v8volvo

Many thanks for the reply. He was able to get into a recommended shop yesterday and they identified the source of the leak as a cam or crank seal -- inside the T-belt cover. Sounds like it's not too severe yet. Wonder if it pushed a cam seal out. The folks in Minneapolis couldn't fit him in for the repairs, only had time to check it out. Fortunately it sounds like it's driveable for the time being, so they're moving on to Chicago today -- will be there through Thursday. Another request: any recommendations for a place worth using in Chicagoland? They'll be staying right in town so somewhere close in would be most convenient. Sounds like the timing belt will be coming off so if it's a place that has some good Subie expertise, that would probably be the best. Thanks again!

Hello all, I used to be a more frequent poster here but thankfully have not had much Subaru trouble to ask the experts about in the last few years. However, I just got a phone call from my brother, who is currently on the road away from home in his 1995 Legacy Wagon. He pulled into a gas station this afternoon and discovered the car had developed a large oil leak. He filled it back up (down 2 qts) and is limping it 100 miles into Minneapolis, MN, where he will be staying for the next couple of days. Any Twin Cities locals on here -- can you recommend a good repair shop that might be able to look at this tomorrow and help him get it sorted out? A Subie specialist would be ideal, but a capable general repair garage with a good reference would probably be fine as well. Many thanks in advance.

Confirmed CTS is measuring coolant temp accurately when warm per live data accessed with scanner. Still need to check it when cold but suspect it is working OK. Perhaps the poor cold power delivery is just due to tune components in poor shape. Will be able to check that out when I get it back home and have access to tools. Not too likely a CTS fault would result in a MAF error code, I think, no? In the meantime, I've cleaned the MAF sensor element with appropriate cleaner, replaced cheap Chinese filter element with OEM Subaru, and cleared the MAF error code. No recurrence of code or illumination of light since then, in 1000 miles of driving over the past two days. Now in Kansas City, MO and running fine. Still a little rocky when cold but seems better than it was. Figuring unless obvious issues arise again, or someone smarter than me on here suggests otherwise, I will get it home to Seattle (halfway there now) and deal with it then. Thanks for the advice.

I'm driving a 1995 Legacy wagon that I just acquired from relatives from Pittsburgh PA to Seattle WA. Since I picked it up, it's had symptoms of poor driveability when cold. Starts a little bit hard, then idles fine but stumbles badly under load until it warms up. Seems perhaps more severe in damp conditions. These symptoms have been disappearing completely after the car is fully warm, but even then it seems like it might be a little down on power. No MIL for the first 1000 miles I've driven it, but just last night when we were off the highway (engine warm of course) the light came on. Pulled codes and found a P0101 MAF Range Error stored. Are the MAF sensors a common source of trouble on these? I searched and found a couple discussions about this code but not enough to make me think it is a regular problem area, and those threads were somewhat inconclusive as to what the fix was. One mentioned that the MAF's in these respond well to cleaning. I have a new air filter on board and could put one of those in, along with cleaning the MAF with appropriate CRC product. Recommend giving this a try? Or more likely that it just needs to have the sensor replaced? I had initially thought that it probably needed a general tune-up to sort out the cold running issues, but now I wonder if the MAF has been the issue all along. The theory I'm working on is that what is going on is the MAF is feeding the ECU a faulty signal (probably low), which makes it run poorly when cold and in open loop due to incorrect fuel mix, and then once it warms up enough for the O2 sensor to come online and the system goes closed loop, the O2's feedback allows the ECU to correct the fuel mix and compensate for the incorrect MAF signal. Sound like a plausible explanation? Next move? Try cleaning sensor? Replace? Keep driving and hope it doesn't recur?

All fixed, with a new bracket. As I was taking it apart, the tensioner bolt actually felt fine as it loosened up, and threads looked good. Probably would have been fine after all, but I already had a new bracket so put it on and put it all back together. Better to have the peace of mind anyway -- even if all looked and felt good now, that little bit of give I felt when tightening was reason enough to re-do it. For my $26, new bracket is a faster/easier/better solution than a longer bolt or heli-coil. The threads are relatively fine on that bracket and could easily have failed if overtorqued. The bolt does not go particularly deep into them, either, so the thread contact area is not that great. All good reasons to not overtorque it. I torqued it to 18.5 ft-lb according to the specs I found. Other idlers torqued to 29 ft-lb. The tensioner through-bolt really should not see much force, since the tensioner's pivot point is quite far away from where the roller contacts the belt and where the hydraulic piston puts its opposing force on, so the lower torque value for that bolt makes good sense. Felt much better about the finished product second time around. Was even faster the second time -- whole job was barely an hour and a half start to finish, done without removing rad or fans, and including replacing the bracket and compressing the tensioner! Thanks to all for the advice. Subie is happy and ready for its next 105k miles.

In seeking out more information about this, I came across the following: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-950004.html This suggests that part number 13156AA052 can be used to repair stripped tensioner threads, by replacing the bracket the tensioner mounts to, at least for the '97 EJ22 being discussed in that thread. My application charts show the same tensioner being used for virtally all EJ-family engines from 1997-onward, including both that EJ22 and the EJ253 in this '06 OBW. I suppose that indicates that the bracket the tensioner mounts to is probably the same, too, and is correct for this application as well. Bracket is available for less than $35. At that price it is well worth going back in and re-doing it right. Seem likely that this will be compatible? Would much rather replace this bracket than wait and have the engine blow up a few miles down the road.

I did something stupid, and changed the T-belt on a family member's 06 OBW without checking torque specs first and without using a torque wrench. Was putting it back together and tightening everything down, and as I tightened the through-bolt for the TB tensioner pivot, giving it one last bit of twist I felt that sickening give of a bolt stretching, or threads being pulled out. Uh-oh. Went ahead and finished the job, since at that point it was just sticking the balancer and covers back on. Car started up and drove out of the garage fine, and has been sitting waiting for me to figure out what to do about it. Bolt felt solid and tight after I removed the tool, and tensioner tightened up fine, but I am uncomfortable. Tensioner was a new one ($$$), I looked at the bolt from the old tensioner and the section that threads into the engine is quite short and the threads are relatively fine... as I was afraid of. Torque spec for this is in the neighborhood of 15-20 ft-lb, as I know now having looked it up after the fact. I'm sure I put twice or three times that amount on it. End of the day and wanted the job done. Now paying the price. Does anyone have any experience with this type of situation, and any ideas for how to resolve without major work? Is there enough room/threads in the hole to use a longer bolt? Heli-coil the only option? Maybe bolt just stretched and can replace with one out of old tensioner?? Thanks for any advice or ideas on how to get out of this bind...

Thanks for the advice. Will have all basic tools on board, wrenches, sockets, etc, as well as vital fluids. Will have a look at brakes and belts etc. Hope I won't have to do a timing belt on the road but can do if need be. The car has been cared for regularly but it hasn't been babied. Think they have kept on top of the major stuff though. Will be keeping a close eye/ear/nose on it the whole way through. I think it will make it. :cool: Does the Brighton model have cruise? Suspect it does not since those seem like they are stripped down to almost nothing equipment-wise. I will miss it if it's not there...

In several weeks I will be taking a '95 Legacy Brighton wagon into my custody from relatives who are replacing it with a newer Sube. This Legacy was bought new in California, has lived in many parts of the US, and has spent the last 8 years or so in Pittsburgh, PA. It's been stolen and recovered, it's been driven across the country several times, and it's closing in on 200k... so it has seen its share of tough miles and hard use. It's being kept in the family due to emotional attachment. I am picking up the car in Pittsburgh and driving it directly back to Seattle after a stop in New York City. In short, I am going to arrive in town, get in the car, and immediately put about 4000 miles on it. The car has been maintained and is in good working order but, having done this sort of trip in old tired vehicles before, I'm familiar with the importance of being prepared for problems. I'm hoping to get a handle on what some of those problems might be, and specifically, if there's anything I ought to try to get taken care of pre-emptively before hitting the road. Or any tools I specifically ought to have along besides the usual collection of standard stuff? My experience is with diesels, VWs, and Volvos (or best of all, Volvo and VW diesels ) so I'm quite able to tackle whatever may need attention, but haven't spent as much time around Subes. I understand that this engine is one of the non-interference ones, so I am not going to worry about the TB. Looks like headgaskets are not as much of an issue on these either. What should I expect to go wrong with it, and what should I plan to do to it? Anything particular to check or keep an eye on beyond the usual? Thanks in advance.

Many thanks for all the help. Brought it in to the shop today so I could take a better look at it with some night..... Well, the news is pretty ugly. Classic HG failure. The expansion tank has a coating of black scuzz on the inside of it, coolant is dark and cruddy, bubbles coming out of the overflow hose all the time when running. I stuck my nose into the overflow tank and the stink nearly knocked me on my back. Like sticking my face into a bucket of gasoline. I'm spoiled by working on biodiesel cars all day that smell nice. Gassers really stink. In any case, all the signs are pointing to one thing...... hard to avoid the unfortunate conclusion. What a cruddy design. I'm bummed, I knew this motor was a ticking time bomb but I thought it might at least make it to 100k. I'm just finishing up building the car that is going to replace it and we were getting ready to sell it. Dang. I guess I will be doing gaskets in it. Or better/cheaper to swap in an EJ22? My folks also have an 06 OBW with 85k on it now, bought it at 73k last year. Wondering about its HGs now too. Seems like these engines are just fragile. Nothing like my beloved Volvo Turbodiesels..... So the question now is, what route do we take from here? Dump the '97 cheap with blown headgaskets as a project for someone else? Replace the gaskets and sell it? Drop in an EJ22 and sell it? Or replace the gaskets or engine then keep the '97 and sell the '06? The reason they bought the '06 is they need AWD in the winter but were getting worried about the '97 blowing its gaskets, which has now happened. However if I go ahead and fix the '97 it will be reliable again, and maybe the '06 engine will still be a question mark. Is a properly repaired EJ25 P1 or an older EJ22 a better bet than a new EJ25? We all hate the way the 2006 handles, feels very unstable, and the shift strategy of the transmission is horrible. The old '97 steers much better so if the drivetrain could be relied upon that seems like the nicer car to me... Any opinions? Thanks again for all the help.

Dealing with some odd cooling system symptoms on a 1997 Outback. This car has been in the family since 2003 but my folks drive it so I don't have much chance to pay attention to it. Took it in to do some work to it yesterday and on the way home it did some weird stuff. The problem occurred after I idled down a long hill in traffic on a cold evening with the heater on full hot, blower fan on "2" and engine fully warm. We were inching down the hill, trans in neutral (5-speed). When we got to the bottom, I noticed the heater was blowing cool air. Soon after that, the temp gauge began to wander upward. Pulled off the road, shut down (didn't let it get hot) and checked fluids. All full and clean. Started back up and drove home with no further issues -- temp stayed normal. When we were safely home, I decided to go for another spin and try to replicate the problem again. In order to get it to act up, you have to do a few certain things: heater on full blast, fan all the way up, engine warm, and IDLING. If you let it sit and do this for 5 minutes, the air eventually gets cold, and then the temp starts to climb. But if you raise the revs at any point, the cycle resets and the heater gets toasty again and no temp spike. I know the Subaru thermostat/heater circuit is a funky (read: stupid!) design. I'm in the middle of swapping an EJ22 into a Vanagon and we have taken steps to avoid the thermostat issues in that setup by installing a bypass circuit that prevents cold air from the heater return hose from making the thermostat close on a warm engine. Here is my theory: with engine idling, coolant is not pumped fast enough through the heater circuit to prevent the heater core from being cooled by outside air being blown over it. Then the return to the thermostat becomes cold too, and makes the t-stat close. If you rev it up, a flood of hot coolant enters the heater core, heats it up, heats the thermostat up, and everything stays happy. Am I way off on this? Shoot me down if I'm missing something. I know these engines are notorious for headgasket problems. My folks bought it at 33k and it now has 95k on it. Still pretty young and a great runner. I would hate to see them have to go through a HG ordeal. Wondering if these are symptoms people see in cars that *don't* have headgasket issues or if it is a clear HG problem. The car got a new thermostat, water pump, and timing belt 15k ago. Last thing: when you turn it off, there is a gurgle from the heater core. Air in the system, sounds like. But from where? It wasn't there before. Telltalte head gasket failure? Apologize for the ignorant questions, I spend all day working on diesels which act very differently when they lose a HG. These Subies are a different animal and I am not as familiar with their ways and tendencies.

Our Michelin HydroEdge did a fine job getting across the North Cascades to our cabin near Mazama WA, which includes a steep mile-long snow and ice driveway. No problems with snow traction. Good tire and should last a long time. Car handles well and pretty quiet. We paid $146 each, mounting included, at Discount tire. I'll give updates as they roll along... car is already at 73k, so if these things last like they supposed to the next set of tires will see the odo over 120k! The treadware warranty is 90k and I know they won't get that far, but should do better than most.

You're in the Northeast, so I would think rust would be the #1 issue. If your rocker panels, doors, floors etc are solid, the car is worth fixing and keeping. If not, time to move on. Rust is one thing you can never really fix.

Well, after reading a lot of reviews on Tire Rack, we just ordered a set of Michelin HydroEdge tires for the 06. We were on the fence about the Goodyear TT's because they sound like a great tire, but the Michelins sound almost as good in the snow and maybe better in the rain (which is what a lot of our driving involves in Seattle). They also cost $20 less per tire at Discount, and have slightly longer rated treadlife. Also, I just have trust in Michelin tires so I'm always happy to buy em. Here's the chart I used to make the decision, which might be useful as a resource to others in the future. The GY TripleTred and the Mich HydroEdge more or less neck and neck at the top. That Dunlop SP60 Howard mentioned is also right up there. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=AS Doesn't sound like too many on here have used the HydroEdge so this will be an experiment. I'll let you know how they go. Thanks again to all!

Personally I love Michelin tires. I have a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel with Michelin X Metric tires on it that, after 25,000 hard miles (two cross-country drives, a winter in the snow on the East Coast, and a lot of gravel roads, Boston potholes, etc) still look brand new and perform great. The improvement when I put them on versus the set that was there before, some Brand X WalMart tire, was unbelievable. It was a whole different car. If those came in the 225-55R17 size we need on the 06 OBW, it would be a sure buy. The only Michelin tire listed by Discount Tire in our size is the HydroEdge. Costs about the same as the Goodyear TripleTred and look kind of similar. Anyone have any feelings about those? Sure seems like there is a lot of enthusiasm for the Goodyear TT so I think that is the way we'll go unless someone thinks otherwise. Thanks for all the ideas and opinions, it's a huge help.

I read somewhere that there are people who consider the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred the best all-around tire ever made. Sounds like maybe a little too much enthusiasm but seems hard to find someone who doesn't have something good to say about this tire. I think that may be the way to go. Nobody on here who has tried the Yokohamas? Thanks!

Right, we don't need or expect them to actually last 80k, especially on a big heavy car with AWD (though the Goodyears are guaranteed for that mileage, meaning if we have to replace them before then there is a prorated warranty that gives us some credit towards new rubber). I'm just looking at those numbers as indications on which tires might be expected to last longer than others. I see people wearing through the RE92 OEM tires in sometimes 15-25k miles in the reviews, which is definitely inexcusably short. I think 40k from a set of tires is a respectable number on a car like this. We've had good luck with a set of Kumho all-seasons on our '97 Outback, but it looks like those are not available in the newer car's size ('97 has 15s on it). They have worn well and their traction has been more than sufficient for what we have used the car for. We don't do enough real winter driving to justify dedicated snow tires. If we get into heavy stuff we just use chains (have only had to do so once or twice in 6 years of owning the old Outback) and get by with all-season rubber the rest of the time. Thanks!

Our '06 OBW with 75k is getting towards the end of its second set of tires and we are looking to replace them before our next trip into the mountains. It currently has some Firestones on it that, aside from getting down on tread, are horrible in the snow (look like sports tires, designed for looks and handling not all-weather capability -- the car had these on it when we bought it used last month). I've looked into the Bridgestone Potenza RE92, which the car supposedly came with when new. I've never driven a Subaru riding on these stock tires but the impression I got from reading about them was not good. Any comments? Reviews online indicate very short treadlife and skittish behavior in any kind of snow. They are also pretty costly. The "most popular" tire according to Discount Tire on this car in our area (Seattle) is the Yokohama YK520, followed by the Goodyear Assurance TripleTred. Both of those seem reasonably priced, have good treadlife warranties (60 or 80k), and are supposed to be pretty good in snow. Any thoughts on those? What have people found works well, or doesn't, on the new-gen Outbacks? Our Sube mostly sees around-town duty in Seattle, which means plenty of stopping and cornering on slick wet roads. It also includes occasional ski trips in the wintertime up to the passes and to our property in the North Cascades, so some snow ability is important too. We have the 17-inch alloys. Thanks in advance for any advice!

With the Subie being our only fossil-fuel-powered car these days, our thought has been to sell it as soon as a 4WD diesel becomes available. However, the fact of the matter is that new cars, especially diesels, are very expensive, and frankly the Subaru has been an amazing vehicle in terms of capability and reliability. And at 9 years old and 67,000 miles, living in a salt/rust-free region, this car has decades of solid usefulness ahead of it. I'd kind of feel bad for dumping it after it has served us so loyally. So I'm starting to look into ways that would allow us to keep the Legacy, without running it on gasoline. Lots of people are talking about ethanol these days. I looked a couple years ago at doing a CNG conversion on the car, and it was going to be a ton of work and expense, plus natural gas is still a fossil fuel. Ethanol is a liquid biofuel, which makes it both easier and more enviro-friendly, in theory. Problems are that it can eat certain rubbers and metals that are sometimes used in automotive fuel systems, and that its per-volume energy content is considerably less than that of gasoline. I think those issues could be overcome, with some help from USMB. I'm thinking a set of big injectors would provide the extra fuel flow capability necessary for ethanol use, and the oxygen sensors would do the rest in terms of finding the right mixture. Sound right, or is that unlikely? Megasquirt is always an option if the mixture-adjustment range of the stock ECU proves insufficient, but I think with the larger holes (from what? maybe a WRX?) and the O2 sensor it should be able to get there, right? Does anyone know if the materials in the Subie EFI system are the kind that are ethanol-compatible, or will new fuel pumps, rails, lines, etc be necessary? I know mileage and power will decrease, but as a car that is only used for around-town trips that are too short for a diesel and as an occasional ski-trip car, that's not a huge deal. Ethanol is not widely available here yet (not nearly on the level of even biodiesel, for example), but if the Bush Admin is serious about its new energy policy, ethanol availability should spread rapidly in the next couple years, so I'm planning ahead. Anything else I haven't thought of?

All right, well, sounds like that's what we'll do too. Thanks for all the advice--

OK, looking around, looks like I can get a set of Kumho Touring 795's in the correct size from Tire Rack for about $200 shipped, which is a great deal (though that doesn't account for mounting/balancing costs). I was leaning towards that, but then I thought I'd call up Les Schwab to see what kind of deal they could cut me. They said I could have a set of Nokia EA-603 all-season tires, for $250 installed. Has anyone heard of this tire? It is hard to find information on it...the guy at Schwab's said Nokia was selling off a stockpile of them and they bought the lot. I know Nokia makes some of the best snow tires available--but do you guys know anything about their mid-grade all-seasons? I'm kind of inclined to go for the Nokias just because it is easier, but don't want to end up replacing them again in 25,000 miles, or being unhappy with their performance, and it sounds like the Kumhos are a pretty sure bet...:-\

The Mercedes-Benz diesels of the '70s and '80s had rear pumps in their automatics too. You could get them rolling in neutral then bang the shifter all the way down into low and they'd fire up. Pretty cool--because they were diesels, you could run those things completely without batteries! A friend once drove his '82 Benz diesel wagon all the way back from skiing in central WA with no alternator and a dead battery. Now that's utility! But to answer the original question, any automatic trans that only has a front (input-shaft-driven) fluid pump will not engage any gears when it's just rolling with no engine revs, and damage might ensue due to lack of lubrication. In fact, that's why they say don't tow automatics with wheels on the ground, even on non-AWD cars with the tranny in neutral. Modern automatics need the engine to be turning to engage drive gears and get proper lubrication.

Wow, thanks for all the recommendations. I think dedicated winter/summer tires won't be necessary; we're looking mostly for good rain and snow grip so probably all season is what we'll do. This car just sits a lot of the year (we have biodiesel VWs we take on summer trips) so the dry-weather grip is not as important. The Subaru only exists for tooling around town and for winter trips to central WA when the FWD Passat TDI won't cut it, and as soon as prices of used diesel Jeeps come down to a reasonable range you'll probably see the Subie for sale here. Looks like the Kumhos or Michelins are the good bet. I would not have replaced only two tires on an AWD car--that was the PO's doing. In fact, the two new tires were both on one side--not on the front or back! I quickly put that right, and I rotate them often so it's not too big a deal. But we will be doing all 4 this time. I thought I recalled 225 as the stock size, but if it's 205 than 195 is what we'll do. Thanks again for the help!

Oh BTW--more car info--it's a '97 Legacy Outback wagon, 2.5L, 5-speed stick, in case that matters.

Hey all, things are coming to a head with the tires on the Subie and we need to replace them. Thought I'd see what people think work well around here. Car has 68,000 miles on it, two replacement tires, two factory originals (!!!). Very worn, all the sidewalls are rubbed white, very ugly and getting unsafe. They're all the OEM type (Firestone something?). For the new tires, I am going to go a little thinner for higher mpg (probably 215s), and I definitely want blackwall tires because we parallel park often and inevitably white-letter tires start looking bad. But beyond that, and wanting something with good all-weather grip, quiet/smooth/efficient operation, and fairly low cost, I don't really know what to look for. What's the favorite around here? I have a bias towards Continentals (came OEM on our Passat, and they're awesome) and Michelins, but am open to anything. Suggestions.....??? TIA... George