Speedwagon

The stupid light has been on for a few years, which started when the clock spring went bad. I replaced the clock spring, and the light never went off. Pulled a code 21 and 12 today. Anyone know what that means on a 98 Legacy?

Age. I've had mine do that. I figured out wad just old, since it was the original radiator.

That's tracking down, not taking down... stupid phone keyboards. 98 GT 5 speed, 250k miles. About 8 months ago, I had all 3 u-joints replaced on my driveshaft. About that same time, I started to get a vibration in the car. So I took the driveshaft back, and had them check the balance on it. Both my sets of tires (winter and summer) were on their last season as well. So after having the shop check the driveshaft, I attributed the vibration to the tires. I recently had the winter tires replaced. After that, I still had a vibration, so I took the driveshaft in again to have it rechecked. This did not eliminate the vibration. I had the tires rechecked 2 days ago, and this still has not fixed the vibration. I rotated the tires to see if it changes anything, which it did not. While I was raising the car to rotate tires, I checked the wheel bearings and axle shafts. I could find no discernible problems with either. The only thing I noticed was a bit of fore-aft play in the trailing arm bushing when I was tightening the wheels. The vibration has been a rumble in the whole car, and not a steering wheel shake. The vibration comes on around 50mph, and subsides around 70mph. If it's cold (like 20-30F), and the car has been sitting, it will sometimes start closer to 45mph. Any thoughts on what to look at next?

Which one is the neutral switch? I believed it to be the aft sensor on the drivers side. Changed that one out, still getting a 51. Is this the wrong sensor, or do I have a wiring issue?

You do not need to plug them. They are separate from the coolant, and are for autos. They will not leak.

TPS would make sense. I've suspected it might be a problem for a bit. Every so often the engine 'hiccups' while driving. Just a sudden bump like I let off the pedal quickly, and back on again. I'll replace it and see what I get, along with the neutral switch.

It is. I'm certain now that out is leaking from the weep hole

The system is NOT burped. Put the front of the car on as much uphill as you can find, and idle the car with the cap off and the bleeder screw open. It's a PITA. The other option, is you don't have the cable hooked up to the bypass valve on the heater core. But if your lower radiator hose is cold, this is the less likely option.

Sounds like a typical Subaru that did not get fully bled of air in the coolant system. The hoses are hot because they are attached to the engine, but they aren't as hot as they should be passing coolant.

And that appears to be whee the weep hole is...

Well, just took off the cam gears and plastic. Not leaking from the outside. Appears to be leaking from between the water and oil pump.

This morning I noticed the following: Cold start, driving in 1st gear to get out of the subdivision and warm things up. The ECS light would come on, and then turn off. At the same time the light went off, the car surged forward. Then the light came back on, and the car slowed down. Did this a few times, while I didn't move the throttle. When I got out on the highway, the light didn't come back on, and the car seemed to be normal again. Eventually the code 51 came back on. I suspect I'm getting a different code when it is surging, but I can't see the light while I'm driving to confirm this.

98 GT. I went in to fix the coolant leak a few weeks ago. The thermostat housing was warped, and it appeared that the water pump had blown out the gasket. So I pulled off the pump, only to find that the gasket was perfectly fine. Put it back together with a very thin layer of RTV, sanded down the thermostat housing so it was flat, and put everything back together. I also replaced the hose from the pump to the metal pipe. Put coolant in it, and I still have a leak. When I squeeze the lower radiator hose, coolant was gushing out from the area near the water pump. I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from though. Seems unlikely to be the gasket, since the car hadn't been started yet at this point. It was a good sized leak, from just having water in the system. My only option seems to be to pull the cam gears and the plastic cover in that area to find it. Any thoughts on this? Possible area that is most likely?

87 Brat with SPFI. I get occasional surging when I'm driving the car, but only briefly and sporadically. Maybe for a second tops when it does it. It will do it randomly. I also have a code 51 that comes on sometimes, but not all the time. Are these things linked? Or just coincidence?

I replaced the radiator in the 98 GT Saturday. While I was there, I wanted to fix the thermostat housing leak as well, so I sanded the thing flat and put it back on. All was good, it wasn't leaking... until about 10 minutes in to the burping process I notice it leaking out of the bottom, at a fairly good rate. Shut it off, squeezed the lower radiator hose and could see it coming out slightly above the thermostat housing. Figured it must be the water pump gasket. So I tore down the front of the engine yesterday to get to the water pump. While I was there, I went to pull the crankshaft sprocket off. At first I thought it moved a bit, but then I realized it didn't move at all, the whole crankshaft moved. Maybe 1/16 inch fore and aft. I'm betting that is causing the random misfired I've been getting...

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The radiator shop tested the core, and it tested just fine under 16psi. He even showed me it in the tank. No signs of leaks. But with as hard as this is to get at, I opted to order one through him. $104. And he says it is on the discontinue list, so there won't be any available before long. About $200 to get one made. I still have the old one. I might wait until summer and see if I can find any leaks in it while it's hot out. It was showing signs of leaking though, since it was wet and there was coolant at the bottom of the heater box.

Well, at least it seems to be something you add AFTER you install it. Which I just did. Not too bad, though not super easy either. I think I'll wait and see how it goes first.

I managed to find the gasket on Rockauto when I was looking for the heater core. $67 I think? And thanks.

Among the numerous things I am fixing on the Brat, one of them is the windshield gasket. It leaks, at every corner. Just got the windshield out, and there is old adhesive in certain spots and some rust in spots. Does a new rubber gasket require any silicone/adhesive to be used at all? And is my best bet to wire brush the rust away, and hit it with some of the rust-to-primer stuff before putting the windshield back in?

The one from Rockauto is NOT the correct one. I'll be returning it, and taking this to a radiator shop to get fixed. What a nightmare just to get to the thing though!

I have not. I may have to go take a peek.

How did you find that? I couldn't fine one for it! I even called Rockauto, and they told me they had no listing for one.

Subaru doesn't have them. Rockauto doesn't have them. Napa and Carquest don't have them. Advance auto seems to. But that's the only source I've found. Are there any other sources for a heater core in an 87 Brat out there?

Shifting much better now. The clutch fork was certainly worn down a bit. So far, no stalling since I discovered that disconnected intake tube.