I was testing out my trucks winter performance and it was doing great at -20C. The 4WD really improved the traction...even with the crappy tires on it. I did notice that the 4WD button got stuck down but that wasn't a huge issue (I even found a fix on these forums somewhere; disassemble and shave a bit of the plastic out). I did notice a small blob of oil, but didn't think much of it at the time. It started fine this morning but it was a much cooler night (probably -30C). I was at an intersection and decided to switch into 4WD. As soon as I pushed the button, the engine died. I tried to restart it, but no luck (alternator can turn over the engine but doesn't even sputter). I ended up having to push it into a nearby parking lot (good thing it's light!). I walked back home and found a large pool of oil on my driveway, just inside of the right hand side tire tracks at the rear where the engine would be. The oil light didn't come on until after the truck wouldn't start. Any ideas of what the issue could be? It should warm up by the end of this week to do some investigations.
Oil source After taking a closer look at it, I'm 90% sure that the oil is leaking out of the oil pressure switch (or maybe the oil filter but it felt tight). Is there a relief valve in the oil pressure switch that would cause it to vent out if the pressure was too high? If I lift up the little rubber dust cap it looks very much like a grease nipple. See the attached picture, the dark areas are where it is wet from the oil. Any ideas why the pressure switch would vent/leak? I've never had any leak issues until just recently (using 4WD in the cold).
looks more like the oil filter tossed it's toys from the excess pressure...it was pretty damn cold there this week..
Thanks for the advise! I'll try that when it warms up this weekend. Does the ECU prevent ignition if it senses a low oil condition? (Supercharged engine)
From what I've been told, Subaru pressure switch is notorious for leaking. I bought one for my Sambar last year, but ended up using it in my Legacy. You can get them at Parts Source for around $ 11. S4010 (20-6591-8) is what you need. You'll need a bigger wrench to install the after market switch, but it'll fit just fine. BTW, did you get that a/c compressor installed ?
Thanks for the tip! That's cheap enough that there's no reason not to try. As for the A/C compressor, I've located a dealer with one but getting any sort of communication from them is proving very difficult.
Ah Hah? I've been studying the electrical schematics for the oil pressure switch and 4WD selector switch and found something interesting... Apparently the fuel pump shares a fuse (No.4) with the 4WD circuit (switch, solenoids, etc.). Sure enough, the #4 fuse was blown, effectively killing the engine. I'm going to replace the fuse and the oil pressure switch this weekend to see if that solves the problem. Here's hoping that it was just the cold weather that gummed everything up and increased the current draw on the 4WD circuit.
Holy shiat, I never even thought to drive the SS in the cold. Isn't it like efing cold like a freezer, in like -20...........( . )( . )............
Booyeah! Problem Fixed! It was the fuse (No.4) that was causing all the grief. Took it out for a spin last night (-1C) and the 4WD worked perfectly. I bought a new oil pressure switch and some 5w30 oil to help with starting/running on those really cold days, so we'll see how that goes. I drove it in -20C weather and it was just fine. It takes a little while to heat up, but once it's there that tiny cab gets pretty hot. The night I had problems it had dipped down below -30C. Funny thing was, it started and was working fine (definitely was cold though...shifter was stiff, wipers were slow). I'm guessing that the 4WD solenoid was frozen, so when I hit the button it overloaded and blew the fuse. I'd suggest either installing a block heater or waiting until the engine is in the warm band before triggering the 4WD on really cold days (the windows were starting to defrost, but the engine was still reading cold).
