hankosolder2

Could you go to the suby dealership where the work is done, have them run the VIN and pull up the old work order? I doubt that many dealerships would do a T-belt on a "special extended warranty" headgasket job unless the customer paid for it out of pocket. But I might be wrong. Nathan

I don't mean to be discouraging, but it's unlikely you'll be able to make this work. The traction control system for the FWD Legacy is only going to modulate the front two channels of the ABS. Not much good in an AWD car. Also, it's quite probable that there are differences in the ABS hydraulic block. Nathan

It is not a problem- it is a function of how ANY car which uses wasted spark functions- i.e. the electrodes on the pair of plugs which are polarized one way wear faster than the other pair. (The center electrode is the positive element for two of the plugs and the negative element for the other two- as the spark jumps, a small amount of metal is transferred away from one to another...sort of like electroplating. Nathan

A common place for coolant leaks on these vehicles is the head gasket, which leaks externally. You'll have to visually determine where the leak is...the head gasket on the driver's side fails most often for some reason. Subaru did (I think) have some good will warranty coverage for head gasket issues on this car, but the extended warranty was only good for 100K. Might be able to plead your case. Of course, it could be something simpler like a hose, the water pump, etc. Finding the leak is the key. There are differing opinions on this, but I would not advise adding stop leak. Nathan

Yep, in many states you can fail for a faulty MIL (indicator light) even if the car PASSES the OBD II scan. The theory may be that if an emissions related part on the car fails, how would you know without a functioning light? Nathan

As the others have said, replace your 02 sensors first, but if the converter is indeed shot, and especially since it seems that you're exempt from "readyness" testing, you could install an "02 sensor simulator circuit" on the REAR 02 sensor. This can sometimes be as simple as a diode and a couple of resistors... google 02 sensor simulator and you'll probably come up with a hit or two. It's under $5 in parts. Maybe buy some carbon offset credits to ease your conscience! Plan B...(for better!) see if you can find a good used converter. It's illegal for junkyards to sell them, but you might be able to find someone who parts out Subarus and has one. Good luck. Nathan

I assume this is an engine complete with manifold, harness, etc. The OBD II cars have three(?) connectors on the wiring harness on the passenger's side by the trans bellhousing. The earlier cars had the harness connectors on the driver's side. (Assuming left hand drive US spec cars.) Also, if each cylinder head only has a single exhaust port, it must be OBD II, as the single port heads were introduced in '96. Dual port heads could be found on a pre '95 OBDI engine or a 1995 obd II engine- the only year for dual port & OBD II. Good luck, Nathan

Very interesting. Thanks, guys. I have some "grist for the mill" now. Nathan Also, for those who may be interested in the mechanical BMW AWD system, here's an exploded diagram. I think this is for the auto trans version. http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/BMW/xfercase.htm

This is a little OT, but the first gen BMW 325iX ('91 and earlier) used a viscous coupled AWD system (as far as I can determine, very similar to a Subaru with 5MT.) This car had a 37F/63%R torque split. How is a non 50-50 torque split even possible with a viscous coupling? I.e. it seems that all a viscous coupling can do is equalize the torque going to the front and rear axles by locking them together as the fluid in the viscous coupling thickens up. I'm just wondering if it's possible to shift the drive bias of a viscous coupled MT Subaru more towards RWD (without changing to a DCCD type electronic center differential type transmission.) Any and all theories are welcomed! (Unless they involve magical torque distributing elves living in the BMW transmission.) Nathan

Plan "B" would be to convert the car to a non-ABS vehicle. If you do this, it is important to make sure that you use all the appropriate parts. (i.e. you COULD just couple the master cylinder output pipes to the pipes feeding the calipers, using little more than "T" pieces and various fittings...but you need to find out how the non ABS version is set up...i.e. does it use the same part number master cylinder, does it have any proportioning valves which are not included in the ABS equipped car, etc. This is important to insure proper brake balance for safety. It may be that you don't need any parts other than fittings, but you need to research it first; a half-baked non abs conversion could be dangerous. Do it right and it'll be just like it left the factory w/o ABS + one less thing to go wrong. Nathan

Nipper, I don't think replacing steering knuckles is particularly unusual on a rustbelt subaru... if the design on this car is the same as a '94 Legacy (and I'm pretty sure it is) the lower ball joint taper pin is clamped by the steering knuckle (there's a split part on the bottom which crushes the taper pin) with a smallish bolt (12mm? 13mm)? going into female threads in the steering knuckle-- this bolt gets very corroded and is easy to shear off. Ah, yes, very easy indeed! At that point, you may have to have a machine shop use one of those spark erosion devices to extract the stub of bolt, replace the wheel bearing, etc. Or just install a complete junkyard steering knuckle. I agree with the original poster that the play in the rack may have masked some of the vibration, but I wonder if his mechanic somehow managed to warp the rotors by overtorquing lug nuts? Nathan

Don't forget that it's possible that one of the belt driven accessories (alternator, PS pump, AC compressor) has siezed up. Or it could be timing belt idler pulley(s)! Nathan

Has he already removed the caliper? With the caliper off, there's a pretty good section of the disc to hit with that hammer. Tapping around where the rotor mounts to the hub and applying PB blaster....patience! Nathan

Are you sure the leaks are from the headgaskets and not the valve covers? I don't hear too many complaints about that kind of failure mode. Anyway, you sound like you know your stuff, so assuming it is leaking from the HG... Could you fabricate metal shields to direct the leaking oil away from the exhaust manifolds? Or build up some kind of big ridge (JB Weld?) right next to the HG to encourage the oil to drip at that spot rather than running over and hitting the manifolds? I mean, you're not going to be able to seal the leak, but you could at least stop the smoke and odor if you got lucky. I think you could sell the car as-is...especially to the "right" person. You're not going to get top dollar, but a decent car (is it?) with a rebuilt engine which needs headgaskets for an oil leak sounds like a good project. I paid $3.5K for an exceptionally clean 98 OBW with leaking HG and almost as many miles as your car. Maybe I'm a fool...dunno! Good luck. I hope you get back on your feet financially. Nathan

Gary, I was just curious if your plan is to build a high mileage FWD Subaru- I think you mentioned something along these line in another thread. I'm curious what your plans are and promise not to criticize! Feel free to PM. Nathan

Good one! Nathan

A few notes on this subject: 1.) Some of the early Audis with ABS had a dashboard switch to disable it. Owner's manual suggested disabling ABS when it was snowy out and on gravel. 2.) ABS greatly lengthens stopping distances on cars with faulty struts...as determined by a A/B tests on the same car. The ABS overreacts to the tires "dribbling" on the road and fractionally locking up under braking. This was determined by a German car magazine. I don't have the reference, but this was cited in the "BMW enthusiast's handbook" published by the BMW CCA. 3.) Cars equipped with ABS have a slightly higher accident rate than those without. (there are various theories out there about this, including that drivers are over confident with ABS, drivers are scared by the pedal kickback and let up on the brakes, or perhaps even that having steering control in a panic situation is NOT a good thing for some drivers.) 4.) Personal experience here; I did my own A/B test with a BMW 535i in snow/slush. Tried stopping -W- abs, noted where I ended up... went back to the same spot in the road, same speed, killed the ABS, was able to stop sooner. Not totally scientific, but lends some creedence to the ABS doubters. 5.) Nothing scrubs off speed like going down the road sideways! IMHO, ABS is a useful driver's aid, but can definitely increase stopping distances in the snow. I think that anything which can increase stopping distances should be switchable from the factory, but understand the liability issues. End of rant. ABS or not, slowing down and braking early are the best ways to play it safe! Nathan

An AWD convertible? Now THAT is hedging your bets! Hey, at this point it's encouraging to see any automaker trying something a little out of the mainstream...so no complaints from me. Nathan

Nipper, I see your logic here, but I think you're failing to consider that factors can "stack." The 2.2 has more sealing area around the bores, so perhaps it tolerates thermostat location induced temperature spikes better than the 2.5. A design which is closer to the limit will be more sensitive to any one of a number of factors...the more temp variations the engine sees, the more movement will occur between the liners and head....notice that most of the high mile ej25s without HG failure are driven on the highway (in a 'steady state' condition, as opposed to many warm up/cool down cycles.) That's just my theory, and once again, I'm not saying that T-stat location is the magic bullet, just possibly one of a number of factors in the situation. Nathan

Just to inject another possibility into this thread- does anyone think that the position of the thermostat might have something to do with HG failures? Putting the thermostat on the coolant intake of the engine is common practice nowadays for a variety of manufacturers...supposedly it promotes quicker warm-up, but it also seems like there would be a greater lag in the T-stat responding to a sharp increase in engine temperature, like when a cold engine is flogged hard. Almost all older cars had the T-stat on the outlet TO the radiator. I know that thermostat location has been indentified as a source of HG failure in the Rover K-series engine (aftermarket companies have come out with thermostat relocation kits!) and wonder if the same possibility could apply to the EJ25. (I'm not asserting that it DOES, I'm just suggesting that it might be possible in my somewhat uninformed opinion.) Any thoughts, gang? Nathan

Thanks for the response. I'm glad to hear that some vehicles will have an overide...but, frankly, what's the point of an 6-speed MT M5 if you can't defeat the DSC and hang it out a little in corners? You'd think that the most enthusiast oriented model would allow that. I guess that on second thought I won't be trading in my '91 318iS. (heh heh.) Sorry for the off topic digression...stability control seems a little redundant on AWD Subarus, IMHO. Nathan