idosubaru

I see them around town every week but I'm in a subaru town where things age fast so people aren't still plowing around in 90's or hardly even 00 era Subarus due to rust. I own one for no other reason than it was Subaru's only 7 seater. It'll last me until I can buy a cheap blown/wrecked/ Ascent. The main issue with Tribeca's is they fill no actual role at all. There is no reason to buy a 5 seater over an Outback and for those who could use the 7 seats, the 6th and 7th seat are tiny, inaccessible, and if flipped up for use, you retain almost no storage space.

injector - that's a wise suggestion. i'm not sure why i suggested TPS, Knock, MAF when you have a cylinder misfire. cylinder misfire the plugs and wires need tested/swapped, or replaced. injector is a good next step since those are cylinder dependent. flashing CEL means "multiple cylinder misfire". might have had a momentary time of multiple misfires. the mechanic could swap injectors from cylinder 1 and 3 and see if the misfire "moves" to cylinder 1, then you'll know it's the injector causing it.

ah - that is interesting - if it's at a precise point that sure sounds like it could be TPS they can be tested i might have a TPS for that car - post a picture. i know i have a 98 automatic TPS, but I removed it for someone else who never got it so not sure where i put it.

It's most likely spark (plugs/wires) or sensor related. there's a lot of possibilities....if it's closely related to throttle input or a narrow band I would suspect the idle controller or throttle position sensor or dirty throttle body. 1. spark plugs and wires - what brand and how old are they? if not NGK, unknown age/mileage, or they're old - then that's an even more likely starting point. 2. knock sensor - ebay specials are $8 and it's one 12mm bolt to replace it. so easy and cheap and by far the most common failure on that engine i would routinely replacing them when working on someone elses car. 3. MAF or TPS

Intermittent flashing is common. Hopefully you get lucky but usually it’ll come again some day. Ideally you get the codes from the TCU. Now is a good time to learn how to do that when it’s not an emergency.

If there's no noises, it's full of fluid, no drivability issues i'd consider driving it. I guess if the constant flashing means the AT fluid is overheating - that's very bad and will destroy the trans quickly. I doubt that will happen if the fluid is full though....

check fluid level immediately. check to see if pan is dented. turn car off, wait a minute, and turn it back on. sometimes the issue goes away.

What GD said. It’ll bolt up and run fine. But the 4WD is controlled via vacuum lines and electrical components. It’s simply one lever on the passenger side of the trans. Push it one way for 4WD and back the other way to disengage. It’s a beefy light switch. You could conceivably attach a metal rod to it and extend it up into the engine bay or try to get it into the cabin to get a car usable. I’ve done it for “parts” cars before that I want to keep semi drivable. I wouldn’t want to do it for a daily driver.

Haha you could also post pictures if you’re really worried and we could identify some.

Nah, that’s not what he means. Get KYB struts and install them. Straightforward swap, no special tools required - compress springs, swap out struts and done.

Piston slap. Ignore it and drive it.

Johnceggleston - posted on first page of this thread - has a few detailed threads where he breaks down or decodes what the numbers in the auto trans part numbers represent. Find some of those. Did you search the online Subaru parts websites for it? Google it?

Same here I did it a decade ago or something and don’t remember. But I think there’s a lot of threads for it. Could you find two wiring diagrams - one for each style, and compare the schematics?

Get an FSM they have some exploded view diagrams. Subaru parts websites have exploded views but not sure they go back to EA82? EA82 and ER27 gasket sets would come with a vast oversupply of gaskets. I think for multiple engine variations and changes. Carb, SPFI, MPFI, EGR, etc.

Theyre $15-$35 used all day long up here, keep looking, some yard has a zillion of them. just tell the junk yards what year they want to hear to get your part. I do it all the time just for the reason you’re stating. Ill even ask if they can grab the inventory number off the car-part site and some inventory that way and can go grab it, some don’t. Or I just read the exact year and model I looked up on car-part that shows they have it and regurgitate it to them regardless of what I’m putting it in. Ita easy and I do it all the time without even thinking about it.

A German company can source Chinese parts I’ve ordered the same part from the same company and gotten a different manufacturer/part. I’ve gotten OEM parts then next time its not. I’ve had it happen with Beck Arnley multiple times. Anyway - take note that what you get this time doesn’t ensure consistency or that it will be next the same next time.

MT's share gear oil. AT's have separate front diff gear oil and ATF. I can't imagine that is possible to replace the bearings externally, but I dont' know EA81's. someone here will definitely know or get an FSM and see what it says.

did you try to check for play in the front diff when you pulled the axles? drain the oil and look for metal pull the axles and see what the stubby shafts look like. i think i'm struggling to understand the symptoms. some people blow up small things to sound big and some are pretty even and some have a big issue but don't describe it well. part of your description makes me think brakes/suspension. another part makes me think diff.

You're supposed to tell them - Old Gen in morse code or smoke signals, new Gen in binary and hex.

change fluid, try some AMSOIL

pads aren't the concern - specifically check the pins, pad clips, and emergency brake mechanism. one of those is corrupting pad movement. they'll hang in a general "range" of movement sometimes making them hard to diagnose and having intermitten or condition/speed related symptoms, until the pad starts to wear at an angle and symptoms escalate. clean each pin, regrease with high quality grease (not generic permatex). pad clips can get bent, rusty, or corroded/built up and cause pad movement issues as well. emergency brake can stick at the hub. or it's suspension related - a ball joint/bushing is moving under load. Can you tell which corner it's coming from - you should have a vague idea where it's coming from if it's an audible noise. if not - have someone stand outside the vehicle and listen or change seat positions to listen from inside.

Brakes, suspension Not trans

Anecdotal, but I had a 1996 legacy a few years ago with a bad MAF and no codes. Swap MAF, all good. You probably know this but knock sensors are routinely problematic on those as well. I've installed a ton of $6 ebay specials with no issues. Pull the sensor and the bottom is usually corroded/cracked. Usually you get a code obviously. I assume there's no check engine light or pending codes if read?

Tiny percentages, no big deal. Now you’re all done and have the new gear in there , good stuff.

that's a really good price, hopefully they did it well.