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Make sure the radiator has clear access to cooling air; there shouldn't be anything in front of the radiator, or any dirt or mud stuck near the bottem. Radiators on the early EA82 cars are just barely able to disperse the heat when new; older ones just tend to be less efficient. I would spend the money toward a new radiator (around $110 mailorder from www.radiator.com); spending $30 or $40 for a flush is just a waste of money that would go a long way toward the price of a new radiator. The tipoff to the rad being bad is to get out on the highway and watch your temp guage. When the engine is warmed up and you're cruising at around 55, the temp needle should be around the middle of the guage and it'll stay there no matter how fast you go....60, 65, 70 or more. If the car runs hotter at the higher speeds, it's time to replace the radiator. Pretty definitive test and pretty reliable. If you're still going to replace the thermostat, go get one from a dealer; for some reason the OEM thermostats work better than most of the aftermarket brands. The little item on the lower passenger side of the radiator is a temperature switch. It's only purpose in life is to turn on the fan when the engine gets hot and you're not moving and running cooling air through the rad, like waiting at the traffic light. If the fan doesn't turn on when the temp guage shows 5/8th, I'd think about replacing that switch also. Also make sure that there is a solid connection to the temperature switch; sometimes the fan doesn't come on because of a faulty connection. If you have the single terminal switch in that location, make sure the grounding wire from the radiator to the frame is present; if not, that's another reason the temp switch might not always turn on the fan. Good luck with it. If you're in a hot area of the country a double row rad would be the best, otherwise a new single row rad will serve you well.

Radiators on the early EA82 cars are just barely able to disperse the heat when new; older ones just tend to be less efficient. I would spend the money toward a new radiator (around $110 mailorder from www.radiator.com); spending $30 or $40 for a flush is just a waste of money that would go a long way toward the price of a new radiator. The tipoff to the rad being bad is to get out on the highway and watch your temp guage. When the engine is warmed up and you're cruising at around 55, the temp needle should be around the middle of the guage and it'll stay there no matter how fast you go....60, 65, 70 or more. If the car runs hotter at the higher speeds, it's time to replace the radiator. Pretty definitive test and pretty reliable. If you're still going to replace the thermostat, go get one from a dealer; for some reason the OEM thermostats work better than most of the aftermarket brands. Hook up the temp switch on the side of the rad. It's only purpose in life is to turn on the fan when the engine gets hot and you're not moving and running cooling air through the rad, like waiting at the traffic light. Good luck with your new car and welcome to the group.

I'll be gone most of this weekend, but might be able to help you with them on late Sunday if you haven't already found someone to help you out. Otherwise Monday night would work for me; figure an hour or so to do both sides unless it needs rotors (have someone check first in case you need rotors); altho I suspect your grinding is coming from the rear drums (time for a rear disk conversion if that's the case).

Just a suggestion; the flyer is great and works for posting at auto parts stores, dealers, sponsors, etc. Specific info could be done in black and white listing location, campground size, events, etc. Last year the black and white complimented the color flyer very well and was a handout wherever a poster was displayed. The b&w printed two to a 8-1/2x11 page and was cut in half; worked great for slipping under a windshield wiper in the parking or as a handout where posted.

You're embarrasing us....but I don't mind! Best of luck with the coupe; it sure is pretty with the alloy wheels. If you ever find a slave, they polish up real nice....but it's hours and hours of work.

Probably dirt or stuff on the backside of the hub letting you tighten down to the proper torque. Then as the dirt and stuff came out, the "nut came loose."

EA82 has two types; EA81 has only one. Parts store didn't look up proper year or engine type for you. My offer of a water pump is still available.

I believe the 2.2 engine would swap relatively easily; I'm not partial to the 2.5L since I don't like interference engines. Welcome to the board and good look with the Impreza.

Look at the p/n on the body and search it at www.1stsubaruparts.com and it should tell you which version you have; I'd bet it's Hitachi. While you're at it you could search the cost of getting those parts mail order.

Website for www.1stsubaruparts.com is back up now. Search for alternator came up with $179.96 for OEM with a $50 core charge. Ignore the first few items that come up with a search for alternators (how did the search engine come up with bearings??). alternator, Legacy 90-94 $249.95$50.00$179.96 Now, I don't know whether that's new or rebuilt, but it is genuine Subaru OEM.

Size of the shop is not the issue; it's the quality of the rebuilder. My shop in Ballard is a one man marine electronics specialist. He is most busy during the boating season from May to September (which is why I keep a rebuilt spare on hand). The fact that he is almost overwhelmed with work indicates the quality and reliability of his work. Lastly, the deals you found; my Ballard shop has never been over $120 for a complete rebuild, usually less. I'd get my alternator fixed with the shop you found but I'd still keep on searching. Word of mouth among the local industry people is how I found the Ballard shop. I did find this deal on the 'net: http://www.expressautoparts.com/PartSearch/getpart.cfm?year=1993&make=SU&model=LEG-4WD-001&category=F&part=Alternator Amazing; even the part numbers are the same on the two "deals"; it's striking to see the difference in the prices. Lastly you might call www.1stsubaruparts.com at 866-528-5282. Ask for Jason in parts and tell him the website is down (it was down now as I was looking) and ask for pricing on an alternator. This is a Subaru dealer in Auburn, WA and their internet prices often rival, and sometimes beat, the aftermarket prices. Good luck finding a replacement at a reasonable cost.

I've given up on the auto shop rebuilds. A lifetime warranty is worthless if you have to replace the alternator 3 or 4 times in the life of your car. It's not the installation of another alternator that annoys me, but the inconvenience/cost of getting towed home because the battery is dead. I found a quality rebuilder in Ballard; costs me a little more than the aftermarket jobs for a complete rebuild, but I've never had one of his fail after 2 to 3 months (as a matter of fact, usually my cars have died before his alternator went south on me). I've always gotten over 3 or more years of use out of his repairs. If I were in your shoes and had a good shop near me, I'd get a wrecking yard alternator, install it as a temporary fix, and bring mine to him to rebuild.

Ugly!

Stripped hub or a very loose castle nut. If the latter, the hub will be stripped out soon if it's not already. I'm not sure about your transmission, but on my old '86 when that happened I managed to drive it two miles home by dropping it into 4WD mode. Crazy thing to do since the wheel might have come off too, but I made it.

I'll probably do both, but I was hoping to do the rally cross school again...that was too much fun. But aside from that, it's less than two hours drive for you from Portland and about 2-1/2 hours for me from here. Where I think they'll have trouble is that ORG and NWR often share workers on their separate events; I don't see that happening on the 25th.

Two more events at the Brooklyn, WA site (I guess by NW Region). The first one would be a double header weekend with the ORG event on Sunday to NWR's event on Saturday. Unfortunately this conflicts with the Rally Cross School scheduled for the same weekend. Anyway, here's all I have: Just a blurb to inform anyone who doesn't know, there will be rally crosses Saturday, June 25th, and Saturday, July 30th at the Brooklyn site. Free camping is available next to the Tavern on Friday or Sat nights. There is a large covered area in case of rain, and a brick cooking thingy for BBQ. For more info, contact wyndriver@olynet.com Thanks, Janice D

I'm really in favor of the Nokian WR's....an all season radial with excellent winter and wet traction. Tire wear isn't that great, but if traction is an issue, I really don't care about wear as long as I can go a few years on them. I'm approaching 50K on my set with our Legacy wagon and I'll need to replace them before the winter since they'll be over 60K by then. Look at www.nokian.com for more information. Not everyone carries them since they are exclusively sold by Tire Factory.

You were a busy guy this weekend. Good job (how could you do it any other way!).

Erik's price is pretty good. Check out www.1stsubaruparts.com ; oem is $39.56 each; website is difficult to navigate but you'll find the rear strut for your car at that price eventually.

Find out where erik got his; good price. http://www.expressautoparts.com/PartSearch/getpart.cfm?year=1992&make=SU&model=LOY-4WD-001&category=L&part=Shock%20Absorber

This conversion write up should really go into the repair manual section. Great job, Josh.

Austin, I have a utility trailer; you've seen it. I'd consider selling it. ---ed---

Good luck, Sparkster. I have an older set of 15" wheels on my '91 Legacy; not a problem.

My wife's '97 has the early 2.2L engine and manual. My kid has a '93 (I think) with the 2.2L engine and manual also; I'm positive about the manual, but not sure of the engine or year. I'll update the post on Monday when he's back from Spokane (at the races this weekend....http://www.wmrra.com/). I checked with the kid and his Impz is a '96; has a manual; original engine (has the 2.2L designation below the rear tail-light). Sorry, the kid got such a good price on his car that I keep thinking that it's older than it really is.

His timing is correct, he's running high-test, and he's got the O2 sensor disconnected now. Still pings.