All_talk

I've been there many times, a real car lover wants to save them all. But remember a part out is a more noble end to an old friend than rotting in a field or the crusher... organ donors live on. And like NorthWet said... the frame rust is a deal breaker. Gary

Yep, A/C cycle is my guess too (if A/C or defrost are on), try running with controls OFF, or temporally unplug the A/C fuse and see if it goes away. Gary

There is a RX tranny for sale in the Marketplace, its the later fulltime,1.2:1 D/R version. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=23929 Gary

I'm pretty much with Scooby/NorthWet on this one, crossover tube/balance pipe is a very good idea. And I find the SU on my Zcar (with balance pipe) fairly easy to tune, but then again I've been tuning dual carb VeeWees for years. Side note: successfully tuning duals normally requires a flow sync tool or a good ear. As for duals on the subie, like Bill said, look at the VWs, with some custom manifolds you should be able to use any of the single throat carbs that they use (or spread bores with turbo subie heads). Since the displacement, ports and valves are of similar proportion the jetting should be pretty close to start. Gary

Sounds like the A/C condenser drain tube, its normal, especially with higher humidity. And given your location I suspect that you may have run the defroster this morning? (the A/C cycles when the defroster is on) Gary

Most common short block damage from overheating is weak rings, if they get hot enough they will loose their temper, end result is a smoking oil burner. Gary

If you look close you will see holes in the top of the grill piece and what looks like a deflector at the top of the radiator, also note the cut out section in the hood seal at the bottom of the windshield. Looks as though the underhood liner might be ducted to both the front and back of the hood for IC air. Nice work Gary

Proper compressor maps have never been released for the RHB5, I did map approximate EA82T flows on the available map in this thread (second page). Just a note, if you look at the map for the TD04 (first post), you’ll notice its very well matched to the stock EA82T and has a lot more room to grow. Also consider that a low mileage WRX take off TD04 will cost you less that a rebuilt RHB5. Gary

But did they Tripple-dog-dare ya?

The R160 Subie diffs might be a little heavy, maybe look at something from a larger lawn tractor, though adapting it for IRS would be more involved. Just a thought Gary

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute… hold on here… slow down... what are you trying to say… We aren’t part of the Import Tuner Lifestyle??? OK, give me a sec here… this is a bit of a shock. You mean no wings, no neon, no vinyl?… No Jello wrestling NOPI girls??? Anybody wanna trade my RX for your Civic? Gary

Maybe a little more history on the "solid core", was it ever severely over heated or left out in freezing weather without antifreeze?... I'm thinking maybe cracked block? Not common on Subies but always possible, and could get water and oil mixed without effecting the compression. Or compression trouble in #4 (HG or rings, assuming the head rebuild didn’t miss any cracks), and just enough water in the cylinder to pump the numbers up to match the other holes. Try a leak down test, or drain the water (don’t forget the plugs in the heads) and retry the compression test. Side note: I cant think of any way you could get higher than normal compression from a valve problem, at least not at cranking speed. Assume nothing, check everything, just some thoughts Gary

Go here for all things VW/914 and look in the "Conversion Perversions" forum... http://www.shoptalkforums.com/index.php Gary

The inner DOJ will handle the same angle fore and aft as it will up and down, a 2” rear shift shouldn’t exceed that. The real issue is the outers CVs, chances are they wont tolerate more than stock maximum angle (inside wheel at full steering lock), measure this angle then modify the steering rack so you don’t exceed it with the tranny in the new position, the down side, larger turning radius. Also note that the stock geometry will have the axles near straight at normal conditions, the greater angle will reduce the shaft life. Gary

Hey Connie I know about being overwhelmed, I’m buried right now myself, sometimes it feels like the world is closing in (and I found out today that my stupid Suburban needs tranny work ). Anyway, save a few pennies and address the troubles one at a time. Safety first, deal with the brakes, a good set of used shoes and cylinders could get you by. Exhaust and EGR solenoid may give you trouble at inspection time, if its coming up soon, put them on the “sooner rather than later” list, look for good used parts, exhaust may just be gaskets. With winter coming tires could be a safety concern, buy a used set, my local tire store has sold me decent used one for $35 each mounted and balanced. T-belts, water pump and front seals would be best done together, parts aren't too much, but labor could be a killer… time to get your hands dirty. Baby the clutch, no burnouts, it should go awhile. See if you can get someone local to give you a hand with the labor, barter if you can (and don’t be afraid to use a bit of girlish charm ). I wouldn’t try the ATF in the crankcase, I know its worked for some but seems a bit risky to me, doess it tick all the time or just on warm up? What weight are you running? When was it last changed? Just take it one day and fix at a time, there isn’t really any other way. Gary

Sounds like maybe those horns aren't designed to work with the stock Subaru system. Gary

Horn trouble is not uncommon with old Subies, both my ‘87s have issues, seems to be a corrosion problem. I had you exact problem on my wagon, for me, one of the horns had corroded enough to ground out and make the other one go off. I just disconnected the bad one. Do you have a multimeter? Are the “new” horns for a Subaru or something else? Like the others said, power comes from the fuse to each horn and the ground comes from the horn button. Both parallel circuits. So with both horns unhooked one wire at each horn should be hot and one open (goes ground when you push the horn). On the horns you should be able to measure a resistance across the terminals (4 ohms or so), but nether terminal should be grounded to the case. Hope that helps Gary

True, but remember the watts are electrical input and the HP is mechanical output, typical electric motors have a conversion efficacy of about 75%, so the general rule of thumb is 1000W in ~ 1hp out. Just to put a finer point on it. Gary P.S. The most over rated things I've ever seen are are car audio amps. If you have ever stood in front of a 100 watt class A, all tube, Marshall guitar amp you know that "400" watt spark-o-static in you ride is lying.

'87 RX, 270,000 miles (19,000 in the last 4 months), 24-28mpg depending how heavy my foot is. Gary

Thinking big... if you're gonna go H6 why not the EG33 (SVX) or one of the new H6s? Hmm... BIGGER yet... EG33T Gary

Does anyone know the stock injector flow rate? The injectors from the Datsun 280Z FI look like a direct fit, though I haven’t confirmed that yet. The early N/A (green?) ones are rated 188cc @ ?psi, the later turbo ones (brown) are 265cc @ 45psi. Might be an option for higher boost and off boost richness might be solved with some FPR tweaks. Just a thought Gary

I can and has been done, you'll need a greasy shoehorn and a new home for the radiator. Gary P.S. I'd love to build a RX6, but it would have to look factory and I dont know where I would hide rad.

I have an ’87 carbed 4WD wagon with the 3AT, it was my commuter before I got my RX, 21-23MPG is what it got with mostly easy freeway driving 65-75mph. I have the original EPA window sticker which states 22mpg hiway. The SPFI should be good for another 1-2mpg, so I think you are doing pretty well. The 3AT is terribly inefficient and is not geared well for hiway. BTW, the RX (fulltime 4WD, D/R 5 speed) does the same trip at 24-28mpg, on the low end with full boosting on ramps, on the high end smooth and easy, and its got 270,000 miles on it. Gary

So it’s the type that wont let the front spin faster than the rear? I could live with that, just don’t want one wheel drive when the white stuff falls on the mountain. Whats the front diff ratio, 3.7? I’d like to use my LSD, but can convert it to 3.9 if need be. Does the STI have the bias adjusting center diff? How much would that tranns cost? Gary

Nice looking systems skip, I think if you ran a single pipe of equal flow from the Y back the performance would be equal. The trick is that you get the scavenging from the Y and less restrictive flow. Straight duels or duels with a crossover will most likely be better than stock, especially on the top end, but a high flow Y system from the heads back will do better across the whole RPM range. I think you can confirm this, as that is essentially what your system is. Gary