friendly_jacek

I guess he needs that extra 0.1 HP on the wheels....Or is is extra 0.01 mpg?

I had it installed at U-Haul for less than all the parts he mentioned.

Problems with ground connection? Intermittent electic connection? ECU/TCU going crazy? Problems with one of the sensors? Sounds like you need to take matters in your own hands. I guess the dealer is trying to rip you of.

My point was that flashing AT temp light=AT errors. Only solid AT temp light signifies overheating. I thought it was explained clearly in the car manual. The description of the problem did not sound like overheating. AT overheating is is not subtle (smoke, dark fluid, dipstic too hot to touch, etc; I know it first hand). Besides, if AT sensor senses overheating, the Subaru tranny goes in overheat mode with no overdrive; again, not subtle to recognize. And for THAWA, newer Subarus have no "POWER" light, AT utilizes the only signal light it has to communicate. Blinking on start up=stored error code. Blinking while driving=active error detected. I hope it helps.

It is funny how many wrong answers you got before the correct one showed up. Do google search for "subaru tcm secret handshake" (not a joke) for TCM error code retrieval procedure. It works without any diagnostic hardware.

I had similar symptoms with TPS problems (bad connection) in 2000 legacy, but MIL and AT temp lights went of and codes pointed to TPS.

This was a great thread and a success story. Dealers are too quick to change parts. I had TPS replaced recently for a tune of $330 and the problem in retrospect was loose connection (recurred after the replacement). BTW, what happened to the car?

I have 2000 legacy and thought of doing this too, I just bought new tires. However, the tires are directional. I dont see a way to include the directional spare in rotation program to ensure equal wear. Am I wrong?

Tire size and gearing for more responsive acceleration, IIRC.

I thought that 1st gear selection on AT gave you fixed 50/50 split. I use it when I pull my boat in my backyard (moderade grade and slippery wet grass). If I forget to use "1", and start in "D" or "3", the front wheels spin before the computer tranfers the power to rear. I presume same would happen in snow/ice. People on various other forums confirmed this feature in 4EAT, but it is not mentioned in the manual for the car. Have no idea why not.

Do a search please. I posted my numbers a couple of months ago.

So, basically you are saying that it is physically imposible to obtain a correct oil level on a subaru. Well, I will live with my artifactual levels :-)

Ha, ha , ha. S=service, C=commercial (officially). I guess some people could not remember that and coined the spark and compression mnemonics. And now the myth became the truth!

Ya, potenza RE910 is considered a performance tire with 400 threadwear rating. The more I think about it, city driving may contribute here a lot. I also went through brake pads in 45000 miles at the same time. With hwy driving these things would last at least twice as long (miles-wise). The only thing that bothers me is that eneven wear pattern. I guess I will request alignment check every time tires are rotated. Thanks for all that replied.

Some people report that autorx (http://www.auto-rx.com/) helps with hight oil consumption. Never tried myself and do not represent the product. It could be worthwile before tearing the engine...

My 2000 legacy wagon (AT) eats through tires like crazy. 50000 miles and had to put 3rd set of tires. The stock RE92 lasted only 25000miles with uneven wear (outer edges IIRC) despite 5000 mile rotating and aligment check at 20000 miles. Well, I thought OEM tires were not good and but bought a lifetime alignment with new tires just in case. Today I just learned that the RE910 replacement tires were shot after 25000 miles (inner edges wear). Tires were rotated and alignment required adjustment at 40000 miles. The tire mechanic said "typical for AWD" but prorated the warranty (I had 45000 miles or so warranty on RE910s) so at least I got some discount on the new RE950s. The car is driven mostly conservatively in city (wife's commuter car) with some hwy trips (family car) and rare towing. I like to keep a decent tire pressure (40 PSI) for crisp handling, better MPG, and heavy load while towing. Questions: 1. Is AWD hard on tires? 2. Am I hurting the the tires by 40 PSI (tires are rated at 44 PSI)? 3. Or alternatively, do tire shops mess up alignments for purpose so the customers would come back for tires soon (my conspiracy theory)?

Interesting. How fresh antifreeze would prevent HG failure? Just curious... BTW, Subaru requires coolant change every 30000 miles which translates every 2 years or so on everage. This is more than other manufacturers require. Same with fuel filter, ATF, brake fluid, and spark plugs. I always wondered why.

Last time I checked the height of the temp spare it was very close to the real thing. Yes, it is narrower but inflated to 60 PSI to compesate for it. Sure it is not identical to the full wheel but I venture to say that the difference for the drivetrain is not that great. 0.25" difference in circumference is OK for AWD.

I had the same problem in my old mazda. The idle speed adjustment were useless, since ECU would override them. The only thing that helped some was throttle body cleaning and thus, I strongly recommend doing that. I got rid of the car nevertheless because I was tired of it.

Now, he stated: "no excessive smoking"...

Fuel filter should have been replaced at 30000 miles, so probably not.Surprised that no engine light was triggered. How about that 2001 recall on O2 sensor and reprogrammed ECU? Was it done? BTW, it sounds like the drivetrain/major emission parts are still covered by warranty.

Ha Ha Ha, the codes can be read without tools/software by counting blinks after proper "handshake" procedure!

The temp sensor is located in the same spot, on the ATF outflow tubing (for measuring max fluid temp). I confirmed with IR reader that the measumerents from the B&M AT temp guage are reasonably accurate.

I fitted my MY00 subaru legacy with AT cooler (medium sized), temp gauge, and mobil 1 ATF some time ago anticipating some light towing in summer. This is my second summer I observe the AT temp but only 10k miles on the fluid. The ambient temps are the same, yet the AT temp I observe is ~20F higher this summer: no towing: 185 vs 165 towing: 220 vs 200 AT never overheated, but 220F makes me uneasy. Temps confirmed by IR reader. The car has only 50k miles. No change in shifting, no other problems. Fluid level normal. Do I need to move to a larger cooler? ATF additives? What is going on?

Sounds like binding indeed. Are your tires exactly same size?Any follow-up?