Reveeen

The drain holes are at the front and rear sides, and no you can't see them, at least I can't. I *think* it's "pull the headliner time", mine is out in the yard sealed up with draft stop (kind of a silicone sealant that is easily removable) waiting for the time and patience to fix it. There is also a dealer "paper" on re-sealing the rails that the sunroof rides on, as a leak can be caused by an un-sealed rail, of course, headliner removal time again. Did I mention how much I hate sun roofs?

I once had a customer who I gave a poloroid camera to, and told him: that whenever something "messed up", he should get a picture taken of the stuff, and the folks involved, after he had a dozen such photographs he should compare them looking for the common factor in his "mess ups", and eliminate that factor. Sorry.

There are 3 things that affect vehicle reliability: 1) age 2) how it is driven 3) modifications Any 20+ year old vehicle that you modify, and drive the crap out of, is going to have "issues", be it a Subaru, or a military deuce and a half 6X6.

right now the boost is great. I'm getting about 7 1/2 to 8 pounds but I will take a look anyway. When I'm "on it" I get between 10-13 pounds, and yes, torque steer. I replaced the crossover pipe (as I mentioned, mine was NFG) with an aftermarket 2" (about $300 cheaper than OEM) and I'm making boost @2100 rpm (gas mileage suffers though). No up cat, no down cat, no pipe cat (punched), 2 1/2 to 3 Turbo muffler ($25 to replace a rusted out $400 dealer only muffler) 3" down spout (to direct any noise to the ground).

See posting here for Mazda alternate: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=78684 Gabriel? Do you get Gabriel there? Gabriel does rear struts.

a metal backbone that's made of out 14 ga 8X4 inch tubing.you have to get 14ga sheet metal and bend it to make 2 8X2 channels and then weld it together I would look at using metal industrial door frame. The concept of a single backbone splaying out at both ends (front and back) was developed by Colin Chapman (as far as I know) for use in the Elan, and newer Lotus cars. This was after his space frame efforts (Lotus 7) and his marine plywood fiasco (Europa). I linked you to that JZR page so you could see the way they are built (if you poke around there you get a fairly good look at the frame/body set-up that can be built in any garage using simple tools). Adding in a third wheel driving is going to increase the complexity, not to mention the added weight, I *think* the trick to this type of vehicle is extreme light weight. Plus too, you don't really want to be welding chain sprockets, as they will be a regular maintenance item. BTW: I have a 900 shaft drive Honda in my shed (title), and a 9000 Saab, lined up here for a similar project, just haven't got to it yet.

There is only one place that can accurately decode a serial number, and that place is your local Subaru dealer, make friends with the parts man. Where are you getting this serial number you are attempting to decode? Title?, dash cover? driver's door pillar? firewall? Mistakes can be made in the title, dash covers can be changed, you can 'section repair' the driver's door pillar, I would take the numbers off of the firewall, and do my "secret decoder ring thing" with them. At the end of the day, if you do find you have a "dodgy" serial number, what are you going to do about it? (because as soon as you know it becomes illegal not to report it) Do you really want to know? (once you report it impound is possible/likely, now what?) Who is to say it is not a "put together" made from 2, or more, cars? Think long and hard before going any farther.

making something like this? http://www.freewebs.com/jzrusa/

Can I just take the big nut off and put the 5-bolt hub flanges on You would take the big nut off, pull the flange, take it to a machine shop, and get whatever bolt pattern you want. But most folks do the whole hog type of swap with the improved braking, front alignment options, and updated struts. Your choice.

Are the wheels for trailers adequate for this application? Each and every situation has to be looked at on it's own merit. I am using trailer wheels rated for 1 ton (2000 lbs) each, with a total vehicle weight of 1030kg (2200 lbs), I *think* i am within the limits of safety. Personally I like Toyota wheels, but none were available, and white spoke wheels match my white car.

Usually heat is a sign of a poor connection (provided the current draw is not too great).

nocarsgo: I seem to have some similar symptoms. Ah, no. What is your automotive skill level?

I bought my '91 over a year ago, and have been driving it ever since, for $425.

I've only ever seen a Ford Courier once in my life Ford Courier = Mazda You aren't missing much. D-50 / Mighty Max = Mitsubishi There are also some white spoke type trailer type rims available in 6x5.5" bolt pattern, various sizes and offsets, I'm using a 6.5X16 on my Subaru with a lift. The hubs have plenty of "meat" for drilling, and should be ok as far as not going through an ordeal, or worry. These are not heavy vehicles.

it may be the viscous coupling or the transfer clutch solenoid (duty "C") It could be a lot of things.............. In effect your center differential, the one in the transmission that divides the drive between the front and back differentials, is not working correctly. Which transmission (auto or standard)? How many miles (km)? Regular service?

I certainly do not imagine any mind boggling long-life out of my homebrew "reman" axle, The life you get depends ENTIRELY on you. Careful dis-assembly and cleaning, full inspection and re-assembly in a reasonably clean enviorment, these things are as picky as the worst carburetor you have had apart. Rust is the killer of these things, any sign of rust (past and present), and you are looking at scrap. if possible, go out to boneyard, and find the bits I need. As I said, try to keep the assemblies together: ie: complete outer joint, complete inner joint. Get familiar with the parts, at one point you will end up with a couple of bad ones that, after you have done a few and built some confidence/experience, you can try mix and match. Don't throw anything out, if you drive/own a Subaru you will be here again. This is not really hard, it is simply that you lack the experience, and the only way to get it is to "get dirty".

If your Legacy is anything like mine you might want to remove the shields on the cross-over pipe and inspect the expansion bellows for cracking, quite unlike a "proper" exhaust bellows (made out of a nickel-bronze alloy), Subaru has/had decided to make it out of cheapo tin, that will only go through so many heating/cooling cycles before rupture. Of course once ruptured your boost pressure slowly declines.

There is a relay up by the fuel pump relay (near enough directly north of your left foot while seated mounted to the firewall) http://autorepair.about.com/library/illustrations/bl081a-lib.htm And of course the switch.

is that a safe bet that these are NOT OEM axles then? At the least the boot has been changed, at most it is a re-man, there is really no telling, as was pointed out there are three types that are virtually interchangeable. I *think* a book can be written, or is written out there, about re-building 1/2 shafts (though I have not seen one). I am a believer of keeping assemblies intact, nothing but trouble seems to come from mixing and matching, unless you are really, really, careful. This mixing and matching is what the run-of-the-mill re-builders do, the results are only as good as the builder is skilled, or cares.

the outer boot on driver said said "rockford," no idea what that means http://www.rockforddriveline.com/ A supplier of parts (they are the sole source of "staked in" U-Joint replacements)

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. Visualize your piston traveling up the cylinder, if ignition (or power) is applied BEFORE it reaches the top not only do you get "pinging", you get an engine trying to run in reverse. Once at the top is where you want ignition to happen, to drive that piston back down to make power. Advance (in degrees) is the time that ignition happens before the piston reaches the top so that power is applied at the right time. Many factors determine this "proper" amount of advance. Remember you are "lighting" a fire, the speed at which this fire travels (or "power is made") is due to engine design, and fuel type and mixture, so every situation becomes different. The "recommended" timing for an engine is an average value determined by the engine manufacturer to work best overall under average conditions. You can optimize this setting by trial and error, but you must remember that power will not be made if it is applied to the top of the piston too soon. It matters not on the type of fuel delivery (other than as a rule fuel injected cars are more precise in fuel delivery than a carburetor).

If you are not getting a knock sensor failure code it is fairly safe to assume it is ok. Now, there has been some mention of the knock sensors confusing piston slap with pinging and retarding the timing, as the frequency of sound generated by both conditions is different, and your knock sensor shouldn't "see" piston slap, I can't comment on the accuracy of such claims. Maybe for piece of mind re-locating the knock sensor is an idea (remembering that it must be grounded at the through bolt or it will throw a code), and also keeping in mind that you are defeating the purpose of the knock sensor by re-locating it. Of course, seeing where it is, $200 worth of tools is handy for this job, not to mention fingers with 6 joints. Probably easier is temporarily unplugging the knock sensor and subbing a 520K ohm resistor in it's place electrically (to ground), this will satisfy your computer, and for about 5 cents keep your tools in your tool box, not to mention totally eliminate the knock sensor as a "problem".

I would check the "business end" (the diaphragm) in your distributor, followed by a mechanical advance check (grab the rotor and see if you can move it against the springs) and a timing check.

All of the other emission stuff (vac mess, etc...) has been removed. Vacuum advance to distributor? and if it is hooked up, is it working?

Water pump? When was your water pump changed last?