idosubaru

I personally wouldn't worry about it too much. The internals can be squeaky clean even when the externals are nasty. Many years of dust/dirt/grime and spilled, leaking, dripping oil or grease, cv joints, power steering, brake fluid, etc can give dust something to attach too. Change the air filter and change your oil often and you'll be golden.

Well, if they were fine right before hand they should be fine on the new car. Not sure why they would all of a sudden be bad? Mine were actually "new" but sat in a parts car long enough to start rusting. Maybe you can do what I did to verify it's those bearings in the top mount. I pulled the cap and squirted PB Blaster lightly on the bearings since they had so much rust on them. Then I used a needle fitting on my grease gun and lubed up those bearings really well. Grease, rotate strut around, grease, rotate strut around, grease, you get the idea. I did it all while still on the car. This worked VERY well. All of the pulling went away and it now tracks straight. The thunking is now very light and hardly noticeable. It's still there and I haven't fixed it yet but I will at some point. It's so minor that I'll probably just wait until I have to do something else. The pulling was the most annoying part since that's a safety issue but it went away immediately with the grease treatment after I drove about 30 miles. Might be worth a try. If yours gets much better (like mine did) then you'd know it was the hats rather than just guess. Those needle fittings are only like $3 at a parts store and quite handy.

My top bearings were recently shot and caused thumping/knocking noises as well as pulling. Your issue sounds exactly the same as what i experienced. Where did the top mounts/bearings come from? Were they sitting, in use, used, new?

CEL probably isn't related the Seafoam at all and this code will come back. You likely need new plugs or wires (I'd replace both given you don't know history of them). EJ motors are not very forgiving like older Subaru engines which - most of us on here stick with the stock NGK plugs and Subaru wires only. If you're die hard bent on aftermarket wires go with Magnecor, that's what I use.

You are right, looks like it didn't make it into all the cylinders. Kind of a benign point though...you could almost argue it's more risky than it is beneficial.... When you tear a motor down you will see the cylinders are nearly spotless, you're not "cleaning the cylinders" at all by adding sea foam. I have a 200,000+ mile Subaru engine on a stand right now, the combustion chamber "cylinder" was spotless. Crosshatching from the machining process still visible and chamber spotless. What you are doing is cleaning the intake runners, they get all caked up with black sooty deposits. But it doesn't matter, that stuff isn't hurting anything and it's pushing those contaminants out of the runners into the engine. I would rather it stay in the intake than go in the engine. It isn't hurting anything in the intake runner, they just make it black. Clean oil, frequent oil changes, oil treatments (with seafoam), and fuel treatments are far more functional and helpful. I'd dump the rest of your seafoam in the oil or gas and call it a day. Or ask us what is bothering you or you'd like to accomplish and we'll help you do that.

i find it odd the connectors are different too, there's hardly any changes until the ones with a screw on filter. those parts dont' need to be changed, but if you look the wiring harness is integrated into those, so i was suggesting swapping harnesses. have you looked into what I said about swapping the harness from the old trans onto the new ones? even if the wires are cut it'd be easy to splice them togther since it's the same wires! otherwise you might be stuck just getting the wiring diagrams and making it work. to do that you'll want to verify your 95 - is it a late 94 or really a 95 (may have been changes there, although I seem to recall people swapping those too?).

I would install the exact same belts in the system. It's integrated into the SRS system so if you installed something else the entire system wouldn't work, meaning the front air bags, side air bags, and seat belts. I wouldn't disable the air bags just to save a few dollars on seat belts, particularly on such a new and valuable car.

how old are the plugs and wires? are they NGK and Subaru wires? personally i wouldn't/don't add the sea foam to the intake. add it to the gas or oil. that being said, i'm a bit doubtful you have anything to worry about. if the sea foam caused it, it will go away and not be any sign of problems, so don't worry about it. typically folks add something when they suspect a problem, so it's also highly probable that folks have something they are hoping the work they are doing helps - poor performance, a slight hesitation, bad gas mileage, etc. i don't know anything about the past maintenance history of this car so i'm hesitant to blame the sea foam on a decade old car with 150,000+ miles running a bit out of tune.

I just bought and repaired our OBW as well this year with the "one time use", exploding seat belt mechanisms, whatever they're called. You'll need to confirm that you have those though, as the regular seat belts would be worlds apart difference. If yours has the "lock up" mechanism like mine, they are a one time replacement item. Buy a set from a junk yard and install them. Sounds like you're repairing this thing yourself, so surely you can replace a seat belt. It's an entire assembly, just start removing the side panel/trim pieces and you'll see how it works, it's very simple and only requires removing like 3 bolts to get it out once the trim pieces are removed.

Easiest solution is to swap as much of the harness from the old transmission onto your new one. How much of that is possible? Rear speed sensor and inhibitor switch (the large doohickey on the passegers side of the trans that the linkage attaches too) both are removable.

um, i'm not sure, i believe there's like a circlip somewhere that needs to come out. it's messy, get all the grease out to find the clip. if you're trashing the axle and just need the end CV to install into the hub to get home, you can bash i to bits with a BFH until it separates. i've done that before for the same reason, to install the outer cv cup into the hub (without the axle attached). could you leave the axle in for the drive home as a last resort? just reinsall the old cracked boot? wrap i in saran wrap and duct tape to keep grease in and dirt out. sorry, i'm not sure if you're just trying to get home or fix it.

well yes, you shouldn't worry about the trans that you are trashing verses all the parts you're keeping that you're currently stressing - bushings, axles, etc. that being said, you can run in FWD all day long, that's an armchair mechanic philosophy. i've done it tons of times and know others that have as well. you can either choose real world experience and knowledge or folks that have no experience with it that like to regurgitate info.

side pipes won't make the exhaust any easier. i would plan on doing the job and adding the turbo later, it's not a hard add on. i don't know anything about brats, sorry. i know someone that had an H6 in his, guess it was a newer one with more room or something? might want to search on EJ swap info here and read some of others experiences with EJ's into brats now that you know where you might be headed.

woah awesome. wonder if it was jus from sitting, sometimes they're stuck, i think the rings gets seized in the bore. anyway, glad you got it.

that sounds like a good list of maintenance items. now we know why he's selling it. that's a 60,000 mile timing belt change interval engine so the next one is due at 150,000...hhmm, hhmm, hmm. AND - benig so "well maintained", he knows the timing belt is due. having done dozens of these motors i can tell you the pulleys will need replaced as well, they're 15 years old and at least one (if not multiple) will be rough and devoid of grease. a new belt won't last if those bearings seize. the good news is ebay kits are ony $80 for the entire set, excellent deal. if you're slighly mechanical you can do it yourself, they're no hard. if he's selling it because of "excellent maintenance" and commanding a price tag then he needs to consider it's due for a timing belt which the dealer charges $699 for just the belt...not counting anything else that might be replaced while in there. so he needs to make up his mind - replace the belt himself to get the "well maintained" price he's banking on or consider the next owner has an expensive bill looming and reduce the price. he's trying to have his cake and eat it too. still sounds like a nice car though, so it's likely to give years of good service. i'd personally want it to have a new water pump, thermostat, radiator hoses to protect it though.

bearings are probably fine. im' not sure what all transpired but maybe the cv joint is hosed, like broken/locked internally? EA82 axles do suck. maybe it's just rust, most likely it should just come out. pound on the control arm to get out the ball joint? just use a pickle fork man, that's definitely the way to go. takes 2 seconds with a pickle fork and works 100% of the time. i'm not really familiar with EA82's, it's been a long time since i messed with one, but hopefully you can replace the ball joint without removing the axle? but then again your axle boot is torn isn't it? well, at least you can drive it like that for a bit. speaking of which, if the boot i only torn then you could have it rebooted assuming it didn't get damaged in the carnage.

Confirmation - ha ha!!! I wouldn't use any 1985-1987 ECU's, I don't think they'll work.

The rust issues could be benign or they could make the car unsafe, useless, or both in 2 years. Make sure to look for rust under the car and see how bad it is there, the sheet metal isnt' really a big deal....well, sort of: Ask the guy to repair it well, like get as much rust out of there and treat it properly with converter before proceeding to finish and paint. Or else you'll just be right back where you started. Loose shifter is common, most people deal with it, i believe you can replace the bushings to tigthen it up. Those bindings and parts may all be rusted up as well though, so might be a fun job. Price seems high to me but depends what you're after and it is a good vehicle if it's maintained well. I'd put more value in it mentally the fewer owners it has. Do you want it to be reliable and drive a lot of miles? What is the condition of regular maintenance/tune up items and can you fix those yourself? Brakes, timing belts (every 60,000 miles), plugs, wires, air filter, PCV valve, oil leaks, transmission oil ever changed? These are all things I do myself when i get a car.

No biggie, it's an EA82T - he just is misinformed or something. I see people call those GL10 wagons legacy's fairly often, they both look about the same - 20 year old boxy wagons.

not sure what exactly you're trying to do - sounds like drive it 350 miles to get it "home" or something? that's fine. install the ball joint nut and call it a day. it'll be fine. you may need a die (1.25 pitch thread) to chase the threads if they're all banged up from coming up. the nut might not thread on to easily. i wouldn't worry too much about it. check to make sure the strut isn't leaking fluids and replace the ball joint with a new one (and make sure it's properly torqued and the castle nut installed this time:lol:) get a Subaru or MWE axle, the aftermarkets are garbage. just do a search here if you don't know what i'm talking about.

cliff - you can definitely replace the crank seal after the pump is on the block. actually that's how you're supposed to do it. "technically" installing the seal then the pump can deform the seal and not get a proper seal. i always do it that way though because it's much easier that way. you'll want to remove the radiator to gain clearance as it'll take some pounding to get it to seat properly. they're a bit annoying to get in there, but that's how it's typically done. good luck.

2000 brighton is right around when they changed. cars101.com will tell you. you're sort of stuck since any used car is going to need timing belt job and even if it has a "new" timing belt, i'd much rather have eveyrthing replaced, not just the belt. many t-belt failures occur because of failed seals or pulleys. 2,500 isn't a bad price for a decent 2000 Subaru but it's not a great deal either. depends how the subaru market is around you but it could easily be around for awhile and not sell. you're in a tough spot, it's a tough decision to make no doubt. and you might make choices much differently than me, so pick and choose what you listen to. i like having a Subaru that i don't have to worry about in terms of maintenance. i do the timing belts, seals, water pump on nearly every one i own and get for friends/resale. if you're going to skimp on the timing belt stuff like this, the car you have is a great car because a 1996 is not an inteference engine. if the belt breaks there's no damage. on newer 1997+ models if the belt breaks it will cause internal engine damage because they're interference engines.

To the OP - i've seen hack kits and ideas - search around on the internet for more info since I dont' know much about it. Hmm, I wonder how compatible that AUX jack is across other Subaru stereo's? Since the ones from 1990-200? are plug and play I wonder how much changed? I'd like to take one of the older stereo's (like from my 2002 OBW) in and see if the connector would hook up to it. Anyone know what the Subaru AUX plug kit plugs into?

H6 into a brat has been done. tight, tight fit and typically i think the radiator is moved and there might even be some cutting/pounding to make it fit. You can basically do whatever you want. You can install a big block V8 and tank tracks on it if you want (probably already been done, i've seen both of those in other old school subaru's), just a matter of your skills, time, expenses, etc. An EJ would be the simplest endeavor with a turbo being a fine option. Personally the EJ22 would be a great motor in such a small car, I'd go with installing a turbo on the non turbo EJ22 under low boost if more power was what I was after. EJ22's are cheap, easy to find, and take well to low boost if done properly.

I'm not 100% sure what you're asking but i'll mention how to install assuming all the backing plate screws are in tight. It's actually really easy, just bolt the pump to the block, that's it! Sealant is only needed to seal the pump to the block, that's it, only one surface. Anaerobic sealant is ideal, but RTV can be used. Thread locker is not used on the oil pump to block bolts. The front crank seal needs to be replaced while it's off (i'm sure you did).