Ravenwoods

February 1, 2020

4 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Those VLSD rear diffs can function as an open diff by that age/miles. Theres a chance it doesn’t matter if it’s LSD.

What he said, manuals are more seamless and probably the chief difference.

You can easily install a toggle switch to “lock” the automatic 4WD. Just put it in line with the Duty C wire and toggle between normal function and “locked” 4WD on snow or off-road. I’ve done it a bunch of times, well worth it. It’s one wire and super easy.

you didn’t answer tire questions? Brand and 4 digit date stamp are key, tread depth is an inadequate metric.

Okay, I went out in the negative 15 Fahrenheit weather and had a look. I found a stamp on only two of the tires: 1408. Does that mean August 2014? Or 2008?

February 1, 2020

6 hours ago, Numbchux said:

PCV hose. If it leaks, you get a post-MAF air leak, which will cause running issues.

You can replace it with generic hose, but be sure it is PCV rated (oil and vacuum resistant. coolant hose will break down and become gummy).

I have a feeling the hose I got is not oil resistant. I think it said “Heater Hose.” So probably I will need to get proper oil resistant vacuum hose.

February 1, 2020

3 hours ago, idosubaru said:

Those VLSD rear diffs can function as an open diff by that age/miles. Theres a chance it doesn’t matter if it’s LSD.

What he said, manuals are more seamless and probably the chief difference.

You can easily install a toggle switch to “lock” the automatic 4WD. Just put it in line with the Duty C wire and toggle between normal function and “locked” 4WD on snow or off-road. I’ve done it a bunch of times, well worth it. It’s one wire and super easy.

you didn’t answer tire questions? Brand and 4 digit date stamp are key, tread depth is an inadequate metric.

I looked to see the brand after I got off work: Firestone Winterforce. I didn’t have time to look for date stamp. Probably small numbers that my 59 year old eyes will find difficult to decipher without a magnifying glass. These tires have plenty of tread as well.

January 31, 2020

7 minutes ago, Numbchux said:

Subaru automatics (there are some premium models with VTD AWD that are different, but definitely not yours) are VERY front wheel biased. Drive to the rear has a noticeable delay, and as the clutches that drive them get worn it gets worse (my XT6 requires considerable front wheel spin to get the rear to engage at all.....not ideal).

Manual transmissions use a much simpler AWD that sends the power to both ends equally and has a viscous LSD to prevent slip. The Forester might have a rear LSD, whereas the Legacy definitely didn't, but that'll be a pretty small difference.

So it's not a Legacy v Forester thing, it's the transmission type.

Very interesting information. I think you are right about the delay with Drive to the rear wheels in my Legacy AT. I have noticed something but didn't know how to articulate it.

The 98 Forester is the S model. Would that mean a rear LSD? Cosmetically our Forester is challenged. But the thing just doesn't want to die. One thing in it's favor is that a previous owner set it up for towing with an RV and so we were told that about 50,000 miles on the odometer are towing miles. So the engine would have about 250,000 miles on it instead of 299,000.

At 277,000 our radiator (Forester) got a big hole in it and the coolant escaped and my wife didn't pay any attention to the temperature gauge. When she got home it seemed there wasn't any coolant left but the engine was still running. I took the garden hose and put water in the radiator while the engine was running and got it cooled down fast. Not sure if that cold shock was the right thing to do or not but the car is still going strong 22,000 miles later. At the time we were told to expect Rod Knock to show up within a couple thousand miles and that would be the end of the engine. The only thing I did was replace the radiator, water pump, timing belt and pulleys. I did buy a spare 95 Legacy cheap that needed fixing up with new struts, front CV shafts, spark plugs and wires. This car is sitting ready to go into action if any of our other eldery Subarus suddenly quit. In total our family has Four Legacies and One Forester and the Forester is the youngest!

January 31, 2020

My daughter's 95 Legacy had a problem that was solved by adding another Ground Cable from the Transmission to the engine block. Apparently the ground cable from the battery connects to the transmission. It seems there was some corrosion between the transmission and the engine block that impeded conductivity intermittently. So an additional cable from the Transmission to the engine block solved this problem.

January 31, 2020

26 minutes ago, idosubaru said:

1. are they both automatic or manual?

tires generally aren't given enough attention for snow driving. first guess is tires and that's correct 99% of the time.

read the 4 digit date stamp on the side of the tires. if they're more than 3 years old they're way below average for snow driving unless they're a top shelf brand like Nokian or Michellin, those can perform well at older ages. i find age to be a significant determining factor for driving in snow. cheap wal mart tires can perform horrendously after only 2 years, with full tread but incredible materials degradation....which isn't surprising given the degrading curve of rubber and compounds they use in the formulation of the materials to reduce the impacts of UV and oxygen exposure to the materials. and then medium grade altimax, goodyears perform well but are notably worse in snow by years 3-4 then years 1-2.

2. in what way - describe what you're feeling that's different? the 95 should perform well in the snow and not be cause for alarm.

3. how many miles on each vehicle and how often/when was the last ATF change? people report significant improvements with fluid changes and/or upgrading to Redline or Amsoil or other high performance fluids.

the clutches may be tired or have a delayed reaction. that's not unheard of and fresh fluid may help depending on the root cause.

the forester may have some advantages, like being 5% heavier, some minor trans/TCU tweaks, but in a great running, fresh fluid, uncompromised trans i would expect the differences to be negligible unless you're racing.

Legacy: Automatic Transmission. Fluid changed 2019. 191,000 miles

Forester: Manual Transmission. 299,000 miles. The cental differential was redone maybe at about 180,000 miles.

The Legacy does perform very well on the snow. Never in danger of getting stuck. At highway speeds on slippery roads it feels more like it just isn't gripping the roads well.

January 31, 2020

When I drive my wife's 98 Forester I get the feeling that its AWD is superior to my 95 Legacy. Am I imaging that? Or did they make improvements? The Forester has nice Toyo studless tires and the Legacy has got old studded tires with worn down studs. Could be just the tires.

January 31, 2020

12 hours ago, lmdew said:

Oil leak. It's venting into the block. The PVC valve is controlling how much air goes in there.

I replaced my Coolant Temperature sensor last night as planned. The big vertical hose wasn't brittle yet but I did replace it. The connection into the engine was full of greasy crud and almost blocked. The line to the PCV valve also full of crud and nearly blocked. I cleaned that all out and took the PCV valve out and cleaned it with carburetor cleaner.

After I got the car all back together I didn't bother test starting it. So this morning when I started it the engine would die after a few seconds. Turns out I neglected to reconnect the big horizontal hose from the Idle Air Control Valve when it connects near the MAF sensor. Got that reconnected and now the car runs normally.

January 30, 2020

40 minutes ago, lmdew said:

It goes down to the air oil seperator area on the back of the block, which goes to the oil pan.

Yes they often get very brittle from the engine heat. I've found the IAC hose is a perfect fit. When I'm in the self server yards, I'll pull a couple. You get 2 breather hose sections from each IAC hose.

Thanks for the information. What happens if they leak air?

January 30, 2020

Yesterday I replaced the Coolant Temperature sensor on my daughter's 95 Legacy. So that big vertical hose by the Idle Air Control valve was super brittle and broke and I had to make a trip to Napa to get some new hose. The top the the hose has two connecting hoses. One goes to the PCV valve and the other goes to the air intake plastic system. I'm just wondering what it does and what symptoms you can get if it is leaking.

Tonight I'm going to do the same procedure on my 95 Legacy so I have enough hose to replace that big hose too.

January 16, 2020

2 minutes ago, jonathan909 said:

Hello Fairbanks! -35 here at the moment, but we're supposed to be at +10 at the beginning of next week - that's the magic of the Chinook. We have cold spells here, but not like you guys...

Yeah, I've seen/used "sheet heaters" like that for non-automotive applications as well. If it helps, great, but it strikes me that damage from rocks and scrapes and stuff would be a concern.

I’ve only had one case where a branch probably caught and broke the cord. Generally it’s not a problem. If you are out on super rough dirt roads and scrap the bottom of your car all the time you might run into a problem.

January 14, 2020

4 hours ago, heartless said:

I would start by putting those NGK wires you have on hand into service.

Store brand wires are known to cause misfires, and all sorts of other "weird" issues.

I have learned this lesson the hard way, no way will I EVER use store brand wires on a Subaru ever again. OEM or NGK only for my Subies.

Thanks! Will do. My daughter reported that her car behaved perfectly today—like a new car.

January 13, 2020

19 hours ago, heartless said:

what kind of wires? it does make a difference. wires should be OEM or NGK replacements only. NO parts store wires!

and i would run the plugs that are specified for the engine. double check the gap is correct.

I’m not sure what brand, but not NGK. I have a spare set of new NGK wires on hand in case any of our Subarus need a new set. We have four Legacies and one Forester—the youngest is the 98 Forester with almost 299,000 miles.

January 13, 2020

9 hours ago, Rampage said:

The difference between BKR6E and BKR6E-11 is the -11 is a V tip. Both are copper core with nickel tips. Both are gapped at .44.

Maybe the plug that misfired has a crack in the porcelain.

If you want to try a hotter plug, it would be BKR5E or BKR5E-11. The lower number is hotter, the reverse of other brands.

You can get a misfire code if the spark is leaking out around the coil and not reaching the plug.

Our 95 just did it on number 2. I used a wire grounded on one end and moved the other end around the coil. When I got close to the rubber cap on 2 it sparked. I cleaned all of them and added some dielectric grease, problem solved.

Thanks for the great information.

January 13, 2020

My daughter’s 95 Legacy (180,000 miles) had a misfire on cylinder 3 yesterday at about negative 25 Fahrenheit or colder. We plugged it in longer this morning (5 hours instead of 3) and it was worse this morning. We got misfiring on cylinders 3 and 4.

We evicted my wife’s 98 Forester (almost 299,000 miles) from its coveted spot in the heated garage and put the Legacy in to enjoy some tropical weather and get thawed out. It’s really amazing how much of a difference this makes for cars that spend most of the winter out in cold, to have a periodic thawing out.

Anyway, I took the spark plugs out (Installed 2019). They are NGK BKR6E. Only one looked a bit dirty—passenger side rear. The front one on that side looked a bit dirty too. We also replaced the wires in 2019 so I haven’t checked them for resistance.

So at one stage my other daughter brought home new spark plugs for her 96 Legacy: NGK BKR6E-11. I think they are viridian. Anyway the engine rain smooth on those plugs but kept causing a misfire code, maybe cylinder 3. So we put in the standard NGK plugs: BKR6E. No more misfire code.

So I am wondering if the BKR6E-11 with the viridian electrode might work better in cold weather? Or another NGK plug? Any thoughts on this? I decided to put them in as an experiment. The weather is forecast to be warmer tomorrow: warm up to -15 by tomorrow morning and get up to a tropical negative 7 by the afternoon. Then colder again Thursday-Saturday.

January 11, 2020

13 hours ago, jonathan909 said:

Interestingly, not a problem we've experienced (yet), though we get the same temperatures. I've never seen these tranny heaters. Are they OEM or aftermarket?

These oil pan and transmission pan heaters are not designed for any specific vehicle. It’s just a thin sheet of rubberized material with heating elements inside. You put some silicone adhesive on one side, and adhere it to a cleaned area on the metal pan. You can get different wattages depending on how large of an oil pan you have.

January 10, 2020

47 minutes ago, Numbchux said:

Yep, if that's the only code, you likely need the sensor. 2-wire sensor, aftermarket listings usually have the one for the gauge listed as a "switch" and for the ECU as a "sensor", but that can vary.

Thanks!

January 10, 2020

26 minutes ago, wtdash said:

The CTS doesn't have anything to do w/the dash gauge sensor. There is/was a Youtube about them. Yep - should be on the passenger side - under all that other stuff.

Tangent: Actually easier to access on an EJ22T as they're on the driver side.

So, it could still be the CTS going bad. ...but I'd also suspect the O2 sensors. The ECU runs in 'open loop' (pre-defined parameters) when car is started and doesn't 'listen' to the O2 sensors (if I remember my tuning info from years back), and then run in closed loop after it's up to temp (ha, ha - good luck) where the O2 sensor tells the ECU what's going on in the exhaust - incorrectly if old/worn out - and could then be causing poor MPG.

Last summer I occasionally got an O2 sensor code so I replaced the upstream O2 sensor and haven't had any more O2 sensor code errors.

January 10, 2020

6 minutes ago, wtdash said:

No offense, but Why is normal operation a problem? It's working as designed so why add a pan heater?

My daughter's 95 Legacy has the AT warmer. In the 2-3 miles it take my car's AT to warm up the RPM is up to 3000 if I go faster than 50. I prefer it to shift into 4rth sooner and not waste gasoline.

January 10, 2020

2 minutes ago, wtdash said:

Brrr, I say...BRRRR!

Cold's coming to our 'neck of the woods' but only 0°.

Oh yeah....CTS....there are TWO related parts. One is a 2 wire (?) connector for the ECU/ECM's use (the one you want) and the other is a one wire sensor (?) that tells the dash gauge how its doing. I've bought the NAPA part and it worked fine.

Usually, sometimes, not always, the car will start hard /run rough when the CTS is bad - not just poor MPG.

Do y'all put cardboard or some kind of shield in front of the radiator to 'keep it warm'?

Thanks! So my car starts normally and engine temperature comes up nicely and is normal. Just the code and the poor mpg are the symptoms. This sensor is the one under the Idle Air Control valve on passenger side of engine?

Some people (not many) put a piece of cardboard in front of their radiator. Those people might just need a new thermostat. Our cold snap is coming to an end this weekend. It was only -26 this morning at my house. Sunday expected high is -22 and Monday -7.

January 10, 2020

Thanks for the information. I think I'll get a transmission pan heater to eliminate this problem.

January 10, 2020

I have been getting an occasional P0125 code and after researching it yesterday it sounds like my ECT sensor is likely going bad. My MPG is down from last summer (about 24 MPG) and I assumed it was just winter weather. Its been running about 19-20 MPG but yesterday it was 15.21. We have been enjoying a nice cold snap in the negative 30s Fahrenheit so that would have some effect on MPG but it doesn't effect our 98 Forestor this much.

I'm planning on dropping by Napa this afternoon to pick one up. Any suggestions on what Brand I should aim for? I notice there is also a Temperature Sender Switch. Is that the same thing?

January 9, 2020

My 95 Legacy was like this. I just cut out the flange and a local shop gave me a 6" scrap of new exhaust pipe that the Legacy pipe can slide into. Then I just welded everything together.

January 9, 2020

My 95 Legacy with AT has 191,000 miles. In cold weather (15 f or colder) it takes a mile or two for the transmission to shift up to the fourth gear. The colder the weather the longer it takes. This morning at -30 it took nearly 3 miles. Is this a sign of a transmission getting ready to fail? My daughter also has a 95 Legacy with AT. Her car has a AT pan heater. So maybe this is a common problem with the Legacy AT? I've been thinking I should get the heater for my Legacy too.

January 9, 2020

23 hours ago, Numbchux said:

Brake problem is a frozen check valve in the booster line. I've had it happen on most of my cars, and have had good luck cleaning it. Pull it off from the booster, and squirt some MAF or Carb cleaner in there, let it sit for a minute and then start the engine, and spray some more through there with the engine running.

"Correct" fix is to replace that booster hose.

As for your misfire. I'd throw a set of NGK Copper plugs at it, their cheap and easy for that engine...

I put the legacy in my heated garage after work yesterday and took off the brake booster line. But I did not catch the part where you said the valve is in the rubber hose rather than where the hose connects to the black contraption on the firewall. Anyway I sprayed some MAF cleaner in there and in the engine manifold, but not in the hose. Anyway, some of the MAF cleaner must have ended up in the hose since there were no braking problems this morning.

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