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In case this helps, my 96 Brighton is AWD and was built in september 95.

I had an afterthought just after writing the previous post. Another possibility is maybe you did'nt torque the crank pulley bolt tight enough when you did the belt last summer (60 ftlbs in some manual when it should be more than a 100 ftlbs according to experts at CCR) and the pulley is loose and slowly eating away at the crank = noise, heat, smoke... Look at the pulley when the engine is idling to see if it's wobbling. Also slack the drive belt and pull and push it with some force to see if it's loose. Just an idea.

Smoke coming from the timing belt covers + mechanical noises is a bad thing. Have a look there ASAP. Like someone said, it's probably something mechanical in there (idler pulley, water pump, tensioner, crank or cam bearing) that's going bad and that could mean broken timing belt and being stranded somewhere. The good news is you have a 2.2L engine which is not interferential. A broken belt would not ruin the engine. Good luck!

Sounds to my ear like you have a loose heat shield or heat shields. Since this is the least costly possibility, you could have a listen under the car while someone puts the engine thru the range of rpm where you hear the sound. Hope it's only that. In my limited experience, serious mechanical damage almost always produce a rythmic sound. Good luck!

Good point Setright. Then i would settle for «normal» and «economy».

I got it at Canadian Tire which is one of the biggest chain auto store in Canada, maybe the equivalent of Autozone in the US. You could try to find a store that sells the VDO line of gauges and ask to look in their catalogue. Better still, go have a look here. Click on VDO at the top of the page and you'll find it in the midlle of the next one. It's called a «mini pressure gauge». I have the 60 psi chrome one. Good luck!

Scoobaroo, Indeed electronic injection is much better than carbs. The only thing i miss is the possibility to ajust for a leaner or richer mixture. Seems it would be electronicaly easy to give us that choice on our cars. Just three seetings: normal, performance and economy.

An idea that might interest you. I installed on both my former Loyale and my present 96 Legacy an inline fuel pressure gauge made to tap directly in the fuel line (between fuel filter and fuel rail). It's small, sturdy (brass and stainless), cheap (made by VDO and cost me 25$ CAn) and needs only a T fitting to tap into the fuel line). Since it stays under the hood, you have no problems with pressurized fuel lines going into the car and the next time you have a problem, just opening the hood will let you know if you have fuel pressure. Might even cost lest than a test fuel pressure gauge and will keep on informing you about the health of your fuel system till you part with the car. Easy to remove and keep for the next car. Just an idea. While i'm at it, people should not think that removing the gas cap releives the pressure in fuel lines. It does nothing of the sort, trust my fuel pressure gauge. Waiting overnight or at least 3 to 4 hours will get rid of residual pressure though.

I read somewhere that the flashing CEL means the malfunction can damage the catalytic converter. A cylinder misfire sends raw gas into the cat. That can destroy it if it's left to go on.

Switched at 90,000 miles. No problems. Much easier starting when outside temp is very cold. Changing the oil myself costs me about the same price I would pay if I had it done at the shop with regular oil.

Do you have a CEL? First thing would be to pull the fault code or codes. Meanwhile, all the symptoms you describe point to a malfunctionning coolant temp sensor. Your car's ecu gets the message that the engine is cold when in fact it is hot. Sends too much gas and floods it. That's why it catches when you floor the pedal (= more air and leaner mixture), and when you wait a while (the engine temp drops and is more in line with what the sensor is telling the ECU.) Had this exact problem both with a Loyale and a Legacy. Replacing the sensor cured the problem in both cases. Not very expensive and not that hard to replace.

Your're lucky on two counts: First, both sensors are very easy to replace without touching anything else. One bolt, one connector and that's it. Second, these sensors can be bought cheap (1st Subaru parts for example) since 95. Before that they were over 200$ and since 95, 17$ !!!!!! At that price dont hesitate to replace both = good preventive maintenance.

I have the same car and installed an OEM tach almost three years ago. Around two hours worth of work, not very difficult and not very expensive. There is already a place just right of the speedo to fit it in. You will find here more info on how to do it. Good luck.

Myles, (1) I think we can put that down as a slip of the keyboar at the end of a hard week. (2) I don't see where I was even metaphorically «trowing a stone»... I was not making fun of the poster in any way, just trying to make a play with words. (3) And finally, I think I'm not doing so bad for a «frenchman» from Quebec. :-p That said, I'm open to any assistance one is willing to give me to perfect my english. Right now this board is the only occasion I have to use the english language. Au revoir!

Amoral is evil but I don't know about Armorall. Coud'nt resist. Enjoy your new ride, you're a lucky one. I think people here prefer 303 and despise Armorall.

The problem is the viscous coupling in a mt is completely mechanical. What effect would putting a fuse in there have? Answer: nil. Questions: why is this holder there? Is it really there?

I thought the fwd fuse holder was available only on at car. What purpose could it seve on a manual trans car?

There was another one in the news lately. The last and former head of the Hamas organisation was pulverized rencently by Israeli rockets fired from an attack helicopter. It was specified that he was driving a white Subaru. I remember seeing the remnants of that car on television. Not sweet. So guys, our cars are maybe bullet proof but not rocket proof after all...

I'm not at all sure about that, but the rear wiper switch is maybe a «grounding switch», meaning it puts the motor to ground. If that was the case, you might begin by opening the rear hatch inside cover and have a look to see if a wire is not grounded accidentaly. Where the wires exit the body and enters the hatch door might be a likely place to look first. If you dont find anything, at least you'll be able to temporarily disconnect the motor (I'm not sure the fuse that controls it is only for the rear wiper). Hope you get more detailed info from others.

From this kind of scanners, you get readings sent by the different sensors to the ECU. Water temperature is one of them but not oil pressure. Water temp is needed by the ECU to monitor fuel but oil pressure does'nt serve any purpose of that kind. Would be nice though for the ECU to monitor oil pressure and sound an alarm when too low. Would also be nice if the ECU would sound an alarm when the engine's temp exceed a pre determined threshold.

Buddythedog, what's the «dollar bill trick over the tailpipe»? I think I get the point, but what exactly are you looking for when you do that test? Thanks in advance.

Northguy, if your 96 was driven in Alaska all its life, it is then proof, contrary to what someone was writing on this board rencently, that 2.2L engines, even when started frequently at temps around -20, -30 C°, can have a long life without any head gasket problem. This puts my mind a little bit more at ease. Thanks.

It's a sealed unit bolted onto the tail of the trans. Not serviceable. The fluid is in there between the plates. Here's an adress where it is explained (posted by Commuter somewhere else...) http://auto.howstuffworks.com/differential9.htm

Hi, Did he do this with engine in the car or out? Was it his first time? How long did it take him? One who might have to do same one day

About the effect of gear (and front diff) oil on the viscous coupling behavior (manual trans). There can be none since the viscous coupling unit is a sealed and, in that respect, independent unit from the rest of the tranny.