porcupine73

Seanski the only real thing I see that could be a problem there is if you make a lot of short trips (where the engine oil doesn't have a chance to get up to say 180 deg. F) as then the fuel and water condensation in the oil doesn't really have a chance to get out of the oil. But you say you drive 25 miles each way to school every day and that should be sufficient to get the oil up to temp; it takes me about 20 miles in cool weather to get oil to 180 deg. F.

The bypass filter not only reduces engine wear, but can also significantly increase the OCI (on a quality oil that has a sufficient TBN, not getting overly fuel diluted, etc.). From a cost standpoint, it is possible to save money with bypass filters and increased OCI's probably more so in OTR trucks than it is in passenger vehicles. Also, if the interest of the bypass filter is for reduced wear, it might be of use to consider oil preinjection such as from a canton-mecca accusump to shoot a quart of oil or so before startup. Are either of these necessary in a passenger car? Probably not, as there sure are lots of Suby's and other vehicles making plenty of miles on the engine without them and as already stated it is likely other systems will have issues before the engine wears out.

The basestocks in synthetic oils of course are either group IV (PAO) and/or group V (ester), and some companies will say group III is synthetic although is actually made from petroleum. There are different quality levels of basestocks. The additive pack is critical also as you need quality AW anti-wear and other additives (antioxidants, etc.) and there are many types available to the oil blender, some are cheap and some cost more. If you look at the specs on various oils, you will see many differences between the pour point, flash point, TBN, viscosity at various temperatures, HT/HS, etc., all of which must be weighed determining on the application. Often, the blenders buy the additive packs from places like Lubrizol, who then suggests a basestock to use with it to meet the target specifications such as API-Swhatever.

The tp filter works very well from what I've seen esp. if you use the right kind of tp. I didn't really want the mess/hassle of changing the tp fairly often, plus you need makeup oil every time you change the tp (or any filter of course). I use the big eabp110's which are 2qt capacity filters and I think it would last 30k miles before needing a change because it's full. If you have an AT I would consider some sort of bypass or bypass used as a full flow for the ATF probably before worrying about the engine oil. For this purpose on my 4eat phase II I run two eabp110's (in parallel) in series with the cooler circuit, plus that gives me an additional gallon ATF capacity.

A mechanics stethescope would work wonders to pinpoint the noise; when I was trying to find a noise I couldn't tell where it was coming from other than 'the engine compartment', but with the stethescope it was simple to pinpoint the exact source without guessing.

What year/model vehicle do you have? It looks a lot like my '00 2.5L intake. Anywho, for whatever reason the Subaru doesn't have any 'breather' filters like I've seen in other vehicles for the PCV return to intake and valve cover to intake lines (both on the intake side of the air filter). That definitely looks like a little oil blowby or something in there which of course is sticky and then dirt sticks to it. Some amount of dirt after the filter there is normal; no air filter is 100% efficient at small micron sizes. Then that stuff sticks to the oil that's in there. You could consider putting in a PCV return 'catch can'; many people make them from various plumbing and compressed air components. Your throttle body does look like it could use a cleaning; I love to use redline SI-1 in a spray bottle warmed in a hot water bath, block throttle full open, spray in there, wait a while, then brush gently with a soft nylon brush or toothbrush, spray some more, til it melts off, lots of smoke for a minute on startup but clean TB, I accept no liability for this as some manufacturers say there's some coating on the throttle butterfly that can be damaged by cleaning. A shop light and inspection mirror are your friend on this job unless you plan to actually remove the TB.

If you're going to replace an O2 sensor, I'd start with first if you don't know when it was last replaced. That is the one used for the air/fuel ratio control loop after it's hot enough (typically a few minutes after startup). Anywho, the rear is typically used only to determine if there's issues with the catalytic converter which might make you not pass emissions inspection depending on your state. What you want to know is the exact code autozone pulled (i.e. P0123 or whatever). If the code reader gives a description, it's the generic ODBII description, but with the code you can find out exactly what Subaru says about it. P1abc codes are manufacturer specific. There are other sensors issues that can cause the symptoms you described.

If you're using a true synthetic oil (i.e. with group IV and/or V basestocks) you should have no issues with 10W30 as synthetics have superior cold flow properties to dino anyway. Last year I ran 20W50 synthetic for the whole year, cranked a little slower on really cold mornings but still started fine. Synthetic oil is superior to 'high mileage' oil. High mileage oils typically just have a different additive package or more of particular additive(s) to help with things like seal shrinkage/swell. If you want to bump it up another notch, run a good synthetic heavy duty diesel oil as these have even more/beefier antiwear additives. (If you're worried about factory warranties this might not be the route for you if the oil doesn't carry API-S* certification as it might have more than the 900ppm or whatever the phosphorous limit is now).

Aftermarket I'm not sure, I think maybe some have gotten them from NAPA. OEM springs are easy to get from any Subaru dealer; I got mine online from subaru-parts-dealer.com.

Dude for that price you could easily just buy from an online Subaru dealer and know you got the correct OE part (maybe it is that Denso I don't know). Cheap is not what you want; OE is what you want. Was your 2000 impacted by the recall? My '00OBW front O2 sensor was replaced under recall something about some piece could break off (I only had one front O2 sensor, not sure how many banks you have?) Good call on the NGK plugs.

I haven't run the Frantz bypass system, but I do run the amsoil eabp series bypass on both my suby's with no issues and I have gotten excellent used oil analysis results. Not sure if it's cost effective or not yet. Is the frantz the one that uses the toilet paper rolls?

Brus just a few more posts like this one and you'll be right on his tail! Hm, a post like this increase my score by +1 too doesn't it, well let's get on with talk about the right type of coolant and making sure those tires are within circumference specs!

Dude it looks like you were preparing that car for either a college engineering senior project or an episode of mythbusters. Was the the little pumpkin' that made off with your ratchet before?

Hi, I'm planning to do the outback struts&springs thing on my '96 brighton too; from what I can tell, just order the springs and KYB's for a '96 outback. The strut mount part #'s are the same for both. Could probably just get some of those quick camber bolts from Summit. On parts I'm not sure if they're the same between vehicles I try to find them and compare on subarupartsforyou.com as that's one of the few Subaru dealer sites that actually tells you the part #. I'm not as sure about the sway bars; I'd guess the outback probably would fit as long as the bushings are corret size; there are some aftermarket ones available like from subysolutions.

Are your strut mounts in good shape and not loose and completely rusted?

Congratulations Bryce! That's great news. So com'n do tell about your new tools! That's one of my favorite reasons for doing a job myself! What's next on the list? It's also fun to live vicariously through other fellow Suby' enthusiasts repairs!

If at all possible I'd test the heater core before installing it or at least before buttoning up the dash all the way. You could put maybe 15psig air into it and see if there's any leaking. There probably isn't but that would stink if you found out after it was all back together! Are you putting dynamat or something in for the sound deadening? Good find on the ratchet! Dude you gotta keep important stuff like that hidden under your mattress or something. My 3yr old nephew has a thing for keys so I know how you feel!

Are you pressing on the brake when you try to take it out of park? Sounds like there's some issue with the setup that normally energizes a solenoid when the key is on and the brake is pressed and the lever is in park. The first question would be can you hear the 'click' when pressing the brake under these conditions?

If you're interested in trying an additive something like Schaeffer's Moly E.P. #132 might work, I've heard a lot of good things about this product and they make good stuff. I run it sometimes though I don't burn any oil so I can't say if it helps with that. It can be difficult to find retail but I bought it online.

Good suggestion Legacy777, thanks. I tried that today and didn't really notice much difference. I think it was probably like this all along but I was driving my '96 2.2 4eat phase I for several months (which has zero fear of running near redline) so long that now it bugs me in this 4eat phase II that has this 'deadspot of power' between say 50mph and 70mph because it won't shift into 2nd, even though you can run it to 65mph from a stop if you put it in 2nd manually (but won't shift to 2nd manually above 50mph). Although I do have to admit that people probably wouldn't like it if it did shift to 2nd up to say 60mph because it would only be there for a second or two before going back to 3rd. Anyway maybe it's time for a sneaky pete for this thing! I absolutely love the high rpm power on this thing it's awesome but when you can't get it there.....

Hi Valijean and welcome! A few things to check might be make sure fluid level is not low and belt is not slipping. Another thing might be to replace the PS fluid which on Suby's at least of this year is just Dexron ATF; something available retail that would work is Mobil1 syn ATF (syn might be good for the cold weather issue). I use amsoil syn atf works like a dream. You can't get all the old fluid in one swap so you either have to disconnect the return line and pump it thru (but this is difficult because of the rate at which the pump sucks fluid at idle - it actually decreases as rpms go up). Or you can buy say 3-4 quarts of the Mobil1 syn ATF, suck out the old fluid with a suction pump (harbor freight has a nice cheap one for like $6), add new fluid, let it run for a minute, and repeat until all your new Mobil1 is gone. Otherwise your pump or rack might be seeking early retirement.

Other posts have indicated around this year some kind of issue with a pump seal preventing rapid build up of pressure resulting in delayed engagement but I don't know if it applies to your vehicle.

If you can smell antifreeze then of course it's coming from somewhere. Does very much sound like a leaking or burst heater core. If you must drive it before you can fix it or before getting it fixed, keep the radiator and overflow tank full and carry extra water&coolant with you. Pretty simple to bypass the heater core with a double ended 1/2" or so brass hose barb from a hardware store and some hose clamps, but of course then you have no defrost. (Don't just 'pinch off' the heater hoses).

Hi all, got a '00OBW here with the 4EAT phase II. I had this vehicle down for a turnaround for a few months to do timing belt, water pump, oil pump, idlers, etc., and now (maybe it was doing this before too but I can't remember) when punching it above say 50mph, it will not downshift into second, just into third at maybe a bit above 3000rpm which isn't optimal for acceleration. Now I tested it and I can get to nearly 65mph before hitting redline in 2nd gear, and it will shift into 2nd when punching it below maybe about 50mph or so based on my testing, is this normal or what? Above say 50mph even if I move the shifter to 2nd it won't shift into 2nd. Thanks.

I'd stay with OE for sensors. There was a post on here not too long ago from someone in Canada who got both the cam position and crank position sensors from an online dealer for CAN$90 I think it was. I don't doubt you paid CAN$185 for just the cam position sensor, since the dealer probably charged him like $90 for it and then he doubled the price to you which is pretty common.