Gnuman

Olnick is correct in that a turbo will cost you more in maintainance, but be more fun to drive. They also tend to wear out faster as people tend to drive them harder, just because they can. . .

I'll throw my hat in the ring in favor of replacing the head bolts. I would take this as standard practice as well as having the heads surfaced, to insure that they are perfectly flat. While you might get away with not doing so, it is a gamble, and my heads are one thing I'd really rather not take a gamble on. which would you rather do? Take the time and money to do the job right in the first place, or have to do the job over like you should have done in the first place? I experienced this with a clutch job I did on my own car (I was in too much of a hurry to pull the flywheel and have it surfaced), and I ended up burning out the clutch prematurely, and ruining the flywheel to boot (the heat from the slipping clutch set up radial cracks in the flywheel, rendering it unusable). So the question becomes "do you want to spend a little more now, or a lot more later?" I vote for a little more now. . .

That is actually the intake manifold, and the easiest way I know of is to pull it off. there are two temp sensors, one for the guage (single wire) and one for the ECU (two wire) and they are right next to each other, on the coolant crosover pipe. Depending on what is in the way on your engine, you may be able to get at it around the junk attached to the TB on the right side of the car. Based on my examination of my NA MY92 with a manual tranny, it is possable if you use 1/4" drive sockets, a universal joint , and an extension. Even then it wiuld not be fun, and make sure you are working on a stone cold engine when you try it. Those sensors are boxed in pretty well by the hoses going to the PCV and TPS/IAC cluster. If you are working on a turbo, then take the easy way out and pull the intake manifold. Not sure what else may be in the way on a MY96 though. Latest engine I have worked on was a MY95, and that was for an O2 sensor swap. If you want, i will be back in CA in a couple of weeks and I can pop down there and do the swap for you. I'm stuck in Boston at the moment, awaiting a new ATM card so I can get home (Lost wallet)

They move very quickly, which is why they are so popular. . . If they are leaking from high oil temps, then switching to a synthetic oil should help. I have not heard that they leak by any inordinate ammount, though. they are a great little car, but I would never own one. I hate to see potential wasted. And if I drove this car to it's potential, I would be in jail very quickly. . .

And I would be willing to bet money that it is the oil pump that is at the root of it all. Crank seal, Oil Pump gasket and O-Ring in particular, are my bet. Changing the T-Belt is bone simple, actually, and chould not be feared at all. align the crank gear before removing the old belt, as this puts the pistons a safe distance from the valves and you can align the cams easily after the timing belt is off. You have the 2.2L engine right? On that MY ('99, IIRC), you can lever the tensioner to the parking position and pin it in place, making the job go a lot faster (this is not as easy to do in pre 96MYs). After the belt is off, take the center gear off (should come off by hand, no need for levers) and pull the oil pump off to replace the seals (you should have already drained the oil and pulled the oil filter). When replacing the pump (after putting a new center seal on), put a thin coating of gasket seal around the outside edge of the pump, and make sure the O-ring is properly seated. I saw this kind of leaking on an older engine, and discovered that a badly positioned O-Ring was the whole of the problem. One of the three items I recomended replacing is almost certainly the source of your trouble. In the second set of pics you are seen pulling on the lower gasket on the center T-belt cover. While this connection looks worn, even loose, it is not the problem, as this gasket is mainly to protect what is inside. It leads to a dry area on the front of the engine (or at least this area should be dry. . .).

I say keep the CA emissions on it. What you get out of it (5hp) is so small for the labor involved that it is really not worth it. and CA is not the only place that is requiring CA emissions gear. Most of your densely populated areas are also asking for it, and those areas are expanding. I say put your efforts and money into some other mod that will give you better payback for the time and effort.

That chilton's covers many models and years. look under the 2.2L engine for the torque specs, and procedures for replacing the head gaskets. If you do end up replacing them, I also recomend replacing the valve guides, valve cover seals, and the gaskets that go below the bolts that hold the valve covers on. While you are at it, go ahead and replace the cam seals as well, as you will have to take the cams off to get to the head gaskets. The Chilton's boks are good for this, but not much more. Go out and get a Haynes manual as well, to fill in some of the gaps that the Chiltons leaves out. Now for my diagnosis: there was probably a lot of backed up gunk in the system, so your best bet is to have the coolant removed, as well as the thermostat, and the system flushed/cleaned. I mean all of the system tooset the heater for max heat, rev the engine, let it run for a while with the cleaner running through it, then flush again to remove the cleaner. Now replace the thermostat being careful to position it correctly (Spring part goes into the engine and the hole goes toward the radiator). You are using a genuine Subaru thermostat, arn't you? It makes a difference. Fill from the top hose so that the engine area is the first part filled (that way the heat from the engine gets to the thermostat and it knows to open), then fill the radiator with the bleed screw off, and fill the overflow tank to the fill line.Let it run until the bubbles stop, and you should be fine. Keep the car running, while on ramps (that is the easiest way to get the nose up high enough) until the radiator fans start to cycle. If the car overheats once the system is sealed, shut it off, and let the overflow tank fill the gap that has formed due to bubbles. when the car is cool, try running it again. Continue this until the cooling system works correctly (temp guage just below center, fans will cycle). If flushing and filling do not fix the problem, and you get constant bubbles, then you start turning your eye to the head gaskets. I also have a 92 Legacy with 165500 miles on it. Mine is in great condition (engine wise) and I expect many more trouble free miles out of it. If flushing and filling does not work, and you want someone more experienced to look at the engine, i will offer to to do the job for you. Just pay for the gas (round trip) and the parts, and I will fix whatever turns out to be the problem. Send me a PM if you are interested.

My ashtray ticks. It may have something to do with the small metal parts I put in it though. . . I have no other use for the ashtray besides small item storage. . .

I was basing this on emperical evidence, as the air inside the car cools down much faster in humid conditions, versus arid ones. R12 top off must be done at a shop, and the R12 is very expensive to boot. R134 can be topped off at home, and is very cheap in comparison. Long run figures make the R134 conversion cheaper.

I do not look at the Tribeca as an SUV. I look at it as a minivan. In that class, the back seats are kinda small, but otherwise it is very well appointed. Now if I could only get one with a manual transmission, perhaps I might change my mind about it being an SUV. . .

That is very strange indeed. First thing to look for is if anything is jammed into the shift linkage (long shot) and that all parts of the shift linkage are actually attached where they belong. It coul be that one of the bolts in the shift linkage has come loose and is jammed against the body of the car. That is my first (and most hopeful) guess.

I looked at one, and if I had the money it would probably be a second car for me without hesitation (if it developed some hesitation, i'm sure a can of Seafoam would fix it right up. . .). As for the exterior styling: That is not what I buy a Subaru for. I look at what is underneath the skin, and decide based on that. The drivers seating position (in relation to the pedals) also makes it an excelent choiuce for my ex wife, who could really use a good reliable car. she has these really short legs that mean that she is shoved into the steering wheel on alost all sedans. Minivans are fine for her as she sits above the pedals instead of behind them. Now my greatest complaint with the B9 is that it does not have the option of coming with a manual transmission. I do not trust automatics to last (and any car I buy has to last), so the restriction to only automatics is worrisome to me. I feel that this is the mistake they made with the SVX that killed it . Granted the auto trannies have improved over the years, but I do not like being locked into one. If they even made a manual transmission available as a special order item (you have to special order the car), I would be happier. As for how it handles? Well it is a Subaru, but it is also a very large car, built for luxury. It would handle better than a lot of the luxury SUV/Minivans out there, but it would not be in a class with the STI, or even the Outback on that field. That is not what it is built for. For what its intended market, it is a fine vehicle, and I can find only the one complaint with it (that being the transmission limitation)

I'll pitch in with my agreement that it sounds like the R12 needs to be "topped off", and it should be done before damage is done to the system. If the R12 is low, that means that the refrigerant, which carries the lubricant, may not be circulating in in enough quantity to keep the compressor from locking up (siezing), in which case you would need to convert to R134a anyway. Mine locked up so bad that it cracked and vented to the atmosphere, leaving the system open. One "pickNpull" compressor and matching hoses later, I converted to r134 myself. I will say that the R134 conversion will bring your system up to a very effective level (how about "set your arthritis off" kinda cold. . .), particularly if you are experiencing a high level of humidity (the moist air cools easier than the dry air of a desert. . .) My converted 92 Legacy wagon has to have the A/C levels set low to prevent frostbite!

Not exactly "wandering around". . . My Spiritual Teacher is on a US Tour and I'm following Her on it. I'm in DC now, and now that I have wireless, I will be doing just that (checking in from time to time). When in LA I had the coolant changed (no means to do it myself, like a workplace or a way to get rid of the old coolant, so I had to let someone else touch my car. You can tell from the formatting that this is not a happy thing for me. . .) and the dork refused to put the car up on ramps to burp it properly. Well there was a good ammount of coolant in the overflow, and when the car overheated, it actually burped itself. Talk about lucky breaks. . .

I saw one in a stealership in LA the other day ( I came in to get a thermostat as my coolant was breaking down), and gave it a good once over. I actually like it, despite the grille that makes so many of you so angry. the inside is fairly nice, and the instrument cluster is way cool. I give the grille a few years before the public demands that it be dropped for a more traditional grille. for the 40K asking price, you still get a lot of goodies with it. Too bad the rated milage and power are so bad on it (according to the dealer, it really needs a turbo. maybe next year) I would buy one if I had the money.

IwantIwantIwant!!! Emily has 160Kmiles on her now. PM me for shipping info.

I work with a pair of guys that have done Subysizing of Vanagons. We just finished putting a 97 EJ22 into a Westfallia. the two biggest snags were the cooling system (kinked hose in the front restricting flow), and wiring (routed the on engine harness too close to hot coolant pipes, and it melted an injector wire, shorting out the ECU). He used a SmallCar engine mount, and the Kenedy plate for the transmission. He also used a Kenedy intake setup which worked real well, and reversed the coolant crossover pipe to better match up with the Vanagon cooling system. The conversion puts a whole new life into the Vanagon. As for why not to put more powerful Subie engines into Vanagons, the answer is twofold: 1) the older engines are cheaper, and more reliable (interference versus non interference. . .) 2) what are you going to do with the extra power? There is such a thing as overkill. The suspension on a Vanagon will not handle the kind of driving the more powerful engines encourage. . . The Vanagon is a box on wheels (the Westy is a well laid out box on wheels, but still a box on wheels), and the weak link has always been the really crappy engine that they saddled this thing with. Putting a Subie engine in the bay makes for a much livelier vehicle, and you can go up hills better (and keep up with traffic), making the Vanagon an entirely different beast. I hear Vanagon engines all day as well as Subie engines. When the Subie engine fired up (on the first try too!) it was a much sweeter sound than anything I had heard coming from a Vanagon until then. Working at that shop has afforded me with the opurtunity to do much more intensive repairs/procedures on Subarus than I would have gotten otherwise, as I'm the shops Subaru expert. The other two guys are Vanagon experts, and great fans of Subaru engines (for good reason)

Right there he says that he had the alignment checked twice, and it was found to be in spec. Just a shot in the dark (you have already checked the things I would have) but are the tyres properly balanced? Are these new tyres? Has the front toe in been checked at all? If the tyres are new, I would suspect a bad balancing, or a defective tyre.

there are 4 12mm bolts and nuts that attach the driveshaft to the rear diff. take those out and you should be good to go, if you have the rear diff protector that covers the driveshaft just before the diff. Just for the sake of being sure, I would mark with paint the relationship of the driveshaft to the diff (paint a line across the two, then line them up on reassembly). I would say that that should be good to go, as when you release the rear diff from the driveshaft the tranny is not driven at all.

You will also find that they have a highly devoted (some would say fanatical) following that can help you with any troubleshooting that you may need to do. For example, is the hand brake just loose or is it completely inoperative? if it is just loose, there is a drum brake inside the rear disk that acts as the hand brake. This can be adjusted by removing the rubber plugs on the inside of the rear hub assy and using a screwdriver to move the adjuster up or down as needed. I find that turning it until the wheel is hard to move, then backing it off bt three strokes is a good setting. As for the fuel guage, I'll bet your fuel sender is just dirty, and needs to be cleaned (yes they are reparable). The instructions differ if you have a wagon or sedan, so we'd need to know which one you have to give good directions. Either way it is a pretty easy fix.

if you replace the condensor, you will need to replace the reciver/dryer. Replace the reciver/dryer in the parking lot of the AC place that you are using to evacuate the system (or do you have your own vacuum pump?), and have them evacuate the system immediately after. The Reciver/Dryer is little more than a can od desicant, and the moisture in the air will kill it. Once you break the lines to the condensor, you will have air in the system. This is not good. Te Reciver/Dryer can take a little air, but not a lot. If your system is open for any extended time, the part will be dead. It is used to trap moisture which causes corrosion inside the system.

I know of no car company that "stands behind" any car more than a decade old. . .I stand behind my Subie, and that is all that is needed.

I'll chime in here with a third, and possably unifying) theory: Both are correct. We are each created by [insert diety here] using the genetic material provided by our parents. the parents bring the ingredients to the "table" and [diety} picks from them and mixes them together. Each of us has a body that is perfect for our needs in this lifetime. Of course [Dietys] definition of "perfect" may differ from mans a bit. . . I did not have any plastic emblems on Emily (my Subie) when I got her, but some of those metalic stickers are a pain to get off. And after going to all the trouble to get them off, I went and replaced the door. . .(liftgate and three of the four doors, actually). The original owner had no use for bodywork. . .

Well I just got rid of the two dead cars that I towed home to fix. they turned out to me more expensive to fix than they were worth. So I got a tow dolly again and traded with a friend for a working BMW that I'll give to the guy that wanted these cars fixed. After loosing two and a half workdays waiting for the guy to pick them up I went and rented the dolly and took them to him. He was in the car when I pulled them to his place and he was amazed that the Subie pulled these cars so well. On the modification front, an update is in order: I have added a "deflector" type airfoil to the top of my new liftgate (the original owner had no use for bodywork, and I needed to replace three doors and the liftgate, which now need to be painted), and it seems like the car has more "pep", or perhaps that is just my attitude. . . I do know that I got a few MPGs out of the deal, so that is all good. Only things left on the certain list are new struts and driving lights (not really needed, but a nice touch). If I can scrape the cash together, I'd like to put a sunroof in. Oh, and I'm closing in on 160Kmiles. . .

That was the part that I was hoping it would not be. . . Upedate: that was indeed the bad part. I swapped it out with a unit from a junked car and the A/C now runs "turns your nipples hard" kinda cold. . . I did not install it into the evaporator fins, as I do not wanna take the evaporator apart for a used part. When I get a new one, I will install if properly. For now the replacement is sitting on top of the evaporator case.