canajun2eh

Yes, it is. Subaru makes a lot of different engines, not just the ones we're all familiar with. I've actually seen 1 and 2-cylinder air cooled ones, driving portable generators.

Check out the information here: http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~camncath/ea82_hydraulic_lifter_fix.htm The guy's name is Cameron Caunce, and he lives in Brisbane, Australia. I hope this helps.

I would have had the alignment done. I'm a firm believer in having all 4 corners aligned from time to time. With the amount I drive (60,000 km/yr), once a year seems about right.

You also got to keep all the coins the purchase of a replacement belt assembly would have set you back! New seatbelts aren't cheap, and probably aren't in stock either. Even used seatbelts from a junkyard are spendy.

Hmmm,.... That's weird. The reason I suggested the engine compartment is because some people have reported finding them there. I would have expected these connectors to be under the dash, near the ECU. They may be tucked up out of the way. They may also be closer to the wheel well (near the fuse block) that you'd expect. Look under the dash again. I'm sure they're in there somewhere. You're looking for a pair of 1-wire green connectors and a similar pair of 1-wire black connectors. They just come out of the cable harness and dangle, with maybe 2" of slack wire before the connector. Good luck!

Purge valve failure can certainly result in poor idling, especially when the engine is warm. Your bad smell from the exhaust is likely due to bad fuel (high sulphur content, probably). Change to a different gas company. Keep trying different ones until the smell goes away. If it's available in your area, try an Ethanol blend. I stay away from Shell, Exxon, and PetroCan because of the exhaust smell. On the west coast, you may have different results.

I'm not going to answer any of your questions. I'm sure that others are better qualified. I just want to reassure you that you're better with the Legacy you bought. The "plain Jane" one is a "Brighton" model. I had one of these, and I hated it. What a let-down from the next-step-up model I had previously. It was noisy and was lacking in a lot of comfort features. I much prefer the three-point harness belts we Canadians have, over those stupid automatic belts some of you Americans are saddled with. Can you leave the lap belt attached to the automatic shoulder belt, so that you end up with an automatic three-point belt? It seems to me that that's possible on an American XT6 I saw.

Fusible links are very slow blow fuses. They're basically a weak link in the car's wiring system, designed to burn out when the total current drawn exceeds the link's capacity where individual circuit requirements don't exceed their respective fuse capacities. This is better than having the wiring burn out. Fusible links are similar in concept to the main fuses or circuit breakers protecting the input to your fuse/circuit breaker panel in your house.

You may have the required green and black connectors under the hood, near the left strut tower. For normal operation, these 4 connectors are NOT connected together. The green and the black connectors are connected together (act like switches) to put the ECU into 4 different modes, depending on which ones are connected. I can't advise you further -- my XT/XT6 shop manual, which contains this information (applicable to all EA82 engines), is on loan.

Noisy lifters aren't a serious problem. If you decide to repair them, the work can be done while the engine is in the car. You just need to remove the valve cover and then unbolt the rocker arm assembly. The lifters can be removed easily. Pull out the lifters one at a time, and inspect for a collapsed lifter. Check the shiny part that pushes on the rocker arm. There should be no pitting. Replace collapsed or pitted lifters. The ones that aren't being replaced should have the O-ring replaced. The O-rings cost about $3 each from the dealer. Lifters are quite a lot more costly. Be sure to replace the old lifters into their original locations. It should take less than 2 hours to do the lifters on both sides.

The XT6 engine code is ER27. I didn't know about the switch to a timing chain for the 3.0 H6 engine. That's good news as far as I'm concerned. If the only difference between engines were timing chain vs. timing belts, I'd take the timing chain version any day, especially if the engine is the "interference" type. Timing chains give you lots of warning when they require service.

I think you're right. I believe the piece in the middle is the same across all EJ series engines, and only the outer pieces differ, depending on whether the engine has two or one cam on each side.

As far as I know, all the tanks are the same. The fuel pumps, however, are different. Be sure to install the correct fuel pump and pressure regulator for the type of engine you have. The pressure regulator is the little metal thingie in the fuel line, just after it leaves the pump.

I think you'll find that the dash indicators, etc. all turn off when the ignition key is turned to the "Start" position. At least, that's always happened on my cars.

Outside air is drawn into the car through the grille at the bottom of the windshield. Try running the system on "recirculate". If exhaust fumes still get into the car, you've probably got rusted out wheel wells or a rust hole somewhere in the trunk. The oil filler cap is supposed to be air tight. If your car won't run right unless the oil filler cap is loose, you may have a plugged crankcase ventilation hose. These hoses get stiff with age and accumulated deposits.

Since you're new to Subarus: If the car has a manual transmission, make sure that you press the clutch pedal ALL the way to the floor, and that the floor mat doesn't interfere with clutch pedal travel. The starter won't work unless the clutch pedal is fully depressed. If you're doing the fully depressed clutch pedal thing and your starter still won't turn over, you might have either a bad ignition switch or the clutch interlock switch might be bad. The interlock switch is mounted under the dash, near the pedal pivot. Pull the connector and short it. If the starter now works when you turn the ignition switch to "Start", you've found the problem. If your car has an automatic transmission, the neutral safety switch, mounted on the transmission, might be bad. Good luck.

One of your brake lights is out.

Hello: I'm in Stittsville -- just outside Ottawa. There's a complete XT in a junkyard just down the road from me. These folks aren't computerized, so don't tie into any other junkyards or used parts sources. PM me for more information.

The fuse rating doesn't matter at all. You're simply using the fuse to connect two signal wires together, to inform the transmission computer about needing to stay in FWD mode. There's very little current in these wires.

Sounds like the air conditioning cycling on and off. You DO know that the AC comes on when you've got the controls set to Defrost?

In my case, it couldn't have been a turbo spinning up -- the car didn't have one! Sounded nice (rice?), though. I never noticed that the noise was more pronounced when going around corners -- probably too busy paying attention to all the idiots on the road. I did, however, notice that the noise was more noticeable when there was something low on the ground, like a curb (kerb to you Kiwis).

This was on my 92 Legacy wagon, L model. I retired this thing with 480,000 km on the clock because it needed a clutch, an exhaust system (still the original), a steering rack (still the original), a new rad (still the original), new tires, and also a new front axle. That was too rich for me. Wish I'd done the work -- its replacement (used 95 Brighton wagon) was crap. I just left the noise until it became necessary to change the clutch. In my case, I lived with the problem for over 60,000 km. If you decide to do the same, you might have to replace the clutch release fork too. That's probably not a bad idea. With the way my wife uses a clutch, they last about 190,000 km. The bearing problem started on clutch #2, at around 300,000 km.

With the green connector plugged in and the black disconnected, the ECU is put into Diagnostic mode. This mode is used by the dealer for extracting additional codes from a running engine. You're not supposed to leave this connector plugged in for any extended period. Shouldn't cause permanent damage, except to your bank balance.

It's quite a loud whine. You can hear it faintly when you're not accelerating but driving with the windows open and going past a wall or a curb. This bearing is hard to replace, because you have to separate the engine from the transmission, just as you would if you're replacing the clutch. I'd wait until the clutch needs work.

OK, in that case, I could be mistaken. My XT/XT6 factory service manual (for MY 88) didn't mention this engine version.