idosubaru

LOL thermodynamic/mathematical principles that model refrigeration. google can tell all. A/C systems work by changing states (state meaning liquid, gas in this case) of fluid (air & gas are fluids). A/C systems have checks in place to make sure parts of that cycle are at the proper state to protect the system. you don't want your compressor trying to compress liquid for an extreme example. thus the turning on/off of the compressor if improperly charged.

the system is low or high. too high will do the same thing - pressures aren't right somewhere in the midst of the Carnot cycle. leaks are usually really simple: Schrader valves at the high or low port Orings on the compressor replace those and the A/C is usually good for the life of the vehicle on a Subaru. failures of other components are rare. if it leaks or gets low again - replace all those parts then recharge. they're like $5 in parts and super easy to replace.

I've even removed the rear axles, diff, driveshaft (or some of those) from Subarus with no net increase in gas mileage, even on all highway miles. i'm sure some net gain would be possible but it would have to be very controlled and particular to driving style to see it. otherwise the miniscule gains get washed out.

that's not possible. Most importantly, others and myself have done it quantitatively and it makes no difference. Technically speaking it could make a minor difference, but it would be nearly negligible in real world situations, though i'll concede some minor increase if someone was very perceptive and anal about driving habits - like maybe 1mpg. 7 is impossible with the FWD fuse alone. 2nd - it doesn't make sense. a 4WD Subaru still has hundreds of additional pounds of 4WD components - rear bearings, hubs, axles, rear differential, rear driveshaft, carrier bearing, rear extension housing, 4WD clutches/center differential. A FWD "car" does not have all that additional weight. Putting in a fuse does not make that hundreds of pounds of components disappear. Not only the weight - but the amount of additional rotational components induce drag and moments of inertia associated with every additional rotating part - let's work our way from the wheel to the transmission to see the increase of rotational mass, inertia, and resistance: 1. beefier rear bearings 2. rear outer CV joint 3. inner rear CV joint 4. rear differential stub shaft bearing 5. rear differential ring and pinion 6. rear differential front piniion bearing 7. rear driveshat ujoint 8. center carrier bearing 9. joint at center carrier bearing 10. front driveshaft ujoint 11. bearings, clutches, driven gears or center differential (manual trans). running a 4WD vehicle in FWD does not magically make those things disappear unless he bought his car from Peter Pan. More compelling information: Average gas mileage for a 2000 Outback is 24mpg (http://www.fuelly.com/car/subaru/outback/2000) If he increased 7mpg - then he's getting 31mpg. that's not possible without severe modifications to driving style or components. Or alternately if he didn't get 31mpg - then his car probably wasn't running properly and getting less than average and some maintenance, repair, other issue was resolved. and finally - i would highly suggest not putting much stake in "what some guy said" - i can't begin to tell you how many incorrect notions i hear about cars almost weekly. people make improper conclusions, correlation doesn't mean causation, people change their oil and think they know everything mechanical, people drive one Subaru and think they know them all.... I could keep going - but the bottom line is this is completely off base and he's either whimsical in information or was honestly misled in some way. not a good car for gas mileage conscious people. if gas milegae is a concern i would not recommend buying a high ground clearance, 4WD, automatic, about the largest 4 cylinder engine you can get, with roof rails. that car has many items that detract from gas mileage, not a very efficiency friendly car for those interested in that. it could also be: driving: letting the car warm up in the morning, short trips, heavy on the go pedal and break pedal. location: mountain driving, city driving, stop and go, frigid so the car is idling a lot while warming up or de-icing windshields. what kind of vehicle did she have previously? people coming from small FWD/RWD cars with good mileage are sometimes unimpressed with Subaru mileage. people coming from big SUV/truck world will appreaciate the Subaru mileage and still having 4WD/automatic. My in laws were entertaining Subaru and coming from american FWD cars and i told them not to get it, he would hate the gas mileage. He bought it anyway but he was at least prepared and love the thing so much for it's snow prowess and other aspects he ended up buying another new Subaru Outback as well. He values it for what it is. if she had a dinky FWD american econobox then that may explain it. they have good gas mileage and are cheap...but they're weak in about a dozen other ways. can't have it all, gotta pick what's best for you. if gas mileage is more important than safety, 4WD, ground clearance, aesthetics, etc - then gotta choose accordingly.

take the bolts out of the passengers side tensioner and match those up, they're the same. 12mm head M8x1.25 in my experience if that happens the bolts actually shear off and you'll have a remainder of a bolt stuck in the bolt holes. have you looked yet? you'll need to get those out first. if so, high quality left handed drill bits are the best option and may spin them out. start with a tiny hole, drill center, increase size. if you're lucky it'll spin the stud out. you'll need a right angle drill or drill attachment (cheap) to get it with the engine insitu.

oh you said "wondering the probability" - very low. i had a hard time finding any information or examples of folks that had to fix what i have on mine. i wouldn't worry about it at all until it happens.

try right click and then "copy image" then paste it into whatever you want - microsoft Paint, even word will work if you have to.

i've got the stripped captive nut issue up front for the control arm. i've seen others have it in the rear crossmembers. cut for access look into Rivnuts as a one stop solution correct forum, good job!

what he said - the tires have to match on a 4WD vehicle. the FWD fuse will not work with if the Duty C solenoid is failing. if the torque bind doesn't go away with the FWD fuse - that simply means the Duty C solenoid is failing. you don't need a new transmission - you only need a new Duty C solenoid. they're easily replaced without dropping the transmission, no point in doing all that extra labor when it could be easily repaired. get a use extension housing with Duty C or just a used Duty C if you're interested in saving a few bucks. for the time crawling around on the back though i'd prefer a new Duty C, but just depends how much time you have, etc.

Pan isn't dented - you didn't mess with the pan at all? Make sure the fluid meets the Subaru required specification. Other than that brand is insignificant. You have a failing Duty C solenoid *** If you're really lucky maybe changing the fluid a few times may free up the sticking Duty C solenoid. You need to change the fluid at least 3 times to get a reasonable amount of the total fluid changed. AT fluid sits up in the torque converter and valve body and a simple drain only gets about 1/3 of the fluid out. Or set up a bucket system where one transmission cooler hose sucks up new fluid while the other hose dumps old fluid into another bucket. when you start seeing clean fluid come out, stop. In generally though - a failing Duty C usually gets worse, not better. *** Remove the rear half of the driveshaft and drive the car in FWD. You can drive it indefinitely like this. For extra protection leave the FWD fuse in place just in case the solenoid decides to start working - so the car is in FWD should it start working again. In the end, if fluid changes don't work - just run it in FWD indefinitely. Or replace the Duty C solenoid.

i already replied to your question, what happened to that thead/post? highly doubtful the overfill caused this. more than likely there were issues present before the fluid change - you changed the fluid hoping that would help - and it's still bad. maybe the new fluid induced higher (back to normal) pressures that exaccerbated an already existing issue - but if that's the case it was just coming around the corner anyway. is it in limp home mode (like only in one gear and wont' shift 1st - 2nd - 3rd? Or is it only having torque bind? important details: 1. how much was it overfilled? 2. did it blow out the dipstick or vent tubes on top? 3. vehicle 4. year 5. mileage 6. why did you change the fluid? 7. is the AT light blinking 16 times at start up? 8. is the check engine light on. 9. how long have you owned the car? 10. last fluid change? 11. what did the old fluid look and smell like that came out of it - clean, black, or in between? 12. trans pan isn't dented? 13. does the torque bind go away if you install the FWD fuse in the FWD fuse holder on the passengers side strut tower

nope, something is wrong. they are bolt in and go items normally, so if it's not right then something is wrong. 1. does the vehicle go into drive and move at all? 2. any sounds or symptoms? 3. is the transmission for the exact same year vehicle? 4. what happened to the original transmission? 5. any check engine lights? dented pan AT pump cracked due to improperly seated torque converter on installation, common mistake. transmission harness isn't fully seated there's a secret handshake for getting that flashing AT light to give you the current code it has. be nice to try that and see if it tells you what the problem is.

that's unlikely to cause issues but you've really given us almost no information at all. clear details help overcome that we can't see, hear, smell, or touch the vehicle. 1. *** DESCRIBE "too much fluid"? 2. did any "blow" out the dipstick hole? 3. why did you change the fluid in the first place? 4. what year and vehicle are we talking about? 5. miles, history - did you just get this car or have you owned it since new? 6.. has the fluid ever been changed? 7. when was the last time it was changed? 8. what did the old fluid look like coming out? 9. were there any particles or debris on the drain plug when it was removed? 10. is the AT light blinking 16 times at start up 11. any check engine light? 12. are all the tires the same size and tread depth? 13. has it ever been run on a spare or towed? 14. the transmission pan wasn't removed or dented was it?

1. air bubble - always an air bubble if the overheating is 100% associated with having the coolant system recently opened up. 2. i've ran a garden hose through a radiator to see if it's clogged. having another rad to compare to is helpful but if it's bad enough you'll notice a notably low flow rate out the other side 3. rad cap good suggestion 4. the head gaskets on that engine are insanely easy to replace, they're awesome for doing head gaskets on if that's what it ends up being.

do you think your rack is failing? or maybe a power steering rack was installed but never powered? a power steering rack without assist is harder to turn than a manual rack. if you want power steering, an easier option might be to install an XT6 electric power steering pump. then you don't have to fix it to the engine or worry with any pulleys or belts. They work identical to any other pump and are easy to install. they're generally $35-$75 to buy one and you're done - just have to figure out wiring/powering it which people have done before, though i'm not familiar with how. the XT6 electric powre steering pump mounts to the firewall inside the engine bay, on the shelf under/in front of windshield but in the engine bay - above the engine pitch stopper/dogbone and slightly to the passengers side: http://subaruxt.com/old/images/power%20steering%20fix/PS%20pump.jpg but of course it wouldn't be hard to shift it around some as needed. i fitted an XT6 electric power steering lines to another EA82 Subaru rack one time, same exact fitting sizes/threads. threaded right in. so with a pump and the lines you can use any EA82 rack.

why are you asking about Phase I and Phase II differences? In general they're minor and not a big deal worth worrying about. gear ratio often matches the engine and large parameters like that i think - EJ25's always get 4.44 automatics for instance manuals always get lower final drive ratios. in a sense final drive ratio is a little ambiguous because gearing is also affect inside the transmission, but adjusting the final drive ratio allows you to keep the main chunk of the trans the same and fine tune via the ring and pinions. oh good! i was wondering how to say "that doesn't apply here", "ignore" doesn't sound good, glad you didn't take it like i was addressing your experience or comment, but rather his which probably doesn't include 99's and that issue.

this isn't opinion, it's a fact. the caliper piston is threaded into the caliper bore. there's a steel threaded rod in the caliper bore - the piston screws onto it. if you've ever rebuilt a EA caliper you've seen it. if you have converted brakes maybe they're different, but if your ebrake is still on the front then it's the stock set up. what you're saying is exactly the same thing as saying you pound a bolt into a threaded hole without turning it. on my first brake job i had no idea what i was doing and tried to compress the piston in - i was leveraging that clamp as much as i could, as hard as i could and the piston would not budge. when i found out i needed that tool, i thought for sure i broke the piston based on turning it as hard i could. so in my experience it won't go in without turning it. and that makes sense - imagine trying to push a bolt into a threaded hole. newer EJ stuff is not like that - nothing threaded, it simply pushes in place.

not sure what you're looking at but nearly all information for Subaru transmission interchanges is not very complete and with 80's stuff it's often not precise. like www.car-part.com if you're using that. those databases use a limited range of interchange information, the number of actual transmissions that interchange is usually larger or can be expanded a lot with minimal effort (like using turbo axles allows you to use turbo transmissions too). but the databases never "know" all that. easiest way to do an auto to manual swap is to get a complete vehicle - rusted or wrecked really cheap - and have all the bits and pieces. i have a 1988 EA PT4WD transmission with 100,000 or 80,000 miles if someone wants to make an offer.

Is that the red 87 XT FSM or a diffferent one? I have an 87 and 88 XT FSM, so maybe I have the right one. Thanks for all the good info in here, that's going to help me in a bit.

LOL, that tossed me a curve ball too - i think he meant "Section 2.7" in the FSM, not the 2.7 liter ER27 from the XT6. Thanks Gloyale, I've got an 87.5 XT Turbo with issues i've had for years. are you of the mindset that a 1987 XT FSM would accurately tell the wiring diagram for a 1987.5 XT Turbo? I've had a heck of a time being certain I'm tracing and diagnosing right with all the different wiring diagrams, changes from 86/87/88, connectors. I'll be digging into it again now that it's warming up.

Get an EJ22, excellent vehicles. I'd lean towards buying a one owner vehicles, buying it from the owner. If you have any capacity at all to assess the seller and vehicle you'll get a better deal. Any car from a dealer was traded in, bought at auction..or worse! Someone selling their old car in front of their house with kids playing outside knows they have a good vehicle. That's how i get the best deal - it takes a little effort and i'm generally good at working with people and cars, and have a flexible enough schedule to permit - so I realize it's not a good fit for everyone. EJ22's: 1996 and earlier are the best in terms of any possible catastrophic repairs, they basically don't have anything to worry about. If you can keep it from running out of oil or overheating it'll last as long as you care to do the normal maintanenance stuff on it. 1997-1998 EJ22's are equally reliable but are interference engines, if the timing belt breaks you'll have internal engine damage - bent valves. this can be nearly entirely avoided though by simply installing a complete timing belt kit. they're $125 on rockauto and amazon but then there's labor which it seems you have to pay a premium for unfortunately. ***Ideally - i install a full timing belt kit and water pump, reseal the oil pump, replace cam seals and cam cap orings, all at once because it's all accessible witht he timing belt removed and is required for near-new reliability. and it's cheap - $125 kit plus some seals, that's awesome price for the reliability. 1999-2001 EJ22's are very good engines too but maybe slightly riskier in terms of catastrophic repairs. you can basically ignore that comment - it only applies to 1999 Subaru transmissions and a very low percentage of early 2000 bleed overs which you'll never see. and - since it's mostly on EJ25's, you'll be avoiding them. and the Phase II 99 EJ22 isn't quite as robust or economical as 1998 and earlier so if you're this focused on reliability and not having a bad experience you'll likely be avoiding them anyway.

Good job cranking it out so quick! You're the man! Next time - resurface the heads and use Subaru headgaskets. EJ heads always have high and low spots, though they are robust and never crack or warp or are out of limits. I'd never install EJ heads without resurfacing, having seen those high and low spots, it seems silly not to resurface them on an engine that's so prone to blow headgaskets.

gobs of work for little gain but go for it, you're skillled and got the time, tear it up! you'll certainly learn a ton and see some good mechanical systems operations. doubtful increase in reliability, the HLA set up has proved extremely reliable and robust on well maintained engines. a quarter million miles is fairly standard without issue. it's been proven over 3 decades and heavily valid statistical representation. if one made a list of all reliability related repairs that had similar failure rates statistically speaking you'd have a lot of money and repairs to put into this vehicle. there's a lot of things with much higher failure rates than Subaru valve trains. at this age most of the issues are how the car has been maintained and treated since new. the low value of ER/EA vehicles pushes them into the hands of people not prone to do great maintenance and repairs on them outside of Subaru groups like this (and even that we have to wonder, since some of us don't care to push limits either LOL)

i repaired a draining battery in a 1989 Subaru XT6 with automatic seat belts last year. same exact symptoms as yours. it has automatic retracting seat belts and the passengers side wasn't working at all. it was the cause of the drain.

1. temporary fix so the car is usable - disconnect the battery when not in use or get one of those "quick disconnect" terminals at the auto parts store. then you can at least drive the car while testing/working on it. unless you're positive this clicking is abnormal and a cause for concern - i'd simply test the system to verify first. 1. check for an actual drain at the battery. multi-meter between cable end and battery post to measure milliamps of draw with nothing in the car on. 50-ish is normal, anything triple digits is bad. 2. start disconnect fuses to see when the drain drops from triple digits to 20-50 milliamps - then you've isolated the circuit it's on and can look up in the FSM or ask here what items are all fed by that fuse - it'll be one of those things. 3. start unplugging all those items until it disappears.