idosubaru

boostedballs, the duty solenoid C and clutches are located in the rear extension housing, accessible without pulling the transmission. you can swap clutches and solenoid or swap an entire extension housing for your old one. but...for the cost of those parts you can probably just find a good used trans to swap in. might want to try a transmission fluid flush to start with. all the tires match? so it's binding and it's reving up as well? more than one symptom? might want to start another thread for your problems....

was the tire pressure ever low? what kind of driving, any hard turns? have they ever been rotated before? the rears may show wear that was actually caused when they used to be on the front? yes you can get it aligned, i know the fronts have alignment and i'm thinking the rears must as well. they have similar strut set up, i can't recall if the rear strut bolt is a cambered bolt or not off the top of my head, but the fronts certainly are. they should be able to check it and correct for that if you think everything else is solid (tire pressure, tires, driving habits...etc aren't to blame). i never get my subaru's aligned. my tires always wear perfectly. my last XT6 was retired this summer at 220,000+ miles and i never had it aligned. wrecked the control arm off roading and replaced it, replaced struts, balls joints, axles, front suspension bushings, went through a number of set of tires in all those miles and they always wore perfectly even with never having an alignment. got 30,000 miles on the impreza and it appear to wear nicely as welll.

correct on the Duty C solenoid. this has already been discussed at length in other threads. yes the POWER light (or other AT light) blinks on start up if the power is cut to Duty Solenoid C. if it's "off" (normally wired), which it almost always is, then no light blinking. i also have my shift resistor unplugged so mine blinks every time i start the car anyway. shifts much better that way and i can plug it in if i ever needed to troubleshoot, not that i've had to.

you need to be persistent, read up on the laws for your state and be very firm with the dealer. if you approach them properly and tell them it's time to get an attorney involved they will usually cooperate somehow. talk to managers, regional reps...get names and numbers and start hounding. unfortunately it requires some effort and consistency. my aunt finally got a new vehicle taken care of by the lemon law and all i remember from that time was that it was a serious PITA and some of my relatives needed to help her out, she got nowhere on her own (she's too nice).

i see people dumping new cars all the time in the DC area, as i'm scanning every day. i'd blame the economy and high car payments before i blame the car. i know two people that lost their job this summer and bought new subaru's just before that. not fun. well i don't know what i'd blame, i'm not an expert, but i wouldn't suspect it's the vehicle. the 2005 2.5 is a great motor and subaru transmissions are solid, so i can't imagine people are dumping a fully warranted vehicle for any minor issues.

yep, for a couple years on two different vehicles. i've used it plenty, it's awesome. since the EJ's don't come with center diff lock options, this makes the auto equal to or better than the manual.

i think you'll want the 4WD flywheel as well. i know there are two different flywheels for EA82...it's either FWD/4WD thing or a Turbo/Non-turbo thing. I think it's FWD/4WD though, so snag that with the trans. if you go dual range you might want the center console so the interior bits fit right with the handles? since noone brought it up i guess they all know that yours is a manual already and not an auto? if it was an auto conversion as well you'd need center console goodies, pedal cluster and some wiring tricks to get the reverse lights working properly. mr. radon over at http://www.xt6.net converted a FWD Automatic to a 4WD Manual and took lots of pictures with mad details and helpful information. might be worth having a look at his thread. i thought his carrier bearing mounting boss was there, he only needed to drill. but that may be XT6 specific only. either way it might be helpful. good luck!

done properly the new headgasket design shouldn't ever fail again. hence nippers "once and done comment". repeated failures are rare and i'm sure due to improper replacement or a mistake. there are the occassional bad blocks after a head gasket replacement (someone recently had it fail on the drive out of the shops parking lot), this happens occassionally and is probably due to too much coolant/oil mixing. that's why "Subiegal" from Subaru, a member here, is always hounding to replace the entire motor and not just the gaskets. i and most others think that's way over the top. these are probably motors that are driven way too long and overheated over and over. headgasket replacement is a fine option, but a swap can be more economical to those that care about that sort of thing. as for the subaru/honda comparison. it's unfortunate you had a bad experience, but it's not that uncommon for even honda or toyota to have issues with New motors either. for the most part they never do, but any manufacturer is subject to issues when introducing a new motor. remember Subaru still made the E81, EA82, EJ18, EJ20, EJ22, and the 2.5 is golden with new headgaskets. all of those motors are insane in terms of reliability and high mileage capability. that's a good track record in my book. that's decades worth of great motors. buying a vehicle who's motor is in the first year or two of production is not the wisest move one can make if they're looking for 200,000 or more trouble free miles. not to say it can't happen, as it did with the EA81, EA82, EJ22....but still risky no matter the manufacturer. fix the headgasket issue and move on, it's annoying but you'll end up with a great vehicle.

you didn't answer a question: do all the tires match, size, tread wear, etc? has the car ever been towed? you don't have to remove the transmission or open the case to replace the rear extension housing or just the clutches if you want to do it that way. it's bolted to the back of the trans. there is some excellent information on the boards here, with really good pictures detailing how to do this. use the search button and plug around for appropriate terms.

right on wayne, i do my head gasket jobs in the car every time unless i'm doing a clutch or something. pulling motors takes alot of time for sure and i just hate doing it. but a 2.2 swap can be more economical and a good option for some people...like i mentioned above. and i've never even suggested throwing away a 2.5, they're worth good money and typically pay for half the cost of installing a 2.2.

i agree with you in that replacing the headgasket is a good idea for some. i can drop a grand as i please with no ill effect, not everyone can do that and swapping a 2.2 is cheaper if you can't do it yourself. now...if money isn't an issue then yeah, i'd recommend a head gasket replacement as well. i don't think they're junk at all. you can get $300-$600 selling your used blown headgasket 2.5 if it's still in good condition, which can just about pay for your 2.2 swap. which is part of the cost benefit of the swap for those that care about the $.

rumor and gossip? that's certainly not truthful. please type in "headgasket" into the search bar and see what comes up in the new gen forum. notice the lack of 2.2's (eventhough they've been around much longer). the 2.5 is a great motor, but i can fully understand an engine swap too for those that can't do headgasket work like i can.

are you positive all of your tires match perfectly? no differences in size, wear, etc? the rear extension housing is the very end of the transmission that the driveshaft slides into. it is not the rear diff. it houses the transfer clutches that are likely causing your binding. it is fairly easy to remove from the transmission as an assembly and replace either the clutches or just replace with an entirely new rear extension housing from another auto trans. it's easy as far as auto trans work goes, normally you'd be hard pressed to do much repairing or replacing of internal automatic transmission parts, but this is one item that can be done. if it's been like that for awhile i wouldn't expect a fluid change to help.

he replaced the center diff? do you mean rear diff or transfer clutches? auto's don't have a center diff. does it go away with the FWD fuse in? the front and rear are positively the same ratio?

with no jack you can "prop" the car up on a curb or something if you know what you're doing. it's very easy, but if you slam into the curb at a bad angle and bust the bead on your tire or puncture the sidewall then i don't recommend it. i've done it a zillion times. sounds like you have torque bind so the noises you're hearing are more than likely stresses on your drivetrain (driveshaft, diff, axles, bushings...etc), and not your transmission. although it could be trans or both of course. fluid change can help torque bind and torque bind can also be repaired without removing the trans by replacing the rear extension housing which should be cheaper than replacing the trans. i'd have some kind of screen available to filter the fluid out as you drain it, might find something in it (hope not, but.....)

next time i'm at the parts store i'll see if they have any 87 4 cyl and 6 cyl in stock and also 1995 and up (as another post mentioned). a visual should clarify.

i agree, doubtful those mounts will solve your issues.

have you checked the fluid? changed the fluid? anything come out with the fluid...chunks, debris, etc? is it torque bind? does it ever bind when turning? does the light blink when you first start the car? make sure the noises and grinding aren't driveline related: rear diff, driveshaft, ujoint, axle...etc. don't want to blame an expensive trans on something simple. if all else fails you can have a used trans installed for well under $1,000 if you do a little looking around. it's not too hard to find one around $300 and have it installed for a couple hundred.

where's the leak coming from? all of the bolts are loose or just some? if the bolts are corroded, dirty or the holes are dirty they may "tigthen" but the threads (bolt and holes) need to be clean to get a proper torque.

i didn't see the A pillar damage? that's a good engine it's an EJ just like the 2.2. it's gutless from the comments on the board, but should prove reliable if that's what you want. a 2.2 is probably plug and play so long as there aren't any canadian differences.

i read Numbchux write up and he said he used 1987 calipers??? did he mean 1997?here's his write up: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63647 if it is 1987 like it says, then is it 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder 200SX calipers?

derrick, what did you figure out? i can't seem to nail down whether it's 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder calipers off the 200SX as they are different. anyone who knows, please post.

great gas mileage maybe?....back to the old EA82 days and 40 mpg (35 for all the non-XT guys).

i don't know the best method, except to say you are wise to do something about it. even if it's just to drain the old nastiness. if it's still together, change the oil and drain all the coolant. you can run the engine for a short period of time without coolant, before it begins to heat up. so you have time to cycle in new oil or some of those flushing agents if anyone recommends that. definiitely get the coolant and water out of there as soon as possible.

if you order one of these from a junk yard, you can just order the entire assembly, no worries on all the little pieces. the entire assembly will bolt on very easily.