Learning Subes

hearing that Subes have an aluminum oil pan, it would be nice to be able to find out the things that may be different in a Sube, to be careful with, instead of having to hunt, or trial & error. Picked up a Haynes manual for 00'-06' All but my Impreza, but figured it would give me ideas, and hopefully Subes are pretty much alike, and I can figure things out. With the Sube factory manual. I had a hard time telling that the motor had roller rockers. Haven't been able to figure how the shifter shifts the gears. Never saw linkage like it before, and can't find much of the linkage in manuals, or where it connects to. I need Sube Guru.))

I like to know details, like even how the oil flows through the motor, through the oil galleries. Some manuals give a diagram. Knowing details can help figuring things out when there is a problem, or that there isn't one, or one not that serious.

After my chemical injury that damaged everything. To do any work on a car, I had to write down simple steps, that included getting tools, and each one I might need, instead of Just getting what I needed, and I Even had to write down, Open The Hood, to work on the motor. My memory was that shot. I used to say I had to make a story board, though I didn't draw pictures, though maybe they would have helped. (( I'm a lot better now but still have to do a lot more than I used to, and have to wait for a good mental and physical day, And idea weather, and no distractions, so the Sube is a pretty big challenge, not knowing them, and me years behind in the technologies. They say Challenge the brain to Keep it sharp, or get back lost function. I Always Loved a Challenge, so I didn't shy away from a Sube. I lost two friends who may have been helpful. One had an older Legacy, and another knew cars and trucks inside out, and did all his own work on both, even after badly burned in a fire.

VF

Reply to
houndman
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If you really want to know all the compnents of the car, go down to the dealer and buy the Factory Service Manual. Expensive but everything is in there.

Subaru uses an electronic transmission. That cable from the shifter to the transmission just moves an external part with multiple electrical contacts. Put the car up on a rack and it's that "fan-shaped" thing with the wiring harness. Inside the transmission are a bunch of solenoids that determine what gear the transmission is in.

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Reply to
johninKY

I meant the 5M manual trans shifter.

I have the factory manual on CD, which is pretty difficult to find things in, and the drawings aren't that easy to figure out. I bought the Haynes manual that only has Other models, but figured they would be similar, if not the same, and the pictures help.

I always had factory shop manuals for cars. Even have one for a 52' Plymouth that had kingpins and bushings, before ball joints.

VF

Reply to
houndman

Had a 52 Dodge as a kid. Recall Dad paid $50 for it at an auction. Those were the days.

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Reply to
johninKY

The Haynes manual seems to be helping a bit, IF the Imprezas are that similar to the other models. Figure it may, but not going to trust it, since manuals have been wrong, and one not exactly for the model could be wronger. Is that a word?

I may have solved the confusion about whether the trans and front diff share or have seperate oil/fluids. The stick is said to share, and the auto doesn't. That would explain why the stick would have gear oil that isn't the best for it, since it will protect the differential, and Maybe hurt the trans, if the sulfur in the GL-5 gets too hot, forming acids, and corrode the syncronizers and shorten their life. Figure that having the trans dip stick plated with copper and or silver, will make it a "Test Strip" for acids that could form, since that's how they test oils for acid.

VF

Reply to
houndman

Hi,

You worry too much.

The only guys who are even possibly likely to overheat their gearbox oil know how to handle it. In a word, "coolers." They use a lot of 'em on tracks...

But for us mere mortals who drive on the streets, the chances of "overheating" gear oil rate right up there w/ getting hit by a meteorite or the sun burning out. Yeah, any of those events COULD happen, but one must learn the art of patience to hang around waiting for them to happen.

Look at the change intervals in your book. W/ gearbox/diff oils, they're generally sufficient to give you several hundred thousand miles of service given "normal" levels of usage. No change in oil will save a gearbox from being thrashed, which kills far more than "corrosion of synchronizers" ever will. Now a gearbox that brother in law of yours might have owned doesn't even qualify for THIS discussion...

But IF you're still worried, cut the change interval down. If it's 30k miles in the book, do it at 15k, or 20k. You'll pay a little more for fluids, more for labor if you don't do it yourself, but you can sit back and enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you've outsmarted the engineers. Considering the low rate you're putting miles on this car, the book's "time interval" for changes may well kick in before the mileage. Hmmm... maybe some of those engineers were smarter than we gave 'em credit for?

Rick

Reply to
Rick Courtright

Well, I have a lot of new things to learn about the new cars and oils, but like to know what could cause me problems in the future. I may decide they aren't something to be that concerned about, and maybe I will.

I've been planning an around the country trip, and might tow a trailer, though it might be in something bigger, but towing is hard on a trans and oil, and though they say a trans doesn't get that hot, they Also say that it does from localized friction between the gear teeth, so how much does it affect the oil, and what will I be doing with the car? There was confusion whether the trans and the front diff shared or didn't share the trans oil, which Looks like it's different whether a stick or auto, and that the stick shares it, and why the oil that will protect the rear is used. When something is questionable, I like to know why, and to Know where I stand, not just guess. I'd Prefer an oil that there was no question about, but looks like I don't have a choice. I don't like changing something just to be safe, or not changing it Thinking I am. When I had a car that the trans started to growl when decelerating from speed, and the sevice mgr said, They All make that noise, I wasn't buying it, and found out the trans only had

1/3 the oil it should have had, and filling it up got rid of the noise, and may have saved the trans, but was any damage already done, since it wasn't leaking, so might have always been low.

Reading that synthetic gear oil can be TOO slippery for the syncronizers to work right, and can cause grinding of gears, then what will corrosion of them do, and how much is too much? Hearing about the situations, why wait till something does happen to try to figure it out, if they can be avoided? This AM I went around and around with my ISP, since I had no connection. I checked the LAN cables which weren't making contact once before, but they seemed OK. One tech had me type in an IP address manually, which didn't work, and we were cut off. Another said the problem was on my end from testing the line. I repaired Windows and reloaded MB LAN drivers, and still nothing. Called again and was told installing the IP address #'s I was told to type in was a problem, and deleted them and could get on line. Looks like an iffy LAN cable, so will change it, and hopefully not have the problem again.

VF

Reply to
houndman

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