Deener

Ha ha, hey Rob. Thanks. Unfortunately, I am down to one Loyale now. It's my spare, which bailed me out when the water pump went on the forester yesterday. I know of someone that may be looking to get rid of theirs. If they do, I'll get you in touch for sure.. Dean

Hi all, it's been a while. I am trying to purchase a Gates timing belt + Water pump kit (TCKWP277A) for my 98 Forester DOHC 2.5 from Amazon but they won't ship to Canada. I really really really don't want to buy a kit from the stealership. Does anyone know of a source for these Gates kits in Canada? Thanks a bunch in advance. Dean

Thanks guys. The cylinders were mangled, so I went and picked a couple out of the jy off a forester that had the key sitting in the ignition. My door 'tabs' where the lock sits were a little bent but I was able to straighten them with some curved needle nose and then pushed on them with the old lock in place...and some graceful hammer taps. I also grabbed another stock stereo and slapped it in to refill that void. Now it's rockin AND lockin....

Some crackhead broke in popping BOTH locks out of the doors to steal the stock stereo from the 98 Forester. They wounded the metal around the hole on the drivers door slightly but I think I can bend it back. Seriously...they stole the stock stereo!!!! I can't find any replacement locks at the local parts stores - does anyone know if this is a dealer only part? It really doesn't seem like it should be - aren't the locks a standard size?

New sensor solved both codes (reset ecu after installing the vss), and the Speedo works again.

I yanked it out the other day and spun the front passenger wheel, thankfully the gear in the tranny spins. At first I was worried because I expected the gear to spin faster than it did - it just took a few rotations of the tire to actually notice the movement. Out of curiosity I put the old sensor on the vice with a drill on the tab and my multi-meter attached to the points. The sensor was reporting intermittent voltage and seemed to crap out right away at low speeds - like I think it hit around 2 volts or so and then went dead after that. Picking a new one up from the dealer today. I'll update the results. Thanks for all of your input! Dean

Yeah it's plugged in for sure, that was the first thing I tried. Is the drive gear attached to the sensor itself or do I have to poke my head in there to see if it's broken? Thanks a bunch, Dean

Hi all, My research tells me that P1507 and P1540 mean IAC and VSS issues. I am going to pick up a VSS and slap it in (speedo and odometer are dead). But what I am wondering is if the P1507 (IAC) is perhaps a result of the P1540? This car has 220km on it, I just did the head gaskets and I didn't have a scanner before I did the job so I don't know if the 1507 was there before I started but the speedo was broken prior so the 1540 probably was. Did I miss something during the intake reassembly? The IAC connection seems solid. The car runs nice and seems to idle ok too. Any thoughts or tricks? Should I tear in and clean the IAC or do I even need to? Dean

Hi All, I am about to jump into a HG job on a 98 Forester S and have a question about parts selection. My research tells me that I am going with OEM for the HG's, timing belt and t-stat but what about these other parts listed below? Can I go with aftermarket and if so, can anyone comment on which is best or what to avoid in aftermarket versions of these parts? For example I recall using ONLY OEM intake gaskets on my EA82's but does that hold true with the EJ25? Exhaust gaskets Intake gaskets Oil Pump gaskets Valve Covers Cam Seals Oil seperator plate

Excellent, thanks a bunch. I saw those online and wasn't sure if they were worthwhile or not.

Hi all, I just picked up my first 'new gen' Soob and it's a 98 Forrester. I have only ever owned and worked on ea82's so I am wondering what sort of special tools, if any, that I should be looking for? I gather that I'll need an obd ii scanner, but are there any 'must haves' that I should be aware of that are specific to the new Gens? I may have to do the hg's/check the heads first as it comes from a person who had overheated it. So ill probably re seal it while the engine is out...so I'm wondering if there is anything I should pick up that I might not already have.

Also worth mentioning...I ran in circles for a while exactly like this when I simply had a blown fuse - believe it or not, its the one labelled for 'horn/hazzard'. I can't recall the slot number, but its worth it to check yours. I know it sounds crazy but what happened is that I had been messing around with my stereo wiring and left a certain little green wire exposed. It grounded out on the ashtray, and then popped that particular fuse. Without that fuse I could not get spark - someone might know the particulars but I think that fuse has something to do with power to the ECU.

http://autos.sympatico.ca/strange-automotive-news/13931/subaru-submerged-three-months-starts-first-try

Hi Rick James No Worries, I got the new kit in without issue but the part number was way different than those you've described. It had a couple of 3's in it...(don't quote me but it was something like 0750303...?). I don't have the box anymore but it was definitely an Exedy and it was the 225mm kit. Good news is that I took the whole kit back to VAP and they gave me a full cash refund!

If you aren't losing coolant then I would put money on a clogged/blocked rad. Classic rad issue - car gets hot at high speeds and up hills (under load). Been there unfortunately a few times. If you ARE loosing coolant then 'spot the leak' is your first objective. Pull the rad and flush it with your trusty garden hose - see what comes out and judge the flow for yourself - flush forward then backward, repeat....then ask yourself - does it look like strong flow or not? Just make sure to discard the old coolant properly so your neighbors don't lose any pets to negligence. BTW - when you check the coolant level in your Loyale you need to open the rad cap to check. Judging by the level in the plastic expansion tank can be misleading and flat out wrong.

Ok, I took the flywheel in and the step is currently ay .826...? WTF? I even brought in another flywheel off of another 4WD Loyale that measured .823. What gives? I thought that the .800 mark was the FWD spec and the .900 is the 4WD spec? I wasn't about to ask him to take 100 or so off just to fit. It's very very unlikely that these are FWD flywheels as I have the service records from the .826 one that shows everything up to the day I got my hands on it and the clutch was never done on it. Can anyone comment on this? I am confused and I don't want to burn through another clutch kit if this is a problem. Dean

Thank you very much but I already have a replacement kit and it's a 4wd anyway. I like your return spring suggestion and I will add one. I never took the fork off last time because I couldn't figure out how to get it off. I see a little square wire 'tab' at the bottom of it, do you pull or squeeze the tab or something? I want to grease the ball stud but I don't want to reef on the fork and wreck it.

Heres the crack...

Well, I just got it apart and found the pressure plate cracked!!! Ill post a pic tomorrow.

Not a dumb question at all. I have been wondering about this myself...I have a hill holder that appears to do what the return spring should. So no - I don't have one and I don't think it even came with one - and now under a shadow of doubt...Should an EA82/93 Loyale 5MT actually have a return spring or is it the HH that does the fork retrun trick in it's place? Interestingly enough I had my head in there last night and found that the hill holder cable sheath (I mean the twisty metal housing piece) wasn't secured properly into the fixture/bracket/cable junction on the bell housing. Mind you the HH worked and is still working great - it also seemed properly adjusted all along. I would expect a HH that was tightened excessively to promote early clutch decay, but not the cable sheath being improperly seated in the bracket as the culprit....? I bought another Exedy, it's going in tonight.

Ok, cool thanks for the tip. So, just to be clear, the step should be the same for the PP mounting surface as the friction surface?

Hi All, EA82 - I just got slippage out of an Exedy Clutch Kit that I installed in July. I drive fast all the time, but I don't beat on it or ride the clutch, very rarely squeal the tires (keep good/new rubber on 2 sets of rims), the only time I really spin them is in the snow/ice/sideways/4wd. I have a couple of questions about this fauilure that I am hoping y'all can chime in on. I want to figure out if I made any errors installing the kit or if its my driving that baked it, or if it is defective which unlikely I'm sure. 1. Lets say it was my driving that burned through the clutch disc in 9 months - is there a stronger disc than the Exedy? What about the Exedy PP? 2. What should I look for to determine the reason for failure so I don't make the same mistake on my next one? - I tried adjusting the cable - it's already set correctly. Adjusting didn't help either way. - Rear main was immaculate 9 months ago. - I follow torque values religiously. - Cable seems in great shape still. - TO bearing clips were replaced 9 months ago. - Flywheel was ground but I didn't articulate the .906 step or whatever it is to them, but the shop seemed to know what to do. (Dowels were done too). - The car is running perfect other than the slippage, never overheated, ZERO LEAKS!! Yes thats correct, zero leaks.

First thought is vaccum lines for sure, but you checked them. Its a good idea to spray carb cleaner on the vaccum points (don't forget to hit the intake manifold where the gaskets meet the heads) and if you get a rise in idle, you've found a leak. Also make sure you are getting the correct resitance on your temp sensor (light green electrical connector that is right near the T-stat housing). I know from experience that it can be out just enough to not throw a code, but also enought to cause you some issues. Serach around here on the forum for the correct resistance value. Give the throttle body and intake a good cleaning, hows that air filter too... There is one more not-so-obvious bit (where my idle was fluctuating) that I experinced last week on my 93 Loyale...it was a bad alternator, believe it or not. I am guessing the voltage was fluctuating or something because as soon as I put in a new alt, the idle stabilized. Good luck!

After reading this, I had to share my most recent round of bad luck as well... I had brand new winter tires installed last week. I went for an early morning drive on Saturday and all of a sudden THUMP THUMP THUMP...I pulled over to find that I had a 2 foot "L" shaped piece of rebar stabbed directly into the tire (seriously 2 feet long!!!). So I pull out the fuill size spare and my trolley jack and swap the tire. On my way home with the spare on, the lights started to dim. As I pull her into the garage, she dies. The alternator decided to pack it in (10.5 volts is all it could put out). So I went and got a rebuilt alternator and instaled it. The dam thing screaching on my way to work this morning. Popped the hood and I see the pulley is wrecked - like a bearing went. I suppose it's ironic that the tire shop fixed my tire for 'no charge' amidts these alternator issues.