subdudext6

I think some guy (I forget his name) at ProECM has done it. Problem with turbo, in my humble opinion, is not really the mechanics and nuts and bolts of it. You can get the motor rebuilt, put forged connecting rods, forged (turbo) pistons on it, connect up the piping with the exhaust. All of that can be done given time and and decent amounts of money. The REAL problem seems to be the control electronics. The ECU (to my knowledge and some information from xt6.net) does not have an enriched fuel map. To top it all off, if you upgrade the engine and stick a turbo in it, you have to also probably upgrade the fuel system, beefier fuel pump, higher flow injectors, fuel regulator, etc. All of that needs to get hooked up to electronics to control it, otherwise you will shove a connecting rod through your new expensively rebuilt engine. To tell you the truth, I've thought about all this myself, many, many times, and I've come to the following conclusion. Personally, I think the XT6 is one of the most forward thinking cars ever made. To me, I think the mere fact that these cars still EXIST and run today, is amazing, considering how ahead of their time they were. The more modifications one attempts, the more likely it is that the car will bite the dust. I'm leaning more and more toward PRESERVATION of these wonderful automobiles, NOT modification for the sake of performance. Why spend $10,000 bucks to modify it, when you can buy an older Impreza and modify it to your heart's content. When for a much smaller investment of money, you can preserve and keep an XT6 running. Think about it...these cars are pushing 16 years old. Anyway, just my 2 bits.

Just use more oil, but only if you are confident about your seals (i.e. you've done all the resealing you can). An extra cup of oil does the trick just fine. As an engine ages, the tolerances between the moving parts get looser, and more oil volume is required. Extra cup of oil = 25 cents

I have an xt6 with air suspension, maybe i can give you a few pointers. When you turn the car on, the air compressor, which is located on in the drivers side fender, should turn on. You should hear a compressor like sound coming from that area. If it doesnt turn on, you more than likely have a bad compressor. Just to be safe, you may want to check the fuse box also. Also make sure the battery terminals are clean. The compressor tends to draw a lot of amperage. The compressor will try to pump up for 10 minutes, at which point it will cut off. You can check the air struts by jacking the car up and looking at the rubber "air bag" at the top of the wheel well. If there are cracks in the rubber, then the strut is not necessarily bad, its just old, and probably leaks. Air struts last 5-7 years, in my experience. That's how long the rubber lasts. After that, you just gotta replace them. I get mine from Subaruparts.com, they are a bit cheaper there, even with the shipping. Anyway, the compressor WILL burn out if it has been run too long and the air struts are bad. So changing the compressor isnt going to help, you'll burn it out again if the struts are bad. Changing the compressor isn't hard. Gotta take the driver's side inner wheel well liner off, and also popo out the battery, so that you can loosen the nuts that hold the assembly that holds the compressor in place (at least on my XT6 it's that way). Compressor is kind of expensive, but you might be able to find a used one. Just be careful with the little plastic tabs that hold the air lines in place, NEVER force anything that has to do with the air lines. Anyway, lots of people have converted their air suspension, so I won't go into the pro's and con's here. Once you fix the air suspension system however, it's very reliable (at least in my experience). Compressor lasts about 8 years, shocks last about 5-7 years. Ride is excellent.

Just thank your lucky stars it wasnt something bigger. I have a story for ya. I was driving to BWI to pick up my fiance from the airport. This was when I had my Honda civic. So, I'm cruising along in the middle lane on the freeway in Bethesda, when I see this truck tire SKIP the center divider, and start bouncing towards me ! I was doing 65-70, that thing was closing fast. It looked BIG, and it was bouncing. My life flashed before my eyes. I had NO time to shift my foot from the gas to the brake pedal. The only thing I could do was try to estimate when it was going to bounce and try to avoid it. I swerved left and it BARELY clipped my front right corner of my car. The engine kept going, it bounced off and God knows what happened behind me. I didn't even look. Destroyed my headlight, bent the fender, etc. That car was never the same afterwards. Anyway, I filed a police report, nothing ever came of it. Insurance didnt do jack about it, all I had was liability. Anyway, to this day if somebody bitches about being pulled over by a cop because of loose stuff in the back of a truck, I just laugh at them and give them an earful. A $2 buck strap can save somebody's life. Just be blad you are ok.

What do you mean by "needs power steering pump"? If the light is on but the pump is not leaking, its just brushes. Brushes are 40 bucks (give or take a few), disconnect the wires to the pump, tilt it so fluid doesnt leak out, pop the motor off and replace the brushes. If the pump leaks its just the o-ring to the front cap. I think there is some japanese guy's website somewhere that shows you how to tear the thing apart (I haven't done it, just the brush replacement). As for the rims, you can get rims for $75 bucks each at oemwheels.com. The original nice looking alloy ones. Or at least, that was the price a couple of years ago. All of that is WAY easier than swapping engines and trannies...but that's just my opinion. Good luck with that. My 89 xt6 is still running around just fine.

Why a soob? Its easy...well, at least for me. One time at a stoplight, this white bmw convertible pulls up. He revs his engine, I rev my engine. The pavement was a bit wet, it had recently sprinkled. Stop light turns green, I pop the clutch and speed away to the next stop light, while he is sitting there drying the pavement with the rubber of his rear wheels. I pull into the corner gas station to get a little gas. He follows me, stops behind me and asks me what car that is. I told him its a Subaru XT6. We start talking about cars and stuff. Yeah, I know, I would not have been able to beat a 325i or whatever on dry pavement, but hey, nobody looks at an NFL record and asks what the weather was like if it was a winning record. Someday I'd like to soup it up so I CAN beat a beamer on dry pavement. hehe.

Haha, Have I got a windshield wiper story for you.... I went to the dealer to get a windshield wiper refill, mainly because all of the windshield wiper refills I get somehow break. So I go to the parts counter and ask for a windshield wiper refill for an 89 xt6. The 17-year old kid behind the counter asked me if it was the driver's side or the passenger's side. I calmly responded that the car only had one windshield wiper. The kid got a very confused look on his face, started aimlessly searching thru books, and finally went into the back and got some old white haird guy from the back. The old guy said "Oh, you have one of those..." and brought out another thick book and started thumbing thru pages. Meanwhile the 17 year old kid sat there looking confused. Old guy started talking to me after a bit "We dont get that many requests for those around here....yep here its is." Special order of course. Totaly funny. I guess you had to be there...

205k here on my 89xt6 5spd AWD. Just replaced the distributor and had the axles rebuilt. Burns a bit of oil but hey, that's what oil is for.

Very nice guide !

99% chance if you overheated, one of the heads is cracked or warped. Those XT 4-cylinder heads are notorious for warping and cracking if overheaded. The block is much bigger and is usually pretty bulletproof.