Subarian

Just take a long road trip. When you're geographically in the middle of nowhere it will break on you.

I think the SPFI is 20 degrees, but I'm not sure. There should be an underhood sticker. Another possiblility is the timing belt. If it's on the passenger side, the engine can still run, but will backfire badly through the intake.

WOW! Where did you find something like that?

Can't help with your trans question, but Autozone is kind of hit or miss. Sometimes you have to educate the folks behind the counter before you can get them to get you the right part. Checker's no better, and I've even found the same at NAPA.

Unfortunately, the tab the cable connects to on the back side of the control panel tends to break if the cable binds. Be really careful with it; I definitely wouldn't try to force it.

That's too bad. You could take an oil sample to get it analyzed. The local caterpillar dealer here does it for about $10 and it tells you what metals and contaminants are in the oil and what it all means.

That's beautiful. I use dielectric grease anywhere I join wires, especially on places like grounds. It keeps out the corrosion for years. I even put it inside solderless terminals before I insert the wire. Out of curiosity, what's the light green stuff on part of the head?

OUCH!!!

I just make sure I have enough tools with me to fix whatever I might come up against. Maybe some jumper cables, too.

Not likely to be a head gasket if you drove 60 miles and it didn't overheat. The cap and the overflow tube, as well as the water pump have all been mentioned. I would do all of that, and maybe run some radiator flush through it before you change the pump. Once you're done, burp the air out of the system. You can do that by opening the cap and slowly squeezing the top hose. It helps if the nose of the car is uphill.

I have one and haven't really noticed any real effect from it. It might keep dust down, but not so that I"ve noticed.

Hmm- I think I'll keep my covers... I love playing in my soob in the snow. I hate working on my soob in the snow.

Huh? It was originally built in the kitchen, then rebuilt in the kitchen. It was (past tense) a sad day. It was a really fun day when it finally got back in.

Did you ever figure out the problem? I took a pic of my anti-backfire valve. It's not in the original location, because I'm using an air filter box from a fuel injected motor. Normally it would sit right where the filter box is.

OK, here's my pic.

You could backflush by reversing the heater hoses and running some radiator flush in it, but you'll need to drain and replace coolant after you've done that.

On the 85-up GL, the door is vacuum actuated. The pushbuttons on the dash are vacuum switches. If you've got mr mickey in there, you're going to have to pull apart the heater housing under the dash to get him evicted.

My experience with the 9 subarus I've owned is that they start to leak gradually in most cases, just like others. My last one started leaking around the front seal only when cold, which is pretty typical of a pump that's going out. Any part can occasionally fail catastrophically, which is what it sounds like happened to yours.

Glad it's working out for you. I'll echo what paulpicard says- change the filter. If you've got junk in the carb, you've definitely got it in the fuel filter. It's a messy job, but if you use vice grips to pinch the fuel line between the tank and the filter closed, it's not too bad.

My first guess would be restricted flow through the core. It gets warm while no air is blowing through it, but not enough hot water is flowing through it to keep it hot when cold air is coming across it. Just my first impression.

The non-AC cars usually got just an electric fan, with the AC cars getting a mechanical fan with a clutch. If you're not developing too much heat, just remove the mechanical fan. As long as the electric is working, you shouldn't have any problem.

There are two adjustments. One is on the cable that goes to the clutch fork. The other adjustment, and less likely to need adjustment, is the angle of the hillholder on the car. If it's not at the right angle, it will work on steeper hills but not mild hills. But it's more likely that your cable is disconnected or out of adjustment, or possibly that the hillholder failed.

Two thoughts: If you have to hold the button in to get it to work, I would say it's definitely bad. If it were just a vacuum line disconnected, it wouldn't work even when you hold it in. Although the hoses to and from the heater core are warm, you still may not be getting good heat transfer. That can be caused by a couple of things, scale buildup inside the core or damage or debris on the heater core fins. I would backflush the core by putting a garden hose on the outlet side of the core, if it's not too cold where you are. Also check for airflow across the core. You also might want to go with a hotter thermostat, like FredRogers said. Those newer cars your wife is driving probably have 195 degree thermostats, because of fuel economy and emissions controls.

Having owned a glass business years ago, I can add a little insight. If you had to break your windshield, you picked the right time of year. The auto glass business tends to be seasonal. December is usually slow, because people are spending on Christmas, and January is usually even slower. The middle of the month is slower too, because people wait until the end of the month to get inspections (I don't know if Washington has an inspection requirement). Anyway, what that adds up to is that if you call around, you will likely find a shop that needs the work and is willing to give you a good discount. Good luck.

I realized a long time ago that my Subaru might not be the best at any one thing - it's not the fastest, it's not the most economical, it's not the most luxurious... BUT it's the best all-around vehicle I've ever found. When the racers want to race, I say let's do it offroad. When the big rigs want challenge me offroad, I say let's do it on one gallon of gas. And I just laugh at the guys in their luxury cars as I drive by them in the snow. I think the greatest thing is that when I get to work, I get out of my Subaru and look at it and I think, "That was a fun drive."