Snowman

Thanks for the timing belt info, but I have a set in Haines that I can get mailed to me.

Apparently it had the water pump done recently, but I can't be sure.

So I was sitting in my Brake Systems class tonight, and my prof. asks me if I want a subaru. Obviously, I say yes. He explains that there is a 91 loyale at a Chevron station in need of timing belts FOR FREE! I called the gas station and they said I could have it, so I'm gonna pick it up tomorrow. It does have the crappy 3AT, and a couple of surface rust spots, but otherwise it's a good car. Only 120,000 miles, too. They claim it ran fine before the timing belt(s) went, and it doesn't look like a leaker. Sorry, I think this might warrant the banana.

You've gotta be kidding me Flowmastered87GL!!!!!! It must be PACKED with Subarus in your area, because that sounds like a killer deal to me. I paid $2000 for Roxanne two years ago, and that was a good price for Alaska. Two months ago, I paid $850 for Ruby, in non-running condition! (And I will be able to sell her for around $2000 with a little more work.)

On the marine use/reliability thing: Fishermen routinely travel hundreds of miles offshore in boats with a single propulsion engine, which is always a diesel. Nobody in their right mind would do that with a gasoline engine.

Diesel cars actually do really well, it just takes a different driving style in order to keep the rpms within the range that it makes massive torque. Why do you need to rev it up if it makes a bunch of torque at low rpm?

There should be a little pipe leading from the heat shield on the first cat that the heat riser hooks onto. As for modifications, there isn't too much you can do to the hitachi carb itself, other then junking it and getting a weber. I have experimented with putting additional vacuum on the secondary to open it faster, but never really perfected the system.

That would be pretty wicked.

I posted about this a while back, and I have come to the conclusion that the only reason you would want to put these on a soob is to go in the snow, and I mean DEEP snow. In the next few years I'm hoping to do this so that I can take a subaru where previously only snowmobiles could go.

You could turbocharge a Toyota 2.4 diesel (easy, just bolt on the turbo from the gas turbo motor), and swap that into a car like Unhatched. Even without a turbo, the 'yota diesels have plenty of power if you've got the gears to keep it in the powerband.

Just duct tape some really strong magnets around your fuel line!!!!!!!!!! Those things are total crap. It's so easy to get "conclusive evidence" that a product improves your gas mileage if you are doing the testing. If they wanted to, they could prove without a doubt that their fuel magnet will improve your sex life.

I don't mean sending it off to have it rebuilt. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I want to buy a rebuild kit and do it myself with the assistance of one of my automotive professors at the university.

The hitachi carb on my car has some issues (of course it does, it's a hitachi carb). How expensive and difficult is it to rebuild this carburetor?

Usually, cars that make noises like that are a BIG gamble. It could run for a long time while making the noise, or it could die the day after you buy it. I would be especially concerned if you can't figure out exactly what it is because subarus generally don't make noises like that.

I don't know if the actual bore sizes are any different, but I do know that the hitachi from an ea82 will not go onto an ea81 intake manifold because the bottom of the carb is too big.

Personally, I have always liked early-nineties legacy wagons, as well as the impreza outback. Both use the smaller EJ motors, which are known to last over 400,000 miles, and they retain that "small and light" feeling of the older subarus.

I second...er...third the motion about the car having a TOUGH life before you owned it. Subarus can take a serious beating and not even blink as long as they are taken care of. Collectively, my parents and I have owned subarus almost exclusively for over 20 years, and with the exception of some poorly done repairs on my mom's 87 that needed to be fixed again (wasn't originally repaired by a dealer), they have been the most reliable cars I have ever seen. My parents currently have a 97 outback, and the only thing that has gone wrong since they bought in used a few years ago was the alternator needing replacement. That's impressive because my dad spends WAY more time washing and waxing the car than maintaining it.

If anybody cares, I changed the manually tranny and rear diff oil in my subaru about five thousand miles ago, switching from standard 80w90 dino oil to Quaker State full synthetic 75w90. After a very short time, the tranny started shifting much more smoothly. Previously, it would sometimes require a special touch to get it to shift smoothly from 1st to 2nd, or to downshift at any speed. Now it's incredibly smooth and easy to shift, and I can even downshift two gears at a time without any complaints from the tranny. It's also comforting that even after 5,000 hard miles, I can barely see the oil on the dipstick because it's so clear and clean, whereas the previous oil was quite dark. I have also been running Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil for the last 20,000 miles, and I am a firm believer in synthetic lubricants now. Another trick for getting the diff plugs out is to use a jack to put pressure on the wrench. Mine would not come out with normal methods, and that loosened 'em up fast.

I am kind of baffled. When my car is just cruising along, the voltmeter will sometimes fluctuate by a few volts. At idle, the voltage will fluctuate more, occasionally going down below 12 volts. Regardless of engine speed, the turn signal or brake lights will cause a voltage fluctuation and a slight dimming of the headlights. Voltage regulator bad? Alternator? Something else? It's got an almost new Optima battery in it.

3500 sounds high, but really, why is it bad? I recently went on a 2,000 mile trip in my subaru, usually running between 75 and 90 mph for hours on end. If I remember correctly, it was turning around 4,000rpm most of the time. No ill effects whatsoever. Oil pressure and coolant temp stayed rock solid the whole time, my gas mileage didn't suffer excessively, and the car runs better now than before because all the carbon is now gone from the motor. Subaru engines LIKE to be run hard!

I have seen a brat with an aftermarket wheel, but I don't remember what kind it was.

It would be great if somebody could find the subaru acronymn thread from the old board. That was cool.

People who take the time to tell somebody their car sucks are really pathetic. This is a pretty clean message board, so I will refrain from saying what I tell anybody who disses on my subaru.

If it's any indication, there are three late 70s wagons running around in Haines, AK, a town of around 2,500 people.

Would it be possible for me to post pics in the USMB gallery as well?