Subarian

I just recently had to fix the return line on my SW for the same reason. The pump would sometimes bind and not restart at the most inconvenient times. Good luck on yours.

Whatever works to keep it on the road. I once ran into a rainstorm on a trip from S. California to Salt Lake. It started to run rough, so when I pulled into a gas station in southern Utah, I pulled the cap off the distributor to see if it was wet in there, and promptly lost the center button on a Sunday night (no open auto parts stores). I looked around, and I had a roll of Mentos in my car. I took the foil wrapper and made a new center button. It worked well enough that I didn't get around to replacing it for about two weeks.

Bienvenidos. Are you sure your conversion is correct? 1 US gallon is equal to 3.8 gallons, which would improve the mileage you're getting slightly. Still, you should be getting better mileage than that. Is the engine carbureted or fuel injected? How many miles are on it, and what maintenance has been done on it recently?

If you want to, you can take them out and preload them by submerging them in oil while you work them up and down, but you should be fine just starting it up and letting it build pressure.

If you can sit in the rear seat while someone else drives, it makes it a lot easier to locate the noise. If it's coming from either side, it could be the wheel bearing or loose axle nuts. If it's coming from the center, I'd suspect the U joint. BTW, where in Utah are you?

I had actually discussed this with a friend several years ago, but my idea was to take a 4wd subaru and use the fwd on the road and use the rear driveshaft to run a prop in the water. My proposed name was the Swimbaru.

Also check for ANY brake fluid on the outside of the caliper piston. If there's any there, you need to rebuild the caliper.

Northwet is right. Worn brushes or commutator will cause exactly the type of problem you're describing.

For that matter, the DL wagon is basically the same with a lower trim level.

Noah, that's a very nice and clean article. I just picked up a turbo wagon for parts, and this is one of the items on my list. The only thing I would add to your article is the need to inspect and recondition or replace parts as necessary. I know it seems obvious to you and me, but not everyone who attempts the conversion will have a lot of experience with brakes. Thanks again for the excellent article.

I happen to have an O2 sensor in my exhaust, because I had to replace my Y pipe. If you have an oxygen sensor, it makes it really easy to find the right jet combo. You just hook up a voltmeter to the sensor, positive to the sensor and negative to ground, and check the voltage under different operating conditions. Realize that the 32/36 is a progressive carb, so the secondary opens mechanically at higher rpms, and it also has a separate idle circuit. You are looking for a voltage of approx. 0.48 volts. Higher is a rich mix, lower is a lean mix. Some of the vendors are better than others in providing helpful information. If you tell them what you're running the carb on and what altitude you normally drive at, they should be able to get you really close.

Cars that have a center differential or viscous coupling will be labeled as full-time 4wd or all-wheel drive.

Look for smoke, like you said. Check the condition of the oil, how it looks and smells. Check the radiator, look for oil or gunk in the coolant, smell for a burned smell. Of course, listen for any sounds that shouldn't be there.

http://www.partsamerica.com is checker's online catalog. Or you can have a good muffler shop fabricate the parts for you.

It's not full-time 4WD. It doesn't have a center differential, so it's only intended for off-road or slippery conditions. BTW, nice score!

Cool site. Thanks.

Also make sure that your PCV line is properly vented. It needs to have a vent somewhere in the atmospheric pressure side of the intake, before the carb or throttle body and before the turbo, if you have one.

Very nice.

I have a Weber 32/36 DGEV. It's got an electric choke and it works really well. You just need to set up the jets correctly. It's a pretty common conversion.

I'd check the shift linkage first. You might just need to replace some bushings.

I think JC Whitney also has an inline heater that you splice into your radiator hose.

The difference in the heads is primarily in the way the ports are designed. You have to run the MPFI with the turbo heads. The advantage would be more overall hp and better torque off the line. The factory pistons on the turbo feature low compression because having to replace engines under warranty is bad for business.

The FI does have more power, and you can convert it. However, part of the increase in power comes from a slightly higher compression ratio, so you wouldn't get as much as a factory FI car. In comparing the numbers on my carbed 86 with a Weber 32/36 DGEV, I get about the same mileage as most people I know who have FI, about 27 MPG.

The drive train will fit, but you're talking about the whole drive train, from the back of the crankshaft back. You'd also need to fit the clutch and cable and I'd recommend getting the hillholder, too - that's one of my favorite parts of my subaru.

Yeah, it's called a wrist pin because when the piston is mounted on the rod via the wrist pin, the movement is like a wrist, up and down but not side to side.