1 Lucky Texan

ZOMG! Yeah, for decades it seemed that anything on the front cover would NEVER happen! lol! Carl

DOH! (or should that be: DOH1)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/automotive_news/4255284.html

poor article I think but; http://autopark.blogspot.com/2008/03/diesel-subaru-at-200-hp-new-version.html

In looking back, I see I wasn't clear. After returning to A'zone after an hour or so, they said the battery boild out its acid and was sulpahted AFTER THEIR TESTING. I 'assume' they charge it, load it, maybe repeat? During some portion of that, I guess the battery either overheats or 'outgasses' such that fluid escapes? Anyway, I'm inclined to just wait and see how the new battery behaves. thanx for the ideas, opinions and moral support. I sometimes am hesitant to try even simple things without advice from others. I have some book learning, but certainly not as much experience as 2-3 or more of you guys put together! Carl

A'zone says the battery boiled out its acid and was heavily 'sulphated'. Got a replacement. (3 year full replacement - pro-rated after that. The battery was purchased in 9/06 !) Just now tried some of the same tests. idle no-load 14.1 - 14.2 volts. moderate load 13.9 - 14.0 heavy load - 12.6 2500 rpm - 14.1 - 14.2 at low and moderate loads. (didn't wanna put it in gear at 2500!) Some other interesting observations. My 'gut' feeling about the charge rate seems to be born out by the fact that this battery causes the rate to 'back off' much less quickly than the old one. I suspect the capacity was just so low that it was behaving like a small motocycle battery in effect. No single bad cell - just 6 very poor cells. Now the question is - should I still have the alternator tested? (OBTW - I haven't tested for parasitic loads but, since the charger will indicate 'ful', I suspect any parasitic drain would be either intermittent or only present when the car was 'on' or running. Plus, since the capacity was so low, a drain would likely have killed the batt quite quickly. Instead, it seemed it would hold enough for 2-3 starts, even over a couple of days, before finally needing a jump. perhaps there is some internal drain as well?) i dunno - I may make som compariosons with my WRX using my little charger. That way I have some baseline from a system that is not an 'unknown' so-to-speak. this is what I have; http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProductGuide/Product-Details.aspx?ProductID=17922 Carl

Some info on the web seems to indicate the H6 may have a spring-loaded automatic tensioner. Probably one of the idlers. I just need to figure out which one and how to pry it i guess. My 'plan' is to take the battery to A'zone (its a 3 year replacement duralast from them) and let them charge/load test it. If it fails - I get a replacement battery, put it in the car and THEN have the car's charging system tested. If they say the battery is OK - I'll do the same, but this way, if the battery is marginal/bad, it removes a 'confusion factor' for their alternator test. Carl

I think the previous post may be more likely to apply to our H6 . The way the belt goes around MY alt., I don't think would be tightened by swinging the alt. like shown in that pic. The belt does a complete 180 ( U )around the alt pulley. with the 'open' part towards the driver's side. I'll try to look at the idlers more closely. thanx Carl

No amp or any other accessories.. What's weird ishow low the charge current is after she reports needing a jump start. If the battery were really discharged - I'd expect high current from the charger. I'd almost bet there were 2 problems here - reduced capacity in the battery AND a marginal alt. She says it starts right up when jumped. So I don't think there's any neutral safety or starter problems. And probably the cables are good at the starter. Also the plates are covered with electrolyte. Nipper - any chance you could explain how the tension is adjusted? I couldn't find anything. Carl

OK, warmed up. rpm approx 700-750 I guess. no load - fairly steady 14.2 volts moderately loaded - 13.1 severely loaded(rpm about 600) - 12.5 to 12.9 or 13 (varied with A/C cycling) rpm 2200 to 2600 14.2 to 14.4 no load, moderate load, fully loaded. wonder if I had a scope if I'd see any excessive ripple? How come systems nowadays never seem to go bad in such a way as to light the 'battery' or 'charging' warning lamps? I had an Oldsmobile that lit the battery light very dimly when the diode trio was bad. My daughter's Nissan had a bad alt. and never lit the battery light either. weird. maybe tomorrow i'll make sure its charged well and let A'zone test it all under load. Carl

belt looks OK inside and out. (no cracks - not shiny /glazed looking) Dunno how it tightens, couldn't locate an adjustment. Seems tight enough though. The charger backed down to under 2 amp charge rate fairly quickly. Kinda weird. Will try further testing if I can.

http://www.ibsa.com/www_2001/content/about_us/current/may_2002/images/usmap_zones_lg.jpg just fyi Carl

Yeah, our climate is tough on batteries. I 'try' to check the water level every 3-4 months. But I'm really focused on the low voltage I saw during the 'alt check' on my charger. Could be a glazed slipping belt I guess too. I have some distractions at home right now (last daughter and her BF moving out) but, if I can't do further diagnostics some night this week, it will be Sunady before I can concentrate on it. Just keep putting the charger on it till then I suppose! thanx guys Carl

I just cleaned the terminals. I'm not a fan of them. Their construction seems to limit the surface area that contacts the posts(they have a sort of 'strip' of metal at the top and bottom instead of being a full 'split cylinder'). My 'gut' says the battery is OK. Charged it days ago and it 'seems' to charge well and indicates correct voltage. It is the second battery for the car (batts only last about 3 years here) . I think I'll give Autozone a chance to put their load box on. Its their battery too. (3 year full replacement!) Also, I'll try all the accessories but rev to 2500 (right?) thanx Carl

My wife's outback seems to not charge well. After a few jumpstarts I did a little investigation a few days ago. I have this black and decker charger that has a few limtied functions. One is an 'alternator check'. It seemed to not like the voltage it saw when I turned on some accessories. It was as low as 13.1 . Today her car needed a jump again. The battery seems to charge well enough. Is 13.1 really too low? (again, I had well over 14 with no accessories on - had to turn on the fan, seat heaters and headlights to get as low as 13.1) Is the voltage regulator built into the alternator? Is there a known short lifespan on these? (6 cylinder alts.? 100amps? ) Her car only has about 40k miles! I can't detect any parasitic drains but I may try to get an ammeter on it this weekend. Carl

Or airboat or truck engine (towing). Or think about using some of the parts for a built gasoline race engine! Carl

some pics, maybe a coupla new details http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080222/147866/

yeah the torque seems outrageous. Mate it up to a 6speed or even a CVT! probably make a good airplane motor! Stretch that baby to a H6 and slap it in the Tribeca and Mrs. 1LT might have to trade in her 03 OBW! Carl

It's not cheap - but does seem like FHI engineers really took on a challenge and won. another article; http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/01/subaru-boxer-di.html

http://www.testdriven.co.uk/news.cfm/2008-subaru-diesel-legacy-sports-tourer-and-outback points to look for; chain driven , roller-rocker cams 60mm or so shorter block variable vane turbo (I bet a MONSTER gas engine could be built borrowing a lot of these parts!) Carl

Nice - kinda reminds me of my old Civic wagon, it was green (snif) Drove that thing for over 19 years - now I think of it, wasn't all that green when I sold it - VERY oxidized paint! Carl

OK - I was just made aware of a strange occurence that will sorta fit in this thread. Ya know how Google Maps has 'street views'? Well, I dunno if they are photograhing DFW area in general (a coworker says Google will loan equipment to volunteers doing even small areas) or what - but MY address now has a street view. Not strange enough? OK - you can see my WRX wagon parked in the drive (and my daughter's Maxima on the street) plain as day. STILL not interested? OK - My wife's outback was RIGHT IN FRONT of the van/whatever taking the pics! You can 'follow' her right outta my neaighborhood! http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=3811+rustic+forest+76016&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.91431,83.320313&ie=UTF8&ll=32.69483,-97.197289&spn=0.008523,0.020342&z=15&iwloc=addr&om=0 click on street view and zoom,manipulate the view or click on the arrow north and follow our Outback! (you may need to click south about 6-8 times to see my white WRX wagon) We are fairly sure this was done between the end of august but just before halloween - probably mid-late October. Carl

I'm reluctant to give up the '5' side of the viscosity spectrum, especially in the 06 with warranty - but I could probably run 10-30 in winter and 10-40 in summer in both my vehicles to good effect. Maybe 10-40 after 100K miles of wear all year round. I dunno Carl

In addition to nasioc for high performance, I think there are some sandrail guys doing internals and other major upgrades. maybe outta Australia? carl