Wayne Boncyk

Hey, let us know what you find out from them. I'd like to know if I'm supposed to get my '96 OBW's bags checked.

Keep in mind that DOT4 fluid works by liquefying the surface of the plastic lens; if you use too much or rub too hard while doing this, it will do more harm than good. Also, it will remove the paint from fenders, bumpres, etc. So if you're going to try this trick, make sure that you won't splash any on unintended locations. I used the multi-sandpaper trick followed by clear coat myself. My lights (on a 10 year old OBW) look brand new, and I'm not worried about whether any solvent (such as the brake fluid) did any damage to the clear plastic underneath the fogged surface.

The other simple thing it could be, if not a tire, is a buildup of dried mud on the inside of the wheel. This happened regularly with my '96 when we lived on a dirt road in eastern South Dakota. Once I cleared the buildup, the shimmy would stop.

To answer your questions, I don't think anything short of a teardown will tell you exactly what went wrong, but I strongly suspect that you'd be better off with an engine swap than trying to rebuild what you have. In my experience, when a camshaft is seized as yours is, likely everything in that head will have to be replaced, and also likely that you'll find pieces of a valve embedded in the top of a piston or two. Also, I suppose it's possible that the cam sprocket bolt was overtorqued when the sprocket was re-installed. That might have cracked the sprocket which ultimately led to what you've found. Still, since this is engine is an interference design, you'll have to do a teardown to see if anything inside was irreparably damaged.

Well, everyone was trying to make you feel better -- since we don't wish a "self destruct" on anyone. Unfortunately, if the bolt is still firmly attached (and the cam sprocket didn't just work itself loose) then you are correct -- it isn't likely to be anything the shop did, unless they left gunk in there that circulated around and eventually plugged an oil galley or hung a lifter. Bummer!

Compare the NADA with the Kelly Blue Book for your region of the country. I find that the Kelly numbers are consistently closer to "reality." NADA seems to be more useful for making insurance claims!

THAT'S why I didn't offer up a design! Definitely it's applicable - better than I could've written myself!! But you're right, the choice of diode needs to be made after you know the characteristics of the coil; I'd use an appropriately valued zener if I were really trying to do this. Personally, I'm with Nipper on this thread - given that the solenoid and the mechanical valve interact in a complex manner to put just the right amount of coupling out to the rear end, I'd be wary of anything that disabled only part of the system until I knew what effect that action would have on the rest of the system.

The ABS light can also be triggered if the break fluid in your master cylinder reservoir is low. Check the fluid level. The light will come on more often when the weather is cooler, since the break fluid will expand when warm, and contract when cool.

Ah, Nip! Now I get it!! I was confused -- these guys really ARE putting a switch in-line with the Duty C solenoid itself, not with that TCU point off the FWD switch. HMMM -- I can see why you could eventually fry any mechanical switch that you might put in series with the solenoid. This solenoid cct is perfectly capable of applying a back EMF (voltage) of several times the DC voltage needed to hold the solenoid "ON," when it is abruptly disconnected. The solenoid is driven by a solid-state PWM control, probably a power FET. That circuit also probably has enough damping built in that it can handle the transients that the coil of the solenoid throws back its way when it turns off... but if the cct is interrupted at an arbitrary point in time, while that FET is still turned ON for example, the switch contacts that are doing the interrupting are likely to see both the current from the FET driver and a current spike resulting from the induced high voltage on the line resulting from the electric field collapsing as the solenoid is de-energized. Instantaneous currents of many amps could be possible in such a case -- they only last microseconds, but that would be enough to melt switch contacts. Putting resistors in the loop can limit those high instantaneous currents, but they will also muck with the duty cycle of the solenoid, and that might contribute to premature failure of the solenoid istelf. A little electrical engineering knowledge is truly a dangerous thing! I am only guessing at an explanation that makes sense; I could know if this is for sure the reason that switches and solenoids fail if I could see a schematic of the real circuit.

Yes the cam sprockets are the carbon fiber type - at least the ones in my '96 2.5L are. The most probable cause is failure to get good torque on the sprocket bolt, especially since the failure happened with less than 20K miles since the work was done on it; if so then the shop should make good for you.

Oh, and regarding the Stop Slip -- I don't think it would help in your case. That's basically a viscosity restorer, used to increase the friction between components in the trans. If you have TB with a 4eat, your problem is that you already have too much friction between the plates in the clutch pack assembly, or that you have gummed up the solenoid/manifold valve hydraulic cct that manages the cluth pack assembly.

John, sorry I had to drop off early last night, and I didn't see your followup questions until now. Yes, I think you can do the job yourself -- as I said, it is easy, although potentially messy. I have nothing against proper powerflush systems either, especially when a flush is done on these Subie trannys, as they are pretty bulletproof. Old GM and Ford ATs have been known to self-destruct when all the gunk that was holding seals together was removed with a powerflush, but Subaru builds better stuff! I'd only suggest that you do it yourself if 1) You want to save a few bucks, or 2) You like to do much of your own work, to know that it has been done right. Personally I'm in line with BOTH reasons listed above!

Well, in the case of my Duty C, putting a fuse in the FWD socket causes about 0.7 amps to flow in that line, which is probably a control circuit in the TCU rather than the drive to the Solenoid itself. I don't get how you can fry a 30 amp contact switch with this signal... unless it really is to the solenoid, and there's a heck of a flyback kick (i.e. a sharp rise in voltage that happens when you rapidly open an inductive load) when the switch is thrown.

Glad to help! BTW - I concur with all the other postings here that recommend swapping tranny fluid completely. Short of seized up plates in the clutch pack or a failed Duty C solenoid, the single biggest cause of TB is dirty/gummy tranny fluid. A simple drain and fill doesn't completely change the fluid, but I am always wary of a "power flush" unless you use the pumps in the tranny itself as the source of power for the flush. You can do this yourself if you don't mind a bit of a mess. You can detach the hoses that go from your tranny to the fluid cooler next to your radiator, and let the tranny do the pumping for you. Just figure out (I did by trial and error) which of the hoses is the outlet for fluid to the cooler, attach an extension tube to that hose and drain the fluid that is pumped out when the engine is idling and the tranny is in gear into a bucket. You'll get far more out that way than by simply pulling the drain plug on the pan. Don't let the system run "dry" too long (just a minute or two) and then reconnect the hoses and fill with fresh fluid. Do that twice or 3 times and you're pretty much sure to have a complete change!

You'll have to look back a ways (like around 2004 and earlier postings) to get detailed pics and procedures to swap out your clutch pack/extension housing. I think that after a few years of responding to the same question, all the regulars here got tired of re-typing the same detailed answer over and over! Anyway, this old thread will give you some info, and John Eggleston posted a lot of really detailed pics of his extension housing and tranny as he did his swap. If you want more details, search the NewGen forum for posts containing "clutch pack" pre-2005! http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55977&highlight=clutch+pack ...and YES, this is a reference to one of my earlier postings -- I did a clutch pack/extension housing swap on my late '95 VIN 1996 OBW. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. I'll answer as well as my memory allows!

Very sweet! And probably better than what you were considering out here.

Bummer! Well, if you find another listed in the area.....

Never heard of Breakaway. Is it available in the US? Do you know how it compares with PBlaster??

Hey - I'm not too close to Boulder (up in Evergreen), but it is closer than New Hampshire! If you don't find anyone else to check it out, I'll head over and look at it for you, if it can wait until Fri afternoon or later.

Maybe a handy persuader (i.e. a hammer) to help coax the old rotors off. Otherwise, you're good to go.

Don't know enough about your car (model, engine, tranny, year, etc., would be helpful) to answer that. Sounds like you may be encountering a rough upshift to the highest gear... does the jerkiness happen at lower speed shift points, too?

Like I said elsewhere, if you're passing thru Colorado and you have the time, feel free to stop by.

Hey, man. The invite still holds -- you come thru Colorado, feel free to stop by.

Yeah! The beauty of the 2.5!!

LOL