idosubaru

assuming i looked this up correctly this is what i got for that code: Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)

sorry, i should have said we need to know what the code means, not the exact number.

ABS hubs have sensors associated with them, so mud/snow could interfere with their function. i would not consider this an issue.

double check everything is installed properly, tensioner is working properly and that the belt is the same length as the one your removed. did you replace any pulleys? make sure they are the same size as well. there is a tooth count method for verify the belt is dead on installed right, this is a good check. do a search here on timing belts to find more info, i did earlier this summer and found everything i needed.

if the car is running fine i wouldn't panic, this is usually something simple like a sensor issue. did they give you an exact code? like P204 or something? that sounds like they gave you possible fixes, it's better to know the exact code/item that is causing the CE light to come on. one sensor is triggering this code, we need to know which one. if it's O2 sensor related, i'd look to replace the O2 sensor, not a big deal. replacing the catalytic converter doesn't have to be costly. it can be, but doesn't have to be either. but i highly doubt that is your problem. a "clogged converter" is something i always hear people that dont work on cars say to check when in reality i work on alot of cars and have never seen one fail personally. i know they do, but other things have much higher failure rates in my experience (even with 200,000 miles soobs....) the cold shouldnt cause the CE light, nor should the 60,000 miles.

the lights coming on are a typical subaru sign of a failing alternator. i've ran for a couple months like this before....the lights come on, but everything else works fine, alternator, battery always charged, voltages good. it will gradually get to the point where loads make it worse (headlights, radio...etc), then eventually it will just go berserk with voltage spikes or fail. i put a new alternator in my car when my lights came on like this. few months later it failed and i had another one in the car to swap in. that's a terrible idea as with alternator failure you risk damaging at the least fusible links and possibly more. i was curious how long it would last (it was a few months, i was surprised), but best to replace it. your other used unit should work fine, i've had decent results with used units in the past.

on the XT6 one heater hose goes to a metal line that runs under the intake and to the water pump. i removed the metal line and hose at the water pump and ran one piece hose from the pump to the heater core, reducing the number of hose clamps by two for whatever that is worth. general hose worked fine for me in the past on XT6's. take the old hose into the parts store and they'll match it up. be sure to check it, easy for them to assume the wrong ID.

you said you swapped cam carrier before because of a broke bolt....so you're familiar with the process right? i would pull the valve cover and make sure one of the cam followers (rocker arms) didn't fall off or is sitting crooked. by the way - passengers side is much easier than drivers side.

it's not bad at all. the cam tower does need to come off. remove cam carrier, install new cam and reinstall cam carrier. annoying parts are removing all the old gasket and installing the drivers side cam carrier. have to hang the cam followers ("rocker arms") from the HLA's with some thick grease. be sure to order new cam carrier reinforced o-rings if you have to go in that far. only $2.13 from subaru and well worth it to have new ones in place.

4 cylinder EA82's are non-interference. all 1980's subaru motors are non-interference. the block is fine.

i'm guessing this alternator related. first make sure the belt is tight and not loose. make sure your crank pulley isn't separated. if you look carefully the crank pulley is an outer and inner metal ring separated by a thin rubber ring. if the metal separates from the rubber the inner metal part of the pulley will rotate and slip in relation to the outer ring. the outer ring won't spin nearly as fast and will cause charging issues which may start out as only lights on the dash going crazy. put a mark across the face of the pulley, run the motor awhile and then check it. if it's slipping the marks will no longer line up. fix temporarily with sheet metal screws or similar. battery terminals must be clean and tight. check the alternator connections - the connetors there need to be clean and tight. they typically degrade and need replaced/cleaned. if this all checks out, replace the alternator. autozone, advanced and others test alternators for free. grounds have to be good as well.

not positive, but i think the lines don't really matter. it's two lines going into a box, flow doesn't matter so long as the lines aren't kinked or obstructed in anyway. i used to do it this way, but i've since determined it's better to drain the ATF pan and refill. do it three times and consider it flushed. i want many 100's of thousands of miles out of mine and think this the better method. i've done both methods on the same vehicle and i don't really know if it gets that much more out than just emptying the pan to be honest with you. i never noticed "that" much more coming out cranking the motor than just draining the pan.

i'm putting together a motor for my XT6 and XT Turbo right now. valve job, heads milled and tested by the machine shop. i wanted to remove the valve train myself just to do it before i took the heads into the machine shop. and i was going to smooth out some of the casting flash in the ports. thanks for the help all.

i don't know what happens with warranty and modifying engines....depends on the contracts you sign when you buy i suppose. synchro's are likely replaceable, but i'd find a used trans for $500 before i spent that kind of money to open up the trans. i'm not familiar with these newer transmissions, so maybe the clutch adjustment or something else is to blame? i'm not saying i'm right, but i'd start sourcing something to replace it just in case.

so i should have new turbo gaskets for the install of the new long block?

the box around it means it's a generation III i believe.

i agree as well, the only thing i like about aftermarket pulleys (i prefer full size) is the one piece design. i hate the stock design with the rubber ring seperating two metal rings....leads to possible separation and failure possibilities. that's just because i'm an engineer, why introduce a possible failure mode? i mean i understand the concept, but never noticed unbalance or vibrations with a one piece design.

is it still under warranty? have the transmission replaced. sounds like synchro's, but that sure is early.

definitely replace it. that's alot of work to install an old bearing. i recall someone on hear not replacing something and it failing within a year...i think it was a throwout bearing but i can't remember exactly.

im' not sure what yo'ure asking but i'll comment. in terms of quality, so long as it's turned properly on a machine and the measurements are right the material properties won't differ significantly enough to cause any issue. someone else had an underdrive pulley and opted for a full sized aluminum pulley in it's place due to charging issues. i asked about this earlier this year when i picked up an impreza OBS. basically i think the advantage of an underdrive vs. stock sized aluminum is non-existent therefore it's not worth the added stress to the charging system. the only advantage is that they are cheaper and easier to find. most likely because the demand isn't there. if supply is larger then demand then price stays down. if you plan on highway driving and think that may resolve any issue then let us know how it goes after awhile.

i don't know if yours is FI or not..i think it is? i pulled my motor, resealed it and couldn't get it started after reinstalling. no CE light, no trouble codes, everything seemed to test okay. i actually got it to start and run only by advancing it an entire tooth....timing was off the charts and couldn't figure out why. ended up driving it like this for a couple months. didn't drive great, but it did drive fine, no back firing, no pinging, a little on the slow and less mpg side. i finally started troubleshooting it again and when i swapped distributors the problem went away. set it to normal timing with the new (used) distributor and ran perfect with stock timing. i'm assuming the crank angle sensor was bad....but who knows, i can't figure why it ran fine with the timing all jacked up...the distributor failed in some way. that was a few years ago, same thing happened a month ago, car wouldn't start after setting for a couple weeks while doing some tune-up stuff to it. everything tested fine, just woudln't start. distributor seemed to test fine, no CE light. swapped in another distributor and it fired right up? both times i had a failed distributor was while the car was off the road for an extended period...maybe existing corossion got worse internally, i have no idea, but very strange to me that i lost two distributors, neither while using the vehicle, but both while the vehicles was taken off the road for tune/up or repairs for a few weeks.

okay i bought a valve spring compressor at Advanced Auto Parts. either the user or the tool was a piece of useless illwitted machinery. it would occassionally compress the spring...wanting to slip and pop out and break my fingers. typically the hooks wouldn't hold and it wouldn't want to compress at all at a setting where i could hold the handle closed with one hand and work with the other hand. and the keepers only came off on one that i tried. the rest would stay "with the spring" so to speak, i push down and the spring goes down and the keeper with it. leaving me no way to remove the keepers and spring. so it was pointless. i ended up taking it to the shop and letting them deal with. very annoying. is there a better tool for this?

best bet is to get another set of wheels for your snow tires. then just swap out sets of wheels as needed. otherwise if it's done right you can swap your tires whenever you want without issue. headgaskets were issues on the older motors....like 2001 and earlier, so you've got nothing to worry about. the newer head gasket designs have elminated the problem. on the temperature range - different years/models have different visual ranges. in other words 180 degrees on one model might be 1/4 of the gauge and 1/2 up the gauge on another model. my XT6's (older subaru's) run about 1/4 - 1/3 up the gauge. they never get 1/2 way...if they do i know there's a problem. when i got a newer impreza outback sport i noticed immediately the gauge was always around 1/2 way as well and thought it might be something to look into . talked to a couple other OBS owners and they said that was normal. being a newer model i'd guess it's similar to what you're talking about and probably not an issue. i've also been in cars where the heat is hot enough that you really can't stand to keep your hand right on the vent...too hot, i don't believe that's necessarily an issue either.

awesome, thanks! i woudln't have thought of that, pull the motor with the turbo attached? didnt' think of that one. so disconnect the exhaust past the header/exhaust manifold (by the catalytic converter)? part of the exhaust will come with it or disconnect just the turbo and leave all the exhaust in the car?

i have a carbed block with turbo heads and new gaskets sitting in my barn. i have a 87.5 FT4WD XTTurbo with a bad motor (heads, block, don't know yet). how hard is it to swap my good block with heads into the turbo car? on the XT6 and NA EA82's i'm used to unbolting the instake manifold assembly and lifting it out of the way, dropping in the new block and then lowering the intake back on top of the new block. can i do that with the turbo too? sounds like it should be a fairly easy swap to get the car back on the road quickly.