Wayne Boncyk

Make sure that the compressor that you want to use is stored well oiled (using the correct oil -- 1996 OEM is PAG for 134a refrigerant), and with the ports plugged in a very dry place. Definitely install a new receiver-drier. Then when you're ready to put it all back together, after the initial re-assembly make sure that you draw a good vacuum on the system and keep it under vacuum for a day or so. That'll encourage any residual water in the lines to evaporate (but you probably already know this). Then recharge with the correct amount of oil and refrigerant and you should be good to go.

I agree - it takes several "fills" before you can determine a true average fuel consumption number. But the naysayers who claim that different octane ratings on fuel have no difference on mileage need to remember that although these engines are naturally aspirated, the amount of ignition advance (which DOES have a small, but measurable, effect on fuel efficiency) that an engine can tolerate before knocking is dependent on the octane rating of the fuel. So for any car that controls spark advance timing by ECU and tweaks it via input from a knock sensor, using higher octane fuel should show some change in average mileage -- but probably no more than one or two mpg.

Geeze, guys! If it didn't sound like it was about to fall apart when started in cold weather, I wouldn't know that it was my car!!

I'll be 1/4 the way there by the end of this year! (But at the rate I rack up miles, I'll be driving this thing another 30 years to get where he is....)

Subes of this generation are notorious for flagging Cat efficiency Below Threshold when the actual problem is a sluggish O2 sensor. I'd bet on the cheap fix first -- check out and/or replace the O2 sensors. MUCH cheaper than replacing the cats!

The starter bump trick has worked for me thru 3 belt changes on my 2.5, so I endorse it. HOWEVER, a few caveats -- makes sure that you've removed the radiator before you try this trick, because if that breaker bar shifts it's gonna leave a lasting impression on anything in the general area! Also, I want to add my voice to the growing chorus endorsing nipper's advice. With Subaru engine parts, stick with OEM. I've had problems with a B&A water pump on my subie after only about 6 months and 10000 miles of use. The OE Sube pump that came with the car gave me more than 140000 miles of service! Even though they are form, fit and function identical to the OE parts, nipper is right, there is a chance that you are buying factory seconds when you buy aftermarket, and with the time and trouble required to re-do that which you spent so long doing in the first place, a few extra $$ on Sube OEM is money well spent! However, I understand that sometimes the budget doesn't allow for all we'd like to do. A lot of us (myself included) although we're proud of the record setting mileage on our vehicles, are really still driving them because we just plain can't afford a newer machine. So, my recommendation is buy the best that you can afford as far as replacement parts go, and we here all have ample experience that Sube branded OE parts are the best available for these machines.

Well, it may depend on how cold your machine gets... personally I never noticed any difference between cold starting with dino or syn oils when we lived in Northern VA, but the first winter after we moved to South Dakota (where nighttime temperatures regularly hovered around -30F), I could barely get the engines to turn over after an overnight cold soak outside when they had dino oils, but after I switched to synthetic based oils I had no trouble cranking them in the coldest of SoDak weather. Thats when I became a believer in synthetics -- although I have to admit that now that both of our vehicles have well over 100K miles (and over 225K on the OBW), I've gone back to dino oil in the crankcases. Still use syn ATF, though.

Part of the EGR circuit in some designs. Didn't know that it was part of the Subie system, though.... <added later> Yup! It is part of my '96 OB -- it's there right above the EGR valve.

My Outback's CC is no better or worse than on any other car with cruise that I've driven. That said, I can't stand some of this thing's weird behavior - including the massive downshift trick that spelled the end of Nipper's old engine! I always drive with mine in "manual assist CC mode," which basically means I have my thumb always on the CC switch and my foot in the general vicinity of the accel pedal as I'm driving, ready to override - or just shut off - the cruise when I think it's getting ready to do something really stupid.

Hi Carol, I can answer that for you - the "battery dance" is essentially taking power off the ECM by pulling the battery cable off the negative terminal. Then let it set for a while with the battery disconnected -- it usually takes a few minutes for the memory in the ECM to be reset that way. I can't remember what Subaru says, but if you leave it off for a half hour I think that is sufficient to make sure that the codes are all cleared. Then, once you reconnect the battery, you will be driving with a "clean" ECM, with no codes set. Essentially the car will be trained by you, given your driving style. And if you are lucky, and those codes were set only as a result of some transient that happened but is now gone, you will be able to drive around without spending any $$ on unneeded repairs. If you're not lucky, those codes will come back. Then as someone else here said, you should get the actual codes read by someone at an Autozone or similar place, and then post those numeric code numbers here. We can help you more at that point. One little idiosyncracy with these vehicles -- oftentimes the P0420 code, Cat below threshold, isn't really a bad Cat -- it can be caused by a weak O2 sensor (usually the rear one). So, if you get another P0420 after clearing all the codes, then we'd recommend trying a replacement of the O2 sensors before you go thru the trouble and expense of getting new Cats.

FWIW with respect to CCR, I have never dealt with them but in all the posts I've ever read on this forum, I've only seen one negative reaction from a CCR customer, and that was apparently the result of a misunderstanding that CCR eventually corrected for the customer. From what I can tell, they are a good, reliable, and consistent supplier -- hard to find these days! If I were in the market for a replacement engine I'd go there without hesitation.

The coolant conditioner is only a stop-leak that prevents the "external" HG leak of coolant to the outside. It won't help your problem, where the HG blows between the coolant jacket and a cylinder. You're unfortunately going to have to re-do the HG job in order to fix the problem. Make sure that you have the heads checked for flatness -- a warped head can result from too much overheating -- and make sure to use the newer replacement HGs. If you do the work yourself you can save a significant amount of $$, as you probably already know.

Tough call without being able to do some load testing, nipper. But whatever is causing the problem, you will want to get it taken care of before too long, or your battery will soon be toast. Any time spent at less than around 12.5 volts (average of 2.1V per cell) means that the electrodes are sulphating, and pretty soon you won't have enough electrolyte left to hold any charge.

Sounds to me like you've pegged it. I'd suspect alt diodes, and with these Sube alternators you're gonna have to swap out the whole thing. You're seeing exactly the same symptoms that I saw on my original alternator ('96 OBW), and Subaru actually issued a recall on them back then. Do you truly have new, or a "remanufactured" replacement unit? Wonder if you ended up with one of the gimpy original OEM alts when you swapped it out last time...?

Ouch! I remember being at that site a couple of years ago and it was free for short term use. That's what I meant by being patient -- you'd not be able to download everything you'd want in one session, but over the course of many days, you could get it all. Not any longer, I guess....

Keep in mind that if you're patient you can download these all yourself.

Important thing to note about filters on lights -- blue light is scattered by water vapor and small water droplets, far more than red or yellow. That's why reddish-yellow (amber) filters are often used on fog lights - more light will penetrate thru the haze and actually find its way to objects on the raod surface. Snowflakes, on the other hand, scatter all colors pretty much equally, so color filters don't really aid light "penetration" of snow falling in otherwise dry air very much, if at all. However, your eyes will track the motion of objects better when illuminated by monochromatic (one color) light better than when lit by broad-spectrum white light. That's why you see "better" with blue tint lenses on lights in a snowstorm -- you can resolve the difference between the moving snowflakes and items on the road surface better. Your eyes are actually most sensitive to light in the greenish-yellow portion of the spectrum and the way your eyes focus, light from that portion of the spectrum will be in sharpest focus, but who wants to drive around with chartreuse headlights?

Not for some of us! Seriously, I guess you can wait until next year....

Unless it's maybe planning for the next long road trip?

Yup - you're right, I glanced over that part of his post. Sorry, Larry!

Yeah - sounds like it's time for a new battery. You could absolutely rule out the slow drain (load) idea by pulling the negative side of the battery and letting it set overnight -- then looking at the batt voltage before you hook 'er back up in the morning. But, from everything else you say, it's a 90% sure bet that it's the battery.

Larry - it's almost certain to be a problem with the ECU. Try testing the voltage with the O2 sensor unplugged, with the engine running and with the cat/exhaust hot. If you can probe the open circuit voltage with the engine running while you have someone vary the throttle, you should see fluctuations around one volt into your high impedance Fluke meter. If not, then probably the high voltage that is coming from the ECU has blown that sensor. If you get nothing from the existing sensor with a hot cat as you run from relatively lean idle to relatively rich open throttle, then you've gotta fix/replace the ECU before you plug in another O2 sensor, or you'll risk blowing that one, too.

John, I think it's Electronic Continuously Variable Transmission, if memory serves...

Follow-up -- Vermont Transit Lines has a run from Manchester Airport to Nashua as part of their Montreal-Boston service. That plus a short taxi once you get to Nashua might work for you. http://www.vermonttransit.com/

Hey, Larry, if you don't find a ride from one of the "Board Samaritans," I seem to remember that in that part of the world a lot of inter-city mass transit is provided by private bus companies. I went to school at UMASS (in western MA) and found it pretty easy to get around most of new england via bus. Trouble is, that was so long ago that I don't remember the name of the bus company, nor do I know if they would still be in business! Anyway, they were much cheaper than taxis.