idosubaru

fix this now or you won't be driving an XT6 very long. you are currently damaging seals and gaskets by continuing to drive it this way and eventually you'll blow a headgasket. it doesn't take much on 15 year old gaskets. i currently own 8 XT6's and have owned other through the past 10 years, trust me on this one - there are no aftermarket radiators for the XT6. don't bother looking and don't write me back telling me you found one. yes you will find shops and people that tell you they found one, but it's not. some places incorrectly list the XT (4cylinder) radiator as a replacement for the XT6. the only source for an XT6 radiator is Subaru or a used one. the cheapest you will get one for is 300 if you look around or talk them down at the dealer. on a side note - a 4 cylinder XT radiator, while smaller, will work on the XT6 and can be found for less than half that price. i've never used one, but i did install one a long time ago (and then removed it and returned it before i even put antifreeze in it) and i know one person that has been running one for a year or two in Hawaii with no problems even with the a/c on. i wouldn't do it on my XT6, but it's far better than running your car hot with a faulty radiator. go fix this now unless you want to start looking for another motor or XT6. i told someone last year to get an XT radiator because they didn't want to spend the $ for an XT6 radiator and kept driving around overheating. ended up blowing a headgasket and both heads were ruined as well. (actually i now have their heads to practice porting on). it is not a direct fit radiator, takes a little bit of tweaking to work. it was like 8 years ago so i don't recall what it took, but it wasn't that much to get it to work. if you have an automatic just get a manual trans radiator and install an aftermarket trans cooler while you're at it. they are only 30 bucks.

here's a little write up i did to show what i do to my air suspension to keep it living longer...or the struts anyway. i bought my xt6 a little over 4 years ago at 105,000 miles and it now has 220,000. i have never replaced the air struts, just keep them maintained to prevent air bag deterioration. the bag itself appears in good shape, doesn't look to be near the end of service life. http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4173 i highly recommend this and replacing every oring in your air suspension system if you like trouble free operations.

my pictures are too large (659 instead of 640....grrrr....) and i can't edit them on this computer. you can go here to see pictures: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4169

in case anyone wanted to see some work i'm doing to my XT6 i figured i'd post here. i posted all this and more at xt6.net for those that don't want to sift through this twice. the heads can definitely use some work so i smoothed all the intake ports out. removed casting flash (plenty of that) and made them slightly larger. i have installed plenty of heads in XT6 motors and until now never noticed how much the intake gaskets protruded into the intake ports of the heads. i ported the intake manifold, fuel injector manifold and intake ports to the heads. i also matched the gaskets at each mating surface in these areas as well. delta cams, custom header, high flow converter, larger exhaust, dynomax muffler, custom intake, aluminum crank pulley.

a generic timing belt change won't require any messing with the timing. by "timing set right" you're refering to the distributor timing. changing the timing belts, while timing related refers to the cams and crank being timed, not the distributor firing timing. they are related (timing belt drives the dist) but not the same. i never time cars after installing timing belts, there's no need to. if the timing belt wasn't installed properly it would run very bad, if at all. does he know subaru's? typical mistake is to not rotate the crank after installing the first belt, in order to install the second cam 180 degrees off from the first cam. mechanics will sometimes install both belts at the same time without rotating the crank and that's a no no - car will run horrible.

never worked on anything but XT's and XT6's but replacing a radiator is about as easy of a job as you can get. people probably aren't replying because a radiator is so easy to do that's it's kind of an odd request. typically - remove the electric fans (if equipped?). they are easy, typically 3 or 4 10mm bolts at each corner. remove them. unplug the electrical connections to the fans. if they are rusty they will break off, just use another bolt when you reinstall. no big deal. remove the clamps/hoses. there are two. screwdriver or socket will typically do the trick. probably a good idea to replace the hoses and clamps while you're in there and have them off, partiicularly if it's the stock nasty clamps. the ones i've worked on only had two bolts holding the radiator in. the heads of these bolts are facing straight ahead, like the lights. they are parallel to the ground. remove those two bolts. the radiator pulls out, just sits on pegs on the bottom. sometimes there's a vertical bolt in the top crossmember above the radiator that will prevent the radiator from coming out, it sort of catches. just loosen that bolt enough for the radiator lip to pass by it as you pull it out. like i said i don't know a dl wagon at all, so it could be slightly different. but what i do know is that it's easy and very simple and straight forward to figure out. see what's holding it in place and go to town. be ready to have coolant all over the place. there's drain at the bottom passengers side tyipcallly. turn it and place the hose ina bucket if you'd like to drain before having lots of spillage from the hoses and radiator.

i've shipped a few and i thought they were around 40, but that was awhile ago.

has anyone ever done this before? i know of one reliabe person that said he used a grease needle from a tractor store to successfully regrease his bearings. i picked one up last week and tried it on mine - no luck. only thing i got was a bent needle trying to figure out how to slide the needle in. it's too tight for the needle to fit.....anyone? i'm diggin through old posts but not getting much from it.

the top hat is small enough that you can locate one nationally for cheap and have it shipped to you from any yard in the US. i would definitely be very careful around that spring and try to compress it before unloading that wheel in anyway. autozone will loan you a spring compressor for free, have to pay a fee and then you get that back when you return their tool.

if you're going to do a rebuild, definitely keep us updated at http://www.xt6.net, i'd like to see how it goes for you.

rear diff = super simple in most soobs that i've seen. a couple bolts and the things come down. axles slide off using a punch for the rear axle pins. knock those two pins out and a couple mounting bolts and a couple driveshaft bolts and put in a new one. i'd price some used ones. the newer roos might be slightly different, but it won't be hard.

can be found very cheap....but typically run 750-1,500 in average condition. i'd look for one with some maintenance records unless you want to mess with water pump, oil pump and timing belts yourself. go to http://www.xt6.net there are typically some for sale there and lots of information.

check out http://www.xt6.net if you have XT6 specific questions. there are many XT6 owners here, but that site is probably a little more active in terms of XT6 feedback. though if you want block specifics here is the place to be as well since the EA82 uses the same internals. ticking is not a big deal, does not require a rebuild. usually requires 20 dollars or less worth of seals. but a rebuild is a nice option if you want to. there is NO aftermarket support for the XT6. no turbo kits, nothing. it can be done, all custom. be ready for alot of work or finding someone else to do it for you. there is currently one known turbo XT6 running in the US right now that i know of. all custom. many turbo's will work since it's custom.

you don't have to pull the engine to pull the oil pan, but it is sligtly annoying and will require unbolting motor mounts and trans mounts and tilting/lifting hte block up off the cross memeber some to get the baffles in the pump to clear the sump inside of it. as far as your TOD. do all the lifters seem to be making noise? if the noise is located at only one cylinder or two, then it's likely just a dirty HLA (lifter) that is causing the noise. enough oil changes and MMO/Seafoam or ATF (i'd recommend ATF/seafoam for quicker results) and it may go away. and that's why resealing the oil pump wouldn't help - because the HLA's were dirty before you changed the oil pump seals and afterwards they were still dirty. but - it could still be oil pump related. did you apply sealant between the oil pump housing and engine block mating surfaces? there are two areas at noon and 6pm on the rotor housing on the engine block that are supposed to receive dabs of anaerobic sealant. i have heard of one instance where someone resealed their pump and didn't do this step. they went back in and did this step and no more ticking. there's a chance that's not what solved their ticking problem, but it did go away after they did it again with the sealant. maybe the oil pump and/or rotor should be replaced. you could mic it or just replace it, though that is expensive. at 140,000 city miles the oil pump could easily be in need of replacement. i would personally try adding 2 quarts of ATF with 3 quarts of oil and drive it for a couple days and drain and refill. then do it again if it doesn't go away. but do that at your own risk, i'm not responsible for anything. i've done this before but don't want anyone telling me it blew their car up. i would also concentrate on narrowing this down to an engine wide problem or just one cylinder, two or three or all of them.....narrowing it down will help narrow down the actual cause.

a K&N filter should show small, but noticeable gains. exhaust can be modified without getting louder. i use dynomax mufflers, not loud at all and excellent performance and design. best to talk to someone else who has your motor though, each vehicle is different. no need to do anything major to your exhaust, but getting a slightly larger muffler or pipe from the cat back may help. no need for expensive after market bolt on systems either. a high quality muffler welded correctly will work great and cost 100 - 150 dollars. mine is not loud at all. magnecor ignition wires are awesome, check out their website. i've used them for years and recommended them to lots of people who have all been very pleased with them. they are not bolt on horsepower but excellent products that won't degrade, again check out their information.

the answer to your question is yes. but it's not a very good question. if you are worried about your transmission install an aftermarket transmission cooler. much more efficient than the stock thing that routes through the *reallly cold* radiator. give the trans what they all should have, it's own heat exchanger. best 30 bucks you can spend.

i do all sorts of off road driving all the time in my XT6 so this is all XT6 related in terms of the transmissions i'm comparing. snow, mud, fields, towing, pulling people out...etc. i don't go rock crawling, slow or creep through narrow trails. i'm out in fields, mud and snow. i've owned 8 XT6's (4 manuals and 4 auto's)....and i just picked up another. here's my experience over the last 10 years. gas mileage on the AWD XT6's is not better in the 5speed. at highway speeds my auto does about 3,000 rpms and at the same speed my manual trans pushes close to 4,000 rpms. so while the 4speed has more inherent loss internally, it is geared higher for much nicer highway driving and the gas mileage is about equal. i'm a moderator of http://www.xt6.net and i'll call gas mileage even based on inputs from others, eventhough i get better in my auto's. also at highway speeds the manual trans is putting 20 percent more revolutions on the motor than the auto. makes me wonder if they put more wear on the engines? more revolutions for the same amount of driving? oh well, who cares. performance wise. the 4EAT auto in the XT6 is supposed to be 90:10 split and the TCU switches to up to 60:40 split when slippage occurs according to the specs. i installed a switch to manually control Duty Solenoid C which controls lock up of the transfer clutches. i can lock them at will, don't know what percentages it gives, but all i know is that i always have 2 wheels turning and it binds like a truck on pavement if i keep it locked. excellent traction at my control. the LSD is much easier to come by for an automatic. shifting gets old and i drive alot and i can swap an auto trans faster than i can install a new clutch and i have to do it less often as well, so less maintenance for me = better. manual transmissions are nice in real sloppy stuff for two reasons. first if you are stuck it's easier to "rock" the car to get it to come out of serious ruts. if you plan on being burried to the point where mud is coming in the floor boards (been there, done that) when you open the doors alot...manuals are nice. you can rock an auto but it's trickier and more chance of messing something. second, if you're doing really slow creeping or crawling through slippery mud or snow then a stock manual is nice over stock auto. because and auto will slip for a fraction of a second before it locks up and that slight slipping can cause the wheels to slip and start ruts or make existing ruts worse...increasing your chance of getting stuck. on the other hand i now have control of the locking of the transfer clutches and that is no longer an issue any more. getting stuck in an XT6 has only happened when i'm burried in thick mud or snow down to the frame and it gets all compacted under the car. and even then i almost always can get out. it's always ground clearance related, so starting ruts is not a good thing. and locking the diff of the manual trans is a key feature, it locks the front to rear at 50/50 giving very good traction. if you're driving in moderate conditions where the conditions change often or aren't terrible, for instance snow in some places and fine in others then you wouldn't want to drive around with the diff locked at all times. occasional bad weather or driving conditions is handled nicely by auto's as they have AWD and lock up on an as needed basis by the TCU. but driving under lock up is also something that needs to get used to in a sense to really utilize it's full potential to power out of slide or regain control whether you're in a field or on the road. hope all the rambling makes sense. similar take on the LSD, for tearing through fields and snow and mud it is fantastic. for creeping and crawling i would imagine it's tendency to slip slightly just prior to locking is not desirable. but either way the LSD is only readily available for the auto, though you can get or make one for the Manual trans too. bottom line is both are really nice. i basically choose the auto because i'm tired of shifting, can lock it up anyway and the mileage is better (in mine, in the XT6 AWD) far less noise and RPM's on the highway and no clutch changing. nicer to drive long distance and still excellent AWD offroad capability. i'm not trying to start a debate about mileage, i realize others get better mileage on the manuals, just stating what i've experienced through my XT6 ownership which is all i know. i've owned 4 of each and dig them all.

the product i used is called Oxisolve. it was left in the trunk of a car i bought, never heard of it before. cleaned it off and sprayed it on my lower radiator support just for kicks (engine and radiator all removed). next day all the rust appeared *gone*. it had turned dark gray/black, i guess that's a good thing? don't know. some body work people mentioned these products: http://www.safestrustremover.com/ http://www.cleanrust.com/rustsolveworks.html i've also read that some of these products may weaken the metal or the rust may return later. dont know what to believe, i suppose if cleaned and prepared properly it seems these products may indeed work. of course rust will return later if you don't do a thorough job.

got it, i recall those nuts. thanks all

check the wiring to the sensor. a dirty connector/harness or exposed wire can cause the knock sensor code in the ECU as well.

if it's inclination or turning related i'd get the oil level right and go from there.

split boots work fine for short periods of time. you'll likely want to try a real boot. though in my oppinion it's a messy pain. i'd rather install a new or used axle than replace boots. not sure what car you're talking about but the rear axle should pull out if you knock the pins out, very easy to do. pull the axle out and then replace the boot. on a side note, unless you drive through some really nasty gunk or sand you don't really have any need to replace that boot. i've never replaced the rear boots when they fail and i've never had a problem with them, i've never even heard my rear joints make any noise. not much articulation back there like the front for steering. i drive off road all the time through mud and corn fields and have had my XT6 burried to the point where mud pours in the doors when i open it and put 50,000 + miles on rear CV's without ever missing a beat or thinking about it. i mention this because before i knew anything about axles i thought broken boots were a very bad and scarry thing thing just because i didn't know anything about it, now i know better.

adjust what? where it catches, take up slack? i've pulled transmissions and replaced auto trans and motors...but not in manual trans so i'm not familiar with the clutch adjustment. though i have the FSM. fairly straight forward i assume?

i'm not super familiar with clutches. drove one of my XT6's that i never drive today. push the clutch pedal in and after a little bit of movement it gets really loose and goes to the floor. put it in gear and let the clutch pedal up and it catches really high. so it needs a new clutch and i have all the parts. my question is that when i used to drive manual trans XT6's (i drive all auto's now) the clutch would go out and start slipping. why does this one seem to grab crisp and not slip? what's the difference?

like mentioned, verify it's a head gasket. could be intake related.