DaveT

The bezel pops off. Sometimes the little catches are sticky. Just have to be careful, etc. try pushing different angles, etc. The post above tells about the screws, etc.

I've been using 10W-40 Amsoil since around 1988.

I think I have a bunch of extra gaskets that are for versions other than SPFI non turbo.

For cleaning the head bolt holes, I have an extra head bolt that I ground a notch into. Think of what a tap looks like. Use that with wd40 or similar to clean out. Flush out the crumbs also. The bolts are supposed to be installed and torqued with engine oil on the threads, per fsm.

The un even pulses in the exhaust in these engines doesn't help to go dual all the way. You can go up a pipe size or 2. For EA82 engines, this makes a very small difference due to other limitatons. For a 98 forester, you really want to be in the newer generation sub forum. There are a lot of differences between anything before 94 and after.

this is confusing. There were no foresters in 1989. The ECUs in 89 had no way to know if you have cats or not.

yes, get the dash harness. changing the wiper switch stuff should be less of a deal than the engine stuff... I have access to a large scanner, but not until Monday. Some of the schematics are big fold outs. I have changed a fwd to 4wd which is a lot simpler, but having manuals for 86 and 90 along with extra wiring from a few other similar cars helps a LOT.

A hand powered vacuum test pump from a car parts store would help a lot. Makes it a lot easier to test individual parts, etc. Check the vacuum reservoir under the hood. There should be a check valve in the line between the manifold and the reservoir. A line runs from that reservoir to the buttons. From the buttons lines go to the actuators. The heater blend door is operated by a mechanical cable . It only changes the air flow through the heater core or around it. There is a vacuum actuator that selects fresh air or circulate air. It is roughly behind the glove box. It's a bit of a pain to get at the control buttons. Remove the plastic piece that goes around them and the combination meter, and the AC vents. There are wires, cables and vacuum lines all connecting to that button assembly.

I will have to look a little later - let me know the model and all for both cars. DL /GL, wagon, sedan, 4wd, California.

+1 to desertsubaru

Wasn't there an anti run on solenoid on some of the carburetor versions?

OH! did you grab the fuel pump from the 88? You need the high pressure type for SPFI.

I have original printed factory service manuals for 1986 and 1990. They include complete schematics for everything, and the different models. Not sure why they don't seem to be online.... There may be a few differences under the dash, in the combination meter, but I have not ever traced into the differences that far. If you have the dash harness from the 88, you should be all set.... The CEL isn't a big deal, as far as getting it to run. But it can be helpful to let you know when a sensor is bad, etc. which can sometimes help with troubleshooting. It's all tied into the ECU anyways.

I am working on a repeatable fix and upgrade for the clocks. The main failure is caused by the cheap zener diode and resistor regulator to drop 12V down to 5 that the clock IC runs on. The power wasted in the resistor is too high, especially in summer when the dash is in direct sunlight, thus the connections fail. The other problem they have, is occasionally forgetting the time when starting the engine, which I have fixed by adding a couple of parts. The 2 I have modified and installed in my cars have been flawless for a good while now.

I have not seen that red seal like thing. But mine are all 3ATs. No sealant for headgaskets is what I have always seen and done. For the intake manifold, get the gaskets from a Subaru dealer. Also, the re enforced o rings for the oil passages to the cams.

The torque from the axles is supposed to be transmitted to the hubs by the splines on both parts. If one is spinning, they are stripped. One or both may be stripped if they were both loose. The nuts cannot hold that much power back. The cotter pins cannot hold that much power back. With good axles and hubs, the nuts should be torqued to something around 150 Ft Lbs, and the cotter pin inserted to prevent loosening from vibration, etc. This is not a common failure, if the parts are assembled and tightened correctly.

For cars around 10k $ I found a local guy that buys higher milage subarus, with decent bodies. He then goes through the driveline, does headgaskets and all the typical stuff that is known likely failures. Sells for less than I could go into a local dealer and get a low milage car, that will have the headgasket problems. And he has a better warranty. For my cars, EA82s, I buy from people, and expect to spend a grand getting everything up to par.

Yeah, check that hose, and the barbs it hooks to.

The oil leak thing has nothing to do with the timing. Oil In the intake is from blow by or possibly pcv valve malfunction. Valve cover breather hoses bring oil vapor up to the intake boot and it gets everywhere after a while. There always seems to be some as far as I can recall, been running these EA82 engines since 1988.

I haven't experienced or heard of an intake manifold cracking. Doesn't mean it can't happen, but I'd guess it's rare.

Check the new solenoid. Check the harness. There is a connector between the engine and the body, but from there, the wires go to the ECU directly iirc.

In a loyale, there is a system that shuts off the fuel pump if it does not see ignition pulses. I have not had to troubleshoot that . +1 check the timing marks are all correct. If you don't know that the belts and idlers milage is, it would be wise to replace them... the idler & tensioner bearings (1 idler 2 tensioners) are pretty nearly worn out by the end of life for the belts, which I don't trust beyond 50,000 miles.

Just saw this today. Too bad they are gone.

Yep, that's fully blown. I did a headgasket job with the engine in the car once, a long time ago, on one of my older Subarus. I've re-sealed at least a few since, removed from the car. I much prefer removing them to do that level of work. To give yourself the best chance at removing stuck bolts, get the engine to near normal operating temperature. Either by running or heat gun and space heater. Then loosen / remove them.

+1 what others wrote about the timing marks. 1 up 1 down is correct.