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  1. B assembled the rear suspension on the Impreza. To make the Mustang rear calipers fit the Subaru front rotors I turned the rotors a little thinner, about a millimeter total. Second side I had to run a lot slower than the first. Since the opposite side of the rotor wasn't up against the jaws it was chattering at anything above about 100rpm. Also we only had one banjo bolt so I made another one. Will probably eventually get legit banjo bolts and better caliper mounting bolts but they all work well enough for now. Rear suspension and brakes assembled. ABS sensors and parking brake cables just zip tied up for now. Will eventually remove ABS cables and make brackets to connect parking brake cables. Black stuff running down exhaust is carbon washed out of the engine by excessively rich mixture when we first got the engine running. I cleaned up the wiring in the engine compartment, still some work to do there. Ditto the interior. Ready for the first test drive, just have to lower the car. Been on jackstands for way too long. For some reason the cam signal issue is back. Engine still runs but not as smooth as it has been, so I probably need to call Haltech again. On the plus side we drove the car around the block and everything important seems to work. All three pedals, shifter, and steering seem to do what they should. Didn't notice any tire rubbing or bad noises or vibrations. Didn't leak a drop either.
    4 points
  2. I swapped the stock fuel pump out for this Deatschwerks pump a few weeks ago. Will keep stock one as a spare. Z wired some plugs on my light bars that plug into the stock fog light plugs. Engine compartment is getting close. Have to mount the PS reservoir and clean up wiring. Got the cam sensors to show up on the Haltech but the engine won't run with any of them connected to the main cam signal, waiting to hear back from them on ideas there. Also have to have super low values in the VE table to run close to 15:1 at idle but we have gotten it to do that now and it runs pretty smooth and smoke free. Got the parts back from paint. B installed bushings in the various rear suspension components. Used Whiteline mainly for ease of assembly. Ordered some R180 inner CV dust shields and another wheel bearing, then should be able to assemble all that. Fuel tank guards installed. Transmission crossmember/skid went in much more easily than we expected. Usually after removing these things and welding them off the car there is some amount of bending and hole slotting required. Middle portion of exhaust not fully installed, might have to come back out to install stock shifter. Waiting on bushings and roll pin for that. Front skid installed. A little bending and slotting was required to get that to bolt up to the bumper but not too much. Front bumper and lights installed. Car is getting really close to driving but there will still be a lot of things to do.
    4 points
  3. I bought a set of the LED headlight bulbs that was deemed directly compatible with my OEM headlight bulbs. Big mistake. My digital dash went haywire and the engine began cutting out and otherwise ran poorly. Then the below dash relay switches were overheating and burning out. Finally, I realized that those LED's were screwing up my car big time, but only after I changed out my distributor, coil, cap and fusible links in a rain storm. Now I am back to the the OEM bulbs, have installed all new relay switches, and keep a handful of spare relay switches to pop in if I have any further problems. 524,000 miles on my 86 gl10 turbo.
    3 points
  4. Silicone is a no-go for gasoline applications. The best material I have found is Nitrile rubber sheets (aka Buna-N, NBR, etc.) and it is approved for gasoline and many other oils and fuels. I laser cut it to make fuel pump diaphragms for mechanical fuel pumps in my older classic cars. You can get plain sheets or Nylon cloth infused sheets if you need extra strength. I've bought from ebay, McMaster-Carr, Amazon and Grainger in the past. Plain Nitrile should be fine for your fuel tank sender gasket.
    2 points
  5. Its best to start a.new thread for your problem. Things that can cause bad running- first things to check, in no particular order - Bad fuel, Bad coolant temp sensor. Low fuel pressure, blocked cat.
    1 point
  6. Think I found a big part of my problems. That's the signal wire for the main cam. The purple wire next to it is the temp sensor which was bouncing around the last time I ran it. With that wire fixed it now picks up the main cam signal pretty consistently. Coolant temp is reading steady. Fuel injected is back to a reasonable amount too, still not sure what was causing the super rich mixture. One exhaust cam isn't reading consistently, checked that but it looked and maybe felt a little bit loose, crimped it more and felt solid but still losing that cam signal occasionally. Ran a lot better but broke up around 3000rpm. Low range works. Put the cam timing base maps and duty cycles back to their starting points. Tuned the duty cycles a bit so the cam angles followed the target fairly close. Ran better, pulls strong but seems to be running pretty lean under load. Got the brake lights and turn signals working (simple fixes) but gas gauge still isn't working. Put it on my insurance. Still needs more work but nice to have it running and driving well finally.
    1 point
  7. If you have the space, a 20 ton press from harbor freight is handy for older wheel bearings, I've done a few. There's a used KD hub tamer on Ebay, might be missing the two-jaw puller, same set also on CL for over a month, but I've not used one before.
    1 point
  8. So they sent me the wrong switch (or I just ordered the wrong size) but still plugged in. After that the voltage jumped up to 5v in the ignition coil. Spend some more time messing around and found that the fuses I bought were another problem because they were slightly skinnier and longer than the original ones so replaced that and it would start and run on her own! But I had to jump the starter still. So I replaced the starter to see if that was it and no it wasn’t so then I did the extra relay solution and now it works great. Just in time for the snow we got! Thanks for the help Brennan.
    1 point
  9. Ignition switch should be held in by two Phillips head screw/bolts opposite to the side that the key goes into. You should only need to remove the steering column cowling and maybe drop the steering column off it’s mount bolts to get more access. You don’t have to pull the ignition barrel out to replace the ignition switch! That has the funny looking bolts without a head on them. They’re designed to snap off once torqued up so the ignition barrel can’t be easily removed by thieves. I’m not sure that the starter relay mod will dive this issue since you mentioned it cranks over fine and will run in the start position but die in the ON position. You’d only need a 30a horn relay - same as what you hook driving lights up with. Cheers Bennie
    1 point
  10. Adding a relay to the ignition circuit may help.
    1 point
  11. (the subtitle "safe highway speeds" in the title pertains to engine rpm, not what one's opinion on what speeds are considered safe to travel. This thread isn't about driving habits or opinions on that matter, it is about information regarding gear ratios and engine reliability, maintainance, and engine speed sustainability) Over the years it's come to my attention on many occasions that a lot of people are put off by the (relatively) archaic gearing ea82 body cars have. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen on here of people questioning the high RPMS their car is turning at highway speeds (especially those with the 3 speed automatic transmission) I wanted to make this thread to document certain things I know through my own personal experience to be true, as well as to qualm any fears some people may have in regards to their vehicle and its ability to "Keep up with traffic" on today's highways. I've been driving ea82 vehicles for about 10 years now, and in those 10 years I've driven a good variety of their different formats: A 93 3 speed FWD SPFI Loyale I drove around for a good 6 years or so, both on the highway and in city driving. I took it to Canada and back from New Jersey An 87 dual range 4WD 5 speed carby GL I drove around for 3 years, both on the highway and in city driving. I drove that car across the country four times. An 86 push button 4WD 3 speed MPFI turbo GL-10 that is a current project I have that I have driven on the highway a few times and around town every now and then a 93 5 speed FWD SPFI Loyale that is currently my daily driver. I drive this car on the highway a-LOT, and around town a-LOT. In fact I drive this car....a-LOT. I've put 16,xxx on it over the past 10 months and 700+ miles on it just this past weekend. I am also an automotive mechanic and I am the sole person who has maintained each and every one of the above cars while they were owned by me. The key component to driving any of these old subarus around so much is to have confidence in them, and, knowing that I am the person responsible for their upkeep, that confidence is something I have never lacked, and I drive my cars accordingly. That being said; Regarding the 3 speed automatic cars, yes, you can do 70 mph in it. It's not going to explode. At least not unless it was going to for some reason or another anyway. I recommend that you stay on top of your oil changes (I use mobil 1 conventional 10/30 or 10/40 oil + filters year round in all my vehicles), and that you are confident in the condition of your timing belts and components. The issue here is that at 70 mph you're going to be running that lil ea82 at about 4,100 RPM. Now that's no big deal to the short stroke boxer motor itself (these engines are used in airplanes where they run high RPM for hours), but it's your alternator, your waterpump, and your timing belts and their pulleys and idlers that may complain here. If you just picked up a 92 Loyale with 38,000 miles on it that means it has slept a lot in it's 25 year existence. The bearings in that original alternator aren't going to like being subjected to you running the motor at 4,000 rpm for long. Neither is that super dried out and old timing belt. This goes for any other car, but the 3 speeds especially because of how poorly they are geared for highway use. So basically what I'm saying is that if you plan on using your 3 speed car on the highway, please make sure important components such as those I've mentioned are in good shape, and/or have spares at the ready. Also make sure the transmission fluid is in decent condition and the differential oil is as well. My real world experience with the 3 speed car on the highway is well over 10,000 miles. I drove that 3 speed loyale from NJ to Toronto doing 65-70 mph basically the whole way. It took a long time, but that was hours and hours and hours of sustained 4,000-ish rpms. And it'll get about 25 mpg at those speeds. I've also peaked a 3 speed auto at 100 mph @ 6,400 rpms. Out of curiosity. I've also driven a 3 speed auto car at speeds in excess of 75 mph for over 3 hours straight. Moving on to the 5 speed dual range 2 things; It is awesome. Please check your gear oil. I burned mine up because I drove it across the country twice without following my own advice. That being said it had no problem running 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 mph but my god the thing was gutless climbing those mountains out there. 3rd gear with my foot to the floor barely maintaining 55. This car taught me the lessons about low mile cars. I bought this 87 GL in 2012 and it only had 46,000 miles on it. I slapped plates on it, loaded it with people and stuff and took it from NJ to Nevada twice. The first trip I had 2 things happen; the water pump gave up the ghost as soon as my 5,000+ mile trip concluded and I was back in my hometown, and the 28 year old gear oil had (unbeknownst to me) turned to water and I fried the trans. I took it across the country again with fresh gear oil a second time and had no trouble, other than noise. Risky, but it did it. I still have that trans, and it still worked when I pulled it, just made lots of noise. I'm not even going to touch on the 3 speed push button in the turbo car because I don't drive it much. All I can say is that it seems to be geared differently than the FWD naturally aspirated car. 4,000 rpm is about 73 or so mph in it, whereas that would be 68-70mph in the FWD car. Last, and most extensively researched but surely not least is the FWD 5 speed in my daily driver Loyale. I have numbers due to recent curiosity: (All numbers are while in 5th gear) 3,450 rpm - 78 MPH 3,600 rpm - 80 MPH 3,900 rpm - 86 MPH 4,200 rpm - 89 MPH 4,500 rpm - 95 MPH 4,900 rpm - 98 MPH 4,950 rpm - 100 MPH 5,100 rpm - 106 MPH I find myself typically cruising at about 80-85 mph and my ea82 is humming along comfortably in the 3,600 - 3,900 rpm range. Right where the old 3 speed auto I used to drive would comfortably sit while I jostled along at 65 hahaha I find this convenient because anytime I notice I'm around 4,000 rpm, I know I'm going a bit *too* fast. I honestly find myself looking at the tach more than the speedometer. Once you get past that 4,500 rpm threshold though, two things happen: You lose the ability to (relatively) easily maintain speed (You can hold 95 without having to have your foot to the floor the entire time) and, you really start pushing the limits of your motor. I've run these engines at over 5,000 rpm for a couple hours and nothing catastrophic occurred, but I really would advise against anything over 4,500. Not to mention, there's no more power up there anyway. It all starts around 4,000 rpm and just rapidly drops off over 4,500. So to recap; 4,000 rpm = OK 4,500 rpm = Still OK! Over 4,500 rpm = Not smart. Make sure your timing belts and pulleys are good Maintain your vehicle HAVE GOOD TIRES (don't go flying around on dry-rotted tires from 1996) And every bit of information I shared in this post is entirely based on my personal experiences with various ea82 subaru vehicles over the course of the past decade. Your mileage very well may vary (And it probably will as the FSM shows a good bit of gearing variation through the 1985-1994 ea82 run).
    1 point
  12. hold onto the bad trans until you know the donor trans pan isn’t dented and it doesn’t have toque bind. And it’s not missing the torque converter, stubby shafts, or shift switch on the passengers side. Usualky they just come with all that stuff but I’ve seen all of those missing or damaged before too. but in general, Nope. They’re basically the same trans with slightly different guts inside and all that stuff usually stays with the trans Torque bind isn’t uncommon so if you wanted you could save the rear extension housing (it’s like 6 or 8 easy bolts and it pops right off). It has the 4WD clutches and solenoid. Or just hold onto the trans At least until you drive it and verify the donor trans doesn’t have torque bind. Then throw it away or keep the rear housing if you have room. make sure he knows how to properly seat the torque converter, if you don’t the oil pump will crack inside the trans. The torque converter and flex plate should not touch when the trans is bolted up to the engine and installed. The flex plate bolts will draw them together.
    1 point
  13. I would simply top off the oil at every other tank fill rather than risk all that can go wrong having someone swap in another block. Plenty of things can go wrong after an engine swap on a used car and then the blame game begins. I agree with thicker oil as well.
    1 point
  14. Sounds like it may need to go to the dealer. Was the windshield replaced recently?
    1 point
  15. Moving forward with the reupholster of my 81 GL wagon front seats (only) going to try the Karo Madras 5710 brown plaid from Relicate. Here are some pictures of the fabrics side by side. Fyi if your drivers side seat leans to the passenger side as mine did, caused by pushing on the seat back as you wiggle in, you might have a broken frame near the adjustment mechanism it was a wonder the seat gave any support at all. Oh one more thing to remove the GL headrests you need to take the seat cover off then reach thru the front foam in two places and pull a pin, the head rest will then slide out. There are three rods for hog ring placement, the bottom one is the longest then the middle front has extra curly ends and the back top rod is the shortest one. Construction of the seat is as follows from outside in: Woven plaid material/vinyl sides A cotton or some sort of backing where your rear end sits Plastic but only on the shoulders and back of the seat. Foam molded into the seat springs Steel frame Duplicate pictures are with and without flash
    1 point
  16. Update, orange clock is working perfectly after more than a year
    1 point
  17. SubieGal can update this further, but as of today, the FF-1 is on display at America's Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington! (also known as LeMay's Automotive Museum) https://www.americascarmuseum.org/ https://i.imgur.com/fuAQIxr.jpg The exhibit is called "SHINKA" and is basically a HUGE JDM exhibit with all sorts of Japanese brands being featured. SubieGal has quite a few other cars there too! Sadly, I probably won't get to see the exhibit due to family issues But this is beyond what I could ever have accomplished with the car and I can die happy now The exhibit opens to the public on 3/16/2024 and will supposedly be around awhile if anyone wants to see it on display!!!
    1 point
  18. Went back over every detail and found that there were two teeth missing from the crank sprocket. Replaced and starts right up. Will test drive tomorrow.
    1 point
  19. Nobody click the links in the post above! New member, edited post. Sketchy AF
    1 point
  20. Subaru OEM boots? They’re way better than standard aftermarket. They don’t break in a year. I reboot my Subarus when I get them and never have to do it again even after 100,000 miles. That never happens with aftermarket. if you’re using 90s axles upgrade to 00-04 Outback style axles. the boot material is better, particularly the outer boot, it’s “stiffer” and the outer boot has more convolutions. They have the tone ring on them, just tap it off with a hammer it just sits on the ridge. They can even be left on but I remove them. They’re a direct swap into 90s EJ vehicles. I’ve seen silicon boots for sale but I forget where. Google should find some.
    1 point
  21. Gone are the days of BAP-Geon auto parts stores. Beck-Arnley catalog https://www.beckarnley.com/find-my-part/find-my-part-results.html?type[value]=2&type[label]=Light Duty&year[value]=1996&year[label]=1996&make[value]=13&make[label]=Subaru&model[value]=64&model[label]=Legacy I seem to recall that the CV boot B-A part numbers beginning with 2xx-xxx were silicone. Maybe search fleabay for those(?) Dorman markets silicone cv boots. Pricey at $50 each though.
    1 point
  22. Thanks for the replies. Would be sweet if it worked. Might have to dig around and do more research.
    1 point
  23. It looks like a bolt and nut to keep with a chain for lifting engines, etc. 14mm old gen bolts: suspension: ball joint, cross member. Most are 12 but some engine accessory bracket hold down bolts - like A/C bracket, P/S, Alt are 14mm. bellhousing and head bolts but this isn't one of them.
    1 point
  24. Thanks for the encouragement and advice idosubaru and Moonsens. I'll be pressing forward and doing a lot of digging through the forums I'm sure. Moonsens, I agree, swapping the trans is in the dream, however, I know the trans from my old GL is in rough shape. I'll need to do my research on how rebuildable they are, or if the parts are even available.
    1 point
  25. The Factory Service Manuals that are floating out there have bolt sizes and torque measurements in them. What I would do is match the bolt to the bolt/torque sizes in the guide. You could then use the exploded diagrams in the FSM as a map to show you where a bolt that size could have come off on the areas you actually worked on.
    1 point
  26. just wanted so say you saved another Subaru with this thread! thank you guys after replacing literally everything else in the ignition system, (three starters, ignition switch, ignition coil, tune up, batteries, alternator, grounds) this was the ticket.
    1 point
  27. Lower control arm inner pivot bolt? Can't recall at the moment if stock pivot bolt is 10 mm or 12 mm shank diameter. Strut knuckle bolt maybe?
    1 point
  28. 1 point
  29. The good news is that I can’t see it being a bolt from a major component like a ball joint or hub retainer bolt as they have captive threads, rendering that nut useless. And it’s too short for a suspension arm bolt. I’ve had this many times without issue. Keep the left over bits aside in a labelled container incase you find a missing bolt. While they’re off the vehicle consider the effort as weight reduction. Cheers Bennie
    1 point
  30. Nice work Brucey. That's cool trying things. Keep it up. The guys at Hartsells on University got a kick out of inspecting the legacy I converted to FWD automatic just to do it. You did the hard work but hindsight being 20/20 It seems risky to have an unforgiving data point downstream of the final drive output. I've got a 14 Forester parts car I was wondering if I could swap the trans into an outback....looks like it would work on what you're doing. I ran into a police officer at the local highschool a week or two ago and he said "Dude I saw an XT6 just like yours, look at this picture".....it was mine. Lol.
    1 point
  31. The whole need for ZDDP thing is highly over exaggerated. Unless you are running high pressure valve springs and a radical cam, you'll have no issues with about any oil you throw in an old flat tappet engine. Pick an oil viscosity based on your climate and go drive . I have 7 vehicles with flat tappets including an 87 DL (247K miles) , 87 B2000 (302K) and five 65 Corvairs (all over 150K). I've owned most for over 25 years and pay little attention to anything but viscosity. I run 10W-30 in the mild winters here and 10W-40 in the hot summers. I run 50W in the Corvairs that only get driven in the summer.
    1 point
  32. I think the best I got from EA81 Brumby on highway and mountain runs was 8.5 litres per hundred (twin carb) and a comparison to EA82T Vortex on 98 best was 8.3 , then 99 Forester EJ202 best 7.5 with an average around the 7.7 mark. The EAs are much more fun engines to drive I reckon. Though, may not be fair to the EJ20 as it is too quiet, no induction roar, whisper quiet factory exhaust, I can't use my hearing to gauge gear shift time
    1 point
  33. Is it covered under your insurance policy? That's in a very bad area and good chance it's causing the codes. Splice the broken wires to repair or replace the entire harness, Subaru will have those in stock (i think). Subaru will only replace the entire wiring harness, they will not repair the current harness. At least all the dealers I know won't, maybe there's a few willing to "break the rules".
    1 point
  34. Have to open up the wire harness and repair the wires. If you pull up the FSM you may be able to see what components the harness is going to. What codes do you have?
    1 point
  35. Thanks mate. Got the starting and idle issues sorted it seems. I think the idle mixture was too lean and driving it around hard for a bit may have moved come internal crud. Who knows?! Good news is it’s running well and seems to be returning good fuel economy. Cheers Bennie
    1 point
  36. Well, she's still trundling along nicely. Haven't done anything with the manual swap yet - my vehicular priorities are to get Gertie EJ swapped and certified, and then get a WOF on the green machine again first. She'll be our wedding car next month though so that's exciting! It almost seems a shame to rip her to pieces - such a perfect and original piece of JDM machinery, and the auto box is great with the cruise control for cruising. If this thing had a 4 speed auto and torque converter lockup, it would be perfect.
    1 point
  37. Grab a TCU from the yard, you can always take it back for credit.
    1 point
  38. Not seeing a lot online when I helped a friend do this, so my .02 for posterity. Disclaimer - If you work on your own car, you're also RESPONSIBLE for what you do, as I'm 100% NOT RESPONSIBLE for you. Be smart and safe! - Started with an '03 Legacy wagon. The 'Special Edition' model that was actually the standard for the '03 MY, for the Sedan and Wagon - Cars101.com. This should apply to any '00-'04 model and as far as I've seen the sedan uses the same suspension setup. - I spent some time trying to discern if the strut body or the spring or both raised the REAR of the Outback/OB - along w/the sub-frame spacers. The online Subaru parts catalogs were no help as they showed the same part numbers for the strut AND spring for "L" and "OB", which was confusing. Not sure what - if anything - I was doing wrong. But I did note that KYB sold different part numbers for the L and OB strut. Here's a comparison of the the 'L' on the left and 'OB' on the right. Looks like it's the 'strut' that provides the lift - not the spring - although the OB is heavier, so maybe the springs are stiffer? - Originally thought about adding spacers to the OB front and rear struts/shocks, but the type the owner bought required spring compressors. ---------------------------------------- - Ended up with the OB struts front and rear - for now. May add the spacers later. - Owner bought some OB 'quick struts' for the Front, which I had my concerns as most of the aftermarket options are not high-quality. But KYB didn't make a set for the front or rear. - I grabbed a set of used OB Rear struts from the local yard. ---------------------------------------- - Installing the front struts is an easy process - just remember to mark the head of the top bolt's (at the hub/knuckle) orientation to keep the alignment (camber at least) close. ---Sidenote: Don't bother removing the brake lines on the older Subarus ('99 and older). Pull the retaining clip (note how it attaches!), dremel or hacksaw the bracket on the outer edge, bend it out of the way, remove the brake line, install new strut, install the line, realign the bracket, and pull the line's hose fitting into the bracket toinstall the clip. - The rears were more of a challenge, mainly because it can be a 2-person job to jack up the rear and align the bottom bolt at the same time. - A couple different ways to do it after installing the top and screwing on the nuts: -Jack up the knuckle just outside of the mount point, which worked for us. -Use the car's scissor jack between the car's body and subframe to spread it up and down at the same time. We didn't try this but worked for others. CAREFUL as the scissor jack could slip! -Torque everything down - look up specs online. Edit: With the 215/65R16 General Grabber tires installed. They are ~ 1/2" taller than the stock OB 225/60R16 tire. ---------------------------------------- For Tires, owner is looking at an AT tread - likely a Yokohama G015 or the ubiquitous (at least on Subarus) Falken Wildpeak. Looks like a 215/65R16 will fit best and it has the most tire options, but could go to either a 225/65R16 or even a 215/70R16, if they can find an AT tire in those size. But those do make a tight fit on the rear fenders. Spare tire- I brought along a 225/60R16 to use as a spare - IT DOESN'T FIT in the Legacy's rear tire well, and I'm guessing that means the OB must have a temporary spare, too. Kinda sucks.
    1 point
  39. 1 point
  40. Found a lot of things damaged during tear down. Timing belt was stretched & cracked. TB tensioner was leaking fluid. Both cyl heads had bent exhaust valves - timing marks hadn't been lined up correctly to fudge the stretched belt problem I suppose. All pistons had carboned up oil control rings and stuck 2nd rings. #4 piston skirt was collapsed by .002" and badly scored. #4 rod brg had spalled. All main brgs were badly speckled from dirty oil. Driver side cam had welded metal to center aluminum cam journal ruining both head and cam. This caused by lack of oil AND the guy kept driving with valve and piston hitting, probably flexing the cam beyond normal. A real mess. This is your engine. This is your engine on unchanged oil. ANY QUESTIONS? https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/6250/7ZFYjA.jpg
    0 points
  41. Pulled the VVT solenoid plugs today. It started up and ran, but good knock. Drained the oil and cut the filter open, it was full of metal debris. Looks like a engine change. So it goes. I don't know how is sounded so good when they first started it up. That's life.
    0 points
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