akc

I know how you feel the caprices we have had we have barely put any money into and they ran forever. on the other hand my EA82 Subaru we have put around $2000 (exhaust system, radiator, timing belts, water pump, oil pump, fuel pump, head gaskets, hoses, exhaust manifold gaskets, wheel bearings, CV joints, carb work, alterator, tires, various bolts that have worked out of the engine or been stipped and helicoil parts (50 for head bolt helicoil kit and almost nobody sells 11 metric kits)sending units for oil pressure, new thermostat (several in fact) in parts (not including labor)in the last year and seem to be working on it every weekend. but the parts are easy to install. When my caprices went it was rods which were alot harder to fix and it was worth more money even non running (we got $600 for our caprice with a rod through the block in 97 it was a 77) We bought the caprice in 90 for $1000 and got 7 years out of her with I think tires and maybe a alternator?? with never being stranded on the side of the road even when the rod went we landed in my sisters driveway and immediatly had transportation home. It had lots of bells and whistles and got about 20 mpg (same as my subie)(it was also completely restored when we got it. On the one hand I want to sell mine too but then we have almost replaced everything but the engine and tranny (ok that is a exageration) and what more can go wrong right?? Besides I cannot even begin to get my money out of it. I almost want to keep it just so I can see what happens next. (the body of mine is in great shape and the engine only has 190000. only bummer is no 4wd) I have thought of the 90's legacys but right now my spouse does not want to see anything subaru. I do however love the 5speed tranny and do not really want to see another automatic for a while. I love my subie but....Cash is a consideration too. I do not know how much longer I can keep fixing it. I do like the fact though that 4 tires where only $300 versus $200 each.. I love driving it though and it is not the boat that the 80's caprices are and I love the ease of manuverablity. (my 77 caprice was a wagon too but it was almost like driving a suburban it was so big. )I got it running for now though so I will probably drive it until it dies again. (I do need to flush the heater core again I have no heat again)When its running I love it. my mom bought a caprice (92) 2 years before I bought my 86 gl, She has had nothing break on it since they have had it 3 years ago..... it is tempting. Sometimes transitions are hard but you got to do what you gotta do. all cars do have problems..I think I would deal with a bad head gasket any day before fixing a bad rod. We switched to the subaru last year because I was sick of American cars and there Trannies going out. We have had our 90' ford with 100,000 need a new tranny and our 96, pontiac needed a new tranny at 100,000 and at 200,000 that isn't cheap either. now our 65 Dart that has a newer tranny is leaking fluid... GRRRR. Come to think of it our subarubans have almost all had the Trannies replaced somewhere along the line too.and we have replaced exhaust systems on EVERY Chevy we have owned. (especially the caprices we have had 3 caprice classics, 3 suburbans, 6 Dodges (1 truck 2 van 3 cars), 3 fords (all vans), 3 buicks, 2 pontiac, 2 subarus, and I know I am missing some in the 17 years we have been married. (I think there was a few hondas but do not remember them well) that does not include the cars someone gave us and we did not keep. 2 ford feistas 1 ford truck, a pontiac car etc..) everything has its own issues you just need to be prepared to pay and fix the costs. IT seems the subaru has minor issues and American cars when they go it is major...probably not always true but it just seems that way. just whatever you do do not buy a 90's dodge car they had tons of recalled parts (but they are not fixing them) and a friend just spent 5,000 in parts and labor to get hers running again (hindsight is 20/20 she would have sold it if she would have known) most of the parts were recalled but the way the recall was worded they would not pay for it....I think it was a stratus with about 100,000 miles.TO be honest I think the best car we have owned was the buicks the engines never had issues no minor parts went but the accessories that was where the issue, power window went, trunk leaked, Ac went, radio went, power mirrors fell off, molding fell off, and it was only 10 years old and well taken care of)power seats broke.It got to the point it was annoying car ran great but all the options you bought it for fell apart...We called it the self deconstructing car. just weigh the costs and check out out the bad of any vehicle before you buy one. Those 90 subarus are looking better all the time....

really any of them any good?

Even If you cannot Gift it twice the cost of lisencing a almost free vehicle (100) is about the same as a gift vehicle. I just lisenced a 65 dart that the person SAID I paid them $150 for and it was only around $30. Yes that is double $15 but you cannot beat it for a almost free vehicle. It would almost pay you to get it inspected and sell it.. There is a vehicle with more damage on criegs list right now. that the owner is asking I think $500 for (older subaru in seattle/tacoma creigslist) you might have trouble getting that but you should at least be able to sell it for $300 I sold a NON RUNNING bonneville 1995 with a blown tranny and 300,000 miles for that not to long ago it needed about $3000 or more in PARTS not including labor) You could at least get $150 for the roof rack..I would almost be interested in it for $300 don't need another vehicle though we have too many already.

However I am not for salting the roads either but I do not see it as a death threat to older cars. In alot of the states with rust problems you can get your car oiled to ptotect it. However if I lived in Eastern WA I would definatly see it as a problem because they really have snow. As for the not plowing it to keep stupid drivers home...... IT doesn;t work they are the first ones out and don't care if there is 2 feet of snow on the road..... they still drive 55..... in there 4 wd. It is the rest of us that have some clue. that get hurt when the roads are not taken care of. Last year was really harry to drive but would not have been if they would have plowed when the snow fell. (The HWY to our house was not even plowed for 3 days minor one though it may be) We had ICE and if they had plowed the roads would have been dry.(I know that because the main HWY was dry ) I think it caused more accidents and caused more problems because the utility vehicles and Aid vehicles COULD NOT get around very well. 5 miles around our house was not plowed at all county roads with a decent amount of residents. you had to drive 5 mph around hairpin corners and up hills it was NOT Fun for the week we had snow. especially as those corners all had crosses....and drop offs without guard rails. especially when those roads had turned to one lane roads and it was always rather interesting to go around blind corners and hope no one was coming. ...... I agree sand and plowing are better doing nothing was STUPID.....this is coming from rural pierce County. 30 minutes from anything (I only wrote Gig HArbor because nobody knows where lakebay is) this is not KAnsas or Eastern WA where if they do not plow you end up on the side of the road. altough I do not live on a mountian if you go off a road on the way to my house you have a really good chance of going over a hill as well. If you go off in the wrong spot you could end up in the salt water as well. (2 spots on the way home) I would perfer salting the roads to a dip in the sound but I would rather you plowed them instead. Any of you notice last winter the amount of cars damaged? Around my house after the snow last winter about 1/3 of all the cars I passed had dents or dings from accidents caused by the snow I think that is why they did something/ I would prefer no salt too but it is not the end of the world either.

you have to look at it this way too. HOW MUCH does it really snow in Washington (western) (it really should be two states) the amount of Salt really won't do that much damage unless you drive to the mountains all the time (every day) if you go there then rinse you car off. It is no worse then living next to the salt water, as for the salt they have used it off and on for years they used it in the 70's and 80's ALOT I remember the trucks when I was a kid. (of course that is the 2 or 3 times it snowed for the year...)however I do not remember rust bucket cars as a kid either. I think it really only effects you if you are up in the mountian passes all the time. They used road salt when we lived in CA on Donner pass but that does not mean the cars are that bad in CA. I really would not worry about it that much. As for last year the complaint where I live was that they DID NOT PLOW AT ALL when it snowed so we had a foot of snow on the road for a 30 minute (snow free drive time) radius around our house. which turned it into a 1 hour and a half. ( if you could make it past the crazy driver which was hard. ) They have been using a spray on DE- ICER for about 5-8 ?? ( I am not sure when they started using it I only remember when the stipes on the road started appearing. ) years now too That was freezing on the roads and leaving a white stripes ( when we had the real cold weather otherwise it makes the road look like it has grooves in it. ) I do not believe it is a salt based product but in the years they have used it I have seen no new rust on our vehicles and we drive ALOT put on about 100, 000 miles a year. The plant life next to the road has not seemed to have changed at all. It has saved lives and avoided accidents. Really folks you act like the snow fall here is significant.

mine has a kenwood with a removeable face that sticks out less then a inch it really does not look bad. other then my dash being light blue and the face being black you almost would think it came there. Besides having a CD player is so worth it. besides allmost all the other knobs are black anyway..

My sister retitled her car several years ago (a 60's DArt) after she was hit in a accident it really was easy. I was suprised. WA state. They make it sound worse then it really is. Hers was much worse then yours almost no trunk left and that was in a car that was real steel. They checked the Frame to make sure it was not damaged and that all the saftey stuff was working.. .lights, tail, head, blinkers. that kind of stuff. Her hard part was getting her money out of the insurance company. they wanted to give her $500 for a car that had a brand new engine and was a classic..(she had over $1500 in parts in the last year in it. then they made her buy it back at scrap value)

Get the car you will love it. :banana::banana:Of course I am not a off roader but I can see that plenty of guys have fun with them here. (washington state) General Disorder has a Love for EA 81's you will find that in most of his posts but he is knowledgeable on most things. I have a EA82 and it is not that bad we have dealt with most of the germins that come with these things and it is not too bad I do agree with most that if you do a timing job just leave off the covers it has made it much easier. We have done head gaskets on my car and it was not too bad you can even do it with the engine in although it is tight. IF you read the boards you should have most info you need to get it running right. On a final note WATCH for overheating and make sure you have GOOD HOSES and radiator mine got a head gasket fix because it sprung a leak and overheated when my teenage son was driving it. ( we should have changed the hoses when we changed the radiator) The cooling system is not that expensive to change and it beats doing head gaskets. (hoses and radiator) OF COURSE mine is older then yours so the hoses were more worn etc... hindsight:horse: I am not a mechanic and we manage to keep mine running so it should not be too hard for you. Oh the other germilin I have dealt with it the fusable links in mine it is a little black box off the overflow for the radiator.. It sometimes makes mysterious symtoms.. that minic other things.. (my non mechanic turning on)If you are having weriod symtoms sometimes it does not hurt to make sure they are in all the way... LOL (we spent 4 days chasing a fuel problem only to find the link was making it so it was not getting enough gas. tore apart the carb. new fuel pump and filters. ....on a last ditch effort we took out all the links and reinstalled them and presto the car ran great.. GRRR))

I do know the previous owner had it all apart he replaced most of the gaskets and other things. Sorry I am mostly complaining it just seems I just get one thing fixed and by the next week I am working on something else that has self destructed. Well I think I just found my tranny problem (it was not bad just a little more growly then it should have been... )The tranny bolt being out was spewing tranny oil on things but where it was leaking I had thought it was the CV axles leaking...Till the bolt fell out yesterday. I think it was loose for a while but I know it did not fall out until this week.....The good news is that I have almost replaced it all.....I think I will go over the WhOLE CAR with a Wrench.. We do have a rather bumpy driveway but it is nowhere like 4 wheeling. I woldn't think it would unbolt things. ..

Why does it seem like my subie is self distructing. In the past couple of months I have noticed that the bolts and nuts on my subie keep coming undone or the threads keep stripping out...My head the exhaust. and lately my tranny some of these I have not even worked on. I came home the other day and noticed that the bolts to the air cleaner on the carb had all come undone and fell out. The Tranny has a bolt out where it connects to the engine.the exhasut manifold has had several bolts work out since we have gotten it.(less then a year. ) what is up with this anyone else have trouble with this. ......I have never had this trouble with cars before. NO I do not overtighten things or undertighten them either. the car came this way..

Couldn't you just replace the HEAD GASKETS. they are not to bad to do in fact working on mine again today. Search it like the last guy mentioned several people have written on how to..I have been told the heads rarely go bad just the gasket unless it is a turbo.

I do not know alot about filters or what not but I do know that GD has had very sound advice I also know that I had enough trouble putting on the regular filter in the space provided (of course you may have a differnet engine).

Are you sure you have no water leaks? ie leaking winsheild, or heater core or a gasket around one of the windows the other thing I would do is flush out your heater core. make sure there is not any blockages but I still think you would have to have some moisture in the car if your winsheild is fogging up. I agree with GD. i have been chasing that monster this year mine was a winsheild gasket that leaks. dried up the car and now it is just cold (heater was working now it is not again) light fog with no moisture. Try a portable heater leave it in the car overnight dry out the car and see if you see a difference if that helps you probably have water coming in somewhere. might take a couple of days.(mine was also someone dropped about a quart of water on the back seat floorboards.) good luck

I have to admit I am a little jealous. we have cold weather but no snow but on the same note as my heater is not working AGAIN (I just flushed it and it worked for about a week now it seems to be clogged again) I am glad we only have freezing weather went out to start the subie today and I had a jug of water in the car (gallon milk JUG) it was frozen solid. so it is definatly cold here. I also wish my rig had 4 wd still trying to find one with it.

:banana:Yeah got my subie running better. fixed most of the exhaust leaks fixed the water pump it runs so much better.. I think though i need a new catalatic converter.... but that is for another day. :banana:

http://offroadingsubarus.com/timingbelt_ea82.html timing with pictures by miles fox

Thanks Edrach that was my next question you answered before I thought to format it.

Thanks GD I might try hooking it up to see if it works then. The cable appears ok. Who knows I might like it. I have a friend that loves theirs.

I have tons of hills and teenage drivers. I do not mind the hills but sometimes the teen drivers do. What tends to go wrong with the hill holder I am sure it must have been disconected for some reason??

Thanks that was what I thought. I did not see one when I removed so was a little curious as to where it went. HAve a great evening. Got to run to the part store to get something else. Almost got my subie back to normal.

Thanks GD. So If I have no cover I do not need it?

There is a little square rubber gasket in the kit I cannot figure out where this goes. Anyone know?

IF it is overheating you may want to look into the cause. They do tend to blow head gaskets but also they sometimes spring leaks and the radiators go, in mine (it is a 86 with a EA82 engine) the timimg belts were really no problem when they went out, a afternoon off to put new belts on and fine tune. the head gaskets were more of a bugger but it was do able. Every car has its quirks but subies tend to be easy fixes. The Guts of the car (engine and Tranny can really take a licking) but they can also teach you quite a bit about mechanics the hard way too, Depends on the car) The good is on the average the parts are easy to find and relatively cheap.( some more then my Chevy or Ford and some more expensive but on the average they are cheaper) I think they 92's have a EA 82?? Mine the overheating was a leaking hose and it needed a new radiator but because I did not find the leak fast enough it turned into a head gasket job but mine is also 6 years older then yours.

I noticed the other day that my hill holder is disconnected on my subie. I was wondering if it is worth fixing as I do not think any of the subies I have owned have had a working one (all 2 of them). Or is it more of a bother and no one uses them anyway.

new exhaust (I kind of wrecked my old one on some high ground. backed up into a clump of dirt and it made the tail pipe fall off and the muffler got messed up so it was not letting out exhaust . They fixed the muffler back now I just need to fix the exhaust manifold gaskets again as when it was not letting the exhaust out it blew out the gaskets. ) Today Hopefully get a new water pump (pumps leaking) new radiater hoses and exhaust manifold gaskets on .....