idosubaru

Slegacy96 - you are amazing at staying in this thread for this long. people have wielded some less than friendly remarks and you're sticking around and not getting fired up. congrats!

that's not quite right. some things that can increase horsepower, can increase fuel consumption, can also increase gas mileage. most of the time performance items are geared towards HP and used as such and often gone well beyond where any fuel mileage gains may be seen. but on a mild level, increases to hp and mileage at the same time is not unheard of. i've found engineers to be completely impractical in terms of the utility of their knowledge. maybe it was the college i went too, but in the working world i haven't seen much better, very little utility in whatever knowledge or pieces of framed papers these people have. i believe you have beat that trend. i never read novels, but i will salute mark twain ahead of any univeristy: "i never let schooling interfere with my education"

problems like this when damp are typically sure signs of ignition related issues. being the wires are new i'd suspect the ignitor. be sure the wires are seated properly as well. they are new Subaru OEM wires right? (from the dealer?) lots of issues for such low mileage. sorry to hear all that.

this is a common issue, there are other threads here about this that might help you out. most of them have been successful in some way or another, so that old input may help if you're still stuck.

crank the crap out of it. if it's loose it'll wobble some. remove it and check it and the crank shaft as well at some point. the EA82 and ER27 and probably the EJ22 pulleys (pretty sure)...golly i hope this doesn't degrade into the same thing as a week ago..anyway it has a rubber ring in it (i think it does). there are really two parts, an inner and outer ring separated by a thin rubber ring. these outer and inner rings can separate causing multiple issues, one being wobbling. if you tighten it down and nothing happens it is more than likely beginning to separate.

sounds like maybe the solenoid is acting a little funny. i'd clean up solenoid connectors. if that doesn't work i'd look for more advice here while looking to replace the solenoid (or bang with hammer!).

you tightened it meaning they were originally loose? the clamps over time won't hold tension and need to be replaced, be sure you can not turn them by hand. if you can, that is your problem for sure. i would think your battery may have a slow vapor loss causing the corrossion. that's what i've been told can cause that anyway.

yes and no...the SVX is not real-world interference since even if the belt breaks the cams still have gears to keep them from hitting the pistons. so eventhough it technically is interference, it won't happen with just a broken timing belt and really wouldn't happen without some unlikely series of events. but yes on that EA82 - it's definitely not interference motor. if it's turbo i'd look for any and all possible signs of head gasket issues. at 20 years old there aren't too many EA82 turbo's still running with the original head gaskets. compression test it and look in the cylinders with a good flash light when you pull the plugs. any sign of coolant is a bad thing. compression test is easy and quick on these cars. ask if any recent work was done to it, mechanics install the belt backwards all the time on these cars. install it properly and drive away.

90,000 is really early for front wheel bearings...early for any bearings. do you have any modifications to the car? you're in the best position to diagnose front/rear. guess work won't do you any good, but any bearing can fail. if the rears were replaced and they are out again i would wonder why they are failing. that is really low mileage to be replace prior to 90,000 and my guess is that one of the rear bearings is failing again due to improper install, the old ones damaged the hub, or there is something stressing them (causing your first ones to fail early and the replacements to fail now). if it is the rear, consider getting a new (used) hub, your hub could be causing them to fail.

next time it doesn't start try attaching jumper cables from a known good car/battery. attach them to GOOD SOLID grounds and positive cable points (not the suspect battery posts or cables if they are painted, corroded or dirty). if it starts right up, then you know the starter is fine. i would bet it's one of the battery connections or cables. is there any corrossion at all, has there ever been? how do the cables/terminals/posts look? can you turn the cables by hand on the batter post? if you can, they are not tight enough and you might need new ends. this can drastically reduce the life of your alternator and battery if there is a problem here. otherwise starter replacement is very easy on subaru's. it's a little tight and annoying but the bottom line is that it's 2 bolts to get the starter off then rmeove the electrical connections. TWO BOLTS (i think they are 14mm)!!!!!! that's it. if you still think it's the starter, next time it won't start tap the starter pretty good with a hammer or heavy object a few times. this will dislodge the internal dust that covers the internal contact points and keeps it from turning over. mine wouldn't start and i knew it was the starter, so i did this last summer and it's started every time since then...keep meaning to replace it but i only remember when people post about starters, then i forget by the time i get home.

next time it doesn't start try attaching jumper cables from a known good car/battery. attach them to GOOD SOLID grounds and positive cable points (not the suspect battery posts or cables if they are painted, corroded or dirty). if it starts right up, then you know the starter is fine. i would bet it's one of the battery connections or cables. is there any corrossion at all, has there ever been? how do the cables/terminals/posts look? can you turn the cables by hand on the batter post? if you can, they are not tight enough and you might need new ends. this can drastically reduce the life of your alternator and battery if there is a problem here. otherwise starter replacement is very easy on subaru's. it's a little tight and annoying but the bottom line is that it's 2 bolts to get the starter off then remove the electrical connections. TWO BOLTS!!!!!! that's it. be sure the battery is disconnected when replacing the starer and go to town. if you still think it's the starter, next time it won't start tap the starter pretty good with a hammer or heavy object a few times. this will dislodge the internal dust that covers the internal contact points and keeps it from turning over. mine wouldn't start and i knew it was the starter, so i did this last summer and it's started every time since then...keep meaning to replace it but i only remember when people post about starters, then i forget by the time i get home.

HA HAAAAAA!!!!!!!! i love that name!!!!!!! HARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!! + 100 HP!!!!!!!!

waste of time.

i was posting a general answer to previous poster (not you). i've had good luck playing with the intake and exhaust and getting additonal mpg gains on highway driving. exhaust mods only helped on older generation subaru's, haven't tried it on newer generation yet. i also agree driving like grandma is not an option for me!

"How to increase gas mileage" get a car that gets good gas mileage. making a car that gets bad gas mileage get good gas mileage is no easy task. there are good EA82 and EJ22 vehicles that get 35-40 mpg. and they can be had on the cheap. my insurance went down when i added a vehicle, multi-car discount. cheaper to have two vehicles per person. or swap in a transmission that has better gearing. mileage varies wildly across the same motor EA82's or EJ22's, but the trans makes a huge difference.

it would be nice to know why the brake fluid lines were opened and needed bleeding? replacing the rotors and pads does not require bleeding, so i'm wondering what else was wrong that necessitated the opening of the lines? i'd vote for bleeding them again as well. lots of tips on the board here for doing that. i've had a few times when the brake pedal feels like it's going lower and then it firms up after a couple times of pushing it in. don't know why, i always assumed the pads needed to seat fully and the pistons needed to come out of the bore after being pushed in to receive the new pads. this would only be applicable if the pads were replaced after bleeding. have you driven it much? if the pistons in the calipers were pressed back in without the brake master cyilnder cap being removed, this can damage the master cylinder. or you could just have master cylinder problems.

are you sure the water pump is leaking and it's not something else? 98 2.5's have head gasket issues. just checking, hate to see all that work and $ not fix your problem. might want to order in new pulleys too and replace the ones that are noisey and dont' feel "like new". probably the sprocketed one by the oil pump, they seem to be the first to start making noise. being an interference engine and the fact that yo'ure not goign to be in there again for 100,000 miles you want to make sure all your pulley bearings are good. once the bearings seize in a pulley your 100,000 mile timing belt will slide over it and last about 1,000 miles. they are expensive so an alternative to replacing them all is buying them all and returning the ones you don't need. you can also replace the bearings if you have access to a press and buy the bearings.

yes. my retired (rust) daily driver has 220,000 miles on it, still has the same air struts it had when i got it 5 years ago with 100,000 miles. never replaced any air struts and they are in excellent shape still. i can not find that thread, i don't believe it's still here? here's a link to the write-up at http://www.xt6.net: http://www.xt6.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4173&highlight=air+strut

the top of the struts have bearings in them and they are open. you can probably just look down the top of the strut and see them, they are well exposed on the XT6. water poured on top of the strut will get into those bearings. probably why most air suspension set ups have the plastic covers to keep stuff out of those bearings. that's just a guess, either way be cafeful putting water on top of the strut.

remove the drivers side wheel and inner plastic liner. you'll see 5 fittings exactly like the solenoid fitting on the compressor assembly. there are obviously 5 of the exact same o-rings here, replace all of those as well. the location of the 4 "outside" fittings/hoses are unimportant, they do not have to be reinstalled in the same positions. all 5 are identical to the ones you just replaced. there are also o-rings where the air-lines screw into the tops of the struts, replace those as well. be careful with the soapy water test on the tops of the struts, there are bearings on the top and they are open. soapy water will toast those bearings. better just to replace them, it's easy.

second time around head gasket failures are not common, i can't recall seeing any on the boards. i can't imagine they'd use an "old" headgasket, they probably can't even get one. they are well aware of 2.5 engine work and would do it right. highly doubt you have anything to worry about. if you're still concerned, ask the dealer/check the invoice for the part number they used.

nope, didn't think about that! good call, it's a bad idea.

good point, could be either one. he gets nothing or something?

if it does it every time, try jumper cables and another vehicle/battery. do that a couple times over a few days. if it fixes it, then the battery is to blame. i would think battery before other things except maybe a ground, but battery is simpler to replace and diagnose so i'd start there. more info on car would be golden like previous poster said.

as much or more important is the width. get a size skinnier tire. you can always go up or down a size or two. go one size thinner and look at the tread. the rubber compound can make a difference as well. i'm guessing sticky performance tires don't do as well as hard rubber/high mileage tires, but that's just a guess i'm not a tire material expert by any means. these won't be performance tires, but i'm doubting you're auto crossing or anything. skinnier is better in snow/rain too, another plus. if you get much larger diameter you're speedometer/odometer won't be accurate. thinner might give you what you want without the speedo discrepancy. you won't get more than a 1-3 mpg bump in my experience. if you drive alot maybe that's worth it to you.