Subarule

The ones on my wagon have lost nearly all their orignal black paint. Down to silver metal now. Can I repaint them with a matte black paint, and if so, what's the best paint for adherence to the metal, that will stand up in all sort of weather?

Good to bookmark. http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Subaru_engines

I had my local auto repair shop get me low-mileage Japanese crate engine. I live in a very small town and I've been doing business with the shop since '92 and trust them. I bought it in 2000 for my '86 Loyale. It has been a fantastic engine with no problems at all. Just giving you another option to think about.

You'll be amazed at how much information about your car is in the VIN.

That is really tragic. I am so sorry.

The Chiltons Repair & Tune-Up Guide manuals give all the details of what each # in the VIN stands for. If you have one that covers your year of Sub, look in the front. If you don't have one, go to your library, ask for the Chilton that you want, and copy the pages (they typically won't lend out the reference books).

Ah-hah! Chances are good that's who it was.

I think you need to burp it.

I was wondering who the person was who parked next to me at the Longview Pizza Hut around 6:30/7:00 pm New Year's Eve. It's someone who's obviously passionate about older-gen Subies.

Thanks for confirming my guess.

https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html

Saw a very nice hatchback (84? 83?) at the Longview, WA Pizza Hut last night, parked right next to me. It was dark & raining but I think the color was burgundy.

OK, stabilizer bar it is. Time to order some.

Thanks, that's really all I need to know. I don't how or why I end up making things complicated. It's my engineering-oriented mind...I can't control it. Well, OK, I do have another question. Is the stabilizer bar the same as a "strut bar"?

Oops, I think I have confused you. I didn't say it had a sway bar in the rear. I was only asking if the size of the front stabilizer bars (in mm's) had any effect on the steering/suspension/transaxle/whatever in the rear of the car. Or are the front stabilizer bars (strut bars?) independent units from what's going in the rear? Sorry if I lead you down the wrong path.

Oh no, I'm not worried about one from a wrecking yard breaking. I just got 4 new Michelin Weatherwise tires and I don't want anything to be even slightly out of whack with the alignment. Especially not in the front. So back to my original question about bar size: if i get two 18mm's for the front (for example) and I originally had 16mm, will the 18's have any (negative) impact on the rear end of the car? And do the sizes in mm's refer to the diameter? OK, yes, I'm A-C.

But if I grab one from another car of the same body style I won't know if it has some bend to it or any fatigue cracks, will I? I mean, it would have to be an old one. And if it's from a wrecking yard they won't have checked it for being out of round or looked carefully for stress cracks, would they? Just speaking from my point of view as a previous employee at a high-tech steel mill in the QA/FA dept. Tensile strength is tensile strength and it can be pushed beyond its inherent limit if put under a lot of strain. I've always had the philosophy that if things come as a set then they should be replaced, when the time comes, as a set. I've never cared for doing things piecemeal. But that's just me.

He - the alignment guy - said that my right whatever-name-bar-he called it is bent. No surprise there as I've hit some curbs pretty hard over the past years trying to do a 360 in my small street in order to get my car aimed the right direction. So if the right bar is bent then I assume that there is a separate left bar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm also assuming that whether the bar I need is 16, 18 or 19 mm, the length is not an issue as long as I get one that's made for my car year & model. Yes? No? So the size in mm's is...the diameter? And if so, 19mm is going to be stronger than 16mm? If I got a left & right bar just so I can have matching ones in the same condition, does it matter if I get two 18s, two 19s? As long as they are matched in size? Does the size in mm's of the front bars have any impact on the what's going on with the rear end? I mean, could one end up with a mis-match? Is the arm bone connected to the leg bone?

OK, I did. Are those the same size as the originals?

OK, thanks, gotcha'. You should do some red ones. It was a particular shade of red. And do some that are just 4WD for the non-turbos.

So a sway bar is completely different from a stabilizer bar?

Is 'sway bar' one of them?

Different people seem to have different names for that bar. What are all the names they are commonly called?

I had the front end redone, put new tires on it and then took it to a good place for an alignment (not one of the chain stores). Guy said I could use a right stabilizer bar as he could not get the alignment just right with the original in the shape it is. I never realized that there would be size choices to contend with. I was online doing price comparisons and found the choices. And I'm like, say what???

I only need one. So it has to match the one that was installed in the Sub factory. I was wanting to know if anyone here knew what the stock size was for my year & model. https://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getLocator&siteid=214327&chapter=ANL730&appSectionid=19&groupid=10023&subgroupid=20127&componentid=61764&make=32&model=Wagon&year=1986&catalogid=1