wondercow2

Every car I've ever driven has had a timer-based cutout for the defroster. Keeps the wires from burning out prematurely. If it bothers you a lot, you COULD wire up some convoluted thermostat cutout, but that would involve a good bit of a new wiring. I'd guess that the timer is in the switch rather than the ECU, but who knows...

Fuel filter was changed about 4 months ago, so I doubt it's a problem. I'll probably do the wires next time I change the plugs. But to clarify on the problem: when I'm trying to maintain a constant speed, usually at very light throttle, the car will lurch very noticably, as if it were an automatic that was awkwardly shifting. It's a big problem on the highway when I'm going down hill, trying to stay at the speed limit (with or without cruise control), although the jerking is less violent at highway speeds. The car is perfectly happy when it's accellerating or braking, or even engine braking over a long distance. If I'm actually trying to slow down, it feels fine when I slow down or downshift to match the speed. It's just that sweet spot when I give it a tiny bit more throttle to maintain speed that makes the lurch. It feels as if I'm coasting in neutral and then suddenly dropping the clutch, except that the clutch is clearly out the entire time. Engine RPMs don't change at all, so I really don't think the clutch is misadjusted or anything is slipping. I'd be pretty disappointed if this was an engine-side issue (maybe something MAF-related?, because it feels like it's a mount or bushing problem. The carrier bearing sounds interesting- can it be checked without removing it? Do you just tug on the universal joint and look for play to see if it's defective? Thanks for the help so far.

Not recently- they're maybe 3 years old? I have changed plugs less than 10k ago, also replaced PCV and seafoamed the engine. Could plugs really be having a problem that only shows up in one particular driving condition??

In the two years I've owned my car (98 Legacy L, 2.2l/5MT), it's been making a sort of jerking when I let off the gas and then give it a little more, or when I'm trying to maintain a constant speed at very light throttle. It's REALLY annoying, and I think it's considerably more pronounced than "normal" manual transmission jerking. Other than this, the car is problem free- smooth runnning engine, perfectly shifting transmission, synchros work alright, axles seem to be in good shape. I've gotten sound advice from a lot of folks (including here) that it's from slop somewhere in the driveline, so I've been hunting down possible problems. So far, I've replaced the clutch, inspected the wheel suspension (struts/shocks and related bushings), replaced the motor mounts and tranny mount with WRX bits (dogbone looked fine, and had no signs of wear or excess play in the bushings). I did not replace the transmission-to-crossmember mounts, as they looked great even after 130k. What's next? I'm thinking about the rear diff mounts, except that the kind of "clunk" that the WRX crew seems to talk about is related to shifting, not throttle. Could the problem be at one of the joints in the driveshaft? Or is it (as one guy told me) just a fact of life caused by finicky computer engine management that doesn't like that grey area between light throttle and engine braking?

For $200, I'd go digging through all the boxes of generic aftermarket heater cores the parts store would let me look at. There's gotta be SOMETHING that will roughly fit in the air box, and you can always add/remove piping as needed to get the coolant running. (also, this is why you must ALWAYS use distilled water or premixed antifreeze! Tap water eats aluminum heater cores like nobody's business, and can also do bad things to 100% copper units).

Whoops! Well, it's now so hopefully my block doesn't fall apart down the road at an inconvenient point...

I think I found it- it's 12mm bolt, actually smaller than the 14's that hold the bellhousing and engine together. I have no clue what the hole the bolt fits in is for though! But it looks like it fits, and it does give me a sense of deja-vu, since I remember being perplexed when I took something out of there.

Well, I KNOW it's not a pressure plate bolt- I very carefully installed and torqued them. A very long bolt (same size as the starter bolt) holds on the bracket on the passenger's side. There are a few threaded holes in the top of the block, but none of them look deep enough for the mystery bolt. Thanks all the help so far.

Well, I've got that one- it's much longer than the bolt in the picture. (btw, did you notice if your car had that bracket labeled "hill holder" on the starter bolt??)

I finally got everything back together on my poor Legacy, but I have one important-looking bolt left over that was in my "engine-trans" parts container. I don't have any clue where it goes! Also, I'm having doubts about the hill holder bracket- does it really go on the starter along with the ground cable? I'm kicking myself for not taking photos while tearing it down...

Update: used some gentle prying to separate the two pieces, but now I need an engine hoist. The oil pan is too lumpy to balance a jack on (even with a block of wood), so it's impossible to keep it level and move it back toward the radiator at the same time. I got it jacked up far enough and held far enough back with a come-along to get the clutch and flywheel off, but there's no way I can put the engine back in this way. Off to the machine shop and tool rental place tomorrow...

Thanks for the tips. I've got new clips on order at the dealer already along with a separator plate and main seal. I'm attempting the move-engine-forward route, but if it's not working I've got all week to drop the transmission. It was pretty easy getting everything off up front, and there's a ton of room to slide the engine forward. Just need to break the bloody transmission off now (off to spray more PB Blaster). Are there any particular places where I can give either the transmission or engine a good whack? Any special tricks? I was thinking about reinstalling the pitch stopper and using that to pin the transmission down while I genlty jack on the oil pan to try and get some pressure on the mating surface, but I'm worried it might easily snap a pin or something.,

I'm mid-clutch job, and hoped to have this done by tonight but I can't seperate the engine and trans. I have removed the two nuts on the bottom of the transmission, a long bolt holding on a bracket on the passenger side top, the long starter bolt (other starter stud is still in- does it need to come out? the nut is already off). I'm taken off some other smaller bolts from the topside that go in vertically, but they look like they just hold in brackets. Am I missing one? I read in several places that there were 6, but by my count I've only got 5?? :-\

Took off my starter as part of a clutch job. It came off fine, but I broke off a little plastic tube thing (I think it was on the bottom of the starter?) I'm guessing that it's a vent of some sort, either to let out fumes or drain moisture buildup, but I really have no clue. Is it going to kill my starter to have the tube shorn off?

Seconding this. As long as your battery is strong, it'll probably run smoother without the A/C and P/S dragging on it!

Oooh, great scan! I should be able to use that pin diagram for the switch to use a factory switch then.

The seat I have has a thermostat for temp control... could the "high" and "low" settings be sending power through 2 different thermostats then?

If this pans out, I'll try to take photos and make it more of a "mod." But for now I have a question-- Does anyone know how the high/low settings on Subaru or other heated seats work? Is it some sort of voltage regulation, or something simpler? I bought a well-reviewed and cheap seat heater from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-Tech-9738-Heated-Cushion/dp/B000ANOUHQ/sr=8-2/qid=1165549587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/103-6958491-3784669?ie=UTF8&s=automotive It's here, and it works nicely. It's TONS cheaper than other heating pads, and I am very seriously considering installing it underneath my seat cover. But I don't like the idea of using the stock cigarette power adaptor and want to hardwire it, and also do away with the goofy inline high-low-off controls it comes with. I took apart the switch, and it's just a 3-position switch with no voltage conversion anywhere. My guess is that the low setting only powers 1/2 of the heating circuits, and the high does all of them. This is where the question comes in--is this how Subaru heated seats work (ie, the first button press triggers a high circuit, and the 2nd one electronically switches to a low circuit)? Or is there something fancier at work? It'd be nice to use the stock button if possible.

Thanks, that seems right- it fits neatly on the bottom of the mount. Sadly my Legacy lacks a turbo. Does the exhaust on an N/A 2.2 come close enough to either of the mounts to merit using it, or should I toss it in the junk drawer?

I just bought some gently used engine and tranny mounts from a WRX for my 98 Legacy (decided that Group N mounts were overkill, and these were very cheap). I've got 2 mounts, 2 mounting plates, and a transmission mount. But in the box is an L-shaped bracket that I'm not familiar with. The guy I bought them from doesn't know either--the previous owner of his car already swapped out the mounts with aftermarket ones and left these in the trunk. I haven't taken my own mounts apart yet so I guess it might be something I haven't seen yet, but it's a bit odd that there's only 1. Does it go with the tranny? Is it just a stray part? (click for big image)

A bad new-style tensioner will sound much louder than typical suby piston slap or lifter ticking. It has a definite metal-on-metal sound that clearly comes from behind the timing belt cover. Start to diagnose the problem by listening to the engine and trying to hear where the noise is coming from.

I thought it was all solid lifters in 2.5s and phase II 2.2s?

Could even be a worn tire with a flat spot.

Well, is it any easier to drop the trans than it is to pull the engine when working in a garage with just a floor jack and jackstands? From what I gather it's almost as much work as just removing the engine, and makes putting the new clutch on a real pain.

I think I do need a new tranny mount- http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58619 Is this the kind of mount I'm looking for? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Subaru-Group-N-5-Speed-transmission-mount_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33733QQihZ019QQitemZ7988245715QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V (I don't need a group N one obviously, but I haven't been able to see that mount from underneath the car before so I'm not sure what to get. The motor mounts and pitch stopper all look pretty solid).