Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

mdjdc

Members
  • Posts

    1214
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by mdjdc

  1. If the car sat for a long time the exhaust could have loaded up with poisture and that can take a long drive to get it all out. I've had this happen several times and after idling for several hours or a nice long drive the system cooked the moisture out and the smoking stopped never to return.
  2. The 96 has different pistons and therefore a higher compression ratio. It requires premium fuel in order to keep it running properly. Right now you are depending on the knock sensor to keep it from pinging by retarding the timing. Eventually you will run into problems. This is precosely the reason I replaced the 96 engine with a 98 in my wifes 96 outback. I know premium is much more expensive, but in the long run you will save on engine replacement.
  3. Okay, stop trying to fabricate something. You need to physically inspect those lines. This is fuel we are talking about and a fire would be a bad thing. Also, fumes getting into the passenger compartment cna get you very sick. Dropping the rear isn't that big a deal four bolts at the wheel brackets and two at the front of the trailing arms. The rear will drop down enough for you to unbolt the gas tank and gain access to the lines you need to replace. If they have rusted out in one spot chances are they are very thin in other areas. I would not want to chance a failure after a fabbed repair, only to have to get in there again. If yu have some tools, this is a job you can do. I have a 97 parts car and I'm getting ready to drop the fuel tank so I can send it to the crusher. If you want me to I can remove the lines, inspect them and let you know what their condition is. If you want to do the job correctly you can use my lines and fix the problem with confidence that they aren't going to fail in the near future. Let me know if you want me to get those lines for you. The car is going to be crushed soon.
  4. Okay, I took my 99 outback 5MT for a trip yesterday and on the highway at 65 I got 29.25 MPG. Not too bad for a car with 200k on it.
  5. The lead mechanic at the local Subaru dealership told me to drive the P*** out of it and see if it gets worse when I had suspected bearings. I agree with Gary and think that I'd rather blow them before I sand the money into new HG's. If it is the bearings, you are probably looking at a used engine replacement anyway. It's cost prohibitive to have the block cracked to replace the main or rod bearings. A used engine is much cheaper.
  6. Wow, I need to do this to my wife's outback and it looks like a real bear of a job. Why couldn't it be like the Loyale rear bearings? Where can I look at the bearing tamer and does it replace all of the tools noted int the endwrench article? Her car sounds terrible and we are taking it on a road trip in June. I want to have it done before then.
  7. I am leaning towards HG's, but you may have a bad water pump. I bought a car with a supposed HG blown, but ono of the tests run showed up any HG problems. I drove it for two weeks before the water pump let go a second time and let itself be known as the problem. I replaced the pump and have been driving it for 8 months without a hitch. I have taken it on several long distance rides with no trouble. I hope that's what it is Good Luck
  8. You probably have bad bearings. Not the end of the world. I need to do the rears on a 96 OBW, not fun
  9. 96 outback wagon with 98 2.5 dohc auto trans 254k; 22 city, 29 highway @ 60 25@ 67. It needs rear wheel bearings so that may be lowering the mpg 99 outback 5mt 2.5 dohc 200k; 24 city regularly 27 highway. tomorrow I am doing a road trip, so I can update then. I think the winter formulation of gas here has been hurting the mileage:(
  10. my buds sub had less than 200k on it. It all boils down to good maintainence throughout the life of the car. I just rebuilt an engine for his car and we are looking at putting it in this week. Hopefully he can do a better job than the previous owner. Good luck with yours.
  11. I'm going to be the first with the bad news. you are seeing the early noises of a main bearing going. I have a friend that has an early 90's legacy with a spun bearing. Sounded just like a diesel, but still ran great. He even used it to pull a car off of a gravel mound. I pulled the engine apart and the crank and number one rod torn apart by the spun bearing. It was amazing that it still ran and a testament to the toughness of the subie engines.
  12. I have an ignition cylinder without the switch. I sold the switch, but it sounds like you only need the key cylinder that bolts up to the column. I have the key and the ocks for the doors as well so you only have to have one key.
  13. If a 97 rack will fit I have one in a parts car that is in good shape. I'm not that far away and if you want to come and get it the car is almost ready to go to the crusher.
  14. I don't know anything about and I also sent a message to them, but I haven't gotten a response either. I'm thinking that it needs an engine due to timing belt failure. 100k is when they are near replacement, but too far for me. I replace them at 80k just to be safe. If you do buy that one, I have a 2.5 that needs HG's up here in richmond. It runs great with no noises, but I just haven't gotten to replacing the gaskets yet. It is sitting on the floor of my shed. Let me know what you find out about the car and if you don't get it I'd like it. What do you know about the one down there in virginia beach? You can continue this conversation via email if you want. I will be more than happy to give you all the help I can. mdjdc1@gmail.com Mike
  15. Just curious, is that the 97 that was posted on craigslist last night in Williamsburg?
  16. The subie turbos are water cooled. I had an 87 turbo and it was water cooled and I assume they have continued with that design to keep the intense heat to a minimum. If the problem was in the turbo he would have a leak in the water jacket and it would be opuring out white smoke from the tailpipe. I seriously doubt the turbo is the problem. More likely that the HG is leaking, but it could be a cracked head or block. Has the engie been overheated and if so, how many times? When they are overheated seriously often times the main bearings will fail, so that is a telling tail about the engine overheating. The best procedure is to remove the heads and have them pressure tested and resurfaced prior to re-installation. Also be sure to use only Subaru Headgaskets. If you want to save money, look at the Nippon Reinz gaskets. They are the same ones used by Subaru as OEM. I ordered a set and the stickers on the package was identicle to the gaskets I got from the dealership and at t much lower price. I believe that the parts bin sells them. Good Luck
  17. Nipper: That is sludge at the radiator cap, not the oil cap. That is not normal and my vote is also for a HG job. Sorry for the bac news, but my 14 year old daughter and I did the entire job and a clutch replacement last Thursday. Started at 9:30am and drove the car at 5pm. It can be done in a day.
  18. Okay, start from the begining. What year and model car do you have? That being said you will probably have to find a part at a junk yard.
  19. Okay, here is the scenario. I bought a '94 legacy last week and was told that the engine had overheated and the car was parked. The owner had a mechanic look at it and was told the HG was bad. I took the engine out and found a frozen water pump. I decided to do the HG job anyway and overall the parts replaced were; the head gaskets, the water pump, Timing belt and a new clutch. I also replaced the front main seal and the valve cover gaskets. Upon replacing the engine and starting it, I now have a lifter tick. I took it for a short drive, but it isn't licensed, so I couldn't go far. My question is whether or not these engines have hydraulic lifters. There was no noiseprior to the work being done, so I need to know if you all have any ideas for me to explore. Do I need to do a valve adjustment or should I just run the engine with seafoam in it? Thanks in advance By the way the engine has 140k on it and even with the tick has plenty of power and no CEL codes.
  20. Adjust the brake before you get in there and replace. My wife's car had no e-brake, 10 minutes of adjusting and she's fine now. Easier and cheaper. If the rotor is bad, then you will have to pull it and then you can get an idea of the wear on the shoes.
  21. Look at it this way, A car payment today is in the 400.00 range and your repairs will be near one payment. Not a bad investment. I'd rather put the money in and have the payment stop than to have five years of slavery. By the way, I have a set of rear rotors if you want them. If they are actually going to replace the rear shoes and rotors and pads for 140.00 you are very lucky. Last time I looked up the e-brake shoes the kit was 300.00. That didn't include the rotor. I also have a set of rear pads in good shape. Let me know if you have an interest.
  22. My best friend is a mechanic and has one of those machines. First they put a system cleaner in to remove any scale and the car is run up to temp for a while. Then they hook up the machine and flush out the system and Yes it does flush out the heater core. When the flush is done they put in cooling system conditioner, which has anti scale compounds in it. The cost of the flush is worth it so that you get a good job done and get to keep your day.
  23. Why are you asking? Are you looking or something specific? Now you have me curious as I have a 96 and 99 outback. I also have a 97 donor car.
×
×
  • Create New...