daeron

man o man o man o man o man..... I just looked thru all the pics again.. and I am DEAD SET on the sedans now, to hell with the wagons. You guys can keep em. I love my sedan, even as rusty as it is, and now that I have seen that one, I am set in stone on the subject. I may settle one day with a wagon, but the sedan is what I WANT.

Beautiful!!!! Now, get some white rustoleum enamel and some mineral spirits, and paint a few thinned out coats onto that bumper bar and the wheels, and she'll look AMAZING!!! I've always loved the plaid EA81 seats, too

Yah, but it sounds like the shifter lever itself is moving through a wide range of motion without imapcting the gear that the transmission is in... NOT that the transmission is preventing the shifter lever from moving enough to get into gear... Immobile shifter lever, held in place by trans; or super sloppy shifter lever that you cannot bang into the top left corner hard enough to jam into first? BTW, I think most of us understood that bit; next time try to avoid stating outright that you did an illegal act. *I* don't care, and I doubt many others here do.. but CYA, yanno?

Listen: your turbo fuel pump is supplying your car with about ten times the fuel pressure it wants. Ten times. thats ALOT. You need a low PSI fuel pump on a carbureted vehicle; anything else is an excercise in futility. Pressure regulator can only open so far; its expecting 2-10 psi, not 20-60 PSI.

Woody FTW

Yarrrrrr!!!

last tale of "why NOT to run open covers" that I heard involved plowing into a snowdrift unexpectedly. And it took a minimum amount of time to diagnose and repair; the time lost involved being abandoned by a dead vehicle. Your risk, but its pretty minimal, and the advantages are there.

Alfa, not Alpha. Sorry, my old man has a 66 2600 Spyder with a body by Pininfarina that he has had longer than he has had ME, so its kinda rooted deeply in my brain. On the torque steer subject, my mom has a Mitsubishi 300GT SL, so yah.. V6 on the front wheels, INDEED!

That calls for the ol' whiskey-tango-foxtrot response... WTF?! how did, what happened? water pump crap out? Are you of Irish heritage perchance? This sounds like my luck...

I was thinking about this, and I hope this question elicits some response.. "4x4, Hi-Lo tranny,5 speed, 6 Inch SJR Lift kit, ......... twin stick modification(you can put it in 2wd LO to drive around town with those big tire) ...... Brand new 31x10.5x15 super swamper SSR'S ..... This rig would make a great wheeler it runs good around town but has trouble on Highway due to large tires and gearing but runs great on the trail." but the ad mentions that the large tires would cause trouble on the highway.. why? I would imagine that if you could use the low range to get up to a reasonable speed, then shift into normal range, the tires would essentially serve as a mega overdrive, and wind up simply giving you superb highway fuel mileage???? Am I totally misconceived on that? Is there something about the lifted subaru on swampers that is simply unstable at highway speeds, beyond the gearing that I am not aware of? I am not understanding the highway problem with this vehicle...

How much do you mean that??? Because it REALLY isn't all that hard... Patience, knowledge, tools, the right parts, and the time and place are all you need. The knowledge is here; you have to take time and read alot, read other peoples experiences, read stories and see what people do wrong. The easiest way to cover all bases would be to have a complete donor vehicle. The fact that the adapter plate is needed to bolt the EJ engine to the EA trans is a godsend because it fills a gap between the EJ mounted in the GL/loyale engine bay, and the EA trans. The input shaft length is also different by this length; IIRC; I haven't done it but I have read what others have done,* so I may get a few details wrong, but the specifics are out there. Anyhow, all you are changing is the complete engine with its accessories and control system; Your car has all of this already (an engine and a control system) so it will be relatively easy to splice the wires that plug into the EJ onto the wires already built in your car, adding new ones where necessary. It is done by many, and every mistake gets figured out in the end. Some people have "nightmares" in the process, but they are almost ALL simple, stupid little things. Fuji knows I understand THAT kind of issue. *(2,700? posts in a just over a year has NOT been frivolous by any means; I am not a post whore, I just like it here ALOT, heh) So think it over, but more importantly while you're thinking it over read alot about it. Search for things about it and look alot in the retrofitting forum... and before you know it, you will start thinking of it as easier and easier, the more time passes. Cars really aren't that complex; the key lies in breaking your vision of a car down into visions of the individual systems and subsystems that make the car work. You need to understand how these subsystems interact (having an OHC engine has only the most abstract impact on whether or not you have independent rear suspension, but it makes a WORLD of difference when it comes to valve timing components) and you need to understand the subsystems themselves. My Subaru taught me that; before I got it I couldn't see the trees for the forest.... and now I can understand it all.

Good call, that should be easy enough.... My question.. Does this shop that you went to have a better garage, and better working conditions, than you have at home? If so, convince them to let you do the timing belt job in their shop, and when you do so, put everything they left out back into place. Make sure that they REALIZE that you are just putting the "spare parts" they left you back in, and putting new timing belts on while you've got the engine apart anyhow. Buy the belts elsewhere, and don't give them a dime.. just use their air, electricity, space, and tools to make the job easier. AND kinda be a thorn in their side. Just a thought, probably nothing more than the lunatic ravings of a diseased mind.

I saw your subject line and thought, "if it's stuck in neutral than any input is in vain, because the gearbox isnt in gear.." Input, get it? arr arr... anyhow, I would guess its likely a repairable problem, just from the odds.. but her price definitely seems a little steep. $500 for a car that has been sitting in her yard, that "needs a transmission?" A car thats twenty years old? How old is this lady???? How many miles on the clock for the car? Also, I got the impression that you couldn't force it into any gear with the engine OFF, but apparently the last poster thought you meant with the engine running.... Who is right? If you cant get it in gear even with the engine off, then the clutch cable has nothing to do with anything... BUT you may have a linkage issue. Anyone with a good check for this???

I would say that your best bet would be to lift the car and try to disassemble the steering system somewhat; try to see if you can isolate a bad joint or two. Sometimes a loose balljoint or tie rod end can translate to difficult steering when in motion; I would recommend a substantial disassembly and general component inspection. This may seem a tad excessive, and it may seem like you could probably "narrow it down" to a certain part or parts, but if the vehicle was in a front end collision anyhow, I would want to pull it all apart just for inspection for peace of mind as much as anything else.

BLACK INTERIOR???? I have NEVER seen a non XT with a black interior!!!!! dats PURRRRDY!!!!! THAT is what *I* want in a 80s subaru, no lifted off roader for me heh..

I say paint it blue; and maybe cover that black area behind the window on it with a piece of diamond plate As for on or off.. Honestly, if I ever have a truck, I think I would like to use it like a convertible.. sometimes top, sometimes no. My brother had a topper that went onto his 86 nissan and came off with relative ease.. MUCH easier with two people, but theoretically possible single handed. Any chance of engineering a setup where it could vary with your mood and needs? BTW, while I am at it, Phiz.. are camper tops like that as common on normal pickups down there as they are in the states?

storage shed by Fuji Heavy Industries FTW, I have a datsun model.

it sounds like you know a thing or two about subarus? First question is, how hot did it get? if you didnt get up into the red zone.. you are probably OK on the headgasket; however, it sounds like you probably did. When mine blew, I was bubbling exhaust into the radiator (and thence out into the overflow, which was where I actually heard it) from 30 seconds after I cold started the engine, to about 2 minutes after I shut it off... compression was down to 150 on one cylinder, and at 185 on the other three. no water in oil, and only minimal contamination in the water, so I drove it for several months until it started running poorly. (In the end, that problem wasn't totally solved until I replaced my spark plugs; I do not KNOW if my head gasket was even causing my run problem.) BUT, my car is a non turbo. Just sayin, there are other ways to test for blown head gasket beyond just a test kit for the radiator; compression checkers are not expensive at harbor freight. Also, it *could* be an issue with the turbo water lines instead? Or is there a possibility that your poor run condition is from cruddy water sitting in the CTS plug or some other electrical connection under the hood? I am just brainstorming here; the headgasket is definitely going to be the primary diagnosis.. but these were some other ideas.

+1

Fixed your post, it now points out your problem :-p Seriously, I wouldn't touch a car this side of say, 1996, with a ten foot pole. ANY of them are too bloody big for my tastes, except for the sardine can miatas. ohhh, how glad I am for the miata; I still wouldn't buy a newer one though. Anyhow, my friends turbo bricks were both 80's cars, one an 83 and one an 89; the 83 weighed about 2900 pounds, (IIRC) and was a four door sedan MUCH more spacious than my GL-10. Very nice interior, too. I have always felt that vintage volvos were rather maligned vehicles... Like anything else, you have to be ready to work on it, but if you are it isnt SO bad.

cage? what kind of metal have you ADDED? please, more pics? we are like fiends here for the photographs... EDIT The more I look at this thing (I jsut saw the other photo with the top in the other thread) the more I think "It wants quad round headlights." That, and I now think, rip the front fenders off (or beat them beyond recognition as stock fenders) Then all it needs is a submachinegun mounted in the back, heh. Pissed off Max.

why wont this thread die?

your engine is feeling an additional mechanical load at the alternator because of the additional amperage draw on the electrical system. You understand that your alternator basically generates voltage by spinning one magnet through an electro magnet, right? Well, put it this way: that electro magnet is made MUCH stronger when you cut the lights on, or the AC, or a 17,000 watt sound system. Its just like cutting your air conditioner on. This is why "electrical superchargers" aren't the no-brainer super bolt on that they sound like; the power gained by the fan motor can in NO way match the power sucked up by the electrical draw.

i had a very similar problem, but it was VERY come-and-go.. it would not always occur under the circumstances that did occasionally cause it to crop up. My problem was the rear quarter panel window trim piece, behind the passenger door, on my sedan. Check any similar type trim pieces for looseness; just tap them lightly with your hand and see if it sounds like a devilishly familiar clacking you've been hearing.

wow d00d, lift that thing and put some real tires on her if you're gonna wheel around like that! you don't need to go huge, but all-seasons are right out, heh...