Gnuman

Actually, that looks like a Subaru first attempt at a minivan. . .

EG33, OK now you have my interest. . .would that be a 3.3L H6? would that fit in my car, seeing as mine already holds an EJ22? Any Specs on this engine?

No they did not go to adjustable valves until the 2.5L engine (95 or so?), all the ej22 engines are hydraulic lifter types. Are you running particularly thick oil in the Sube? On my first oil change, I put 20w50 oil in the case, and now that it is getting to be time to change it I'm getting clatter as well. I may throw a can of engine cleaner in to thin the old stuff a bit before changing the oil this time, and I'll be putting a thinner oil in the case this time. The rest of my fleet likes thick oil, but the Subarus (as I have found) like thinner oil in them. I'll be posting again after the oil change if this fixes things. Mine is the Normaly Aspirated 2.2L and I have to say I do not miss the Turbo at all, but as you are at a higher elevation (I'm at sea level), it has been said that the Turbos tend to run better. . .

Head Gasket? At least that is what it sounds like to me. . . Sure it was antifreeze? perhaps some water got in there from the rain? How does your air filter look? have you pulled the rest of the plugs yet? Hey, I'm only in Antioch (well Oakley, but still just at the other end of 160), Perhaps I could wander out that way and lend a hand?

I know the 2.5L H4s had head gasket problems, and I was wondering if there were any known issues with the 3.0 H6 (also what is the engine number for this beast?) Thanks in advance!!

Oh, and I broke 7000ft and the car had no problems up there with lack of air. Still had plenty of power. . . Oh, I did have to up the minimum engine pulling RPM from 1500 to 2000 (If the engine went below 2K, I downshifted) but that had more to do with being on steep roads than lack of air, I think. with the way this car handled mountain roads, and the comfort it gave me driving it, I fell even more in love with this car than I was before. I had not thought that possable While I was up there, I had to find a patch of snow to drive through. I have all season tires on the car, and ti does the tires good to have snow touch them once and a while, just so that they feel right about being all weather. . .

OK, finally took a road trip to the mountains yesterday, and can up with a cule of questions: I can tell the cruise is working, but is is supposed to hold the speed setting when you have to downshift? or am I supposed to have to reset the speed every time I shift? What about just hitting the clutch? I sometimes do that to disengage the cruise without shifting, or hitting the brakes. . . What I'm asking (as I do not have the owner's manual) is what is the proper way for the cruise to act in this regard? Secondly, One of the two previous owners has pulled out the ashtray, and discarded it. I find this to be of no inconvienience to me as I do not smpke in the first place, but I do notice that this leaves an all but perfect place to put a set of three mini-guages. There is a lamp that used to light up the ashtray, that I can use to illuminate the guages, so that is taken care of, and mounting shpould be all but bone simple. My question is other than oil pressure, what are the best guages to have in the other two places? I was thinking of ammeter or voltage (which is more useful) and a vaccume guage. What would any of you put there? Is there a setup that is more effective than those three? I hate having to rely on idiot lights, as they only come on after something breaks, to tell you what happened. Gusages can tell you of impending problems in time to fix them.

Heh, I have almost the same car ('92 Legacy Wagon L 5sp AWD) that also loves the highway. Funny thing is I named the car Emily (Long story, but I knew the original owner as well as the one owner in between me and him). Got the car as a "derilict" as the clutch was going out as well as "something expensive under the car" which made it too expensive for the in-between owner to fix as she does not do her own work. I had not a lot of particluar interest in this car until I started working on it, and then fell in love with the whole line. The EJ22T engine is wonderful to work on. Orders of magnitude easier than anything else I have laid a wrench to, and as has already been said, all but bullet-proof. Add to that the fact that it is easier to drive than any other manual trans I have ever owned (with 140K on the odo, it drives better than a lot of new cars) and is faster to boot. . .

I checked on the prices of both ( my R12 is "a bit low") and the cost to recharge the R12 is 100, while the changeover is more likely to go into the 300 to 400 range. . . I'll have to look into the cost of the struts (my wallet is mighty thin at this point) because I need other things first. Thanks again for all the info! It looks like I can expect this car triple her current odo reading. . .

OK, so a no-go on the bolt. I had not tested the car at any kind of altitude, so I was unaware of altitude related problems. Wouldn't there be a jetting fix or a computer programming fix for that to allow more O2 into the mix? I know that is what they did for carburated cars way back when. . . Seems like a waste not to have that available for FI cars. . . For me a turbo would just be asking for trouble, though, as the normally aspirated engine is a whole lot of fun (as is watching Hondas shrinking in the rear view mirror. . . ) OK, boots from the dealer it will have to be. . . that will make it take a bit longer as they want 2x as much for them as aftermarket. I had planned on this for the steering rack anyway however, as the one aftermarket one I saw looked like a bit of junk. . . Oh, the struts seem to "bounce" a lot (the car seems a bit like a boat going down the freeway (it tips in cornering, but the handling still seems sure)). with 140K on the odo, is it reasonable to suspect that they are worn out? If so, what would you recomend as replacement struts, seeing that I am not always on paved roads (hardpack, some mud, the car hasn't seen much worse than that)? I want to retain the ground clearance if I can (these are not the adjustable shocks, but standard ones), but I'd like a bit more "sure footednes" if I can get it. . .

My '92 has a 15.9 gal tank, as does yours. Yes, the guage shows empty at 250 miles, but the warning light will not come on for quite a few miles after that. and then the most I have gotten to go in the tank was 14 gals. You get plenty of warning before you run out of gas in those cars. In populated areas, there is really no excuse for running the tank dry under anything near normal circumstances. . . I'm jealous. I only get between 21 and 26 MPG on mine, but then again, I drive it a bit hard. . .

As long as I'm replacing the boots, does anyone know if it is OK to replace the drift pins that hold the shafts in place bt the tranny with bolts and anti vibration nuts? I would get them to just fit, and in Grade 8, but still do any of you think that there would be any interferance with the surrounding components? Also, is there a puller that fits over the control arm so I can press out the new ball joints, instead of ripping up the boots with a pickle fork, or should I just disconnect them from the top pinch bolt instead? The A/C does not seem to be the normal "the compressor runs until tha car is cool, then cuts out for a bit then returns" type of operation. The car gets very warm inside before I feel any cool air from the vents when it stops. Also, what is the feasability of converting this system over to R 134A, instead of the R12 that is in it now? How much would need to be changed in that case, and has anyone else done it? So far on this car, I have changed the clutch, changed the plugs (Bosch Platinum +2) replaced the ball joints, and changed the oil and filter as well as the tranny oil. Oh, and I took a bar and pulled the hook from the rear hatch back to where it would engage the latch properly again. The hardest part by far was the clutch, as the only workplace I had was on a slight hill, and I had no one to help me with shoving the tranny about to line it up with the engine. . . Everything else on the car was bone simple to do. I suspect that is why these cars last so long, and perform so well. . . not a lot to go wrong with them, and the maint is really easy, so people will actually do it. . .

Thanks for that. OK, In that Subes like thin oil, will het still be happy with the 20W50, or should I get special oil for this car seperate from the rest of the "fleet"? I have also been hearing that the 2.5 engines are having trouble. . . by this do you mean that the new Subes have engine problems (having a 2.5 engine) compared to my 92? This car has been so great that I would not hesitate to buy annother (newer) one, unless the engine has gone downhill significantly with the upping of the displacement. . . Also, other than sporty looks, what advantages does the Outback have over the same model year Legacy Wagon? When driving this car, I keep asking myself "why would anyone have any need for a turbo in this car" then the answer comes: "it is the difference between insanely fast and stupid fast"

I'm truely loving my Subaru, and want it to last as long as it possably can. I got it with a bad clutch (that was why I got it, and a bent rear hatch, along with bad ball joints (can you say derilect?)) This car was built in 01/92, and has an EJ22 engine (non-turbo) it is an AWD Legacy L Wagon with a 5 spd. and I have several questions: I have heard of several EJ22 series engines, and I was wondering which one I have (says Multi Port Injection on it), for future reference in this forum. Subaru says that the tranny needs 70W gear oil, but the haynes manual says 85W which one does the tranny like better? I have heard here that Subarus like thin oil, is there a problem with running 20W50 oil in this car, as it is what I need for everything else I drive? The cruise seems slow to accel, but real quick to decel. Could this be a vacume problem? The car is hard to shift into first and second when the engine is cold, could this be from the afore mentioned gear oil weight (and is it worth changing it to the thinner oil)? The A/C sometimes looses coldness for a bit then comes back after a bit, I suspect it needs to be charged? the glove box is hard to close (like the rear hatch used to be), and I suspect that the latch/hook is not reaching properly. Is this easily adjusted? or do I have to resort to "ingenuity" What other tidbits of info/lore can I get about this wonderful car? (are there any problems that I need to know about)? I got the car with a disclaimer that I was getting it because it was too expensive for the previous owner to fix. I took one look under the hood and fell in love with it. I looked underneath, and fell in love all over again. to say that the major components as well as those most likely to need to be services were in easy reach would be an understatement. Then I drove it, and it was all over for me and any other car on the market. . . I got it with 130K on the clock, and put 10K on myself. I have not been particularly gentle with this car (130 horses under the hood, and try as I might I cannot get it to break traction on pavement. It simply goes like a cat with his tail on fire) I have gotten the new clutch to slip (engine putting out lots of power, tach goes up, spedo does not catch up, clutch is all the way out, smell of burning clutch after. . .) but I was pretty pissed at the time, and it only happened that once (this after I replaced the clutch), so I was wondering if the clutch I got was simply really cheap, and can be expected to go out quicker than a good one (and which is the best one), or was that a fluke? This car still does not use one drop of oil, so I'm happy, but this has caused a problem underneath, as all te rubber under the car has dried out (all 8 CV boots and both on the steering rack). Is there a good place to get replacements for these (other than the dealer)?

If you work on your own Subaru, you will find a lot to love about that car. My BIL said that when he pulled the front wheels on his Brat, he had all kinds of problems, but I had none at all on my 92 Legacy Wagon (AWD). I went out and bought a Haynes manual for it ( I do this for every vehicle I plan on working on regularly) and the manual you need is number 89100 which covers all 1990 to 1998 Subaru Legacy models. OK, I lied a bit. Finding a puller to push out the ball joints from the lower control arm was a pain, and I ended up using a picke fork to seperate that connection (It came off real easy that way). this was not a real problem for me, as I was replacing the ball joints at the same time as the clutch (which was the reason I was pulling the drive axels in the first place) so the damage to the ball joint boot was irrevelant. My preference is to use a puller to avoid such damage. The ones I was able to find would not fit. . .

Cool! That means that if the engine ever dies on my baby, I can drop something in that will make it even more insanely quick. . .

The motor itself works, but will not start from the parked position. I have to get out of the car with the wiper set to run and manually push it up the first few inches of travel. I suspect that this is from "bad/broken gears" in the assy. Now for my questions: 1) what is the liklyhood my diagnosis being correct? 2) if it is correct, what are the chances of getting new gears for the current unit, or repositioning the gears so it will work correctly? 3) is there some chance of getting a rebuilt/refurbished unit instead of paying the $200 that Subaru wants for a new unit? The rainy season is starting and I'd like to be able to see out the back window soon. . .

I've only got 140K on the clock on this car, so this is not going to happen anytime soon (the current engine is barely broken in fer goshs sake! if/when I have to swap out the engine, I'd like to look into a 3.0 H6 if it will fit in the car (engine mounts and such). If not a newer H4 will work great as the car has plenty power as it is (I hit the gas, and the car goes right now). Just looking for something to put on the future projects list.

Hate to break this to you Rooinator, but you will never be a "civilian" again. The closest you will come is being a Veteran, as I am. Moreover, you will always be a Marine (guessing from your avitar). This is a good thing, BTW, as it is folks like you and I that have served to protect those that could not better protect themselves that make the civilisation we live in a possability. I thank you for your service to our country. If you are interested, I was in the Army in the early 80's.

So far (including my vote), you have a unanimous YES! I just simply love mine, and I got it as a (semi) derilict as well (my step daughter did not want to pay to replace the clutch and ball joints). I have worked on the car several times since then, and each time I have done so, I have fallen even more in love with the car. Then there is driving it. I have 140K miles on it and the car responds like a sports car. This from a wagon no less! This car was designed to be very easy to work on, and if you can do your own work at all, grab this car without hesitation. Oh, and I'm new to this forum, so "Hi" to everyone out there. My Subaru: 1992 Legacy L wagon AWD, 5 spd, blue, 140,000miles and going very strong!!