shinyhappyzealot

well, at 275K miles, the shifter bushings are shot, but i have those and will replace them myself. second gear synchro was grinding but it might be due to the slop, otherwise, i'll flush the transmission. gear oil looked brand new off the dipstick read. the car bucks and has no power in 2 and 3rd gear below 3500rpm under light/moderate load. evens out above 4000rpm or WOT. plug wires and plugs are new. throttle body idle adjustment was running too high. i turned that down. also filled up with 93 octane. prior owner was running something lower. both helped some. i'll be replacing the air filter shortly. i figure the PCR valve needs cleaning. probably the MAF, too. i don't know what else to check. i'm considering seafoam in the oil and gas tank if not the intake port to flush the engine, but only if necessary because it could remove deposits and compound my problem. beyond that, i'm out of diagnostic tools, i have minimal time since i'm in graduate school and i'm about out of my knowledge range. the engine isn't running well now. finally, there's a coolant leak i can't find, yet. hoses from above look good and coolant appears to be coming from center of car at the underside. that's either a return hose from the radiator or off the heads i think. possibly the water pump. car is maintaining temp, though, but it's dumping coolant. any more direction would be helpful. my chilton's is worthless. i wish i had SOA shop manuals. I still have them from owning my 85 RX. i figure a local mechanic would be inexpense compared to the dealer, although i have $300 in subaru bucks. maybe i can entice a local board member with that. i'd rather pay a fellow subaru owner to help me out than a mechanic. that does it, SEEKING A LOCAL SUBARU MECHANICAL. help me get my SS running. please! cash or subaru cash in exchange. david

I just purchased a '93 Legacy SS and it has some things that probably need a mechanic to fix. Does anyone have a recommendation in the Atlanta metro area? Thanks

this is the closest i find: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=72920&highlight=shifter anyone know of the possibility to install without cutting and welding? just don't have access to those things.

has anyone retrofitted the shift linkage assembly with one from a newer generation before? i'm in the process of considering it and am stuck as to whether the longer arm with the large diameter rubber bushings will mate up to the loyale transmission. it appears from the FSM that the shift linkage will bolt up to the gear selector as long as you get the complete coupling. sorry my terminology is vague. i don't have my FSM in front of me since i'm at work. i really would love to get rid of the slop in my shifter and use my kart boy lever from my dearly departed FXT. throwing this out if anyone has done it before and could offer tips. i didn't have much luck when i ran a search. thanks

Does anyone have an exhaust shop they recommend for a 2.5" muffler for an '85 RX turbo? My muffler literally fell off and I might just consider getting something that breathes better rather than the $79 bosal replacement available on partstrain.com. Thanks!

when i called a bit ago, they leave the flange unfinished so that the customer can specify. they'll do anything you want. they only had a few left.

I researched the thread over at the the SVX forums after failing the California smog test on my new 1992 SVX LS-L. http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23796&highlight=xylene I went from a hydrocarbon reading (HC) at idle of 140 (130 max) to 50. Also noticed a considerable increase in acceleration response throughout the powerband read by my trusty butt dyno. I used a full gallon of xylene that cost $23.00 from the local paint store, which is supposedly less harsh compared to toluene. I buffered it with a few jiggers of ATF fluid and Mystery Oil. Anyways, I won't be using it for long term, regular use, but if you get into a situation with a failed smog, consider it. Enough Subaru board members have had success with it. Let me just say, you'll feel some anxiety pouring it into your tank, though. I mixed it in a gas container and it still gave me the heeby geebies. One other thing, I swapped out the clean air filter for my Green panel filter and I drove the car like I stole it just before the test after burning off half of an 18-gallon tank to flush the engine with the new tank. Standard disclaimer - I'm an enthusiast like the rest of the group not a petroleum chemist. My experiences as with others may be purely ancedotal. I post pricincipally to pass information on to the community in need. If you feel passionately either way, certainly keep the the conversation constructive. I hate pissing people off and I'm not here to step on board member toes. A search for "xylene" turned up zero direct hits. Cheers!

i checked the flexible fuel lines behind the driver side front stut that enter and leave the fuel filter canister and found them leaking fuel. i checked the tubing beneath the collars and then tightened everything down again. all lines remained dry 10 minutes into the car running. thanks for the help and hopefully this will serve someone in the future. cheers!

is it pick and pull or can they pull and ship? if it's pick and pull, anyone willing to get it for a reasonable labor fee?

Haven't been in the car for a good two weeks and I start it up and pull out just now. Everything seems normal except for the trail of drops on the driveway from the car backing out and 3 point turning. Check to see significant, steady droplets streaming off the skid plate by the oil pan. Clear and vaporous. Certainly smells like fuel. Put the car back in the garage and drove another one back to work. Any suggestions? Leak in a fuel line or hose at the fuel pump maybe? Any suggestions of where to look in the engine bay would be very helpful. I'm still learning about the car and don't fully know my way around the engine compartment yet. I can tell a master cylinder from the intake from the distributor, but small mysterious metal or black boxes tend to escape me. Thanks again. I assume it's a horribly bad idea to drive with leaking fuel, right? Or can I get it to my mechanic if I can't fix it?

thanks for the clarification. i'll do a search for the early/late EA82 differences.

Does anyone know whether the ECU detects the MAF sensor type? I have the older flapper door sensor and considered swapping it for a newer hot-wire sensor because of the mounting face (circular v. square). Since they are different, would the sensor then be ECU specific, or could I run either with my original ECU? Thanks