idosubaru

oh man, oil debates are endless. there's as much opinion on that as you have time to read. Subaru's don't need or prefer anything specific. Rarely do folks change it often enough, that's what is most important. I go with a high quality synthetic like Mobil, Pennzoil or Valvoline. Hard core enthusiasts like Redline synthetic.

it's been asked before. 75w-90 gear oil is fine. might want to get an owners manual - has all sorts of good stuff in it like fluid types, capacities, and other good information.

of course, it's kind of silly to think 100% of an engine, or transmission has the same exact problem. well except maybe american cars - like the dodge neon. 150% of those have head gasket problems:lol:

in 4WD this thing should do well in the snow, you'll be limited by tires before traction. sounds like something is amiss but i don't know what it is. loud thunk is usually just the rear differential bushing, which is benign and doesnt' cause any problems, but with all your issues it might be something else. it's not both diffs, i hear nothing that indicates your rear diff is bad, just the bushing which is easy to replace.

i would pull out the FSM and go through the procedures it recommends for this code. pretty sure someone that works at a dealer mentioned that on here, so i don't think they were making it up. never seen it happen, only heard that it can - loose air box triggering a code. yes the wire can go bad inside the insulated/taped up portions as well. i've never seen a connector go bad (with the exception of corrossion obviously) but i have seen bad wiring. not sure what causes it. by aftermarket - i was wondering if you had any of those oil impregnated filters as the oil can contaminate the sensors, but you don't so that's a no go. wonder what would happen if you put the old sensor back in?

gotcha, i didn't think compression tests were that common but i can definitely see the value in it.

aftermarket axles absolutely are terrible. they are often problematic - vibrations, exploding to pieces, noises in a year, clicking...etc. seen it over and over again. if you're time is valuable - use MWE or Subaru only axles. it's not hard to find used Subaru axles (i get them for $30) and you can reboot them. far better than aftermarket junk. might be something else - like just a wheel needing balanced too, but i've seen so many bad "new" axles it's not even funny.

good point it could run a long time like this without ever really getting worse, my bad. i kind of assumed you were tracking down a major issue of some sort though - not often folks do compression tests for small reasons.

your "new" sensor is borked? sounds unlikely. are you using an aftermarket air filter? have you replaced the airfilter recently and made sure all the fittings an the box is tight? should be, doubtful this code would just reappear again. trans code must be related since it went away during the first "fix". pull the maf connector and make sure none of the pins in the connectors are bent or corroded. in rare cases the wiring right at the connector could be shorting out - to test those you kind of wiggle the wiring just behind the connector around while the engine is running or trying to start. changes in rythym with moving the wires between your fingers indicate a short.

that sounds more like it. sounds like you got problems. specifications are that it should be within 10-15 percent variation i think? you're close, sounds like you have problems or will soon.

where does one buy one of these impact screw drivers. I think i asked at the auto parts store a year or so ago and they didn't carry them. lowe's or something? i'm not sure whta they're called to look them up?

that'll turn out within spec i can tell you with 100% certainty. a fine thing to try but those spark plugs make it a real annoying job. good luck. dont' know if any coolant has ever been drained or lost from this car but keep in mind these cars are notorious for overheeating if you don't get all the air out of the system. in others words if a hose was replaced or removed, it's going to overheat just because there's air in the system unless you bleed or "burp" it properly. very common cause of overheating that happens any time coolant is lost.

yeah there's all sorts of ways to do it - saran wrap, duct tape, garbage bags, cut tubes, etc.

I'd probably just end the call quickly and try back later for a different person. If you're really ripped, report them. Depending how it's set up a lot of these kinds of jobs have substantial guidelines to follow. It very well may be (as in the banking industry when you don't even talk to an employee of the bank about your own account - it's subcontracted out) you might not be talking to a Subaru employee. But not sure how auto industry does that, but those folks usually have guidelines to follow in terms of how they treat customers. That being said - give them some slack most of what they deal with is complaining all day long. My buddy is in this industry and the kinds of calls, threats on their life, and vulgar commentary they get is comical. Not that you deserve any wrath from that, but it's a rough job. But if the guy can't handle you might as well get him fired so you're saving him from all the road rage, foul language, and kicking his dog that probably ensues after he leaves work.

wipers are totally annoying and seemed to never have great luck either. i think the key is to replace often, windshield wipers apparently have short life spans. probably helps to make sure the windshield is thoroughly cleaned from time to time too in order to keep the blades clean - might be more of an issues depending what kind of environment it sees.

i had a bad experience too driving through sand in south georgia, that destroys an axle terribly fast.

Definitely. I've put thousands of miles on axles before. let's see - 50,000 miles on fronts and 100,000+ on rears. Key is not going off road, driving in sand or areas where they put gravel, coal dust, etc on the road for snow - that stuff will tear up an axle quickly - but you'd still make it "home" just fine. Particularly if it's the original Subaru axles, they can take a serious beating. The only thing you need to worry about is vibrations, if it starts vibrating, drive gently and change speeds to get rid of vibrations. The speedo gear in the trans is plastic and not far from the passengers side axle, it won't hold up to much stress, so vibrations are bad. But it would take a lot and continuous driving to hurt it. If you stuff some grease in there by hand the noise will quiet down. My inner joints broke on the way TOO my 2,000 mile drive to go elk hunting in colorado. made it the whole 4,000 miles including treks up crazy offroad mountain passes to 10,000 feet with broken inner boots just fine. They even started maing noise/vibrating while in Colorado and I stuff grease in the boots by hand maybe 2 or 3 times, noises/vibration went away instantly and i made it the 2,000 miles home. So yeah - you're fine. I'd avoid stuffing grease though unless you're really worried it gets annoying splattered everywhere and stinking as it heats and burns off.

+1 won't clear the brake rotors. you can swap the front rotors and calipers from the 90 as well, then it will work.

Yeah just search for links to those endwrench articles, they're fantastic. Straight from Subaru with pictures and all. Search button is up a bit in that line of header options. Click on advanced search - select the new gen forum and search for timing belt. Good luck, they're straight forward and fairly simple, but they are an interference engine so want to get them right!

So this is a problem I've run into multiple times for years. Has to be a way to get them out. Need to remove the side view mirrors and the screws are insanely tight. Looking for a non-drilling method, that I can do. Has to be a better way?

They're a really weak design for a 6, only 145hp, siamesed exhaust ports - they're literally just an EA82 with two extra cylinders slapped on. The 6 helps it a lot though. The 4 cylinder FWD manual XT's can get 40 all highway driving. The lift I guess might hit it more than I think though.

Yeah, Forester XT Turbo 16" wheels, they have a slightly different tire size than most typical Subaru 16" rims that I've had (like GT's, OBW's, and WRX). Yeah speedo is definitely off since the XT6 comes with dinky 14"ers, I don't care about that. Mileage is terrible at the moment like 21-ish no matter what kind of driving I do, haven't gotten around to O2 sensor and tracking that down yet. Once it's running right it should be 25-30.

What he is saying, and he's right, is that the cam gear was compromised at some point. Dropped, pried against, or used as leverage to remove the insanely hard to remove cam pulley bolt. If not by you, by a previous owner. Or the cam seized - but I'm betting it was compromised and fatigue finally got to it. These plastic sprockets are sort of like brick - hard but brittle. Do not stress them.

Unless the mechanic knows Subaru's very well, he is likely mistaken. Very common for a mechanic to think the head gaskets are fine when they are not, happens all the time on EJ25's. EJ25 headgaskets (at least the Phase I that you have) can be bad but pass all typical head gasket tests. Passing a hydrocarbon or compression test means very little. Mechanics not familiar with the EJ25 won't know this. Yes it's possible for thermostats to get flaky or for an aftermarket thermostat to cause issues (Subaru tstats are far more robust, even visually). You most likely have a headgasket and they're a pain to do in the car. But your DOHC 96 is identical in every way to a 98 Forester DOHC EJ25 - same engine.

it's no different than installing a timing belt any other time. is there something confusing you or different about it than normal? what exactly are you wondering? i would search here or look for johncegglestons(?spelling) user name, he has the endwrench articles posted in his signature. endwrench is Subaru's internet supplied direction, it's all you need.