St Nickolas

When each of mine (2) failed, they would do so intermittently. They'd be ok for a few minutes, then they'd start cycling on and off at the rate of ~1/2 to 4 times per second. The a/c clutch would cycle on and off at this rate which was not only annoying, but I'm sure would wear out the a/c clutch very fast. Notice large amounts of red dust around your a/c compressor clutch? Remove the glove box (2 screws at the bottom of it). The thing has a 3 wire plug connector. Wires on my diagram (Haynes manual 89100) indicate red/black, brown/white, and green/red for 90-94 models in color; brown/yellow, green/white, yellow for 95-98 models.The far end of the thermoswitch is inside the evaporator so you're not likely to want to 'professionally' replace the thing. The switch is to keep the evap from icing. You might get another and insert the biz end of the thing into the evap coils as best you can. I've also had Sooby relays fail when hot, too. There are several of these in the a/c system. What I did, and perhaps what nobody else should do, as I may be toying with my safety: Using a thermometer, my air hasn't ever been that cold (freezing) so I bypassed the thermoswitch. I forget which wires I hooked up to do this. From the diagram, I'm thinking that I hooked the (90-94 models) green/red to the brown/white. Nick

Somebody posted this link for the timing issue: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50768 The biggest part is that the cam marks are 180 apart from each other: http://members.aol.com/k9collars2/bru/timeb.jpg Nick

The additional problem with old radiators is the fins tend to separate from the tubes, especially in areas that use salt on the roads. And if you have an Sooby, what are you driving on the snowy days? My vote goes for a new radiator. Nick

Are they sagging? The wire clip inside that helps them maintain position has cut into the plastic? I had some luck with JB weld. I loaded up the bad section with it, let it dry , then sanded/filed it back to it's original shape. I did an acceptable job on one, but a poor job on the other. Nick

As a form of redneck engineering, you might put a switch on the power wire to the ECU so that you can 'unhook' it when you like from the convenience of the interior. If you then have to flog it to teach it proper manners, you might consider a job change and getting out of NJ. Nick

A/c problems are no fun. Do you have the (complex) electrical diagram? Lots of possibilities. Do a search for some old posts on the subject. Seems that the thermal switch attached to the evaporator (I forget the name of it) that shuts the system off when the evap reaches 32F is a common problem (I've bypassed this switch on both my Legacys). Does the compressor clutch shut down or does a blockage trigger the system to shut it down? The most common blockage would be water in the system that ices the expansion valve. Nick