NorthWet

Might also help to know what vehicle. They may also have used the wrong clutch components: Depending on model, I believe that there is a difference between FWD and 4WD (probably due to the tranny). EDIT: Oops! I am reading challenged today! Loyale...

Still suggest that you talk with the masters of the 3-cylinder, the fine Suzuki folks. Samurai and Sprint came with 3-cyl, and the Samurai has a HUGE following.

Have any of the machinists told you WHY they won't weld the crank? Wrong material, no fixture that handles 3-cyl, other? If no fixture/experience for 3-cyl, maybe check out a Suzuki forum and see what they say.

The turbos are a complex little beast, and the 86 was just the second year for them. If it takes a while before it restarts, it is probably not a clogged fuel filter... probably not fuel related per se. Sounds more electrical/electronic. During the "won't start" time, your friend should check for spark. If spark, it might be fuel pump related (relays, fuel pump itself). If no spark, it could be coil, distributor module or ignitor (fancy name for transistor). Factory coils don't fail too often, but some aftermarket coils seem to have a high failure rate. The ignitor is mounted to the coil bracket and is grounded through the coil bracket; common problem is a bad/iffy ground. Lots of other possibilities.

RE: ATF level - The TC could have lost fluid whlie it was off, plus some 4EATs were known to have problems with drain-back from the TCs, solved with a check valve. And as far as the coolant leak... good luck! It probably has nothing to do with the backside of the head. Just like all Subaru oil leaks find their way to the hot exhaust pipe, it seems that all coolant leaks (except waterpump) find their way to the back of the head. The two obvious culprits are that little 1/4 inch hose from top of block (under intake manifold) to t-stat housing, and/or the turbo-coolant hoses... OK, so that is 3. The turbo hose underneath (supply) is a bear to see or fix, and the outlet self-destructs from the heat unless it is OEM or silicone (I had one that literally crumbled into hundreds of pieces).

More context needed. Does it die at idle, under cruise, or under power? Is the cut clean like the ignition was shut off, or does it taper off a bit like fuel starvation? Is the cut momentary or does it come back on, just causing a "buck"? If it isn't momentary, can the engine be immediately restarted, is it tough to start, or does it have to wait a certain time or until it cools? Any correlation to temperature, engine and/or air temp?

As baccaruda wrote, the engine could be in pretty sad shape. Turbo wagons aren't all that uncommon, though I guess we see lots more around the PNW than you see around Maine. Other goodies on that car will be rear disk brakes and just possibly an LSD rear differential. Which transmission did it have?

Old Gen Subarus use separate reduction and oxidation cats. The frontmost, IIRC, is the reduction cat that would perform the reduction reaction on the NOx.

If you go for a new radiator, DON'T BOTHER WITH ALUMINUM RADIATORS. (Sorry for the "yelling", just wanted to make a point. ) Aluminum, contrary to ricer belief, is a much poorer conductor of heat then copper, and corrodes in a more insulative way. Aluminum is used instead of copper because A) it is CHEAPER, it is lighter, and C) it is CHEAPER. My 82 wagon with AC survived the CA Central Valley and Phoenix without any problems. GD's advice sounds pretty sound and thorough. GD, BTW, they do make 2-row EA81 radiators. I happen to have 2 of them in my parts, and just checked to make sure that I wasn't talking out of my.. other orifice. .

BTW, I just did a quick search for the impreza tranny's number on both NASIOC and LegacyBBS and did not get a hit on either search.

It sometimes takes a while to get the engine to give up its air bubbles. It has taken me up to a week to get the cooling system full. BUT, do check that radiator; when the car is warm and running, *carefully* run your hand from top to bottom of the radiator core, feeling for temperature differences.

"Fair price" depends on where you are, whether it has problems common in your area (eg - rust), and its general condition. As an example, $800 is on the high-end for the Seattle-area, where Subarus are very common and do not suffer attrition from rust like some areas of the country. The body would have to be pretty straight to get that kind of price around here. Just my opinion; that and $5 will buy a latte... I think.

My GUESS is that they are different, at least as far as final drive ratio. There may also be a difference in whether it came for an ODB1 or ODB2 car; I believe that you can tell somewhat by seeing if the tranny electrical connectors are the same.

Yes. We down here seem to think that The World copies us, so I try not to assume. Out blends are typically 87octane, at least on the Pacific Coast.

Between age and bunches of vertical gasket surfaces, these engines do tend to leak oil. One of the common activities is to "reseal" the engine, replacing valve-cover area seals and crank and cam seals. (Also the headgaskets, which are getting on in both uyears and miles.) The engines themselves are very durable, rarely dying except from accidents or overheating. As far as power, these are not powerhouses to begin with (90-ish HP), and suffer if the sparkplugs and wires are not in good shape. Fuel filter is another thing to check, Also, the ignition timing is set in a particular way: You have to connect a pair of wires to force the computer (ECU) to quit diddling with the base timing, which is set at 20deg BTDC.

I haven't found anything other than the in-tank one. I have only looked at C/S/K and NAPA so far, and may be missing something.

My understanding is that with the green connectors connected that the timing should be pretty rock steady. I think that the (slight...) timing jitter is indicative of bushing/CAS unit issues; possibly ECU/connection issues, but still on the disty side of the equation rather than fuel delivery. Can you tell if the timinglight ever "skips" a cycle around the time of the miss?

Nice, Frank B. Lots of good stuff in that thread.

I don't know that the GL/Loyale 5-speed's stubs come out without diff disassembly (unlike the 4EATs). Depending on the situation, I would get a proper drift and try pushing the pin BACK through from the other side from the drill bit; even an improper drift like an inverted rachet extension might help you out here.

Does the miss happen often enough that you could use a timing light and see if the timing wanders or (spark is absent) when miss occurs?

NAPA part #2p74028, according to thread: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=21465

Well, in your case the POWER light indicates that your transmission is missing! The POWER light is the TCUs way of communicating with you, and if it recognizes a fault it will blink 16 times at startup. You can pull the codes by following a slightly funky procedure.

I am no expert (duh!), but I have read of a lot of "miss" issues with the CAS disties that were related to disty shaft wobble or CAS problems.

Maybe I am just lucky, but my family's 89 SPFI DD is probably anything but tight, no real maintenance by PO or much by me yet, but it idles nice and smooth. It is in desperate need of attention (stalls when cold, down on power; needs plugs and wires at the least) but a lovely idle. Go figure.

Distributor? I suspect that you have already checked this, but since you didn't mention it...