idosubaru

no heat can be cured by pulling the hoses to the heater core and flushing it out at the firewall. use a garden hose and blow the heater core out. lots of dirty water and junk will come out and your heat will work just fine. if the gauge reads lower than normal...turn the heater on. if the heat works, then the gauge is not functioning properly for some reason (either the gauge has problems or it's getting bad information). if there is no heat, then the coolant and engine may actually be cold. which would indicate a bad thermostat which you're telling me is new, so that's likely not the case.

put a note on it to start with.

you should post this (a moderator will eventually move it) to Newer Generation of Subaru's section. This is Older Generation of Subaru's. this isn't typical, something is wrong though i can't tell you what. the bearings shouldn't go out at 70,000 miles (unless you have an SVX) and it shouldn't be recurring either. i'd wonder if either place actually replaced them or just repacked them. and did they replace the wheel seals? the same bearing keeps failing, all three times? are you sure it's wheel bearings every time? unfortuantely i'm skeptical of mechanics

how does it drive? why not leave it? unless you're tearing it down for other major maintenance.

outback alternator recall, what is that about?

could easily be a sticky HLA as well. keep changing your oil frequently.

with the car idling, put a little pressure on the injectors. bad sealing orings will show themselves by spurting fuel out. even good functioning ones will squirt fuel with enough pressure. i wouldn't suspect faulty fuel injectors unless it's visibly external to the injector itself and not close to a seal or juncture indicating it's just seaping past a seal or oring.

the short answer, definitely do not bother trying to repair the broken plastic. seen lots of people try (including a moron that i know that should know better named gary gross) and it may work for a short while, but the risks of overheating and being stranded somewhere are not worth the little time and $ needed to fix it properly. and i'd probably think someone were lying if they told me it lasted for any extensive amount of time. if the radiator is decent and you can do the work yourself, get someone with a bad radiator to send you a side tank. if you get the side tank, you can swap it with yours and be good to go. they have dozens of metal tabs that you pry up to get the old tank off. not that difficult, just be careful not to break the new tank when removing. you can probably find a used radiator for like 30 bucks if you look around. keep your other plastic tank for the same reason if you get another radiator just in case. best bet is to get a new radiator, cooling issues are nothing to mess with. piecing together a broken ignition wire is one thing, trying to rig part of your cooling system is not worth the possible damage for such a reliable motor. good luck, you have options, shouldn't be too bad.

i'd go ahead and rewire that coolant temp sensor. don't know gauge, but it's not all that important either. i use heavier than what is on there stock. address this first, if you can solder it's a very easy and one of the best fixes you can do on your XT6. this isn't a chance item, it will eventually cause issues. now that im' done preaching, address your MAF sensor next. these two items i think are very crucial in your situation. after these two are checked out, i'm not sure where i would go next, but let's cross that bridge when we get there. i have some ideas but don't want to overload with random ideas yet because your problems are very indicative of water temp sensor or MAF issues. also - the TPS is very tricky to adjust and the FSM procedures for setting the TPS WILL NOT WORK. they are incorrect. have to set it *by ear* essentially. on a side note. had an XT6 with no check engine codes that had some erratic RPM issues. couldn't figure out the problem through maintenance items and swapping sensors. i finally realized that if i played with the TPS wires about 8 inches from the sensor the car would stutter, shut off, rev up and just go wild. i spliced in some new wires and the thing ran great. so keep your eye on a short like this when you're looking at the TPS, WTS (water termp sensor and MAF sensors. the wires just prior to these sensors can also experience problems. now i generally move wires around systematically for each sensor in order to get shorts to show themselves. i've put 350,000 miles or more on XT6's and i've only ever had to replace one sensor. a MAF sensor last year. (not including O2 sensors). every other sensor issues has been corrosion or short related. good luck and you can email me if you have any questions. my time on this board while generally consistent can vary.

not necessarily, so long as you're getting enough spark for thorough fuel combustion new igntion components may or may not give you any increases depending on mileage and condition of the old ones. you gapped the plugs properly and used NGK plugs or what? are you worried about your gas mileage? how many miles do you have? 02 Sensor is probably a good item to address.

turbo diesel - sure this isn't HLA noise? otherwise - get a mechanics stethoscope ( i picked one up for a few dollars and it works great for locating bad bearings). should be able to remove the belt and locate the pulley without a problem. spin it by hand and look for play. like someone mentioned if it's a timing related pulley it could be hard to get to for testing without removing the belts. remove the two left and right side timing covers (very easy to do - a couple 10mm bolts and the car is still completely driveable, just covers). make sure one of the timing pulleys or tensioners is not frozen or very tight. sometimes you can even see damaged pulleys just by visual inspection. bearings sticking out or wobbling action...etc. best to pull the covers and look. (they are in theory very easy to remove - a couple 10mm screws/bolts like i said). rust can make them tricky - spray them with liquid wrench or equivalent. good luck.

if you're talking about noises related to seals, gaskets and actual oil supply issues, look through the thousands of existing threads on the subject. if you're speaking of the pump itself making external noises, the oil pump has a very thin metal backing plate. this plate can come off and make a loud whirring noise about as good as i can explain it. timing belt can grab that metal plate and get torn to shreads. (i had an extra belt in the trunk and bent the plate out of the way with some channel locks to get me home then removed the plate entirely later)

remove the bumper and drill holes in it to remove material.

should have the heads checked and machined and a valve job done as well and a good machine shop will pressure check the heads as well. have the oil pump seal/gasket, cam seals, rear main seal and crank seal replaced while it's all apart. all these seals and gaskets are inexpensive so there's no reason to leave the old ones in when the engine is torn down and they are right in front of you. with that amount of investment into the car, i'd replace the timing belt pullies and tensioners to prevent premature timing belt failure and engine damage. this is very wise if it's an interference engine (which it is if it's 97 or greater 2.2 liter motor). with all that work you might also consider having the fuel injectors professionally cleaned by some place like RC Engineering (cost about 100 bucks). (there are cheaper options than them though). not likely but injectors with severe leakage into the cylinder can wash oil off the walls causing premature wear. sounds like a good $100 preventative maintenance item to me for major engine work. they include all the before and after flow testing of the injectors and new orings for installation. make sure the coolant and radiator, hoses and clamps are in excellent condition. overheating will quickly destroy a motor, no need in taking that chance when doing a thorough rebuild. head gaskets at 117 and 130??? is this the 2.5 liter motor? i have an OBS with 65,000 miles and hate to see such major problems with low miles. i've had a couple XT6's with the original gaskets at 200,000+.

anyone verify if ER27 (XT6) and Turbo EA82 injectors are the same? how about EA82 and EA82T? how about EA82 and ER27?

depends when you last cleared them. they could be residual codes from weeks, months or years ago that really don't mean anything now. or they could be valid. it's best to clear them and check regularly if you suspect problems or want useful information.

just like miles said: 2 axles 2 outer seals 2 inner seals 2 wheel bearings wheel bearing grease you might need an axle nut and cotter pin. axle should come with new ones, but i have seen them without new hardware before. plenty of people have reused the axle nuts and pins before, but warnings abound on using new hardware. i've reused axle nuts before, but normally i do not. i've never been able to find them at an autoparts store and i've seen subaru want like 13 dollars each for them! on a side note, it's a big help to make sure you have a really good socket for removing the axle nut, it is on there very tight. 3/4 inch wratchet should be used, avoid 1/2 inch if you can. (i've broken 2 1/2 inch socket wrenches and one 1/2 inch breaker bar on axle nuts). finally got a 3/4 inch, great move.

hard to say just reading about it, but i'd guess the valve stem seals as well. piston rings or stem seals the good news is this isn't that big of a deal...if you don't mind adding oil every now and again. oil leaks don't really mean anything, just keep oil in it. with new headgaskets, timing belts and water pump this motor could last a really long time. might go through more oil than the average car, but who cares oil is inexpensive. you're going to go through more gas than a hybrid car, who cares if you go through more oil than other cars? on older cars people routinely need to add a couple quarts of oil between oil changes, no big deal just slightly annoying. the great news is that it's not leaking, that's really annoying. although leaks are typically easier to repair than burning oil but clouds of smoke choking you out as the oil drips on your exhaust at a redlight....boo for that. i wouldn't bother taking it to a dealer. they'll charge an rump roast load of money to diagnose it properly or just give you a really high number to fix it since they'll guess it's the valve stem seals or piston rings so they'll likely give you the higher of the two numbers. (which will be really big). how many miles? i say the valve stem seals should have been replaced when the head gaskets were done but i bet they were not. if you're really interested in fixing it get a leak down test done (i wouldn't go to a dealer, i wouldn't trust them to do it right. they'll assume it's something and just tell you that and say they did the leak down test...unless you really trust your dealer). after the leak down test you'll either need the valve stems replaced or a new block (if it's the piston rings...which i would doubt). new block would be much more expensive obviously. i'd fix this myself eventually (i would wait awhile and woudlnt be in any rush since the motor will be fine) but if i had to pay someone to do it, i'd forget all of this and keep adding oil myself.

fan speed controls and air control buttons can cause these problems sometimes. but i'm not familiar with brats or EA81's.

WOO HOO!! XT6 questions. has your check engine light ever come on? a couple things could be your problems: do a complete tune up. particularly the spark plugs (use the stock NGK, they are great plugs), distributor cap, rotor and wires. you can try neglecting the wires if you need to save cash, otherwise i say replace them and i highly recommend magnecor wires if you plan on keeping the car for awhile. now that your ignition is golden - clean your IAC valve. Idle Air Control Valve. two 10 mm bolts and a bracket hold it to the intake manifold with a hose going in both sides of it. don't bother replacing it. remove it and keep spraying electrical contact cleaner or brake cleaner (any cleaner that doesn't leave a residue), keep cleaning until no more black dust comes out. now the water temperature sensor. i would suspect this is the cause of your irratic idle problems. but your check engine light should come on (but not necessarily - have seen coolant temp sensors cause problems without triggering the CE light, but no usually). next to your thermostat and the second coolant cap (not the one on the radiator) is an electrical sensor, that's your water temp sensor that will cause problems. these little annoyances cause problems ALL THE TIME. i've owned 7 XT6's and of the ones that i've driven for any length of time i've had numerous run ins with this coolant sensor. don't replace the sensor. the electrical contacts will be the problem. if you wiggle this connector while the car is idling you might hear the engine jump all over the place, stall or smooth out to a perfect idle as you wiggle the connector around. this is one way to verify this thing is causing you problems. even if you don't experience this, check the connectors. remove the harness and typically you'll see green corossion. i actually did a permanent fix to this reoccuring issue. i finally cut the wiring harness off and cracked one side of the plastic on top the sensor (just for added room/space) then soldered the wires directly to the sensor contacts and used some shrink wrap to cover them up. then i spliced in connectors a few inches away on the wires so i can remove the water temp sensor if i need to. i posted a picture of this mod here: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27923 if you plan on keeping the car this is a great mod to do, it's very easy and saves you lots of headaches and annoying surges and inconsitent performance in the future. another option for your idling is the MAF sensor. i would expect some noticeable drivability problems though, not just at idle. an easy way to inspect the MAF is to remove it and look internally under good light. you'll see very very fine wire (hot wire anemometer type device) inside the MAF sensor. these wires can snap/break. they are extremely thin so have good light around to inspect them. a broken wire will cause terrible driving and gas mileage. this does not gaurantee your MAF is good, but may show if it is bad. swapping in a known good unit is a great option. if you did everything above i would be very surprised if the car didn't run much better. but if not we'll explore other options. compression test all cylinders, bad gas, bad air filter...could also be problems. but i would do a tune up as suggested above, clean the IAC and then check the MAF and water temp sensor. this can all be done yourself easily and doesn't take that long and doesn't cost much and makes me write run on sentences. good luck.

i wish i could say i haven't seen one without power locks. is swapping parts from an impreza an option or not really? i'd rather use stock parts if possible. any other models swap to the OBS doors?

that would be awesome if you could post. so a generic aftermarket kit will work? i saw one at JC Whitney for 69 dollars. pic's would be awesome as i am going to do this to my OBS. were the directions with the kit adequate? thanks!

tranny could be fine. the noise may just be the pilot or throw out bearings which can typically make noise. replace them both when you put in a new motor. they are typical replacement parts for a clutch job anyway. i agree, get another subaru (turbo) unless you're ready to spend serious loot in the interest of higher horsepower.

bad headgaskets will loose coolant. once the coolant loss is enough to prevent sufficient flow to your heater core you will indeed loose any heat eventhough the engine temps keep climbing. this is typical of head gasket failure. other things can cause lack of heat from the heater as well, but i think you know that. 2,400 sounds high. you can find another 2.2 liter impreza outback motor for less than a thousand. if you drove the car for any length of time with bad headgaskets that's not good for the rod bearings and other internals. water mixes with oil and continuous driving like that is not good for motor.

i have manual locks on my 97 OBS. any ideas on converting to electric locks? surprised i didn't see anything on this in a search. can i buy two electric doors and use the parts inside? is the car be pre-wired to accept the electric door lock connections?