idosubaru

high quality studded snow tires all the way around a lift. not soon after 12" of untouched/unplowed snow is enough to high center a subaru and get you stuck....but that doesn't matter on roads that are plowed and maintained. a come along or winch (with plenty of chain/tow straps - you never know how far the closest tree will be) to pull you out if you get stuck are a must, i've used mine multiple times. with those three you're about as prepared as you can be for snow travel.

it's not that hard to do with all that stuff in the way - but it sure does make the first time easier once you see how it's all done. leave it all there. or flip it up out of the way like edrach said - don't disconnect any refrigerant lines, the a/c will actually roll/flip over enough to even pull the entire engine out, so it'll be way out of your way for a simple timing belt job. might help in the future to post what engine/car you're working on - i was confused given EA81 in your name and timing belts which an EA81 doesn't have....an 86 GL can be an EA81 or EA82 i believe - hatch or wagon, which you don't specify. the pictures definitely cleared it up! pic's are great!

injectors?

there's quite a few mileage threads. by 4x4 do you mean manual trans? trans, type of driving, foot in the turbo or not? 22-28 - less or more is possibly depending on driving style.

doubtful, but not sure what else to say either. the trans light isn't flashing 16 times at start up? and the trans light is working? instrument cluster was removed/replaced so make sure the light is working. over here i'd say grab another TCU and swap it out, it wouldn't be *terribly* surprising for that to fix it. but, it's still just a guess and not worth a whim unless you can easily get a TCU. TPS causes shifting issues in other vehicles - might want to test that. my hunch is on the TCU or TPS but it's nothing more than a guess.

have you tried adding two bottles of Subaru's coolant conditioner? it's required for this motor and has stopped initial SOHC EJ25 leaks for others. subaru charges around $1,200 for headgaskets only and independents can be less. you can probably find a cheaper price....up to you to determine if it's a lesser job though?? make sure they use Subaru only headgaskets i would buy one of the ebay timing belt kits for $160 and have all new timing belt, pulleys, and tensioner isntalled - good for another 105,000 miles. leaving the old pulleys in place is silly and the timing belt has to come off to do the headgasket anyway so it's no extra work, just install a new belt instead of an old one.

crack head - good to see you. what happened with all the medical stuffs?

the belt is less likely to fail than the pulleys and tensioner so i'd just leave it be until you can afford to do it right. failing pulleys, tensioner, and water pumps cause the belt to break regardless of whether it's new or not. kits are only $160 on ebay for the belt and all new pulleys and tensioner. you can probably even get a kit without the tensioner for less, that's usually like $100 itself. so maybe for $60 (timing belt cost at dealer) you could get a kit. if your belt breaks (due to pulley, tensioner, or water pump failure), you'll be paying $1,500 - $2,000 for a head job and replacing bent valves....or looking for a new car. or for $200 you could have another inexpensive 105,000 miles from your car - that's an unbelievable value. i would do whatever it takes to do that. *IF* the belt breaks - it's probably going to be due to poor pulleys that are heating up, seized, or otherwise compromised - all things that are going to break a new belt too - so might as well wait until you can do it right. if you're really that hard up for cash you can buy a needle insert for a grease gun (for $2 or less) and gently pry up the seals on the pulleys and give them some fresh grease. then carefully press the face seals back in place. not perfect, but better than nothing. then you can regrease all your pulleys and install a new belt - reusing only the tensioner and water pump. you do not fill the pulleys up, that would be too much and heat expanding will push the grease seals out and grease all over the place. add grease and spin them until it's nice and smooth and tight like a new bearing. i've done that multiple times on vehicles whose timing kits are outrageously priced or older models that aren't interference, i generally don't do it on interference engines though i haven't had a problem doing it yet.

if it was that poor - just some fresh oil and filter might have been enough once it was run for awhile. frequent oil changes are your friend on these motors.

i never pull the radiator out for anything but seals, none of which you're doing. i did a DOHC EJ25 a couple weeks ago in under an hour - they really are rather simple really, not much to it.

you don't need to swap transmissions to fix torque bind (the un-official term for locking rear transfer clutches). you can just swap the Duty C solenoid and rear clutch housing off another transmission, like the 4.44. it's not a bad job and can be done with the trans in the car, making it a whole lot simpler than removing the trans. and you can even install a switch to "lock" the 4WD rear transfer clutches for offroad/snow use. quite a few of us have done it and it's really easy - only requires installing a switch to control one wire - for the duty C solenoid. highly recommended for offroad use. and like i said - you can do what i mentioned earlier, i've done it before to hold the rear bearings together by disassembling a rear axle. but honestly i'd probably just swap rear transfer housings on the trans, time better spent there i would think.

usually a good idea to specify what vehicle you're talking about. you could probably do a search and come up with some bearing replacement threads here. subaru's aren't typically as easy as some.

i'll clarify that's my experience with subarus - i don't really work on anything else. good luck on the bearings.

yep, agreed. engines change almost yearly. 99 EJ25's differ from 98's, 98's differ from 97, 97 from 96......EJ22's change in 95, then 96, then 97, then 98, then 99 as well!! "phase" does not mean "changes". and interchanges are more conservative than real world application. i'll also clarify that i've never seen a Phase II EJ22 without EGR, but i can't say that's %100 the case. luckily - that's easy enough to ask and identify before purchase. you can reuse your intake manifold - just bolt it to the top of the new engine.

that's probably about right. in general - i'd say that's a great price if the person has done countless timing belt jobs, knows a wide range of Subaru engines very well, but it's a little high otherwise for just a belt, pump, and pulleys. i just did a DOHC belt a couple weeks ago - i was done in under an hour. 2 hours should be plenty of time for belt and pump. that's $125 an hour with zero overhead. prices are higher in expensive markets like NYC, DC, LA. dealer prices i've seen are $350 - $699 for belt only. so you're still under even the lowest dealer price. if you're in the rust belt you want a little cushion for rust related debacles and parts! :lol:

ebay, and any number of dozens of online retailers list part numbers. a quick glance there gives you an initial chance of interchangability. subaru has it's own parts website called opposed forces, with part numbers as well.

bearing is probably shot. in my experience "bearing play" doesn't come into effect every time. actually - i have not yet had a bad wheel bearing exhibit any play at all, so in my experience that's not even a viable symptom. the only one that had play was so bad that the car was undrivable, cracked the tone ring for the ABS, etc. i already knew that one was bad! use a mechanics stethoscope on the hub or strut springs while turning the wheel. the noise may present itself that way. if you have a temperature gun, this is where they shine. take the hub temps immediately after driving and compare drivers and passengers side - a bad bearing will have hotter temps. even the rotor works if it's bad enough, the rotor will have areas 20 or more degrees hotter than the other side. you may have to take like 5 or 10 and get an average or note the highest/lowest temps and compare those. a small difference in distance can make a huge difference in temps, temps start to mitigate as heat dissipates, etc. bad bearings generate extra heat every time, so if it's bad enough it'll show up in this way.

you are exactly right - just disassemble a rear axle and bolt the end back in the hub. i'm not sure if there's a simple way to disassemble that outer joint though, i wasn't planning on reusing the axle so i discombobulated it. zzz if it's an auto (seems like it is), you could also just remove the rear half of the driveshaft, rear diff, and install the FWD fuse. some of the neatest subaru people in the country replied to your post. they offer help/advice freely, that says something. they are far from the adjective you chose to call them. thanks for the apology, that was cool! this forum is for anyone that can type on the interwebs. that means lots of frankly stupid questions by people that don't know what they're doing. sorry you got lumped into that, but without any explanation you look like the other dozens of jokers that are headed in the wrong direction. thread titles like "just need a quick answer" don't help as the title usually involves the subject/question at hand. that looks like a title made by the jokers described above. good luck with the axle and swap. should be simple....if RUST isn't too bad. :lol:

same engine. one quart every 150 miles, that's insane.

exactly, good call. that's not going to help. there are lots of people looking for good deals, make every effort to move on it when you see it, communicate non verbally to people that you're serious: 1. call right away 2. have cash and a truck ready to go (if towing) 3. when are you available? 4. tell them you're not really picky, familiar with subaru's, and not interested in tire kicking, let's make a deal phone, calls, cash, and ready to move the car out of sight/out of mind is a great way to get people on your side. i've had folks delist and "hold" cars for me without any cash...i mean, i trust me , but i'm surprised they do sometimes! those are the rare and good sellers i like - trusting honest people that just want to get rid of a car, not deal with questions, tire kickers, emails, pictures, etc.

if you don't want a project i would avoid turbos or inspect very carefully. more heat, more parts, more maintenance, more catastrophic failures. what they said - just keep waiting. like GD, those of us who are buying multiple subaru's every year - it's not hard, just wait and keep looking and you'll find a good deal. i've even gotten two late model legacy's with relatively low miles in your price range that didn't really need much of anything or minor work. that's rare but they're out there. both were just busy business people who were ready to move quickly, no hassle. yeah - it's hit or miss, there is a wide range of pricing. you're looking for one that's cheap for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons. be ready to jump as soon as possible, when an honest seller comes up with a great deal they don't last. have cash ready to go and show up ready to move it. green stuff talks. talk to people and hear their stories...great deals come from retired couples not wanting to mess with it, doctors with no time, people needing to move...etc.

i'm not really familiar with those old auto's but i have heard folks say many times that there are a few simple items that should be addressed on these - the modulator is one of them i think. in the same way the wires were the issue i would assume this is something simple before assuming the trans needs to come out. check the fluid level yet? fluid condition? is the trans pan dented?

i'd shoot for a legacy that needs work. maximize your efforts. i've gotten really sweet legacy's for the same price before that didn't need extensive engine work....move on. i mean it's not a terrible car but if you've got the skill set and tools to do a headgasket you can get into something much nicer with the same amount of work.

RTV is by far the most common thing to use. i use anaerobic most of the time but there's nothing wrong with RTV, so i wouldn't worry about it either way too much, particularly on the oil pan.

drive 60 instead of 65? O2 sensor sounds like a good idea. do your brakes and make sure the caliper slides are cleaned and regreased as well as drum return springs are properly operating. i've seen mileage go up 1-3 mpg after quality brake jobs (not just pad slapping it). i've seen no difference with using synthetic oils in XT6's, i wouldn't put the money there. i've swapped rear diffs, front diffs, and engine oils....no change.