RustyShackleford

Thanks for the reply. Why would speedbleeders not help getting water or compromised fluid out ? How should I find the leak ? I'm not really losing fluid; but I guess it'd be air leaking in, not fluid leaking out. Can you detail for me how you'd suggest that I proceed ? Thanks.

I have to push my clutch pedal ALL the way to the floor and even then shifting is rough. It's been suggested I may have air in the hydraulics, so I want to try bleeding. A competent assistant may be a problem, so I want to install Speedbleeders (which I put on my brake cylinders, and love). But I have no idea what size they need to be (master & slave) and neither the nice folks at Speedbleeder, nor my Subaru dealer, has any idea. SB did suggest that the diameter is probably 1mm smaller than the wrench size, so that could be a starting point. And they had a note that a later model WRX was 7mm (w/ 1mm thread pitch and 8mm wrench size), which mine also uses an 8mm wrench. So that's probably it, except they have a "short" and a regular length version. Anyone have any idea ? TIA !

By the way, anyone decides they need to replace their pump, and wants to go with one from a junker ... do NOT buy it from LKQ. In fact, don't buy anything from those douche-wads. I called them, they said yes, we have one here from a car with 60,000 miles. I said great, ship it. When I got the invoice, it said the car actually had well over 100,000 miles. I called 'em and they said oh we don't guarantee the mileage on anything but power train. WTF ? They wouldn't even pay the return shipping, though they "graciously" waived the re-stock fee. And I had to call them back a couple times to actually get my refund.

I think you're confused. Banjo bolt is the high-pressure line from pump to steering rack. That can leak fluid, but not allow air in (I don't think). The three places air can get in are the two ends of the suction hose, and the o-ring.

Sorry, I haven't kept track of what you've already done. But sounds like either the pump itself, or the suction hose is leaking (if you can tell it's not the o-ring). I am replacing my suction hose and also the piece of return hose that goes into the reservoir (though it can't cause an air problem); got Sunsong hoses from RockAuto, much cheaper than OEM and they look very nice, but I haven't installed 'em yet. I can tell you that after I first messed with mine to replace the o-ring, I was having fluid pooled behind the pump and leakage around the elbow joint, and tightening up the clamp (I replaced OEM one with regular worm-gear kine) fixed it. In fact, mine is fine now (after a bunch of air leakage after some bitterly cold weather), but I'm gonna replace those hoses soon, and then I'll have to go through the whole purge procedure again (argh!!). Good luck, it's a sticky problem.

When I first attempted to solve my issue by replacing the suction hose o-ring, I tried to do the priming by turning my pump (original one) by hand. I never could get a drop of fluid to come out of the disconnected return hose. However, turning the steering wheel back and forth seemed to get the job done. I dunno if that's because my pump is so trashed that it can't move fluid when it's being turned that slowly (by hand) or what. EDIT: My pump appears to be fine. PS is good now that I've gotten all the air out of the system. I guess the turning it by hand thing just doesn't work if there's too much air in the system.

People over at subaruoutback-dot-org say you're much better off with an OEM pump from a junkyard than any kind of rebuilt one. I got one for $75 off a 60Kmile junker from LKQ. Haven't installed it yet.

Thanks, I did this and it helped my problem (whining clattering noise from pump, hiccup'y steering at parking lot speeds) a LOT. But I've still got a little un-smoothness at low speeds, and some leakage around the pump (but I don't think it's from the o-ring). I guess I need to replace the pump if I want these problems gone. The folks at subaruoutback-dot-org seem to think you're better off getting an OEM one from a junkyard than a re-manufactured one.

So I tried to do this today, and I could not get a drop of fluid to come out of the return line when I twirled the pump pulley by hand. Turning the steering lock-to-lock (with the wheels off the ground and the engine not running) did draw fluid through the system, so I believe I mostly replaced the fluid with fresh fluid. I did this after replacing the o-ring, which I did because my PS started acting up during some very cold weather in January (noisy pump, hinky steering at low speed, losing fluid). I also pulled the suction house and replaced the hose clamps with regular ones, so I emptied out a fair amount of the system, and maybe that's why the method didn't work. FWIW, I probably rotated the pulley 100 revolutions (clockwise as you're standing in front of the car looking at the pulley) all told, in between turnings of the steering wheel. After I replaced the drive belt and reconnected the return hose, and started the engine, the pump was very noisy, the steering very hinky, and the reservoir very frothy. However, after driving around trying to do figure-8s as much as possible, things got a LOT better than they were before I did this work - pretty smooth steering, maybe a little whining from the pump, but very little. However, after driving 20 miles or so, there's still some evidence of leaking around the pump (though I don't think it's coming from the o-ring area), and also a good bit of fluid on the outside of the reservoir (maybe overflow from further frothing ?) Appreciate any thoughts on what's going on here ...

Maybe this has been pointed out earlier in this massive thread, but I feel like DRLs detract from safety. I frequently see cars that have headlights glowing dimly and no tail-lights. A driver has seen the DRLs burning and assumes their headlights are turned on. So they end up driving around with no tail lights and dim headlights. I have disabled my DRLs and are glad to have done so.

Wait, can someone explain to me why we can't see the pix anymore ? (At least I can't, using Chrome on OSX).

No longer super familiar with the circuit, but recall the map and dome lights all get 12v at one terminal and are activated by pulling the other side to ground (0v). I'm thinking if you use the switch on the map lights, and they don't come one, something else is wrong, because that switch should pull the other side of the map lights to GND without requiring the BIU to be working; except it sounds like you checked and saw 12v coming to the map light assembly. Similarly, if the dome light does not work, even in the switch position that turns it on directly (without the door being open), then something besides the BIU is the culprit, because that switch should pull the other side directly to GND. I'm not sure where the trunk lights fit into all this: don't have time now to find that part of the wiring diagram in vacation pix. I'm thinking the previous owner tried the mod and screwed it up and who know WTF is wrong. So basically, you need to look at the wiring diagram (see post #178 on page #12 earlier in this thread) and use logic to troubleshoot from there. Maybe not too helpful - sorry.

Hard to believe the wires touching would blow the BIU if the battery is disconnected. Unless somehow there's still some residual voltages on capacitors or something. Maybe disconnect the battery and wait a half-hour, to be sure ? I think that was the rec when I temporarily disconnected my passenger-side airbag, waiting for the dealer to get the repair part.

Yeah, anyone who cares enough to do this mod certainly cares enough to switch to LED bulbs, IMHO. I have to admit though, when I bought my LED bulbs, it never occurred to me how they might behave with the BIU dimming circuit. But mine has been going about 8 years with no problems. LEDs came from autolumination-dot-com (see post #188 for details).

So my airbag replacement is finally ready, and I have to drop it off Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. I asked the service desk, and they definitely thought I should remove my custom wiring (from the radio up to the cubby). SO I'm thinking of simply pulling the entire head unit, and the cubby and bringing it in like that (I told them that and they seemed ok with it). But, one big question: will the car actually function properly with the head-unit removed ? I'm not sure why it wouldn't, but there's a lot of stuff in there (just HVAC, audio, and the emergency flasher button though, I guess).

These worked nicely for me ... [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009DRF3VW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00]Brightech - Package of 10 LED Replacements for Malibu Landscape Lights - T10 Wedge Base - 12V DC - Warm White Color - Bring Your Landscape Lighting to the 21st Century - Led Household Light Bulbs - Amazon.com[/ame] But you probably don't want a dozen. I had bought them for landscape-lighting fixtures. Nice warm white.

Oh, so just because one gets the letter, doesn't mean your car is definitely involved ?

I just had an informative conversation with NHTSA, trying to follow up on my question of whether it's safer to disable the airbag or to risk the "energetic disassembly" hazard. Of course, they said I had to talk to SOA, but when I persisted, I got the direct number of a guy who's supposed to know more, with whom I left a message. But I was told one useful thing. They said I could get the Subaru dealer to disable the airbag or to install an off/on switch. They said I needed to get approval from NHTSA, and the voicemail guy will supposedly send me the forms. Of course, local Subaru dealer said they could do no such thing, but backed off when I mentioned the NHTSA conversation. They also said they've had a waiting list of about 100 vehicles, so probably they wouldn't be able to disable the thing until they're ready to repair it anyhow. It also gives me confidence the mechanics might be reasonably experienced with the job once they get to me.

I notice the letter said there's a parts shortage. And with the sensible advice here to let the dealer's techs get some experience before taking yours in, seems like it's a good idea to wait awhile. The recall letter helpfully instructs you not to let anyone ride in your front passenger seat until the fix is done ! (Really ? How many people are going to do that ?) I wonder if NHTSA can give any guidance on the risk of the airbag thing versus the risk if you disable the airbag (assuming your wear seat belt, of course) ? What's the easiest way to disable the air bag ?

Crap. I have done so much custom work on my stereo system, I'm afraid they'll screw it up: - replaced 2006 radio with 2007 one, for MP3 ability and aux input - wired up aux input on new radio to a switch and pair of jacks in cubby - built a tiny power supply on back of cubby, with jacks for satellite radio and radar detector - ran satellite antenna wire behind dashboard from passenger door opening to cubby I'm sure if I tell 'em to be sure not to mess it up, they'll say something about not being able to be responsible for custom work. I guess I'll just have to remove at least some of the stuff before I take it in.

Just say they messed it up when they fixed your airbag. Of course, then you'll have to take it back in.

I've had good luck with superbrightleds.com but no one makes a pre-assembled kit for the entire car AFAIK.

Yes, 5 years for me, I don't see any reason it shouldn't last as long as the car. I can't understand why you'd keep the incandescent bulb and risk frying your BIU, plus have your battery drain much quicker if you leave interior lights on (either because of car camping or the like, or by accident). Sounds like the reason is the color of LEDs ? Surely you can find warm-white ones for your map lights. That being said, the ones I bought for them (and for puddle lights) are very blue'ish. But the one I used for dome light is nice warm color.

Haven't looked at the circuit in awhile, so going from memory ... but, yes, pre-mod the brown wire should be near 0v when the dome light is on, rising to 12v as the lights dims and turns off. BUT, the critical thing is to make sure you do not apply 12v directly to the brown wire; that is the purpose of reversing the wires going to the map lights. Just because the brown wire is at 12v sometimes (when the dome light is off) does NOT mean it is ok to apply 12v DIRECTLY to the brown wire, which is what you'd be doing if you got the wiring at the map light end of the new wire wrong. It's been suggested here, and I think it'd work, to put an inline fuse in the new wire (the one running from dome light to map lights). Maybe an amp or so. If you get things wrong, that fuse will blow, protecting the BIU. Inline fuse-holder is readily and cheaply available at parts store. You could even remove it if everything seems to be fine.

I did mine about 5 years ago (replacing the map lights and dome light with some LEDs as well), and no problems. Furthermore, I can't really imagine why there would be problems, assuming everything was wired correctly and using good practices (which the non-solder method IS, in my not-so-humble opinion). The only thing I could imagine is, if you leave the original incandescent bulbs, then you're considerably increasing the current that the BIU must sink (through the brown wire). That shouldn't be a problem either, according to reports I've read somewhere here that the relevant component in the BIU can sink a good bit of current. But if you care enough to do this mod, certainly you care enough to go to LED bulbs, so the current will in fact be considerably less than before the modification.