NorthWet

Probably that big rotating mass right next to it tends to stabilize things and limit wear and tear. RE: Separator plate... is that the big sheet metal (on my 90) cover next to the crank and its seal? I have not seen a plastic one... yet...

I can't remember an easy way to tell the early flapper-MAF from the later hot-wire MAF, but you should be able to tell what system you have by the distributor. If the distributor has a vacuum advance diaphram on the outside then it is the older flapper MAF system (I am not very familiar with the older system); The hotwire MAF system uses an all electronic distributor that has no advance mechanisms. If you have the later hotwire MAF system, the ECU controls the ignition timing, and with the green connectors connected the ignition timing should be rock solid. If it wanders, then you have issues... like maybe the disty bushings are shot, or the CAS (Crank Angle Sensor) in the disty has a problem.

It is probable that the charging system took out the digi-dash. General belief/conjecture is that a failing alternator causes a voltage regulator in the digi-dash to blow out. I have been wanting to confirm the blown VR theory, and have several digi-dashes that have been loaned/donated to me, but no wiring diagram to use to rig a testing jig. So, depending on whether you like the digi-dash, how much effort you want to put in to resurrect it, and how long (a day or two) that your car could be without the dash, I could try replacing the voltage regulator (a common 7805 5-volt IC) and you could see if it works.

Filter should have slip-fit hose with clamps. I would imagine that auto parts stores would have a listing for it.

XT radiators have minor-but-annoying differences from the sedan and wagon (XT6 has larger inlet/outlet. too), but all of the EA82-style sedans and wagons share a common radiator design. edit: Your GL-10 probably came with a 2-row-core radiator, whereas most others will only have single-row-core.

The fuel pressure regulator should be on the intake manifold and is attached between supply "rail" and fuel return line. That year is your XT? 85-86 (and maybe early 87???) used different engine management then 87+, including horw the distributor/ignition control works. Does your timing "wander" when the green connectors are connected, or just when yo are in normal runing mode?

Depends. If you have the intake manifold off (or you have very small hands) you can go through the top access hole. Or, you can do as someone recently suggested and undo the motor mounts and lift the engine until you have access through the bottom of the bell housing (lift out of the way of rack interference). This worked well for me, except having to snake my way through the legs of my engine hoist to get at the bolts. The 4EAT has a very long pump-drive (IIRC) shaft that wil probably stay with the torque converter if you try to leave the TC attached, and there is unlikely to be enough room to pull it free of the tranny. BTW, the front tranny seal is very accessible while the engine is out, costs about $9, and might be worth replacing while your doing the engine rear main seal.

Book says 90 weight for moderate temperatures, slightly lighter (80, IIRC) for sub-freezing temps. Anything in the 90-95 weight "hot" end will suffice.

Vacuum Modulator valve problems effect whether the car will "kick down" to a lower gear when you romp on the throttle. It is not directly involved with making the car go. Fluid... check level and quality.

Before you go too wild, take care of the spark plugs/wires/rotor/cap. I have witnessed all sorts of bizarre power issues on my EA82Ts that have been because of marginal plugs and/or wires. You can have full power and responsiveness through part of the power band and then have it fall flat on its face for a couple thousand RPM and then scream like a Banshee again higher up. You can't tell much of anything until you have it electrically tuned-up. (Except for that checking of stored ECU codes, which who knows how old they are.)

Have you checked the level and the condition of your ATF? Look at the color and smell it. I would start by a drain/refill (maybe with some SeaFoam tranny additive), run it for a while, drain/refill (with Seafoam). The drain only removes about half of the ATF, so a couple cycles are needed to get most of the old crud out.

An "apple-cored" (worn-out) Governor valve driven-gear will only effect the tranny's ability to automatically shift while in the "D"rive position. If you are unable to select Reverse or first with the gear selector, it is not likely that a damaged driven-gear is the main issue. The vacuum modulator is attached to the tranny below the ATF level, so when you remove it ATF will flow out. Your rubber hose dripping ATF shows that the diaphram in your vacuum modulator had ruptured (VM needed replacing). What a bad vacuum modulator can do is suck the ATF out of the tranny until the fluid is too low to allow the tranny to function, or so low that the tranny fluid doesn't have a chance to cool and overheats and degrades, or a bit of both. If the ATF degrades, it can gum-up all sorts of parts, especially the Governor Valve (which hides under a dome on the US-passenger-side of the tranny roughly above the axle stub). I have also had it disable the forward/reverse-band actuator. Most "failures" of the 3AT can be resolved with a little maintenance and/or $20-30(US) parts.

Approximately 1.3 qts (US) of GL-5 gear oil, around 90 weight. Something like an 80w-90 or thereabouts (I can't remember what the common multi-viscosity oils are).

The modulator valve can suck the ATF out of the tranny and make it too low to shift well. So, the tranny would not work in any gear, not even 1 or R?

AS you face the engine from the front of the car, the dipstick on your right (tangled up in battery cables and fuel lines) is the ATF dipstick/filler. The dipstick on the left (roughly above the axle) is the differential's gear oil dipstick/filler. If you have put ATF into the diff, you need to drain the diff and refill with gear oil. What type of automatic (3-speed or 4-speed) fo you have? Or, alternately, give some info on year and style of your Subaru. The 3-speed automatics (aka 3AT on this Board) has some known quirks and problems. What do you mean by "slipping"?

One thing that can help you determine if it is fuel pump related is to look under your dash near the steering column (you may need to remove the trim piece that stretshes from hood-pull area over towards bottom of center console) for a pair of non-connected green terminals that have a single wire going to each. Connect these and turn on your ignition; your fuel pump should now cycle on and off every few seconds (5 on, 5 off???). If you hear your fuel pump cycling, try starting the engine and see how it runs.

Less energy-dense fuel, marginal increase in knock resistance index (your "90 octane" may be equivalent to about 87-88 USA); I don't think that you can achieve that 100%. I would be glad to be wrong. Mixture screw should only effect idle mixture. Did you Northern Neighbors not get our feedback-carbs/EGO-sensors/ECUs by 1987? Those should/would have (mostly) taken care of mixture issues. SPFI even moreso. Good luck. The ethanol blends that they have us using down here are good for a 5% or so drop in fuel economy. We get it sometimes with the reasoning that "oxygenated fuels cut emissions by 5%"... but then we use 5% more fuel to do the same task, and we are back to square one.

There are TWO large cables connected to it (or at least near and for it). Be sure to check the large ground cable that runs from the battery to a connectin point near the starter. Be sure to check BOTH ends of each cable, as Subaru like to have a bad connection at the starter and/or ground point.

Depending on what you did defferently, not so much a case of pulling axle throught, but rather keeping splines from sliding in hub splines.

+1 My thoughts exactly.

Legos... From what I understand, any EA82-style vehicle could have been ordered with rear discs. The Turbos seem to have come standard with them, so they are the ones to check. As long as you have the full set-up from an EA82-style, it should fit any other EA82-style (as long as you take into account FWD or 4WD). There seems to be some debate as to whether the Sedan and Wagon have the same sizes; I have not seen them side-by-side so can offer no insight.

You should have a split cone which goes on first into the conical recess of the hub, and then a solid "flat" washer that really has a dish to it goes over that, and then the axle nut. This flat/dished washer should go on so that the "rim" of the dish will contact the split cone's outer edge, and the inner hole's "bottom" contacts the axle-nut. (Or, think of it as placeing your cupped hand over the axle stub.)

No reason to feel stupid. You did something that cost you nothing, did not take much time, and you enjoy the sound. Sounds like success to me.

Assuming this statement included using a "free-flow" filter (e.g. K&N), wasted time is NOT the worst that can happen. Having your engine internals damaged by ingested fine particles is a likely event. Nothing (commonly available) on the market filters as well as a pleated treated paper filter element. You want better airflow? Get a larger surface area of pleated treated paper. At the risk of (yet again) beating a dead horse: There is a lot of talk about more power of this improvement or that, but it for the most part is just talk. It is from people who want to believe that what they have done has made a difference; this is human nature, and it is OK. The human mind is easily tricked; noise, vibration, and jerky running can seem like power, seem like movement and acceleration, and this is what amusement-park ride developers use to get you to believe that the room you are sitting in is really a spaceship. Power is measurable. Dynos and flowbenchs are good ways to measure, but not everyone has one. But (almost) everyone has a straight stretch of road or a nice hill. Time your car to a certain speed or distance (or multiple benchmarks), make your mods and repeat. "...full of sound and fury; signifying nothing.” (From MacBeth by W. Shakespeare)

Local Craigslist listing had a WRX uppipe and downpipe for not too much. Not eBay's $10, but local so could save you on shipping if you were willing to drive a little.