idosubaru

one of the bolts on top of the engine holding the block together is leaking oil. tigthened the bolt a little, it was already tight but i put 180 degrees on it and it seems to leak less....unless it was just a temperature or other unrelated cause in leaking less. any ideas on this? could i remove the bolt and seal it somehow? seems like removing a bolt that holds the block together is a rediculous idea but i want to stop the leak. the motor has never been apart that i know of (i know the previous owner) and runs well.

check fluid level. check shifter linkage, do the lights for D, R, N change when you shift? drain and refill. drain it through a screeen and see if there are bits in there that shouldn't be. see if the torque converter is spinning when you start the car. pull a transmission cooler hose and crank the engine, see if any fluid comes out, this would verify the pump is working and you have line pressure. check the transmission fluid pan for a major dent.

stick with any 2.2 and replace the timing belt at proper intervals, which on a used car often means replacing it when you get it to be sure. 200,000 here you come.

you can notice a difference in stopping ability? are disc brakes better or your old ones were just old? good job getting it done.

i didn't know about that little section at the bottom until forever either. i still forget about it sometimes. good news figuring it out.

the owners manual states 1/4" circumference. it was likely pulled from Subaru and misquoted. you can actually feel the 4EAT acting funny, i guess the TCU gets confused or something. if they are different enough the car will drive funny at slow speeds, you can feel the trans kind of bucking a little. install new tires and it goes away.

might want to check the svx boards for options, but GD sounds like he knows and usually if he does...well, he does. if you want a 3.7 LSD for $200 let me know i'm driving down 95 through richmond Thursday evening.

you can get away with it, i've had AWD subaru's improperly towed before with no ill effects. it's a risk, that's about all you can say.

i think the SVX final drive is a 3.54 and not be directly interchangeable with your EA series vehicles which will be 3.7 or 3.9.

GD is spot on, mark your locations and reinstall. i've done ball joints, swapped control arms, steering racks, struts, hubs...etc. i never get alignments and my tires wear perfectly even after 200,000 miles of no alignments. i've wrecked mine playing in the snow and replaced control arms and hubs and still no alignment needed. mark everything where it was carefully, install and you're done. keep an eye on the tires, with AWD you should be rotating anyway, if you see any start of unusual wear that's when you take it in for an alignment. i've used that philosophy and i've never needed an alignment yet. you can pick up used racks fairly cheap, someone on the board here will probably sell you one for little money. are you sure all 3 are bad? i've never seen a failed subaru tie rod, i'm sure it's possible but to have 3 that are all bad? sounds strange.

the information in this thread isn't helping you? what doesn't make sense? scroll to the bottom of this page and look to the bottom left corner, you'll see links to threads with similar topics already down there. click on those and have a look.

rotate often and replace as a set. improper tire sizes can and do result in transmission problems.

i've never had a problem with aftermarket thermostats. you can place it in a pan of boiling water and see if it opens. more importantly, have you checked coolant? any loss of coolant? any leakage? why did you replace it last year? did the car overheat last year? i would guess this is something other than thermostat related, no way to tell without looking into it further as a thermostat can fail though.

you paid for a new car and warranty, make them give you the services you've already paid for. could be incorrectly charged....or could be multiple other problems with components, best to let them have a look. i'd vote for adjusting the charge.

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.