NorthWet

My 88 n/a 3AT would get around 30MPG. I have never see over 25MPG off of any of my turbos except for one with a 4EAT and a fractured uppipe (couldn't build boost). Clutch adjust is something of a personal preference. You should get some contact by midway, and total lockup 1-3 inches before all the way up. More important is having the proper freeplay with your foot off of the pedal. Don't get too hungup by what you see/feel out of the oil filler. Crankcase "breathing" can be significant, and dirty/old oil can smoke and stink and show water vapor. Coked-up breather nipples in the cam covers and/or pvc valve and hoses can cause even more breathing. The bubbles in the overflow could just be coolant boiling into the overflow. Might also indicate a bad radiator cap. I think that you should go into this with your eyes open, but don't go borrowing trouble that may not be there.

The water cooling is just "sort of cooling". There really isn't much provision to flow coolant while the engine is running. AFAIK, the larger purpose of the water is to provide water jacketing of the center-section after shutdown, with a certain amount of thermo-siphon flow occurring.

Search function is tricky, and the "Similar Threads" (IIRC) does not show up until after you post your thread.

Another neat thing about the SVX's engine is that, even though it has high compression and is DOHC, it is a non-interference engine.

That SVX forum has a lot of info on it regarding forced-induction, manual tranny swaps, and the semi-futility of weight reduction. You will find much more information there about the SVX, and you will probably find that the general attitude is to enjoy the car for what it is, a wonderful GT. Also, be prepared to have members define/describe their cars mostly by color. The rear wheel bearings are a common failure item. The brakes are almost inadequate for a car of its weight and aerodynamics (Aerodynamic braking going down hills is almost non-existent), and definitely inadequate for spirited driving. Many parts are unique to the SVX, and thus hard to find and/or not in stock. (E.g. - When I looked for axles boots and/or axles, nobody showed stock within 2000 miles of the Seattle area.) When my wife broke a windshield, the dealer wanted over $1500 for a replacement (discounted!), and at the time SOA showed less than a dozen remaining in the USA. (She got an aftermarket for appox. US$400 installed, but it has major optical wavyness on passenger side.) My heater fan quit working on mine, and since it is a climate control system the diagnosis is rather complicated. The trannies tend to die of heat buildup issues; PLEASE research tranny cooling. Oh, and if you are planning a MT swap and forced induction, consider that you may not find a manual tranny that will live long under the strain of using the power. The SVX had an automatic because at the time it was built Subaru did not have a manual that could handle the torque.

I can't help you at the moment with the major part of your question (ignition), but the taillights being on is almost certainly because the "virgin switch" on top of the steering column is flipped on. This switch allows the parking lights to be turned on while the ignition switch is off. (Almost all new-to-subaru owners ask this question, hence the name.)

Some clarification, please. When you lock it, do you mean using the outside keylock, or the inside lock near the handle? When you say you can't unlock it, is this from the keylock of the inside lock? Can you unlock it using either unlock methods (keylock/inside lock)?

No need to scare people. I have never bought a t-stat from Subaru and life is generally ok. General wisdom is that the Subaru t-stats are better, with a wider throat opening on them than at least some aftermarkets (I have seen this myself), and some believe that the quality is better. All things being equal, I would probably pay the extra couple of bucks to get the Subaru t-stat, but the world won't end immediately if you get an aftermarket one. And Miles is correct (in concept if not quite literally): The heater bypasses the t-stat and radiator, taking its coolant from the engine outflow and feeding it back in to the waterpump inlet. Subarus have nice heaters.

Did you confirm that the knock was from your axle? It is a fair amount of expense and work if you are uncertain of its failure. I agree with GG that the tie-rod is a likely culprit, and that it makes more sense to have one cause instead of two. He was just offering up an alternative, and the DOJ is not a common failure.

Aftermarket is virtually non-existent for these cars. Pretty much limited to normal consumables and repair parts. Wrecking yards and forum members are your best bet for body parts. Or you could go to the dealer$hip, and they MIGHT be able to get a corner light for you.

+1 Before you go ripping into things, you really should check to see if the radiator is plugged. This is a really common issue. You need to be able to safely touch the radiator fins; this is easy if no A/C, but you have to pull a fan if it does have A/C. With the engine warm, place the palm of your hand against the radiator fins and move your hand vertically along the core. You are looking for bands of cool fins amongst the hot ones. Or you can use a non-contact thermometer, but that would be easy.

And they are heavy. Might want to reconsider that whole "STI killer" idea. They also have cooling issues, transmission issues, and parts availability issues. But they are silky smooth, have some of the best seats in any Subaru, and mine gets over 30MPG at 80MPH. It is a wonderful, feature-rich (except cup-holders ) highway cruiser.

Being a turbo, even FWD, you are not likely to see much above 25MPG. Turbone may be right about the HG, but also may be plugged radiator. May be both. (Turbone will be right about the HGs, either now or soon.)

Location matters, as does what the drivetrain consists of. (Mods know about the errors and are conscientious folks. Mentioning it will not make a fix happen any quicker, and might possibly annoy them into taking the holiday weekend off. )

It seems generally considered to be a BAD idea to use an oiled air-filter on a hotwire MAF system. Stock pleated-paper filters provide sufficient air flow and superior filtering to stock-replacement oiled elements, and superior airflow to cone filters. The oil will cause MAF sensor issues. As mentioned, the CTS tends to be flakey, mostly due to connector corrosion. Before I did the connector "fix" that had been suggested by grossgary, my EA82T would have all sorts of iisues while running, including throwing check engine codes, and sudden power losses. White tip on the O2 sensor is normal. you might gets some opinions that certain shades of offwhite are better than others. Things get hot ans stay hot around the O2 bung, and any extra hydrocarbons will tend to cook off unless they are in really excessive amounts. The O2 sensor is in the engine management system to provide feedback, to help correct for any minor inaccuracies in fuel amount computation based on the other sensors. If the MAF readings are off a little, the O2-sensor signal should compensate. If the CTS is off a little, the O2-sensor should help there, too. If the computation is way off, the O2 signal would probably peg either "full rich" or "full lean".

Almost guaranteed that the timing belts were installed incorrectly. Happens all too often and is an easy fix.

+1 Insurance companies are in the business of making money, not paying reasonable amounts for claims. If possible, find a couple comaparable vehicles, preferably in your geographic region. Also, that buy-back price seems high. Most of the companies that I have (unfortunately) dealt with had a buy-back price based on 10-15% of the valuation of the vehicle.

I kept forgetting to answer your BOV question... Yes, people have done it. People have thought about most everything and done many things with these cars over the last 25 years. It is just that not too many of them have worked out very well and/or for very long. For various reasons, you will not get a "turbo spooling" sound from your EA82T unless you buy some special effects sound generator to make it for you. The BOV probably won't make any desirable sounds with the stock setup.

It is common practice on Subarus to leave all A/C pressure hoses/fittings in place and simply remove the mounting bolts for the compressor and move it aside, typically into the area where the battery is normally mounted. This should give sufficient clearance to remove the engine without disturbing or discharging the A/C system. The hazard with discharging the A/C refrigerant is that it is under enough pressure that it can cause injury to skin, and as it expands and its pressure decreases it becomes cold enough to cause injury due to freezing. In other words, the hazards involve bodily contact with the escaping refrigerant rather than any chemical or fire hazard.

Battery cables (both ends, especially ground), ground cables, wire to the solenoid, fusible links. Possibly the Ignition switch or wiring from switch to solenoid terminal.

Glad things worked out. At the risk of speaking for everybody, we do enjoy when things turn out well. One of the worst feelings is to have something broken and feel that the only way out is to do something major like a swap with little time for prep or budgeting. Keep the fluid fresh and you will probably have plenty of time to decide what you want to do.

You could also go with Scoobywagon's suggestion. There are several R12 substitutes, and I have known several people that have been really satisfied with their performance, cost and availability. Certainly a lot cheaper than any R12 that I have heard about. I would want the A/C even if ii were just for its ability to clear fogged windows.

I think that this is a very bad idea. WD40 is likely to leave residue on the hotwire. Best bet is MAF cleaner on a completely cold MAF.

Be VERY careful when you put things back together. Just because it looks like the TQ went back in place doesn't meant that it really did. The seating is complicated (seating on 3??? different spline sets), and often will leave the TQ 1/4-1/2 inch too far forward. This will cause a gap between the engine and tranny which many people try to pull together with the attaching bolts, breaking (typically) the fluid pump in the tranny. One thing that I think might work well is to temporarily reattach the starter and ensure that its drive gear is just missing the teeth of the TQ starter-ring's teeth. Any significant gap means that the TQ is not seated fully.

Might want to look at MilesFox's post in this thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=119071 Must be winter maintenance time... ther are 4 or 5 of these exhaust stud questions floating around this week.