bulwnkl

Also consider that the coolant is extremely hard on engine internals. If coolant is getting into the oil pan you're chewing up bearings, rings, and CYLINDERS pretty quickly. I'd fix it or park it unless I was just going to part it out later.

More boost makes it more difficult for the coil to push the spark across the gap, so you might go to the narrow side of the gap range since you're having running troubles anyway. Just a thought.

Most power steering systems are very simple hydraulic systems. You can use ATF, power steering fluid, tractor universal fluid, or just straight hydraulic fluid in most of them to perfectly good effect. It's pretty easy to suck the old fluid out with a turkey baster like gary said, and new fluid won't cost much so you might do that just to keep everything the same and sleep well. OTOH, if you don't do anything with it you'll never know the difference. As was said, the XT-6 needs something different, but the rest are super-simple systems that will live just fine on almost anything.

Do the EJ motors need to have the fuel rail bled? The older ER and EA don't, but lots of newer engines (like the one in our Neon) are not a loop so they need to have the air bled out of them. Just a thought.

I run Nokian Hakkapeliita Qs. They were the ice-biased Nokian and they are exceptional. I would personally not buy Blizzaks. The conditions here (mostly wet or dry pavement punctuated by black ice, freezing rain, and light snow) tear them to shreds in about 2 seasons, but the super-soft compound that gives you that nice ice grip is completely gone before the end of the first season. No thanks. I want a tire that is consistent throughout its life. $0.02 Nokians are available in Idaho from Bruneel tire. That means you'd have to drive down to Moscow if you want them to put them on for you.

I completely agree with Nokians. They're not the cheapest thing in the world, but I think they're the best. They have dedicated snow tires, ice tires, tires that are studded with non-metallic studs, and "all-season" tires that are quite good in the snow. I personally have a set of Hakkapeliita Qs (biased for ice because black ice is more common than deep snow where I need to drive). I don't put them on all the time because I don't need them too often, but when I do they're worth every penny I paid for them.

When you talk about wagon struts & springs raising the car, are you talking about 2WD or 4WD? I ask because I put 4WD wagon parts under the rear of mine so that I didn't raise it up like 2WD XT struts would. Just curious.

You're probably right. Like I said I don't really know about that stuff. This was the post that really makes me think this is a fuel problem: If the A/F ratio in the exhaust is wrong, there are a couple of likely reasons. 1) The intake is blocked/plugged/stuffed up somehow. 2) Dripping/leaking/etc injectors 3) Bad info at the ECU causing it to create a too-rich condition. I believe that #1 should NOT mess up the mixture because the computer will "see" how much air is actually coming in... unless the SAFC is throwing things off or the FPR is causing so much of an increase in fuel delivery that it is beyond the ECU's ability to trim back far enough. I think you took care of #2. #3 could be from various sensor sources, I suppose, though just off-hand I'd suspect the SAFC given your success under 1,000 rpm with a little reprogramming. The fact that the rich condition only shows up under higher boost appears to me to argue very strongly in favor of the source of the problem being the SAFC or the FPR (or both in combination?). I hope my comments are taken ONLY for what they're worth; I've never messed with some of that stuff myself (SAFC). I'm thinking more along general troubleshooting lines than programming lines.

How were the injectors? Did witchhunter do a good job? Okay, my thought (worth slightly less than you're paying for it;) ) is this: You altered the SAFC's below-1,000-rpm programming and it fixed the idle, so that sounds to me like the underlying problem is the SAFC. How about fiddling with things above 1,000-rpm? I don't know much about these things, but that would to make sense to me.

The bubbles in the radiator are a sure sign.

Call me crazy, but if the compression is in-spec and it passes the leakdown test, I don't think "carboned" valves is indicated. If there was carbon buildup on the valves, it could get to the point that the valves were not closing/sealing properly, but then it wouldn't pass the leakdown test, and quite possibly wouldn't pass the compression check. This is a simple posting and description, but from the conversation here as is, the dealership's troubleshooting is sure different from what seems logical to me. This still looks electrical to me. Testing a coil pack can be misleading. Zillions of Neons across the globe (okay, hundreds across the country) have good coil packs according to the test, but replacing them fixes misfires/poor running. Not saying that's it, just giving an example. Is there something about the 3-liter that is essentially different from the ER27 and EA82? If not, then being 1 tooth off on the timing mechanism will NOT prevent the car from starting, it just won't run well. Again, I'm not saying that's it, just that I don't know and it doesn't give me confidence in the troubleshooters.

I can't be much help, but I'm sure interested in the resolution of the problem. If I was troubleshooting my XT6 and I lost 1 whole bank of the engine, I'd be looking for an electrical problem or a mechanical timing (timing belt) problem for that bank. Were fuel injectors the first thing they tried? As has been asked, what were the results of the compression and leak-down tests?

Deceleration smoke is usually valve guide seals (the increased vacuum when you close the throttle sucks oil past the seals) while acceleration smoke is more likely rings and possibly other sources also. Did I understand right that this is your XT6, or a turbo XT? A turbo car this could be a turbo problem. As stated, the "oil squirt" thing won't work on a horizontal engine. Compression testing should be done with the engine fully warm and with the throttle wide open. Pull all the plugs at once and disconnect the coil and fuel injection control (spraying raw fuel in all the cylinders will wash the oil off them and cause a lower reading from poor ring seal). Then immediately start the test so you still have as much oil as possible in the ring area to make a seal.

oddcomp, I would like to try adding a heated O2 sensor to my XT6. Could you please elaborate on how to add a heated sensor to a car that originally came without one? The phrase "tripped off the coil +" is too general for a person like me. I can work with electricals, but I hate it so I don't ever do it and I don't really understand what you mean. If you could assist I'd really appreciate it. Thanks! --Eoin

I have experienced zero increase in mileage in any vehicle from Mobil-1 synthetic (or any other synthetic) since my 1990 Honda CRX. Current SM/GF-4 oils (at least in 5W20, 5W30, and 10W30) are friction-modified and are just as "slippery" as the M1. Some have mentioned seal problems and leaks if you switch to M1 at this point. If you want to go to M1 and this concerns you, run an Auto-RX treatment first. That's your best shot to avoid any such leaks. Personally, I'd stick with the dino at this point, but neither choice is "wrong."

Welcome! I'll 64th the NGK plug advice. It's funny but some cars (entire makes, actually) just prefer a certain brand of plug. As for wrenches, I have a set of Craftsman, a set of Husky, a set of Pittsburgh Professional, various S-K, and a Napa socket set and 15" adjustable wrench (crescent wrench). The OLD Craftsman wrenches that Dad got 30 or more years ago are quite good. Newer ones (in the last 10-15 years or so at least) like mine flex quite a lot and don't fit nuts and bolts that tightly. At least some of their rachet mechanisms are also fairly low quality now. I don't buy them any more. The Husky wrenches (Home Depot) are extremely strong. The only actual test I've seen they are as strong against flexing as Snap-On. They also have just as good a warranty as Sears, and are roughly the same price as Craftsman. The Napa stuff is pretty good, but the 15" crescent I have now is not as good as the older one I had. Pittsburgh Professional (Harbor Freight's best line) is about the best value for a home mechanic. I don't buy them because I buy American-made tools. They're pretty darn good, though. The S-K tools are the best I have or have used. Equal or better in absolutely every respect to the Snap-On, Mac, and Proto tools I've used. They're pretty expensive, though. Not Snap-On priced, but more than the other brands I've owned. Okay, I'm done.

For anywhere from ~$12 to $30 you can send a sample of your oil to the lab and they'll tell you whether there's coolant (or water) in it. Then you'll know for sure.

It's up to you, of course, but if I wanted a LITTLE more boost I'd simply tighten the wastegate control dashpot (or buy a slightly stiffer one) before I went and bought any kind of aftermarket "controller." Also, to make sure you're not "losing" pressure across the intercooler, simply make sure the hose that feeds the wastegate control dashpot gets its "signal" (draws its pressure) from a point on the intake tract downstream of the new I/C. However, for the reasons I stated in my first post, you will not lose power by adding this I/C unless you're simply already at the limits of your turbo.

I'm with Gary on all his points. Plus, the new ATFs (Dexron VI, ATF+4. Unsure of Mercon V) require quite a bit of synthetic content in them due to their performance specifications, so I don't think it's cost-effective to pay much more for a full synthetic.

If you intercool a non-intercooled turbo engine, you'll get more power from the same boost pressure. That is because the intercooler cools down the intake charge, making it more dense. Therefore, more air in lbs. (mass) is required to maintain the same level of boost in psi (pressure). The wastegate is controlled by pressure, not mass, so it will stay closed until the set pressure is reached. The increased amount (mass) of air brings with it more O2, which is of course what you're burning fuel with, so you'll get more power from the engine. One thing that has the potential to screw this up is the turbo itself. If for some reason you're at the upper edge of its performance curve, it may not be able to efficiently push more air (weight) in, so you won't gain anything. Even if this were so, it would only be so at least initially at high rpm, so you'd still get a gain at lower rpm. If you continued to modify the engine, you'd eventually have to change out the turbo.

Like Gary said, aero drag is not the only factor. In fact, I don't think it's much of a factor at all with the newer Subies. If they'd gear the stupid things higher, I don't think you'd see nearly so drastic a change in mpg for a 5-mph change in speed. New Mazdas appear to suffer the same malady. Our '00 Neon, though, doesn't vary more than 1-2 mpg whether we're going 60 or 80. >100 mph will drop it more noticeably. I also believe the AWD is a factor. {ASIDE: Why it should be I still don't know. It takes the same amount of power to turn 4 wheels at 60 mph whether you do it all through 1 wheel or through all 4, but nevertheless turning those driveshafts takes some juice.}

I have XT6 rims on my XT6. Unless it gets super-slick in the winter, in which case I put some '02 Legacy GT wheels with Nokian Hakka Qs on it. The Tire Rack has a few wheel options for the XT6 listed; 5-spoke and 6-spoke.

I agree. Trouble is, Subaru has already stated they're moving up-market. Too bad, because I like their stuff. Not for over $30K, though. The kind of stuff they were making from, I don't know, ~'78 to ~'94 or so is what made the company here and now they're abandoning it.

My XT6 (AWD 5-speed) gets in the 26's on my 11-mile commute. It pretty much stays there even going 80 over to the state line. I've had it get nearly 29 before, but that's only occasionally and only when I'm driving all county roads at 50-60 with no stop signs. I agree with Gary about the AT vs. MT: the AT in the XT6 should out-do the MT by a skosh, but they're pretty much the same.

No need to swap hubs to use Impreza fronts. You will have to shave the lower mount on the hub or else spread the lower mount on the strut a little. It's not a big deal to do it at all. I have '01 2.5RS Impreza struts and springs on the front of my '91 XT6. They work very well. Drill the lower mount holes and use the mount bolts from the Impreza so you have camber adjustment/control.