DasWaff

Cleaning my sensor did help my engine hesitation and idle. As for the pinging, its a little cheaper to use 87 and a booster.

Pickin's and prices seem to be a little better south of you, you might consider hunting for Subie's in NC, and there is very little salt used here, except of course at the coast. DW

The best pug lug nuts are the originals. They are huge and bulbous and typically tough to find, even the Pug I got my original wheels from only had 12. They seat the rim to lugs best and keep the holes from getting scraped along the lugs and enlarged. The closer you get to those the better, most of the bulge ends are still small compared to the pugs, but they are an improvement. DW

Ah... Good to know. :-\ Can't really give swiped software a good review...

Perhaps when those units are in place, the pressure of the system helps force them open enough that they go unnoticed? Maybe this is why the Stant brand keeps a more stable temp? A 'working' themostat which was still restricting coolant flow would manifest as a greater variation in water temp. I have a spare that I think I'll boil now that I'm curious. DW

Hey all, There have been serveral threads on service manuals recently, and I thought I'd offer some feedback on the one I got recently. I ordered and received the Mitchell on demand software from ebay: Removed... I Don't support software theft. DW

The intake manifold gaskets are usually a sandwich of materials, sometimes the leak can soften the outer layer enough to cause it to tear or deform. I just had to replace a set that had gotten soggy and would not reseat without leaking. Something to consider if your problem persists. DW

I'm not trying to be scary, just saying what it entails... If you're thinking of keeping the car then I'm all for doing it yourself. It gives you a chance to check on and/or fix lots of other stuff while you have then engine pulled. As clutches go, I agree, these are not bad to replace. If you feel inclined to do it, then by all means. You will learn a lot about the car by doing it. No question you will save money. But also consider that if all you want to do is get the car sold, then a brand new clutch with a transferable warranty is going to be a good selling point. It will help make up some or all of the cost differnce in the job as well. There are good Subaru specific shops out there, its likely someone around here knows of one in your area. I should have filtered that last thought, instincts are even less valid than opinions... LOL Type in haste, repent at leasure. Bottom line is, have a good idea of what the project requires and costs, then decide. You'll have the best perspective on whether its a project you want to take on or not. The difficulty of the job is an opinion, but that is a set of facts. Again good luck either way. DW

Well its tough to gauge anyone else's mechnic's skills... You'll need to pull the engine, with all that entails, like a hoist, disconnecting all the electrics and fuel lines, exhaust, control cables, etc. You can get a clutch kit with plate, spring, and bearings. Several of those companies also offer replacement flywheels too, although as Noah said a resurface should be enough. You'll need at least a haynes manual to guide you. Then of course you will need to re-assemble the engine and diagnosis the inevitable quirks that will arise in that process. Its a full blown big job, especially the first time you do it. Also check the USRM (top right of the page in your browser) there's lots of stuff there AND do an advanced search for "clutch replacement" in the older generation of Subaru forum. Read through some of those posts and you'll get the gist of the process. There are ways to do the clutch with out completely pulling the engine, but I have found that it is much easier to get the engine and tranny back together with a hoist. Many equipment rental places rent engine hoists. My gut instinct here is that unless you are planning to start a long affair with Subarus, you'll probably want to get a shop to do it. Good Luck in either case, DasWaff

Calebz is there a pic of that car around?? DW

Passenger side, inner cover, right behind the outermost part of the camshaft pulley. The engine was out sitting on a pallet. The intake manifold, compressor, alt, water pump, and outer covers were all gone. Timing belts were still there... Obviously badly worn on the inner edge from contact, but not ancient or frayed. I was looking for heads, and when I saw the hole in the cover I was kind of dubious. I thought I would post and see if there was some kind of common mis-installation or something that people here would recognize that I had never heard of. But, I don't need to hurry or take a risk on heads that may have been in a collision so I think I'll hunt around more. Just knowing that other folks think its weird convinces me. Thanks! DW

OK... That is good enough for me, thanks, Petersubaru. Must be a problem specific to that motor. I'm only dealing with my fourth EA82 and that's just not a very broad sample. Somehow I seem to get the odd ones... My very first post on the old board was about my '87 GL (now gone to the big boneyard) that came from Maine and had the plastic shields underneath. It was my first Subaru, and I thought they were stock. The reaction to my asking about them was about the same as if I had asked for advice about how to house break a leprechaun. DW

I don't think that was the cause, the belts were way back on the cam pulleys too ( I should have mentioned that). I think I'm going to take a pass on that particular motor since there is no hurry. But I was curious if this was a known issue or just a fluke. Thx, DW

Re: The old sube might be fast enough if... You have to replace the rear roof spoiler because its so bent up from bugs hitting it.

I was looking in the boneyard and found an EA82 that appeared to be in good shape, except that the timing belt had rubbed drastically into the rear covers. Actually had cut through in one place. What is the most likely cause of this problem?? Thanks, DW

I googled maf sensor and discovered that these guys are blamed for an amazing range of problems on different cars... Thanks Snowman!! Really good to know. DW

Actually, yes, a '73 260 I think... Same people roasting problem in some UK cars too (I remember a '59 MGA ride that left me medium to medium rare). You're right about the mylar bubble stuff. Since it combines both the sealed dead air and the absorbtion it will reduce noise more than one would expect from its density alone. I'll be very interested to hear what the results are, good luck, DW

In a nut shell, There are two parts to noise reduction... First, anything that forms an air tight barrier, and traps a bit of air (or better yet vacuum) will reduce noise, even if it is as thin as mylar. It inhibits the direct air motion which transmits sound waves. The practical application for cars is "sealing holes reduces noise". Second, dampening material (like hush mat) inhibits the transmission of sound waves through a rigid membrane, like door steel, by absorbing energy. For calculating the effectiveness of dampening material the key is density (it also needs to be elastic). It takes more energy to make dense stuff vibrate, so much of the energy of sounds is absorbed. Structures like car doors are natural resonators, certain pitches (frequencies) will pass through them without losing almost any energy, this depends upon the shape, sizes, construction and air volume of the door. This is where stuff like Hush mat excels, it really cuts back on the resonance of the enclosure. The less dense the absorbing material the smaller the range of frequencies it will absorb, and the higher the frequencies absorbed will be. In other words lighter material does not absorb low frequencies (bass) well. To make a less dense material more effective you have to use a greater thickness. Since heat energy can move in a number of ways (radiation, convection, and conduction) not all sound absorber will serve as good insulators for heat energy. But in general they do help. DW

Might want to pull the oil pan off and clean the bottom where you may have some goo from the oil/water mix. Make sure the oil passages behind the seals aren't sludgy. The oil pump rebuild is cheap and easy. Basically flush all the things that are easy to get at while the engine is out... That's one mutant's opinion anyway. DW

I think the logic behind the 360 rotation method is there is no little notch to align by at the bottom of the cover. For me its now a ritual to do the 360 turn, maybe it appeases the ignition gods...

I was starting on the interior of my wagon yesterday, I turned on the heater to check it and it made a horrific grinding sound and then blew the fuse. I crawled under to check/replace it since it sounded like the worst bearing noise ever. I popped the fan out and pecans poured out, the entire fan assembly and surrounding ducts were full of pecans. They covered the passenger side floor. I dumped 'em under a tree and then put the fan back, replaced the fuse and it works fine... Mr Squirrel is going to have to find another warehouse, only I get to fill my car with junk food. I just hope I'm not going to end up with aroma of roasting squirrel poop coming out of my heater this winter...

I still haven't found the correct vaccuum diagram, but some of the older, similar ones suggest to me that this fitting is for an automatic tranny. Does that sound correct? THX, DW

You might also check the freeze plug at the back of the intake manifold and the coolant reserve container and hose, leaks there can be subtle but meaningful... maybe even the heater core. DasWaff

I have an '86 GL-10 turbo w/5sp manual and 4WD. Just gave it a third engine. This EA82 is slighlty newer... The only differences are in the manifolds. The intake manifold doesn't have the 3 hose thermo regulator valve at the rear, nor the solenoid valve on top. I got everything connected and it started but ran really rough while cold, and didn't hold idle well when warm either. I heard a hiss and discovered a fitting at the back of the throttle body. It looks like a perferated bolt, there is no hose barb, its possible one could have been broken off at some point, but it seems awfuly smooth for that. I put my finger over the hole in the fitting and everything smoothed right out. I popped in a threaded plug from an old manifold and it runs fine. What is this fitting? Does it need a different fix? I don't have the vac diagram for this manifold. I can't use the old manifold because its cracked. A smaller concern is the connection of the vaccuum line at the air intake. The new engine has a single "L" which connects to the vaccuum line with the flow valve. The old engine had a "T" fitting coming out of the intake with an additional line running to the canister. I left the "T" connection, but I don't think it matters much, right? I'm not getting any error codes,but I'd like to be a little more sure before I take it out for a road test. I've pulled a ton of info off this board searching, but this one I have to ask. Thanks, DasWaff

I invested $7 in a seal puller. The point goes through the rubber near the shaft and then slides under the metal, rock it back and pop goes the seal. I use a small piece of leather under the fulcrum to prevent scratches. definitely lowered my frustration level. DW