NorthWet

OOPS! Sorry... automatics on the brain this week. Torque bind is a different animal between manuals and automatics. I am not very "up" on the manual's torque-bind, but other than wheel circumference needing to be consistant I believe that the main cause is a damaged viscous coupler in the center differential. I do not know that there is any reasonable fix other than replacing the coupler (or complete center diff???). Changing gear oil might make the rest of the tranny happy but probably won't help torque bind.

Must have a young back! I didn't try a ratcheting wrench on mine; but I do recall having some issues because of the ATF lines made things more crowded. Doesn't help to have hands like Mickey Mouse (except with 5 digits).

2 fixable possibilities: Air bubble (did you check coolant levels after stop/cooldown?) and plugged radiator. The radiator is pretty easy to get a feel for, literally: While the engine is running (careful!!!), run your palm from top to bottom of the radiator core, feeling for temp differences. This is more difficult if you have A/C. If the radiator is plugged you will likely feel hot and cold bands across the radiator. If there is a cold band right at the top of the radiator it COULD be due to low coolant level. If the radiator is evenly cooler than expected it could be a sign of flow issues somewheres else: T-stat or air bubble, maybe HG pressurizing the system.

Yes, the EA81-series (and earlier) came with a dual-range 4-speed transmission. I could not tell you what the external differences are; sorry.

Definitely start with fresh fluid and filter; it is the best thing that you can do for an automatic transmission. How is the wear on the tires, as far as being even from tire to tire?

After ensuring your car is in proper tune, the biggest factor in fuel economy is your right foot. Beyond controlling rate of acceleration, slower engine speeds mean reduced fuel consumption. Gary touched on this with taller tires. In town, I run in as high a gear as practical. On the highway, I have taken to running 3-5 MPH below the speed limit (traffic safety permitting); at the times I do my 25 mile drive this is pretty easy to do. This makes quite a difference in my Aerostar (current DD ). How big a difference does reduced RPM make? I was playing with my new-to-me Legacy 5-speed (3-speed at the moment ), and holding throttle constant at a steady 55mph and depressing the clutch caused the engine RPM to rise only about 500-1000 rpm. In other words, the aomunt of energy needed just to spin the engine at an extra 1000rpm is the same as the energy needed to cruise the car at 55MPH on the level. (circa 12-20HP!)

Thanks!!! Good info.

I hadn't thought of it either... not until after the frustration and a month of time passed. Came after I had to lift a Legacy engine off of its mounts to get at the torque converter bolts (thanks GD!!!). Inspiration/enlightenment occurs at odd times... like when you are dirty, sweating, and cursing. I will get to try this method pretty soon.

Thanks, Andrew. And I didn't even have to type, "E=MC2"... Miles Fox' method works fine (my preferred method), except original post said "spare cam carrier"... no engine to have a belt on. GD's modified lug wrench sounds like an innovative variation of the pin-wrench.

Cable routing seems to have a great effect on pedal effort. Yours (like mine ) may have gotten misrouted, and the extra strain may have led to its early demise.

Grossgary has good advice. The radiator is simple, except sometimes it is a pain to get the ATF cooler lines loose from the radiator; smaller hands (than mine) and patience really help. On my 92, which has 2 cooling fans, I didn't even bother messing with removing the fans: I just unplugged the 2 connectors (one below each fan shroud) and pulled the fans with the radiator. I also agree to not bother trying to repair the radiator. It would be a far better investment of both time and money to get a known-good radiator. If you can order one and install it yourself, it should be less expensive then having a shop remove, fix, and replace your existing one (which might not be repairable anyway). As far as fuel economy, you might want to consider changing the EGO (O2) sensor, assuming that yours is so equipped.

Being in the process of cleaning the valve body and solenoids on a Legacy tranny, I might suggest that you try a couple ATF changes before you take the tranny in for major surgery (maybe with a cleaner like SeaFoam for the first couple changes). I have found almost all of the solenoids (I am not into the transfer housing...yet... so no "C"...yet...) have been gummed up, and I have managed to ungum most of them. Nipper: Do we KNOW that the TCU looks for an EMF buck when it actuates, as opposed to just looking for a certain impedance? If so, that would be nice to know. The solenoids work like they do (seemingly backwards) because it was easier to design them to tap into the fluid channels from the outside (as opposed to being inline) and then just "dump" the pressure and flow back into the fluid pan.

Slightly OT, but fluid and filter changes may restore the tranny to operating condition; the internals are pretty durable. Is the transmission throwing any POWER-light codes?

Doesn't have to be an LSD 3.70, as plenty of non-LSD 3.70s floating around. Tire differences can cause the problem, too. Different sizes, makes, or amount of wear will cause grief on hard surfaces. The front pinion is part of the driven shaft of the non-awd trannies.

Sorry, misread first post and didn't remember from previous reading... tired

Ditto re: oil on startup. Another indication of valve seals is after a period of overrun (engine braking) and/or idling, does the first application of power send out a puff of oil smoke? Being SPFI, doubt that there is a head-crack issue; doesn't seem to be common with them. MPFI/turbos have the bifg problem.

I found it a huge frustration on my XT, so half way thought I gave up and pulled the engine. Afterwards I thought that it might have been easier if I had unbolted the motor mounts and jacked the engine up to get some room for my fat hands...

The "feel" is sort of like, "Screw in the bolt until it is no longer just screwing in but actually contacting that which it is meant to tighten, and then tighten it a little bit more, maybe 1/4 or 1/2 turn". For a 10mm headed bolt, I wrap my palm around the ratchet head and rotate with only the force that feels comfortable. For 12mm headed bolts, I place 1 finger at the end of the 3/8" ratchet handle and press with only the force that feels comfortable. GD is right about torque wrenches, especially click-type; they don't work well at the torque ranges of small bolts. I have tried various 1/4 drive torque wrenches for 10mm headed bolts, and the ones on my price-range aren't any more accurate than my "feel". BTW, with any bolt that tighens down a sheet metal cover against a gasket (e.g. oil pan, auto-tranny pan, EA81 valve cover) it is better to be too loose than too tight. Too tight can permanently distort the sealing surface of the cover/pan.

Probably don't need to replace, just clear/clean. That rubber hose is the drain tube for the evaporator, and is supposed to carry off the condensate from the evap. What is likely happening is that the hose (or more likely the hard plastic nipple from the evaporator housing) is clogged and needs to be cleared, allowing condensate to back up until it fills the housing up to an opening/gap. If you put your hand on the housing after the AC has been running for a while, you might be able to feel the cold water through the housing. Remove the hose from the nipple, make sure the hose is clear, then do the same for the housing nipple. Be prepared for water coming out of the housing.

A similar thought to operose's: Is the crank-pulley bolt tight? Possible the bolt has backed out and the pulley has munged the key and is spinning. Other thoughts include bad connections, perhaps a bad ground at alternator.

PITA, yes. Return, no: That is the supply line.

Suggestion: Change your title to indicate that you need help with XT wiper motor. These are different from other Subaru mechanisms, and you need specific help. Grossgary had a "wanted" thread for XT wiper recently, and the people who chimed in are the wants you want to attract to your problem. my $.02...

Most of the ills you cited seem to be head-related, with the possible exception of oil-pump. Low compression (was it evenly low?) could be head-related. Out of curiosity, do you remember what the top of the pistons looked like during your HG replacement? Dished, maybe? I am wondering if someone stuck a turbo block in there...

Great advice.

The MPFI block has an extra PCV vent near the top-center-back of the block which the SPFI does not, and an oil-separator chamber/plate to feed it. The SPFI block is also not tapped for the knock sensor, although it does have the cast boss for one. BTW, what is "blown" with your MPFI block?