idosubaru

crooks don't screw everyone they come into contact with. people in general don't, they don't work that way. it doesn't take much for someone to start making excuses or justifying. that you had a good experience is anecdotal. point soobme to this thread and let him respond. that will give him a chance to clarify his side of the story. wow, that would fire me up too. i'd search around or ask the moderators, there may be a proper way to address this issue. if he hosed you, he shouldn't be allowed to make transactions on here. did you give him a bad mark on the Itrader notification?

leave everything and deal with it when the motor is out. assemble all you can out of the car, then drop it back in. if you want to get real tricky you can leave the intake manifold all hooked up, remove it from the engine, prop it up and out of the way, yank the motor, then drop it back in. saves a disconnecting a few electricals and hoses, but really doesn't save any time. i don't really recommend it, but it can be done.

belts and water pumps can usually be had for chump change, i'd get a kit on ebay that includes the entire timing belt set - belts and all new pulleys/tensioners. if you do that, keep the engine from overheating and running out of oil i can nearly gaurantee this motor will make 200,000 miles with ease...probably far more. those entire kits can be had for $80 or something. i've gotten water pumps under $10 on places like rockauto.com. thing is, even if you get a new used car, you'll still need to attend to maintenance items...like timing belts. if everything is in good condition on your loyale it is certainly worth it. hopefully he'll let you find the parts and hopefully save a hundred bucks. if you were close to me i'd freaking do it for you for less, it's a very easy job. while yo'ure in there it's a good idea to replace the 2 cam seals, crank seal and reseal the oil pump. sounds like alot but it's all sitting right behind the belt, so it's very easy once the belt is off. if you do this job then your $3 cam seal starts to leak you've got to pay those hundreds of dollars again in labor to remove the timing belts and get to that $3 seal.

agreed - welcome baltimore dude. i'm from westminster, MD.

i didn't have time to read through everything, getting ready to leave. keep in mind that dirty or loose terminals will cause what seems like starter problems. the starter draws a ton of current, weak or dirty connections at the battery terminals will cause issues similar to a weak starter. clean the terminals and make sure they are tight first. have the battery tested. most of the larger chain stores (advanced/auto zone) have free battery, alternator and starter testing, that's a great place to start. subaru starters are cake to replace. it's on top of the transmission on the drivers side, under your brake master cylinder (under the reservoir that holds the brake fluid), bolted to the transmission. tends to be just a tad tight under there, but in all reality they are very simple to remove. gotta split, good luck

not necessary to drain coolant, but it's nice. it's cleaner and when you start disassembling you could possibly have coolant drain down into your heads and into the cylinders, not a big deal either but avoidable. special tools are not necessary. directions are on here, basically line up all the timing marks and remove the belt. if the drivers side snaps (it probably will), it will be benign. move it back in place and reinstall the belts, i'ts very easy without any special tools. the Subaru manuals are much better than the haynes, there's no comparison really.

no way that would work. there are very similar but the electronics are going to be all sorts of different, speed sensors are different, TCU is different...etc. your GL10 rear transfer clutches would be very weak too. final drive would be way off as well. your transmission won't have the same bellhousing bolt either, so you'd need some kind of adapter made or something. basically a ton of issues and work, much simpler to get the right trans.

you can tell by popping the hood and looking if the headgaskets have been replaced. where the headgasket sticks out of the block you can tell if it's one piece or mulit-layer just by looking at it. the last two legacy's i bought (both 1997's) both had new headgaskets on them and i didn't know until i went to pick them up. price seems good.

this is a great lesson in life and organizations. if they're asking the wrong question it's hard to find the right answer. the question isn't "where is the leak", it's "why is the fluid dropping". have they carefully inspected all the pads, i would think a brake shop would? a sticking caliper will wear the pads faster, which pushes the piston out and reduces (not looses) the amount of fluid showing in the reservoir. of course there's still the possibility that it's loosing it. what work have you had done to the vehicle in the past? list any other work that's been done that you can think of (not tune-ups).

the SUS and OBW front bumpers look identical but do not cross reference. is that just because of color? obviously OBW front bumpers are much easier to find than SUS. are all SUS front bumpers the same color? is the bottom color of the "two tone" always the same across the different colors? and same question for OBW?

i do not think this is torque bind. it is either a bad bushing (like the differential mount), or the driveshaft like John said. crawl under the vehicle and grab the differential and drive shaft and try to shake each of them. if there is play in either one, this could be your problem. of the soobs i've worked on "clunking in the rear" usually ends up being rear differential bushings. dropping the rear differentail and driveshaft would help diagnose as well, then you can inspect any bushings and the driveshaft.

that doesn't mean much. first edmunds is typically regarded as more accurate. and second, us that are in subaru-specific market almost daily are offering you more real world advice. i just looked up "Subaru" in my local classifieds market and the FIRST ONE on the page is a 1997 Outback wagon with 155k for $3,800. like i said - a dime a dozen around here. your market could be worse, i do not know what subaru's are like around you. you'll either pay more or have to expand your search area for a better deal. i personally would rather find a better vehicle further away and fly/drive it or ship it for a few hundred bucks(i've done both).

I have heard those undocumented numbers too, but that doesn't mean they are true. believe that or listen to people that deal with subaru's every week in the shop or are consistently buying them (like me), that number is not accurate, at least not in my area. only trying to help, i value statistics and trends and am absorbed in subarus weekly. your experience with one or two vehicles is anecdotal at best. if you bought them used they may have already had the gaskets replaced. they are great vehicles, i just wouldn't (and don't) pay top dollar for them. i would drive one, but i won't have my wife driving one (96-02 anyway). for my friends and family i recommend getting something with a 2.2, a 2003+, or it's cheaper and more reliable to buy an EJ25 with blown headgaskets and have it fixed.

horrible idea. yes it can do it but it's very unsafe and irresponsible. if you're the type that likes doing irresponsible things that risk your life, the lives of others, and then gloating about it when it "goes okay", "you pulled off what others suggested was a bad idea" and you "beat the odds", then definitely start towing with your subaru. it can do it, but it's a very, very bad idea. it's highly unsafe and not nearly up to the task. brakes will be very, very weak and too much weight. have a dedicated vehicle for towing only, it'll be less costly in the long run anyway. if you can't afford to do that, then don't sell the isuzu.

sweet. i'll leave the bumper, like you said it doesn't really set it apart. awesome, photo shop assistance! i'll take you up on that hotdog!

rip off. way too many miles for that high of a price. you can get a nice low mileage 1999 SUS sedan (much rarer, harder to find and higher priced that wagons) subaru wagons are a dime a dozen. SUS run about $5,000 - $6,000 being rare and far more desirable. wagons should be $3,000-$4,000. i'd make sure to get one with new headgaskets if you're paying top dollar like that. you realize the heagasket issues these things have right?

i already have a set, but i like the bigger wheels better, i'll probably go with a set of Forester XT Turbo wheels i have.

the picture won't load for me. i'm guessing it's either a late model EJ engine (like 1999), in which case the spark plugs enter through the valve covers on the side, not from the top. if you can keep your current intake manifold or at least the wiring harness your ECU and TCU will not have any problems.

keep an eye on the weather, let it make the decision for you and make your decision a few hours before you leave and you'll be golden. do not decide now. i know i'm from maryland but the same basic principles apply out here in the mountains as well (eventhough you laugh at them), but i've been in western CO before as well.

woo hoo! i already got the hood with scoop and trunk with wing. so all i need is a front outback bumper and paint. my LSi is brown, i wonder if I could just paint the top or bottom? probably a bad idea, i'm not good at making things look good. i'll get some oppinions on that once it's ready to paint.

i don't think the final drive has anything to do with this - i'm not sure how it works, but the LSD units do not replace any particular part that changes the final drive. don't know how it works, but i'm guessing the ring gear bolts to the LSD unit i'm sure the companies that sell the LSD units know, i'll ask them if i get to that point.

awesome, so it is just two tone paint, it's not any special moulding or plastic on the bottom. thanks!

sounds good, i'm going to convert my LSi to an SUS as much as possible, except for the suspension/ground clearance. now i need to look at one closely and see how that two tone paint job is done.

tires make a HUGE HUGE Difference. more difference than AWD/FWD. i'll take a FWD with snow tires anyday over a car with AWD and regular all seasons. if you encounter a lot of snow, get studded snows.

have you pulled the plug wires to see if everything looks okay? i'd probably read the code, note which cylinder it is and then swap wires. if the code "moves" with the wire, then you know the wire is bad. if it's cylinder 3...then you swap with cylinder 2 and the code is now on cylinder 2, then you know it's that wire that is bad. it's an easy test that's the only reason i suggest it. if the problem didn't change at all when you swapped coils then i agree, it's not likely to be a coil problem. or if you have an extra set of wires, swap them over and see if that does anything. i'm not sure how the ECU sense cylinder misfires, that's a good question. what kind of plugs did you use? did it do this before you changed wires and plugs last year?