RumblyXT

I don’t have any coolant smell, traces of it anywhere in the cabin. Maybe the inlet hose has been clamped for a while. I forgot to mention, the black carpet looks brand new for a 210K mile car. Another tell tale sign they might have worked on this issue already to get rid of the stained carpet from the coolant? How do you guys post pics directly here? Do I need a hosting website??

The subtle cracking/popping sound comes right in front and a little to the right of the driver position. I hope it is like you’re saying to replace the right side actuators. Thanks PS: why is my language in Dutch/German?? I don’t ever remember changing it..

Thanks Gary. The A/C does work wonderfully! Very very cold.. I’m hoping it’s just the heater core and maybe an actuator/s. Having rebuilt an engine before, removing the dash is much less intimidating. I just have to be very careful with all the connectors and electrical parts. Appreciate your input.

I haven’t gotten around to replacing both radiator caps yet. But neither one seems to be leaking, should I replace them anyways? I had a Subaru dealer very close by where I bought all my parts, but it went out of business. I’ll use water first to see what’s up.. Thanks for the links, quite useful!

Lift looks great! I have never seen snow like that. Will be in TN for the end of the year, I wish it’d snow that way..

Good to know. I will be ordering some OEM parts soon. Ty

Wow.. Very nice! Can’t wait to see the finished product. Subbed!

Hi everyone. My ‘05 OBXT w/210K miles, came with the inlet coolant hose to the heater core clamped with pressure pliers. This is obviously the reason why I don’t have heat. But what I’m trying to find out is why would the previous owner have clamped such hose?? Could the heater core be plugged, corroded or leaking and/or other heating component? I’m honestly concerned of unclamping the hose and ending up with coolant all over the cabin/smelling it through the vents.. What do you guys think might be the reason why they clamped the inlet hose? Would I have to remove the whole dash to get to the issue? I also hear the subtle cracking/popping sound of a door actuator in front of me and to the right when I’m driving.. Also, not sure if related but I have noticed the coolant temperature needle goes up a bit past the midline when driving the car hard for a few minutes.. Any help/suggestions is appreciated.

Thank you MaxCapacity.. Yes, I was thinking on doing that since this one falls under Tuning.

I guess to really find out what's going on with the heating issue, I'd have to remove the whole dash to be able to see if the heater core is damaged, clogged and/or leaking. I also hear the subtle cracking/popping sound of a door vent actuator right in front and a bit to the right of me when I'm driving, maybe it's also related to why they clamped the coolant inlet hose to the heater core.

Thanks for posting this, will use it when I'll overhaul mine.

^^All important question.. a mechanic friend always says to check the obvious first. Also, did you mess around with any of the fuel lines? Back with my '01 Forester, I had inverted the fuel lines and setting them in their correct pipes was all it took to start the car.. -Must check battery and alternator first -Also check the starter motor, does it go click click click and no crank? Sometimes cars after seating for a a long time, the starter motor goes bad..

Cool, I see them now

These cars on their stock suspension look pretty high from outside, but once you're driving, they feel quiet low to the ground. Can't imagine with a lowered suspension 1"-2" reducing the fender gap they must feel really really low. I'm used to my older Forester which sat a bit higher..

I want to see the pics too.. I thought it was just me at work and this freaking firewall lol btw.. what site do you guys use for hosting pics?

With those parts? Go OEM or go home!

Thank you Max Capacity, I've heard of your engine build thread, I have to check that out! I will replace both rad caps as well.. you give me hope on my 210K mile car. I did burp the system at the turbo/engine coolant filler tank with the big yellow funnel looking for bubbles coming out of the system while revving it slowly up to 2K rpm (I wanted to turn on the heater to make the process faster, but some intelligent person left a pressure clamp on the heater core line to the cabin).. I'm guessing it's probably leaking inside. The car was on jacks all 4 wheels.. I left the engine running for 15 minutes. The next day, I had to top off the reservoir tank, it was very low, but the job went great, no coolant leaks anywhere.

Just replaced the oil cooler water pipe today, it was all rusted and pitted. Also flushed the coolant as well, even opened the drain plug at the bottom of the motor. Then replaced it with Subaru 50/50 along with Water Wetter. Not sure if that might help with the slight overheating though. I have a feeling something else is going on. At least I know the car has the best coolant it’s supposed to get. Go OEM or go home!

I almost forgot, is the coolant temperature gauge supposed to go a bit above operating temperature if the car is driven a little hard for a few minutes(like stepping on the gas hard on a straight long road)? I have noticed that a few times..

I have a feeling the heater core went bad and/or there was leaking inside the cabin, hence they clamped the engine block to heater core hose to prevent spillage inside (I just wished they had done it the right way instead of such a hack job). I can always try doing a heater bypass from the back of the block back to it until I figure the issue with tuning first. Living in Miami we don't really need the heater most of the year thankfully. I haven't tried using the heater to see if it smells and/or leaks inside the car and now I want to do it even less.. haha A/C blows super cold though.. Car actually feels pretty good for its mileage and it seems to run smooth, no rough idle or weird noises. No CEL lights either, but they might have hidden those with the tune since I have a CAI, aftermarket Intercooler and a catless down pipe. If I cannot get a hold of the person that previously had the car tuned, I'm going to have to do a whole lot of reading and learn it myself. Might be beneficial after all to really understand how everything works..

I got so excited when I saw an OBXT was available around me, I didn't research into it further not knowing that any mods on a Subaru require a tune.. these cars are very hard to come by, especially one with no rust on the undercarriage. Bringing the car back to stock would probably cost me more money that I don't have now, so that's out of the question. Hopefully I can get in touch with the previous, previous owner so he can point me in the right direction. I've only had the car for a month, can't really tell if it has been burning oil, but I don't think so. I actually just replaced the engine oil today with Valvoline Synthetic 10W-30 and a Wix XP filter. And then on top of that, while I was inspecting the car under, I found pressure pliers clamping the heater bypass hose (talk about a hack job) that goes behind block to the cabin, I'm guessing to the blower.. I really know very little about tuning.. I'm trying to learn/understand now what I need to do. Thank you much for your help and links, I will check them out.

Hello everyone! I recently purchased an '05 Outback XT, my first ever turbo Subaru. The car came with a few mods: (AEM CAI, unknows Down Pipe, JRTuned Intercooler, Grimmspeed EBCS and a turbo to AVCS custom routed oil line), but no Access Port.. The previous owner was a mechanic who maintained the car for a year, changing breaks, fluids, suspension components, etc. until I purchased the car. Rumbly currently has 210K miles and I honestly have no idea what tune it has, and/or if there's an AP married to it or not.. already trying to contact previous owner before the mechanic. I'm getting really bad mileage with it (about 13.5-14mpg).. I really like the car and I'm very excited to finally own my very first turbo Subaru, but I obviously should have done more research before jumping into a modified car without its AP. My plans are to eventually overhaul the engine(replacing its seals, gaskets, grommets, etc).. What do you guys suggest I do in terms of the tune issue? I want to purchase an aftermarket CB exhaust but I don't want to do something wrong and end up with a blown motor.. Your help and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Kevin, what an amazing car man.. One day you can be with it at the track, another you day is ready for the trails/mountains, so versatile..so much work done to it. That's awesome man!

^^Ha ha.. please treat me gentle ok? I am a noob with turbo motors.. My previous and first ever Subaru was an '01 Forester SF n/a which I did everything on, even overhauling its motor completely. The Outback XT is my first turbo Subaru. Kevin, I'll stop talking about my car, don't mean to hijack your thread man..

Yeah, I should at least be getting 20mpg combined and I’m not even driving it hard.. My current mods are: AEM CAI, DP, some aftermarket Intercooler, Grimmspeed EBC snd the turbo to AVCS oil line mod. But my main concern is that it didn’t come with the Cobb AP and the previous owner doesn’t know anything about it either. He was just a mechanic who generally maintained it for 2 years, changing fluids, brakes, etc.. he bought the car this way.. I’ll have to figure somehow if the car was tuned and if there’s a Cobb AP married to it..