bulwnkl

Nice work! In most colors, I don't care for the early Bajas' two-tone scheme, either. The later ones, like my '05, have a subtle tone-on-tone look that I like. Did you flex the primer and/or paint, to allow the cladding to bend if hit w/o messing up the paint?

What I'm wondering to myself is: What would cause the diff to be low on oil? Most owners never touch the diffs, so unless there's something previously broken and it's been leaking, one would normally expect them to be factory-full. As an aside, if you're going to change the oil on both diffs (assuming an A/T), just buy 2 quarts of oil. The one takes slightly more than a quart, the other slightly less, but it all comes out about a wash.

Lookin' good so far! Tell me: Why did you decide to leave the body cladding on for the paint job?

Thanks for the info, nipper. To be clear, my rant was directed at the poster's assertion of what Subaru's design 'aim' or 'goal' is. I have no way to judge what Subaru's actual design goal is. The thing about not stopping before changing direction gear is familiar to me: My spouse prefers to discontinue her rearward progress by throwing the gear selector into "D." Coaching has not been terribly useful. I am glad that people are far exceeding EPA mpg ratings with Subie's CVTs. I think I've said before that I love the theory of CVTs. Having driven a few, including the brand-newest Legacy just weeks ago, I don't like them as well in practice. Perhaps with a certain amount of 'conditioning' I could learn to like them more? Won't know for some years, as we bought a Hyundai instead. :ducks behind large rock:

FWIW, my IR readings off the metal expansion tank cap are within ~5F (can't recall exact readings from last year) of what the ECU reports.

The cap on the expansion tank on top of the engine (kinda forward & between turbo & I/C) usually shows me in the 180s - 190s, according to the IR gun when it's fully warm. EJ-255.

Yep, and it's super-simple. There's a big screwed-in plug over near the water pump. I don't have pics, but I believe the pics of it that I found helpful were on this board. Drain the coolant, remove that plug, screw the block heater in, route the cord to wherever you want it to be, and refill with coolant.

I live in a cold part of Idaho. Here's my warm-up routine for really cold weather: 1) Use lubes (especially motor oil) with exceptional MRV viscosity performance (that means super-good cold flow properties), 2) Buy and install a block heater, 3) First thing in the morning, go out and plug in the block heater, then come and take a hot shower before frostbite sets in, 4) When I'm ready to leave, unplug the block heater so I don't rip something out of the wall and start a fire, seeing as how I'm a firefighter and that would look very bad, 5) Start the truck and let it idle a few to several seconds, 6) Go on my merry way.

So, you don't like hypoid differentials, then? (sorry, couldn't resist) I find that to be precisely the wrong attitude from any engineer or designer (which I think/hope was your point?). You don't under-design a machine and then tell people then have to re-learn how to do something they've been doing all their lives just so that the poorly-designed machine will last a decently-long time. You design the machine to handle what people actually do with it/them. /rant

Nice find, Nipper; thanks!

I think OB99W is right on target. Good luck to you, and I look forward to the report after the j/y trip.

I had thought SuperTech filters were mostly Champion Labs units. Is that not (or no longer?) the case? Champion Labs makes good product. I don't believe the filtration media is as good as Purolator's PureONE media, but the objects themselves are well-built. Also, I tried really hard, but I just can't help myself: Bheinen74, what does "undecated" mean? I even tried Merriam-Webster's dictionary, but they don't know either. Just funnin' ya'!

Unfortunately for me, I'm no longer in a place nor a position to have much in the way of spare parts around. This truck (my Baja) is not something I'm likely to have the capacity to replace for a while, so barring a major failure I'd like to keep it running well. Based mostly upon UOAs, but also upon the markedly non-stellar reputation of Subaru injectors in general, I'm slightly to moderately suspicious of an injector(s) dripping slightly or having other difficulties. I've only had gasoline injectors cleaned once before, which was on my ex-XT6. Although the shop did note better patterning afterwards, no improvements were detectable through mpg, UOAs, or running/operating properties. I did that one mostly ...just because. I can see the point about having feedback on flow rates and patterning, so I probably won't try this myself. Thanks for the input.

I know about RC Engineering, Witchhunter, and Mr. Injector. Because Mr. Injector is in my state, I'll almost certainly use him, but I was thinking: Couldn't I use one of the ultrasonic cleaning machines myself? It wouldn't be terrible for me to have one of those machines for other purposes, and maybe I could make it work to clean my own injectors as well. Any thoughts?

I agree, but that brings up the question I've asked many times on various forums, with nothing but silence from those in the industry who are in a position to address the question: GM, who designed and licensed Dex-III, and owned a significant portion of Subaru previously, recommends Dex-VI as a replacement for the A/Ts they designed to run on Dex-III. They knew that Dex-III sheared very quickly to the viscosity that Dex-VI starts as, and they designed Dex-VI to not shear much at all. So, after several thousand miles, Dex-III and Dex-VI are more or less the same thing (though Dex-VI is better in terms of oxidation resistance and other things). Subaru, on the other hand, stuck with a Dex-III viscosity range for their new fluid. I do not know whether it shears as badly as Dex-III did, but I expect it is similar. They really only changed in order to slightly change frictional characteristics for their new trannies. A jaded person might also suggest that they made a tiny change in order to force people to buy products with their name on it, too, but that's a separate issue. Subaru recommends their new fluid for former Dex-III applications. So, which is the best advice? The advice from the people who designed the spec, and whose fluid the Subie tranny was originally designed for? Or Subaru, who wants you to use a new fluid for a new tranny with very slightly different shift qualities? Or, should you stick with something that says Dex-III but is likely no longer the same fluid as it was when it was a licensed product? In any case, I understand where you're coming from.

I understand, but on the other hand, there's no such thing as Dexron III any more, so you aren't able to do that. To compound things, a great many of the formerly-licensed Dexron III fluids changed their formulations once the Dex III program was shut down. Personally, I'd suggest almost any 'universal' ATF off the shelf, or Schaeffer 204SAT, although personally I prefer the shift feel of the newer Subie fluid in my Baja.

I use the factory one in my Baja. The Subaru oil coolers circulate engine coolant around the oil in the filter head. This makes it more of a 'moderator' than a 'cooler.' Frankly, it's going to spend at least as much of its time warming the oil up as it is cooling the oil down, in much (most?) commuter service. I'd leave it on, as it'll be beneficial in the winter time.

SubaruAlliance, have you ever used, or even heard of, the 'test' you can do with motor oil on cardstock? A good business card will work pretty well if it's on white paper. It can be a pretty good, basically free way to keep tabs on some aspects of a motor oil's condition. I can't recall right now what the sort of 'common' name is, or I'd tell you the exact phrase to search the internet for to get some good photos and instructions. Just a thought.

Hey, SubaruAlliance. Actually I did have a less-than-positive experience with Amsoil in an A/T a very long time ago. Since then, I've used little or none of their oil, but I was using their EaO oil filters until recently. I have, however, seen a number of UOAs that show the fluid to be shot _well_ before the 15 - 25k miles that you see or hear recommended. In general, I think that Amsoil makes good fluids. I find it expensive for the results one gets, but they're generally good fluids.. It's just monumentally foolish, IMO, to run _any_ engine oil for 15 - 25k miles without checking on it during the run. The 2-stroke results you mention are very impressive. Please remember, though, that a good 2-stroke fluid result does not imply the same result from a 4-stroke fluid. They're very different oils.

I usually use bio-synthetic fluids from Renewable Lube (.com). However, I've also run Rotella T6 5W40 for a short while. Not enough info to compare to the RLI at this point, but it seems to work fine. Grossgary's point about change interval perhaps being even more important than brand is very important to remember, IME. Along that line, watch out for Amsoil's marketing gimmick of 25k mile drains. For turbo Subarus, Amsoil recommends the factory drain interval of 3,750 miles. You'll find that the thing about synthetic oils cleaning out engines is only partly true. It can sort of clean things up, but that's just as brand-variable in synthetics as it is in conventionals. For filters, I run Purolators. PureONE if they're available for my application. I've tried others, even very expensive ones, but the Purolators work best, based on analysis.

I hear what you're saying, but my experience with those engines in super-heavy farm service suggests that you're referring to extreme exceptions. Timing chains in American V8s of that vintage last _much_ longer than the rest of the engine in that kind of service, IME. Perhaps farmers use much better lubes than other people or something??

Well, I think the smaller bore/longer stroke is about efficiency. The hugely over-square EJ25 is at a disadvantage to (just for example) an undersquare Honda engine in terms of efficiency and output. I think that's all this is about. If it helps them fix the HG troubles in the process, brilliant! While I'd like to see a lower-priced, non-AWD option myself, I'm a person that really likes my Baja, so maybe that proves that a cheaper non-AWD vehicle wouldn't sell well. I don't think the Baja was supposed to be a modern BRAT, though. I think it was Subaru's concept of an Avalanche. Unfortunately, Avalanches only sell well if they're big like a half-ton truck. That's the reason the Baja didn't have a chance in America, IMO. I'm all for the timing chain. I have no qualms at all about running a timing chain for at least 300,000 miles, just like any American V-8 from the 50s through the 80s or 90s ran without any trouble. They do have to design and execute it for that kind of longevity, though, or else of course it'll fail expensively well before that.

I'm glad you got a fix made. Let us know whether or not it still whines, will you? As an aside, I do find it a bit humorous that so many are saying that an ATF, which is also a gear oil and will often (usually?) have protection levels of roughly a GL-3 to GL-4 level, has destroyed the diff. Humorous because so many run GL-4 gear oils in their M/Ts, which have the same hypoid front diff as the A/Ts have, and never think twice about it.

I don't like to do home-brew flushes because they are messy (though I did it a couple of times on this Subie when I first got it). Drain and fill is very clean and easy, and doing it periodically is all that's needed to keep the fluid 'healthy.' I just messed up when I over-tightened the drain bolt and didn't replace the washer on the improperly-built pan. Got it back from the dealer and it's no longer dripping. Oddly, though, I have an occasional drop/spot/something of a much more brownish fluid. Haven't messed around to see whether it's engine oil or gear lube yet; been riding the bike to work.

Yes, the sealant they used was a reddish orange color. They specified the exact product they used on the invoice, but I don't recall what it said. I guess that if it has stopped leaking now that they've had it a couple days, that'll be ok with me. If it's gonna keep dripping, they're gonna get it back until it doesn't any more. I actually went looking for some rubber or cork gasket material from which I could cut my own gasket for it, but the parts stores around here don't seem to carry that sort of thing any more. Thanks for the feedback.