idosubaru

*** i agree - how many miles? could be quite a few things. timing chain would have me wondering although failure of those is almost unheard of. the gas cap oring is my guess. you can check in a matter of seconds - simply pull the fuel line in the engine bay, turn the key over and look at the gas flow. if there's nothing or it's minimal then that's your issue. you will need a new fuel pump metal cap. they aren't sold as a part though and you have to buy the complete fuel pump ($$$$). there's is a metal cap that fits, search for it and you should find the part number and all. caps are the same for 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder so you can pilfer from either. if you need an emergency fix you can try to reinstall the cap with a new oring...or let the original one dry so it shrinks back down to normal size...and then install the old cap with a healthy arrangement of hose clamps or heavy duty zip ties to hold the cap and oring in the place. it might work...it might not, but should be able to buy you a couple days while you get a new part.

i'd first try to test the seats to see if they work as they aren't very robust. they don't last long, begin to fade, quit working, or work sporadically. i bought a complete set of heated seats for one of my other cars. i happened to buy two Subarus that came with heated seats around the same time and they're so lacking i have not concerns about ever having heated seats again. anyway, i'd want to know that they worked before going through all the hassle.

*** Nevermind - Forgot to search, never recalled seeing much so didn't think I'd get anything. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=136233&highlight=steering+pump

Are all EJ power steering pumps interchangeable? Parts interchanges show 98 and 99 Impreza are different? And also show Impreza and Legacy as not interchanging. I know that's not all the case...so, does anyone know of any differences or which are/are not interchangeable?

okay, i figured you did as much subaru stuff you do and i knew you had worked in car parts places before. the grease massaging sounds interesting.

haven't you seen all the axle threads - nearly anyone that spends time with a wrench knows that aftermarket axles absolutely suck. i thought for sure you would have seen that? they are time suckers, i learned the hard way. here's the two solutions in my book: 1. Get Subaru axles and reboot them 2. MWE (probably who shawn may be quoting you, they are geographically close?) It's annoying and a little extra effort but if you're not lazy and have some synapses still firing it'll save you a lot of headaches. Folks do seem to suggest good results with EMPI, failures have been reported, so to me that's not conclusive enough to avoid the 100% (for me) solutions noted above. Though I can see the attractiveness of having an aftermarket supply for folks that own their own shops, do this for a living.

it's not, i've seen others and a quick google search shows it's a pandemic.

bingo!

that is about how the 90-94 Legacy's go. they can rack up some serious miles, though they've mostly rusted away in the rust belt. you could still go OBDII, wouldn't be that hard compared to the scope of the project to begin with. all you need is an OBDII intake manifold, wiring harness (or just engine side and ECU side connector and make your own), and ECU. the OBDII EJ22 intakes bolt right up to the older ones.

that guy is buying EJ25 motor equipped vehicles (they blow headgaskets all the time, making it easy to do), not EA82's. a loyale is far less valuable than an EJ25 vehicle, all things being equal, so there's not nearly as much value in flipping EA82's.

they are unbelievably quick, so with the right tools it must be really easy. they had the last windshield out that i had replaced in my parking lot at work in like 20 minutes, it was crazy. Safelite has never been the cheapest around here, i think the place i use is local (have their info on my laptop at work). keep calling around and find a place that does them in shop, you drive there and have them install it. can generally save some coin that way if you can find a place that does it. unfortunately i think few places do since so many folks just have those come-to-you places do it. i found one just a couple miles from my in-laws house which we visit every couple of months and they were $50 or so cheaper than the average come-to-you Safelite style jokers.

yeah with multiple cars i imagine you'd want to make some phone calls. the larger companies avoid the "zig-zagging" by having you drop it off at a their terminal and picking it up at their terminal. you can pay extra to have it delivered from there, but that puts the responsibility directly back on the buyer and they can just sub-out the local deliveries and the truckers get no zigzagging. but if you can find someone to pick up a load they'd probably like that. there is a sight...uship...or some other one...where truckers take bids on hauling your load. not sure how many car haulers are on there.

i had one shipped cross country was $768 and it doesn't vary much, i just priced one "close" from NY and it wasn't much cheaper...$650 or something. stuff is so rusted up here it will be worth it to retain the cars you like. i've bought two Subarus in the past two years - one from Texas, and one from California to get something without rust. then again - if there's one you can dispose of now, do it! free yourself up! honestly - it's not *that* hard to replace a Subaru, particularly newer ones. i moved and got rid of like 10 Subaru's and parts. i could have held onto them, only a 3 hour move and had plenty of time/space (kept both houses for over a year). i remember thinking it didn't feel right and maybe i should keep this, that, etc....*it hasn't held me back at all in 6 years*. i'm glad i sold, glad i didn't have them to mess with and it freed me up to move onto other stuff and projects. there's value either way - work at it to keep those nice rust free jokers - but definitely now is the time to clean house, move on, and free yourself up too. i would keep the tools.

usually not too hard to find one that "works" - now if it matches is another story and getting one the first try is also a gamble. it's easy to think it'll work in the store then realize it doesn't when you get home....

from what i've heard the newer VLSD's wear out and essentially default to an open rear differential. and i think they're all but impossible to test. i'd be hesitant to pay much for one.

EG33 is a fantastic motor, capable of high mileages, very reliable, no big issues, and great power. it's been stuffed into XT's, there's a few folks running EG33 swapped XT's on subaruxt.com, so they're quite familiar with installing them in other subaru's. two are members here but rarely post. they are regulars on subaruxt.com. transmissions commonly fail, they need good ATF cooling. but that's a nonissue with a swap.

driving lightly and not getting oil or any other automotive chemicals on it will help. you've made it this far, so you're doing something right, keep doing that. i'll come do it for you for a place to elk hunt, deal?!

that is for automatics only, manual trans are completely different. this is what the tire shops do around here to all the Subarus who can't afford new tire sets. like so: take two tires (A & of the same circumference and put A on one of the fronts and B on the opposite side (of A) rear. that works if A & B are both new and larger tires...not sure about your situation where one is larger. a FWD car is really only one-wheel-drive and your 4WD legacy is really only two wheel drive....so if the one front and opposite side rear that are being driven have the same tire tread you're golden. not positive still on how that shakes out with one larger and 3 old though....

that belt is in awful condition. thanks for being a test mule for us all! we should all donate $10 for your research and then you can get your timing belt! this is mostly about risk and personal choice. timing belt breakage is never black and white and it would be a curve or a statistical quantity, not some asymptotic mystical line where every belt breaks. the longer you let a belt go the more likely it is to break, risk increases, very simple. looking for a number is silly...there's just too many variables in play to ever quantify it. you are correct, the newer EJ belts are far more robust than older 80's belts. but: do EJ timing belts ever break? of course they do. so this comes down to risk. some folks don't care about 2% chance of risk...they'll take that chance. others want a near 100% reliability out of their timing belts - the timing belt pictured in this thread is not anywhere near that. so if folks are willing to chance it - awesome. if folks want near 100% timing component reliability then that makes sense too. if finances are tight - a tow bill, emergency repair, parts, mechanic, new car aren't likely to help either...so it's risky either way, but by not doing anything that is certainly the most immediately rewarding short term decision since you have no cash outlay.

the oil on the top of the cylinder head sounds strange to me, but suspect it must have looked benign for you to overlook it. as for the button..i'd call it not that practical...seems like if it was they would have retained it more commonly? from wiki The transmission had a feature where it could be instructed to ignore 1st gear from a standing stop to assist driving on traction limited situations, such as ice and snow. The system was activated by depressing a button on the gearshift selector marked "Manual" and moving the gearshift from the "D" position down to "3rd". A yellow indicator light marked "Manual" also lights up at the bottom center of the instrument cluster when the system is ready to be used. The car would then start in 2nd gear, and not 1st, then as the car gained speed would shift up to 3rd, locking out 4th gear. The transmission's computer also splits the delivered torque 50:50 between the front and rear wheels. Once the car stopped, the transmission would start back in 2nd and not 1st, until the system was disengaged with the "Manual" button or upshifting to 4th.

the air struts may not be that helpful. the rear air struts collapse and don't hold much weight. i was kind of surprised in cases where i've loaded them up. i had a FWD EJ auto transmission and an EJ18 engine (4 cylinder) in the trunk with no passengers and the air suspension could not hold that weight up. i had one XT6 with air suspension but i converted the rear to springs and it held a *massive* 6x12 trailer with probably 1,500 or more pounds of gear and 3 people 4,000 miles to colorado and back - i posted pictures of it here. the rear springs held that fine. if yours is weak i would suspect new struts and/or springs may be the ticket. yours may even be 25 years old by now? you may even be able to get some stiffer springs? i just bought springs for my Outback wagon and they weren't expensive. $60 or $120 or something like that, not as bad as i thought they'd be from Subaru. could certainly get them cheaper off ebay or rockauto. yes, any EA82....or even XT6...rear air struts will bolt right into your wagon. you'll then need to fabricate some lines or something to be able to air them up.

engagement mechanism is on the front-ish of the trans on the passengers side. crawl in behind the front passengers side tire and you'll see it on the side of the transmission. you can follow the cable and see the linkage. by unbolting the bracket that holds the cable to the trans you can then manually engage and disengage it - and hopefully find out what's causing it to hang up... probably just a vaccuum line disconnected or solenoid broke which power the engagement system.

It's done all the time. Change AT fluid every 30,000 miles and install a cooler. I would get an aftermarket cooler, they are very simplistic, there is nothing to them that warrants getting it from Subaru. Though I can see the attraction if it offers installing aids given that it's for a Subaru, though I doubt that's the case. The aftermarket solutions are fine if installed properly. What you should be considering if you are really serious about adding value and protection over the long term are ATF temperature gauge and/or thermostat/bypass set ups. The ATF gauge will be the only thing that verifies your fluid isn't cooking your trans. Proper operating temperatures can be googled but 180-200 i think is somewhere close. And too much cooling can result in poor cold weather performance depending how much it's cooling and how cold it gets where you live...though I don't suspect NJ to be too cool that it'll give you poor shifting in the winter due to fluid not reaching nominal operating temperatures. The bypass/thermostat allows it to maintain a temperature (just like your engine) rather than get too hot or too cool.

i certainly hear you on the bad taste and not feeling good and trusty about that engine. maybe that's a very advanced "bait and switch" method they use to get you to spend more money on a newer car. LOL there is a fine line between "repair" and "maintenance" sometimes. both require labor, parts, and work done to the vehicle and engine. if buying an engine with a known headgasket issue - as GD suggested, the properly repaired engine with an updated headgasket would have been a great deal. you paid more money and have the same leak-prone headgasket you just traded in. could have ended up with better gaskets and end product if the other was repaired with different headgaskets.

doors are $75 - $200. the rear quarter panel will be the hard part. those are welded into place. pretty much need a picture but it's actually not too hard to "push it" out from the inside. use a stock car jack turned side ways inside the interior and use 2x4 lumber and various blocks to set it up and turn it - and you can push a majority of the dent out. if you have major damage to the metal then cut it out and spot weld a piece of metal in - can also be done in an hour and then probably another hour of proper cleaning, prep, paint. actually not that hard but if you can't weld at all then you're hosed. i'm doing one now and can/will probably post pic's of the process later. it's very easy to get a perfectly functional non-distracting end result but a waste of time to shoot for factory show room finish. the imprezas are great but small - i had one and i loved the vehicle, but was just too small. i carry lots of stuff and now with kids and such we outgrew it quickly. i would only recommend one of those if space isn't a concern at all and your are decreasing in size and function rather than increasing (age, family, life, travel, hobbies, etc).