06-XT-Owner

I had an axle stuck in the rear hub on one and beat on that thing for 3 days. I used heat and any other method I could think of or find on the internet to get it out. I finally found a video that said to use a large hammer drill/chisel with a pointed tip on the chisel setting and that finally did the trick. I ended up replacing the entire hub because I beat on it so hard that I bent the hub assembly. Good luck. That can be a frustrating job. Tom

Your video shows your security light being lit when the car won't start. Have you tried a different key? Seems to me to be something with the theft system. Maybe I'm missing something, but that seems to be the first place I'd start. If the security light goes out and it still does it, then it has to be something simple like a relay. Keep us updated. Tom

How did you replace the torque converter? Did you pull the engine? If so, I think I remember that torque converter being held in place by a snap ring on the inside of the transmission or front diff. I'd be interested in knowing what method you used to swap it out. Glad you got it resolved and glad that you posted what it was for future searchers. Tom

I'm thinking that you have a clogged banjo bolt filter causing oil starvation to the turbo, causing the turbo seal to go out? Those mesh filters are very fine, but I agree that taking the OCV out and hooking it up to 9V to check it is the way to go. If it operates freely and is clean, you need to look at that filter. As far as the oil smoke, seems too much of a coincidence that it'd smoke that much and throw a code as well. Keep us updated, and I'd check the shaft play on the turbo. You should have some play, but if it's enough to rub the housing....time for a new turbo. Keep us updated.

Thanks for those posts. My daughter was the primary driver of this car for a while and she works 3 miles from home. So that would all make sense. Since that stuff is primarily in the valve cover (and in the larger of the 2 PCV hoses coming off the valve covers, would a catch can help? I'm considering routing that larger hose into a catch can on that side of the engine to possibly help out with this issue, although I'll be driving it longer distances now that I'm the primary driver. My daughter is back to driving the 01 Outback that she likes better because it's a 5-speed. Go figure. (insert image of proud dad picture here). Tom

Given that my filters were dirty, I'm beginning to think it could have been an oil flow problem, or just the one cam being a tooth off that caused those codes. The more likely cause is the tooth off, as when the VVT advanced, the computer saw two different readings from the cam sensors and since it didn't know which was correct, it could have thrown both codes. That just a theory, but now that I've removed the banjo filters and am in the process of adjusting the valves with different buckets, I'll put the engine back together and see what happens. I'm going to pressure test the coolant system with then engine out and see if I have any leaks. If it holds pressure, then I'll assume the cold weather is the cause of the white gunk and I'll run my PCV hoses through a jar to see what's happening there.

Underdog, Both of the banjo bolt filters were still there, and both were dirty, although not so bad that it would prevent oil flow. The oil lines between the banjo bolts are clean. The white gunk appears contained in the larger PCV hose and that one valve cover. The OCV valves are clean. I read your article about taking apart the intake cam gear, but I don't think I'm ready to dive that deep into it.....that last question about the cam gear was directed to your expertise. How can one tell if it's stuck in the open position? Tom

Thanks for that apexi. It's very cold up here right now, and my daughter was driving this car, and only making very short trips (less than 3 miles) to work and home. I may route my PCV hoses to a jar and see what happens. At least until the weather warms up, but I'm also going to try to pressure test the coolant system while the engine is out of the car. I'm blocking off the upper and lower radiator hose connections along with the heater core connections. I'll fill it with water and apply some pressure to the system and see if it holds. If it doesn't, I'll start tracking down the leak. If it holds, then I'll have to assume that your theory is correct and hopefully, my catch jar will allow me to catch the white crap. I'll then drive it until summer and then pull the valve cover off again and see if the white stuff has returned. Any ideas on how to check the cam gear to see if it's returning to it's home position?

Very cool idea. Thanks for that. That's my kind of solution for a problem instead of spending $200 for a specialized tool. Tom

Thanks. I posted it over there. We'll see if I get any hits.

Here is what I found when I pulled the valve cover off my EJ255 (2006). I recently replaced the head gaskets, and had the heads pressure tested at the machine shop. Any ideas where else that much moisture could be entering into my oil system? Also, any suggestions on how to troubleshoot it with the engine out of the car? The oil and pan are both clean and I don't think I'm losing coolant. At least not in the last 1000 miles since doing the head gaskets. I posted this same question over in the Outback Forums, but since it's an EJ255, I figured there be more people floating around over in this area. Thanks for any ideas. Tom

Underdog....I think my codes were from my driver's side intake cam being a tooth off, therefore the ECU seeing a difference in the two intake gears. That's the best I can guess without being for certain. I'm going to pop those two cam gears off tomorrow and pull that oil line from the front of the head to the OCV and check for clogs. Do you have a link to your DIY priming tank? I think I'm a little more concerned with the condensation in my valve cover at this point. I'm trying to figure out the best way to test for water intrusion into the oil system with the engine out of the car. Tom

Let's see if this picture-link works. If not, sorry. I'm a moron.

Here's an update. I pulled the oil pan today, and it's clean. No debris, no shavings, all is clean. I also pulled the valve covers off to check my valve clearances, and all of those were good. Two of the intake valves were a little tighter than the rest, but a .007 feeler gauge slipped right in whereas a .008 would not. So I'm guessing all is well there. I think allowable is .0071 to .0087 or something like that. Now for the not-so-good finding. I do have quite a bit of white gunk in my driver's side valve cover. I'm obviously getting some moisture into my oil someplace and it's collecting in the valve cover. Any ideas on this? Since I have 2 vent hoses on each valve cover, is there a way to redirect those into a container of some sort and monitor what's going on there? Can someone help me understand those hoses? I'll try to post a picture below Tom

Thanks for those replies. I do have a BlueDriver scan tool that I can track live data, but I'm not sure if it will read the OCV duty cycle and VVT. I've never tried to do those. Here is an update. I pulled the engine as I want to check my valve clearances since I didn't know to do that when I replaced the headgaskets. I may be asking more questions concerning that task. I found that my driver's side intake cam was off by 1 tooth. I'm pretty good about making sure the timing marks are dead on and rotating the engine a few times by hand when I replace a timing belt, so that is bothersome. I wonder why it's off. Did it skip or maybe I really was off a tooth and didn't notice, but I'll do better when putting it back together this time. My rear main seal has a very slight leak, so I'll replace that while I'm in there, and I'll reseal the oil separator plate and put a new o-ring on the wrist pin access plate also. Why not do it when the engine is out. My turbo seems to have slightly more side-to-side play than I remember it having, but it still doesn't move in/out. How much side-to-side play is too much? It's not rubbing the housing edges, but it's getting close. I would estimate 1/16" play from pushing it all the way from one side to the other. When pushed towards the edge, it probably has about .004 clearance between the housing and fins. Don't these things have a little play when there's no oil pressure or am I just being hopeful? Lol. All the advice is appreciated. More to follow tomorrow when I pull the valve covers and oil pan. Tom

Thanks for that reply. Both interesting possibilities. I'll have to watch the oil light the next time I start it to see if it lingers. Concerning the timing belt being off by 2 teeth...would the car even idle with it being off 2 teeth? Mine idles smooth and revs good.

I've read a lot of articles and other posts on these two codes, but I still have some questions. It seems that a lot of people say the car throws these codes once the turbo starts dying. But what exactly causes these codes to happen together? My turbo appears quiet and doesn't have any shaft play. I took the AVCS valves apart and they operate freely and operate when voltage is applied, and there was no debris in them. My oil is clean and it's been changed twice since I accomplished a head gasket job on the car a few thousand miles ago. I'm using Rotella T6. From what I understand from reading other posts, I may have an oil flow problem to the AVCS due to dirty screens. I'm 95% sure both screens were removed as when I had the heads off, I'm sure I checked for them. I'll say 95% sure since my brain isn't as young as it once was. It seems to me that if the screens were in there and dirty, only one or the other code would have shown up, but it's weird that I'm getting both codes. I'm considering dropping the oil pan to take a peek in there. My thought is that if my oil screen is dirty/clogged, that would cause low oil pressure and thus a lack of flow at those two valves. But before I do, I figure a quick post may save me some time. I'm not getting any oil pressure lights. Can someone help me understand some background to both of these codes together and what I should be looking at? Tom

Quick update....I did another check for gasses in my coolant, and when I do the test on the tank over the turbo....well....the fluid turned yellow. Bummer. Looks like I'm in for putting on new head gaskets. Anyone have a good step-by-step on this job? Looks like I'll be pulling out my engine hoist and stand this week. Tom

I've got an odd issue going on. When driving my car, the temp needle stays at the 9-o'clock position, and doesn't go higher than that. It did show a little high once after I came out of a store, but it went back to normal within less than a mile. I've since learned that this is not really a gauge, but an idiot light with a needle (stupid design if true) When I arrive home after a drive, the electric fans will be on full speed (A/C off) showing the engine is hot and the overflow tank will have filled up to the top with fluid. The engine will draw all (or nearly all) the fluid out of the overflow tank as it cools down. If I take the cap off of the top tank (above the turbo) after the engine has cooled, you can hear the cap break a vacuum. It threw a misfire code, cylinder 2 the other day, not sure if it's related, but I wanted to give all the details. I put a new coil on that cylinder and reset the code. I tested for compression gasses in the coolant again today, and the liquid stays blue so I don't think it's a head gasket. Yesterday, I put a new Subaru thermostat in it and idled it in the garage for 30 minutes. Using my OBD-II, it would get to about 203, fans would come on low, and the temp would drop back down in under a minute. I bought this car with a broken connecting rod, so this "new" engine is a junkyard engine out of a car wrecked hard in the front. I've never overheated it according to the needle in the few hundred miles I've driven it. It has a slight miss at startup, but smooths out beautifully pretty quickly. Any ideas on what I should check next? Radiator caps (has the lower pressure with ears on the turbo tank, higher pressure (no ears) on the radiator. Water pump? Thermostat? Radiator? Head gasket? Scratching my head. Any help or questions to prompt me in the right direction are welcome. I know this isn't on the OB forum, but same EJ255 engine as the Legacy GT came with (I believe). Tom

Thanks KZR750r1. I wish I would have read this a couple days ago. I could have easily swapped out the hot side. I didn't realize how easy that would have been. What is a 16G? I'm thinking of buying a CHRA and just rebuilding the spare turbo that I have. Those CHRAs run anywhere from $75-$400+. I'm not educated enough on turbos to know the difference, but this car won't be seeing hard driving so I may go towards the lower end and see what happens.

After installing my junkyard engine, I didn't think it was boosting. So today I discovered my wastegate was frozen solid. After some further troubleshooting, I've found that the wastegate shaft going through the housing has backed out causing the flapper valve (or whatever you call it) to bind against the inside of the turbo housing. Even when I finally got it to move into the "closed" position, it's not covering the bypass hole inside the turbo. I'll attach two pictures for comparison, one from the turbo off my old engine where the valve works, and the turbo on the car. You can see the differences in the exposed shaft. Any idea what would have caused this? Is this unusual and is there a known fix short of pulling the turbo off? Tom

Thanks for that input. I was about to load it up and haul it off to the recycling yard with the old warped rotors and rusty exhaust I have laying around. I'll hang onto it until I'm ready to list it on a classified ad. That's crazy that those heads are worth that much. I had no idea.

First time poster here. I recently purchased an 06 XT with a broken connecting rod. I went with a junkyard engine, but now I have the old engine sitting in my garage. Before I haul it to the recycling yard, I figured I'd ask the question....does it have any value? I hear how these EJ255 blocks are getting harder to come by, but I'm wondering if they're talking about blocks that don't need machined. The piston broke a valve when it came apart, so I'm not sure if the one head is even rebuildable. Don't take this as me trying to use this post to sell anything (I'm not), I'm just looking for advice/input from people that have more experience with these cars than I do. Tom