All_talk

Some dash pics just for fun. I'm running a 180deg thermostat and since I put in the new double core radiator it rarely moves off that, I can get it to mid gauge (about 192deg) with long boost runs up the pass (2-5 psi for about 4 miles), and long boost with the A/C maxed with bring it to about 2/3 on the gauge. But that was before I put the mechanical clutch fan back on. And yeah, my oil sender is messed, it checks out fine with a mechanical gauge, about 45psi at 3500rpm (75mph). Running 10W40 and over due for a change. I've only had it just over 100mph, and only about 3 times, I typically drive no more than 5mph over the limit. Gary

Yeah, the EA cars have a better dash/gauge layout than my Legacys, I like having full gauges and there is no good way to add them in the Legs. Thw turbo light comes on at any boost (above 0psi) and the center diplay shows all sorts of pretty lights (it was the '80s after all), doors, high beams, low range, and diff lock, what all it shows depends on the car and options. I should go take a pick with it all lit up. 75subie, I haven't really strung it out, but it gets up to 95mph or so pretty quick, over 100 takes a little bit. I'd bet it would top out in the 115-120mph range on flat ground with no wind. Gary

On the drive home today... :banana: I bought the car about 14 months ago with 251,000 miles, been using it for my daily for less than a year. It has (and is) serving me quite well, a bit of an oil leak, and some HVA tick once in a while but a strong runner, even did a rallycross in it. Funest car I've ever driven, not bad for $500 bucks. I wanted to snap the pic at 100mph (had to get the needle out from in front of the odometer anyway ), but it rolled over up on the pass heading into one of the shaper corners so 90 something was all I felt comfortable with. But have no fear, I wound it up to 100mph a little further down the road where it was safe just to prove old Subies can still haul a$$ I figured it was worth a post and a dancing banana or two. Gary P.S. dont mind my silly oil gauge, the sender's goofy, I've checked it with a mechanical gauge and my pressure is fine.

I know the EA82s have two different pumps, one for factory A/C and the other for no A/C (or dealer A/C), and as long as you have the right pulley with the proper offset you can use either. But I'm not sure about the EA81 stuff, maybe its the same, or maybe he looked up the wrong car. Gary

A new radiator cap and thermostat are easy and cheap, but I’m not leaning toward them with the symptoms you describe. The fact that it pushes out coolant without getting really hot does indicate a head gasket issue (as Cougar said). Try this check, with the engine cold, remove the radiator cap and make sure the coolant level is up where you can see the surface. Start the car and watch for bubbles coming up. As the car warms up the coolant level may rise and overflow a bit, don’t worry about that, what you are looking for is combustion gasses being forced past the head gasket into the cooling system. No bubbles or water/oil mixing and a compression check should rule out a bad HG. Cars need more horsepower to go faster, and so need more cooling capacity, overheating at high speed is an indication of inadequate cooling. If it runs cooler on cool days and hotter when its warm out or the heater help keep the coolant temps down the radiator is the number one suspect. Try this check, with the car up to temp, turn the engine off, pop the hood and feel the radiator core, careful not to burn yourself (this can be tough if the car has A/C). Feeling left to right is less important than top to bottom, if any part of the core is significantly cooler than another the radiator is likely plugged. The bottom tubes are most common but the radiator in my wagon was dead cold over 75% of the middle and hot on the top and bottom 2 or 3 tubes. Water pumps don’t normally stop pumping, leakage is there typical failure. Whether gasket or shaft seal, a water pump leak will be at the front of the engine, just left (driver side) of center . And will normally leak some all the time, more when hot and under pressure. Gary P.S. thanks for the complement on the cars.

Over heating sitting at a stop light? Or out on the freeway at speed? Both? Is the electric radiator fan coming on? Does it only leak when hot? From the overflow? More detail about when it over heats and when it doesn't will really help. Gary

When its doing it does it fall off in all gears from a stop? If its fuel supply it will most likely get worse with higher speed/gear. 1500 to 2500 is the normal range boost comes on, could be a turbo or boost leak problem, but I'm not sure how it would be intermittent. Any correlation with engine/coolent temp? Gary BTW, a bit of red glow at the turbo or up/down pipe is normal after some high load driving.

Hey tizzle I’m sure with a bit of tuning either car could be made into a good handler, in fact, if I do the EJ swap into the RX I’m considering modifying the body to accept the EJ suspension too, cross members, sub frames, A-arms, trailing links… the works. More like everything Legacy Turbo with an EA body swap. There are three other things that make the RX a better driving experience for me. First is weight, the Legacy is about 500lb heaver than the RX and you can feel it, the RX is just more nimble and that’s the number one thing I like about the car (shorter wheelbase helps here too). Also, getting the 270hp required to push the RX into the 10lb/HP range I’m hoping for is pretty easy to get from the EJ22T with reasonable mods (maybe even stock ECU). Moving the Legacy into that range will require an expensive jump into some heavy mods and further loss in reliability. Note: adding the full EJ drive/suspension will add some weight to the RX. Second is driver position, you sit lower in the RX and the steering wheel (and dash) are higher, putting you in a much better position for leverage and control of the wheel, the shifter is also closer to the wheel. The Legacy almost feels like I’m sitting on top of it, not nearly as connected and my head kind rubs the headliner with the seat in a comfortable position. Third is style, let face it the Legacy sedan is pretty generic (specially the ’92 and later), the Turbos have a nice stance and look sharp, but not much of a stand out. While the 3-door with factory cheese body kit has a bit of the “what the he|| is that thing” look. And I like the idea of real power and performance in the ’80 something bubble hatched econbox, should surprise a few people. OK, that’s enough, thanks for reading more of my babble, but it does help me sort out all the craziness in my head (I tend to over analyze things). Ignore or respond as you see fit. Gary

I've never done the rears on a Sube, I know the EA cars need a special tool (you can make it), but not sure about the later EJ stuff (but I may find out soon, my Legacy is starting to rummble). Get a manual, even a Hayes or Chiltions (good investment) and check out the procedure to see if your up for it. Gary

If they're making noise chances are they are on the way out. New grease may quiet them for a bit, but if your in that far I'd just replace them. Gary

Sounds more like tranny/engine mounts to me, maybe some were in the chassis or rear diff mounts too. Typically the only measurable wear in a MT over a normal lifetime (barring running it out of oil) is the syncros, first sign is normally stiffer shifts or slight grinding on fast shifts. Try this to check the mounts, open the hood and lock the park brake. Then watch the engine as you come up on the clutch (dont stall it) in first and reverse. There shouldn't be major movment, but it can be hard to tell if you don't know whats normal. Gary

OK, I’ll be the first to admit that a major reason for posting this thread is to gloat about my current collection of turbo Subies. :-p Hate me if you must, but I’m also seeking some advice about what to do with them. From left to right: ’92 Legacy Turbo SS, 4EAT. Very nice and clean, I will most likely be selling it soon to fund some other projects and maybe a decent car for my kid. ’91 Legacy Turbo SS, 5MT. Pretty rough interior, a little rough exterior, runs and drives well but needs a clutch, an axel, front struts and quite a bit of other stuff to be really nice. ’87 RX 3-Door. My daily driver, runs great, a bit of an oil leak and a little HVA tick here and there, but not bad for 299,850miles (will be 300,000+ tomorrow… knock on wood). Rust in the hatch and a bit of body damage. ’86 3-Door Turbo, 4WD 5MT D/R. Runs and drives well, has major damage to the drivers side from a rollover, I got it for the body parts to fix the RX (and a spare 4WD turbo drive train is never a bad thing to have around.) I love the RX, Its not as fancy as the Legacy but I think it handles better, just needs more power, which is why I bought the ’92 SS, for the engine (it had a bad trans). But when I got it home it was just to clean to part out, so I put a good used trans in it. Then I bought the ’91 SS for the swap into the RX, but I’m having second thoughts about that because it too could be saved (and I’ve got a bit of flack for the idea on the boards). I would really like to have an RX with a full EJ22T drive train and the ’91 SS 5MT (sorry I’m greedy), so I think the current plan is to sell or part trade the ’92 SS for yet another Legacy Turbo swap car and fix up the ’91 SS and the RX. Any thoughts or advice? Thanks for listening to me think out loud. Gary

If you have stock wheels and tires, outside to outside (sidewall of tire) with the car resting normally on the ground will let me know if its even gonna be close. Or rotor face to face (wheel mount surface) will be great. Does anybody have the tread width spec from the FSM? Gary

Is it stuck in the arm or the strut (I assume the strut because you changed the arm)? If is stuck in the strut, remove the clamp bolt and wedge a short fat straight blabe screwdriver (or other wedge, brake adjusting tool or such) in the slit to spread the strut. You will need something to pry down the arm, I use a 6-foot pry bar across the top of the arm and under the leading rod mount, this is much easier with the sway bar disconnected (I never unhook it). Wacking strut near the BJ with a hammer can help too. If its stuck in the arm, you can put the nut on to protect the threads and give it a whack or two with a hammer. But in the end a picklefork will probably be the required tool (and will destroy the rubber boot). Dont mess with used ball joints, new ones are cheap and after you picklefork out the used one you'll need a new boot anyway. Final note: Anti-seize is your friend, apply liberally to both ends of the ball joint (and hit the wheel lugs and other bolts while you're there). Gary P.S. Leading or trailing arm? Datsun (FHI) use to call them tension/compression rods... seems an accurate description.

Anyone... Anyone... Anyone???

Does the SVX TCU have the “Power” mode like the turbo cars? If not, a turbo TCU might be some help, I’ve even read about a way to lock the TCU in power mode. TCU pinout scans: http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru_manual_scans/FSM_Scans/TCU_I-O_page1.jpg http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8080/subaru_manual_scans/FSM_Scans/TCU_I-O_page2.jpg Yep, looks like Duty Sol B is the lock up (check page 2 scan), looks like all you have to do is cut that pin (or add a switch that opens the circuit). The TCU will most likely throw a code, you might trick it (if you care) by having your switch short in the proper resistor, but if the TCU measures TC slip it will most likely throw it anyway. Gary On the old GM autos it was a separate connector and you could just unplug it… no such luck with the Subie.

Popping/crackling out the exhaust normally indicates a lean condition. That and no idle below 2000rpm make me think vacuum leak. Assume nothing, check everything… even weird stuff like a perforated diaphragm on the disty advance. Gary

Is it stuck in the manifold or are the threads stuck in the block? I had one on my RX that was packed into the manifold with rust/corrosion so tight that it twisted the head off. Then it took me about an hour to work the manifold up a 1/4" off the block... I gave up and drilled the bolt down the hole in the manifold. After the manifold was off I could thread the end of the bolt out of the block with very little effort. Be careful drilling the harder steel bolt out of the soft aluminum manifold/block, center a small drill bit VERY well and make a pilot hole for the larger bit to follow. Good luck Gary

I'm considering a drivetrain swap that will require a narrow track width, I dont know if I'll start with a EJ22T or EA82T but the end idea is a mid engine AWD/4WD '57 VW Beetle. So here are some questions: Whats the track width of the EA81 cars? Is the change in width reflected in the axle length? Can I swap "short" EA81 axel center shafts into 25 spline DOJ and CV's (EJ/EA82)? Any other cars that use the same axels ends with a shorter center? Justy? The VW is about 6" narrower than the EA82, I can go little wider on the track, maybe an inch or so a side, but I would need to loose about 4" in over all width. I'd love to build this monster but there are some basic layout issues to overcome first, not the least of which is the power transfer from the rear of the trans to the front diff... but I've got a few ideas. Gary

I put cruise from a '86 GL into my RX, all the connectors were there, popped right in like Legos. I did not swap in a '87+ cruise steering wheel, I just added three little momentary switches to the dash in the unused switch mount left of wheel. I have noticed that it wont hold speed on the hills at speeds over 65mph or so... its running to close to boost to have enough vacuum to hold the actuator in. Gary

If I remember/get a chance I'll check my RX for you. I need to fire it up and take it for a spin this weekend anyway, its been sitting all week cause I've been driving my new (to me) '92 Turbo Legacy. Gary

Two things to know, the stock location is to shallow for aftermarket head units without some type of custom face, it needs to be about 3/4" thick. And the stock speaker wiring uses a common ground between the front and rear channels (one left ground, one right ground), this wont work with modern units. You will need to run new wires to either the front or rear (I choose rear so I dont have to deal with running it through the door tube), or you could find the splice and split out the stock harness. Other than that, any cheapy head unit will work. I would recomend better speakers though, the stocks wont handle much power and seem to burn out under stock amp, especialy the rears. Gary

According to the ’89 FSM I think your measurements are correct (see scans below). The test procedure show higher resistance at idle position, but it measures the sensor output terminal relative to ground (1 to 2), the output voltage is generated relative to the VDC input (2 to 3) which would be low resistance at idle. Hmmm... pic host seems to be dorked right now, I'll up date later Gary

I'm pretty sure the VLSD unit is sealed, so regular gear oil should be fine. Gary

I'm pretty sure the VLSD unit is sealed, so regular gear oil should be fine. Gary