idosubaru

yes indeed - if you didn't use Subaru or Magnecor ignition wires, that could easily be your problem. the EJ engines are very funny like this. so you had the head pulled and valve actually replaced for that other one? what exactly was wrong with it again "it was tight"? i'm not sure what that means. who diagnosed/fixed it? bizarre they'd pull a 200,000 mile head and not do a valve job while it's off?

if it happens right when the load is put on that gear it could be bushings. the transmission mount or the rear differential mounts. if the bushings are worn out the trans or diff will torque under load and hit metal on metal. i've seen this a number of times. i wouldn't expect this on a 98 though (kind of new), but it's something to look into. you might be able to crawl under the car and torque the rear diff by hand to see.

i think there's another thread like this already. it would be a neat discussion if we could avoid the "i heard of this guy with 2.4 million miles on his and my buddy works at the shop and said it's never had a tune up", or the "a friend has one with 600,000 and it's the 4th owner but the engine must be original because the palm reader said it was"...then others discuss the liklehood of a previous owner replacing something, or what the mystical source of the 2.4 million mile wagon was....okay i'm exaggerating.....

not sure what you mean, can you tell us why you're asking? when driving, the TCU doesn't "default" to anything, why would you want it to default to 1st gear when you're doing 80 mph down a mountain grade? i'm confused.... when not driving...well it "defaults" to whatever you have it in..neutral.....

yes, i've bought and used a few. they aren't OEM Subaru parts, at least the timing belt is not. not sure about the pulleys. another option is to regrease the pulleys, that's basically free. there's a write-up on how to do that in the USRM, linked at the top right corner of this page. you are at the risk of your own skills here so proceed very cautiously, i don't recommend this on an interference engine unless it's done very well.

i was about to say that's way to high, they go much cheaper around here, but Denver looks to be a bit higher than here. that thing would never sell in a million years around here. around here there is no problem finding an EJ vehicle between $1,000 - $2,000 with 100k-150k on it, that's what i would want. the EJ22 is a great motor but don't listen to those who will undoubtedly post "oh yeah, they're 400,000 mile motors" or "I know a guy with a half a million miles, you're only half way there".....don't listen to those anecdotal comments. not trying to be mean but the fact is that most 250,000 mile motors have more issues and are close to their end than not. it doesn't even matter how good the motor is, the pivotal points are how well was it maintained, was it ever overheated or run low on oil, how often was the oil changed....all of this for the entire 250,000 miles and 13 years...not just 249,000 miles or 12.9 years.....etc. also - at high mileages if you want a reliable car, nearly everything needs attention. the entire timing belt system - belt, pulleys, tensioner, and water pump probably need inspected...and most of it probably needs replaced. hope you're looking for a manual trans, which is likely since your old one was?

if it's a 1997 EJ22 or later then it's already interference.

that 120k line from the sales rep was pure BS, he was just trying to sell you the car. did you buy this from a dealer? if so i'd go back and try to work out a deal. had you known ahead of time i guarantee they would have gladly replaced that belt for you for free or for the cost of the part. they do that all the time, but will try and get away with not doing it if they can. they might give you a cut rate ,though that certainly would have been easier before you bought it. i've done this before as well, asked about maintenance items before laying out the cash. they usually oblige.

if Subaru has updated pistons to address the "piston slap" issue, which i think i've heard of, I'd use those with the engine apart. that's what it should be called! Subaru calls it a "ring seal".

you need to read the codes, there are dozens of other possibilities... advanced auto parts, autozone and other places read the codes free and the OBDII scanners are now available for chump change $50 or less, so best to start there.

that brings up a good point OB99W - when the speedo's start going out they don't properly increment the odometer, so the mileage is not correct. i noticed this in my XT6...i thought i was getting horrible gas mileage for 6 months or more....but really it was my speedometer cracking up - it wasn't moving the odometer as far as i was actually driving. if the needle is jumping around and not working, it's not rolling over the odometer - so this thing might not be as "low mileage" as you think. if that's the case you really don't know how close you are to the next maintenance interval either.

if it's a Subaru or MWE axle (which it looks like an MWE) it'll be fine....if it's aftermarket you better where full protection, fire gear, pilot helmets, bullet proof everything...and stand back.

wow! nice pic. yep - you need a new axle. hopefully the boot is busted and that will verify which axle you need. if not you can sometimes sense which side it's 'coming from'. get a Subaru or MWE axle only if you can. aftermarket axles suck.

You need new spark plugs and wires. Use OEM NGK plugs only and Subaru or Magnecor wires only. Unlike other Subaru engines, the EJ series are super picky with these items. Of course the proper way to diagnose is to have the CEL read and let us know exactly what it is. This is definitely not your PCV - but it's time to replace that as well, get one from Subaru. Hopefully the timing belt has been replaced? With the maintenance history not known you are 35,000 miles past due for a timing belt on a car that experiences serious internal engine damage if the belt breaks? This is an interference engine, fi the belt breaks bad stuff happens inside. I'd start planning ahead for that as soon as you can.

someone on here has probably done it but i can't think of ever seeing anyone comment on it. if you don't get any feedback here hit up NASIOC, those guys do all sorts of EJ engine mods and document stuff like that over there. might even be able to find some off-the-shelf ported and polished EJ22 heads from a company - if they dyno'ed them it may give you and indication of what's possible. it comes down to how it's done too. a good job can make a huge difference, a bad job can make things worse. the best heads are flow tested and make significant changes. for the do-it-yourselfer you're limited to just smoothing out the casting flash and port matching the gaskets. anything more could actually loose you power.

there's a distinct possibility that the ECU is bad. the ECU can fail by not properly powering the fuel pump. i believe a specific transistor within the ECU will be fried in this case and if so everything else works fine and everything seems okay, no check engine light and the fuel pump won't power up...just like you said. in this case, the car will run if you direct wire the fuel pump (i've done it before). also.....i already mentioned this - if it's an aftermarket fuel pump that could be your problem. try an actual Subaru (get a used one for cheap) fuel pump. i mentioned my experience with an aftermarket fuel pump on my XT earlier in this thread. my car was running fine on the original pump but i wanted something younger than 20 years old so i bought a new aftermarket pump. the brand new fuel pump wouldn't work. worked fine off the car, installed it wouldn't do jack. install an old OEM Subaru pump and it ran fine...back to new pump, it wouldn't work. i don't know why and my "new" aftermarket pump is still sitting in my garage. i had no problems with the fuel system, i was just trying to get a pump less than 20 years old on my car!! if you do wire, be very careful and be sure to properly wire it - fuses and protection from the elements and stuff.

answer these questions i already asked: how are you testing "it's getting suction"...how do you know?

the green connectors are not meant to be plugged in while driving, do you know that? they are only for diagnosis, if the pump cycles on every 2 seconds that is exactly what it is supposed to do in diagnostic mode. as soon as you're done verifying that UNPLUG the green connectors, they are not meant to be plugged in. have you done two simple things - make sure there's gas in it, and see if the pump will flow fuel? with the green connector connected you should get spurts of fuel every time it cycles on. 'ive done that exact test before....plug in connectors, pull the fuel line in the engine bay - if fuel comes out it's working.

how familiar are you with subaru's? if the CEL comes on again, immediately get the code in the trunk. on an XT6 - as long as that CEL is on the green LED in the ECU is flashing the code for you, all you have to do is look at it and count.

this is model dependant as well. not all subaru's have the same answer... so keeping in mind this is the newer gen forum, this information won't necessarily pertain to old generation stuff. OEM NGK plugs and Subaru wires. (magnecor is the only suitable alternative in my opinion - that's all i use actually). but most people do and should use OEM. PCV and Thermostat should definitely be Subaru - the Thermostat differences are amazing (pictures are posted on this site of the differences). Also - on newer or interference engines (1997+ EJ22 and all EJ25's) it's not a bad idea to stick with Subaru only on the timing belts. For and older high mileage vehicle I wouldn't be against an aftermarket belt, but otherwise i'd stick with Subaru.

CTS is very common, but after that i would not keep "guessing" and throwing stuff at it. the Check Engine light shoudl come on and you shoud get a code (i think 22) for the coolant temp sensor - so check your codes like i mention below. there are DOZENS of possibilities, i doubt it's your timing belts. that's why you need to answer the questions...remember, we can't see it, hear it, touch it, smell or anything. even after owning more than 20 XT6's diagnosing over the internet is still hard, give us information and answer questions. check engine light ever come on? check the codes in the trunk - this is EASY - there's no reason not to look, pop the trunk and count the flashes of the green LED. after that - check for spark and fuel. how old is the gas?

lots of ideas......how old is the gas? is the check engine light on? check for spark, fuel, and compression or proper timing. one of those is missing. my first guess is the coolant temperature sensor (located by the thermostat housing). i have a permanent fix for that issue over at the subaruxt forum. a new sensor won't fix it properly, that's not the problem. find out which of those items above applies and we'll move on from there.

differential gear ratios (3.9 and 4.11 and maybe a 3.7 in the early 90's??) or actual 1st, 2nd, 3rd, gear ratios (there are variations)? gear ratios aren't something the general public cares about, so they don't change much. if they did that would be odd. there were different ratios available but not huge changes. depends why you're asking/talking about it. if it's for swapping transmissions then the differences may matter. if it isn't, it shouldn't be all that surprising that the transmissions haven't changed much. there are companies that have used the same engines/transmissions for decades in various lines of vehicles, that's nothing new and makes sense....it's done all the time, all over the world in multiple sectors of business. that's Industrial Engineering or what "real" engineers like to call "Imaginary Engineering" (it's easy).

you have to define "virtually unchanged". that's a completely ambiguous un-answerable statement that only depends on the interpretation of the reader. on a part by part basis or on a conceptual basis? basically - no. there is more than one subaru 5 speed and they are both very, very, very different animals. EJ 5 speeds suck for off road - they don't have the differential locking of the old school EA/ER series 5 speeds. so that's a rather significant difference. the bell housings are different and not interchangeable. the speed sensors are not cable driven any more...they have a hydraulic clutch as of the mid to late 90's verses the old school cable clutch. and they have a viscous center that the old ones never had. but.....there are some interchangeable parts as well. it's really a circular discussion (as you are about to find out by all the replies). so yeah - define "virtually unchanged".

correcto. they did post a picture a long time ago, i believe it's maroon but my memory might have a typo too....