idosubaru

noone is going to have quantitative analysis on what can happen or the percentage of failures to be had if you "overcool" versus do not overcool. but what we do know is the engines and transmissions are designed to run at a certain temperature, with a certain amount of coolant, a certain amount of oil and to diverge from that for no reason is risky. yes...you can run with one quart less oil in your car. yes you can run with a half gallon of coolant less than normal in your car without issue, yes you can drive with 3 out of 5 lug nuts on a wheel....for a long time. but who wants to know what happens if you do it over the long term? ATF acts as a hydraulic fluid, coolant and lubricant, it's doing triple duty and auto trans are sensitive, i like being on the safe side of the transmission. that's why he's saying figure out your temps and go from there.

yes and no. they have to remove the belts to do the head gasket so to replace the belt they are doing zero hours in labor. well...maybe 3 minutes to walk over and get it from the parts department. belt costs them maybe 50 dollars, so they're making a cool $350 off of doing nothing. that's like $6,000 per hour, sounds good to me! can i change your timing belts for $200 please? basically the dealer is trying to make a buck here....the gasket is covered under "warranty" by agreement and the dealer sells you on the t-belt. don't know your car, but they should be offering to do more than just the t-belt. what about the water pump, oil pump seals, cam seals and t-belt pullies (those should all be tested and replaced if needed). after it's done the new t-belt won't be due again for 105,000 miles, if not replaced you're asking all these other things to last about 200,000 miles. i usually adress those at the same time. once they "get it apart" they will probably say...oh, you should get a new water pump, oil pump...seals....and $1,000 later they've made out pretty good on you even though they "covered" the head gaskets. simple marketing strategies. i did my cousins 2.5 last year for about $280 total in parts, t-belt, water pump, oil pump, seals, etc. my cousin was quoted $699 at a dealer, but that didn't include all the seals and tensioners i replaced, water pump and tbelt only. if your t-belt is due or close to it, then one way or another it needs to be done soon. yours is an interference motor, you do'nt want to risk it. but dealers are not the cheap way to get your tbelts changed either.

what he said..., 1000 pounds of towing in the winter and through hills calls for knowing what you're dealing with before making any decisions. keep your fluid changed, ATF temps right like he says and you should be golden if it doesn't have any existing issues.

wow, i'll have to vote no on that until it's determined why it's doing that. very interesting. sounds like the differentials/clutch packs aren't interacting correctly or something. i would not leave it like that, i'd rather the FWD fuse be installed like you have it now. are you sure the gear ratios are the same? i know this was asked before but seems like they have to be different.

why? it does not help gas mileage if that's why you're doing it. if there's no reason then it's certainly not worth the risk. the duty c solenoid isn't what i would consider deep in the transmission. it's actually accessible without removing the transmission and can be done with average tools that a home mechanic would have. you have to remove the rear tail housing with the clutches in it, which isn't all that difficult as far as transmission work goes.

you didn't say whether it's an automatic or manual but since this is a newer generation forum it almost has to be an automatic. it is meant to be a temporary item and is questionable what problems it will or will not cause. i've only done it before for short term use with no issues on an automatic. i've done it for a long time on a manual trans but that's a completely different scenario. why are you wanting to do this? if it's for gas mileage it won't work so don't bother.

i've seen pads wear out at the 20,000 mark before. cheap pads? don't know, but calipers were fine and slides were all greased (haven't seen it on a subaru but don't see why it can't happen on any car).

the weight of gear oil you need will be in the owners manual. a 75W synthetic would probably be my choice. don't know the size off the top of my head, a 22mm drain plug maybe? does it make it in reverse?

probably be okay, there's no way to tell for sure of course. if it's gotten worse over time i'd be more worried. if it's stayed about the same for awhile i'd feel good about it. but again...who knows. crap shot. you really should drain the oil. that would tell you for sure and you'd get any bits out of there that might cause issues if they get caught in something. it's really easy to drain the oil, it's just like changing your engine oil except easier because there's no filter to replace. although you'll need a funnel to fill it back up, but that's not a big deal. or have a place do it for you, should be $15-$20 tops for diff oil, though i've never paid for it. yes the front diff and transmission are essentially an assembly. it is possible to separate them, but it's really not worth the trouble and it's a rather involved job. if either one is bad it's usually best to replace the entire trans. the one guy that i know that replaced a bad front diff ended up ruining the new one too. the old damaged diff probably damaged the areas where the trans/diff interface which ended up damaging his new front diff in well under a year. or it was installed wrong. are you going to drain the trans oil and see what comes out? myself and others are not recommending this just because we want to see you waste your time. this would be much more helpful than speculating over the internet about how long some transmission is going to last that we'll never get to see, hear, taste or feel....tastes great, less filling, tastes great, less filling...

i'm with nipper, it would be nice to know for sure what the problem is. in my experience with noises exactly like you're talking about it's a differential gear tooth broken or compromised. i'd drain the trans oil and see if there's any pieces in the oil. drain it through a screen so it'll catch any pieces. also, best to get that metal out of there if that is the case. it will probabaly run for a very long time like this with no problems if it's just a bad tooth on the gear. you won't be damaging anything but the transmission and front differential which you'd be replacing anyway, so drive on. a used transmission can be had in the $150-$300 range. local transmission shops will typically install a supplied transmission for $100-$200 ($150 around here). $250-$500. we rarely see bad manual transmissions.

i go to the same one all the time, i have a business account with them and they're super cool. i've talked to them on more than one occassion about what can and can not be accepted. they said they can take anything but brake fluid. glad you brought this up dude! it makes sense that it's locally dependent. i would doubt they ship all the contents to a central location, that doesn't sound economical. they likely have it processed or recycled locally which would depend on the local equipment, recyclers, laws, etc. good point derrick...now i should go edit that post so noone ruins massive amounts of otherwise perfectly recyclable material....

sweet. freaking inspections.

you won't have any problem waiting. i know people have driven with mad ticking for a long time.

depends what you want to replace. if you want to replace the belt, buy a belt. if you want to replace the belt and pulleys, buy the belt and pulleys. it's annoying waiting until you get in there to decide what to replace. because then you have to say "okay i need this one part" and have to go get it. if you don't want to replace them all (in which case you'd buy them all ahead of time), then the easiest thing to do may be to buy them all from subaru locally, and return the ones you don't need. that way you have everything you need and can finish the job all at once.

*** EDIT *** this is likely locally or state dependent, check with your local auto parts stores and recycling places and ask what they do and do not accept. in my area of Maryland Advanced Auto Parts takes anything but brake fluid, all mixed together even. doesn't have to be separated. Advanced Auto Parts (and other auto parts stores) have large tanks and recycle used oil for free. Autozone may do the same as well since Advanced Auto parts isn't out west i don't think. They accept anything except brake fluid. mix it, match it, oil, gear oil, ATF, coolant, water, any fluids except brake fluid. something about brake fluid isn't acceptable. i make sure to oblige since it's very convenient to dump everything else in the same tank. i have no idea what to do with my brake fluid.

manual transmissions are very durable and easy to come by. best bet is to install a used one. you can get 5 used ones for the price of a rebuilt probably. rebuilding the front diff is tricky business so i wouldn't expect it to be very cheap. it is very rare to see the issues you're having right now.

i would use Subaru OEM parts for the timing belt and water pump. in my oppinion it's not worth saving a few dollars on an inteference engine. you will be expecting another 100,000 miles service from these items, i'd stick with Subaru on these items. your engine is inteference, if the timing belt breaks or the water pump fails (which can cause the timing belts to fail) you can sustain major internal engine damage (pistons will hit valves). i use anything on non-interference engines but stay with Subaru on the interference motors. for aftermarket you can typically find cheap timing sets on ebay. might even see some Subaru OEM sets. for a manual trans a drain and refill should treat you just fine. for an auto transmission you'll need a flush or to do multiple changes (i like to do at least 3 on mine. do one...drive it a couple days, do another, drive it, do another...then you've replaced a majority of the fluid).

additives or chaning oil types/brands/viscosity is not a one size fits all solution. it works sometimes, but not always and usually covers up a problem that will come back. the most common problem i've seen out of the dozens i've pulled apart is the oil pump-to-engine-block gasket. there are two ports, hence the "mickey mouse" nickname you'll see. you can check out the gasket at http://www.thepartsbin.com, they have a picture. one of the two ears or o-rings that is part of this gasket will get sucked into the oil passage. at first it may only slightly deform at certain times/temperatures but eventually it will permanently deform and can rip as well. this will add air bubbles into the system since that seal will no longer be there. air is compressible and oil is not. hydraulic systems don't work well with air introduced and the HYDRAULIC valve lash adjusters will not operate properly, they will partially collapse due to the air in the oil. additives and gimmicks can temporarily solve this sometimes, but usually an oil pump reseal should be scheduled sometime in the future unless you like the noise! a new oil pump isn't a bad idea as well. some over at xt6.net have problems even after a reseal, but i suspect that the thin aluminum housing of the oil pump may deform with time, heat, etc. this prevents the gasket from having equal pressure all around it like it should and causing the issues to resurface again sometime later. this is all speculation though, i recently thought about this after some have complained of repeated failure at these ports even with new gaskets. i haven't mic'ed an oil pump though i'd like to if i ever incur this problem myself. actually my oil pump is new. if you replaced a water pump you can reseal the oil pump. i think resealing the oil pump is about the same as a water pump. remove timing belts and there it is. remove 5 bolts. use a 1" socket on the impeller so you can bust the 12mm nut loose off the oil pump sprocket to replace the seal. replace the gasket and o-ring and reinstall.

On the timing belt change: New timing belts, cam seals and water pump and thermostat. Change the oil pump seals/gasket/crank seal. Tighten the screws on the back of the oil pump (that was an issue of them becoming loose on some EJ series motors, easy to check). Check all the pulleys and tensioners. Some people just go ahead and replace the tensioners. on an interference engine it's not a bad idea to replace anything you can afford to. You won't be in there for another 100,000 miles, you're relying on those pulley bearing to make it to nearly 200,000 miles. At the very least inspect them all closely and replace any that have any noise or don't feel tight. Typically the lower one that has sprockets instead of a smooth surface tends to get noisey first in the ones i've pulled (and i've read the same thing on here). i've replaced those on most of the ones i've done, particularly on the later interference engines which yours is. everything above is related to the timing belts and should be done at the same time. other items to consider are radiator hoses and clamps (particularly the lower one which may have a rusted clamp). then the drive belts for the alt and a/c stuff since it's got to come off anyway for the timing belt replacement. change your transmission oil and go from there.

i'm with phil. he needs to define "easy", "turbo", and what kind of reliability he wants, and what kind of money he wants to put into this. otherwise we really don't know what he's asking for. i've made the mistake of assuming he's like the rest. most people that ask about turbo on the XT6 never do it, so i figured i'd save him the effort of searching. actually i can't think of anyone that has randomly piped up and gone through with it. if you're going to spend close to the kind of money that you can buy a complete EJ turbo swap for then staying with the ER27 looses you horsepower but you keep the coolness and uniqueness factors. can you turbo it? of course. i can turbo my lawn mower and go-ped. is it easy? ME: "yes". MY MOM: "no." are there bolt on parts for it: no.

your loyale will have the EA82 in it. an excellent motor. not many issues to speak of really. the EA82 motor will run for a very very long time assuming you don't overheat it or run it out of oil. overheating is the common destroyer of this engine, the block, heads and 20 year old gaskets won't hold up long to running hot. usually the head gaskets blow to overheating because the cooling systems are old or poorly maintained. change your oil all the time. very regular. this engine has HLA's (Hydraulic Valve Lash Adjusters) in it. the good is that the valves never need adjusted like an old honda. but the bad is that if you don't change your oil often the HLA's get dirty and noisey. change it often and they will be nice to you. adding some MMO will help keep them happy too if you suspect dirty innards of your engine. since overheating will cause bad problems very quickly, the best bet is to replace the water pump, thermostat, radiator caps, radiator hoses, check the overflow hose and clamps and make sure the radiator is in pristine condition. that sounds like a long list but it's all really easy with the exception of the water pump. water pump requires removing the timing belts which is really easy on an EA82 as far as timing belts go but isn't nearly as easy as the rest of the list which anyone could do. while you're at the water pump, resealing the oil pump is a good idea as the gasket will fail at some point and cause loud ticking noises of the engine as air gets introduced into the oil supply. it will sound real bad but won't cause any damage. since oil pump and water pump maintenance both require removing the timing belts, it's usually a good idea to do them all at once. it is relatively easy, doesn't take long and the parts are inexpensive. given a good cooling system and assuming you don't run it without oil that motor is good for a very long time. non-interference motor as well, so if the timing belts did break there's no possible damage, just throw on new ones and you're golden.

rain X is awesome. when my transmissions were bad the wiper would slam against the windshield edges as well. WHAM WHAM WHAM every swipe it took. it went away when i repaired the transmissions. greased or replaced the bad parts. i worked on 3 different ones this summer so i can't recall exact details between them.

small would be fine for your circumstances. benebob, which vehicle has the ATF temp sensor installed? what kind of reading do you get? does it vary much...season, ambient T's, hills, highway? there's a post on USMB somewhere of a guy that used one of those laser temperature devices to see the temps before and after installing the cooler. made for interesting reading.

FWD fuse trick will only work if yours is AWD...i didn't see if you said it was AWD or FWD? what kind of CV work did they do? replace a boot, replace the entire axle, replace both axles? these can create noise so we need to know exactly what was done. it does not sound like wheel bearings. the description you're giving of the gas and neutral sounds to me like it's a differential issue. rear differential is much more likely than the front but if you're sure it's up front then that could be it. best to rule out simple stuff before assuming the trans is hosed though. the front diff is essentially one assembly with the transmission, so to replace the front diff is to replace the transmission. off the top of my head i'd first check the front differential fluid level. then after that i'd drain the front differential and see if any chunks come out with the fluid. if the gears have been damaged there will most likely be some pieces of metal in the front diff fluid.

i'm not sure i understand your problem. but then again i wouldn't know how to fix it either. i'm not well versed on these things. although i have removed and replaced a few, but haven't had any problems to make me learn exactly how they work. all of mine park and operate fine. could you install a complete different assembly from another vehicle? everything from the motor to the arm and everything in between? i've swapped a few and other than getting them off never had any problem getting them to work.