idosubaru

That's awesome. I was surprised how often tapes were mentioned regarding spacecraft. I didn't realize for a long time how quickly space craft went from tapes to SSR, skipping right over platters, flash drives and other forms of computer memory which were the standard for personal PC's for decades. Spacecraft were the reason SSR was developed and refined. Now it's been 20 years of solid state recorders with slick read and write manipulation, ability to isolate problematic areas and retain full functionality. And they're now available in home devices.

what does that mean? we have an oak on our property that three grown adults can't even come close to reaching their arms around. i'm seeing if a forestry friend who works for the Feds can let me borrow a boring tool to age it.

Yes - the line in the photo doesn't go all the way to the transmission. Actually I'm pretty sure you can see the other end of it in your picture. Look right at the axle shaft where the hose disappears behind the axle shaft - and it looks like some hose clamps are just barely peeking out. That should be the other end of the line. Slide those clamps back far enough and pull the hose off. After all this time the hoses are often very tight and hard to remove - I'd just have a knife handy and slice it off in 3 seconds rather than wrestling wrenches and hands in tight spaces for 30 minutes. I would buy the Subaru OEM hose from the dealer for this - it can be ordered online at various Subaru dealers. Liberty Subaru has a great online parts department and I think is the one on the east coast. Sometimes you can just slide that one end of the hose back - trim off 1/2"-1" of the cracked/deteriorated end - and slide it back on without ever even removing the hose completely. It's often just the very end that's damaged. But, it's better to just replace the entire hose. But take note... This is a rare leak and somewhat suspicious for such a new Subaru - I'd want to verify it's ATF. Those hoses are high quality and typically last a long time, which is why buying new ones from Subaru is a good idea, as well as they also have the best form fitting factor. ATF often discolors quickly as it picks up dust, dirt, grime, debris, so color is hard to tell. But there is some red on the CV axle boot band.

Nearly anyone would have assumed it was a common example of “more is better” exuberance. Sounds conspiratorial to be convinced that excess sealant means some outlier odd block problem. good luck - I hope the next round slams dunk this beast! Let us know.

Wow, that make for a huge eye roll. Hey, great job finding out what's going on here. That suggests the gobbed up RTV wasn't just someone overapplying RTV - but addressing the same issue. Either someone damaged that bolt hole with a drill or you have a very rare casting imperfection. It's very rare - but there can be porous parts of the block that just leak, even parts of the block that are barren of any other part or bolt hole. Can you determine if it's leaking from the bolt hole itself? Coolant isn't under that much pressure - I'd clean it up, get some sealant down that bolt hole, on the bolt threads, and on the gasket as you already did.

I've got a tool at home - I could post a picture if you want to try to make a tool at home with a long carriage bolt. Grind a hook on the end and use a hammer under the head. Want me to send a picture of it? Or i'd let you borrow it if you're close. Classic, yeah that happens fairly often. I've fixed a few of those in like an hour and pocket change for a new sprocket. File/grind/sand the crank down enough to accept a new crank sprocket, don't install a new key, and install the crank bolt tight as !@(%)*! File the snout smooth if the crank pulley isn't sitting square. Use flywheel or flexplate mark for timing belt install. If it's for someone else - explain to them that option and document it in their glove box for any future work/mechanic. Iron crank, iron bolt - it's not gonna strip like aluminum and they never back off. Done that about 5 times 100% success rate.

those are huge oaks. I have gas and also a small electric that I use all the time to avoid the big scary gas ones if I can! Although maybe like knives a better saw actually is better for safety in some ways.

Nah, you didn’t sound that way at all. bought new bolts, totally makes sense. Just some insight into what I’ve seen happen before. And Ive done the same thing before. I work almost exclusively on Subaru’s and have made the same decisions I would for Subaru’s on Ford/Chevy diagnosis, guessing, torque, and parts, and it didn’t work out. what was wrong with the engine when you tore it down? Rod bearing?

I don’t know, I don’t do these enough to memorize parts and since there’s no need to replace them, there’s almost zero baseline for knowing. Here’s what I did to find the first part number - Look up a set that has the 95+ Subaru part numbers listed (Amazon has some). Then search each part number on the list in an online Subaru website (Like one I posted a link to). Then click “what this fits” or sometime you can select your vehicle after selecting a part to check if it fits. That’s what I did to find the first one which showed the 95 also works in the 94. repeat the same process for the other part numbers. You could put in your vehicle year make model and then search for case bolts then click “What this fits” It’ll show all the years it works on - if it also lists 95+ then you know they’re the same But the problem with drilling down is that sometimes the bolt is shown with no part number which means it’s part of a different exploded view diagram and you’ll have to go find it under a different section of the engine listing. Can be harder to find. I would use the first way I describe by just plugging in the Amazon (or other) part numbers into a Subaru website. Basically do what I did to verify the one part number...do it for the rest of them If you’re not sure, you could call a dealer and ask for 94 part numbers. Some of the dealer parts managers are really good. hundreds of thousands of these have been done for decades. They aren’t torque to yield or incur problematic stretching. Highly unlikely those aftermarket bolts are higher grade materials and manufacturing than the OEM bolts. Bolts probably don’t matter, but I’ve seen other people say “bolts are insurance” and end up with blown headgaskets. I don’t think it’s because of the bolts, but maybe a cavalier attitude on bolts might mean a deafness to other advice too. So sure, replace the bolts, and still proceed with seasoned Subaru advice on the other steps of the process.

https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_1994_Legacy-2-L-GRADE--BASE-Sedan/Engine-Crankshaft-Main-Bearing-Cap-Bolt/49286467/800610010.html Can you reuse the originals? No one that knows what they’re doing on Subaru’s replaces, particularly head bolts. Search via your vehicle on a Subaru oem parts site to find bolts like I did above rather than starting with bolts. You can also cross reference part numbers in the kits you found to check. Type in the part numbers on those online subaru store and see if jt fits a 1994.

Keeping the gasket in place is funny. I usually partially insert a couple bolts to use as guide pins. Put pump/gasket/bolts up to block and like holes up. That’s not necessarily easy either but that’s how I do them.

Great to hear John. Those H6s are beasts when it comes to disassembly.

That’s great news then. Multiple previous pumps worked fine. Car has been a regular daily driver. There was no preceding event , overheating, or repair or damage to compromise anything. There isn’t even a small chance of something hard or surprising here. Normally there’s a causative event like prior mechanic damage, front end damage, sat for years and lots of corrosion and uneven surfaces, or an ancient water pump that’s just been in place for an inordinate amount of time. Youre literally striking out on every possible compromising possibility. The only thing that changed was the water pump and gasket. I would verify the pump mating surface isn’t damaged or knicked. If it’s good then Obviously there’s nothing wrong here. My guess is this is a nonissue. there was a slight compromise during the install or gasket issue and simply cleaning the surfaces and an OEM gasket would fix this. Add some RTV to the mix you’re definitely done.

Yeah man that's what most of us would do - you did the right thing looking into fluid, pan dent, and asking here for any generation specific hang ups. www.car-part.com With the population of CA there should be zero issues finding a trans.

An overcharging alternator fried my 88 XT6 TCU a year or two ago, so this is fresh on my mind. Car ran and drove fine but alt was overcharging and took out the TCU and I think a couple other oddities happened that made me check the alternator. I've rebooted clicking CV's with no grease - Subaru OEM axles are beast. knock sensor is a good guess, I have seen those cause issues without tripping a check engine light before.

I'd be more worried about the crank than cams. Use the flywheel/flexplate for crank alignment in case the crank sprocket/keyway is hogged up from prior issues. As for cams - if it's off enough to cause very poor drivability I think either way is fine. To start this is more like "are there two elephants or one", rather than "break out the micrometer". Have a glance at both the cover marks and block seams, you can't see one without looking at the other so just look and see - if the covers are loose or seem off (missing bolts, cracked, prior work) it should be clear they're not lining up and you can see when you're in there staring at both of them.

I have the same thing a 1987.5 XT Turbo I got with puked turbo and engine. I dropped a non turbo engine in it and plugged in a non turbo ECU, no wiring or changes otherwise. It drove, but I never got it running properly and never figured out if it was mechanical (rusty fuel tank) or the ECU isn't compatible. You've got nice OEM rear axles in those pictures - don't replace them for junk aftermarket! Reboot those axles and never throw them away, they'll last the life of the car.

Great, this is good to know. This could be much more than just a burnt ECU. So it sounds like the car never run properly ever since the conversion? Is that true? So you'll want to try to narrow down if the ECU just failed due to age or something caused it to fail. Sorry to drag this out - this would all take like 34 seconds if we were hanging out over lunch... 1. check alternator 2. Is there any custom wiring - cuts, splices, changes to the wiring? 3. Yes these older electronic components can fail due to age, it happens. These old Subaru's are simple and robust - a good engine with an untouched stock (never cut or messed with) wiring harness should run just fine. The older circuit boards are prone to occasional failures - so if you alternator is not over charging and the wiring isn't cut/spliced/messed with - it's probably the ECU. I would just want to address questions 1 & 2 above to make sure you don't fry the next ECU.

Those compression numbers are good. that small difference is not even close to an indicator of issues. No check engine light? Have you checked timing marks? Were the heads milled or shaved or tested to be within spec?

That underbelly pic looks nasty. Why are you worried though? If that previous ECU worked, then the same replacement ECU will work. If the previous ECU didn’t work, then the replacement won’t. Or we have the wrong info and are discussing the wrong questions. If this ECU fried the first time it was started then I’d test the alt and double check every wire that was cut or customized in anyway. And let us know more details - what non stock parts - has it ever run?

I'm not well experienced or versed in technical internal guts of transmissions, though I have mostly dissembled a few and done some internal repairs. But that sounds electrical or in the valve body. A filter won't help that. Good job knocking out those simple checks first. Did you (or shop) notice any swirls or debris in the fluid during changing? Almost always the answer is "no". There's an external filter in the passengers side fender well area - remove wheel and plastic cover and it sits behind there. Subaru OEM filter is ideal. Screw on, screw off (though they'll be really tight due to age, heat cycling, etc. I would replace it with a new trans, so it's no harm in trying it now just to see, but i doubt it'll help. They don't really "clog" and easily last the life of the vehicle more often than they do not. Technically speaking there is a "filter" inside the pan - but it is pointless to touch it. It's a very generic screen, that's it,. They're perfectly clean at 200,000 miles even on older Subaru's that never had AT filters, or in failed transmissions upon disassembly. I've seen minor debris on them, but if one of those screens has debris in it such that it's causing problems - the trans is absolutely hosed and would have egregious symptoms. Some 2005+ subarus seem to have more frequent valve body issues than earlier models, so it's worth looking into. I'm not sure how to diagnose, though I think slipping is a common refrain, an online search would definitely reveal symptoms people have.

I can't see the burn portion but if it's not bad and you have electronic friends it could be repaired. There are also companies around that used to repair ECU's....though it's probably far more $$$ than a used one.

I'm mostly familiar with 88-91's which are different but I think any non-turbo 85-87 ECU should work for yours. 3AT isn't electronic so auto/manual should be interchangeable just like later 88-91's. 88-91 XT ECU's are all interchangeable, auto/manual, FWD/4WD doesn't matter. But there are no turbo's during those years. I would get a non-turbo like your current ECU. If you happen to find a turbo ECU and want to try it then ask here specifically or look at the wiring diagrams. The 1987.5 turbo is very close in wiring to the 88 non turbo and does "run and drive" mostly on a non turbo ECU. I converted a project 1987.5 XT Turbo that didn't run to non-turbo and plugged in a non-turbo ECU and it ran and drove. It didn't drive well and I never got to diagnose if the running issues were pre existing mechanical issues of an old project car that hadn't run in years, or the ECU swap. The wiring diagrams were different but very close.

maybe they didn’t RTV the holes intentionally but ran a bead and some got into the holes where it was then run down the length of the bolt threads during tightening. The thickness between the pump and block is minuscule so most of a bead is going to get pushed out of the contact area of the mating surfaces. How do you know a shop did the last water pump? How long ago was it? Were any of the bolt holes helicoiled or timeserted? Seems unlikely but if a bolt sheared off and someone tried to repair it there could be something else going on here. proper torque also requires accurate equipment and clean and lubricated block and bolt threads, and 90 degree force application.

No and No. All subaru's can have a block heater installed in them. Some cold climate locations may install them as a standard protocol, but that will be regional/local/dealer specific, not "North America" or "Canadian". If you want a block heater for your Tribeca you just install one. If you don't know if yours has one, someone needs to look.