dhise

yeah, take it one step at a time. Check the codes first. The next few weekends are busy for me, but after then if you are still having problems it wouldn't be a big hassle to give you a hand. I'm not a mechanic by trade but know enough about these cars now to be dangerous and have some spare parts handy in the garage (including a distributor, coil, and throttle body w/all the stuff that goes with it). -Doug

I did the same thing last year. Went the extra step of putting hose clamps on the pcv hoses as well in a vacuum leak ending crusade. Just another piece of the puzzle in getting a perfectly smooth running old motor! -Doug

If you have any oven cleaner handy you can see if that will work as well. I know it'll take off some nasty stuff on home windows but not too sure about antifreeze... -Doug

It is nice to see a big thread with old gen subaru michigan people in it though. There seems to only a handful of us on the board here! -Doug

If you have a bench grinder, just grind the bottom off. -Doug

ahhh, tranny fluid..... cut and pasted from the nasioc (hope this is cool)....I pesonally use the redline 75w-90ns... orignal thread: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1370930 I guess I should chime in here... Scotty's cocktail is just about the worst thing you can use in a Subaru manual transmission! The extremely high sulfur content destroys the Subaru uncoated baulk rings (part of the syncro). The excessive wear I have seen in the transmissions that people have doctored with this stuff in horrible. You cannot fix a mechanical issue with a fluid change! You are only masking the issue! The OEM Subaru Extra S This fluid is just standard gear oil with a friction modifier in it (like what old timers use in Detroit lockers). I sent a sample in to be analyzed by my oil guy. The results in viscosity breakdown are no better than a standard 75w90 dino oil. Royal Purple- ugg what can I say about this stuff and be nice about it..hmm It has an organic base stock on which it gives it very similar qualities to regular dino oil except a slightly better breakdown under heat aka a complete wast of money. Redline oil- They do make the 75w90NS which is a low sulfur fluid that will not harm the baulk rings although we did see a lot more 3-4 grinds. Shockproof seems to work pretty well in the rear diff without any side effects. Please not that I rebuilt dwx's 6mt in December the shockproof literally had to be scooped out of his trans like pudding I would not recommend it for anyone in cold climates. Valvoline 75w90 Synthetic- This is what I use in my customer's and my own car. It holds up extremely well in street and competition use. It also has an organic base stock like the Royal Purple but has a slightly better additive package like the Subaru Extra S. The best part about this particular fluid is how well it reacts to cold. Even with the coldest days here in Chicago I've never had it get sluggish. As a side note to all who drive their cars more aggressive than "normal" or who make more power than stock: Change your fluid every 10-15k miles! Change your fluid after every track day, HPDE, Auto-X, Rally-X, etc!! The better condition you keep your fluid in the longer it will be before you have to come see me or Ben for a rebuild! Dylan @ DS1 This public service announcement has been brought to you by SOA who reminds you "Gears? Crunch all you want, we'll make more"

I used por15 on my wagon over the course of the spring and early summer. It had some pretty extensive rust being a MI car it's whole life and I was up for experimenting so we will see how it works on a daily driver in the rust belt. So far it is holding up very well, but I am curious to see how it will do in the long run. -Doug

Appreciate all the pics and updates! A question: with an OBDII computer is there still going to be a plug to connect a code scanning tool with this conversion? -Doug

I don't think you'll have any regrets here. I bought an '00 Legacy GT LTD with all the toys brand new. New model and all. Put alot of miles on that car and it only went in the shop for two recalls. (o2 sensor and rear x-member rust proofing). Only sold it when I needed the cash when the house buliding went overbudget. You will have a good car that will last you a long, long time now... -Doug

no need to go crazy on the hatch and clear coat, I've become pretty good at taking care of those things... Any dent pounding is much appreciated though! Also, there is this aftermarket belt/seal/h2o pump on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=230187975664&rd=1 Judging by some other threads on these kits they may not be a bad option, what do you think? -Doug

Is this an illustrator file? It shouldn't be difficult to straighten out the grill. I would also straighten up the dash, sunroof, make the headlights a little meaner, clean up underneath the car a little and flesh out the driver side wheel there a little. -Doug

I tried to get my old o2 sensor out and cussed and swore and fought with it. You need heat... Local muffler guys ended getting it out for me for $20. -Doug

I did it before and after the drain, so there's some in there right now. The shifting has gradually improved since I put the new fluid in, we're talking over the course of spring and early summer. So I am assuming the redline helped in the cold weather department and the autorx helped the shifting, because it cleans very slowly. -Doug

I put the redline 75w90NS in my wagon's trans to help with the cold weather shifting (which it did big time) and one of the side benefits is that the tranny gradually made less noise. I also put an ounce or two of autorx in there as well. It is one of the nicest shifting tranny's I've ever owned now. -Doug

vice grips, channel locks, etc..

Yeah, you can take it off of there and remove the electrical part of it and soak it real good and get all the old crud out of there. When I got my wagon it was in pretty rough shape, but it seems a whole combination of things leads to the hesitation issues so commonly posted here... I have no more hesitation or lagging after, changing spark plugs, wires, disty cap and rotor, fuel filter, pcv valve, all the old crusty vaccum lines, cleaning the maf and iac, and the biggest difference on my particular car was a new o2 sensor. Mine was welded in pretty good, but the local muffler shop got it out and put in the one I bought for a measly $20 labor. Ahhh the wagon runs so smooth now! -Doug

I put redline 75w-90ns in my transmission last winter and it made a significant difference in the really cold weather. With the old fluid, the wagon didn't like to shift or move too easy after sitting all night in sub 20 degree temps.. -Doug

A quick search of car-part.com came up with one in Salem, CT (Sid's Auto Parts) for $100. -Doug

Now I'm looking at the kyb catalog while I type this and they only list the 341065 part number for the rears on a loyale and nothing for the fronts. However, the 1985-86 4wd wagon has the same part number on the rears and 234046 & 234047 for the fronts. Is there a reason these aren't listed for the loyale wagons (and sedans) or would they work? -Doug

in addition to the door speakers in my wagon, I put in one of those subwoofers from kenwood that fit under the passenger seat and it really made a world of difference. Plus it was relatively cheap and doesn't take up any usable space. I'm really happy with the stereo now! -Doug

If you painted it yellow I'd bet it would do 130! and put a wing on it too! My old camaro had a 160mph speedometer, but it wasn't yellow....and it had a 2 speed powerglide transmission. I think the fastest I ever drove it was only a little over halfway up the speedometer. That old 327 would wind up pretty good though.. -Doug

Mine froze up on me after this last winter. Ended up soaking the shaft with some pb blaster and working the wiper by hand for a while with the motor on and it eventually freed up and now moves as fast as the fronts. I plan on putting some kind of grease on the shaft under that cap to try to keep out any moisture. -Doug

total dog with the air on here, but it's worth it! I just don't like it when people pass me up when I take off too slow for them and then I have to pass them again a 1/2 mile down the road when they get in my way....

I had an 84 shelby charger.... worst pile of &^%&^ I have ever owned. Words cannot describe how awful those cars were.. Rampages do not even deserve to be mentioned with brats imo. They were a small step above yugos. blah

You might want to post that after the $50 + free shipping deal is over, lol..