idosubaru

Seal/oring between trans and diff. Sounds like you had an exceptionally rash failure.

They’re about the worst turbo engine to modify, prone to overheat, and crack the heads between the valve seats. Have great cooling. Delta makes cams. Bigger more modern turbo and adequately monitor temps with only small boost increases If you mean anything more than a small changes and a small psi boost, Start grabbing any spare blocks you can find because most people that mod these go through a few blocks trying.

I’ve repaired a few of these. clean the flat faces and surfaces the pulley mates up to. File/sandpaper it smooth and so the pulley sits perpendicular. Then crank the bolt TIGHT. Like use a 2 foot cheater pipe and LET HER RIP. Steel bolt, steel crank, you won’t strip it. I don’t have a torque value but I tighten them all those way and don’t have even use a torque wrench on this bolt. But I’ve done hundreds of them. Id get another timing sprocket, lower cogged (toothed) timing idler, and replace the sprocket, idler, and timing belt. Sprocket because it may be damaged if it looks fine then reuse jt Belt - because You want a new Subaru belt anyway. current belt may be aftermarket and may have been heat soaked from the harmonic failure circus. The lower cogged idler is by far the most likely timing part to fail and make your valves do the bendy dance. So I’d just replace that because it’s smart and $35 and easy with the belt off anyway. I’m not suggesting replace it because it was damaged by the balancer failure, it’s just kind of asinine not to replace it now you absolutely do NOT need the key way there. No matter what anyone says. Yes it’s nice and clean and you can use a proper torque wrench if it’s all perfect. But it’s an old cheap car, you’ve got options. You don’t adjust timing anymore off the crank and it won’t come off if you tighten it like I suggested. I’ve done dozens like that. No big deal if you crank it tight. Make sure to let anyone else know if you sell it or have a shop work on it. That’s the downside but I do all my own work and remember this stuff The timing belt looks untouched and looks to be intact so I’m assuming timing isn’t hosed. And this is the norm - the clatter and issues caused by a loose harmonic balancer usually render the car and driver useless to continue driving it until catastrophic timing belt interference issues. But we can’t really tell - maybe that belt is floppy loose and it is hosed. I can’t touch it. But that conveniently huge hole and great picture looks like an intact belt. Id just press on the belt and make sure it’s not obviously loose and floppy and use that to assume valve timing is okay technically the car should start and run like shown in the photo with no balancer or belts if you jump start it - it just needs another car or battery with jumper cables since there’s no alternator operating without belts. So you could slap jumper cables on it - and crank it and see if it starts without any funny buiisness if the owner agrees.

Very interesting. I’d get a mechanics stethoscope and narrow down front rear left right fuel injectors etc. and check exhaust shields ive seen H6s with tight exhaust valves but never noise or guide issues.

Doesn’t matter. What Id recommend is buy the car and take note of what is actually killing and severely maiming people on the roads. Then do your best to drive appropriately knowing you’re at an enormous disadvantage in the event of an accident. View it more like a motorcycle than a truck. Seriously if you want it you’re better off getting it and realizing what you have and what your risks are, and drive appropriately, rather than trying to anecdotally look for one ancient, out of context, weak data point to prove your case. That’s a false sense of security and avoids a real world practical approach that would help you. What you’re doing won’t be accurate or meaningful. But maybe if you’re trying to convince parents that doesn’t matter?! The single biggest factor in vehicle safety and DEATH by a long shot is vehicle weight. Period. It’s light relative to what will be encountered on the road today and has no drivers air bag. Light and no air bags. There’s literally nothing to talk about. Economists at UC Berkeley I think showed 47% increase in deaths for 1,000 pound weight differential or something like that. Wealthy people (and probably others) know this and talk about it and are buying large cars for this explicit reason - just to be the biggest, and thereby safest, on the road. I’ve heard the statements in person. Average vehicle weight since the 1980s XT has increased like 1,000 pounds. And that doesn’t take into account miles driven by large vehicles which I think has ramped up drastically as well. Meaning the extremities of sizes - commercial trucks (we love our low cost China products and Amazon), hummers, Yukon’s, Trucks and how many miles these large vehicles are driving to their cabin or second beach home have increased dramatically and soccer mom people buying these things drive a lot. New car consumers obsession for heavier is correlated with cheap gas which seems to be the rule in the US. But that’s an only indirectly related tangent. Large vehicles dominate road ways, drive like they know it, and have latest safety improvements when the XT doesn’t even have a basic airbag to save your neck when a texting person rear ends you. Which happens all the time. We are lucky airbags preceded cell phones or wed have a lot more deaths and paralysis. Average speeds are increasing, distracted driving (screens) are through the roof (and killed a friend of mine who got rear ended at 60 mph while waiting to turn left). Populations are migrating to cities at high rates increasing congestion and incidents. All of these disproportionately impact small car safety in ways a crash test from 40 years ago won’t show A 37 year old XT crash test is more akin to history than accurate data. Im not saying don’t get it. I’ve owned an XT since 1992. But data and basic physics tell us there’s nothing safe about a small 1987 sedan/coupe with no airbags in 2022. And an old crash test won’t bear much of this out And it’s not a bad idea to realize all of this even if you get a hummer

Ah man - thanks for bidding farewell and joining us all these years, seeing you name pop up will be missed. Good luck with the Toyota! Thanks man!

sorry for a dumb question but all we have is a screen. You’re positive it’s internal and not exhaust shield rattling? Early H6s have known timing chain guide noise issues. Without more facts or data to tell that’s the obvious starting point. Get a stethoscope on it and see if it’s the front, right, left, top, bottom of the engine. Might be hard to tell since chain and valve components aren’t mounted to external covers. But you should get a sense for if it’s left right or center and maybe front?

Ah I see what you mean. Those would be nice for the owner to manually toggle. Those aren’t accessible by OBD scanners. I wonder where those tables and features are stored? Are they in a dedicated controller?

That is most excellent to be aware of! Thanks for posting.

Fuel pressure should be like 40-70 psi. Get a reading in that before replacing the fuel pump. All aftermarket fuel pumps, alternators, and starters - basically any electric motor - are far inferior quality than Subaru. They frequently fail in a matter of months. It’s not wise to replace a Subaru unit without definitive diagnosis. They’re unreliable enough that I’d look for a reasonable mileage used Subaru alternator for that 2013 before I’d install any aftermarket alternator. Used OEM has a very low chance of failing within a year but an aftermarket has a very real chance of doing so. alternator test with multimeter as I outlined above. National auto parts stores can also test the alternator for you if you remove it snd take it to them. Subaru alternators are easy to remove. Few 10 and 12 mm bolts.

It’s not the alternator. Do not throw away that premium excellent high grade long life alternator for some aftermarket trash garbage that will fail in a year. It’s probably not the fuel pump either. Okay jt could be those things but guessing is a very poor idea. 1. Scan the OBD codes. If you’re capable of asking here you’re capable of buying a $10 scanner on eBay (or $30-$50 at local auto parts store) to read codes. any National chain reads them free but of course you need to get it there. Having one is very helpful. 2. Some Subarus can flash the code for you. Not sure if a 2013 imp can. 3. Are there any lights on the dash at all when it’s running for 20 seconds? Check engine, AT, VDC, ABS? 4. Check the output voltage of the alternator during those 20 seconds. Get a multimeter. Put it on DC 12 volt and one lead on alternator post and another on engine ground or battery negative. Start car and read voltage 5 seconds after it’s running but before it shuts down. What do you get? Post the exact number here 5. Was there any work done in the last couple of months to the engine or vehicle? 6. Any recent significant history - like it sat parked for awhile, you recently bought it, it was wrecked, battery replaced….? 7. is everything about the key immobilizer and security system working normally and always has? **** be sure to charge the battery. these multiple starts with no run time to replenish will lessen battery life.

Not sure what you mean but I don’t think there are any “code readers” that “change settings”. (see my assumptions below) If you mean altering tables and settings like I’m thinking thats usually done via Rom Raider and other PC based OBDII cable adapter software. I’m assuming by code reader you mean OBDII scanners that read and log data. And I’m assuming “change settings” means you want to alter the tables in the controllers.

Install a Subaru timing belt and lower cogged idler. Aftermarket fail more often before 100k. A 97 or 98 are both interference engines and will bend valves. all 90-98 2.2 timing belts and pulley are the same. The only difference is the tensioner which can be interchanged (both tensioners can be used on both engines) anyway by simply swapping the tensioner bracket. One piece tensioner 97+ old style two piece 90-96.

This is my understanding as well - mechanically the parts swap and function. But electronically I’m not sure the TCU is capable of controlling the VTD properly. It may end up triggering the AT light.

Can you swap those parts on the main shaft? Maybe check part numbers - if the main shafts are the same part number then the guts may be interchangeable. If the trans case the rear extension housing bolts to is the same part number then the extension housing case should bolt right up. If course this logic doesn’t work the other way (if they’re different part numbers they still may interchange, very common for that to happen). Its been awhile but I thought all JDM H6s have VTD even if they’re not VDC. If that’s the case then what you’re ideally trying to do should be possible by removing everything possible out of the extension housing and swapping. I’m pretty sure us VDC people buy JDM non VDC trans and bolt them right up. Pretty sure I’ve done that. That doesn’t guarantee the JDM trans are the same as US but I’d be surprised if Subaru made a different trans (VTD non VDC H6) just for JDM.

Yep, guessing rather than not diagnosing, and not familiar with subarus. I could be wrong that it’s the center diff…but I’m not. Haha. Dealer is a great option, another good call on your part. They’ve got this job down, probably have the part and gasket in stock, will use the correct fluid, there isn’t much else job-specific to go wrong or get uncharged for on this job (still might upsell a brake fluid change or something else!), cost will be reasonable (high end but reasonable) and they will know it’s the VLSD as well so that’s a nice triple check (you - usmb - dealership) before going through with it. I’m generally picky about when and how to use a dealer and this is the perfect job and situation to let a dealership handle.

I should ask - is this a high volume Subaru place, few Subarus or somewhere leaning one of those directions? I don’t want to go against the recommendation of a trained pro who does this every day and actually saw the car. I haven’t seen it, am untrained, and don’t do this every day!

Trashy ride. Car angled like a demon. They could easily fail completely soon. Top mount could fail in less than 100 miles. Maybe they’d last…but Not worth it. I’d rather drive trashy old struts and wear a bike helmet for my head slamming the ceiling for a winter than install that garbage a shop can just swap the struts out, take them thr old assembly and new struts. you can do the assembly swap yourself and a decent shop shouldn’t charge much just to swap a strut into an assembly.

List that VC for sale for someone who wants to convert their Subaru to RWD. Lol. A friend converted one to RWD that way.

You're welcome. I'm not saying base everything on what I've said, double and triple check and push me. but you're done your work and what you've relayed sounds almost definitiive.

answered you in another thread.

Legacy's never came with front VLSD. Yours doesn't have a rear VLSD either. You'd have to jack the car up and look for signs of non OEM/Factory parts/work or spin the wheels and see what you get. I answered you here as well:

Yes - your description verifies it's the VC. As you said classic symptoms. Good description and notes. locked 4WD, parking, when warm, after highway...all are just what you said, classic. Well done diagnosing! Also front differentials in Subaru's...I hate to say "never" but, yeah, never have "only binding" as a symptom. They don't even really have binding as a symptom. Or - if they have binding they would be so bad you wouldn't be asking here. nearly undrivable or you wouldn't want to drive it. it would also have noise, grinding, vibrations, and awful shifting and drivability while driving straight as the driveshaft is walking back and forth in the case. Not just binding. The small percentage of Subaru's that are MT's make it likely he's never seen a VC failure in a Subaru. Many mechanics aren't overly familiar with Subaru transmission failures. Even if they see a lot of Subaru's it's often interspersed with other makes/models and failures, or few trans issues, they don't get an overview of common failure points and what does and doesn't happen with Subaru specific parts.

Yes loose intake results in unmetered air. Make sure again there’s no intake or vacuum leaks. Are O2 sensors original with 200,000 miles?

Some Subarus in the last 10-15 years have had auto trans and ECU software updates too - I’d check with them and see if your VIN has been all updated.