idosubaru

check easy stuff - make sure trans harnesses are all plugged in tight and good. sometimes the pins won't seat properly and the plugs can be difficult to plug in all the way on those larger harnesses. is the trans definitely for your model vehicle? any chance it's a different year/model and isn't directly compatible (might need some tweaking or different sensor??)? the TCU has a "limp home mode" or something if it's not working right and i believe that is 3rd gear on most 4EAT's. did you pull the motor too or just the transmission when you installed the new one? your tires need to match for AWD trans. did you properly seat the torque converter? it slides in nice and easy...but it stops and is very difficult to get to seat in the last 1/4". a terrible design for the do-it-yourself crowd because they often break if you're not familiar with that last bit of seating of the torque converter. bolt it up and tigthen the bolts on the bellhousing and you'll force that last 1/4" or so and break the oil pump. doubt the car would run at all, but maybe it's possible it shoved into the oil pump enough to run but not perform well. i would check your line pressure out of your transmission lines if you can. i have pulled them before to make sure there's a constant flow of fluid with no bubbles/gurgling. the transmission pan isn't dented is it? the sump (bottom of the filter) can sit quite low in some 4EAT's and any dent will restrict flow. and what he said on pulling the transmission codes. it's a convoluted process but others have done it and the process should be on here somewhere. if the POWER light flashes on start up that means the computer has trouble codes awaiting.

4x4 moose, you don't need a newer soob, it works on any AWD automatic with a Duty solenoid C, which is all automatic soobs that i'm aware of. probably not the 3AT but who wants to mod that..that might even be FWD only, i don't know much but that's not a common trans anyway. doesn't happen often but XT6.net was ahead of usmb on this one, we've had this mod for awhile. glad to see the EJ nailed down, looking forward to it on my wife's OBS. though i'm scared she doesn't know about cars. john mudrat may have done it but he didn't share or offer advice like Andyjo did! go jo go jo!

that's normal...of course i can't see how much play you're talking about and i've never measured mine though. i unexpectedly ran into that before as well. first couple times was off a perfectly good running engine and i've since assumed it is normal....within some tolerance of course. i've always seen and never had issue.

check the battery again and make sure the terminal connections are good and tight.

i say take off and redo until it's right. i've only done the 2.2 liter though. non-interference engine, so no worries about damage. (97 and up are interference).

at 186,282 mph i don't know if those electrons are being slowed enough to be significant over such a short distance! 100k is good preventative maintenance. i've replaced very old O2 sensors on older soobs with tons of miles and never had a noticeable increase in gas mileage. so i wouldn't replace it unless you have an issue like bad gas mileage. wires can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. subaru OEM wires seem very resilient to age and mileage in my experience so i don't see why they won't last until 100k as well. i changed mine at 60,000 on my OBS because i was installing magnecor wires anyway which never need replaced.

head gaskets. you didn't say but you obviously have the 2.5 liter motor since they do this. your thread is like many others posted here. it's a big job, if you're not comfortable around timing belts and disassmebling the motor then it's likely not for you. definitely need a garage/heated area to tackle this yourself as it will take awhile. expect the car to be down more than a day.

i call everyone that, even my wife and mom...."dude" gets old. jabs and insults? no way, i'm stoked he got it! look forward to hearing some post-snow commentary HOTDOG!!!

i don't know what stage mine is in my XT6, but it is an aggressive grind that was not recommended for just street use. idled poorly and vaccuum loss affected braking significantly. i'm sure there's ways to alleviate that, i just don't know what they are! i'm probably replacing them with a not so aggressive set. they did pull well on the top end...and i mean way up high, but never dyno'ed the things. low end sucked pretty good, that's the thing i liked the least. but this is an NA XT6 so probably doesn't much matter to you. motor (i put in earlier this year) locked up after hitting some firewood on the freeway so i'm not driving it at the moment. got the heads back from the machine shop last week for another motor to go in it.

the ignition switch must be drilled out. the bolt holding it on has a head that shears off when they install it, so it's just flat. it's been awhile so i'll wait to fill in my vague memories in hopes of someone posting something useful! on the XT6 there's a tiny tiny screw that falls out preventing the car from starting. maybe yours is loose? never heard of it causing electrical issues though.

i'm swapping the entire assembly so that should all go smoothly. my only questions are about the charcoal canister, CEL light (that Shawn mentioned earlier) and swapping the EJ22 single port header in place of the DOHC dual port header.

you got one nutty story...pulled the trans out on the side of the road!!!!

guy i know rebuilt his ER27 and appears his rear main blew out. another guy with an XT Turbo had the same thing happen last year, blew out shortly after installing the new motor. i think...i'll have to clarify, both were during or right after extended highway trips at sustained highway speeds. any ideas or other experiences?

that's where mine are getting too, falling apart and not staying tight to the motor. the left/ride sides tend to "fall forward" after the plastic breaks and the bolts won't hold it on. i'm tired of rigging it and it'll be that much easier to do cam/crank seals i guess. i'll put 'em on if i got them. but i'm not paying $100 for a new set either!

another thumbs up on this mod. i did it about a year and a half ago and it's been great. another time this really shines is when you pull someone out of mud/snow. the TCU sucks in that situation because it cycles the transfer clutches too much and tends to start rutting instead of pulling and doesn't give you great traction particularly if yo'ure pulling from snow/mud. i always flip that switch before i start moving and yank people right out. i have LSD rear too which is nice with the locking clutch packs. i haven't run into a car/truck i haven't been able to pull out yet. if you're off roading, there is no better mod...and it's so freaking easy. i did it on an XT6 4EAT, so same deal with the older subaru's as well. nice post on the pin numbers, i'll be doing this to my OBS as well.

good point starkiller. if you're plugging around here you'll see lots of info about it. that's because the people with problems are seeking out solutions/information. people with perfectly fine running phase 1's aren't on here posting about how their head gaskets "are not" blowing.

i've done the same with no issues, no front covers. that's with a decent amount of offroad driving in mud, snow, dirt, water.... i leave the back covers on, but might try removing them all on my next build/install.

i hated to admit it....i should have made up some heroic story involving major diagnosis, celebrating all the excellent information offered here and having a champagne celebration.

as with any manufacturer there are better and worse options. you just happened to end up with one of subaru's worst engines ever, which isn't all that terrible. the fortunate thing is that the head gaskets don't typically "blow" like other cars. they start leaking internally. typically a slow leak. don't let it overheat and keep coolant in it and you should be fine. i believe the dealer has some sort of "conditioner" they add to the phase I 2.5's to help alleviate this problem. i have no experience or recall much solid info about whether it works or not. all that being said, they really can go at any time. there is nothing that seems to set them off, they just start seeping internally. i'd carry extra containers of antifreeze and consider letting the dealer add the coolant conditioner. i'm helping someone local fix a 2.5 with a blown gasket. it's not the original owner so i can't be sure this is the original head gasket, but the car has 147,000 or 157,000 (can't remember) miles on it. he's been driving it awhile like that, just keeps adding coolant. the new headgaskets fix the problem, so repeats are rare.

while i'm stoked the problem is solved and it was easy....i owe appologies for this one. there was no fuse. i don't know how that happened, i haven't touched the fuses in awhile? thanks for the help and pointing me in the right direction. crazy shat.

agree - make sure the drain hole and tube are not clogged at all.

XT6 thanks! you guys are smoking....woo hoo! i'll look for that ground.

so one of my grounds on the lighting system is bad, or it could be any ground on the car? i have the FSM, will that show the grounds for the lighting system...i think it does. thanks. and torxx....the rear lights are fine, all identical. sounds like ground issue and not relay....glad i asked, i would have started looking at those! i'll check grounds tomorrow. thanks a ton!

struts are cheap enough, buy a used one of those also and replace everything. if you have another ride, just take it apart and see what's going on. remove the wheel. take a picture and post it here so we can see it. i can't picture the bottom of the strut being displaced without anything else "moving" with it, that's why i say replace the entire rear hub assembly with everything on it. not too bad, i've done it once, wasn't that bad and they aren't that expensive. if the strut is damaged that should be visually obvious i would think. the "wheel bent" scenario's i've seen have never involved a bent shock, not to say it can't happen, that's just my experience. i've had control arms and the like get bent on wheel impacts and bends. but anything is possible.

not cheesy at all. many would try to sell it without bothering to fix it right. you're doing it the right way, congrats.