. I've got an assortment of truck axle nut sockets that look similar that should also fit over the axle stub. Or maybe even an a/c clutch spanner wrench. I'll figure something out.

Uh oh. All of a sudden mine isn't running that bad... not bad at all! :-\ I feel better now.

I think we're both about to learn something! (wish I had the special tool that must exist for those plates)

Don't worry guys, while I work on cars for a living, this one is my own so I sure don't want to mess it up! If I make any changes from where they are set now, it will be to the right side to make sure that it gets that extra 1 3/4 notch preload to the o-ring seals. I suspect that's where the problem lies now. Stay tuned (next week)!

A weak fuel pump would likely show up at higher rpms, not midrange. I got to play around today with my Loyale that has the same symptoms. I cleaned the maf and bumped up the tps a bit but I don't think it really helped much. I'll know more in the morning as it's worse when it's cold. I'll be replacing the O2 sensor tomorrow too but I seriously doubt it will help since it acts up more when cold, when the O2 isn't contributing it's input yet. I'm with you and don't want to spend $200 on a maf without being sure, so my next step is to actually ohm the tps while sweeping the throttle open to make sure it doesn't drop out at common off idle or midrange throttle positions. BTW... advancing the timing a bit does help as long as you don't get any pinging. I'm at about 23 degrees and all is well there. (plug in the green connectors by the master cylinder to check the timing) Edit: I just thought of something else. I noticed the tranny would upshift too quickly from 1st to 2nd, which really dogs it down, so I pulled the vacuum hose off the modulator valve (right rear of tranny) and found it full of ATF. That will surely make a difference. Got a MV on order, will know more next week.

Thanks GD, that's basically what I plan to do.

By the way, here's a glamour shot of the little darling. She's been drawing oohs and aahs wherever she goes. Thanks again!

Yep, I found it/them while looking for a new modulator valve. Here's the link: http://www2.partstrain.com/store/?N=11741+1719+4294967011+11921+8001 Because when unscrewing something like that it can be off before you realize it and throw your count off. Then getting it started at the same spot can be tricky. Taking up slack and returning to that same point is more accurate, unless they're already tight like you say. Just seems to work out better for me that way. YMMV I've been looking. Our Motor shop manuals have been a big disappointment. I think the Haynes that came with the car is better than these Motor's! Ok, thanks for the warning. I'll play it by ear/feel. Perfect! Even if I decide not to try to change the backlash, at least I now know the preload procedure between the two sides. Thank you very much! I'm confident I can solve this stinking mess now.

Yes, no doubt it's gear oil and the fluid level is dropping. I punched the rollpin out of the axle and slid the axle out enough to see it was completely dry around the axle stub. The grease is definitely leaking out where the red arrow points to. I'll probably mark it then count how many notches it takes to hand tighten it, then take it apart. When going back together hand tighten it again then back off the same number of notches. (unless they're already tight, then I'll try it your way) I have another post in this forum where I felt that I have too much backlash in the ring and pinion anyway. This may be related. Sure would be good to know the procedure for setting (and sealing) it. But I do thank you for your help! Thanks!

I started to change the axle seals in the transaxle of my '93 Loyale 3sp auto, but it's not those seals that are leaking, it's actually coming from around the housing the seals are mounted in (see photo). The red arrow points to where the leak is. The green arrow points to a bolt with a locking tab that I assume keeps that ribbed seal holder from unscrewing. So the questions are: What is the "seal housing" actually called? Does it use an o-ring or what to seal to the case? Does this part also screw in and out to set ring gear pre-load and if so what is the procedure for setting it? And finally, does anyone have a blowup diagram of the transaxle so I can see what I need to order? Please help, the smell of gear oil burning on the cat really sux. Thanks in advance.

In addition to what Frank said, there is another post on this board somewhere that the cure was to replace the maf. I'm getting the same symptoms on my '93 Loyale Wagon and am planning on changing the O2 and maf as a starting place just due to their old age (165k miles).

Finding shorts 101: Go to the parts store and get a circuit breaker (CB) in the same size as the fuse the dash lights are supposed to use (not the 20amp one). Also get a couple feet of wire and some wire terminals so you can attach the wires to the CB and plug the other ends of the wires into where the fuse belongs. Before plugging in the CB, make a note of everything that doesn't work besides just the dash lights. Don't forget to check the cigarette lighter too. Now plug in the CB and when you turn the key and lights on, the CB will start tripping off and on instead of burning up fuses. Start disconnecting everything that wasn't working before with the blown fuse. Once you unplug the offending item or circuit, the CB will stop tripping and you have now isolated the culprit. For instance, if the cigarette lighter was one of the items that didn't work with the blown fuse, start with it since they often short out. Or, if you unplug the dash and it quits tripping the CB, the problem is with the dash cluster. Continue unplugging stuff that didn't work until the CB stops tripping. Once the CB stops tripping, repair the short or replace the offending item. After repairs are made and the CB stays on, you can go ahead and plug everything else back in. As long as the CB doesn't trip again, you can go ahead and put a new fuse in. Done!

Yeah when I was car shopping a couple weeks ago I ran across a nice Legacy wagon for a good price. Problem was it had a power steering leak so bad you couldn't run the car long enough for a test drive to see if it had overheating issues or other problems. Mechanic had told him that it needed a rack and a hose. Sounds like some dummy tried to replace the hose and cross threaded it at the rack. I probably could have messed with it for a couple hours and gotten it threaded right, but I would have had to tow it home 50 miles first, then not know what kind of shape the rest of the car was in until fixing the PS leak. Pass. Having a running car to start with improves your odds of getting a good one by a wide margin.

True but you won't know until you tear into it. Is it worth a $300 gamble, particularly since you don't have a spare head or two?

How is it better?

Sorry, I must have missed that part. The point is this other motor doesn't sound like it's any better than what you already have and I doubt you will end up with enough parts between the two to make one good one... heads in particular.

Here is something to consider. If you had run a compression test on your sedan motor before tearing it down, you would have gotten the same type readings as on this other motor, ie low compression on one cylinder. It sounds like it has suffered the same fate as the sedan motor and that it is likely Arizona heat related.

Mizpah Precision is the place and you're right, only $4.50 exchange or $6.00 without cores. You probably couldn't mail your old ones to them for less than $1.50ea these days. Thanks again! PS Mental noted about aftermarket axles, although our shop hasn't had any problems with the New aftermarkets that we've been using the past few years. But then again Subarus are rare out here.

Looking back through the records I see the axles were replaced 40k miles ago, so I agree, not the problem. I'll have someone rock the car between drive and reverse while I watch the mounts and bushings. Those rear bushings do sound suspect based on the symptom. As for the lifters, I see they recently resealed the oil pump, so that likely rules that out. Records show the oil has been changed regularly, though they often stretched it out to 5k miles. I have some MMO in it now. If my a/c parts would ever show up I could start putting some miles on the car to see if that takes care of the tapping. Otherwise my next step appears to be to remove the cam tower for a good cleaning and inspection. I saw mention here that someone rebuilds lifers for $8ea. Could one of you point me towards this person? At nearly $50 a pop for new ones, I think having them rebuilt (if needed) would be a better choice. Thanks for the tips GG.