RedLance

Out of curiosity, how many miles were on this block? My EA82T had 167,000 on it, and still had those cross hatching marks...

Just wondering if the person who won these lights is on this board, and if so, could they possibly post a picture of the switch that came with those lights? I'd like to be able to find switches that will fit the knock outs in my center console. I'm sure I can find some that fit, but knowing what the OEM ones look like would be cool too. Thanks! RedLance

Somewhere during my internet surfing, I ran accross a picture of an XT from Austrailia, with a really awsome looking front end guard on it. Only now I can't find it anywhere. Anybody have a picture like that? And even better, anybody know where I can get a guard like that? It's the kind that is angled out at the top, like alot of the Aussie guards are... Thanks for any help on this. RedLance

My Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has ground wires going from just about every body panel to the next one. It's part of the police package, and factory installed. Like from the trunk lid to the body, and from the hood to the body. Plus, from the body to the battery, and from the engine to the battery, and then also from the body to the engine. Improves your 2-way radio performance, by making a large, solid ground plane for transmitting.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, as I'm not too familiar with the EJ-22, but can't you change the oil pump seals without removing the pan? I know you can on all the EA series, and my brother just did on his 91 Legacy with the 1.8L. That's one of the great things about Subarus...external oil pumps. RedLance

If you remove the left front wheel, and pull the wheel well liner down, you can get to the compressor. Carefully remove the middle line from the cluster of 5, on the end of the air drier. I think that will dump the air that is in the tank. You may need to switch on the ignition after you do so. Dumping the air in the tank, should at least get the compressor to come on, to make sure it's all right. With the middle line disconnected, you should be able to apply 12 volts accross the terminals of the valves on the rear shocks, and get them to open and let down. Try not to let them down too far, in case the system dosen't recover afterwards. Hopefully, that will reset everything. Try this at your own risk, as I don't have the book infront of me, and I'm pulling this all from memory. But from my fairly good understanding of how the system works, this should at least get the rump roast lower. RedLance

If this is a turbo car, having a leak in the cross over could cause the mentioned symptoms...including loss of power, since turbo isn't spooling correctly. RedLance

Some info that I didn't really see posted elsewhere. PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation The idea is that air will enter one valve cover, flow through the crankcase, and exit the opposite valve cover, go up the hose, through the PCV valve, and into the intake, where it gets burned. As the air passes through the crankcase, it picks up the fumes from the oil and the gas which has blown past the rings, as well as any candensation that might have accumulated in the pan. This helps keep the oil from getting diluted as fast, as well as burns up these vapors, instead of venting them to the atmosphere. So, in your drawing, remove both of your T's, put your little air filter directly on the passenger side valve cover, and run a hose from the driver's side valve cover directly to the PCV valve. PCV valve looks like an ordinary metal hose barb, sticking out of the intake manifold. This is basically the same route as the factory system, although some Subs have a "Secondary air filter" or other junk somehow involved... Out of the 20 some Subs my famiy owns, not a single one is the same under the hood. Even if they are the same year and model. One will have California emissions, one will have been modified for high altitudes, or something...It's kind of frustrating when you can't compare 2 of them, since no 2 are alike. RedLance

I have an older cam corder, that I would like to lend to you guys. I want it back after ward though, broken or not. And a free DVD...Otherwise, it's yours to do with as you wish. RedLance

I asked this same question about a month ago or so. The general consesus was, that with modern head gaskets you do not have to retorque them. My new gaskets even say right on the package that you don't have to retorque them. As for the socket should you chose to retorque them anyway, I used a 3/8 drive socket, with a built in u-joint. Got it at sears. I had to also use a couple extensions, and another u-joint. It was a PITA...I ended up also having to loosen the engine mounts, and jack it up about 5 inches, so I could reach a couple of the bottom bolts. But it's doable... RedLance

I've got one guy here in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is the only professional mechanic I will trust with any of my cars. He worked at the Subaru dealer from about 1990 till 2000, then he opened his own shop. Kessler Automotive Corner of 48th and Adams St. 465-4210 I know he works on fuel injection, but I'm pretty sure he knows his way around a carb too.

My dads 84 sedan had a weird intermitant start problem, like Cougar said. He had to remove the little black box that the fuseable links are in, and replace a burnt connector inside it. This wasn't just the connector on the end of the fuseable link, but rather the part that the fuselink connected to. Something else to look for. RedLance

I will really try and make it to this one. I have also invited my brother (91 Impreza) and his girlfriend (01 WRX) to attend. I'm going to try and bring my 85 XT...if I had a camshaft, my GF could bring her 81 wagon... RedLance

I went to a shop here in Lincoln, that does lots of work on older A/C systems. The guy there was able to match my old o-rings up with new ones. RedLance

I think I spent about $7 for O-rings, and got my oil at Wal-Mart for like $4. I have my own evecuation system, so I've no idea if $100 is right for that. My drier only cost me $38, I didn't do my shaft seal, my O-ring set came with 2 O-rings that go into the weird fittings where the hoses connect to the compressor. However, this is all pertaining to my 86 XT, which probably has a different compressor. I got retro fit adaptors at Wal-Mart for like $3 RedLance

Setright: They are, but not easily at all. I ended up using a 3/8 drive socket, with a built in u-joint , an extension, then another u-joint, and another extension, and I still had to loosen the engine mounts, and jack it up, to clear the frame rail. Plus, a couple of them are partially covered by the cam shaft supports, so you can't use a regular socket. This is all on an EA82...EJ22's might be different. Thanks again! RedLance

I haven't come accross this in any of my reading... My FSM says, after you install new head gaskets, you need to start the engine, let it warm up fully, then shut it down, let it cool, and re-torque the head bolts. The packaging from the new (Fel-Pro) head gaskets says they never need to be re-torqued. Do I really need to do this re-torque procedure? It's really a pain in the a$$. I've done it once already, and had to tear the engine down again. Thanks! RedLance

As far as water in the system, Subaru designed it so that when ever a strut beelds off air, it is routed back to the tank, and then bleed off there, thus blowing out the lines and valves. I'm not sure how they deal with water in the tank, although I think the manifold, which is between the compressor and everything else, has dessicant in it. RedLance

That would be any of the XT or XT6 cars, since they are sort of shaped like a cheese wedge. RedLance

My mom had an Interstate that lasted 8 years in her Mercury, then another 2 years in our 1949 John Deere A. I have had good luck with Interstate as well, although they seem to be awfully expensive. I can go to Sam's Club, and buy a Champion, with a better warranty on it. My dad had a champion in his F250 that lasted like 5 years... I've started going with the Champion's...can't really beat em for warranty. Course, if you really want a battery, you go with an Optima...if you can afford the ~$130 price tag. They have like 850 CCA, and 950 CA. I've got one in my F250, and it's 4 or 5 years old now, and still going strong.

It had snowed really heavy, and in downtown, they pile all the snow in the parking spots, until they load it up and haul it off. Parking in downtown is scarce as it is. I came tooling into work in the evening, and found the big drift in the parking spots. Figuring I had 4WD in my 86 Turbo XT, I thought I'd plow through it, as there was room between the pile and the sidewalk. What I found out was the drift had frozen solid. I ended up high centered. A few guys from work, helped me push it off, and I drove between the parking meters, and down the sidewalk. Went down to Oklahoma City to hook up with a lady friend from the internet. Picked her up at school, and apparently was too nervous, cuz I drove right over the parking stopper. This was also in the 86 XT. Trying to make an 81 EA81 automatic wagon do wheelies by piling a bunch of people in the hatch area. Got my BRAT stuck right next to a Wagoneer on 35's, after driving around it twice. Shifting the BRAT from 4th to 2nd at 60mph, and dumping the clutch...sort of a reverse burn out... That's all I can think of now... RedLance

The shaft seal could very possibly need replacing too. A good way to tell, is to look at the underside of the hood. If there is an oil spot that that matches up to where the belt runs, then it's likely that your shaft seal is leaking too...if there's no oil spot, then it's probably okay. Although, since you will have the system empty anyway, you might as well replace it. RedLance

What year is the car? If it's older then 1994(I think) it should have R12, which has since been outlawed, and is no longer made. If it's newer then that, it should have R134A. They can top off an R134A system, but not an R12 system. If it's an R12 system, DO NOT let them talk you into using a "drop in" replacement. These are bad, and some are even made with propane...not something I want under my hood. If it IS an R12 system, it's not hard to switch over to R134A, you have to make sure you get all the old oil out, and change the rubber lines over to barrier type. Then, get the new O-rings, reassemble the system, and charge with R134A, up to the right pressure, and you should be fine. RedLance

Having worked on the AC systems on my Crown Vic, as well as my Subaru XT, I know a little bit about this. Possibly what has happened, is that you lost enough refrigerant, to cause this switch to not close. This is to protect the compressor, because if the compressor runs with not enough refrigerant, it also doesn’t get enough oil. Usually, the O-rings in the connections get hard, and no longer seal. So check your pressures, or have the system evacuated at a shop, then you can replace the O-rings your self, and have the shop recharge it. If the switch is indeed bad, I'm pretty sure you can just unscrew it and screw on the new one. They screw onto a shrader valve, which is the same valve that tire stems have in them. So...if the car is more then 3-4 years old, I would suspect bad O-rings, and if it were me, I'd replace them. First step is to check your pressures, either by buying an AC pressure tester (ie manifold gauges) or take it to the shop and have them check it. If the pressure is ok, then swap the switch...if the pressure is low, they can probably just top it off, and you'll be good for a couple more years... Hope that helps more then confuses... RedLance

Okay, some of you know that I have posted about this before, but it's still an ongoing problem, so I'm asking again. I replaced the head gaskets in my 86 XT. When I got the heads off, I discovered the cracks between the valves. Thinking this was a problem at the time, I replaced the heads with a rebuilt set out of Texas. Got it all assembled and in the car, runs, but won't idle. I figured bad gas. Drained, refilled, idled, but rough. No power until the boost comes on. Tracked it to the number 2 cylinder. Pulled compression, and found 120-130lbs on all but #2, which had 10lbs. Torn it apart again, figuring bad/damaged gasket. Eventually figured out that one or more valves were being held open. The valves in the #2 cylinder were replaced during the head rebuild. The intake was found to be too long. Had it ground down. Now the exhaust valves are being held open. What the #$*^ is going on?? They all close just fine, if I loosen the bolts that hold the cam carrier on, so the cam is pushing them open. Am I not putting enough "fluid packing" in the groove on the cam carrier? Did they hork up the head when they rebuilt it? The other head from them seems to be fine. I'm seriously considering swapping the old cracked head back on... Any ideas anybody?? Thanks!! Brian