NorthWet

And you call yourself a mechanic! Oh... ...that's right... ...you don't! Like I said, sounds like more fun than I had.

It should be metric, with metric fittings. Around here, NAPA carries various lengths of various diameter brake line.

The noise that you would probably hear first would be from the Hydraulic Valve Lash Adjusters, and although there would be no damage it would certainly sound like the engine was being damaged. The sound would be loud and similar to rod bearing noise, and should have been very audible at 1500rpm. If you were not frightened by the noise when the oil light was on, then I would agree with Qman and others that the light tuned on due to sender or wiring problems.

CAS: Crank Angle Sensor. It is part of the electronic distributor that tells the control module what the engine speed is and when to fire the coil... but I wouldn't have thought that you would have one on an 83. Maybe it is just simpler, lesser functioned than the later models.

Gee, why didn't you just swap the battery in the first place??? HP isn't the issue, torque is. If you could have gotten that puppy up to 30mph cruise, it would only take a couple more HP to maintain speed over the RX alone; just have to overcome rolling resistance (and a little wind drag). Given enough time (and practice) you could pull the forklift yourself, and you would be hardpressed to better 1/2-1HP. Nit, nit nit... My 77 Dodge 1-ton window van is 6500 GVW, which puts its unloaded wet-weight at around 4500lbs. Oddcomp, anyway I look at it, it sounded like you have more fun at work last night than I did.

I do not think that is relevant to his problem. Since he did not mention that they were Turbos, he almost certainly has the 3-speed automatic (aka 3AT). These are pushbutton-actuated 4WD, not AWD. If it is the 3AT, there are common issues with them, most easily solved. Our SPFI sedan with a 3AT gets 30mpg in mostly 50-60MPH driving; out Turbo 3AT gets about 20mpg, but there is a tuneup issue involved.

Not accurate or applicable in this situation. The figure is computed using WOT position, not idle/off-idle. And, he is not looking to supplement the intake air charge with the compressed air, but rather effect how it is compressed; trading the potential energy of the compressed air for the kinetic energy of the turbo (or intake charge). Besides possibly messing with A/F ratio by introducing it before the EGO (mitigateable by moving the EGO to the uppipe, as in certain versions, or forcing open-loop operation), the compressed air (implementation as described) would have a chilling effect on the exhaust stream, causing a reduction in pressure to the turbine (mitigateable by preheating charge using downstream plumbing). It would seem to me to be better to introduce the compressed air stream to the compressor inlet as 4WDfrenzy suggested, though that would definitely mess with the A/F ratio of a MAF-based system (MegaSquirt, anyone?). An advantage to doing it on the inlet side is the chilling effect is beneficial there. Another, more direct, way to use the potential energy of a compressed air stream is to design a thermocompressor, basically the corrollary of a carb venturi. You use the pressurized stream coming out of the jet to entrain the intake charge and compress it through the venturi.

I second that.

If you are looking for power from a coil, maybe I can interest you in a carb that burns water. No coil will give you any more power than a properly functioning stock system. Any power "increase" will come from lessening of misfiring; basically you should be looking for the most reliable ignition setup. Based on what I have read on this board, not that many people have had coil failures from their 20 yr-old coils but lots complaining about their less-than-year-old aftermarkets failing. Hmmmmm... Fancy ignition systems, when not properly designed or setup, can make your car run rougher, produce less power, and use more fuel. If properly designed, they can reduce misfire and, possibly, reduce detonation.

Manual or automatic transmission? As was discussed in a thread with moosens, white "smoke" is either water vapor or ATF. Water vapor disappears into thin air, whereas any oil smoke (including ATF) dissipates through dilution.

Another thing to think about, and doesn't seem to get discussed much, is that the normal route to horsepower is through increased RPM. Spin the engine faster, keep the effective VE from falling off (through normal intake/valve/exhaust tweaks, forced induction, or both) and your HP will increase. My question with the ER27 is: Does it have any crank torsional vibration and/or oil feed issues if it is spun significantly faster than usual? (As an example of what I mean... When the Datsun 240Z first got raced, it suffered from crank failures. It was a long crank that would fracture from torsional vibration stresses when engine speed increased into its natural harmonic frequency. People also would cross drill the crank for increased oiling, and when spun faster the crank emptied all of its oil before they reached the more distant mains and rods.)

Loyales are pretty much just a GL with closer-to-DL options (or lack thereof). Some body differences on the rear of wagons (different hatch/glass, different rear quarter window). Most of the options wiring is in place (easy to add power mirrors). If you can do your 88 than the Loyale is no big deal.

I haven't heard of "vacuum testing". Could it instead be pressure testing?

Basics: Take a look at your spark plugs. I have not filled a Subaru oil pan to see how much oil it holds, but it is possible that 6 quarts will overflow the pan, possibly enough for the crank to spin into it. excess oil could be forced out into the cylinders, flooding the oil rings and allowing oil to pass into the combustion chambers. Anyway, look for fouled plugs.

It would help to know the year and model of your Subaru.

The vac modulator on "Christine" was so bad that I thought I was driving a James Bond car... step on the gas and leave the cars behind in a cloud of white smoke. After some tender attentions Christine behaves herself... and also doesn't try to attack my wife anymore. Good car, nice car...

Turbo gets exhaust from both cylinder banks, not just the (USA) passenger side. Often, the exhaust flange at the crossover/uppipe to turbo will crack, losing pressure; but this results in a rather noisy engine compartment. The TURBO light is activated by a manifold pressure switch, not throttle position. Just because you have no power doesn't mean that you are not getting turbo pressurization. The turbo light should come on somewheres between 1500-2000 rpm at WOT.

My Turbo with a bad plugwire(s?) had a sharp power dropoff around 1500rpm, and then it would come on with a vengeance around 3500rpm. In between, it felt like cold mush. Take care of the simple, obvious stuff first before "borrowing trouble". If you see hoof prints and see "road apples", think horse and not zebra.

I had thought that you had already replaced (or about to do so) the modulator, otherwise I would have been more certain about the ATF smoke. Kind of classic with the 3AT.

I would have thought that the "540" would indicate that that is a 540 CID 6-cylinder. Dunno... As far as putting one in your soob... I would imagine "new" price on an O-700 would be roughly the same as the price of a small house.

Support crank ends on a couple of soft blocks, attach rods. I have had a little problem with doing rods on inline engines, but a little practice improved technique.

First thing that I would do is make sure that I have new sparkplugs, new plug wires, and new distributor cap and rotor. If limited budget, get the plugs and wires. The turbos (pretty much all I have had until recently) are picky about their ignition, and bad plugs or wires will seem to work fine until they are actually expected to work hard. My 87 Turbowagon had several power "holes" in its power band, and new wires cured them. (I had replaced the plugs first, and then only cured half of the problem.)

If it is white and dissipates into thin air as the air absorbs it, it is water vapor. If it is white and doesn't dissipate but rather thins out as it gets diluted by air, and you have an automatic transmission, it is likely ATF.

There are 2 bolts at the top of the engine/transmission, and 2 nuts on studs roughly at the height of the axle stubs. There are also the 2 engine mount nuts on the bottom of the crossmember.

There should be no significant difference between the transmissions. The Loyale is basically an "economy version" of the GL (more like DL) to differentiate it from the Legacy. There are electrical differences, but less than between 87 and pre-87 GLs. (Also, slight body differences on wagons.)