idosubaru

looks like one of those optical illusions, you're supposed to cross your eyes and everything looks straight again. i figured it impossible for you to not know about tacoma narrows. as an aerospace engineer we touched on that bridge in our vibrations analysis. based on all that yield stress technical discussion assuming the threads were'nt all out of whack or you chased them with a die to straighten them up, maybe even a "stretch to yield" bolt would be reusable if you torqued it to higher than it was previously torqued to, again taking it into the plastic region and re-stretching it somewhat. people on the old generation forum over torque head bolts on the turbo motors to keep the headgaskets happy, can't imagine an extra few pounds would hurt. might be better than reusing the bolts straight up. of course unless you did it, there's no way to easily verify exactly how much it was torqued "last time" but you'd assume it was factory spec since you'd hope to do head gaskets one time only!

copy that, i think i was referring to earlier 2.2 specific info.

agreed, i did the same thing and it's quite simple. but it's something most can't do and when you're showing up to work dripping in sweat those big repair bills don't seem quite as bad. second/third quotes are a good thing. price around.

you'll want the XT6 to be AWD, have you checked that yet? if it's a manual or rear ratio of 3.9 it's AWD. if it's air suspension it's AWD. rear - backing plate, hub, rotor. unbolt and take the entire rear control arm with caliper and rotor and you're golden. i think you'll want the brake line too if yours is rear drums. (but being a turbo i think it should have rear discs already) on the fronts i've heard someone say they got EA82 control arms to work though probably best to snag the XT6 ones while you're there. to get technical - lower suspension arm, ball joint, tie rod ends, front calipers, struts, rotors, backing plate, knuckles and axles. basically take everything up front you can get. keep it as an assembly for easy removal and install. snag the front air struts from the XT6. the rear struts in your wagon will work fine. i've always wondered if the height sensors between EA82 and XT6 air struts (rears since they are swappable) are different in anyway? that being said, you might be better off grabbing the rear XT6 air struts just in case they are. i've gotten a good deal of info from searching the boards, so use that and you'll find some good pictures, write ups and info on it.

let's define "tune up" what are you referring to when you say tune up? cause i don't even know what i mean! tune ups aren't like they used to be. used to require adjusting the carb, grease some zerk fittings, adjusting the timing and other things that i'm not old enough to know about...etc. but kind of like your old lawn mower that never really runs right....well not really. modern cars don't require the tweaking older cars did. but there's money to be made by advertising "tune up". sounds like something you should do but it's really quite vague and allows for lot$$$ of padding in the cost. if you've done the plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter and such then you've done a good job at having a basic tune up. have the PCV valve replaced and consider the wires though i don't think those are cause for alarm. be sure to replace those with Subaru OEM wires and check the air filter. and consider having the transmission fluid replaced. has the trans fluid ever been replaced? check the belts, a stiff pulley (a/c or otherwise) will usually start to cause the belt to slowly disintegrate and you'll see fine black dust on the a/c, alternator or some other item close to the belt. couple bottles of fuel injector cleaner might not be a bad idea. try replacing the gas cap or having it tested (some emissions inspection stations can test your gas cap). are you positive it's vehicle related and not related to a job change, gas changes, elevation, less flat road driving, speed related, odometer discrepancy, lead foot related....lots of variables. subaru's should hold their performance levels to 100,000 easily.

+1 lots of words for little function. saying "plastic range" by default means you went through the elastic range, through the point of yield and into the plastic range....lots of words to say one thing. but no matter, the last thing i want to do is revisit materials classes, they were terrible. actually what your dad mentioned is the most profitable information to be gained in materials engineering. slap the appropriate equations in place for those terms he mentioned and consider yourself well versed in materials. it's all downhill, boring and useless from there! tell your dad i'm not listening to anyone who studied before Tacoma Narrows (that's a joke, ha ha). if you don't know what that is, look it up on the internet and check out the video, it's really cool. it's certainly the highlight of any civil engineering program. not sure if the vid's are copyrighted or available or not, but it's cool. reuse the headbolts. subaru does. not often that head gaskets fail pre-200,000 miles and if they get a head gasket replacement they don't typically re-fail (you turbo guys aren't allowed to respond!!!)

sounds about right to me. they're usually straight forward and toque isn't that critical so long as they are seated flush and can't come loose. the electrical connections, corrossion, dirt are important sounds like you addressed those just fine.

if the timing belt has never been done now is the time. highly unlikely that would affect mileage, i've never seen timing belts do that. water pump should be replaced and timing pulleys checked (they run out of grease basically). any noisey or free wheelin' ones should be replaced. onto the gas mileage - has it ever had a tune up? get new NGK (stock OEM) spark plugs, new OEM Subaru spark plug wires, air filter, fuel filter and PCV valve. do it all at the same time, easier to keep track of what's been done and you'll know all major items are addressed. also check tire pressure and have the transmission fluid replaced (if it's an automatic). manual trans too can be replaced, but less likely to affect driveability in my oppinion assuming everyting is working properly.

it would be odd for a condensor this new to randomly start leaking unless it was punctured. any recent work done to the car, any recent mishaps to cause this on the front end? a loose belt can cause the a/c to not work well, but you're likely to hear whinig or screetching noises with that. there are fittings at the condenser, with each fitting have an oring to seal it. those orings can leak...though shouldn't on this new of a vehicle. if the oring is to blame, it's a 3 dollar part and the dealer doesn't stand to make much money so replacing the entire condensor is much more profitable. me - i'd install a good used condenser as they don't fail too often (unless someone punctures it). i just priced a new one on-line at $167.00 just for the part. add more for dealer mark-up, installation, etc....i'd say at least $500. the dealer will install a new condenser, say you have to get a new drier too (which really isn't a terrible idea depending how bad the leak is) charge you for vaccuuming the system and charging it with freon. $500 - $1000 depending how far behind they are on their boat payments.

not sure either M. at first on paper it showed California spec belts/vehicles as 105,000 mile interval belts and others as shorter. it is a matter of debate whether back then the belts were really any different. for now it doesn't really matter, any new belt you buy from Subaru will be the 105,000 mile spec. belt even if it originally was less.

at that mileage unless you can verify exactly when they were done you'd want to have it done very soon. whether or not they were done isn't the issue so much as when were they done.

next up is an LSD trade for megasquirt !!!!! ha ha. that wagon is awesome.

not to sound like gloom and doom, but if you're speaking about major rust issues on the rear tubular cross member, whatever that thing is called i suggested quit driving that car as soon as possible. i have an RX that suffered the same fate, large crack/bending due to rust in the rear subframe. the rear wheels caved in and were riding on the body. i have pictures of the car in the for sale forum, look up "RX Turbo" if you want to see scarry pictures of the wheels. the drivers side assembly was not far from becomign completely detached.

you won't notice any difference in gas mileage. all the weight and internal parts associated with the transmission are still there and moving. i've done it on auto's and manuals even to the point of removing the rear driveshaft connected to the trans. not even a "little" difference in my experience. there's a button you'll notice with a drop down menu it says "search" on it. if you want more information this has been asked many times so there's a good amount of discussion about it. as a general question this applies to both newer and older generation but your car is an impreza, this would be considered a "new" generation and impreza specific stuff is in that forum.

2 ft, that's it? just kidding, but i use longer. the 2 footers still require some stank. get it horizontal and jump on it usually will break it free. at least taking to the garage will save your tools. axle nuts have ended the lives of many tools.

i like the comment about coming from a 240, no doubt! the 2.2 will feel like a rocket. if he's looking for speed then the 2.2 and 2.5 are both horrible options. anyone wanting inexpensive power takes a wrong turn buying an NA motor. 165 NA hp isn't much on a large, AWD, heavy vehicle. it's not much on a light vehicle. turbo is the way to go. i'd suggest starting to look at and drive a couple late model 2.2's and go from there. get the features/body style/options you want, late model and low miles. that's my suggestion if you like troublefree. type in "headgasket" if you'd like to see the track record of the 2.5's that would be in your price range.

i don't know about Zep, but the liquid wrench and PB blaster seem about equivalent for the uses i've put them too. both much better than WD40. i have two stuck roll pins on rear axles, quite annoying, i need those axles!

not throwing money away at all. pulling an engine requires time, equipment and space. most people would like to avoid doing that more than once. i just installed an engine in my XT and would hate to have to pull it again for something i could have prevented. i replaced everything, TO bearing, TO bearing clips, pilot bearing, pressure plate and disc. and had the flywheel resurfaced. and the rear main seal. not really that much stuff, clutch kit basically has everything you need clutch related except the TO Bearing clips (different set up if yours is FWD, mine is AWD) and rear main seal. flywheel machined for $30-$60 depending on local rates. if you don't want to replace everything you can check the TO bearing and pilot bearing for play/noise when you remove them. they are usually not too nice on the ones i've pulled. you could just buy new bearings for them too, which would be cheaper if you can install them yourself or the machine shop has good prices.

axle nuts can be very tight. i bought 3/4" drive set just because of axle nuts. i've broke 3 1/2" sockets and breaker bars on axle nuts.

brad, did you swap control arms or get the pins out? if you got the pins out, how?

*** EDIT *** found using the search mods delete?

i actually had a converter "shell" on mine so i guess i would have passed in VA? the main converter is designed to work at a high temperature and so is inefficient at start up (if the exhaust is cold). the pre-converter at the y-pipe is designed to work when cold.

wonder if states have different regulations? i've heard this before and tried to get my XT6 through without a cat, it didn't pass.

i'm not that familiar with 86 models, is that an EA81 or EA82? and by flywheel, you're saying it's leaking where the motor and trans mate together? the oil pump is on the other side...front of the motor on an EA82 so i dont' think a leak at the flywheel would be oil pump related. i would guess rear main seal but i'll wait 'til i find out if this is EA82 or EA81 before saying anything else.

i put a couple gallons in my XT that had been sitting awhile and it started...eventually (lots of other issues). sounds like that ought to get you going. i did what someone else mentioned - pulled the hose at the engine and pumped some into a bucket to get some of the old stuff out.