jonathan909

Exactly - that's what the drawing looks like. But I'll bet I get in there and there's no sign of it because it's actually somewhere in the center console.

Um, yeah, thanks... I know that. I have it. I'm looking at the drawing, which is why I said: -> The wiring harness drawings can be a little hard to interpret - it looks like the connector (B176) is way over on the passenger side I was hoping for a real-world clarification from someone who's actually been under the dash.

The wiring harness drawings can be a little hard to interpret - it looks like the connector (B176) is way over on the passenger side, but there really isn't any room there, with heater/AC blower, air bag, etc. Maybe up under the center console, but where in relation to the stereo? Can anyone tell me where this thing is before I tear apart the dash?

Interesting. I'm not anxious enough to understand this to cut up a perfectly good muffler, but I"m curious how it works. Is it just a clever fluid dynamics thing, or is there something in there like a flapper valve that diverts to the bypass at higher flow rates?

I'm finally getting to work on this pair of '01 H6 OBWs, both acquired over the last year. Today I got under one to bolt up the junkyard trailer hitch I snagged last weekend, and noticed this weird growth on the muffler - a pair of tubes welded to the body of the muffler go in/out of this little bulbous thing. Never seen one before. What is it?

I'd like to see that too - a thread for keeping track of what's good and what's junk. For example, I've been really happy following GD's recommendations on non-OEM timing components, assembly lubes, etc., and it'd be helpful to everyone not to have to hunt through hundreds of threads and thousands of postings to find that info.

As much as I love the EJ22 (when mated with a 5MT), it just wouldn't have the power to drive this thing with a 4EAT. The 2.5/auto combo is underpowered enough for what I do, which is why I'm moving up to EZ30s.

Sorry? How come? Did you manufacture these gaskets? If so, I'm going to have to put out a hit on you. Otherwise, you don't have anything to be sorry for. Sure, this is annoying. But I knew going in that MLM is the right choice, that this was an experiment, and that you don't experiment unless you're okay with a negative result. So I won't do it again, but I'm not losing sleep over it either.

When I rebuilt my '99 OBW's EJ25D last winter I bought the Enginetech kit from Rock. Convenience, you know, all the pieces in one box at a good price. First thing that was wrong was the ring sizes, but that was my fault - I didn't know that they varied, so I had to buy the right set, as it was too late to return the wrong ones. Then I found that the head bolts, um, could have been straighter... but they worked. And I was fully aware that the head gaskets were cheapies, and not MLM, but figured what the hell, it's the first time I'm rebuilding one of these things from the ground up, so it's all an experiment anyway. The experiment turned out well, it seemed. Ran flawlessly for the better part of a year, including an impromptu 5000-mile round trip to New York in November after I wasted two months trying to find someone to tow a sailboat from Long Island to Montana. Yesterday my wife got home and reported that the heater was sporadically blowing cold. Sure enough, bubbles in the coolant tank. I'll be ordering up a proper set of MLMs today, but could really have done without the hassle, esp. since it's still pretty cold here. Grrr.

Sure, that limitation sometimes exists. Also, lots of sellers (ebay, in particular) won't ship to Canadia at all, and for the ones that will the shipping cost is usually prohibitively expensive. So for all of those cases, I have a friend who lives just a few miles north of the Montana border (Milk River) and has a mail drop just on the US side. It's not always the right answer (particularly if I'm really in a hurry for something), but it usually works. So for most cases I'm covered.

Bzzzzt! I'm sorry, you will not be going on to the bonus round! But we have some lovely prizes for you take home! Buffy, show him what he gets... We've been through ths conversation previously - I think it came up last spring in the context of timing components. I haven't yet found any canuck sources outside of the dealers, and the difference between local dealer pricing and US discount sellers - even after exchange and shipping are factored in - isn't counted in percentage, but in factors. In this case, I'll be surprised if, after shopping around, I can't find these hoses at half what I'd pay here, if not less.

Thanks. Conversely, if there are any to be avoided due to bad experiences, they'd be nice to hear about as well. Overheating: Yes, that's my greatest concern about this thing. Don't need to do the head gaskets and then suffer an immediate bottom-end failure, as happened with my first ('99 OBW EJ25D). Also (and this is slightly OT), is it possible to pull the heads on this thing without lifting the engine? I've done it with both that '99 OBW and this past fall with my girls' '01 Forester (EJ25S). It wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever done, but it can be done. I suspect that with the EZ30D it's simply impossible.

Can you recommend any in particular? That's the plan, as I don't know if or how badly this thing was overheated. Will probably strain the oil when drained too.

Wotta glutton for punishment. I (still) don't (quite) have the H6 '01 OBW we bought last summer on the road, and already I'm buying another one. This time the body is in better shape, but it's a bit of a kit car since the PO embarked on a HG replacement but abandoned the attempt once he realized his facilities (i.e. back yard, no hoist, winter) weren't up to the job. So for the moment I'm just reassembling it so I can properly evaluate it rather than/prior to tearing it down. This should have the added advantage of being able to move it around under its own steam, highly preferable to trying to push/pull it in the snow... But what I'm discovering is that the EZ30 cooks a lot more hoses than do the EJ22/25. I have crunchy fragments of PCV, blow-by, and air assist hoses (four in total, I think) that need to be replaced, and the local dealer is quoting $127 CAD for them - way outa line for me. Where will I find reasonably-priced replacements?

Actually, I think one refrigerant is a fluorocarbon and the other a hydrocarbon. Gotta go look this up...

The question nobody has asked is: What are the laws in Oz? I've been through some of this. I'm working from memory here, so the interested reader should look this up to confirm or reveal if/where I'm off base, but the US uses R134a refrigerant and Canada uses R12a. R134a is illegal in Canada, and R12a is illegal in the US - the reason on one side of the border is that it's about safety/flammability, and on the other it's about ozone depletion. The AC systems will work with either (with the possible necessity of changing the dryer), BUT dragons await those who attempt to mix to the two. I discovered this when a few years ago I tried to recharge (with a little retail can of R12a) the AC in my '95 EJ22/5MT OBW. As soon as the refrigerant hit the system (which was presumably charged with R134a), BANG! - the compressor seized. So if a system already charged with R134a needs to be recharged in Canada, it has to first be evacuated before adding the R12a charge, and vice versa. (It's possible that this isn't actually about the refrigerant, but the accompanying oil - I can't remember.) So which do you use down under?

I know this matter is settled (i.e. "yes") wrt the EJ25/4EAT combo, but I gather that this transmission has some differences. So, still okay or not?

You have it backwards. You don't "store" codes in the fobs. The fobs are factory programmed (my guess would be that the chips are laser-trimmed at the wafer level before scribing, dicing, and packaging, but there are other ways to do it) and cannot be changed. It's the keyless entry unit - the receiver in the car - that's programmed for your chosen fob(s). The manual explains the process, and that the KEU can be programmed for up to four (4) fobs. There is no erase process; the way it works is that you overwrite the existing stored codes by programming new ones in over them. I'm not aware of any third-party fobs (transmitters) being supported by the system, but I haven't gone looking for any either. I would doubt it.

Guys, sorry to be catching up with this thread a little late - I could have saved you a lot of chatter. The fact is that there's a lot of bullsh!t out there regarding the Alpine system. As far as I know, I'm the greatest authority on the subject at present because last year I got p!ssed off enough at it to build a bench jig for sorting them out - all y'all should have referenced the thread: Here's the short version: These FOBs are easy to find at the wrecker - I've got a bucket of 'em, happy to send you one if necessary. It's a two-module system - the keyless entry module and the alarm module, the locations of which may vary. You can unplug the alarm module (which will turn off the stupid little blinky) without jumpering or changing anything else. If it won't program, it's probably because the contacts in your ignition keyswitch are worn and noisy. And being in valet mode does not inhibit the programming of new fobs. Questions?

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.

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?

I'm guessing the answer is "yes", but just want to confirm: Is the exhaust system (entire assembly from manifold flange to tailpipe) interchangeable between a '95 and '98 Legacy wagon, both EJ22?

Limitation noted. At the moment I'm not looking for high-performance, low-latency data, just a step beyond what I can get from a pocket error code reader e.g. temperature sensor readings. So I expect to get what I pay for when I get a $3 dongle (with free shipping!). As for Apple and Jobs, I 100% concur. He had two heads - one the visionary everyone takes him to have been, the other planted squarely up his a$$. "Control freak" barely begins to describe him and his legacy in their closed, fascistic "ecosystem". And they have a long history of doing unimaginably stupid things under the delusion that they were actually infinitely smarter because they were a product of Apple's obvious genius. My favourite simple but glaring example is that for a while they put the keyboard bumps on the D and K keys (instead of the F and J, which have only been the standard for typists since Jesus first picked his nose). "Sure, it's nonstandard, but it'll become the new standard because we're Apple and we're smarter than everyone who has ever typed or will ever do so in the future." And don't get me started on the abandonment of any notion of ergonomics they established with the iPod Touch and carried into their tracking devices. They're so far behind a 60s-vintage Western Electric Model 500 Touch Tone that it's just pathetic. Bollocks to them. Rant off.

I'm trying to get up to speed on this stuff so I can get live data from an '01 H6 (per previous post). Numbchux suggested Piston, and I cadged an old Android tracking device from a friend and downloaded it - looks alright and should work with even the cheapest ELM327 adapter via Bluetooth. But even that's a story, as the legitimacy of these adapters apparently varies ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327 ). However... I have a friend who uses an iphone, and from what I can see it doesn't support the Bluetooth ELM327 interfaces because of the way Apple implemented Bluetooth in IOS (Thanks, Apple, you have my undying admiration for maintaining your ecosystem's virginity.). So for that he's going to need a (much more expensive) WiFi ELM327 dongle instead. Question is: Are the WiFi dongles supported under the Android apps, or did the developers simply not bother because Bluetooth just works on that platform? And are there any dongles out there that support both Bluetooth and Wifi, or is that simply not done? Wide-ranging discussion welcome, including which dongles (of either communications stripe) should be preferred or avoided.

Thanks. To use it I'd need an android tracking device, though, and all I have around me at the moment is iphones. Can anyone suggest a similar iphone app?