NorthWet

I was going to suggest a conterpoint of who had the shortest drive... but Scoobywagon and XSNRG probably have me beat by a couple of miles.

Is the car idling fairly well? Is the exhaust really stinky? If "yes" and "no", then they are probably pretty close. You can't really do it "properly" (per EPA) without the equipment and procedures that Subaru specifies. but you can sure get it close enough. Usual procedure is to adjust for highest idle, then go a little bit lean from there. A problem could arise if you have "old school" mechanics that remember pre-EPA carbs and don't know what they are adjusting. EPA-era idle mixture screws operate backwards to pre-EPA ones.

How are you richening the mixture? (Its not that I don't know how, but sometimes the procedure we think is correct isn't. )

MTBF - Mean Time Between Failure

I had a 390CFM on my 510, mounted to a nice dual-plane manifold. It lasted about 4-5 years before the engine vibrated it to pieces. (A primary Aux-Venturi rattled completely out of it!) That, and it ate the reverse power valves that Holey fits to the 390s. While it lasted it was pretty nice. Good response, good economy, good power, and a REALLY nice sound when the vac secondaries opened! Much nicer than the dual Weber 40DCOEs. What is the CFM rating on that Holley? Is it a 390, or a 500/650 CFM?

You can do a quick and dirty check of your radiator by running the engine up to normal operatig temps, and then placing your hand along the radiator core; pretty easy to do if no A/C, more of a challenge if you do have A/C. You are looking for cold regions on the radiator. Since the tubes run horizontally, these show up as horizontal cold stripes. Check the radiator top to bottom. Another option is to have a radiator shop do a flow test on your out-of-car radiator. Rodding the radiator is not very often an option these days. If you have a composite radiator (plastic tanks and metal core), I have been told that the replacement metal crimps the hold the tanks on cost around $80 (may be wrong or out of date). Aluminum cores can lose there ability to transfer heat even without plugging. And "rodding" an older radiator often causes leaks to occur, which are not really fixable in an aluminum radiator and sometimes like "chasing a rat down a hole" with copper radiators. Since it seems that a major cause of dead Subaru engines is overheating, it might be not-too-expensive insurance to get a new radiator.

I agree with Cougar; good, knowledgable advice. 3 ohms is way too much on ANY connection wire (disregarding deliberate resistive wires), let alone a power cable. Resistance should be negligable, and fall close to the meters accuracy rating. It should effectively be "0". (Do check that the the meter reads "0" when probes are touched to each other.) Good job hunting down the switch voltages and cable ohmage. Hard numbers, clearly stated are a really big help. Do not neglect/overlook the connections at the starter, both power and ground. They can look perfectly fine but have poor electrical connectivity. I found this out the hard way.

I do not have a carbureted model, but I would think that it should have a slightly higher maximum speed, perhaps 150-155Km/H. Please check that your Leone's ignition parts are working properly, especially your sparkplugs (ignitors???) and their high-voltage wires. Proper ignition timing and camshaft drive belts (timing belts) also need to be properly aligned. Also check that your tires have the proper air pressure. Your English is much better than my... Italian, correct??? Anyone who criticizes you for speaking/writing your second language less well than they speak their native language is a fool. Ciao!

It should be around 15.5, give or take a couple of tenths for dents and bulges. I am surprised that my "low fuel" hasn't burned out yet...

Mary, check out this pic of a PCV valve on an 1982 engine... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6794

And, in my experience, it is pretty critical to get the spacer sleeve between the 2 bearing races dead even with the races. The axle hits that spacer and won't move no mo'.

...and then continue down to help with headgaskets on my son's XT? No beer, but a Navy binge bar next door...

I went back this morning (rough to live just 35-40 miles from the event ), and Scoobywagon took me in his wagon along the trails and into the gravel pit. I am a roadracer/autox'r/lowered RWD kind of guy, but it was pretty fun and pretty impressive to see what that wagon could get through. I even took a turn at the wheel and didn't kill anyone or the wagon. One of Scoobywagon's friends joined us (lifted wagon with ER27), and I got to watch him put his right front tire into some big hole... all we saw from behind was the guy going around a slow-ish corner and then his left rear tire was a foot and a half off of the ground... and stayed there for a minute 'til he backed out. Good times... Thanks to all that had a hand in organizing this years event!!!

Well, that will give you the most even cut. My son likes having ours at top speed when we make him cut the yard. The cut job suffers from the receding blade tip not moving that much faster than the forward motion of the mower, so only the left side of the blade is moving fast enough to really cut. Gee, ... ... does that make it a half-fast job??? Karin, good job!!! I am glad that Miles and the rest of us could help you. And next time, it will be a quicker task. And YOU will be able to check/set the ignition timing, right?

Brake booster is not supposed to be in contact with the brake fluid; atmospheric pressure (or thereabouts, depending on venting) on one side, intake vacuum on the other. If reservoir is not getting low, losing fluid to the booster is not the issue. But if you have a reliably firm pedal with the engine off (and booster "drained" of vacuum), but a sinking pedal when engine is on, that sounds like the booster could still be an issue. I agree with everything else about finding new failure modes, etc.

Oddcomp made it to the Show... running around trying to scare everybody with his unmuffled BOV(s)... the smaller one sounds like "nails on chalkboard" when it vents!

Do you have both the electric fan and the engine driven fan? And does the electric fan come on with the AC compressor?

I am in a little bit of a hurry so don't want to look back for some info but want to throw something out before I forget it totally: Are you losing fluid? One possibility based on high-and-firm pedal while engine off but sinking pedal when power-booster is working is that the power brake booster diaphram has a tear/rupture, allowing engine vacuum to be applied to the master cylinder seal and sucking fluid into the power-booster. The booster may have a vent that prevents this, though. Even if this is the case, perhaps a leaking power-booster might give you your sinking pedal feeling... I will have to think about that.

Yeah, the offroad... I didn't do it (had a soccer-mom wagon and was a wimp), but someone had what looked like a gen1 Legacy sedan without any window glass at all in it, took a few passengers along, and EVERYBODY came back redecorated in mud! I got there midday, got to see a lot of familiar faces and some new faces to go with their screen names.

starkiller knows about these. And since this is an SPFI, the connectors are in the engine compartment.

This is STILL an abnormal electrical situation. I would strongly recommend that you troubleshoot and fix the electrical system problem(s) prior to "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic".

Helical gears are actually much weaker than straight cut, as the contact surface is really a patch that moves from one side of the gear to the other as the two gears mesh. But because of this gradual, moving contact point they are quieter. Straight cut gears have contact along the entire length of the tooth all at once, providing a stronger mesh. But because the entire length makes contact at once it crates noise vibration from the contact.

AFAIK, all vehicles manufactured for the US market from a certain date that predates most, if not all, Subarus that we are likely to own are required by EPA regulations to have a non-vented gas cap. The fuel system venting is accomplished through the vent line that comes forward to the charcoal canister.

And now for my contrary 2 cents: Backfiring/afterburning is usually caused by RICH mixtures entering the exhaust system, combining with extra air somewheres along the way, and igniting due to residual high temperatures. Think about the conditions on overrun: You close the throttle to its idle position while the engine is still trying to suck air for a much higher speed. Manifold vacuum goes to its highest value (5-10 inHg greater than when idling). This vacuum is trying to suck mixture from the barely cracked throttle plate and the carburetor's idle circuit, which normally supplies a richer mixture than the main circuit. But overrun isn't "normal", and you suck even more fuel from the idle circuit producing an even-richer-than-idle mixture. This mixture may or may not ignite in the cylinder (low effective compression ratio combined with rich mixture), and unburnt fuel enters the exhaust system. If this unburnt fuel doesn't get combined with extra air prior to surrounding temperatures dropping below ignition point, it goes quietly into the night. If however, extra air is added (exhaust system leak/hole) AND the temps are still high, it ignites in pulses (forward and backward of the extra air) burning out any burnable mixture. Car/carburetor designers deal with this by having a dashpot that holds the throttle open for a little bit, an auxillary air valve ("gulp valve"), and/or an idle-circuit "cut" solenoid (like the anti-diesel valve). If a charge fails to ignite in the combustion chamber due to it being a lean mixture, it is unlikely to ignite in the exhaust system. A nonleaky exhaust system will go a long way towards preventing backfires. Like I said, my .02

If it runs properly using the stock ECU, then it would be safe to say "no".