89Ru

More info: Yesterday when it stalled there were no bad engine noises, and no obvious coolant from the tailpipe. Checked codes and saw P0301 / P0302 (misfire) which I've seen before and (whether wrong or not) attribute it to corrosion on a connector (somewhere there's a helpful post on this topic) This morning took off both outer tb covers, belt is tight. Spun the crank around two full revs of the pulley and it feels ok (same as the ej22, compression and release past tdc at each half-turn of the crank pulley) nothing appears seized. Despite this, first time I'm hesitant to turn the key on a subaru! I'm thinking the car had a stroke causing low oil pressure (clog in some narrow passage) somehow related to the bungled thermostat Tear down to oil pump and check o-ring?

The saga continues, gets worse. Mystery solved: I discovered that I'd bungled the thermostat (put it in backwards, what was I thinking!?) I finished the new radiator install (that I didn't really need), did a 'proper' coolant fill, and started the engine. It cranked a while like it had sat too long without running, not firing, and I heard one knock sound as I let off the key, didn't turn over. Next time it started and there was immediate engine noise like low oil pressure (loud knocking). I'm not an expert in EJ25 DOHC engine sounds, all I know is my EA82 and EJ22 when they have various non-death noises, so that is my frame of reference. I let it run at idle, and the knocking sounds quieted down significantly, and I continued the air bleeding process. After a few minutes I increased rpm slightly, and it quit. Seized? It wasn't long enough for the temp needle to rise to its normal position, thermostat wasn't open (lower radiator hose cold), upper hose hot. Recall that this car was briefly driven highway speeds and at least twice (10 min each) at idle (post-highway drive troubleshooting) with a backwards thermostat. Since this is an interference engine I may have caused major damage but I'm not sure the cause. While waiting for the radiator to cross the country in shipping, the car was moved around the yard a few times without engine noise (cooling system intact). Since the oil pump is crank driven, can it be low oil pressure? If the timing belt skipped a few teeth, would it explain these symptoms? I don't have a lot of history on this car, just bought it last fall. As far as I know PO had a JDM engine installed at 170K with new head gaskets, I've put 5K on it with no problems, now has 210K. I'll check codes but I don't think CEL was on during any of these incidents.

check the little metal spring clips that hold the pads in place, one or more may be missing

rumbling...maybe you are losing one (or more) cylinders? does it sputter constantly or just once in a while? any ecu codes?

Punting, going the new radiator route. Its probably time anyway (210k miles) Anyone have a way to translate the VIN (last 6-digits) sequential production number into a manufacturing date? Two parts places in town want to know whether its before or after 4/97...

Thx for ideas. Got a new cap but I don't see flow like I'm expecting (turbulent with the neck level dropping slightly as rpm increases, this isn't happening, in fact the opposite, no turbulence, calm as a pond, and level rises as the temp increases and I have to repeatedly siphon off the top). Ran at 1800 rpm but it never got foamy and at the point when the fans started running it was hard to tell whether air was still bleeding out or coolant was boiling at the bleed port near the upper hose. The lack of flow makes me suspect the thermostat isn't fully opening or radiator is clogged. This time the lower hose was warm. Still no appreciable pressure, upper hose soft but then again I may be capping radiator and bleed plug too late (coolant already boiling...) Temp gauge in the middle. Tomorrow may try running with all plugs sealed from the start to build pressure. If I have a huge air bubble that I can't clear because of the flow problem, am I running the risk of hg damage by continuing this process? Or is the flow problem going to clear itself as I slowly bleed air out? Or should I punt, drain the system, test the thermostat, replace the radiator for good measure and start over? If I have hg issues, I guess the fun is just starting

thanks for that affirm this '97 obw (new to me) has a single bank radiator, will a double bank fit or is it not worth the cost/trouble? sometimes I pull a trailer, had no probs in the past with the single bank or while running a/c (until now of course) also will try a new rad cap just to say I did it

I don't get a 'surge' when the tstat opens so I'm thinking its not opening...but wouldn't the car overheat with a closed tstat? Nipper writes: FYI how to refill a subaru (or any car for that matter). Make sure the car is on level ground or nose uphill. Open air vent if equiped. Start car. SLOWLY pour 50/50 premix into the radiator till it is full. Wait for the T-stat to open. The coolant will surge out when it opens. Let the car run a bit more then top off the radiator. You can goose the throttle if you want. Fill the Overflow tank to the hot line. Place cap on the radiator, drive the car around the block. Let the car cool off. Check the coolant level in the radiator. Top off radiator in the above manor. Repeat if needed. During this procedure always monitor your engine temp. If you see it rising on the test drive, go home and let the car cool off and topoff. I have never ever had an air bubble in any car using this procedure .

Been a reader of this post below for my '95 ej22 but maybe missed some key details and now I'm fighting ej25 problems. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21681&highlight=Setright+radiator This is my first ej25 coolant flush, a '97 DOHC. Things went well at first yesterday. I replaced the t-stat and gasket with parts from the dealer, and subie green coolant (after choking on the price). Fill through the top hose, slow then into the rad with the bleed port open. During the warm up saw the characteristic bubble every few seconds from the overflow tank, overnight cooldown, and top off this morning with the bleed port open (took more water than expected...3/4 tank was sucked in overnight). During the test drive the overflow tank overflowed, the top rad hose was sucked flat during cooldown, until the overflow tank was sucked dry and then a huge gulp of air :-\ when I didn't catch the empty tank in time. Looks like I'll be bleeding for a week! Didn't incline the car nose up during the fill, will next time after this incident. Some slight deviations from the post above, I remove the tstat, backflush with distilled water with a drill pump first into the top hose to flush the heater and block, draining from the tstat inlet, then backflush into the lower hose to flush the rad draining from the top rad port. I also did the initial warm up with closed radiator and bleed port...that has worked for my ej22, will try the open port 'burp' process next. Also ordering the spill-free funnel below for the burping... http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis24610.html Any other obvious things I'm missing? When I start up after the cooloff the first thing I'll check is the dreaded stream of overflow tank bubbles... Update: I know this is a well worn out topic... Started up, no overflow tank bubbles, so hg ok i presume Inclined car nose up Run with rad cap off (plenty of air bled out of the fill point, looked like it was boiling at one point...) used an old turkey baster to siphon rising fluid into overflow tank Top off and cap radiator when fans started up Fans didn't turn off as expected Upper rad hose hot, soft even with cap on (run too long with cap off? no pressure??? or still too much trapped air...) Lower rad hose cold Radiator generally cool on drivers side temp gauge in the middle, normal place heater blowing hot My take on this is either the rad is clogged, maybe the backflush stirred up some crud and plugged it? or my new tstat isn't opening... will try again after overnight cooldown, ej25 newbie

Thx for the procedure. Wouldn't have touched the IAC without it. Take care when removing the top portion of the IAC, the valve is driven by a magnetically coupled shaft that is brittle and its top can shatter if the housing comes off at an angle. The housing should come off straight vertically, not easily done since the housing is secured into a channel in the valve base, don't know with what, some type of glue. Just my 2 cents. Here's a pic with the shaft top buggered...still works tho after de-chipping http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq166/89ru/P1040145.jpg

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54555 try this one

I agree, bought one of these low-mileage creampuffs unseen from an outfit in Texas in 2002. 80k later, still running. Wish my 5-year old sieve radiator was as good :-p

I spent what seemed like hours bleeding brake lines after a newbie strut job on my '89 5spd D/R (left the front brake lines disconected for the better part of the morning). After a never-ending stream of air bubbles from all the bleed screws, I finally decided to put the wheels on and drive it (carefully, squishy pedal nearly to the floor) and then re-bleed. Stuff a rag in the center of the fitting? Maybe someone makes a plug? BTW, whoever posted the method of sealing the threads on the bleed screw with dielectric or vacuum grease, my hat's off. Makes the Harbor Freight vacuum bleeder tool mostly easy to use to pull the air out of the lines.

While driving, '95 Legacy tach and speedo went to zero and radio cut out. Came back right away. Hasn't had trouble since (couple of days ago). This is my brother-in-law's Suby and I'm heading out to look at it. Figure fuse loose but my '95 fuse panel shows one fuse for the radio only, could it share with these gauges? ??

If you are talking about locking the cam to remove the bolt so you can get the cam off (presumably to replace a seal) then use a chain vise grip over old belt to protect cam teeth.

According to edrach you need to loosen the two bolts holding the hub to the lower portion of the strut, then you'll have enough play to get the axle out of the tranny- since you mention stub I'm assuming you have an auto. Should just pop out once you have enough room. There are other ways to do this by removing more stuff -stick to edrach's since it seems simpler.

Where are you in the process?

Your Subaru is too new for the flashing light that blinks a numerical code so you could parse through a handful of codes that listed your car's ailment(s). As of '95 (at least for the Outback Legacy) cars have a lot more to talk about and therefore you need an electronic gadget to plug into the OBD II (on-board diagnostics) connector under the dash and read the code for you. By '96 all cars were required to have this. Lots of options for gadgets, search this site or go to Autozone, they'll do it for you during daylight hours.

Is the problem a hardware incompatibility (i.e. RS232 vs. USB) or are you not finding OBDii display software that runs under your OS? Try these folks. Post if you find something that works. http://allobd.com/products.asp?cat=27

All good info, had a P0325 code in my '95 legacy, loss of power to boot from the ECM backing off the timing. Wire brushed the mating surfaces, code came back after a day. New sensor from rockauto.com for $45, installed, back to full power. The Legacy has the sensor down in a 'cavern' behind the throttle body, single 12mm bolt. Folks with nimble fingers can do this job in 5 min. Mine took longer.

Just crawled out from underneath doing same job. At risk of major redundancy, here's a post I was going to put somewhere, figure this is as good as any... '89 EA82 CEL on but runs ok and mileage good if not improving? ECU says oxygen sensor (original). Old one is BOSCH A24630 (one-wire). Replacing with 'universal sensor' BOSCH 11027 short wire w/crimp. Looks like the BOSCH 11051 might be a better fit (longer wire with connector) can't vouch for connector being right. Car up on ramps, wrench from underneath. Needed lots of Pyroil to come loose, heated up the CAT first (ran engine for 5 min) and sprayed Pyroil every 5 min then tried wrench (22 mm is best, I used a 7/8 open end socket which rounded off the nut some). After an hour+ it came loose not with a 'snap' but a gradual loosening. Cut off connector from old sensor to same total length as original and crimp/heat shrink + Ultra black to seal ends. Solder as a precaution if your crimping technique or tooling leaves something to be desired like mine. Use a tiny bit of anti-seize on threads but avoid slopping onto sensor tip. Install and avoid cross-threading, easier said than done working upside down. Instructions says to tighten to 37-44 ft-lb (can't do w/o special socket). Start up and CEL goes out after four blocks.

This is how I figured out problems with my '89 EA82 aux fan. Disconnect the thermoswitch. On the harness side connector, jam a paper clip in to short the two contacts together. This is basically what the thermoswitch does when it gets hot. Turn the ignition to acc or start. Fan should come on. If it does your thermoswitch is still bad or rated too high. If the fan doesn't come on, get out your multimeter (voltage/resistance) and measure the voltage on the two contacts (same connector) to battery (-). One contact should read 12V with the key on acc. Switch your meter to resistance and measure between the other contact and battery (-), should be low 25 ohms or so. Hope this helps.

I believe the official name is 'thermoswitch' although it can be called 'auxiliary fan switch'. It is basically a bi-metallic snap action switch. Just ordered one myself from www.thepartsbin.com, p/n G5030-83931 for $23. No guarantee this is the right part, just cheaper. Lowest I found until today was $70-80. Be wary, their computer doesn't know the difference between a hatch and a coupe. If I get this part to work maybe I'll post this in a new thread. I've been running without this switch working for over two years and temp stays well below 1/2 even for short idles. I'd also look elsewhere (maybe replace the radiator) if you need the aux fan on to stay cool at speed. Keep yer Subie cool and it will run until it rusts out

If its anything like the '89 EA82 with A/C check the thermoswitch like already said. Threads into the radiator, passenger side. Check it by pulling the connector and shorting the harness side connector contacts with a paper clip. Turn the key and the fan should come on. Michael

Mine sometimes needs extra encouragement to go back to FWD. Press on it until it pops in while driving straight.