idosubaru

this is the first time i've read the "newer generation subaru" forum. i have an XT6 so im always in the older gen forum. my XT6 AWD Auto has been doing this for a long time. the car will bind going around a turn. it will also shift at a higher RPM. and if i keep driving, it would never go away. if i turned the car off sometimes it goes away and sometimes it does not. i drained and refillled the tranny more than once and swapped in 3 different TCU's and none of that helped. but i did find a permanent way to get rid of this problem that works every single time on my car. as soon as i feel it binding which is generally not long after i start the car around the first turn here's how i get it to quit doing that. i turn the steering wheel all the way to the left or right, feel it binding, and turn the car off with the wheel all the way to the left or right. then start the car back up, straighten it out and that stupid freaking procedure fixes the problem EVERY time. don't ask me why, if i didn't see it and someone told me this i would add that to my list of stories not to believe. i'm a moderator at http://www.xt6.net and have been around many XT's and XT6's the past 10 years and i'm very familiar with this car...but i have no idea why it would do that. this past year it did it much more over the summer than now, it very rarely does it this winter. if it gets more often i'll try the fuse diagnosis and see how it reacts. i've had mismatched tires cause binding before.

are 4 bolts necessary to hold it to the hub? many cars don't have anything holding the rotor to the hub...just the wheel when you install it and the caliper. i'm not sure i've seen this kind of set up, but it seems like you could get away with less screws or none at all. the XT6 rotors have 2 screws in them stock, just retainer screws.i take them out and don't use any screws. either because they are a pain in the rump roast or because i buy rotors that don't have the holes in them, so i don't bother with them. never had any problems in thousands of miles on 3 different XT6's. but i'm not familiar with the loyale, so maybe it's much different.

i think the odometer is unrelated, but i've been wrong before. for the idiot lights i would check or replace your wires that bolt to the alternator. look for corrosion and loose connections. cut the insulation back a few inches and have a look at the wires and/or just replace them. replace the actual connection as well and solder it good, wrap it good, make it nice. bet that solves your problem. now that i've thought about it an extra 14.3 seconds, first check your battery and connections as well. make sure the posts are clean, the battery terminals are clean and the wires are tight and clean where they connect to the battery connectors. look closely for anything that looks dirty or loose.

i recommend avoiding spacers.

filling the oil or changing the oil can shut them up if they aren't too bad, they can be sensitive. change oil often and they will thank you by being quiet. of course other things could cause your tapping but there's books of info on that topic already her.

never touched a turbo but the NA heads on an EA82 are easy. the biggest annoyance with that job is rusty bolts.

drivers side head can easily be done in the car, i just did it yesterday on an XT6. the EA82 4 cylinders are WAY easier than the 6 cylinders. headgaskets are too easy to justify pulling the motor unless you need to address a trans, crank seal, torque converter seal issue at the same time. key on the drivers side is get all the wires, hoses and intake manifold out of the way which doesn't take very long.

im' sure you know this, your taller tires may perform different than the shorter guys. i did this once on my XT6 thinking i wouldn't notice much difference, wrong. big difference. handled terrible with the taller tires. never tried that again.

the ECU is located in the trunk, like where the rear speakers would be mounted on most cars. the ECU has an LED that flashes the code. not sure about your model so i can't give you specifics, it may even be located somewhere else. do you have a carb...that would mean no ECU...do you have fuel injectors...that would mean you do have an ECU.

you can keep pouring stuff in there, but i'd probably think you're lying or the problem was something else if you told me it worked. you can try removing the valve cover and tightening whatever head bolts you can get too if you're really interested in being as simple as possible. or...you can get ambitious and remove the cam and tighten up all the head bolts. you can remove the thermostat, that will keep the water temperature lower and it will use less coolant (but you'll have very little heat). sorry...but best bet is replace the head gaskets.

here's the transmission resistor to unplug (as seen on an XT6). it's circled in yellow.

binding....in 4wd going around a turn on concrete...does it feel like itsbraking when your wheels are turned all the way?

northwet is on it - by front i meant the ones in the tranny, not the rear diff. i used to have pictures of a bad transmission that i had messed with showing those seals, but can't find them anymore. i was told by john from kentucky...and i don't know that i've heard him say something yet about soobs that wasn't dead on....that the large cover you have to remove to pull these seals out also lines up some pinion or something inside the diff so be very careful doing it. the torque is important. i was told if i really wanted to do it to mark the position of the cover before starting to turn it and then count how many turns it takes to remove it...and install the exact same way. but i decided it sounded like too much work and risk for a seal that wasn't leaking anyway. someone else also told me that those seals you see are basically just external *dust* seals and there is another seal behind that to prevent oil from leaking.....but i don't remember who told me that so i would ask before i assume any of that is correct. hopefully i'm talking about the same thing here and not just creating a mess for you. do you have an FSM? i messed with my transmission before i had an FSM so i've never looked it up. good luck and have fun,

mine did this (XT6) and it was a short in a wire about 6 inches away from the connector. i should have stripped the wire to see exactly what it was doing. i spliced in a known good connector with a foot of wire and all has been good for a long time. every time i've had sensor issues it's never the sensor. i've had 5 XT6's and never replaced a sensor...except the O2 sensor.

i also have the seals if you want to buy them send me a PM or email (get me over at www.xt6.net if you want them as i'm not here very often, but im a moderator over there). i bought them thinking i would replace them as preventative maintenance....until i looked at the process a little closer.

is this a 4EAT transmission? if it's the front seals on a 4EAT then i think you will want to get some detailed information before attempting this. i have 4EAT's in my XT6's...this seal is tricky to replace and the outer housing cover you remove to get to it is a critical part and requires proper installation. i can't offer more detail because i will never replace it unless it is leaking and that hasn't happened yet.

for the 4EAT forget the shift kit - disconnect the shifting resistor mechanism..forget what it's called. this will quicken your shifts and they will be much crisper. it's bolted on the passengers side strut tower on the XT6. it's a 5 inch by 1 inch long rectangular silver part. just unplug it and drive.

leave the radiator in place, this job is so easy that extra work like that is kind of pointless. by cam cover...are you referring to the actual cam carrier (cam tower) that holds the cam or just the valve cover? since you're pulling the timing belts you must be referring to the cam carrier because to replace the valve cover gasket doesn't require any timing belt removal. cam carrier - make sure you have a new o-ring for the oil passage between the cam carrier and the head. it's a reinforced oring, go get two before you start. drivers side is harder to do than the passengers side but not so bad in the 4 cylinder motors. the drivers side has the distributor connected to it. make sure all wiring and hoses are well out of the way when reinstalling, otherwise it's easy to rub up against something and you'll ruin your bead of sealant. definetly reseal the oil pump. replace the cam seals (come in a kit from thepartsbin.com with associated o-ring for the cam holder), the front crank seal and water pump. have a water pipe o-ring ready if you're doing the water pump. all of this stuff is a well spent 50 dollars. how old is your thermostat, replace that if you don't know. inspect all of your timing pulley bearings, make sure they spin smooth and aren't noisey. replace any that are bad. or if you drive alot or expect high mileage or like reliability - buy new timing belt tensioners and pulleys, they are quite inexpensive for the EA82 motors (that is not the case for the XT6 motors that i run). i've seen plenty of people have a bearing seize on these pulleys and shred the timing belts.

depends what you want to do. you can get away with replacing the head gasket with only a new head gasket and new intake manifold-to-head gasket. and a tube of sealant for the cam carriers. reuse everything else. while it's off you should have the head checked and possibly milled and repair the cracks between the valve seats (EA 82's and ER27's always have them, not sure about other motors). head shop i get my work done at has repaired them before and is familiar with it. while it's off you could rebuild the HLA's, have a valve job done, new timing belts, new water pump ( you already did), and reseal your oil pump. if you're only replacing one head gasket that can easily be done in an afternoon on an EA82...especially the passengers side, no problem.

i'd pull the wheel off. see if you can pry the caliper open, swing it open and knock the brake pads out. with the wheel off...some soob calipers have holes in the top of the caliper, you might be able to get something in there to knock the piston back or pry it back enough to swing the caliper open and pull the pads. then look for a rebuild kit. front rebuild kits are like 10 bucks and include parts for both sides. can't beat that. take it apart, clean it up and install new seals. really simple...piston comes out, install a seal and the rubber boot and put it back together.

you originally said there's water leaking externally, i'd trace that leak and find out exactly where it's coming from. if it doesnt leak while cold, it should definetly leak good when you start it or after it warms up some. the intake gaskets are easy and cheap to replace, how about replace those first and see if that fixes it if you're concerned about time/$. if not, just pull the head and have a look at it. you can do a leak down test on that cylinder. pressurize that cylidner and listen for where the air is escaping. if you see/hear bubbles in the overflow tank while the engine is running or after it reaches operating temperature (if it's even drivable that long), then i'd guess a headgasket. the EA82 is awesome, that thing is cake. PASSENGERS SIDE!!! that should be music to your ears. the passengers side is cake, you can crank that out in no time on these little motors. i've always owned XT6's....5 of them and did my first head work on an EA82 this summer for someone else....10 times easier than my XT6. more room to mess with fewer parts!

you'll need a drill to get the ignition off, so get the column.

if you see visual signs of leakage, you MUST verify where it's coming from before you assume anything. hard, visible evidence is always the best to go on before you start guessing. has this motor been worked on anytime recently? you're positive that it's coolant dripping down? are you needed to add coolant? like maybe a gallon every 100 miles or something? was this motor overheated in the past year? this summer, bad radiator, low coolant, last week....etc? look at hoses, water pump, water pipe o-ring, other gaskets, throttle...hmm this is carbed....look everywhere for leaks. if it's dripping you should be able to find it. there is also a gasket between the intake manifold and head that has a coolant passage in it. this gasket can leak and will cause coolant to enter the cylinder and come out of your exhaust and could also leak externally. if you still suspect a head gasket - try this shortly after driving the car and also after letting it set all night. i'd pull your spark plug on the cylinder reading 180 compression and turn the motor over by hand. shine a flashlight down there while someone turns it over by hand and look for coolant in the cylinder. there is a chance that the cylinder reading high compression has an internal gasket leak....of course this wouldn't explain your external leakage. but, coolant in a cylinder can cause your compression readings to be high. if you have to replace a headgasket i'd recommend replacing both of them.

it is crucial to seal the pump properly. if you install all new seals and gaskets, that might not be enough. the two halves of the block meet behind the pump. you should use a very small amount of sealant (like you use on the cam carriers) where the 2 halves of the block meet together. do not get the sealant on the mickey mouse seal. you will see one area at NOON and one at 6 O'clock. it's very faint and can be hard to see, clean the block up good behind the pump and look/feel for the zigzag pattern where the two halves of the block come together, it won't be perfectly smooth. install new seals without sealing this engine block mating junction and you could still have tapping due to an improper seal. if switching oil pumps cleared the tapping i would suspect the other pump just happened to seal better against this area more than the pump actually was the problem to begin with. i've never seen an original oil pump not work that was properly sealed. for anyone installing new seals, it's important not to miss this step. i have heard of people sealing the pump only to still have tapping. then they go back and seal this block mating area i just described and the tapping disappears.

guys that use soob motors for airplane applications do it all the time, they use filters at each valve cover. if they do it in the air, i feel pretty good about doing it on the ground.