edrach

I have a good one (maybe both) for you. $35 each shipped. Drop me a PM and I'll check which side(s) I have.

If you have an event planned on the west coast, you should have it on this calendar since it's the one that everyone checks to avoid conflicts. *Edit: see attachment.... 2008_Western_Rally_Calendar.pdf

5 speed manual. Better pickup, more control, better gas mileage. No brainer.

As to your flasher question...no; shouldn't be related. However, check the voltage output of your alternator at 2000 to 4000 rpm. If the voltage regulator is shot, voltage greater than 15V is produced and could cause both the headlight bulb as well as flasher bulb to burn out. Also have your battery checked; it acts as a large capacitor on the electrical system (as well as starting your car). If it's bad, it could let voltage spikes pass through and damage your lighting system. Potentially it could take out your ECU also. Time to have someone thoroughly check out the alternator and battery.

Check NADA or Edmunds price; KBB is known for being unrealistically high. Rule of thumb: Seller's will quote KBB price, dealer's will quote NADA when offering a trade-in.

They are adjustable. Sounds like yours was adjusted too tight. Using a dime for a feeler guage slacken/tighten the cable until you can just slip the dime between the coils of the large spring. That should get you close; then if it still binds, loosen it some more. If it doesn't hold on the hill, tighten it some more.

http://www.challengedriving.com/Alcan%202008%20day%209.htm Cool, this the second time that Gary Webb has won the event.

Here's a case of taking a look. With no attention to the brakes in three years (45K miles????) you likely need pads. But don't buy anything without looking for yourself. Jack up the front wheels, remove the wheels, and inspect the brake pads and rotor. With less than 1/8th inch of pad left it would be a good time to replace them. If the rotor surface is still without significant gouges, you might not have to replace the rotors; but with new pads, adding another 15 minutes and $28 per side to the job will insure that you'll not have to do the job again for at least another three years. There's sufficient info in previous posts about cost/quality issues. I'm partial to OEM on brake parts, but that's just me. Good quality NAPA pads and rotors would work also unless you're a most aggressive driver (but if you've gone three years without thinking about it, you probably don't need to consider the most expensive options). Turning rotors is $15 to $20 per side, so another $8 for new is cheap compared to the slight loss of braking power for turned rotors. I'd go with new since there will be much less down time if you're doing the work yourself. So grab your tools and take a look and decide. You've got all the information you need. Good luck.

Craigslist ads that feature working Subaru trannies run $250 to $650 depending on age and condition; unless there was something wrong with it, it should be right up there near the top of that price range. To insure a proper ratio match, include the rear diff for another $100 to $150 unless it's a VLSD in which case it's worth more.

That was an issue on our Datsun rally car with the 120amp alternator. Luckily, I had a double pulley on the crank, so the upgraded alternator was made with a double pulley to prevent problems. Size will be your biggest problem since a 200+ amp alternator with any reliability at all will be very large. Also, reconsider your needs. Just because your sound system is 2200 watts max (just under 200 amps max) doesn't mean you will always be drawing the full current out of the alternator. For peak load times, the battery is a fine back-up (upgrade the wiring) and you should be able to get away with a 120amp version which will be much more do-able. Also, don't expect much of a warranty. You're exceeding most reasonable demands and if you find someone to build you this special unit, it's not likely he'll warranty it. I didn't get one with the 120amp unit I had built for the rally car, but I knew what I needed and a 120amp unit is not so unusual and I had no trouble with it in the three years I had the rally car.

Just noticed your location. Many years ago when I lived in Wilmington, DE I had an alternator shop build me a custom 120 amp alternator for our 510 rally car (up from the stock 60 amp unit). We needed it since the rally car was pulling 80 amps with the auxillary lights we had and we were killing the battery on all night rallies. It was physically double the size of the original unit and we were able to fit it since we had removed the smog pump when the weber was installed. I wish I could remember the name of the shop; not likely to still exist since this was about 25 years ago. But your best be is to check for a local rebuilder that handles Delco and see what he suggests.

That's an unbelievable output you require. I'd be surprised if anyone made one that high. Why do you need that much current?

That should be safe. Wise to take the northern route in April. We got delayed by thunderstorms in Dallas on our way out to Bolivia. Luckily my smarter half worked a 4 hour layover into all our stops. Saved our bacon.

KYB also makes the "stock" OEM shock in may Subaru models. I have installed KYBs in the rear of my Brat and they work excellently. When I bought our '91 Legacy many years ago, the previous owner gave me all the paperwork on the maintenance he had done on it. He had installed KYB GR2 gas shocks on all four wheels at 73K miles on the car. I bought the car at 93K miles. I ran those shocks without problems until I replaced them last year at 196K miles!! The rears were pretty well shot, but the fronts still had some gas left. Needless to say, I replaced them with KYBs. I wouldn't install anything else IMHO. A high quality shock at a more than reasonable price.

Hitachi or ND disty?

Brembos!? You want them to lock up even sooner!

Trust me, I would trade the rear LSD in my rallybrat for a front LSD anytime. I think it would be killer if I could get it done without breaking the bank.

More traction in the rear tends to "push" the front end during turning. There might be more to that than my simple statement, but the effect on my Brat was significant when I installed the LSD. It required much more preparation for a turn than with the open diff. More throttle resulted in more "push" since there was more traction in the rear pushing the front end than with the open diff. I solved the issue by changing my driving technique slightly as well as adding a rear sway bar to the Brat.

I suspect the RX has a LSD. If that's so, you'll find that it promotes understeer big time. It took me three rally cross events to learn to deal with the understeer when I installed a LSD in my rally brat. On the other hand, once a wheel locks up, you're hosed no matter what.

Sorry to hear about the car. I'm glad you're okay.

Finally a search revealed the picture I was looking for. Here's the link to the thread. As others have stated, this is a common problem on all the other '80's cars that seem to have intermittant starting problems. Looking at the connector doesn't take a long time and can eliminate lots of other un-necessary work and effort. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2856&d=1124597297

No, that's more lights than light up when the diode trio in the alternator lets go.

Glad to hear you're back on the road. Was it the Hitachi Distributor? I'll bet you a beer it was the ignition module. Easy to replace and the odds are that any module you get at the junkyard will work. If you can't find one, let me know; I'll mail you one.

Drop the plastic kick plate off the underside of the dash on the driver's side as well as the plastic cover under the steering column. Follow the wires from the ignition switch about 6 inches to the first plastic connector; it'll be either pink or white. One of wires in the connector carries the current to the starter relay; if there is a bad connection there it can cause the clicking you hear. A bad connection gets hot and turns that portion of the connector brown or black. The fix is easy if that's the problem: replace the ignition switch harness or butt splice around the bad connection to bypass it. It'll take you 5 minutes to check the connector; if it's not discolored, your problem is elsewhere. Good luck. By the way almost all the ignition switch harnesses and connectors are the same for '80s and early '90s subys. Easy to find a good one at any junkyard; cheap too.

As to the worn front end, I'd suspect balljoints rather than bearings. Jack up the front and see where the play is; should be pretty easy to determine. I think the axles between an automatic and manual tranny are the same, but I'll leave that to others since I've never worked on an automatic; lots of manuals, but no automatics. There's a write up in the USRM which will give you some tips on axle replacement. When you say all the guage cluster lights are lit, do you mean ALL the lights from the guages as well as idiot lights? If just idiot lights, I suspect your alternator has gone belly up and should be rebuilt or replaced. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask more questions.