TROGDOR!

Had a similar problem with the carb float in an 87 wagon, only when turning left. Does this happen on long, sharp, sweeping rights? That's a typical case of a bad PCV valve. A bad PCV will also result in clouds of blue smoke when the stalling occurs.

I recommend a JY alt. At least it's factory. The parts store ones are JUNK. Went through a TON of them. I used to work at a parts store, and our aftermarket parts were total crap. We had dozens of returns every day. OEM all the way.

I went through a stage where I fried alts on a regular basis. Got to the point where I could change one on the roadside in under 10 minutes, and carried a spare at all times. I saw the effects you describe many times. Just like everyone else said, get a new alt ASAP.

Your option for custom wheels is best by just leaving the hubs alone. The XT6 takes a standard small 5-lug pattern. THOUSANDS of wheels will fit. The 6-lug conversion is for 4-lug Subarus, which use a non-standard pattern.

These engines are non-interference. Broken timing belt = re time it and put on a new belt, problem solved. I know of a good Subaru shop in WV, but they're clear up in Morgantown... no help to our buddy in NY though.

The column itself should work, but all the switches and trim are different. You'll need to swap everything on it.

Ditto on what Snowman said. I work for a salvage yard, and we NEVER include clutches and flywheels. A used clutch isn't worth jack... but a flywheel, we can get some money out of. Up to $350 for certain ones (dual-mass truck diesel flywheel, that is).

You sure you didn't bump the switch on top of the steering column? That'll leave the tail lights and marker lights on. Leaving the wires spliced has no adverse effects. Drove my car for over six months like that with no battery drain.

They offered five different transmissions in the turbo cars. Manual: Full time 4WD Dual Range 5 speed - Has no orange button on the shifter, and a second two-position "dual range" shifter behind the gearshift with a "diff lock" switch on the console. Offered only in the RX and very very few GL and GL-10 models. Rarer than hens' teeth in anything but an RX. Any RX has this trans, with the rare exception of some late model RX's with automatic transmissions. Full time 4WD Single Range 5-speed- Car is 4WD, but has no "4WD" button. Some models will have a "diff lock" button or switch. Not an RX. Part time 4WD Single Range 5-speed- Car runs in front wheel drive until the orange "4WD" button on the shifter is pressed. Very similar to the trans in 4WD DL wagons and Loyales. Not an RX. Part time 4WD automatic- Three speed auto with a red button on the side of the shifter. Shifter is marked "P R N D 2 1." Not a good trans to have. Not an RX. Full time 4WD automatic- Four speed auto with no red button on the shifter. Shifter is marked "P R N D 3 2" with a "1 hold" button on the shifter base. This one is pretty solid and was available in some late model RX's. The key difference in the RX model is its transmission, as listed above. They also had beefier seats (also available in GL "RX clones") and a stiffer suspension. Contrary to popular belief, not all RX's had a full ground effects kit, though I've never seen one without a front skirt and wing. Many GL turbos also had the skirt and wing. All Full time 4WD RX's are white with gray trim, except for some rare 1989 models which were black with gold trim. In 1989 Subaru released some GL "RX clones" which had the RX transmission and interior, but were not baded as an RX nor had the proper vin. These were available in any color. Hope this clears things up a little.

A Loyale gate will bolt on and fit. The only difference is the Loyale gate doesn't have the black plastic trim on the sides of the back glass.

If you want a car to autocross, the RX is the car for you (if it IS an RX, that is). The full time 4WD Dual Range trans in it is perfect. Shifting into low range gives you an extra set of half-gears which is perfect for any racing with quick, tight turns and short bursts of acceleration.

When viewed from the side, the gear should be cylindrical. "Apple coring" refers to the center of the gear being worn down, making that cylindrical shape be bowed in in the middle... get what I mean? The gear ends up being wide on the top and bottom and narrow in the middle, just like an apple core.

Find the plug that was plugged into the old shifter. Cut the two fat wires in the middle of the plug (black&yellow and black&white I think) and splice them together. This fools the computer into thinking the car is in Park, and allows it to start. The small spark is normal. If you had a short large enough to make a spark at the terminal, it'd be a HUGE spark, along with blowing fuses and the like.

Something else worth noting is that the original Brat is a compact design, not a midsize. If Subaru were to make a new Brat and stay true to its roots, they'd use the Impreza chassis. A Lega-Brat would be quite a bit bigger than the original.

Here's a Photochop I did when the Baja first came out: Original: My edit:

For anyone else considering this, just be sure your rims from from a 1993-down Mazda. In 1994 they switched to 5-lug.

Like I said, the eastcoast market is a totally different world. You'd get laughed at/cussed out around here for that. As for the automatic- it's a 4EAT. The best auto Subaru ever made. Not hardly as much of a slushbox as the nefarious 3 speed.

FT4WD is awesome, turbo is great, and the mileage sure is right on that one. Looks like some potentially nasty rust. Check it out VERY carefully, especially underneath and inside the rear fenderwells. Look under the bench of the backseat for rust-through. Most definitely worth the $300, but I wouldn't give any more than $500 after looking at that rust. If there's any rustout up inside the rear fenderwells, especially near the strut mount, avoid the car like the plague. You don't want to end up with one of these: For you west-coasters- the Subaru market out here is a totally different world.

The springs come from the front of an 96-89 Accord. I'd recomment NOT using springs from an LX-i model, as the LX-i ones are stiff enough to shake your fillings out. The other ones will still be plenty stiff. There is no easy way to do a suspension lift in the front without affecting your camber. I'm sure other people will follow up with ways to do it.

You can't swap a 4 speed for a 3 speed. The 3 speed is a mechanical/hydraulic setup, and the 4 speed is electronically controlled. Installing a 4 speed involves splicing dozens upon dozens of wires, and even then, who knows if it'll work right? I believe a 4 speed won't even fit a pre-87.5 model car. The 4 speed transmissions are quite thick, and I know that for the 87.5 model year, Subaru widened the tunnel. The crossmember for the trans in my 92 Loyale was a good 4 inches or more wider than the crossmember attached to the 86 transmission that I put in it. The simple solution: swap in another 3 speed auto. The reliable, more power, better gas mileage solution: move up to a 5-speed. Doable in a weekend with dedicated help (thanks Miles Fox!) Are you sure the trans is even bad? What is it doing (or not doing)? Have you inspected the modulator and the governor? (both located on the passenger side of the trans, the governor is behind a cylindrical metal cover with 2 bolts holding it on, slide the governor itself out to get a good look at the gear on it and the operation of the springs)

The best yards I've run across are the four U-Pull-It's in Southwestern PA. All prices go along with a universal list- $125 plus core for a used engine, $75 plus core for a transmission, $20 for a fender, $35 for a rear diff, etc- regardless of what vehicle it came from. The yard staff maintains a non-interference policy. They do absolutely nothing except monitor who goes in and out, and take your money. The only thing they'll do with the cars for you is set them on a stack of wheels so you can get under them. That's the way I like it- super cheap prices, and no difficulty with the staff.

My boss does similar stuff. Except, he doesn't help his employees either. I needed a headlight, windshield, and axle for my truck when I bought it- he charged me retail price on everything. He specializes in truck parts. His prices on new stuff are fair. Old stuff? Forget it. He only sells old stuff when people are desperate for it- weekends and holidays. The man wants $700 for a carbureted 350. Come on!! Permanently losing customers is a daily thing for my boss. Losing employees is a monthly thing. We recently lost the biggest car dealership in town as a customer thanks to his arrogance. He used to be the only yard in the area, so he figured he could do what he wanted. We now have 3 competitors in town and 2 more within half an hour's drive. 2004 was the first year that profits didn't rise. I know exactly why, but my boss is blind to it. He'll remain blind to it until he files for bankruptcy- and then he'll still probably blame it on customers "being idiots."

At work we just drain them and hang them up. Have had some in storage for over 6 years with no problems that way.

Sounds exactly like my boss, who is also a junkyard owner. He's not dumb, just very arrogant and stubborn. He'd rather crush a vehicle than come down on price of a part, just to prove a point. He had a van ready to crush, a customer wanted the seats, told my boss flat out that he was crazy to want what he wanted for the seats and offered him half of the asking price. My boss then crushed the van right there in front of the customer. Yeah, you can imagine being an employee for this guy is just wonderful. If I don't get accepted to college next month, I'm outta there. FYI, on a GOOD day, you get about $4 per hundred pounds of crushed car. Right now the prices in this area are at about $3 per hundred. If that guy had sold you the trans for $50, he'd have greatly increased his profits for the day on that car.

I'd say swap the engine into the 4WD car, along with a few tidbits of the GL-10 interior. What year and model is the car with the dead engine?