edrach

My initial reason for going with the Amsoil was to extend the drain interval from the 2000 mile interval I was using with the Castrol to a 6000 mile interval with the Amsoil. I was just tired of changing the oil every 3 weeks; every 9 weeks is much more reasonable and I think it's justified with a quality synthetic oil. I had no intention of a 10k or higher change interval; I don't care what you run, that just doesn't make sense to me. I typically get 250K out of the cars I've owned with the Castrol; I would love to get more with synthetic but I certainly wouldn't count on that nor expect that. If it happens, that's fine but that was never a factor in my decision. I was also looking for someone who might have a better price on Amsoil than the $5.35/qt I'm paying now.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one to have done this at one time. If it happens to me again, I'll know I'm in trouble!!

Not having done it myself, but I believe it is easier to pull the LSD kernal and install it in a 3.900 rear diff. That way you don't have to re-shim the gear clearances and such.

Check the castle nut; like on the front it should be torqued to 145 ft-lbs (or more). If it loosens, it will sound like that or a like a faulty bearing.

Not to dispute an earlier comment, but there's a shop in Ballard that specializes in repairing alloy rims. They are a bit pricey, but this might be a solution for you. I'll look for the information and post it again; or you could do a search since I had offered that information before. Foster's Wheel Service 4012 Leary Way NW Seattle, WA 98107-3736 206-789-3736 Ask for Corey Youngren

Interesting, my local dealer charges $5.35 per quart. I was hoping someone on the USMB could offer a better price for a case quantity.

Believe it or not, I wanted to change to synthetic not for the oil quality itself, but the extended oil change interval. I have been an anal user of Castrol GTX every 2000 miles on all of my cars, but changing the oil every three weeks in my daily driver was beginning to get to me (along with changing the oil in the Brat and my wife's car), so I switched to synthetic to get a 6000 mile interval. The '91 Legacy has 123K on it now so I don't consider it old yet.

I used them twice and certainly don't recommend them for a permanent fix; what northguy wants as a temporary fix is probably the right idea. I found them not to last 10K miles. Also, cleaning the old joint of the old grease and adding the new grease is a messy, ugly job. Then putting on the fine-pitch nuts on the overly long screws is a real pain also. But the kits have their use if you're willing to put up with the aggravation. I think I bought them from B&B (local chain) or NAPA--can't remember which.

I recently decided to upgrade to synthetic and I'm somewhat partial to Amsoil. I went with 10W-30 intially, but I'm thinking of going to 15W-40. Any thoughts? Also, is there an Amsoil dealer on the Board in the Seattle area who would discount the oil a bit? I'd even consider outside of the Seattle area since I buy by the case anyway.

If you like the FSM, you'll love the Bentley manual. Bentley rewrote the FSM in exacting detail and in more sensible language. Very rare and usually expensive--but worth every penny. Ah, the 70's, when love didn't kill you either!!

Also try www.books4cars.com. In addition, the Bentley Subaru manual covers up to 1984 and is most likely the very best manual out there (it's a re-hash of the factory manual). Books4cars has Vol. 2 of HTKYSA for $39.95 plus shipping. A bit pricey, but it seems to be in stock. (Look in after-market section of Subaru manuals).

I hope that "moron" wagon was a mis-spelling and not a dig.

Erik, glad you didn't waste your money on a rad flush or rod job. A common problem with our beloved subes. Easy fix and not too expensive--replace the radiator. Glad you learned the less time consuming and inexpensive way that the radiator replacement is the answer.

Twenty two year old radiator; replace it. Don't waste your money on a radiator flush.

That doesn't sound right at all. The measurement at idle should be between 800 and 1100 (if I remember correctly) and the cruise readings should be around 2500! If the readings are as you stated, the tester made a big-time mistake.

Hondasucks gave you the right idea; go to http://www.oregonrally.com/ and check out the regulations. If you're running stock, I don't believe you'll be allowed to remove any of the interior to lighten the car. I wouldn't be concerned about damaging your car in rallycross but it is possible. I've seen three rollovers by others in the last three years of running, two by in-experienced drivers and the last by someone who should know better who was just driving too fast for the road condition (he got it sideways in a rut, rolled a tire off the rim and went over). Also, if you're not 18 (sorry), I think you need a parent to sign off the permission waiver. Come on out; you won't be sorry. About the smell in the car: wash out the interior thoroughly and then allow it to dry completely (I have a little portable electric heater that I use to dry the car after washing the inside). After that cut up a few apples into slices (get cheap ones that are no longer suitable to eat), and lay the pieces all over the floor in as much of the car you can get to conveniently. It'll take a few weeks but the apple slices will absorb the evil smells in your car.

Ditto on qman's advice. The 2nd test is free, but if you fail that one, the third one is a charge again. Just some comments about emissions: BEFORE you go, make sure you have a new air cleaner in the car, make sure your timing is at spec, make sure your vacuum advance is actually working, run the car down the highway at the speed limit for at least 15 minutes to be sure that the catalytic converter is hot and working efficiently. Most of these things help the HC portion of the test. Good luck with the retest.

Firstly, make it reliable and stock. And run rallycross for fun and not necessarily to win. If you run to win, you'll get discouraged and all your modifications will be wasted and you'll probably find something else to do. As you gain experience, you'll find that you are getting better and you'll also find you will have an idea what you want to do to improve the car. All the car improvements in the world won't do a thing for you if the driver isn't up to the task. My son won the truck/suv class last year with his '82 Brat and consistently beats the majority of WRXs and other "hot" cars in the field. "Seat time" means a lot in that sport.

Another thought that hadn't come up on this discussion and I don't know if it's applicable. On the older EA82s and EA81 engines, almost all the vac. advance diaphragms are shot anyway and you don't get any advance from that; you're only working on the centrifugal anyway. Take that from an old junk yard dog who's found the 19 out of 20 distributors don't have a working vacuum advance unit.

Also, your severe vibration could be due to a bad DOJ on one of the front axles. I've had one so bad if felt like the whole transmission was about to fall out. The tip-off is that the vibration goes away if you let off the gas, and then comes back when you get on the gas again.

I've no info on the location, but I think it'll be the same place as the last one.

Rumor has it that there will be a Seattle area rallyX on July 18 put on by NWR-SCCA. I'll be looking for confirmation. First ORG event is tentatively planned for May 30th; still waiting for a site and confirmation of that also.

My Brat is currently waiting for some major engine work. Until now it's been exceedingly reliable but it's developed a massive head gasket leak (losing water out the exhaust). I'm wondering if the higher combustion temps might have had something to do with that since I've never seen it overheat. Of course high mileage could have something to do with it also.

Look at the "EA82" on the underside in the casting; plain old EA82 is gen 1, EA82 underlined is gen 2, and EA82 in a box is gen 3. All three heads will work fine until the engine overheats; gen 1 is most prone to failure, gen 2 is more robust and gen 3 is least likely to fail. If the engine never seriously overheats a gen 1 head can last a long time and is really not a serious detriment.

Rick, thanks for the info. I've always wanted to hook up the EGR again, but haven't looked into it far enough (or understood the vacuum system well enough) to do that. Thanks again.