Need insight on three separate issues..
 

Hi all, fairly new here and was planning on taking the car to the dealer for three seperate issues. It is a 92 AWD. I tried searching for these but nothing fruitful came up:

1. Starter issues - when i turn the key to the start position, the car clicks (i.e. solenoid moves) but starter doesnt turn. The unit was replaced with a reman in september, and it mostly worked from the first try, but alot of times i need to have a third or fourth try before the engine would start.

Now the car needs perhaps 10+ attempts before the things gets going. The dealer said it could be the aftermarket alarm system (clifford) that has a remote start. We disconnected it from the staring system completely, and as i suspected there was no improvement.

Has anyone had this annoying thing happen to them? I'm goign in to get a free enw starter because I'm pretty sure its a bum unit, but is there any other possibilities?

2. A/C issues - the cooling seems to work on a mind of its own. As in it will pump out cold for maybe 5-10 minutes, then hot hot air for 20 minutes. The system is on auto and the temp is set to 65 btw. Truely a jeckyl and hyde story. Driving me nuts too. Anyone have this experience? Is it one of the three temperature/light sensors gizmos the controlling "auto-amplifier" uses?

3. AWD issue - this one kinda worries me, but it very well could be nothing. Yesterday I was switching out my snow wheels/tires and putting on my summers when I noticed as I was doing the rear, I could spin the wheel with the other side on the ground...i thought the rear diff would require the other side to spin in the opposite direction (at least thats how it was on my ex-impreza), and so there was no way you could rotate one wheel at a time.... Is the system on this car that different? Or is my diff dead?

Please help me out, if you have any insight, I would like to know it before I let my scooby go for a couple of weeks at the dealers...and maybe, just maybe you can help make its stay over there shorter

Thanks in advance

Bassem

Bassem-

It is very nice to see you posting. If you ever need anything, let me know. Unfortunatly, i really dont know the answers to any of your questions. Just wanted to say hi to another Pittsburgh SVXer!

-Mike :)

about the starter:

Not sure if this will work for you or not, but I did have a toyota corolla once that started whenever it felt like cos the main connection to the starter was soaked in oil. Engine was leaking, soaked the connection, damn thing was driving me nuts. Cleaned out the connection, and everything was back to normal.

If you can hear the solenoid clicking it's not an alarm, it's the solenoid. Get your warranty starter.

A/C: I'm not sure at this point, but I'll look into the diagrams. You might try posting Chris Debbans to see if he has any insights.

Spinning one wheel on an 'open' differential would require the other to turn backwards if the driveshaft was kept from turning. I'm uncertain how the SVX diff reacts as I believe it is a Ferguson type LSD. Anyway, it's doubtful that the diff would be bad, if it was broken to where it wouldn't transfer power it would be making a heckuva noise. I also suspect that the front wheels alone lock in park and the rears don't due to no hydraulic pressure locking the transfer clutch pack when the car's not running. Best bet is to put the car on a hoist and place it in drive for a moment, you'll easily see if all four wheels are turning.

I had a Toyota Corolla too with a starter problem. I was the original owner and when the starter went bad I put in a rebuilt. Actually hung out at the place with my son until it was done. It lasted about 3 months and went dead again. I got another rebuilt and that one lasted about 6 months and went dead. I took that one apart and the bearings had come apart. Then I got a rebuilt starter from Toyota and gave the car to a friend.

Since I haven't heard of many SVX starter problems I would go with a new one or Subaru rebuilt from Japan and not from a local rebuilder. It isn't worth the trouble. What did you pay for the starter?

On the a/c system there is a little window on the dryer unit near the ABS control. Do you see bubbles in the window? Maybe the system is leaking?

Yosh you are brave. Jacking up your car with the e-brake off! The rear dif is okay. Like Beav said it would be making a lot of noise. I also have scared myself doing this on the rear wheels and the front wheels with teh car in neutral.

My starter does that. It seems to be getting worse lately. I don't have an answer but where is it located anyway? id like to take a look at the contacts hopefully all i have to do is clean them.

It;s right by the dip stick for the tranny.

Sounds a little to much like my car
 

OK, I can't tell you anything about the problems you are having with your car, but I would greatly apperciate it if you could let me know the story when you figure it out cause my car is starting the same way yours is and my ac is doing that too. I might have done something about the AC, but I have no idea how it would tie in. Whenever I had my headlights, radio, amp, subs, radar detctor, and all the other normal junk on, the AC was horrible. When I turned the radio, amp, and headlights off, everything worked fine. I had also been having problems with shutting the car off and then not havng enough power 1 min later to start it again. I cleaned the connection on the battery, and it hasn't really given me any ac or power problems anymore. That starter however, is not at all as bad as it was. but she still acts up about 1 time a week. I know it sounds a little nutty, but go figure. :confused: Give it a try. Sorry it's so long, I'm just getting used to this. :D Lata, Mike

thanks a bunch
 

Hey, thanks all for your responses. I will definitely get the starter replaced (heck its under warranty anyways). I know that reman units can sometimes not be up to standard anyways like svx_commuter mentioned with his experiences. My gut feeling is that it could be stuck or damaged comm brushes in the starter motor, or a bad connection. I will also have them look for any contamination of the wires.

I believe I paid on the order of 200 for the starter. It's one that the dealer got from the Subaru parts warehouse in Jersey, so I'm guessing it was rebuilt in Japan, but you never know...

I think they won't figure out the a/c problem, they didn't seem to the first time 'round. Its something I've resigned myself to troubleshoot when I take apart the interior to try and eliminate all the rattles....as well as replace the burnt bulbs out of the radio unit. I probably should replace the seatbelt tensioners anyway.

Regarding the diff, I guess I'm okay. I figured that if the diff was bad the tranny would make a pretty bad noise.

One last thing I forgot to mention since I learned to just live with it: the automatic seatbelt return on the driver side does not always function when the door opens...sometimes it travels the full length of the track. Other times it just moves partway and then stops as if confused. But it always goes back to the rear position when the door closes regardless of malfunction. I'm guessing its the forward limit switch malfunctioning, but I was wondering if anyone else faced this issue as well.

Again, thanks a bunch for your responses and I will let you know what I learn.

Bassem