hawksoob

My positive battery cable connector is way corroded, and the corrosion seems to go pretty far down the cable. It doesn't seem to be a problem at the moment. Starting is not a problem and all seems to be well electrically, but I just want to be safe and go ahead and fix it.I know I could just replace the connector, but I figured I may as well go ahead and replace the whole thing, since there's no telling just how far the corrosion goes, and I don't want to deal with cutting and splicing and all that. Anyhoo, I've been to Perp boys, Autozone, and Advance and have seen aftermarket cables for anywhere from $6.99 to $14.99, yet no one at any of those places can tell me exactly which one I need (guage, length, model number, etc.). I want to be certain before I replace it. Now, looking online at 1stsubaruparts.com and from my dealer's web catalog, they have them for right at $79. So, what am I missing? Why is the Autozone cable 10 bucks, give or take, but the Sooby brand $79? Is there more to it than just rounded connector on one end to attach to the starter and bolted connector on the other end? Does it come with a case of bourbon or something? :-\

Just had mine checked out. As far as my dealer is concerned, it's my center diff. $1100 to replace (said the VC itself couldn't be replaced, it's all part of the CD assembly). My tires are all the same circumference. Tranny fluid is good. My mechanic put in a mix of regular 80W90 and some GM Synchromesh, thinking the SM would help things. Shifts smoother than ever, but still binds after driving awhile.) Had the rear diff changed recently. I may try to replace the rear with some synth and see where that goes. Dealer said the new CD MAY fix it, but the problem may still be there even after that. Regardless, I'll be getting second and third opinions, but as of now, that's the state of things.

If it's just a knock sensor, you could A. live with it and deal with hesitation and low gas mileage or B. Spend 50 bucks and 10 minutes of your time and replace it. Pretty simple job.

Good idea. I like that. I'll check it out and see if there's enough substance there to do that. Thanks.

My timing belt cover is separating from the front to the back. The top two bol s can't be fastened because the eye holes on the backside cover are damaged so that the hole is opened ... the bolt would just sort of float up with nothing to hold it in. The bolt on the bottom is completely missing. I put one of the useless bolts from the top onto the bottom, and it's at least staying on, but there is still separation at the top and I'm afraid of things vibrating loose and stuff getting inside there. The question, any ideas on a strong but not so permanent way to seal this up? Duct tape? Some special heat-resistant, super strong automotive tape? I don't want it to be SUPER permanent because I'll need a new T-belt again at 220,000 miles. Thanks

There are many far more knowledgeable folks on here than I, but from experience and what I've read on this board and others like it, plus reading Haynes and Chilton manuals, etc., I can try to help a bit. You can find the engine type on a sticker on the underside of the hood, to your left as you face the engine. Also, you can go to carfax.com and enter your VIN. It won't give you a full detailed carfax report unless you pay 20 bucks, but I'm fairly certain it will, at a minimum, give you (besides simply the NUMBER of records carfax has on file) the year of manufacture, the type of engine, and the country of manufacture. Also, http://www.cars101.com has lots of info re: Subarus ... specs, model year details. Changes from one MY to the next, etc. If you do have 2.5 and are not sure about the timing belt, would be cheap insurance just to go ahead and get it changed. Being an interference engine, a broken TB would be devastating to the motor. Might also want to take it to a dealer and see about the new radiator goo they're providing to help prevent head gasket failure. Since oil pump seal and cam seal leaks seem to be fairly common on these vehicles, go ahead and have them changed when you do the timing belt. Everything's all right there, anyway, so it shouldn't be too much more in labor. Many also recommend a new water pump at this point...again, you're already there. Broken WP = broken TB = FUBAR. Of course, since you're asking how to determine which engine it is, you must already know the caveats, anyway. If so, sorry to bore you. When I bought my 96 a few years back, I went ahead and did the timing belt, the seals and also the radiator hoses, not knowing what was and was not done by the PO. I'm sure you'll get many more bits of advice from the more knowing ones on this board. Good luck! Hawk.

Yesterday, I bought some cheap Coastal brand ATF Dextron stuff from Autozone. Topped off my P/S fluid reservoir, as per the leak. Went for a long drive of about 50 miles today. Got home and did a couple of slow, extremely sharp right hand doughnuts in the back yard. No binding. Smooth and easy turns. Once I get the leak fixed and have that bushing replaced at the dealer this weekend, and get fresh fluid in there, I'll go for another long drive and see what's what... Test it again. Would be very nice if a leaking P/S hose is the only problem, instead of having to replace the center diff. :-\

Having seen occasional complaints about mysterious popping noises and seeing the usual suspects being bantied about, I thought this might be an interesting (albeit somewhat long ... sorry) story: Last week I started to notice a really strange, loud, poppy/clunky noise sort of from the dash area whenever I would accelerate a little bit, then release the gas. This would occur on a very regular basis. Sounded as if the dash was about to just pop loose. Very weird and annoying. Thought maybe dash, something in the suspension that was causing it, maybe engine or tranny mounts. Planning on taking it to the dealer this week for my binding issue (posted elsewhere) so I figured I'd just have them check that out then, too. On a completely different issue, my clutch cable will occasionally need tightening. Perhaps it's old and stretched? Dunno. Anyhoo, I tightened up the other day because I was getting some hesitation from a stop. I would release the clutch and have to rev fairly high and let the clutch out pretty far to get the thing to start moving, and even then it would sort of buck. Just felt like the clutch wouldn't engage. Cable was my first thought. Tightened it. Afterwards, pickup was just fine and there was no more faltering. PLUS ... this is the part I didn't expect ... no more popping noises. I made the association with the cable being tightened. "Cool, I fixed it." I drove around for awhile and after an hour or so, the popping came back. "Damnit," I thought. "It's not the clutch cable after all." When I got home, I checked the clutch cable again because the faltering also seemed to have come back. Well, apparently I hadn't tightened the locknut tight enough because it had vibrated loose and was about a half inch away from coming off the bolt. I tightened it down with my super spidey strength to be sure the darn thing wouldn't come loose again. I've been driving it since and the popping noise has disappeared. It's something I'd never seen or heard as a possible source for mysterious poppy/clunky noises, but perhaps that's another possible place to look for anyone who may be experiencing any?

Also, as for whether or not I can tell if there's a steering problem, ie PS not really working right ... it's hard for me to really tell. I got so used to my old Geo Prizm and 8 years of rack and pinion, that power steering is sort of alien to me. If there's a difference from when I bought the thing 2.5 years ago and now, it's subtle at best.

It's entirely possible that the two problems are indedpendent of one another. The original post WAS in reference to a binding in the wheel, like you describe in yours. However, when I first posted over on NASIOC, a couple of posters asked about the power steering pump or the PS fluid level. That just didn't seem right to me, especially since it seemed to be a heat think. If the PS fluid was low it would do this all the time, right? It only does it after extended driving. Recently, when doing a search here on PS fluid leaking, some of the threads started out mentioning a similar issue, and the answers from some were "check your PS fluid level" and the like. My thought was, also, that if there is a HOT and COLD indicator on the PS fluid dipstick, then perhaps whatever route the fluid must take in order for it to rise in its level may be thwarted somehow ... perhaps by this leak. The car gets nice and warm and suddenly the PS fluid is lower than it should be. Just a thought, since I really don't know the mechanics of that system. Anyhoo, I'm just trying to narrow stuff down before I shell out a grand or more and not actually get the problem fixed. I'd like to go to the mechanic and say, "This is what's happenening, please check it out, I've noticed ______, and ______, and_______. Any other ideas?"

Curious: It may have been mentioned before: I was poking underneath my car the other day and noticed 2 things. The most obvious being a rubber gasket of some sort seems to be coming out of the steering shaft (?) Rod? axle? (not CV axle. I know what that is.) Also, I noticed a reddish non-oil looking fluid hanging out around the cross member and behind. Dripping a bit. Assuming power steering fluid. May be a stupid question, but could a leaking power steering line cause this problem? And only after extended driving. I'm giving the blame for the clunking sound to the loose gasket and that for the gindy/bindy when turning to the power steering line leakage. Plausible? I checked the fluid level but it's very difficult to check a nearly transparent fluid on a black, shiny plastic stick. But for an idea, after being driven a bit, the fluid is about an inch below the top of the reservoir. Also, any ideas what it may cost to fix a leaking PS system? Thanks.

FWIW: I just read on an Australian site re: VC units- There are major differences between those VCs found in vehicles built before and after the MY99/Version 5-6 STi. Earlier models have a circlip on the coupling, which - when removed - allows the housing to be split and the VC cartridge to come out and to be disassembled. Post MY99s - with their stronger, 6-bolt gearbox housing - have a sealed VC assembly that's impossible to open and repack. The viscous liquid in these couplings, incidentally, is said to be very tacky and smelly. http://www.mrtrally.com.au/performance/viscous_coupling.

96 OBW 5MT: Possible stoopid question: I'm getting a very regular "thunk" upon acceleration followed by immediate deceleration...Forward/lift foot off gas pedal/*thunk* (OK, well, more of a popping noise. Almost sounds as if it's coming from the dash.) My first plan of attack (having read some posts on this and other boards) is the front stabilizer bar bushings. (CV axle is recently replaced). I know they are very old and they appear to be cracked a bit. My question: Does the entire bar need to be removed to replace these? Or do they sort of clamp on? Haynes doesn't mention this, only removal/replacement of the entire bar.

I tugged and pulled and pulled and tugged on mine with absolutely no luck. Was all ready to buy a breaker bar or even air tools just so I could do it myself. I finally decided to take my bottle of Valvoline 75W90 GL-5 to my mechaninc and he did it for me for 10 bucks. Nice to do stuff yourself, but this time, I figured it was worth the 10 bucks to just get it done. I mean, the 1/2 inch adapter for my socket wrench cost about $5, the breaker bar would have been about $20+. Then there's the convenience of a pump to get the stuff in - extra cost. $10 was a bargain. I recall reading in Haynes that the proper toque on the plugs is like 37 ft/lbs. Not sure if they get extremely overtorqued when they're put in at the manufacturer or if they seize up over time due to extreme heat sort of welding the bolt to the casing, but it seemes as though EVERYONE has a difficult time getting them out with hand tools.

Mine were out a bit. Had the mechanic check the switch. Said it was bad. Thereafter, they started working. Not sure if taking it out and putting it back in fixed it or what. It was covered in oil from an oil leak. Cleaning it off a bit to check it may have fixed it, as well. Also, it may be coincidental to the above, but I noticed a brake light out one day. It wasn't really until after that when I noticed the backup lights working again. Perhaps the bad brake light altered the circuit? Not really sure. But, if you need to change it, my research from the experience indicates gbhrps is correct. Left side of the transmission, plug with a wire coming out. They're about $25-$30 online. Unhook cable, unscrew switch, reverse with new. Might need to put it up on ramps or jackstands. it's a tight fit under there.

Thanks for the info. Actually, I've got all the power and zip I could want. It's a "rocket" compared to how it was a year or so ago. Compression seems to be quite good. Good pickup. Cruises at 85mph @ 3800 RPM or so and still has strong passing ability. Just noisy I suppose. Hey ... did I highjack this thread?

What would be the symptoms of said cam wearoutage?

Just did the oil change. Valvoline Maxlife High Mileage, 10W30, plus half a bottle of the Valvoline Engine Protector. The clicking is still there a bit, but much quieter and not at idle. Only at hard revs. Will see how it goes til the next change.

Also, if you register with my.subaru.com, you can get a listing of maintenance schedules. Plus, any information on recalls and such. YOu can keep a schedule of your repairs and maintenance work on there, and if your dealer is hooked up with them, they will put whatever work they do n there. Nice way to keep track of stuff.

Yeah, I look at BOBISTHEOILGUY once in awhile. Some good information over there, but it's frustrating sometimes. "Pennzoil sucks!"/ "Pennzoil is the best oil EVER!" / "Walmart's Supertech is horrible. It's only slightly better than Valvoline." /"I've been using Valvoline on all my cars since they were new and I have 300,000 miles on all of them." / "Supertech is the best thing going!" and so on ... About the only consensus on anything over there is that Fram filters suck. So, I take what's said over there with a grain of salt and try to filter out truth from opinion. Difficult sometimes. Anyhoo ... much rain out today, so oil change isn't going to happen.

Yep. It's a 2.2. And yes, most things I read about piston slap mention it as a sort of design issue in the 97s and later. I suppose the earlier ones do it too, only after conmsiderable age? Again, I'll see after the next oil change. Any additives, besides the Maxlife stuff, that might help? Or, a particular oil? I've been using the Maxlife oil lately (free rebate ... worth a try).

Mine slaps pretty much constantly at the moment. It's always done it for the first few minutes before warm up, but now it does it pretty much any time I'm at idle. About to do an oil change. First one since my oil pump O-ring was replaced (assuming the mechanic put my old oil back in instead of refilling with new. I wasn't charged for new oil like I was charged for new coolant that they had to remove because they had to take out the radiator to do the job, so I assume they just put my old back in.) It's been 3300 miles since last oil change. About 1200 of those have been long trip, highway miles. I added some Valvoline Maxlife Engine treatement stuff a bit after the last change. That seemed to reduce the clatter for the first 1000 miles or so thereafter. I always hear it's no big deal if it's just after startup until warmup, but since it does it pretty much all the time at idle (and if it continues to do so after the next change) should I be concerned about this?

Those things helped mine with that problem considerably. I was told when I got mine that they were just slugs. Don't expect a zippy car at all. That hesitation and lack of power was just normal. "What do you expect from a 4-cylinder wagon," they'd say. After about a year and a half of ownership, I decided I'd get a tuneup. Hadn't had one and didn't know the previous owner's maintenance record. New plugs and plug wires, etc. Major difference. THEN: That was followed by an injection of Techron. Even more imporovement. Then, new fuel filter. Even MORE improvement. New knock sensor (at behest of CEL) helped as well. New air filter capped it off. My former slug is now zippy zippy zippy.

cool. Thanks!

repeated for some reason. Couldn't delete. oops.