DerFahrer

Hey all, I know this place is a graveyard lately, but I had a little time and figured I'd share pictures with the few who still come here on occasion of the latest addition to my automotive collection... a car I've dreamed about owning practically my whole life. I finally own a 1993 Citroën XM! It's a Turbo C.T. model, which means it has a Peugeot XU10J2TE, the same 2.0L turbo 4cyl in the Peugeot 605, the XM's stablemate. And yes, it's a manual! Don't worry, the B4 RSK is still around! In fact, I did a TON of suspension work on it recently... if time permits, I'll upload photos of that as well. And I still have the Spectron too! Hope everyone is well!

@carfreak85 I don't daily it, no. My living and job situation is kinda up in the air right now, so it's currently sitting in a friend's hangar about 20 miles away. @Loyale 2.7 Turbo yes the Besta/Bongo was a license-built version of the Bongo that Kia made themselves. My Spectron, however, is made by Mazda in Japan (the VIN plate actually says, in English, "manufactured by Mazda Motor Corporation"), that's why it's right-hand-drive. That's one of the strange ironies I enjoy about it, it's badged as a Ford (an American car company) but it's made in Japan for the Japanese market and then it was imported into America Thank you all for the kind words!

Hey all, been a long, LONG time since I've been on this forum... nearly 5 years, in fact! I still have the B4 RSK; it's waiting patiently in storage for 1) the corona virus to pass and 2) for me to get a job :-( But one other thing I've acquired in the last year that I thought you all would particularly enjoy is this ludicrous thing... ... it's a Ford Spectron! This is the picture I took the day I got it, before cleaning it up a bit. It had Nissan wheels on it, either from a U13 Bluebird (the one that doesn't look like an Altima) or an M11 Prairie Joy (related to our Nissan Axxess). And this is what it looks like now, with a new set of steel wheels and some very, VERY period correct wheel covers: What it actually is is a rebadge of a Mazda Bongo van. Mazda's Bongo was immensely successful in the East, to the point where they were rebadged as Mitsubishis, Nissans, Kias, and Fords. This is the Ford version. So, yes, it's a JDM Ford! Power is from a Mazda RF 2.0L turbodiesel 4cyl engine, an engine that actually did make a brief appearance in the United States, in the `84-`86 Ford Escort and Tempo, and Mercury Lynx and Topaz, and also in the `84-`85 Mazda 626 diesel (have you ever seen one of those?!). Those engines were not turbocharged though. This one is. The results? A WHOPPING 71hp and, I estimate, about 150 ft-lbs or so of torque. It's not intercooled, so the power bump over the 52hp USDM nonturbo engines is relatively modest... but hey, that's over 36% more power! It's rear wheel drive (some versions were 4WD) and it's a 5-speed manual. It's by far the most charming and wholesome vehicle I've ever owned and the best part is, It has less than 34,000kms on it! So I have many more years still to enjoy it!

I saw quite a few 2010-2014 Outbacks that had problems with the hose from the filler pipe to the tank collapsing inside. You couldn't see it from the outside, but the hose would almost completely close off on the inside and make it extremely difficult to put gas in the car. I'd start there.

Yeah, Subaru had pretty much completely done away with that switch by 2010 (although I think the Tribeca may have had it all the way until production ended in 2014). The 2008 Impreza was the first to ditch it... some people may remember my apparently-famous rant about it. I think they did away with it because automatic headlights have pretty much standard across the industry, and thus there's no need for it anymore, even from a legal perspective. If you want the lights on in a newer Subaru without the switch, just turn the headlight switch off and then turn it back on after the car has already been shut off. I don't know if they'll stay on indefinitely (or until the battery dies) or whether they're on a timer, but they will come on.

An even more extreme example:

Sorry, I had a blond moment. That said, 12.5V isn't necessarily good. A repair shop's battery diagnostic tool will tell you the battery is on its way out at 12.5V, and tell you it needs immediate replacement at 12.4V.

What 1 Lucky Texan said. A battery reading 12.5 volts with no load on it is a bad battery, especially right now in cold weather. A good battery should read in the neighborhood of at least 13 volts - preferably 13.5 to 14.0 volts - with no load on it. That explains your clicking (that means there's enough juice for the starter solenoid to engage the motor, but not enough to turn the motor) and also your headlights dimming.

Thanks Olnick! I'm trying to stop in on some of my old stomping grounds and see what's new. How've you been? Sorry, CPO means certified pre-owned.

I'm having trouble with URLs for some reason, but if you Google "Subaru oil consumption," you'll find the first result is a link to a Motor Trend article where a class-action lawsuit has been filed against Subaru for excessive oil consumption in the FB-series engine.

I'm surprised by absolutely no Subaru headgasket failures anymore. At my dealership, we currently have one 2006 Tribeca that the tech is wrapping up a headgasket job right now as I type, while another 2006 Tribeca that came in this morning is also having external seepage issues. Furthermore, we had a 2011 Legacy 3.6R that was also having external seepage that we had to fix in order to CPO it. It's just the nature of older Subaru engines, regardless of design, unfortunately. I don't know what else to call it. I will speak for the Subaru coolant conditioner, as long as the headgaskets are in the VERY early stages of seepage. I have seen the conditioner bring a stop to it. But if you've already got an internal leak, the conditioner isn't going to be able to fix that. By the way, the bearing in the water pump in my old 1991 Legacy failed at 110k miles. It started making a knocking noise whenever I gave it gas. That's the only time I've ever seen it, but it can happen. So it's something to consider while you're already doing the job anyway, especially on an interference engine.

I hope you find a way to see it through to the end, but I know what it's like to lose your motivation on a project. I wish I could have done what I wanted to with my 79 wagon, but other things in life took precedence over it (graduating college, in my case), and I came to terms with the fact that it was in my best interest to move on. If you do sell it, I hope you sell it to a board member.

A good Subaru should never burn oil. Now, if there's a way for engine oil to leak through solid metal, a Subaru would find it But they hardly ever burn it. So, if your EJ18 (a notorious oil-leaker) isn't leaking any oil, I'd imagine it's been resealed at some point. My Legacy hit 183k last weekend, and that engine still pulls with the same power it had when I bought it with 90k.

It's a uncommonly mentioned problem with Phase I EJ engines. Subaru moved the thrust bearing to the rear on Phase II engines for a reason. I'd say crack the case and see if the crankshaft has scraped up against the walls of the block. If it has, you'll notice it immediately. My guess is that it has if it's moving that much. Even if it has, you could probably still get away with just replacing the bearings. Up to you.