idosubaru

subyrally, doesn't that suck, just when you think you got an easy solution......DANG IT!!!

a generic "tune up" is the best thing to do. spark plugs, ignition wires, air cleaner and verifying your tire pressure is good. a few pounds over that listed on the tag (usually stamped on the drivers door) is best, those ratings are low and more comfort based than anything else. i add about 4 psi to mine for better mileage and tire wear. i got a couple mpg increase in highway mileage on my 2.2 liter 1997 OBS this summer after i did a brake job. maybe the old brakes were dragging? but i can't imagine that's a very common thing, i've never had this problem on my late 80's XT6's with 200,000 + miles.

what is qman's setup?

i see no reason to not siphon it out and refill with the right stuff. don't drive the car at all if you don't have to so the fluid doesn't cycle through. i have an eye dropper type thing...but it's bigger than an eyedropper to suck out brake fluid and power steering fluid like you're talking about. i would think walmart or lowes/home depot would have something like this for like 2 bucks.

i would so like to give my XT6 a few extra inches as well. the air ride definitely rides higher than every conversion i've done, but you should already have that if it's an AWD XT6 and you didn't convert it to coil overs. dang, how did i miss this thread, must have been traveling or something. tapper - the XT did have that option, some XT Turbo's anyway. the US XT6 never did. i just installed a canadian height switch in my XT6. after testing it (didn't work) and looking into it, it will require a tiny bit of electrical fiddling to make it work. i forget exactly what i need to do, but it's not that radical, need to run an extra wire or something. i can post more later if anyone is interested. you don't even need that button at all, if you just want to install a momentary switch yourself. it's a momentary type switch, not a toggle switch. i posted to shady's thread in the for sale section, who was offering the Allied Armament lift kit for EA82's (and others) and he seems to think it would work on the XT6. at some point i'd like to look into making my own lift kit of a couple inches, retaining the stock air suspension. don't know when i'll have time, won't be anytime soon.

skip - awesome i would definitely like to see that trans info. my email is fine grossgary AT yahoo DOT com if you can't get the link to work from my name. couldn't quite make sense of the gear ratio chart - is that for all EA82's? my car is an 87.5 XT Turbo (i'll be running NA though) with FT4WD and the PT4WD trans is a 1989. that chart doesn't distinguish between FT4WD and PT4WD. there's only one 5 speed option for single range 4WD. i have an XT service manual (at home) with that same chart info, i'll check it out next time i'm home.

the PT 4WD has a button...where is it, on the stick shift? anything else i'd need?

i read through all the archived posts with "transmission" in the title. I currently have a FT4WD (from XT Turbo) but should be getting a push button 4WD from an 89 XT. Any differences between the two? the push button 4WD will be FWD unless i push the button? would that get better gas mileage than my FT4WD? i'm wanting to gear this XT for optimum gas mileage. anyone know what the final drive raio's are in 5th gear for these trans? i don't think my 89 FSM mentioned the push button but i'll check again (at work right now). all offroading, snow driving is done and will be done in my XT6 so i don't necessarily need maximum 4wheel drive capability.

no. but that's not to say it's garaunteed to happen either. one thing that sucks about this issue is that the headgaskets avoid normal detection techniques when they first start to fail making it hard to diagnose or think it's something minor. yes you can replace as preventative maintenance, the newer headgaskets are upgraded to avoid this scenario. as to whether to get the car or not, that's up to you. read up and be informed and make a decision. if you got it for 500 bucks and it's in great shape then sweet, if the head gasket goes put the new ones on and be done with it. i wouldn't pay top dollar for it, i'd include a substantial deduction for the possibility of head gasket issues on any pre-2000 2.5 liter soob.

i don't know about the key, but i'd install the flywheel and go from there. it's straight forward, the 1.8's are very easy. line up flywheel mark on bellhousing (you can bolt this stuff on with motor out). with the flywheel mark lined up, line up the drivers side cam sprocket mark. then rotate the crank 360 degrees (one full revolution) and bring the mark on the flywheel back to the top and line it up again. at this point your drivers side belt you just installed will be pointing down. now line up the passengers side cam sprocket and install that timing belt. the two cams are 180 degrees off. rotate the engine around and check the marks again. when the each cam is lined up with the notch, the flywheel mark should be dead on. verify that before going any further, it's easy to get a tooth off and not notice.

the gear selector mechanically moves a mechanism bolted to the passengers side of the transmissions (can be reached from under the passengers side of the car). the position of this mechanism determines what gear you're in. so if it's not lined up properly (mechanically) it can cause issues. but the shifting of gears is all electronically controlled based on the position of that thing...can't remember what it's called. i do seem to remember it has plastic tabs of sorts on it that aren't the most reliable looking pieces in the world. but it's been a few years since i've had a good look.

i doubt the valves are to blame. i would bet money that you service the valves in that head and nothing changes. sounds like a shot in the dark to me. what were the results of a compression test? misfire all on one side of the motor should point to something they have in common - cam, timing belt, ignition coil pack. could be as simple as the spark plug wires to that side of the motor as well - they could have been randomly damaged by something....mouse chewing them, who knows but i'd have them checked out, verify good spark on that side of the motor.

matt, he laid it all out for you, but i'd stay away from the 2.5's, they have issues the 2.2's just don't have. i'd look for a private sale subaru personally, i don't like dealing with dealers/salesmen. if you have time you can get great deals and great cars from private sellers. get service records and that kind of jazz. anything approaching 60k and up will need timing belt checked, so keep that in mind. i'll have a '96 legacy wagon for sale shortly, but it's probably not as nice as they're looking for, 95,000 miles.

post openly here or xt6.net, i'll do the same on mine! copy/paste PM's if you've already exchanged. thanks for the heads up.

the earlier 2.5's had the most issues - i believe 97ish - 99ish. they upgraded head gaskets...maybe more than once. i would not expect issues on newer models. i was just looking up swapping a 2.2 liter in place of a 2.5 earlier using the SEARCH function above and saw information about head gasket changes and what years. that brought about a ton of information regarding the 2.5 headgaskets. if you want more info, try using the search button.

97 was the first year for the 2.2 interference motor.

for the 2.5 to 2.2 liter swap i need a dual port 2.2 that was only available in 1995 right? is there anyway to look at the motor in the car to tell if it's dual port? does the exhaust manifold give it away? any pictures available? there's a couple available locally but i'm not sure what year or dual/single port. can a single port 2.2l swapin place of a 2.5 if i do some welding of the exhaust?

if you are certain the fluid is new, no need to change it unless you suspect it is the wrong kind. but it is cheap and never hurts to try. shouldn't the trans be under warranty? when i seperated my shoulder i asked a local shop and they said they'd install a trans that i supplied for $150 or $200 with a new filter installed. i ended up doing it myself anyway since i bought an engine lift it was easier. i'd look to have that other trans installed for cheaper than $300. while you're doing this, make sure your ATF coolant lines are free and not clogged. wondering why you lost one trans then another so quickly, sounds suspicious. best to install an aftermarket trans cooler for 30 bucks to gaurantee new/clear lines but you're not keeping so you probably don't want to do that.

get another oppinion. it is possible to leak just oil with no other problems through a head gasket. if you look at a headgasket and see it has a port for oil supply it can degrade there and leak. not very common and i would not expect that to happen unless it's an old engine and being a 2.5 liter the head gasket would likely fail by loosing coolant, not oil. but it is possible, more so on certain vehicles than others depending on engine layout, to leak oil at the head gasket. headgaskets may have a rubber o-ring inlayed in the material for the oil ports, that is where they will leak oil. but i agree, they need to have it checked again or clarify from the dealer what exactly the problem is. maybe they are fixing a cam oil leak and wanting to fix the headgaskets at the same time since these 2.5's do have that issue? i doubt it, but i've had that happen with people that don't know anything about cars. they come to me and dont' relay exactly what was said by the mechanic. i don't trust people until i have a reason to, so my first suspicion is the dealer, but that's not always the case. on subaru's it's a good idea to clean the bottom of the motor or watch from underneath while it idles to verify where the oil is coming from. the flat layout of hte motor makes oil leaks trickle down towards the heads before finally dripping to the ground. this makes non-headgasket leaks look like headgaskets leaks, and the problem gets harder to diagnose the dirtier the underside of the motor gets.

that's definitely how you want to do it. i've towed about half a dozen XT6's that way, very simple. load it on the dolly, then unbolt the driveshaft. unbolt the driveshaft where it bolts to the rear differential and then ziptie or securely tie the driveshaft out of the way. if you unbolt the end opposite of the rear diff it will turn since the wheels will be driving the rear diff. which would still work, but be harder to keep it secure, easier if it's just not moving at all. although the bolts furthest away from the rear diff tend to be easier to get off (less rust typically), so if you can't get them move towards the trans. drove my dolly to work today to pick up a legacy on the way home, i'll be doing the same thing since it's AWD.

i wouldn't put any ATF in the engine if it sits sideways like the EA82's and ER27's. i'm not familiar with those older motors but anything added to a horizontally opposed motor will just sit in the bottom and not distribute very well anyway. if you do add, don't add much. a teaspoon/tablespoon full would be about right. change the oil first. then get a drill or air compresser attached to the oil pump and run it for awhile without starting the engine, this will flow oil through the system. i've used sockets on oil pumps and also timing belts driven by a drill to turn the oil pump. if you don't want to do that, just disconnect the fuel pump and use the starter to turn the motor for awhile. don't run the starter more than 15-20 seconds at a time. i'd do that a few times to circulate oil. bottom line, is get fresh oil through the motor before trying to start it. pull a fuel line under the car. probably desirable to pull a fuel line closest to the tank and drain. pull the intake hose and make sure nothing built a nest in there that'll get sucked in the engine. don't let it idle and walk away - keep an eye on the temp gauge in case it starts running hot.

like just mentioned, in some cases removal is the only way to tell a bad ujoint. i would bet you do have a bad ujoint in this case.

okay i adjusted mine and all is well. the nut had come loose. there was only one nut holding it in place, no lock nut to hold it so it had backed off the clutch. there was another nut there, just not tightened down to hold it in place. i adjusted it and used the other to lock it in place and all is good...for now!!!

yes the ignitor could be your problem and that is it under the coil. pretty common among older roos, should be easy enough to source.

one day i'll start a thread you don't reply too...... you said "low overlap should pump up fuel economy". so if the turbo cams are indeed lower overlap those would be better to use on an NA setup for best gas mileage (highway driving).