DaveT

These are not a great option for a daily driver, unless you collect a lot if spare parts and do your own repairs. Many parts are NLA. I have 2 wagons that I consider as 1 daily. Backup, and buys time for repairing .

Mostly Ea82. They do fine turning 4k on the highway. I skipped t he EA81 powered cars, my first 2 were a 1400 and a 1600. I don't remeber the max Tom on them any more, but they did a lot better letting them wind up higher than I did when I got the first one. Compared to the cars I drove before I got my 76, these engine are happier spinning a lot higher than the V8s and straight 6s I drove. I wore out the connecting rod bearings on that 1400 running it too low.

The intake manifold has a coolant passage, along with the path for the intake. The gaskets between the heads and the intake can fail, one way puts the coolant on top of the engine, the other, it gets sucked into the cylinders and burned. Get the intake gaskets from a Subaru dealer. The aftermarket ones are no where near as good.

3000 RPM is too low. You're quitting just when you start to get power. These are high RPM engines, not luggers / high torque low RPM.

That's way hotter than any I ever did. In my experience, any run low on coolant + over normal temperature = head gasket failure, sooner or later. The hotter the quicker.

sounds like something rattling. Something loose, on the outside of the engine / transmission?

If the engine is an EA82, it has a total of 7 hoses in the cooling system. These should all be replaced at least every 10 years. They are all under the same stresses and conditions as a radiator hose. If one is iffy / bad, they are all likely in a similar state. This avoids one of the main ways to loose coolant, which then causes damage the head gaskets.

You can be mislead by cold pressure tests. A leak has to be big enough to show up with that test. Many that cause the slow coolant loss are too small. You won't see the most common leaks that go into the intake via the carb or intake gaskets. The beginning failure of head gaskets, the leak is so small that coolant doesn't go into the cylinder, but the many times higher pressure of the exhaust gasses gets into the coolant. The gasses build up until they accumulate enough to cause a bubble in the water pump, which doesn't pump air so well, then it over heats. For the not firing while cranking, check fuel, spark, choke. Simple quick check - spray a 1-2 second blast of carb cleaner down the carb. Try to start it. If it fires momentarily, you have spark, so you are missing the fuel. If it doesn't even try to bark off, check the ignitor, coil, etc.

Any air in the cooling system that builds up enough will cause an overheat. Repeat (or even one) overheats damage the head gaskets. Typically, the compression pushes exhaust gasses into the cooling system. This gets worse over time, until it's so bad you can't drive the car without risking seize ing the engine. Any place the coolant leaks can start this failure. Carb gasket. Intake to head gaskets. Head gaskets. Cracked head.

When I have had multiple dim warning lights, it has been caused by one of the brushes in the alternator being worn out. The fuse blowing could be a different problem. The alternator output goes to the battery via one of the fusible links, it might be worth checking the connections in that path..

Oh, if the code is a currently triggered one, it will be flashing while the engine is running and the CEL is on. I rarely need to do anything with the connectors.

The LED that flashes the code is visible through a hole in the ECU. . Bolted to the bottom of the steering column. Remove the plastic kick panel to see it.

If it is wired similar to the 86 -93 wagons I have had, there is a high resistance connection somewhere in the start wire. A test light won't show it. Many of us fix it by installing a relay to handle the current to the solenoid on the starter.

Stripped splines on a front hub or CV axle. Take off hub caps, if any, have someone watch the front wheel centers. Put in gear in front drive, if the nut spins, that's where the problem is. If both do not, then have to look at the axles to make sure they are not spinning on the transmission, but not turning the wheels. I've seen a number of threads over they years - if the big axle nut is not properly tight, the splines eventually strip out of the hub.

At this age, finding one is a hill. All of mine are the 3AT 3 speed auto 4WD. all around 150K - 200K miles. None have had serious massive failures, except the one that was run with no differential oil for too long because of an unknown slow leak... Even that one, the transmission parts are still good. Some of the guys that are running the manuals or AWD might know how many miles they should be good for.

I'm in CT. I have an 87 and a 93, almost the same as far as this stuff. I can't tell where that picture is - up under the dash, down near the feet?

Check the CTS. Coolant temperature sensor. I have posted other threads with details on this sensor. It can fail in ways that cause what you describe, and it may or may not trigger the ECU to set a code.

I'm not sure about the AWD. The FWD and 4WD can be swapped. And also over a range of years.

I don't know the er specifically, but all of the timing belt Subaru engines I know have. 3 vertical lines on the flywheel for the timing position. They are viewed through a small opening at the top center of the bell housing. There should be an odd shaped rubber plug covering the hole.

The ECU is bolted to the steering column. There is a plastic panel covering it, unless someone removed it. I remove those the first time I do anything under there, have never put one back. Yes, the pinout is in the Factory Service Manual. There is no substitute for the FSM. There may be a link or an online copy somewhere... I can look it up tomorrow, and scan a page. I have a 1986 FSM and a 1990 FSM. The cars are very similar, so either one, or in between would be very useful. There are occasionally a few small differences. Yes, 160 is a little too cool. I have a 180 in one, and the normal 190 in another.

search for my threads with lots of ohms / volts / temps. See if it tracks more or less. What I would do - tap the wire at the ECU, connect a volt meter, and take a drive, take notes, take temps if you have a way to do it. I have an infrared thermometer, which is really handy for this kind of thing. The volt readings should be smooth changes, not jumping around. It is possible for one of the wires or connections to be broken or intermittent between the sensor and the ECU.

Correct, just take it apart. Be careful to remember where everything goes of course. If you're new to this, take pictures of things, just in case. You can turn the cams and crank any way you want, the pistons and valves cannot meet. This is true for the EA82s, and a certain range of early EJ engines. Newer stuff, not so. IF any bolts are stuck - which is pretty likely, unless the car has been in a desert environment most of it's life, the best way to NOT break them off is this - Run it until it's at normal operating temp. Shut it down. Immediately go to the 6 intake manifold bolts and carefully work them loose. Same with the EGR pipe between the head and intake on the passenger's side, behind the intake. This helps with any of the other bolts also - the cam tower bolts, head bolts. But those will take too long to get to. A space heater and a heat gun will heat the block, but slower than running it. I don't use a torch, the temp is too high, and the heat needs to be DEEP in the aluminum, not on the surface or the bolt. Intake gaskets and the metal reinforced o rings for the oil channel to the cam - dealer only! DO NOT use the crap intake gaskets from fel pro. I've had good luck with Fel pro head gaskets.

Don't worry about it until you are ready to put it back together. There are many threads on here, and videos on YouTube. The timing mark on the flywheel is the middle l of 3 lll, not the 0 degrees mark. Install one cam belt, with its pulley mark at the top, straight up, there is a notch in the back cover. Then rotate the crank one full revolution, and install the second belt the same way. This puts the cams in a position where the valve springs are not trying to turn the cams. After this, I run it for 5 seconds, then reset the tension. This gives the belts time to walk into where they are going to run. The engine is non interference, so if you get it wrong, it won't destroy itself, it just won't run well. Before you go deeper, be sure there is a reason. If the engine has been reasonably cared for, oil changes, not severely overheated, etc. 200k miles is not a big deal.

There are 1 or 2 power wires to the ecu, it would be good to check them.

Fuel pressure should be 21PSI. 40 is way high. You can check the injector - Remove the intake boot so you can see the throttle plate. Unplug the injector, and use wires / spare connector to make it easy to momentarily tap 12V from the battery across the 2 pins. crank for a couple seconds to get fuel primed. If the pump and regulator are good, it should hold for a few minutes. The injector should click, and you should see fuel spray. A pretty good blast. ECM fail..... Of course, anything can fail. I've been running these SPFI EA82s since about1992, and have never had an ECU failure. I had a wire in the engine harness break, mid run, that intermittently disabled the IAC valve. This caused a won't idle drive ability problem. It would drive & run as long as I did not release the throttle completely.