MorganM

I never go above half under 'extreme' conditions and neither should anyone else. It's overheating Are your fans working properly?

My hunch is that all symtoms you describe are interelated. 3/4 up the guage is overheating; the more you do it the worse things will get. How much coolant are you using over how long? Any oil in your coolant? It will float to the top of your radiator and into the over flow tank. Inspect the radiator from inside the engine bay near the fan(s). Are all fins in tact and minimal discoloration (green to rust colors)? Check these in addition to checks mentioned above.

I can't do EJ22 swap and solid axles in one winter. A reliable, more powerfull, engine is more imortant to me at this point.

Correct; EJ22 is my main objective for next season. Pretty sure it fits without mod'n the unibody. Subarino didnt mention anything about modifying the unibody to make room for an EJ22. I'm just wondring if the work required to do a hatch would justify a shorter wheel base and lighter rig vs EJ22 swap into my wagon and fix whats ailing it.

Did everyone catch that? 235/75 (same as mine, 28.9"x8.5") R 15..... NO LIFT! Rage it dude! Go with a 4" lift for sure. Cost will be about the same as a 3" lift. 6" isnt out of the question; just harder finding the nuts and bolts.

I'm having trouble making up my mind. Would appriciate comments from anyone who's owned both a hatch back and a late model GL wagon. On the one hand I have the Poopenvagen (1988 GL) setup for trail riding. There is 5 years of work and fun into it. The unibody has about two or three seasons of realistic offroad usage left in it. Right now registration is due, front breaks are beyond due, both ball joints are way beyond due, and atleast one wheeel bearing has to be done. Now on the other hand I can get a cheap hatch back; but I have to buy it soon or it will be gone. I'd part out my wagon, swap over what I could, and sell what doesnt swap over. The hatch will need atleast a 4" lift (preferably 6") since my 3" BYB for an EA82 lift wont fully swap over to it. I'm sure some other minor maintanace issues will need addressed on it; which is fine by me. Reguardless of which I offroad next season; I'm doing an EJ22 swap this winter. I want the power and reliability of the EJ22 and I have the means of accomplishing it; with some help from friends What say ye? ps: I put this in Offroad section becuase this will be strictly an ORV toy; not a daily driver, but it wont be a trailer queen so it has to get me to and from the trails.

I just put cardboard down on the floor and let it squirt on that; then disposed of the cardboard pieces. If you bleed with the engine off they squirt about a foot out from the calipers. If you do it with the engine on (read: vacume break booster!) it shoots about 3-4 feet from the calipers.

PB blaster + BFH + 1" chizel usuall gets them off. As Calebz noted; the real tough buggers require a torch and BFH. Be carefull not to smoke the rear diff or your bearings! Use greast on all splines once you get them off. This should prevent the problem in the future.

The three hash marks on your flywheel are for aligning (timing) the camshaft in relation to the crankshaft. The degrees marked on the flywheel are for aligning (timing) the distributor to the camshaft + crankshaft + piston = ignition timing. Thats why ignition timing is so hard to get right What was the situation prior to this problem with the backfireing and poor running? Was the dist. pulled, reinstalled, and now this issue?

Be sure it's not the metric ones and that they are truely 15".

Rear axles have two DOJ's; no CVs in the rear. No worries about any spindles

It's not a one way system. ANY leak (O ring or whatever) is going to push out fluid when you hit the pedal and suck in air when you let off. Eventually, no matter how small the leak, you will have a puddle on the ground. Since you arent actually working on it yourself then you are at the mercy of whoever is working on it; I really doubt he's gonna stand there and debate with you what you 'read on the internet' (mechanics LOVE that!) vs what he thinks needs to be done. If you do not think this service station is giving you comprehensive service it's time to take it elsewhere or take matters into your own hands and do the suggested things mentoned in this thread. Good luck and use the e-brake if you take it to another shop!

define a 'rebuild DVD'

Good plan. Get your rig trail ready, put some miles on it offroad doing some easy trails, and go from there. Learn how wide your vehicle is, how long it is, what you can and can't do. You wont be bending anything irreplacable!

Ya we should plan something before winter hits!

Bad news Prolly dont need a whole new engine. Just a reseal of the one you have could get you on the road again. Find out what's actually leaking! As northwet poitned out (and I've had happen) intake manifold gaskets will poor water into the engine. Upto you.

People don't give credit to how durable or capable these vehicles are. It's understandable; they are used to crappy American econo boxes that fall apart if you close the door to hard or hit a pot hole instead of swerving around it. Like the Aries, Shadow, or Cavalier. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38033&page=2 Look at the pictures of my rust holes in this thing. Then look at how hard I offroad it. The unibody is holding fine. It still goes straight down the freeway at 80mph. Will it last forever? No; and neither will a Jeep XJ unibody cherokee! Yet people wheel the piss out of them. There are lots of beefed up XJ's here in MN. There are lots of beefed up Subarus around the world. She'll hold!

Ensure you are bleeding brakes in crossdirectional patern; rear right, front left, rear left, front right. Also ensure that the new master clyinder was 'bench bleed'. Once the MC is bench bleed then you bleed the rest of the lines. I use speed bleeders; the true 'one man bleed kit'. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=16029&highlight=speed+bleeder Pump the pedal and hold it tight; with the engine off. If it slowly sinks to the floor then you have a leak somewhere. If it holds tight but isnt giving proper braking power then you simply have air in the lines. Leaks are easy to find; look for the wet spots!

AH! Holding your subaru hostage for a '70 cutty?! Bust a move!

Check on the MN-Subaru forums. There will be ppl there forsure. I think I'll be busy helping my brother put on a front hub/wheelbearing assembly on his minivan.

Here are the pics Archemitis and I took on April 5th at the Minnesota 4WD Associations annual event. It was a great time had by all and I got to listen to an awsome speech by Dell Albright (one of our only professional off road spokesman!) I'm not going to post the video clips; if you want to see those then you need to buy a Subarus on Mars CD; simply PM Archemitis if you want one. http://www.mnchopshop.org/images/offroad/apr05_gilbert/ Enjoy. ps: camping up near the boundry waters in April is COLD!!!!!! I thought I was gonna die!

If it is all stock then it mgiht be a 1.8 turbo. Unless he put in the 2.2 or 2.0 turbo?

Sorry to hear about that man. It happens though! A friend of mine just got a built C4 tranny upto his 351w in a 69 mustang mach1. First time around the block the tranny eats itself due to an improper install of the torque converter and flex plate Good luck!

For rims you can also run Peugeot rims from a 504 and 505 I belive. They have the same 4x140mm bolt pattern. Can be had in 14" or 15" aluminum alloy or steel. Be sure not to get the metric sized ones!

Why? It says 50psi on the tires. I'd expect some good gas milage at 50psi and a stiffer ride but I wouldnt think it's a bad thing.