idosubaru

anyone know how these 2 row radiators compare to an XT6 radiator? any XT6 owner knows that there are no aftermarket suppliers for an XT6. the XT radiators can be tweaked to fit but are one row. anyone know if the hose sizes on the 2 row EA82 radiators are smaller than the XT6? are they all metal or have plastic end tanks as well?

two discussions are taking place at the same time right now. the symptoms are similar but the causes and solutions are different. mmo and ATF are solutions to faulty HLA's. resealing the oil pump is a solution for corrupted oil supply (bad seals/gaskets at the oil pump). Discussion 1 - MMO and ATF are solutions to HLA's that are dirty or sticky or stuck and not functioning properly. frequent oil changes and a long time may eventually free them up. MMO and ATF will expedite the process. if the car isn't driven or run much or is opened up (rebuild/reseal) for some reason it is common for them to be very loud for quite some time. take note of the noise, if it comes from one or more cylinders and never from other cylinders then the problem is an HLA. (if the ticking is on one side of the engine it could be something else, but that's rare so i'm not going to mention it). a compression test can also help nail down a stuck HLA. a bad HLA can degrade compression readings at that cylinder. if MMO and ATF don't clear up the ticking then you need to replace the HLA's at the noisy cylinders. pull the cam tower off and carefully inspect your HLA's. you'll notice that frozen or stuck/noisy HLA will be *shorter* than the rest. for instance, lay a ruler across all your HLA's and the tops of them should all be in a straight line. any one that is not in line with the rest is the culprit of your noise. i wouldn't try this method of diagnosis on an engine that's been sitting on a motor stand or in a garage for awhile. it might work, but will work best with freshly used and lubricated HLA's. replace faulty HLA's and be on your way. you can even clean them yourself if you feel so inclined. i've done it, it's simple but time consuming. from now on i'll just buy them or have mine cleaned/rebuilt. Discussion 2 - if your ticking is all over the place (by location - not frequency) and random, then it's an oil supply problem and a new gasket/oring and seal will solve your problem. (there's a slight chance it could be something else, but highly unlikey so i won't list them). a bad seal can still give pressure readings that look good. who cares what your pressure reading is, forget about that, if your HLA's are ticking THEY are telling you there is a problem, not the pressure gauge. air bubbles are incurred somewhere in the oil supply and end up in the HLA's. air is compressible and oil is not. the HLA's do not function properly with excessive air bubbles in them, because the air inside of them compresses where oil would not. try putting air bubbles in your brake lines and see how well they work....okay don't do that....i'll just tell you, not very good! similar principle here, air is compressible and won't allow the HLA's to do their job properly. replace your oil pump shaft seal and oring. typically there are two ports on the gasket/oring behind the oil pump, the oring material gets *sucked* into one of the ports. i've seen it many times, the oring will be deformed when you remove it, verifying the cause of your problem. i JUST threw one away that was laying on my bench. i was going to take a picture of it, but just tossed it instead like 2 days ago. there is a way to permanently fix this, a guy i know actually made little tiny metal insert to slide into each port, making it impossible for the oring to get sucked into the port again. i haven't chosen to do that since replacing the gaskets/seals properly has always worked for me. do it properly, apply a very small amount of anaerobic sealant (not on the gasket) where the engine block halves meet at noon and 6 oclock on behind the oil pump housing.

timing belt or the timing belt tensioner on that side possibly. swap distributors. have you checked your timing? that shouldn't be the problem, but have you checked it and been able to properly time the distributor?

there was a kaminari kit made and people are running them. best bet is to find someone selling it and jump on it. i know someone in scranton, PA that just bought one. they are very hard to come by as you know. there was discussion on http://www.xt6.net about someone (a board member at xt6.net) making additional kits based off an original but they didn't seem to follow through with that yet. i test drove a white XT6 in atlanta, GA that had one on it. if i had bought it i'd definitely sell it to you. i'd probably pay you to get it off my car.

definitely your contacts are corroded, dirty or loose or all of the above. this is one of the most annoying problems i've had with XT/XT6's. if you clean the contacts (really annoying), it will go away...for awhile, and then come back. if you buy a new sensor, it will go away...for awhile and then come back. so, i came up with a permanent solution: http://xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1767&highlight=fix doesn't take long and saves you lots of issues down the road. i highly recommend doing the permanent fix or buying a new wiring harness connector (if you can locate one). cleaning or buying a new sensor is a temporary fix, i wouldn't recommend doing that.

if you have an air compressor you can do a leak down test yourself with the right adapter. if you hook up a starter/trans to the motor and make sure it has oil you can probably attempt to test compression if you know what you're doing. just give the starter power to turn the motor over enough for a compression test. prop the throttle plate open. i wouldn't do that unless you're comfortable doing it of course. yes you can remove the pistons like you say, after you pull the heads. take note of orientation and location of each piston before removal. if you rotate the engine by hand, you can individually inspect each cylinder wall as the piston goes up and down. look for scuff marks and the condition of the cross hatching. any compromising of the cylinder wall will point to some piston and/or ring problems that you would definitely want to address.

in my experience failed HLA's "lifters" will be *stuck* in a lower position than the others and won't move. often if you try compressing them with a c clamp they won't budge. when you remove the cam tower, place a straight edge against the tops of all the HLA's, it's likely that the one or both in the noisey cylinder will be lower than the rest which should be in a straight line. as far as collapsed, that could be something different technically speaking like the internal spring or spacer could fail i suppose. i tried disassmbling the HLA's that i've had that were stuck and they won't budge. heat, ATF, many days of soaking in various penetrants and prying and pulling with channel locks and they would not free up so i could disassemble and clean them. i throw them away. really it's not even putting that much time into them, i just wanted to get them apart to see why they were so difficult. dirty oil will foul up HLA's. frequent oil changes lead to healthy HLA's.

i vote for the thermostat. possibly the radiator fans not coming on. when it starts to run hot, pop the hood or listen real good and see if the fans turn on.

cv axle failure is highly unlikely. you can drive with that broken cv boot for as long as you keep the car.....unless you keep it awhile. i routinely put 50,000 + miles on front cv joints AFTER they start clicking. they are not likely to fail anytime soon. the only cv axle failure i had was a BRAND NEW ONE. obviously not the norm and manufacturing defect of some kind. in any event, just don't want people to feel like they are in a dangerous situation just from a broken boot. i recall when i didn't know anything about cars i'd replace the axle immediately because it sounds like a sometime terrible is wrong going around a turn. now i know better. i've put 100,000 miles on broken rear cv's and they have never started clicking. if you're not keeping the car awhile, don't bother replacing it. if you're keeping it awhile, replace the axle.

get him to tell you the part number and manufacturer and call a supplier, the company or the dealer depending where the gasket originated from.

be sure the trans pan is not dented severly. this can lower the clearance between the sump on the atf filter and the bottom of the pan and screw with the available line pressure causing really weird issues that are hard to track down. not likely, but something simple to check. install an aftermarket transmission cooler.

a water filled cylinder will prevent you from turning the motor over by hand. pull spark plugs like mentioned to check. or have someone stand behind the car as you crank it. if water drips out of the exhaust (anywhere between motor and tip, not just the end of the exhaust) then you're getting water in your cylinder(s) i doubt it, but it could be a timing belt if something strange is happening. pull the left and right timing covers (just a couple 10mm bolts) to check the timing belt. i could forsee a rare case where a timing belt pulley seizes, brakes or separates and somehow causes the timing belt to turn into a tangled mess where it's still wrapped around the crank sprockets preventing it from turning. removing the covers would be really easy and tell you in a matter of minutes whether that's the case or not.

the lug stud holes will be identical, not sure about fitment though (width, size, etc). seems the wrx rotors would be larger in some way. check some online part stores like thepartsbin.com or others and see if they post sizes with the part numbers and pictures.

you're golden, no valve or piston issues to worry about on this motor. change your oil and filter and that may help. reseal your oil pump. (one gasket and one seal) that's generally the first step. if it doesn't fix it, that's okay it needs to be done anyway. if the tapping is from one cylinder, then one of the HLA's (lifters) at that cylinder has issues. if the tapping moves or changes sides of the motor it's likely oil pump related. HLA's can graduallly be cleaned over time if you're willing to add some MMO or ATF to the oil, do some oil changes and give it some time. SEAFOAM is also a highly touted product but i've never used it before so i'll let someone else talk about that. very good results have been posted using it as well. i use ATF (and MMO on ocassion) to clean out used subaru motors (HLA's particularly) when i first get them. run a quart of ATF or MMO in with your oil for awhile and gradually it may clean them and free them up. it is possible that they are seized to the point they need to be replaced. you can also pull the HLA's and disassemble them, clean them and reassemble them. i've had a couple that i couldn't pull apart to clean one time, so i replaced them.

no experience with your car but i would guess 2.25" is too large unless it's a turbo and depending what you're looking for. i've run some larger exhausts on an XT6 and after a point...like 2.5" with no cat i think it looses way too much low end for me.

i'm guesssing orings, compressor leaking or leaky strut. one strut is leaking. try the o-rings at the associated solenoid. best bet is to replace all the o-rings in the entire system. one dollars worth of new orings can solve major problems (leaks). there are two orings at each solenoid. don't bother trying to find a part number or anything. remove an oring and go to an auto parts store and have them match up the right size. apply a little grease to the new orings and install. now that the orings are addressed another possibility is the air compressor. if it's running alot, that's not good as it will wear out. on the air compressor are fittings for receiving the air lines. these fittings can become loose or cracked and basically fall off or just hang there. it will be obvious if this is the case. don't bother repairing them, get a new compressor or just the part you need if you can locate it. air strut and computers are possibilities but if the air struts aren't all rusted and terrible looking i'd check the first things i mentioned. this air suspension is relatively simple to work with and not that bad for those of us that horde extra parts. keep rust off the struts and they'll last a very long time, i never have to replace them. i wire brush the rust off of them and paint them flat black. the rust will rub against the rubber bag and wear the rubber out. i replace my orings, keep the struts rust free and have few problems. bought my XT6 at 105,000 miles and 4 years later at 215,000 with the same struts and no problems. they appear in great shape and i don't see them failing any time soon.

subaru factory service manual is by far the most complete manual. others can't touch it. get it from any dealer. cheaper on the internet...liberty subaru or subaruparts.com

100,000 miles - replace the crank seal and oil pump gaskets/seals. you can use oil on the cams. i like engine rebuilding lubrication...forget what it's called. it's very sticky like substance for applying to parts as i reassemble the cams. clean your HLA's if you're in this deep and they are tapping on one side.

can't picture the problem exactly as i'm not familiar with this head. if you post a picture that would help tons.

honda's are great. elements are great for tall drivers. no third seat belt in the rear and about as dumb looking as they come (personal taste of course). get an AT cooler installed no matter what (even if the car is brand new).

did anything happen prior to this, any work done to the car? if so i would suspect the following: check the fusible links under the hood. should be in a little rectangular black box close to the battery with a lid on it. remove the lid and see if they are all intact. there is one that will blow that will break the starter circuit but retain power everywhere else in the car. when you turn the key you get nothing? no click? sounds like the solenoid in the starter is bad. sourcing parts is tricky with subaru's but you can replace the starter solenoid if you can find it. otherwise you'll have to buy the entire starter assembly which will have a new solenoid attached to it. if you suspect the actual starter (particularly if you hear a click which indicates the solenoid is functioning properly) give the starter case a couple good hits with a hammer (you're not trying to break it), hitting various locations on the case. autozone/advanced auto parts will test your starter for free if you take it to them. before messing with your starter do a quick power supply check. contacts have to be good. check battery terminals, clean and tight. check battery. try to jump the car. i know you have power and lights but i've seen a car with what appears to be good power start right up with a jump. your ignition switch (in the steering column) could be bad or you could have a bad ground wire somewhere but i wouldn't persue these until you rule out the starter and battery/connections.

if you get an automatic, install an aftermarket transmission cooler on it immediately and make sure all the tires match (tread depth and type of tire). whatever you get, have a very complete tune up done to the car. new cars are a waste...unless it's a Ford and you know for certain the warranty will be needed multiple times in the immediate future. if you don't mind spending the money, then who cares. if you'd rather keep the $, then get a used subaru and have all maintenance items addressed immediately unless you have records from previous owner that show it's been done. timing belts replaced timing belt pulleys/tensioner replaced cam seals replaced water pump replaced (mileage depending) coolant flushed transmission fluid flushed plugs, wires, cap and rotor (cap and rotor only on some motors) check brake pads replace battery (if old) older subaru engines and transmissions will generally last a long time. but the older the car, the more likely you'll have a run in with wheel bearings, alternator, fuel pump or some other random failure. not that it's likely to happen or these are common, but after 100,000 miles there's more of a chance one of these will cause issues. but the engine and car in general will last for as long as you'd like. i've driven XT6's for 350,000 + miles and have never had one wheel bearing, starter or brake failure in any subaru i've owned.

starting *under oil pan*, not sure what that means but i wouldn't expect too much. rule out simple things, make sure it's actually a blown motor. if it is, replace the block. i could find an engine block, even an entire motor for 200. buy one and drop it in.

never done a legacy, but on an XT6 (much different of course) there's no need to touch the ball joint. remove strut mounting bolts and you're golden. there are those that completely disassemble the front suspension when all that's needed is to remove 2 lower strut mount bolts and loosen the top 3 bolts of the strut and that gives enough room to pull the axle. the hub articulates enough to pull/install an axle. have a 3/4" socket for the axle nut and it will be easy. try using a 1/2" breaker bar or socket and it'll be a pain in the rump roast (i've broken 3 trying to use 1/2" bars and sockets). if it just started clicking and only clicks around turns it's not anywhere near failure or of any concern except the annoying sound and grease flinging around. if the boot is cracked, sometimes packing a little grease in there by hand will quiet it up if it's really loud. of course that's temporary and it will eventually return....in an hour or month.....i just let them click for a year or two until i need to do some brake work or something else. if they start clicking while i'm driving straight i replace them.

reseal it. i've had a couple soobs with 200,000+ miles with the original oil pumps (i replaced the seals) and mine never tap. i never mic mine, but while it's apart you can mic it like mentioned. if it's in specs, leave it alone.