idosubaru

i had a 4EAT a few years ago that would do that. seemed like a certain load would just cause it to "free rev" essentially RPM's shoot up like in neutral and zero power. climbing a steep grade it would slip at a lower speed than flat, for instance. gradually letting off the pedal to a certain point would get it to engage again. but it gradually got worse. i never figured out what was wrong and assumed the trans was toast so i replaced it. i'll be interested to see what this turns out to be. Could it have been damaged the first time it ran low?

not if they're packed light. packing them lightly won't get grease on the belt. first time i filled them, like you said, grease came out everywhere. i don't recall any getting on the belt, but that was a few years ago. i've toned it down since then and haven't had any problems. don't overfill. agreed, i buy the entire kits for the EA and EJ stuff, they're reasonable and i've lost count of how many i've bought. $400 for the pulleys is outrageous though for an XT6 - that's about what i pay for the car! new for $400 XT6 ones is senseless, since this works.

Repacking the timing belt pulleys with a needle attachment on a grease gun is a great idea and solution by Wayne, who very rarely visits here. With EA82 timing kits only $60-$80 I doubt anyone on here even does this. But XT6 kits are $400! I'm wondering how others get the grease into the bearings? Namely, how do you carefully pry up the seal with minimal damage? I've been doing this for a few years now with no problems. The seals are old and the rubber overlaid on them does tend to flake/chip off. Not really a big deal since they're only 60,000 mile belts and I can do it again anyway. But thought maybe someone had some experience. I gently pry up the inside edge of the seal. Start with a thin cutting blade, then get a small screw driver in there.

search here for burping methods (i already mentioned that above). everything you asked is already covered, very common stuff. definitely do not do it with a warm engine. ha ha - do we know!! spend some time here and you'll find there's more information here about fixing Subaru's than anywhere else in the world, including any dealership. yes, we know all about the sealant conditioner offered by Subaru. it's not for your car. it's for the Phase II EJ25 - that came in the OBW in 2000. In 1999 some of the other Subaru's had that engine though - like the forester and RS, those would get the sealant, but it's a different engine than you 99 OBW. the Phase II EJ25 in 2000 was also eligible for an extended head gasket replacement warranty/campaign. Your engine isn't eligible for that either. The two engines (yours and the later) are very similar but the head gasket problems are different. Yours won't benefit from any additives/sealants.

Use whatever the owners manual says - Dextron III. There's no additives or modifiers needed. Follow the owners manual. 95's don't have a transmission filter. Only the earlier gen1 stuff had external filters recommended from Subaru. there was a campaign of some sort.

I'm wondering what kind of mileage water pumps will be good for. I'm not sure how timing chains work, haven't looked into it but are cam, crank and oil pump seals still a concern? Those never seemed to have great 200,000 mile capability.

compare to autotrader and places that give car values, even ebay. i think you'll find that's a very reasonable price for one of these, they aren't cheap rides. if i hadn't found mine i'd be interested in the one you're talking about. as for mileage, there isn't a huge reference for these since they're relatively new as to how they do over 150,000. so far they seem to do very well. be prepared to put some money in it, or ask the dealer (if it's a dealer) to include that in the deal. although at 6,000 i can almost bet all of my subaru's that that's not a dealer price. transmission flush, coolant change, plugs and wires and at least inspect the two drive belt pulley bearings to make sure they aren't on they're way out.

yes, jamie works for them and is a board member here. there are other threads about online OEM suppliers. libery subaru, Auburn subaru, 1stsubaruparts.com, etc...you can find more by searching for those threads. Each one varies slightly in pricing and the way they do shipping.

dude, i've never seen anything like that rubber black one. crazy looking thing. the XT throttle body gaskets i've seen are the paper/cardboard-ish style, what years/models would that go on? the two bottom gaskets are upper intake manifold gaskets, they don't sit on the heads. (at least on some engines - like MPFI spider) the intake manifold assembly is actually two parts, there's a runner on each side between the heads and the rest of the larger intake assembly. these "UPPER" gaskets are for between those two parts. whereas the one on the top right is a lower intake manifold gasket that sits right on the head. all of those intake manifold gaskets fit an 87.5 XT MPFI with spider intake.

check your transmission fluid level as well. CTS can cause more problems than you'd think.

search for burp, burping, bleed, bleeding coolant. you need to properly do that first. these engines are hard to get all the air out of. there's a bleeder screw on the radiator. replace the radiator cap while you're at it. head gaskets are going to get much more likely if those things dont' solve your problem.

i would look at the rear clutches are almost standard mechanical work, not trans work. i think you'll be fine, particularly with all the help from the board. i'd plan on just replacing the clutches and duty solenoid C, which can be done in the car, while the rear extension housing is off to replace the clutches. good chance you won't have to worry about the grinding part...actually i'm not sure what you're talking about. i mean i undersatnd what you're saying but i didn't know or think that was common. good luck!

i have a rear extension housing i'll sell. complete housing with clutches in it and a rear Duty C solenoid. came out of my 120,000 mile Legacy LSi that was running, shifting, and 4WD worked fine. PM or email if interested.

i assume you're in the US? your location isn't posted. if you're in a country that has dual range EJ's, then just get one of those. look up EJ swaps here, some things will apply but you're sort of doing it different. in short - no. but of course it can be done with enough modification. the trans does not bolt up to the engine - you'll need an adapter plate. the EJ axles will fit on a turbo trans, not a non-turbo. the driveshaft will be the wrong length. there are some other issues too.

sorry, that was just for the H6 owners to read. my bad.

awesome, thanks Dave, that's a good one to know.

The newer stuff is really nice. There's not many ways an EA vehicle can compare to an EJ vehicle. Except the locking center diffs and dual range transmissions, but that's not a huge difference for most people anyway. Then again you can squeeze some more miles and another year out of your EA and put some money away too. If you decide to move on, I'd probably wait for a better deal. If you have a running, driving vehicle, that's the best time to buy a car. You can wait, pass, and keep your eye out for a good deal. For $2,500 i'd be looking for a 95 or up Legacy or Impreza. Much nicer cars than the first gen EJ stuff. I buy a few Subaru's every year for friends/family. Last one was a 100k 1997 Legacy with a new clutch and new tires (cheap, but new), one owner vehicle in great shape for $900. I slapped new timing belt kit and water pump on it and he's got a great and nearly bullet proof car for a long time for not much money.

i have a good used rack if you need a cheap one.

pump or rack is failing. i've never heard of a pump failing (well, except leaking) yet but sure it's possible.

i love ours so far. seem to be excellent motors. look up the recent H6 threads, lots of H6 specific information. thread highlights some of the easier but important fixes common to these motors. great motors and allows you to avoid the EJ25!! kind of a win-win situation.

Thousands of subaru's are leaking oil onto the exhaust, it's not going to catch on fire. Agreed, make sure it's the head gasket leaking, lots of other things are more likely to leak and those leaks usually end up down by the head gasket, making it look wet there. I wouldn't put much money into that car at all. Around here you can easily buy a decent soob that needs minor work with far less miles for less than that. If you have $2,000 to put into it - just buy something else without major engine/trans problems for $1,000 or $1,5000 and have some padding there to tune it up and make it reliable. good to go for 5+ years.

I wasn't getting at that I didn't know how. Those are the same methods i've used. I think it's silly that you have to remove a sprocket or pulley to install them. If you're going to make a tensioning mechanism you *could* design it such that there's plenty of room for installing the belt without removing this or that. That was my point, not that I can't do it. I thought maybe they did it for a reason. And yes i remove the cam sprockets with the engine in the car.

What makes you think you have "an actual knock problem"? It's probably the sensor. Replace the knock sensor. If it was already replaced then make sure it's installed properly. Remove it, check the connector, clean the threads, mating surface on the block, and clean the sensor. Also, there's a very specific installation procedure. It is supposed to be installed only one way and at a specific torque. All of this is covered in other threads on USMB, print those threads out (they have pic's too) and give to your mechanic.

helicoils are fine.

Replace the little round air filter in line with the vacuum hose on the passengers side. Follow the vacuum hoses from the solenoid on the passengers side strut tower. one that runs to the engine area will have a small round filter (about the size of a quarter) on it. replace that filter. $7 from Subaru.