GeneralDisorder

Since a new pickup tube from Subaru is like $35 or something silly, we install a new one when the pan is off even if the customer declines a Killer-B. I'll eat the cost if they complain too loudly. Basically I don't want anything in there being blamed on me cause I touched it last. I lay down the law with customers when it comes to blown turbo and pickup tube issues - either do it my way or take it elsewhere. They usually either go with my suggestions or end up back here with another blown/cracked/messed up engine after they took it elsewhere or attempted it themselves under the shade tree. No one ever wants to pull the pan - they always grumble about it. It's not optional with turbo failures. You just don't know - the turbo could be the canary that's warning you about impending pickup failure. GD

We routinely re-route the oil feed for the turbo from the rear gallery plug on the engine block. Leaving the head to supply the AVCS only. We use braided stainless -3 AN for both the turbo and the AVCS feed. We always leave the original banjo bolt in the turbo CHRA for the feed restriction - it is true that too large of a feed orifice can cause oil to blow by the shaft seals - mostly this is a problem for the IHI turbo's. The Mitsubishi based turbo's don't seem to have this problem - we often feed the journal bearing Blouch turbo's with completely unrestricted oil flow. Ball bearing turbo's use feed restrictors (usually .030") due to not requiring much oil and too much will actually create bearing drag and again with the excessive shaft seal pressure which the oil now has unrestricted access to through the voids in the ball bearings. After this mess - I would re-route the feed lines if it were in my shop. Also - has the pickup tube been checked for cracks? Aeration of the oil at higher pump volume is something I wouldn't discount. Broken 255/257 pickup tubes start with just a crack. They progress from there till ultimately they fall off. GD

Check the TSP for dead spots. Ideally with a graphing volt meter or oscilloscope. I've seen the early TPS units with high mileage get dead spots where they sit during part throttle cruise. And you have a code for it..... GD

Yes. Also check out the AVCS solenoid's for any collapsed banjo bolt screen debris. GD

Check valve lash. Depending on the engine, as few as three teeth can cause contact. Usually two or less is safe. GD

You need a RRFPR. Don't expect the engine to last long. Subaru motors don't do well with unmanaged forced induction. GD

EJ is not a direct bolt in. Maxima alts are direct bolt in. Just swap the pulley. GD

I get my Melett CHRA's directly from a wholesaler in the UK. The TD04 units are $225 shipped to me from the UK. About 5 days to my door. Takes a couple hours, I would say, to swap it into the housings if you are being careful. Sometimes the exhaust housing likes to be rude about it. Requires persuasion with my induction heater. I charge $600 retail for full rebuild including all parts, labor, and usually I'll swap out the housings if they are wrecked and I have better used ones on hand. They are not remanufactured, they are brand new. They come with copper crush washers, oil return pipe gasket, and a syringe filled with oil to pre-lube them. If you had a problem with the TGV system it would throw a code. What's an intake runner control flap going to do to a turbo anyway? Likewise, the AVCS system would throw codes if it had insufficient oil pressure, etc. The bypass valve.... well that could be rough on a turbo if it malfunctioned. But its unlikely to kill a TD04 in the short term. In any case I have never seen a factory BPV fail. This will end up being a junk turbo rebuild situation. Mark my words. Happens every time. GD

Yeah - as I have said - the car, and your work isn't the problem. It's a garbage CHRA (probably from China) problem. I see this frequently. If it's not one of the turbo's or CHRA's I listed above, there's about a 90% chance it will f*ck off within a short period if not immediately. Been there, done that. BNR, Forced Performance, Kinugawa, random eBay junk.... seen them all fail in short order. And then had the supplier argue with me that it's not the turbo's fault. In EVERY case we swap it with stock or Blouch and the problems are gone. As I said there's reasons for the policies I have. Good reasons. Reasons backed with painful experience that cost a lot to acquire. GD

Brand loyalty has nothing to do with anything. I don't even drive a Subaru anymore. I own a performance shop. I work on more performance cars and brake systems in a month than you will own in a lifetime. Go get the brakes HOT. Bed in the pads properly. They need to be used. If you aren't going to USE them then swap out to grandma pads. GD

While that is all correct, I have never seen a clogged feed line. The banjo bolt screens typically hold all the filth. Not that it couldn't happen, and we do regularly swap to better feed line systems on certain models (05-07 LGT platform, or larger turbo installations), but we don't typically see that. We do wash out the lines with solvent if being reused and insure that the orifices in the banjo fittings and bolts are clear. I don't even measure pressure at the turbo feed. We pre-lube the turbo, fire up the engine, and crack open the banjo fitting to insure we are getting good flow. After you do a few of these and know what good flow should look like at idle - that's really all the more testing we find necessary. We replace or install upgraded turbochargers on Subaru's at the rate of 3-4 a week and haven't had a failure in years. GD

None of that applies to Subaru style turbo's. CHRA's are a bolt-in with the housings. Using bolted tabs/washers or snap-ring on the cold side, and v-band clamp on the hot side. ALL stock location Subaru turbo's are built this way. GD

Since it doesn't, no. The Subaru engine was a rip-off of the Lloyd engine (water cooled). Completely unrelated to VW which was air cooled and used a crankcase that was separate from the cylinder jugs. The Lloyd uses a monoblock wet liner casting with crankcase and cylinders all cast together. Just the Subaru design. Subaru never "licensed" anything from anyone. Lloyd had gone defunct before Subaru introduced the STAR in 1970. But it's fairly clear that Subaru took the Lloyd design and ran with it - knowing that the company was defunct and bankrupt so there would be no licensing required or anyone to scream infringement. Subaru engine: Lloyd engine: GD

The CHRA does not require ANY disassembly to be installed into the housings. That shaft nut is torqued at the factory and is never touched till end of turbo life. That is 100% definitely not the correct theory. Take one apart - then you will understand. I have been through HELL with turbochargers. And there are literally 1000's of reasons I have the policies I have. As in I've lost 1000's of $ down this hole. Turbo replacements, engine rebuilds, etc. We install Melett CHRA's, OEM Subaru turbo complete assemblies (new or at times "good used"), and for aftermarket turbo's we buy Blouch or Garret ONLY. If you want something else - buy it yourself and I will happily install it. Then when it fails I will shrug and say "Your problem - told you not to buy that!". Everything else we have ever installed has a 90%+ failure rate. With my policies..... I can't remember the last time I have had to warranty a turbo related failure. Been several years. I would say there is a 99% chance they are using junk CHRA's. You can do EVERYTHING right and if the turbo is $hit, then the results will be $hit. GD

Yeah - but top fuel doesn't use transmissions - they just use clutches. That's not exactly comparable. There's no gears, thus no gear shift, thus the whole argument about them being more "fun" is really kind of baseless. Most people would not have much fun in a top fuel car. Mostly they would scream in fear like a little girl. The guy's running the 'glide are street legal. GD

Easier upgrade - 86 to 94 Nissan Maxima. Direct bolt in. 90 Amp. Scotch loc's make me cringe. No bueno under the hood. Do it right with some heat shrink at least. GD

Clutch pilot bearing. It only rotates when there is a difference in speed between the flywheel and the clutch disc. Think about that in relation to when you hear the noise. Roll that around in your head a bit..... Bearings make noise when they are dry, worn, damaged, etc - but still TIGHT. Once they get loose - IE: REALLY worn out - they get quiet again. If you have a wheel bearing that's making noise - no problem. Start worrying when it STOPS making noise again. Because that's when the wheel will fall off. GD

Tell that to all the drag racers running powerglides with 3000 to 5000 HP in front of them. I like a manual as much as the next guy - STi's wouldn't be the same without their 6 speed. But auto's have their place. The military uses exclusively automatics - because they are more reliable, less maintenance, less training, and can be driven easier by a wounded soldier. GD

A better idea would be to buy an inexpensive OBD-II scan tool (yes, your car is compliant), and check the live data for the temp sensor: These work well: https://www.amazon.com/Launch-FBA_Creader-4001-Scanner-Diagnostic/dp/B06WP4KY24/ref=sr_1_9?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1519317134&sr=1-9&keywords=launch+scan+tool For the knock sensor you can't really do this. Inspect it - if it has cracks in the housing definitely replace it. They are inexpensive and don't last forever. GD

Temp sensor won't throw a code unless it's open circuit. Knock sensor likewise. Temp sensor could be out of calibration and knock sensor could be over or under sensitive. Neither situation would throw a code. Computer can't tell a good signal from a bad signal - only knows something's wrong if there's NO signal. GD

Good for you. Stick to moving up, rather than spending time with lateral moves that accomplish nothing. GD

It's a 96 Legacy. They have approximately.... zero HP. Closer to zero than a "fun" car is to 500 anyway. It's not going to be "fun" no matter what you put in there, unless what you put in there includes about 15 lbs of boost. Then it may approach what we now consider to be "useful commuter" status - that is enough power to not get run over on the interstate. GD

New clutch. Reseal the transmission while you have it out. GD

The Audi is not factory equipped with competition level brakes. Neither is the Forester, but on the sliding scale of brakes, the factory Audi brakes are larger and so they can equip them with a much cooler running pad to the get the same braking effect. If you actually tracked the Audi the brakes would perform terribly. So would the Forester - but less so given the pad composition and it's lower vehicle weight . The difference is the rotor diameter and the number of caliper pistons. And you can see that in the price tag of the two cars. The brakes on the Audi would have to be upgraded for track use - and that would cost a small fortune. I've installed full Stop-Tech kits front and rear on an S6 for track use. It was still a heavy pig that wasn't suited for track use and got destroyed on track by our friends Mini-Cooper.... and just about everything else. It sounds like you need to get more track time in so you can understand your performance vehicles. And as stated above - the Audi is a complete wallet humping $hitbox. If you enjoy such things then the Subaru is almost certainly not for you. Take it from someone that works on all manner of performance cars on a daily basis. VAG is a just a raging group of Nazi loving thieves. GD

Compression test won't show anything on these when the HG's fail. They pressurize the cooling system when the HG's fail. Bubbles in the overflow, etc. That's how they fail - combustion gassed into coolant. GD