Subarian

It would take a pretty catastrophic event to destroy both head gaskets at the same time, or you'd have to run for a while with one gone to ruin the other one. Usually people realize there's a problem when the first HG goes, so they stop driving and fix it. I've torn down a lot of H-4, V-8, and V-6 engines over the years, and haven't yet seen one with both HG gone.

In answer to your question, yes, that's a mistake that's not too uncommon. I bought a Subaru for $100 that an "import specialists" shop thought needed a new engine because it had no compression. When I towed it home and put the new timing belts they had put in it on correctly, it fired right up and ran for many, many miles.

Clean the dirt out of the tracks and lubricate with white lithium grease. As far as the weatherstrip, it's not designed for any type of lubrication. Just make sure it's clean and doesn't have any tears.

Try cleaning and lubricating the regulator tracks. That usually helps a lot.

Since your carbed wagon is an 86, you probably don't have an ECM in it. In that case, all you really need as far as wiring is the positive lead to the coil. You could also use a fuel pressure regulator if you don't want to swap fuel pumps. 3 to 5 pounds should be good.

Those sound like typical symptoms. Not sure about it resonating, but you will have a strained engine sound, like it's really under load.

What the dude said. 4WD is for offroad and limited-traction conditions, as opposed to AWD, in which a center differential allows different speeds between the front and rear wheels. You can find a lot of answers to your questions in the Older Generation of Subarus forum on this board, which applies to Loyales through 1994.

Classic air-in-the-system symptoms. You just need to bleed all the air out of your cooling system.

That's true if the EGR valve is working properly. With high mileage, it's not unusual for the valve to leak. Carbon tends to build up on the poppet, and then it doesn't close completely.

Both the MythBusters television show and Popular Mechanics magazine have tested them. They don't do anything for fuel mileage or power. I guess it could help a little by lightening your wallet.

Is that a factory mod?

I assume yours is normally aspirated. In that case, any NA EA82 (1985-1994) long block will be a direct bolt-in. If you keep your intake manifold and accesories, you won't need any harness modifications. If you decide to go with an EJ series motor, the EJ22 up to 96 is a non-interference engine. You will need the complete engine (get all the accessories), wiring harness, ECM, and you will need to buy or fabricate an adaptor plate. If your current engine is not fuel injected, you'll also need a fuel pump. If you go this route, I recommend finding a complete, running donor car, so you can get all the parts and know they work.

Right. When you put on the second belt, one timing mark will be pointing up and the other will point down.

A donor car is best, because you can pull all the parts you need off of it at your convenience. More importantly, you can make sure it's running and will suit your needs. I just picked up a 91 Legacy with 165,000 miles and a really noisy automatic transmission, but with a good 2.2 with new t-belt and water pump, for $250. Keep an eye on your local paper, look for cars with for sale signs, check the thrifty nickel or whatever free ads are available in your area, check with friends, etc.

The biggest benefit is for people who have pushbutton (single range) 5 speeds. They pick up the low range, which really helps offroad. The last time I bought a Subaru tranny at PaP, they tried to charge me extra for the "transfer case." I told them to go ahead and take if off, if they could.

This is true up to a point. Even if you only lift the body so you can put on bigger tires, the increased tire diameter will give you more ground clearance to the lowest point on the car. In fact, if you just put on the biggest tires you can without a lift (I think you can fit up to around 27") you'll increase your clearance by 2 inches.

Definitely a good deal. Congratulations.

People come here for answers. The search function is great if what you're looking for is both specific enough and rare enough that there aren't a million threads that mention the words you're searching for. But if you know the answer, why not just help someone out. I don't mind answering a question 10 times for 10 people if it makes life a little easier for them. The cooperative sharing of knowledge is what makes this a great community. Thanks for being a good example of that, NorthWet.

Those are really nice looking wheels.

The switch is under the console near the pivot point of the parking brake lever. You might be able to see it by pushing aside the rubber opening the handle goes through. It's more likely that your brake fluid is low. I would check that first.

I would start with the basics. Like others have said, get a vacuum diagram and check the routing. Check timing. Check your engine in the dark for any sparking that would indicate a problem with plug wires. Another possiblity is a clogged catalytic convertor. My carbed 86 averages about 25.5 MPG.

A small tear will be OK. You can get a rebuild kit for your caliper for about $8 - $10 that includes the seal and the boot. Also make sure you clean and lube the caliper slide pins. As far as the bleeder screw goes, you can just loosen the cap on the brake fluid reservoir, but it's not a bad idea to periodically bleed your brakes anyway. After 20 years or so, you might be surprised at what the brake fluid looks like.

A little more info on the GT moniker. In the US, it stands for Grand Touring, but it originated with Gran Tourismo, which is Italian for Grand Touring. It all started with the 1960 Ferrari GT and 1962 Ferrrari GTO, in which Gran Tourismo is a racing class.

I've never heard of one shrinking. They're specifically designed to avoid stretching, but I would think that same design would preclude shrinking.

I've been contemplating the conversion for a while. Where I live there are some additional benefits if the vehicle is pure LPG or propane. You're exempted from emissions testing, and you can use the carpool lane on the freeway even if you're driving solo.