Renée96

Thanks for the reply, and yes, you confirmed what I was thinking... it was probably working just fine (or pretty close to that) and I should've searched around on here before messing with it. Oh well, at least I didn't break anything!

I have AC questions. I've read many many threads on here about AC troubleshooting, and to make a long story short, I'm starting to suspect there is nothing wrong with my system at all.... but I'll give you the full story anyway and see if anyone has any input. So for the few years I've had my 96 OB wagon, whenever I've used the AC, the compressor always seems to be kicking on and off every 10-20 seconds or so. I always assumed that was just how the system was designed, and there wasn't enough damping of the controls, resulting in the noticeable cycling. Whenever the compressor was on, the air always blew sufficiently cool. Here's where my problems start: a friend noticed this the other day and said it's not supposed to do that, you must be low on refrigerant, get a can and the cheap gauge/hose from the local store and you'll be golden. I thought, wow, all this time I thought this was normal, but I guess not... so I got the can and cheap gauge and started adding some r134a to the system. And yes, I realize now that I shouldn't have proceeded in this manner, AC systems are complicated and best left to a pro, etc. It was around 70-75F yesterday, and the low side was initially at around 25 psi, with the compressor running, AC on high, etc. I didn't measure the air temp at the vents before I started. I bumped the low pressure reading up to about 30 psi, and I expected the air coming out to be a little colder, but it wasn't... but the compressor did stop cycling on and off, so I thought I was in good shape. I checked it again an hour later though, and this time it was still cycling on and off again. This time I took the temp at the vents, it was around 48-50F. Also, I checked that there were no bubbles in the sight glass when compressor's on, when it turns off, the bubbles show up but disappear right away. At this point I realized that I had somehow hit the re-circ button on the dash, so it was pulling inside air. Once I changed this to outside air, the cycling stopped, and the compressor runs continuously. If I switch it to inside air, it starts cycling. Either way, the air coming out of the vents is roughly 48-50F. Does it sound to everyone like my system is functioning properly? I'm guessing that the refrigerant *might* have been slightly low to begin with, and adding some might have slightly helped, since the AC doesn't cycle on and off if it's switched to outside air... but to be honest, it may have done that anyway, as I almost never use the AC without having the re-circulate button depressed. Thanks for reading my novel. Any input is appreciated.

I'm not Renee, but we used this thread to help pull her engine recently, to do the clutch and fix the "oil separator plate" which was leaking. I wanted to add some things that I found helpful: 1. You can remove the radiator, fans, and reservoir as one unit. 2. The thermostat housing does not need to be removed; just pull the hose off. 3. Don't worry about disconnecting the O2 sensor- just stack some blocks of wood under the exhaust or put a jackstand there. It'll stay right where you need it. 4. The spark plug wires can stay intact. Now some other thoughts: - the trick with the hood prop is cool. Very useful. - we replaced the rear main seal... even though it wasn't leaking. Once it came out, there wasn't even any oil on the inside of it. Is this seal redundant? Maybe that's why it never fails. - we replaced the plastic oil separator plate, which was leaking like a sieve. The one different loctited bolt the dealer gave us went where the arrow on the separator plate is. - lifting the engine a bit with the tranny attached, then putting a jackstand under the tranny before pulling the engine worked very well for getting the engine in and out. In fact, this was the easiest engine re-install I've ever done. Maybe we were very lucky, but it literally slipped back onto the tranny input shaft in something like 30 seconds, once we got the lower engine-to-tranny mounting studs in place. It was crazy how easy it was. - Subaru has done a very very good job of making these things easy to work on. Other than the exhaust manifolds, lower radiator hose, radiator fan plugs, and of course the two engine mount bolts, EVERY bolt could be undone from above the engine. And those that had to be worked on from underneath were still very accessible. For this reason alone, I'd rather pull the engine than pull the tranny. The lower starter nut was a little difficult, but just a little. I can't stress this enough... this car is much easier to work on than others. They actually seem to have considered wrench and hand placement when designing it. Also, the engine is so light (even with the oil left in) that we could shift it back and forth to get the engine mounts lined up without even having the engine hoist connected. Much easier than the Toyota diesel I recently did. Of course, it's a small engine, so no surprise there, but still, it was very easy to manage. The pilot bearing in the flywheel is great- much better than in the end of the crank like many other cars. So anyway, there you have it. Thanks for the helpful thread.

So it was definitely the crank pulley/vibration damper. I got it back today and no knocking sounds at all.

Sorry for the implied confusion, I said vibe damper rather than crank pulley because that's how the mechanic referred to it, and I had just gotten off the phone with him. And Nipper, I appreciate your internet diagnosis efforts greatly. My main intent was to get some unbiased advice on here so I wouldn't have to take it blindly into a shop to get screwed. Or, so I could see if I could fix it myself if it is something simple. In this case, I definitely could have fixed this myself if I was at home... but being in the next town over with no tools or place to work on it, I'm okay with paying the shop to do the work. Oh, to answer your question, the only work done on the engine recently was the timing belt job, which was a few months and a few thousand miles ago. Thanks again for the help, and I'll post again once the job is done and it's certain that it was the pulley that was the problem.

The shop says it's the vibration damper. They ordered a new one, and it should be here in a couple hours. I just read a whole lot about the vibration dampers, and it sounds like some people have driven with theirs wobbling for thousands of miles, while others have had theirs fall off- mutiple times! Mine was only making the noise for at most 30 miles, but probably more like a 1/4 mile... even with the stereo on, I probably would have heard it if it started making the noise while I was driving earlier in the day. Anyway, I really hope that's all this is.

Emily: Does the pulley work loose, resulting in crank walk? Would I be able to tell if it's loose by yanking on it by hand? tcspeer: Nope, didn't specifically check any of the belts for tightness, unfortunately. I hope this all isn't a result of the timing belt change. The shop we took it to has TONS of experience on Subies (as do many shops around here of course) so I'd be really surprised if he didn't know about the greater torque required on the crank pulley. We'll see what the shop it's at right now says though...

Well I had it towed to a shop today... I'll let you know their prognosis. They're supposed to look at it tomorrow morning.

Ummm... well... the oil should have been checked a little more regularly, but usually it doesn't get below the "low" mark between the normal 3k oil changes. But, on a couple occasions, the lifter noise seemed like it was getting louder than usual, and it turns out the oil wasn't even registering on the dipstick. I know, that's pretty bad, but it happened... Anyway, the first time was probably 10k miles ago, and the most recent time was a couple thousand miles ago. The whole time though, the engine always ran great and almost always gets about 26 mpg. After the recent timing belt change and tuneup, the mechanic reported the engine to be running great, other than the aforementioned oil leak of course. As for the overall noise of the engine, I thought it was pretty quiet other than the strange knock (maybe my camera is really really good?!). When inside the car, you can barely even tell it's running. Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it.

Here's another video. I don't know if the wobble will show or not due to the video quality. I tried to get a few different angles of it... and at the end, I tried to see if it would record the sound louder as heard through the dipstick tube, but I don't think it worked. ANyway, let me know what you think, and thanks again for all the help! Click here to watch subie-wobble-pulley

Here's the video clip: Upload at Putfile Click here to watch subie-noise As for the oil loss, I'm pretty sure it's coming from the rear main seal. There doesn't seem to be any oil coming from the front of the engine at all. And, the leak has been there since we got the car, and we've put around 15k on it. If the pulley was loose, wouldn't I feel some play in it if I pulled/pushed on it?

The engine/car has about 150k miles on it. So I started it up this morning and pulled the plug wires one by one... and there was no difference in the sound (other than due to the rpm change). When I first started it, I almost thought the sound was gone, but then after a minute or so it got louder... which wouldn't indicate piston slap, right? Also, it looked like the main pulley off the crank was wobbling a bit, and coincided with the knocking sound. When the engine is revved, the pulley visibly smooths out and so does the sound. I stopped the engine, and pushed and pulled on the pulley, and it seemed very firm and didn't move at all. Is it possible for the whole crank to move axially while the engine is running? I took a short mpeg clip with my camera, does anyone know a good free place to post the video so yalls can hear what it sounds like? Thanks!

Oh yeah, should also mention that the timing belt was replaced a few thousand miles ago, by a very reputable shop, so I'm inclined to think its not the tensioner or something like that...

'96 OBW with 2.2 engine. Engine always runs well, but has slightly noisy lifters, which quiet down at every oil change. Also has a rear main seal leak, so the engine has been run low on oil a couple times... never overheated or got any oil warning lights though (not that that means much). Anyway, I went to start the car today after it had been sitting for a few hours, and immediately noticed a knocking noise that I haven't heard before. It *might* have been there earlier in the day, but the radio was on so I wouldn't have heard it. I've never heard anything like this before though, so at most, it's only made this sound for maybe 30 miles or so. It was somewhat cold out (maybe 30-35F) so I thought I'd drive it down the block and see if the noise got quieter. It definitely got quieter when under load, but was still there. Power felt fine though. I pulled over and let it idle for a couple minutes, and then it seemed to get louder, as the engine warmed up more. I though maybe it had gotten low on oil again, so I pulled the dipstick with it running just to see if there was any oil on it at all (and there was) and I could hear the noise very noticeably louder from through the dipstick tube. With the dipstick in, it is a deeper, solid-sounding thunk/knock, but listening through the dipstick tube it is a bit sharper sounding. I ended up leaving it where it is and got a ride home. I've read a bunch about rod knocks now, and it certainly seems more like that than, say, piston slap. And I know it's not the lifters. I'm going to try and pull the plug wires one by one tomorrow and see what happens, but does anyone have any ideas about this for now? Wouldn't a rod knock get progressively louder, and not just show up all of a sudden one day? Also, wouldn't a rod knock get louder with increasing engine rpm and load? Thanks in advance for any help!

Well, I got the car back tonight and the mechanic wasn't actually able to find anything flat out wrong with the engine. They did an exhaust analysis on it (I think that's what he said) and didn't any traces of telltale chemicals which would indicate a headgasket problem, so he felt very confident that that was not the problem. The only thing he could say was that the passenger side real cam plug seal was leaking, and that the oil separator plate was leaking- although I still don't see how he could know that without pulling the engine or trans. Anyway, after paying him for an hour of diagnostics time, from which couldn't find anything wrong other than oil leaks, I decided it should be okay to drive the 15 miles over the hill and take the car to my normal mechanic down the street from my house. My local mechanic will tell me exactly what the problem is, how serious it is, if I can do the repairs myself, risks of not repairing, etc. Due to money shortages, I can live with small oil leaks if that's all it is. The mechanic I got it back from could only think that there was condensation or water or something in the exhaust, which created the white "smoke" (vapor?) That might make sense, since I did have to plow through some fairly deep, wet snow to get out of the neighborhood yesterday, although I drove it about 30 highway miles before the whole smell/smoke thing started.

The mechanic mentioned that the smoke in the exhaust could be a head gasket problem; he said he sees those a lot. I mentioned to him that I thought the 2.5 engines had all the head gasket problems, not the 2.2, and he said no, they see them on the 2.2 engines with this range of mileage all the time. I've searched on here a bit, and it doesn't seem like there are very many folks at all with 2.2 head gasket problems.

Nope, didn't check the power steering fluid. I'll take a look at that asap.I've been smelling the oil burning on the exhaust ever since I had the car, so I'm familiar with that. This smelled different, and happened while I was driving at ~45 mph. With the burning oil on the exhaust, that only smells when sitting still.

I'm pretty sure it's not burning oil. It smelled different than that, best way I can describe it is it smelled like burning rubber or something, plus I could see smoke coming out of the tailpipe (thin white smoke), more when the engine was revved. I did that once to observe it, then I shut it off, although it did seem to be running fine.

Oh, should have mentioned, the temp guage never went past halfway (never has since I've had the car, which is a couple months, maybe 2000 miles). Also, it seemed to run fine, no warning lights, nothing at all, other than the smell and visual white-ish smoke from the exhaust, and then wisps of smoke coming from under the passenger side valve cover. I didn't think to check the coolant level, but it wasn't running hot so I didn't consider it.

History: '96 Outback wagon, ~150k miles, 5spd. I knew I had an oil leak somewhere from the rear of the engine, and the passenger side valve cover. I had the pass. side valve cover seal replaced, and my (trusted) local mechanic said that might take care of the largest oil leak, but there was a lot of oil at the rear of the engine and there might be another seal back there that was leaking as well, and I should check the oil regularly and if it stayed at the same level, then the valve cover gasket was the main culprit and I should be okay. That was a week ago. The oil level has not dropped at all in the last week. Yesterday, I noticed a burning smell (not oil burning, more like a burning rubber smell) and saw smoke coming from the exhaust. I pulled over, looked under the hood, and it appeared that a little smoke was coming from under the passenger side valve cover. I had it towed to a garage (too far to tow to my trusty local guy) and they told me today that the rear oil separator plate was leaking like a sieve and needed to be replaced. They said they'd have to pull the engine to do it and they might as well replace the rest of the seals with the engine out (cam seals, rear main seal, plus the water pump, t-belt, and other stuff while the engine was out). So, I told him about the valve cover deal and that maybe the oil at the back of the engine was still from that. I also asked him about the smokey deal, and apparently they just assumed the smoke was from oil dripping on the exhaust pipe, and didn't read the symptoms I gave them. He said he'd have to check that out and get back to me (the original reason I brought the car in). On to my questions: after reading on here, I think I know that there's really no way he could know for sure that the oil separator plate was leaking, unless he pulled the engine or trans, right? If it is leaking, but slow, it's not really necessary to replace it, unless it makes the clutch slip, right? The clutch was replaced, according to the previous owner, about 13k ago. He supposedly had all maintenance done by a local dealer. If they replaced the clutch, most likely they would have put in the improved aluminum oil plate, right? I'm in the process of trying to check with them, but I don't know exactly which dealer he took it too. Any ideas on the smoke/non-burning-oil-smell thing? Thanks in advance.

The clunking happens over almost any bump that the right side of the car hits. It seems to dampen bumps fine. I looked at the bushings and stuff on that side, nothing looks even close to being worn enough to allow things to bump together. Is it possible the spring could be loose or something? Believe me, I wish the dog story was just a cover. At least then I could train myself not to do it (maybe). But her... the only thing I can do is not give her the option. Problem is, she'll wait a few months between accidents, so just when I've forgotten about it, I get in the car and damn!, she did it again!

Well, I did clean the seat thoroughly. I hope anyone would in that situation! If all I have to deal with is the smell, I think I can put up with Woolite carpet cleaner smell for a little while. Thanks for the replies.

great first post huh? I have a '96 outback, with the front seat heaters. I drank too much and peed the front seat. haha just kidding. my dog gets separation anxiety sometimes when I leave her in the car and decides to lose control while sitting on the driver's seat. I just got the car, and was planning to get the cage/ guard thing to keep her in the back, but hadn't found a good deal on a used one yet (anybody have one?). she decided to completely soak the seat a couple days ago, and now i'm wondering if the seat heater might get damaged. I would hope that subaru had possible drink spills and stuff in mind when design ing the heaters, so maybe they're protected, but does anyone know for sure? i've read a lot on here (first time subaru owner) and it looks like I've got some of the common issues with my car: various switch/dash lights not working, clunky right rear suspension, and burning oil smell from behind the engine. the car never gets overheated, and the oil level doesn;t change, and the oil looks good, so I'm not too worried about the burning smell. i'll try the radio shack dash light replacement one of these days, although the switch locations are mostly memorized now. And the strut... well, I might just live with it for a little bit. any harm in that? Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any help.