1 Lucky Texan

Keep in mind - BOTH of these cars wouyld be new to YOU and a real pleasure after so many miles in you present vehicle. AND the 2004 will be a used car too the insatnat you drive from the lot. Still, if you have the funds to 'get what you want' you should do that. Don't 'settle' for less. As much as you are in your vehicle - you shouldn't have buyer's remorse traveling with you - either for the money you spent OR the model you bought. I don't suppose leasing is as attractive in Europe as it seems to be for a lot of folks here in the States? Some who can take advatage of tax breaks when using their vehicles for work are able to trade in every 2-3 years. maybe a short term lease would work for you until you save a little more money for a 2005-06 or something? just some thoughts Carl 1 Lucky Texan

As a first time Subaru owner I must admit I'm fairly ignorant of the particulars of how these engines are built. Are there any exploded views/simplified drawings or other such material online? I can't even imagine what the water jacket arrangement must be like! tia Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Your commentabout the way the engine was turning over has me wondering if you really might have a broken or drastically shifted timing belt/cam timing. If you insist on continuing to troubleshoot this yourself, I'm thinking popping the cover and confirming belt integrity AND com/crank timing may be worthwhile. I wouldn't doit unless you're convinced you have spark and fuel first. I think slipped timing can also be felt as a puulse of suction on the tail pipe during cranking(assuming no muffler holes!) You might hold a piece of paper next ot your good car to see how it behaves and do the same with the stranded vehicle to see if the paper is sucked towards the tailpipe. I may be remembering this wrong - anybody else? hope this idea gets to you in time. good luck Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Well, far be it from me to second guess something heard second hand and related to this board concerning this particular car/episode but my extremely wild guess would be the PCV valve. And as others have pointed out in other posts here it can be inexpensively and usually easily replaced or fairly easily cleaned. While it can lead to problems with leaky seals I think that's the main issue with it. It is sorta the clean air upgrade to the old 'breather cap' and sends crankcase blowby fumes/pressure to the intake to be burned. Perhaps someone else here will know if it relates to any of your car's symptoms. Seems unlikely. good luck on your next trip! Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Thanks for replying with the fix. This kind 'data' is invaluable for folks doing a search in the future. In fact, along with the repair manual being compiled, maybe a file of 'Weird Symptoms With Simple Causes' or some such could be compiled too. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

We could guess at this for a long time but , I think we can conclude your car needs to see a mechanic. Its not like you haven't eliminated several possibilties - its just that the symptom is now so severe its difficult to perform any diagnostics. Starting with 'first principles' spark,fuel is a good idea AND a slipped/broken belt seems possible too. Again, there may have been 2 coincident problems. The first morning the car may have run rough because it lost its 'acommodating' settings for the engine OR you slipped a tooth on a belt during the start.(or????) maybe someone will have an idea that just clicks, but, another unsuccessful trip will be very stressful. Call a friendly tow truck company. It'll be OK. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

There is wisdom in sending your car on now - to serve someone who needs a reliable,cheap ride for its few last years, and treating yourself to a new vehicle at a discount. Also, an argument could be made that any major changes Subaru is making in 2004 may come with new problems. I'm sure they would treat the new owners fairly with recalls,etc. but , given the miles you put on your vehicle, why be a 'beta test' for them? It may be time to make a new friend! Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Perhaps they got some oil on the exhaust? Do you see any puffs of smoke coming from under the car? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Do a search here for the Purge Solenoid. I recall discussions about it but I have to tell you, there are others here with MUCH more specific knowledge than me. And I hope they will reply. I am a new Sube owner and new to this board. I'm just trying to help think through the possibillities. Don't discount the chance that 2 things happened coincidentally. The canister could be causing some type of over/under rich mixture I guess. Plus, when your batt. is dead/disconnected for a period the ECU tries to use factory defaults. That sounds good but it can mean that the system loses all of its 'accomodating' adjustments to little issues here and there. That MAY explain the rough-running after the first jump start. It may have taken several 'cold start' cycles to make its adjustments again. I 'feel' there is a chance you can limp home and I hope for that, but you should prepare yourself for disappointment. Pleas let us know how it turns out OK? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I notice from you first post you have 2 '91s. Have you considered renting a car and taking the batt AND alt. from your other Soob out there? Most parts dealers won't let you return used electonics parts but you have the opportunity to borrow from yourself. Of cousre, this all depends on you ability to do the work under roadside conditions. Still, might save you a 4 hour flatbed tow. It si odd that a jump now spins the engine but it won't start - that part is weird if we are trying to pin this on a bad alt. - I don't suppose the dead battery on day one could be immediately after buying bad gas? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

If you're willing to try something instead of having it towed, I'd pull the batt. from it, have it charged. If that goes well(normal current draw, good voltage, no swelling,etc.) Then either the alt. is bad, or you have some other problem (I know - that scenario seems pointless) However, IF the battery is bad, you at least have a chance of slapping in a new one, and starting the car. You may still have an alt. problem (overcharging or some type of intermittent short). I wonder if you noticed any change in the brightness of headliights or something during this ordeal? 2 years is getting old for a batt. in Texas though I suspect it is a 'teenager' in Manitoba! Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I'm with the other posters mostly, but, in general, some critical look at general conditions might help. is the battery very old? When the car was running, was the 'alt'' or 'charge' light on very faintly (diode trio could be bad) has the car been worked on recently? did some other symptoms show up recently? During the first jump start, was a knowledgable person doing it or could polarity have been reversed by accident? At first glance, it does seem as if voltage is low, this may cause weak spark, weird electronics functions,etc. Maybe, if your battery could be charged outside the car, or a fully charged battery installed, 2 things MIGHT be tried. An ammeter might show excessive drain from the battery when in series from one of the terminals to a cable. If so, I'd try disconnecting major components to eliminate the drain (I guess some small amount is normal for clock,keyless entry.etc. - maybe someone know about how much is normal) STARTING with the alternator. My daighter's Nissan had an alt. that was both undercharging AND a sneak curretn path to ground - very frustrating. If a different .fully charged battery allows the car to start and run fine, you batt. may have an internal short/bad cell. These are all just guesses. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Might be helpful to know a little recent history. like; Any guess as to why the batt was dead on day1? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Hauling my middle daughter's dorm room furn. up to Denton, I 'played' with the car a little more. The downshift/over-revving/jerking is noticeable but reduced at 70mph. I'd say it over revs 150-200 rpm before the tranny jerks it back down. Much less severe than at 80-85. Perhaps this why others haven't mentioned the problem - it's just not objectionable at 'sane' velocities - or my OBW has a problem others can't relate too? Please - if you have an OB H6 with AT let me know if you see the same thing when going WOT at highway speeds. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

perhaps, you could pre-purchase some parts , based on your best guess as to the likely cause of the problem, THEN go to a local mechanic. If you guess wrong you may still need to either wait on parts and drive something elese or have the car put back in running order and wait for parts hoping no more damage is being done or ,as you say, drive to the states. There may even be some kind hearted, on-line, Subaru parts supplier, maybe even 1 or 2 that monitor this forum, willing to take back any un-used parts. If you have only recently heard the noise, maybe Lesbaru or others can say about how long before a major disaster occurs. My 'guess' is you would have several weeks depending a lot on road,speed and vehicle load conditions. I hope you get this worked out. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Soneones wife just learned about that switch over on alt.autos.subaru - the hard way. Thought the 'brake lights' had been 'broken' by the detailing guy. I say, let's use that switch for something else. maybe a power port that stays on after the ignition is turned off? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Doesn't the alignment gear clamp onto the wheels? I think they could do an alignment with NO tires at all. Hey! It'd be a hoot to haul your car down there with 4 donut spares on it and ask for an alignment! Film it like candid camera - cool! Ok who wants the assignment? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I've only had one vehicle that had a front WB go out and it made a 'creaky shoe leather' sound at fairly low speeds. It was very noticeable when driving past a brick wall or tall curbs. I don't think I heard anything at higher speeds but the vehicle (69 datsun 2000) was kinda noisy anyway. If there is any doubt as to where the noise is maybe a length of tubing could be routed into the car from some suspiciaous areas. prbably just sound like the ocean but maybe you'd get lucky. Does the sound follow engine revs or car speed? Coasting? How about in reverse? What does a passenger report hearing?Change when braking? using the emergency brake? Doese the suspension and steering seem normal? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Here's a WAG (wild *ss guess). Check for a torn inner or outer boot. It may be ripped in such a way that it flapps around at speed but resumes a 'normal' appearance stationary. Actually push,squeeze, pull on them. There would probably be a lot of grease thrown around under there and since you didn't mention it I'm probably wrong. Coulde you have a belt that's ripped or has cord hanging off it? good luck and let us know OK? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Still no CEL returning and car runs fine. I guess no one else has noticed the same AT or CC issues huh? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

If its DOHC and his cam timing was off when he cranked, the funny sounds he heard COULD have been valves crashing into each other. The farther off from ideal timing the more likely this was to occur. He needs to quantify how far off he was and pulling the heads may be in order. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

OK - AT Subarus need the FWD fuse inserted if a spare (donut or significantly different size) is used right? Does it matter which corner gets the spare? Why aren't left/right diffs. damaged? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

It so happens my youngest had her PPC with her on my recent trip (see OBW trip report - very long) and it would hit cells fine but occasionally showed a roaming charge. I assume it just 'charges' more minutes - like maybe 3:1 or something? Anyway - it will work. Do be sure to keep a mental note of nearby exits/landmarks. I don't think it's easy to triangulate your position yet. You will need to give general directions to 911 in an emergency. Also, flatbed tows only for AWD Soobs OK? Carl 1 Lucky Texan

Thanx Josh, that's what I needed I guess. Carl 1 Lucky Texan

I think there was an event over at TMS right before I bought my OBW and joined the board. maybe Legacy777 said something about it? Don't recall if it was Soob specific or a SCCA thing or what. I'm seeing more now that I own one (like getting a donorcycle or a ragtop - you start seeing whatever your new ride is) even saw a Baja at the grocery store, but it can't compare to CO! Carl 1 Lucky Texan