Reveeen

No! No one is saying: "you are wrong, there is no way the housing and/or associated parts need replacing", I *think* we are saying (at least I am) that with ANY repair some caution and common sense should be exercised. I do not know about anyone else here, but I earn my money, and am quite willing to explore the external stuff (that has to work anyway) before taking something apart and spending hundreds. I do not believe any offense to you is intended by suggesting this, and if you are taking offense, you are wrong.

There is also a spool in there that has to move freely, or it will torque-bind. I *think* the best thing(s) to do is: Carefully check your wiring (including the transmission ground) between your TCM and the transmission (noting that there should be 9-15 ohms between pin #3 and ground on the TCM plug-wiring side) cleaning all exposed connectors. Think about changing the transmission filter, or adding one (early cars did not have a filter) Change the transmission oil (actually 3 changes in a short period of time) you only get 4-5 quarts out by pulling the pan plug, leaving the torque converter full, so 3 changes should just about get it. After you have done this stuff and it is still acting up then it is up to you to decide if you wish to throw some money at it (meaning: take it apart for a look-see).

How about a rebuilt? I list one in my Beck/Arnley catalogue, I have no idea what they are worth, http://www.beckarnley.com/

Are you sure it's a head gasket? If you are leaking oil it's more than likely it's a cam box, there are "0" rings that go bad towards the rear, that can be mistaken for head gaskets. http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/cam.htm There is no better time to re-seal the cam boxes then when doing the timing belts. I averaged 43mpg (imperial) here over 500mi, my old 87 averages 45mpg (imperial again!) under any conditions. I'm *thinking* Safari stripes for my 92: http://www.pleasureislandsafari.com/wst_page7.php

You seem to have a pretty little wagon there. I am not sure how good an idea it would be to swap out a perfectly good motor. If it was me I would just do my maintence items and continue on with the motor I have, that is a known quantity, rather than with something that is unknown. I have Bucky's twin sister here (white 92 Loyale 4WD wagon, just bought for $80, and driven home 500mi) and while it is in considerably worse shape than Buckey, and is slower than my EJ22T Legacy, I feel the "flavour" of the car would be ruined by swapping in a more powerful, harder on gas, motor. Of course this is just me, and I just bought this Loyale because I like them, but I kinda like underpowered, and good gas mileage.

This is "roughly" how it is done: Front: http://www.subarubrat.com/liftday2.htm Rear: http://www.subarubrat.com/liftday.htm I am in the middle of doing my Loyale (6")

If, as you say, you have covered all the bases, did you check the heads for cracks?

Welcome to Subaru Robin! http://www.robinamerica.com/index.lasso

Not a "happy" situation, to say the least, all we can do is hope you get better soon, real soon.

I have one here that is, well not quite acting the same, is throwing a "Duty C" solenoid fault, once in a while, and of course the "torque bind", again, once in a while. I would check my wiring, especially the connector(s) between the transmission and the main harness, I would verify my transmission is grounded, adding a ground strap if I doubted it was grounded. Pin #3 of the TCM wiring should show 9-15 ohms to ground. The "early" cars do not have an auto transmission filter, you should look and verify if there is one, or one has been retro fitted (the retro one is found below the battery, Subaru part# 31099AA091 for the kit) Clean transmission oil is essential for the system to work, regular transmission oil changes are not really optional, there is a spool valve in there that has to work properly, and it can't with dirty oil. Sadly, as far as I can figure that is it for the "easy" stuff, the next steps to cure this get expensive (pull the tail section and start looking). Good luck!

What I do is use the method I have always used for heavy trucks. On a cold engine remove the rad cap and make sure the rad is full to the top. Attatch a piece of hose to the overflow spigot (beside the rad cap) run that hose into a big glass jar 1/2 full of coolant making sure the hose remains below the water level. Fire it up and look for bubbles during/after the engine warms up, if you see a steady stream of bubbles when warm then it is best to assume you have "troubles". If the heater core was leaking you should: 1) be able to smell it inside the car 2) should see it on the windshield on "defrost" 3) see a stain in the carpet If the headgaskets are leaking bad I would expect to see tank leakage if the car has an alumnium rad (left side top). These cars are mostly old enough now that the copper rads (original) are beat. Check the hole you can see in the water pump (top covering the shaft, behind the belt pully) you so not want to see water here. If you pull the spark plugs you will see which cylinders are getting water.

The download *might* be of some interest.

I kinda like this web site here: http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/service.htm And there is an interesting download here: http://www.economysuperstar.com/subaru/service/htkysa

To be *honest* I've never figured that you could get anything good out of a can (except oil) for your engine. I've worked in shops where the rule was to install a lot of wynns crap when you did a tune-up (and you got a bonus when you did). I recently bought a '91 legacy Sport Sedan and for the life of me I could not get it to idle smoothly, I did all the "stuff" (plugs etc) but for whatever reason (injectors, carbon) it would not idle smoothly. I spoke to an older guy (like myself) where I buy parts and he suggested Kleen Flo TKO (of course he sells this stuff), anyhow to make a long story short I tried some, and it "fixed" me right up, well not "right" up, but within the month. http://www.kleenflo.com/en/index.htm MSDS: http://www.kleenflo.com/en/msds/830-1.pdf If you care to notice this is mainly Kerosene, so I probably should have done the homework first, and just shoved some kerosene in the gas tank (at the least it would have been cheaper). Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

I run a set of 205/55-15 tires in that chassis (without mods) and don't *see* how you can run bigger without hitting stuff. I would not mind trying bigger, but am not interested in wasting my money, if you decide to go ahead maybe you can report on how you make out.

I can't see it, maybe if it was, as I stated earlier, a 50 series, but not a 60 series, let me put it this way, it's too close to call.

The *trick* to this exersise is if the wheels/tires will fit under your fenders and not rub, or otherwise shred the tire/fender. A '92 Legacy sport sedan comes stock with a 15" wheel and a 195/60-15 tire which does a pretty good job of filling the wheel well. The bolt pattern for all these newer Subaru cars is 5X100mm, so the 16" wheels will bolt on, BUT if the installed tire exceeds the diameter of a 195/60-15 by too much, it's going to rub/bind on the body work. So, without knowing the tire size no one can tell you if it is going to work out, but I will "suggest" this: if the installed tires on those 16" rims are not short (sidewall, eg: 50 series or less) wide tires this is not going to work out for you.

Canister purge solenoid valve Solenoid valve inoperative

You know, if you made a lift kit for your car, as seen here: http://www.subarubrat.com/PICS/frontlift4.JPG From: http://www.subarubrat.com/ You could dummy that rust up with just about anything and not worry one bit about lost strength.

$300 is a little "rich" for that car, I have it's twin here in Moncton that I paid $100 for 6 years ago up in Ontario (if you do buy it I will be parting out that one in the spring). Rust areas to be concerned with: Rear wheel area: you will be buying replacement panels Rockers: again replacement panels Fenders ahead of the doors (lower) Door bottoms Hood rear floors The rad will be in tough shape If the motor ticks/is "ticky" likely a oil pump re-seal is in your near future No one here wants these cars, you can dictate your own price, I just bought a '92 Loyale in NS for $80 and will be stripping my DL to fix that one.

There are two values to anything............... The value to the person who owns it and the value to who wants to buy it. Usually the sale of an item only happens when those two values are similar. It would take a very special Subaru to find a home in my yard at the moment, it's value probably being my life, as I *think* my wife would shoot me, if I added a 4th. What is a '87 DL wagon worth? I bought a '88 DL in 1999 for $100, needed a half shaft 2 weeks ago I bought a '92 Loyale for $80, it's "tough", but I can fix it. If a car, no matter it's age, or make, is capable of being a "driver" as is (NO fixing required) and will stay that way for a period of 1-2 years, and not shame you by leaving puddles of oil, or rust, then that car has to be worth $1000-1200 (to me, because those are the "numbers" I figure it costs me to get a $100 clunk there). These "numbers" change the more "desirable" a car is. I live in a place where an old Subaru is not very desirable.

Well................ There are tools you can buy, but if you load the area behind the bearing with grease then take a piece of wood dowling that either fits, or you have shaved down to fit in the center (not tight, but closely), then you tap the wood in, and hydraulic pressure pushes the bearing out. Should you replace it? It might not make noise at the moment, but it may start making noise in the near/far future, do you really want to go through this again if it decides to make noise? For the less than $10 that they cost?

Moncton................... How about "Rafuse Auto Parts", Kentville, or Bridgewater, from "BestBuy auto parts Canada" they can access "Beck Arnley". If that doesn't pan out for you I have a wholesaler in Halifax I can put you in touch with.

Where in Canada are you?

I am under the *understanding* that the bottom 2 bolt/stud holes between the two, EA-EJ, are in the same location, so you would work around that. If you look at the availaible adapters that is how it appears.