jonathan909

Actually, I think one refrigerant is a fluorocarbon and the other a hydrocarbon. Gotta go look this up...

The question nobody has asked is: What are the laws in Oz? I've been through some of this. I'm working from memory here, so the interested reader should look this up to confirm or reveal if/where I'm off base, but the US uses R134a refrigerant and Canada uses R12a. R134a is illegal in Canada, and R12a is illegal in the US - the reason on one side of the border is that it's about safety/flammability, and on the other it's about ozone depletion. The AC systems will work with either (with the possible necessity of changing the dryer), BUT dragons await those who attempt to mix to the two. I discovered this when a few years ago I tried to recharge (with a little retail can of R12a) the AC in my '95 EJ22/5MT OBW. As soon as the refrigerant hit the system (which was presumably charged with R134a), BANG! - the compressor seized. So if a system already charged with R134a needs to be recharged in Canada, it has to first be evacuated before adding the R12a charge, and vice versa. (It's possible that this isn't actually about the refrigerant, but the accompanying oil - I can't remember.) So which do you use down under?

I know this matter is settled (i.e. "yes") wrt the EJ25/4EAT combo, but I gather that this transmission has some differences. So, still okay or not?

You have it backwards. You don't "store" codes in the fobs. The fobs are factory programmed (my guess would be that the chips are laser-trimmed at the wafer level before scribing, dicing, and packaging, but there are other ways to do it) and cannot be changed. It's the keyless entry unit - the receiver in the car - that's programmed for your chosen fob(s). The manual explains the process, and that the KEU can be programmed for up to four (4) fobs. There is no erase process; the way it works is that you overwrite the existing stored codes by programming new ones in over them. I'm not aware of any third-party fobs (transmitters) being supported by the system, but I haven't gone looking for any either. I would doubt it.

Guys, sorry to be catching up with this thread a little late - I could have saved you a lot of chatter. The fact is that there's a lot of bullsh!t out there regarding the Alpine system. As far as I know, I'm the greatest authority on the subject at present because last year I got p!ssed off enough at it to build a bench jig for sorting them out - all y'all should have referenced the thread: Here's the short version: These FOBs are easy to find at the wrecker - I've got a bucket of 'em, happy to send you one if necessary. It's a two-module system - the keyless entry module and the alarm module, the locations of which may vary. You can unplug the alarm module (which will turn off the stupid little blinky) without jumpering or changing anything else. If it won't program, it's probably because the contacts in your ignition keyswitch are worn and noisy. And being in valet mode does not inhibit the programming of new fobs. Questions?

Hello Fairbanks! -35 here at the moment, but we're supposed to be at +10 at the beginning of next week - that's the magic of the Chinook. We have cold spells here, but not like you guys... Yeah, I've seen/used "sheet heaters" like that for non-automotive applications as well. If it helps, great, but it strikes me that damage from rocks and scrapes and stuff would be a concern.

Interestingly, not a problem we've experienced (yet), though we get the same temperatures. I've never seen these tranny heaters. Are they OEM or aftermarket?

I'm guessing the answer is "yes", but just want to confirm: Is the exhaust system (entire assembly from manifold flange to tailpipe) interchangeable between a '95 and '98 Legacy wagon, both EJ22?

Limitation noted. At the moment I'm not looking for high-performance, low-latency data, just a step beyond what I can get from a pocket error code reader e.g. temperature sensor readings. So I expect to get what I pay for when I get a $3 dongle (with free shipping!). As for Apple and Jobs, I 100% concur. He had two heads - one the visionary everyone takes him to have been, the other planted squarely up his a$$. "Control freak" barely begins to describe him and his legacy in their closed, fascistic "ecosystem". And they have a long history of doing unimaginably stupid things under the delusion that they were actually infinitely smarter because they were a product of Apple's obvious genius. My favourite simple but glaring example is that for a while they put the keyboard bumps on the D and K keys (instead of the F and J, which have only been the standard for typists since Jesus first picked his nose). "Sure, it's nonstandard, but it'll become the new standard because we're Apple and we're smarter than everyone who has ever typed or will ever do so in the future." And don't get me started on the abandonment of any notion of ergonomics they established with the iPod Touch and carried into their tracking devices. They're so far behind a 60s-vintage Western Electric Model 500 Touch Tone that it's just pathetic. Bollocks to them. Rant off.

I'm trying to get up to speed on this stuff so I can get live data from an '01 H6 (per previous post). Numbchux suggested Piston, and I cadged an old Android tracking device from a friend and downloaded it - looks alright and should work with even the cheapest ELM327 adapter via Bluetooth. But even that's a story, as the legitimacy of these adapters apparently varies ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327 ). However... I have a friend who uses an iphone, and from what I can see it doesn't support the Bluetooth ELM327 interfaces because of the way Apple implemented Bluetooth in IOS (Thanks, Apple, you have my undying admiration for maintaining your ecosystem's virginity.). So for that he's going to need a (much more expensive) WiFi ELM327 dongle instead. Question is: Are the WiFi dongles supported under the Android apps, or did the developers simply not bother because Bluetooth just works on that platform? And are there any dongles out there that support both Bluetooth and Wifi, or is that simply not done? Wide-ranging discussion welcome, including which dongles (of either communications stripe) should be preferred or avoided.

Thanks. To use it I'd need an android tracking device, though, and all I have around me at the moment is iphones. Can anyone suggest a similar iphone app?

Yup, sure was - nine days for the round trip, not driving stupidly (i.e. maintained my normal wake/sleep cycle, more or less) and sleeping every night (but the two spent at an old pal's place in Madison WI) in the back of the '99 OBW whose EJ25D I rebuilt last winter. Ran flawlessly. Couldn't be happier... unless the Supercat 19 I came back with wasn't covered in snow for the next five months. So now I'm back and catching up. Just did the HG job on my girls' '01 Forester that's been in the queue since spring, so I'm getting closer to tackling the H6. For the "live data", I'm assuming this is a job for one of those newfangled OBDII/Bluetooth dongles and the appropriate tracking device app. I see the dongles start at just a few bucks; can anyone offer some pointers as to what to look for, what to avoid, and which apps to run under either IOS or Android? I can probably dig up an old iphone here but would need to acquire an Android.

Actually, I'm still marveling at the "genuine Subaru" part. I have block heaters in every one of ours, and I've never see anything but a Zerostart/Temro in any of them - or in any car in any junkyard. Where in Canadia you at?

Good questions all. I just don't have the answers yet. Have to embark on a road trip (Calgary -> NY -> Calgary) tomorrow to fetch a boat (unless anyone here is about to head west from Long Island with a vacant trailer hitch...), and as soon as I'm back I'll start fiddling in earnest.

Stands to reason, though it gets better really quickly - as in "within 30 seconds" - and before the engine has had a chance to warm up significantly. But I'll take a look when I get back from a cross-country drive to NY and report results. Thanks.

This is the one I picked up a few months ago on the cheap. Ran well at the time, I've been getting some body stuff replaced and dealing with the fershlugginer (Simbolz) lock nuts on two of the wheels (they came without a key and are a terrible system). Thinking now of pressing it into use. Started yesterday with a little fuss, but it'd been sitting for months and the battery was flat, so no big surprise. Once it came up it behaved fine. Today (ambient temperature about 0C) I could barely get it to catch, even with a little shot of ether (something I've never had to do with an EJ22 or EJ25). I think it's running too lean (i.e. failing to choke) because it was a little backfirey. Once it caught it idled way too low, like barely alive. After 30 seconds or so the revs popped up to normal-ish and it seems okay. Since I'm new to the H6 and have never seen this sort of behaviour on any of the fours, can anyone suggest a cause beyond the usual look-for-vacuum-leaks? Btw, no CEL.

Excellent - thanks very much.

I'll try to remember, but if I fail to, I'm sure someone will find this post and ask.

On one hand, that makes perfect, reliable, practical sense. On the other, if nobody tries the Mahle future generations will search here in vain for the answer to this question. So I'm going to try them. For the children.

Thank you, but you did not answer the question. It could be a better answer than the one I'm looking for, though, so let's break it down. 70.88 USD + 16.52 USD (shipping to Canada) = 87.40 USD = 115.41 CAD Mahle: 78.68 CAD + 5.30 CAD (shipping as part of a larger order) = 83.98 CAD For comparison, my local dealer is quoting 179.12 CAD for pair (of #633). So I can get OEM gaskets from ebay for a 37% higher price than these Mahle MLMs. Back to the original question: Does anyone have any experience with the Mahle gasket that would indicate the cost saving is or isn't worth it?

Looking for a set for the '01 Forester. Rock has Mahle MLM at a significantly better price than I can get OEM from the dealer. Comments?

Am I interpreting this correctly? It looks like nothing connects to them. If they're simply breathers (i.e. vents to ambient), I guess that could be the right answer.

The good pal I sling Subarus with up here recently bought an '06 OBW (AT, turbo). The PO had dismantled the engine for reasons that don't appear to have been sound, and unable to put it back together again, unloaded it on my friend for a song. He's gotten it pretty much sorted out, the biggest hangup (predictably) being all the manifold hoses. Now that the engine is in, the major outstanding mystery is a pair of lines (1/4"-ish rubber) coming from the top of the transmission housing and held in a little white plastic clip next to the tranny-firewall brace (upper right corner of photo). There are no obvious corresponding connections in the engine neighborhood. Can anyone shed light on where these go?

Actually, my '95 has always been quiet, as has the '98. It's the '99 that has the persistent rattle. I'll get to that latch, but it's a little low on the priority list. But the point is that those little spring-loaded bumpers don't take up enough slack to kill the rattle.

Not much it doesn't.