blitz

I can give you speed figures @ 3000 RPM 73 mph @ 3000 RPM - '02 OBS 2.5 4EAT. 69 mph @ 3000 RPM - '00 OBS 2.2 5 Manual.

Like Frag says, the lack of backpressure (increased air-flow) will lean the WOT mixture a little bit. Subes map the open-loop rich anyway, so I don't think you'll have any problems.

The '02 OBS is good transportation. If someone bought it, fueled it, and maintained it for you, at best it would be a subsidy. Investment, no. Sirius is a good short-term investment. Gold and Silver are good long-term investments

That's less than a headgasket job, although I'm still viewing the reality of the situation as one where a person runs a high risk of having headgasket failure after 100k miles on top of a blocked heater core, a partially blocked radiator core, and coated coolant passages in the block and head. That's gonna suck. :-\ I figure that SOA calculated the route that would statistically cost them the least, thereby putting the bulk of the finacial burden onto the vehicle owner. The important point to keep in mind, is that it is Subaru's error, not the vehicle owner's error. Now my assessment of the situation is that Subaru is NOT meeting their moral obligation, although I admit it's a bit difficult to quantify that statement. I'm not fanning a whiner's thread, but I am attempting to drive towards a conclusion as to whether or not Subaru F-'ed-up twice (engineering boo-boo, then dis-avowment of responsibility). I think I might have an INTERNAL leak on my phase II (like the phase I's are experiencing). I've purchased a second car in preparation for dealing with it soon.

My main problem with accepting the goop, is the fact that all the commercially available "stop-leak" products each make big a point of claiming that theirs is the one that doesn't clog the heater core. So essentially the way I see it, Subaru has dealt everyone in this boat a hand of trading the cost of potential warranted head gasket replacement sooner in exchange for a likely heater core replacement out of pocket later. I'm not amused. For anyone that knows, what's parts and labor on a heater core? I gotta make a decision soon and figure out which way I'll be getting screwed LESS.

LOL In my mind's eye, I had more of a vaccination scenario in mind. I need to weigh-in and say that I haven't taken the vaccine (yet).

Of those that have received the notice, how many of you have accepted the coolant additive (sealant)? Also feel free to add any comments as to why you did or didn't: e.g. I like the 100k mile warranty extension on the head gaskets. or: I value heat at 100k miles during the winter months.

OK, I've looked around (Michigan redneck market research) and you're gonna need a set of Yosemite Sam "Back-Off" mudflaps and an "I Support The Troops" yellow ribbon cheerleader sticker. That should safely put you square in middle America.

My 2000 EJ-22's got single port heads.

Yeah, see? On my '02 it does that only in 1 (low). I don't know what model year was the switchover point tho. '95 might've been the last year.

This is just a SWAG, but it sounds like the shift linkage was sticking, allowing the tranny to end up in two ratios at once (the one that was stuck + the one that you selected).

If you have an auto-trans you'll feel initial understeer followed by oversteer pretty much everytime you add power on the slippery stuff, which gets a little unnerving (front slips, rear kicks-in ...lather, rinse, repeat). It'll getcha in the slippery turns if your not careful. My pet-peeve with the auto-trans setup is the lack of the ability to lock-in the rears manually in second gear (at least on the newer MY's). Maybe ONSTAR can handle it for me. With the manual-trans, you'll get more predictable F/R power distribution with throttle application on account of the viscous center distribution. If you have a rear LSD, it'll give you a little more tail-out attitude with throttle. Tires make a huge difference in how your Subie acts in snow.

Aye Matey! Avhast ye scurvey dog, swap the poop-deck! Aye, before ye replaceth the filter, dissconnect the line going to the input of the filter (coming from the pump) and do the jar test again. Worketh your way from one end to the other. You didn't answer the question about the initial developement of the problem. Thee vital clue is very likely in there.

Are you trying to add function, or just change the look?

I agree with the previous resonses about the problem seeming a lot like fuel starvation, but I suppose you would also do well to make sure that the ignition is firing properly. The coil can break down under load and/or temperature. As far as checking the fuel system goes, you'd want to measure the fuel system pressure with a meter to see if it maintains spec. and you could disconnect the fuel line and briefly turn on the ignition to pump a small amount of fuel into a jar to examine it for water and/or contaminants. A little history might be valuable. How did the problem develop?

A huge friggin' wing'll make it look ricer! ...oh wait you said nicer? Nicer to who?

I'm confused. Are you saying that you fixed the problem or you didn't?

It's a photoshop creation. Look closely at the front & rear wheel which are both the same image, only re-sized and re-perspectived.

I should add that that you can do the resistor trick just as a temporary test to see if the sensor is giving you the hesitation. You can always re-connect it afterwards. A couple of occasional light pings isn't going to hurt anything. If for some reason it starts knocking like a diesel, don't continue to drive it that way.

Wizzard! Thanks for the vote of confidence tho. The ECU does a continuity check of the circuit by measuring the voltage drop across the sensor's resistance, so you'll need to substitute a resistor in place of the sensor rather than just dissconnecting it. Just connect the resistor from the single lead to the engine ground, simple enough. I think most of the sensors measure out at around half a meg. Mine measured at 560k so that's the resistor I used. I'm guessing you could be off about 20% in either direction and the ECU would be none the wiser as it's really only a rudimentary check for a short or open condition in the sensor circuit. If you just disconnect the sensor (ECU sees open circuit), the engine will go into safe mode and pull about 10 degrees of timing / throw a CEL (which can be reset with a quick batt. dissconnect). I did this about 45k miles ago and never re-connected it. I never needed one on any car I've ever owned before, why start now? They're good in theory, but crude in practice. It'll be a better system when they implement two sensors through logic and compare phase angle and intensity, etc. Hope that helped.

USA TODAY: "30 million cars now record drivers' behavior." http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/internetprivacy/2004-12-27-auto-blackbox_x.htm "When AutoWeek conducted handling tests on a mundane Chevy Malibu Maxx hatchback earlier this year, THE RECORDER AUTOMATICALLY ALERTED GM ONSTAR OFFICIALS, who called the car to make sure the driver was OK after a particularly severe cornering maneuver. The driver was, but later said he resented the intrusion." But... but I thought law-abiding people love intrusions?

Yeah, me too. Back in '88 when organized competition was in it's infancy, I would try to explain the benefits of adding caps in the system to my boss and workmates before it was something that was widely done, but all I got strange looks. All the mindless drones I worked with thought the big obnoxious boom from the subs we typically installed was great, but I would speak up and proclaim that for the most part, it sounded like shyte. Y'know, I'd explain that the sub was lagging behind the rest of the system because of physical inertia. It's tough being an idiot savant.

Ed, thanks for your help. I know I said I wasn't trying to be a ball-buster but actually I was. My apologies. I've had Dunlop Wintersport M2 on my '02 OBS for three, going on four winters now, and as jcole01108 says, they're really close to the Nokian WR's. They are WAAAY better on both snow and dry than the OEM RE-92's ...no surprise. The slush & deep powder performance has dropped noticably with use, but the pack-snow and ice performance still rocks. Anyway, Peace Out, Happy Honky-na, Merry X-mas, friggin' whatever!

LOL Their light truck tires look pretty similar to their car tires except the sizes are bigger. Nothing there'll come close to fitting an OBS. Y'know, maybe I will give the RSI a go, either that or one of the Green Diamonds, but I just don't fully trust a used casing. Y'know how you see some people driving around with one tire down to about 8 psi? I'm afraid that'll be the casing I get.

Sorta sounds like a lot more than what a cap will be able to fix. Caps mostly just increase the amp's pulse-power and/or reduce alternator noise. You might end up needing a second battery, and maybe a high-amp alternator. Another thought, check your groundings. There's always a remote possibility that you might be developing a bit of a ground back-feed of some sort somewhere in the system which is causing one of the ECU sensors or maybe the ECU itself to hiccup by way of driving it's reference ground above zero every time the amp delivers a lot of current. Start with the battery negative post, then move on the the rest of the system systematically. Ground back-feed is one of those weird conditions where stepping on the brake causes the wipers to quit, ect.