2008 Diesel ownership so far..

[MackL98]

Had this vehicle just over 18 months now and its on 130k miles. No problems to report apart from the AC which the clutch engages and disengages after about 3 seconds, but only after you turn on the engine. I swapped relays but to no avail. I'm going to leave this one for now and admit defeat as I don't want to strip out the compressor clutch just now and discover that it isn't at fault.

What I have been doing, is sawing off the back half of the exhaust as it rotted through (sounds good) and saving up for a single 60mm pipe s/s straight through system off the cat. I also fitted an ITG freeflow airfilter which seems to have unleashed a few extra horses as it pulls really strong, way better than before. New oil (mobil 1 ESP 5w30) and Bosch fliter, and I used the JDMscan app to reset the oil dilution ratio (simples) as I'm told this is important. 

Giving it a good clean, I noticed a mud trap with some rust under a plastic trim section on each side, fitted down the leading edge of each of the rear wheel arches. I pulled these off, cleaned off a load of trapped mud and sand, to reveal a fair bit of surface rust. This was dealt with by Bilt Hambers finest anti corrosion products and repainted and sealed. The plastic trim sections won't be refitted as they serve no purpose and are hidden by the back doors anyway, but they do trap sand and salt and cause hidden rusting.

On doing this, I couldnt help noticing more rust and dirt poking out from the top of those plastic sill covers. I removed the covers (easy), and discovered about 3 litres (really) a side, of mud, salt and sand entrapped inside and down the front edge of each cover!! I cleaned it all out, and luckily found minimal rust on the sills themselves which were then cleaned, treated, painted and sealed with Bilt Hambers anti corrosion cavity product (like Waxoyl but better) pumped into the sills and the external covers replaced. Cant see anymore rust, but before the winter, I'll pump up any more cavity sections I can find.

Next was the four trays to remove from the underside and obvious surface rust patches around chassis sections, cleaned up and treated and sealed, this included the rear heat shields and a fair bit of surface rust hidden by them which was treated. I won't be replacing the twin boxes so no need for the heat shields to be replaced (removing meant ripping them off with gloved hands).

Last was a full set of brake pads, new tyres, and a up to date disc for the satnav and we're good for a few adventures up north (we live in Ayrshire, near the Galloway Forest Park).

Its a great car to drive, smooth on the rough with no signs of slipping or getting stuck and cruises effortlessly on the road. Checking the Subaru service history of the vehicle, all its had done in its life is a clutch and dual mass flywheel. A lot of car for 3.5kGBP! 

Cheers..

[Mr B]

Does the control side of compressor clutch stay powering the clutch (test it with a meter and check amp draw when runs if can), low pressure or other safety parameter maybe turning it off, has a diagnostic check been done on the system .

[MackL98]

I need to figure out the wiring on the AC compressor so I can measure current flow. Its not too obvious from the plugs etc. Ive tried another relay to no avail so its not that. 

What actually happens is that as I watch, my wife starts the engine, and when she activates the AC, I see the clutch take power and lock up and start spinning but this only lasts about 3 secs before it disengages. Inside the car, the orange lamp is still on on the AC (temp) control. 

Leaving the engine running, and switching off the AC (orange lamp out) and on again has no further effect on the compressor clutch, you have to actually turn off the engine and back on again to repeat this process with its 3sec run time. 

Never worked on AC before so despite being ok with electrics, I'm at ground zero here..