edrach

Noah has it right. But we moved here in 1988 from Wilmington, DE (originally grew up in nothern NJ). As active rallyists, my wife and I saw the best of the area around NJ, but there's nothing back east that can match the mountains and wide open spaces out here. The only thing I miss about leaving the east coast is close friends; but you develop new ones out here. Only thing my wife misses is four distinct seasons. We do have a Spring and Fall but they are quite short. Most of the year is grey and overcast, but the summers are the greatest. If you can't stand grey, you can always drive an hour east over the Cascade Mountains and you'll find sunshine there most of the year. I was fortunate that my son bought a used Brat many years ago. That started my love affair with Subarus and led to many new friends. I got into rallycross as a result of WCSS3 and Jeanne and I are slowly getting back into TSD rallying after all these years. I'm not a city dweller, but both Seattle and Portland have all the city related advantages that Jeanne and I need. The move and transition was hard, but I've never regretted for a minute moving out here.

It's also possible that your alternator is not fully charging your battery any longer. Have the battery and alternator checked by someone you trust.

If the fellow is correct about the lower idler seizing up, replace that too before hitting the road. I agree that it would be smart to do the water pump while you're in there. Seals if the general condition of the car warrants the extra cost in parts and labor. $200 for '90 Legacy with 180K doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. With a little luck, it should be good for another 100K. If the general condition and appearance is good, this should be a great deal.

Combination of being about a quart low as well as a slight incline could result in no oil on the stick. Oil dipstick is a bit tricky. Line on the dipstick marked full indicates normal oil level just after turning the engine off (say a few minutes after while you're getting gas at the gas station). The notch in the dipstick just above the oil full line is where the oil level would normally show after letting the car sit overnight on a level driveway. I got this information from a Subaru mechanic with 25+ years of service on Subarus.

'97 Model L Impreza wagon; EJ22 engine with 5MT transmission.

Adding my two cents today. Sorry to be late for the party. Anyway, here's the data: 1997 Impreza L wagon 70 mph (from GPS); 72 mph on speedometer 3337 rpm (from scangauge II) in 5th gear 4.111 rear diff TY752VB3FA transmission (JDM 5MT) has 0.825 ratio for 5th gear 195/60-R15 tires I did notice a shift of about 300 rpm in 5th at that speed when I switched from the 3.900 (stock) to 4.111 setup.

ORG does it again: Rally Against Parkinson's on September 11th. Starts with a two lap regularity run around Portland International Raceway. http://www.oregonrally.com/road_rally.cfm Rallycross in Hillsboro, OR on September 12th. http://www.oregonrally.com/rallycross.cfm Two worthwihile events. Weather for Hillsboro: http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Hillsboro,%20OR&wuSelect=WEATHER

Hard to believe Max only took second. He's a fine driver and an Impreza coupe with the H6 motor really sounds competitive. I understand a driver from the NW took 2nd in Stock AWD. I'm too lazy to search for it; got a link to the results? Thanks for the update.

I visited richierich's shop in Portland yesterday and he put it on the lift and I now know where the cannister and purge solenoid are (not in the rear wheel well, but behind the wheel). He did find any bad hose or faulty wiring. However, everything is covered with a thin coating of mud from the rallycross activity. I'll pressure was off the mud and viisit pull a part and yank a "younger" cannister and purge solenoid (I'm pushing 192K on my Impreza) and install them on my car. No point in spending about $300 in new parts trying to "guess" which part is bad.

So how did the National event go? I'm not willing to wait until it's published in the SCCA mag in three months!

Well, I spoke too soon; after a few days and a trip to WCSS12 and back the code returned shortly after I gassed up. When I got home I checked the engince compartment for the charcoal cannister and it's not there. Without taking any paneling or covers off the rear I haven't found it in the rear luggage area or passenger side wheel well of my wagon.:-\

Well, so far so good. A whole day and a half without the CEL lighting up since I replaced the gas cap. I'll wait to see if the code stays gone for a week before I'll declare it fixed. Thanks to everyone who replied.

What page is that info on? I haven't found that specific info yet.

I bought and installed a brand new Subaru gas cap today. Also by co-incidence filled the tank on my way home. Thanks for the all-data info. My problem is I have no clue where to find the canister or purge solenoid. I also have the complete FSM for a '97 Impreza also. With the info there, I still haven't found the canister or solenoid. Neither of them are in the rear passenger well and there are no rubber hoses on the filler assembly. I don't have a select monitor, so I can't follow the diagnostics until I locate the parts. Hopefully the new gas cap did the trick. I'll see tomorrow if the CEL comes on again.

Welcome to the Board. Best of luck in your search for an SVX. If you're anywhere near WA, come out to WCSS12 and you'll see SVXs that will make you eat your heart out.

Replace the bad bulb on that side.

http://www.worldofsubaru.com/2010/08/13/world-of-subaru-visits-dirt-fish-rally-school-full-review/

I'm really puzzled here. I checked under the rear passenger side wheel looking for hoses, cannister and whatever else should be there. There are no rubber hoses at all. Everything is metal; the main filler tube and the smaller return line are all one metal piece. Also, no canister, solenoid, etc. that I can see. I'll confirm I have a '97 Impreza L wagon. According to the endlink article, the canister should be located in the rear luggage compartment. I don't see it there either. Lastly, I can't turn off the CEL light for this code. I can clear the code but the CEL won't go off until the third or fourth time the code re-appears and is cleared. Then, after a day or two, the CEL light comes on again and we start the same sequence over again.

Another reason to pay attention to the bevelled holes when installing axles: If you line up the bevelled hole on the stub axle of the transmission with the bevelled hole on the DOJ, it will prevent a problem with the axle being installed 1/2 turn out of alignment.

Drift tool info from the USRM:http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=109567

Check the USRM for directions on removing the axles. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=75786 I would suggest you try MWE axles (Colorado firm). There's lots of discussion on rebuilt axle quality; use the search function. I know GD doesn't care which side you knock out the roll pin from, but my experience has been it's easier to knock it out from the unbevelled side. Certainly easier to re-install the rollpin from the bevelled hole side. You'll be able to tell instantly which side is which when you get a closer look at the axle joint.

My son got us into Subarus when he brought home an '82 Brat. He's 6'4" tall. It went to my other son who is 6'2" tall. Now I own it; I'm 5'11''. Talk to qman; I think he's 6'5" and drove a Brat for a while.

I second that opinion on the Primitive Racing skidplate. I've got 4 or 5 seasons of rallycross on mine and it's save my oil pan numberous times.

I was planning on selling it this year. My wife and I decided to keep it. More pics on my photo album: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/album.php?albumid=178

Originally the rallycross was planned to stay off the RAP weekend and scheduled for the Labor Day Sunday. That was found to be impractical, so the two events are reunited on the following weekend. I love it; only thing better than a double rallycross is a TSD/RX weekend.