idosubaru

so it's unlikely that a 98 Auto will work in a later model year?

can you put the legacy VLSD guts in the EA 3.9 rear?

they are on the bottom, but that doesn't really matter. do not buy a generic o-ring for this part. like GD said this is not a normal o-ring at all. i have seen (and posted the pic even) someone re-use an old one with sealant. the sealant got sucked up into the oil passages and caused oil supply problems to that side valve train. the same could happen with a normal o-ring. the good news is that the partsbin o-ring is indeed the right part. thepartsbin is the only aftermarket supplier i've seen that carries this (one reason i'm impressed with them). Subaru sells them for $2.10 each i believe. alot for an o-ring. but it's not a normal o-ring and it's still less than $5 for the two you need, so no point in trying to be cheap about this one. i've bought tons of them from Subaru, i usually keep a few on hand.

i would check those wires you were messing with. if they shorted and damaged the ECU they will likely do the same to the next one you install. that's nuts, you can really smell it?

fusible links are next to the battery under a black cover. check those. remove and reinstall, making sure they have good contact. do you have any power at all? are the battery and connections good, tight and clean? have you done anything to this car recently? or it's been a daily driver for a year straight and then the next day it does this?

be sure to use something strong. i prefer a ratchet extension. crank bolts can vary wildly in effort to break them loose and that effort can shear whatever you put in the flexplate, dropping the remainder down in the bellhousing.

do the water pump if you're doing the timing belts. belts are good for 100,000 miles so you won't be going back in there anytime soon. otherwise you're relying on the stock water pump to go 200,000 before you get to the next timing belt/water pump install. do it all now and hopefully you're good for the next 100,000 miles. check all the timing belt pulleys, replace any that are loose or noisey for the same reason....if the water pump or the bearings fail they take the timing belt with it and this is an interference engine.

no tool necessary. you can put it in gear if it's a manual transmission or use the access hole in the bellhousing to get to the flexplate and hold it in place there if it's an automatic. i've done both many many times. an even quicker and dirty way is to let the socket hang on the crank bolt and bump the starter (be sure not to start the car). be sure there's something for the socket wrench to rest against, it will slam against it and knock the bolt out instantly.

is the distributor lined up properly? this can be easy to get wrong. do you have another distributor to swap in and try? what is this? a turbo, non-turbo? has the engine ever been pulled or had major work done to it? no check engine light? did you use any parts that might not be compatible...like earlier year ECU?

interesting, thanks for the follow up. i'll be sure to never neglect getting springs checked in the future.

if it sat for a year i wouldn't be surprised if it's a little noisey for awhile. it will probably go away. some MMO, ATF, Seafoam should do the trick. lots of oil changes. change it early the first few times, or at least i would. change it often afterwards or at least keep an eye on the color of it if you want to go beyond 3,000 miles. doubt you'll need to but could be oil pump related as well, resealing the oil pump may help. does it sound isolated to one cylinder or "all over" and random? if it's isolated to one cylinder then it's more likely the MMO and others will help. if it's all over and affecting them all, then it's more likely to be oil supply related. my bet is on the later. give it a little time though, they can be really noisey after sitting for awhile or a rebuild/reseal but quite with some running.

i removed the belt driven pump on my XT Turbo. now the XT Turbo is an EA82 model, so is your GL/DL an EA82? if so, the XT6 rack will swap right in without any issues at all. you'll need the rack and the hard lines that attach to the rack. if you do that, it's a straight swap, no custom work at all. then get the pump and lines as well. not sure the layout of the DL/GL though, might be some minor things in the way, spare tire or something. but that's no big deal. i do not have it powered yet though, haven't decided on powering it full time or trying to get the stock power controller/computer set up to run the pump. but i know jeep guys that run these pumps as well and they run them constantly powered with no issues.

if the 2WD trans drive and shifts fine i'll take it. any idea when you'll have it out? month, end of summer, end of year?

might help to give an idea of what you're looking for - how much work you want to do, custom or bolt on, how much power you're looking for...etc. you're not really going to make an XT6 'fast' so i wouldn't consider it a good candidate for making fast on a low budget. a better muffler, intake, distributor timing will help some. a good tune up and cleaning up any grounds, power, sensor connections can help just as much as some mods too. best to start here, get the car running well stock and then go from there.

never done it but looked into it before and was told this retainer is critical to be set properly. read up and research a bit before getting to deep into this one. there aren't many parts in the way and it can be done in the car, but be sure it's done absolutely correctly. i believe i was told the front diff is affected by how it's set (forget all the technical reasons/terms). someone with an FSM should be able to help.

thermostat yes. thermoswitch and coolant temp sensors rarely fail. the connectors get corroded and cause issues, but the sensors very rarely fail. i'd leave them. on some models i believe there is a very small hose under the alternator (at least on the XT6), it's about center of the top of the motor. replace the hose and clamps on this one. have to make the hose longer than stock if you don't use a pre-bent hose for this one. there is also a hose at the throttle body, i completely removed it so as not to heat up the air intake. less hoses and clamps as well. route the hose wherever it goes, i forget. depends what intake you have where or if you have this one. not terribly hard to swing the a/c compressor out of the way for easier access to the hose under there if you like. unbolt it and wedge some 2x's underneath to hold it out of the way. it has enough play to move around a bit.

water probably got somewhere it shouldn't. fluid level is fine? transmission pan isn't dented? i think the rear speed sensor is semi-exposed on the rear of the transmission, at least the wiring harness to it i think is exposed on top of the rear extension housing at the very back of the trans. i'd make sure this connector isn't shorted out or wet. never had any work done to the transmission? is it AWD - if so, do all the tires match fairly close? the TCU will shift erratically if the tires are mismatched enough. i doubt this is your problem though since it started after driving through some standing water. does the POWER light blink 16 times or so when you first start the car? if so, i'd have the codes read and post exactly what comes up. the FSM will give a break down of what route to take for diagnosis.

yes the TPS can be cleaned and repaired with excellent results. we have a complete write-up with pictures at http://www.xt6.net of the process. here's a direct link: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5525&highlight=tps

desperate for all the intake hose parts. i've posted over and over and have nothing to show for it. it's very easy to get off. the large intake hose that goes from the box that houses the air filter all the way to the intake manifold. i need all the hoses that connect TO this large hose (i already have the hose), there are like 3 hoses underneath it that go to the valve covers and PCV valve. any and all hoses/fittings/etc that connect to that hose i need. they are all relatively small and easy to remove. look at the large hoses - i will take everything that goes between this hose and the engine, all the hoses and plastic connectors you can get that are between this intake hose and the engine. this would be awesome, email/PM or whatever if you can pull them. thanks, Gary

i would find it very odd for both to go at the exact same time unless the car was severly overheated. if one blows the other is likely compromised and not far behind. this is probably everyone that has head gaskets blow. but if it is severly overheated or continually driven, the other will let go as well. but for the most part you'll find that one side will be the culprit first.

somes states have wavers or extensions you can apply for. tell them your situation and they may give you another month or 3..... if you don't know already, call and find out if this is an option in your state.

my advice was a bit limiting. rear diff is one of a few options. would want to inspect fluid level of it as well. you could try rotating the tires to the front if for some reason you wanted to do this yourself. if the noise/vibrations then "moved" up front so to speak you would know it's tire related.

the rear differential has a bad tooth on one of the gears. take it to the dealer. if you want to investigate yourself, drain the rear differential fluid and see what goodies come out with it! i'd guess a rear differential replacement is needed.

question asked question answered he offered some excellent information and this same question will come up next week and who will be there to answer it again...GD....but who wants to do that all the time? at least he pipes up and helps out, lots of others may know but don't care to help or read. two sides to the story, he meant no harm but did take the time to read and gave some great info! most others didn't read it, didn't even attempt to help anyone out. now you're informed and can go for it on your ride. good luck with it.

i don't know what the number was but i have the not-for-street-use delta cams in one of my XT6. being the same pistons, valve trains, rods and all as the EA82, it may be similar to the EA82T. mine is a daily driver, i'm not a performance guy but i tried them for kicks. no vaccuum, braking sucked (due to the vaccuum loss), downshifted more going up hills (loss of low end), and the power was higher than i needed it to be. i ported the intake side of the heads and matched the gaskets through the intake manifold and head as well. loss of low end. i had a high flow converter and larger exhaust. i won't try that again, but like i said it's a commuter/functional car for me. you guys might have better luck and more fun with it.