AdventureSubaru

2006 LLBean 3.0 EZ30 with 140,000 miles on the motor. Bought it with a bad motor and replaced it a couple months ago. Car has run great since motor install. Last night in the California rains, we drove 6 hours from santa cruz to Los Angeles. About halfway into the trip, noticed that the temp needle had moved up to about 2/3 mark. I pulled over at first opportunity and checked fluid levels. Did not seem low. topped off radiator and it took maybe 1/4 cup. Hardly anything. Reservoir was half full. added a smidge there too. Drove an hour and the same happened. I double checked and still the same. Was raining in sheets at this point, so we took it a little further including some very steep and long grades. Under heavier acceleration the needle goes right back to just below halfway where it has always been/belonged. Any idea what this might point to? Coasting, idling it stays normal. Under mild load it occasionally creeps up to 2/3 but not higher. Pulled over at a gas station and spent a good half hour double checking. Idled for 5 minutes warm - no bubbles in overflow. No external leaks to be found. Looks dry as a bone. Oil levels full and no burning smell. Fans were running. As I rolled it around in my head it would seem that the thermostat should be the most likely culprit with a radiator blockage being a possible 2nd most likely. Anything that you guys can think of besides that? I'm in L.A. through sunday and would like to have it figured out before making the trip home.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-Gearbox-5MT-Dual-range-conversion-kit-USA-only-Legacy-Impreza-Forester-/271274224042?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f293429aa&vxp=mtr converts a U.S. 5mt to dual range.

177,000 is nothing for these cars. Our last wagon was sold still running like a champ at 350k+. When was the last time your spark plugs and wires were changed? These motors are hard on them - especially if they are anything besides subaru or NGK brand.

yeah, use the spare only if you need to roll it into a parking space or something like that but don't drive on it. 2 tires blew? Did she hit a curb? get tires slashed? If they went bad from driving be sure to inspect the remaining ones very carefully. Some good deals on craigslist for good used tire sets. Or find a cheap set of subie wheels and tires and throw them on. When the tires on my wife's 2000 outback started showing some real dry rot, I had her driving around on a set of Impreza steels and tires. Made the car look like a turtle until I found a good set of nearly new tires and put it back on 17 inch alloys. But any matched set subaru or 5x100 bolt pattern 15 inch rims and up will get you through.

Geez dude. Anybody who declares their car to be a piece of crap over a $30. fix that takes a couple hours to do has no business driving 1990s cars and similar. Lease something with zero miles and pay a few hundred $$$ per month to have a new car and bumper to bumper warranty. or live with a used car and the fact that they need some time and money invested from time to time. if it skipped again, replace the mounting bracket and tensioner and know that it's done right this time. (I'll send you a bracket at cost of shipping if you so choose.) If it's a fuel pump buy a used one from a dismantler or self service yard. (Usually $20-$40) they don't die that often and can be replaced out of the trunk in about 30 minutes. if it's a cam sensor - I have a few of these sitting in a can in the garage. Again, I'll send you one at cost of shipping. But don't declare it a piece of crap when a 24 year old car is in need of a little time and effort to keep chugging along. I understand frustration when you just want it to work, but be realistic here. No 24 year old car is going to run flawlessly and maintenance free year in and year out. Gotta spend a little money and time here and there or spend the big bucks for brand new stuff. Stick with it. If it's running off starting fluid it can only be a few things. None of which are very labor intensive or expensive. Way more hassle and $$$ lost to sell it non running and try and buy something else. You'll be wasting time and money and likely just getting more problems with whatever you replace it with. You already know the issues. Just figure it out and fix it. PM me if you want a mounting bracket or cam sensor. car-part.com for a used fuel pump.

Not 100% sure that it needs to be below the surface. Have you measured from the starter hole to the TC? 1/8 of an inch is seated. 1/4 inch is not.

As I understand, 96 was a switched year. I've seen dual port 96s with HLAs and single port with solid. I'm assuming dual port= non interference and single = interference. But both can be found on 96 cars.

You have the tube out and clipped to the TC? If so there should be nothing blocking it. Are you holding the TC level while you spin? If not, it wont line up all the way. Lift the face a bit with one hand while spinning with the other.

Yep. the bumper cover from the 96 should line right up with your 95. Same clips.

2.2 with an auto is a bit of a dog on the hills but it's a worthy tradeoff for the reliability. The usual fix for transX was most common in 2000 and 2001 autos but may well be a solution for you if it's the same cause. Check your fluid and be sure it's clean. Drain fill and see what happens. TransX is not expensive and certainly can't hurt.

Knock sensor is a common one but not one that I suspect would cause a no start. Crank position sensor would point to a jumped/stripped/snapped timing belt. What year is your legacy? When was the last time the timing belt and components were changed?

I've measured the last 2 torque converter seatings that I've done. If you measure from the starter hole of the bellhousing, you should have about 1/8 of an inch gap between the TC and bellhousing. The bolts between the flexplate and TC actually draw it forward after the engine is mated to the trans. That tube attaches to the torque converter by way of a C-clip. If it slid back into the trans without being attached, the converter wont seat all the way. (Same thing happened to me once.) Get a flathead screwdriver or three and start fishing for the tube. Pull it out, find where your clip fell and reattach it to the converter. Then slide the whole thing back in gently. Support the center of the torque converter with a finger while spinning it colckwise. if it's lined up it will slide in with a series of three little "clunks" Check your distance between bellhousing and TC and it's seated. Sounds complex but it will all seem simple after it's done.

It can happen but not very common. The tensioner bracket may have been over or under tightened and caused the fail over some distance. As mentioned, the mounting plate/bracket/whatever is replaceable. I have a couple sitting in the garage if you would like a replacement or spare. If yours isn't going anywhere, then you're probably good to drive. Glad you got it running again!

usual suspects are plug wires or a failing MAF. These motors are hard on plug wires. I'd start there.

Welcome! think of these cars as lego sets. Some pieces are just for certain bodies/models/years and others are nearly universal. It makes them easy to work on and easy to get parts for. Lots of things can swap from year to year and model to model. 93 and 94 are exact matches. 90-92 very similar. You can take motors from 95-98 if you swap the intake manifold over. Transmissions from 90-98. Wheels will swap between all legacy, Impreza and forester cars from 1990 on up until something like 2010. (5x100 bolt pattern) If you want to lift it - struts from 97-99 Outback and 97-08 Forester bolt right into your car for a few inches of suspension lift that can clear tires up to 28 inches in diameter. Rear disc brakes can be swapped in where drums used to be. Front seats from Impreza, Forester and legacy from 90 to at least 04 all interchange. And these are all just direct bolt in. With some modification you can put old 4x4 transmissions in there and some have spliced wiring harnesses to put H6 motors in. You've got about the most dependable model subaru put together. As you get more acquainted with the car and your options to upgrade, just ask some more specific questions. Yours already looks superb for an early 90s car so you've got a great start. Do some searches on here to see what can be done/has been done and decide how best to proceed with your car.

yep. Square on top but has a phillips head. Just lets air vent out better when you fill by the radiator cap.

Head gasket is a possibility but if your heater is going cold it's because it's low on coolant. You've got air in the system still. I had similar symptoms after doing an engine swap in a 96 Outback last week. There's a vent plug on the opposite side of the radiator (Square plastic cap) Pull that and fill the radiator to the brim. Run the motor and as it warms, squeeze the upper radiator hose to push extra air out of the system. Let it run until it starts heating up again. Be sure the coolant reservoir is full so the system can suck in extra fluid. Took me 3 times and all was well. Heat stayed hot, temp gauge never even hits the halfway mark.

Good news is that your car is non-interference so if it is a timing belt it's an easy fix. Replace the belt to drive again (There's a good writeup I can share if that's what it is) or even better to get a timing component kit and get everything updated/reliable. Belts are about $15-$40. A full gates kit is about $150. I'm about to do a full refresh on my outback. Post back with results on the timing belt. That's your most likely culprit. If not, the hunt continues.

Check your timing belt. Pull the drivers side cover (3 10mm bolts) and check the tension.

http://www.scpr.org/news/2013/05/13/37244/investigation-7-out-of-11-jiffy-lubes-scam-custome/ Couple videos of how it works. Both were targeting a small number of shops but this is an industry wide norm. There are of course plenty of exceptions to it. PLenty of good honest and decent mechanics out there. But when your customer base is generally so completely ignorant to the machines they depend on daily, yet very loyal to those machines, it's just so easy to take advantage of them. I tell friends and family to operate under the assumption that everything their mechanic/tech is telling them is a lie and operate accordingly. Follow manufacturers guideline, accept no upsells, get second opinions (I commonly will verify things for them) The last time I allowed a shop to do any work to one of my vehicles (Toyota truck with manual locking hubs with rusty acorn nuts) they told me I needed new pads and rotors. I told them that was funny as the rotors were less than a year old and the pads had been changed 3 weeks prior. That shut down that sales line. Then they billed me for 2 hours labor when the truck had been there less than an hour. When I confronted them on it, they explained that because the computer said it was an estimated 2 hour job, that's what they billed me for. It took a good 5 minutes of back and forth and ranting/raving etc. for them to finally drop the extra hour of labor charged. (At $80. an hour.) That experience is what made me vow to never use an outside source to fix my vehicles unless in emergency. If I lack the tools or knowledge, I'll get them and do it myself. No way that I want to keep people like that in business.

Description matches a failing Mass Air Flow sensor which very often wont throw a check engine code. If you have access to a good used one, you can test it out.

Welcome! I'm down near Santa Cruz, bout an hour outside SF

Finished putting a 2.2 in for a buddy. Started up easily,HLAs quieted down as the motor warmed up. Puffed white smoke for a good while (Water in the exhaust I'm pretty sure from sitting for a year before he bought it - didn't smell anything like coolant) and that has gone away. Took a good 15 minutes to warm up and the temperature creeps its way above the halfway mark. Radiator and reservoir were full. Was squeezing the upper rad hose to work air out of the system. Rad hose filled with hot water and got good and firm. (This should confirm good water pump/thermostat right?) So far I have topped it off twice and squeezed the upper rad hose until I can no longer get any bubbles out. Symptoms are Slowly heats up past halfway. I turn it off when it reaches 2/3 on the gauge. No heat. Blower is good but just getting cold air. Upper rad hose pressurizes but seems to get hotter than it should. Previous owner said it may need a new radiator. Is the car telling me so? It's my first suspect but I want to eliminate as many possibilities before I throw any parts at it.

No worries. parts that small (and plastic) will fall to the bottom of the bellhousing and stay there until the engine or trans is removed someday for whatever reason. The stuff that's moving in there is big and strong and heavy and wont even blink at a couple chips of plastic.

Wowie! Lucky these cars are built as well as they are. Glad they came out alive and glad they chose Subaru over Kia etc or this would be a very different story.