GeneralDisorder

Pretty common on the Honda's I'm afraid - their auto's are notorious for being junk. I can list off half a dozen friends that have been burned by those just off the top of my head. Shouldn't be a real hard swap - pull axles, unbolt and rebolt. Honda FWD transaxles aren't terribly difficult. Finding a good used one that will last a decent number of miles might be a challenge though. GD

+1 on the manual choke - I really prefer them on the Weber. The electric's are alright but seem to want adjustment seasonally and are never quite perfect. I set the electric's a little light (so they pull off quick and don't affect mileage as badly) and then allow them to warm up for 60 seconds or so on the fast idle before driving. Not a huge deal but I still don't like them. With the manual I just set it, start it, maybe add a fine adjustment, and I'm off. No fuss. Plus the installation is easier and they fit better - not at all close to the distributor cap on the EA81's and don't interfere with the PS on the EA82's. All around a cleaner, easier option. GD

Here's the problem - that's no kind of assurance. Here's why: 1. If you don't know when the belt was done (mileage) then you don't know when you need to replace it. If you wait too long - it breaks and you have BIG problems. Internal engine damage results. Therein lies the problem though - how long is too long?!? Impossible to say without the documentation thus their "check" of the belt isn't worth the paper it's printed on or the hot air of the person that made the claim. Since you don't know the mileage - you HAVE to replace it or potentially suffer the consequences. Are you prepared to roll the dice? 2. At the high-mileage you are running it's not even about the belt - that's about 33% of the concern. The bigger concern is the condition of the idler bearings and the water pump - for which inspecting the belt is a useless test and tells you nothing. Subaru does not indicate a replacement interval for these components but they DO have a limited life. Most dealerships will reccomend these be replaced with the belt but because of a general distrust of mechanics, etc - many people decline to replace these components. A new belt makes no difference if the cogged idler or water pump seizes - the belt will skip and you will be just as screwed as if the belt had broken. I have seen EJ water pumps last 135k and I have seen the cogged idlers go at a little over 160k. If you are still running the factory parts - you roll the dice every time you get in the car. Trust me - I've bought cars because of these failures. They won't be at fault - never happen. How would you prove it? It's an old car and can break at any time. You only drove it for a couple days - could have been an intermittant problem that only shows up once a week or once a month, etc. Could be a brand new problem..... You can prove nothing and they have no reason to help you - especially if you are declining to have them do any other work - what's in it for them to fix this issue if you are just going to leave anyway? See what I mean? Best to just take the car (on a tow truck if you have to) and take care of this yourself. GD

Model and year? If it's what I think it is - the wiper transmission is probably borked. They run about $65 or so IIRC. Pretty simple to change out. GD

Doesn't matter - they all break between 50k and 60k it seems. It's a poor belt routing and design. Just use whatever's cheap since they all last about the same. I go with the $65 shipped kits on ebay. GD

Ok: 1. Figure about $2000 if it needs them. You live in an expensive area and at that mileage you are about due for the second timing belt change and definitely will want to replace the water pump, all the belt tensioners, and all the front seals. A full head rebuild is in order since it's due for valve adjustment as well and the guides and valves/seats will probably be shot not to mention the valve stem seals. Even if you did all this yourself you are looking at ~$500 for the machine work on the heads, about $250 for the complete timing belt kit with water pump from ebay, and then head/intake/exhaust gaskets from the dealer along with hoses and accessory belts and misc stuff you are still looking at $1000 in parts and machine work even if you do the labor. 2. The duty-c solenoid is another chunk of money - unless you get the parts used from a wrecking yard the transfer clutch is ~$750 and the duty-c solenoid is (off the top of my head) like $75 or so. Add in some misc. gaskets, fluids, etc and you are near another $1000. 3. Stalling issue..... totally unknown at this point. That's a question mark. So.... worst case you are looking at $3000 or more - which is not a good investment on a car with near 200k on it. Best case you get off with replacing just the solenoid (closer to $250 or less), a timing belt/water pump job ($500 or so), and the stalling issue was a bad/low tank of gas. At this point it's all speculation - you won't know for sure till you get the car back and start investigating. That's great that you have help. Hopefully it's enough. Sure - but take what they say with a grain of salt. They don't always know what's best for your wallet and won't even give you some options that you have if you take it elsewhere or do it yourself. I wouldn't - but understand that the ONLY time I've ever had a dealer service department (or any shop for that matter) touch one of my cars has been for warantee work.... and I don't really even feel great about allowing them to do that - I don't like other cooks in my kitchen . GD

How many miles are on the car? It's possible they have been changed but you would need the car availible for you to inspect them. Unfortunately with this engine it is not a matter of *if* - it's just a matter of *when*. If you find they are the older style and there's no evidence they have been changed - you will definitely want to schedule that. It's not a cheap repair (around $600 to $800 with parts and machine work) nor something that is typically accomplished by a lot of DIY mechanics - being good with computer repair, etc does not prepare one for automotive work where many specialized tools and the proper environment and experience are neccesary for a correct and lasting repair job.... and the parts are a lot heavier . What do you have to work with? You are going to need a good selection of tools, etc. For the head gaskets you will have to pull out the engine - engine hoist, general tools and at least a torque wrench. For the duty-c and possible clutch pack you need the car on 4 jack stands that are tall enough that you can easily work under it - exhaust and driveline have to be removed and the rear output section of the transmission dissasembled. I'm sure that picking it up won't be the problem - but if you don't have some tools or access to them and a dry, warm place to work you are looking at quite the obstacle to doing the job right. The money you could spend on the tools, etc might make any cost savings for doing the job yourself dissapear. I think you need to find out *precisely* what the issue is. "stalling" is only a symptom. When is it occuring? Is there any ECU codes? Is the gas tank empty?!?..... etc. I would remove it from the dealer ASAP. They cannot help you for an affordable price. You need affordable help or you need to tow it home and start your learning curve on the deep end . GD

Lost my crystal ball..... GD

*I* could put on a Weber and drive across America the next day - the *Weber* is a wonderfully simple unit and if you use a brand new one or a quality rebuild you are unlikely to have any issues with it directly - however the quality of the *installation* is what creates the "reliability"..... YMMV according to your skill and availibile resources. If all you have is an apartment parking lot and a crescent wrench - might not be a wise move . GD

Yeah - the whole front of the engine is new and the noise was apparently there before (though it wouldn't do it for me of course) - it is unchanged by the replacement of the complete timing set. So we can rule out all that for certain. Thus I would think it's either a valve train noise, or something to do with the clutch components - those are the two theories right now. Since it hasn't blown a rod out the top of the engine I would tend to rule that out as well since it's being daily driven. As loud as it is it would have let go by now. GD

I let him know that I have an '84 FSM he can borrow (since I doubt his ECU is bad) - I just haven't had any time at all to drive out and take a look at it. I have my hands full with broken cars and projects. GD

+1 - could be the rotor screw. All the optical distributors have that damn screw and I too have seen them fall out. GD

Sounds to me like one of the timing belts lost some teeth, etc. GD

Hhhmmmm - inspect the drive gear inside the transmission as well - sometimes they just eat govenors like candy due to a worn drive gear. If that's the case then you want to start looking for a transmission because it's not really worth repairing them - especially with that many miles on it. GD

Yikes! I wouldn't have taken it to a dealership - they are going to bend you over on the TCU code. The duty-c solenoid is inside the transmission and the labor to get to it is not real cheap. Further - there is a chance that the mismatched tires will have caused damage to the transfer clutch pack (which is operated by the duty-c) and may need to be replaced - which at the dealer is big $$$$$$$. Tires, alignment, code 24, possible clutch pack, and now some kind of stalling issue..... my prediction is they are going it hit you HARD - possibly more than the car is worth. It doesn't take much at dealer pricing to scare people into buying a brand new car...... especially with a '97 OBW in rough shape like that being worth $3000 or less. It doesn't take a lot at dealer pricing to exceed that. Have the head gaskets been replaced yet? Those are known failures on your engine and if they are original, etc...... find another car unless you can do the work yourself. In the business of selling cars/equipment, etc where you also have a service department - we always called this type of customer a "sales call" - in other words the estimate on repair was going to be so high that we would just hand it to a salesman and have HIM place the call to the customer and give them the bad news and a run-down of their options - repair vs. replace. I had about a 95% accuracy with calling out which units were "sales calls" before they hit my bay when I was doing industrial machinery. I would see them being unloaded from a truck and I would already know :-\. As my old boss used to say - "Jack up the air filter and drive a new machine under it!" GD

Subaru, Peugot 504/505, and Some ATV's are the only wheels commonly availible that will fit the 4x140. A simple search would have shown you this - it's well documented around here. GD

No - you cannot use the 5 speed clutch with the 4 speed. They are not interchangeable. GD

Wow! That's a monster. A very nice lathe for sure. P&W made very fine machinery. I love the ultra-wide flat belt drive. That will transfer a considerable amount of torque. You could hog some serious material with that beast. Kitty approves eh? GD

Lower octane can be run at high elevations because the cylinder pressure's are lower. It's also more volatile and technically contains more BTU's per gallon than high-octane. You should always run the lowest octane your engine can stand without pinging or affecting timing because it is both cheaper and contains more energy and thus will yeild better mileage. It might not accelerate as well due to the inability of the ECU to advance timing without knock but the cruise MPG should go up. GD

Easy - if the distributor is at the back of the driver's side head (near the brake MC) it's an EA82. If it's at the front of the engine to the left-front of the carb - it's an EA81.

Yeah - that's the clutch fork return spring. It's a brighton specific deal I think since the regular Legacy's that year would have had the hill holder valve instead. GD

Ok - you don't seem to understand. 1. You already have a CAI - All Subaru's do. 2. You will not gain any MPG or HP with your cone filter. 3. You WILL probably cause resonance issues, make more noise, and gain the ability to hydro-lock your engine. The K&N filter you bought is entirely useless - it's a gimmick and you will only devalue the car and possibly cause great harm by installing it. Just return it and be happy that Subaru's are so well designed. If you want more power you need to install a set of performance cams. GD

Cool! The more you know...... Now I'm wondering which style the red-tops are? They seem to be pretty much the most reliable of the 90 to 94 injectors..... They have 4 holes in the business end (which is metal)..... so they seem more like a disc injector - maybe with an improved spray pattern? It would seem that the best approach is to just swap out the grey-top injectors for the red-top's and associated rails since those are drastically cheaper injectors and were used on auto and manual. GD

I find it neccessary personally - I don't like the feel of the engine slamming back and forth when I transition on and off the gas pedal. On my lifted wagon (EA81 with SPFI) I just used a 1.25" wide by 5" long section of 1/4" plate to extend the pitching stopper mount UP from the engine so the forward/backward force is compressing the pitch rod directly along it's shaft. This way I use the stock pitch rod and it is not weakened by being placed at greater than 90* to the forces being applied. I also did away with the rubber mounts in favor of a hard mounting. GD

Too small to do much - the CFM of that turbo is pretty low. It will spool very quickly and give a boost to low-end torque, etc but it will likely run out of air-flow at higher RPM. A better choice would be a VF11 from a first-gen Legacy turbo or even a TD04 from a WRX. GD