GeneralDisorder

I agree - the shop he took it to is clearly out to make him a "return customer" by only addressing what is wrong right now and not considering the whole situation. On the other hand - he did ask them to fix the leak and sometimes if you don't want to hear bad news you should just keep your head stuck in the sand..... what if they had determined it was the rear main or oil seperator plate?!? If you don't want a nice fat bill for something being repaired that you consider "minor" then you should probably just ignore it till it's not minor anymore - then it will be a "major price" for a "major repair" GD

Nice tip on the lateral link bolt. I will remember that. Just might be your issue eh Gary? You monkey-fisted it didn't you? GD

Sealing up the leaks with some seal-swelling additives isn't going to stop an exhaust valve from being burned in a few thousand miles because the valve adjustment was neglected - I just did a head rebuild on an EJ25D because of a burnt exhaust valve at 169k - that's only 30k away for him.... Valve adjustment = removing valve covers. At that point I would just install new valve cover gaskets and grommets . GD

I don't use a torque wrench on them either. The axle nut doesn't set the bearing preload so I don't see any reason to torque them. Is this using the 4WD rear knuckle assembly with just the outer axle joint installed into it or is it using a 2WD Legacy rear setup (which I've never even looked at before ). GD

Bad strut hammering them by bouncing a lot?!? Hard cornering? I just did one on a '97 SUS not long ago - first one on that car at 212k. He drives pretty hard and corners it pretty tight on a regular basis and has since he bought it at 80k. We put a used one on from the yard but that was only about two months ago.... GD

I emailed your dad a reply to his question on the issue so check with him - but also I will note for further discussion by board members here that being an '81 your's will have the external voltage regulator so it could be that and not the alt itself. GD

Most of us that are wheeling Subaru's are running the older body style (EA81's, etc) and they weight about 2000 to 2500 lbs depending on the setup. Obviously the focus is on small and lightweight anyway so it sounds like what you are working on would be similar to what most of us would like to have.... GD

I'm sure they are bucket/shim or shimless-bucket. I have not seen that Subaru has a hydrualic bucket on anything so it would seem that all their DOHC designs require a valve adjustment at 105k. I would guess yes - and it won't be cheap - especially if it's shimless-bucket and you have to replace all the exhaust buckets - $16 each or some such nonesense . GD

Why not just fix your power windows? It's not that hard - give them power and they should go up and down, etc. Get out a multi-meter and trace out your power supply. Have you checked the fuses? Power window relays are under the seats.... GD

$900 would be a little high around here - about $500 is all they are worth out here on the west coast. I have no idea what the value would be in WY... craigslist is usually a good reference. $500 with a bad wheel bearing and tranny on the way south would be a no-sale in my neck of the woods. $300 and you are talking my language.... It's worth about $50 more than it's scrap value to most people. They are very sweet little cars though and this one has some value to you since you previously owned it so it's your call.... Weight is about 2300 to 2500 lbs or so. You can tow it with a dolly just fine as long as it's not in 4WD when you do it . If you have at least a V6 truck you should be fine. I've towed them on dolly's with mini-vans before - as long as you have 150+ HP and enough brakes to stop the train you'll be ok. Tranny will probably keep chugging along without 4th for some time. The one in my hatch (same tranny) has about 235k on it and 3rd is nigh-impossible to find through all the grinding - I've been using 4th gear lo-range for several years. Still gets down the road. GD

It is probably not either of those - those do not produce cabin smells when they fail (and they fail often enough that we would know - plus the purge solenoid would throw a code). It is more likely to be something with your fuel filler neck area or the vapor lines that go to another "canister" vapor box thing that's behind some of the trim panels in the back of the car..... GD

20w50 is a bad choice - stick with an SAE 30 oil. Thicker oil like that is for engines with higher bearing pressures like diesels. It will not help with anything on a Subaru. The manual says 10w30 for a reason and that should not be deviated from for any reason EVER over the life of the car. That stuff will increase startup wear and you don't want that. I just did an exhaust valve job on a '97 OBW with the original head gaskets that never blew out. It currently has 169k on it. It's very possible that you have OEM head gaskets that are just now failing. Especially since the engine was replaced a long time ago and now has at least 90k on it. It could have been rebuilt using the old (flawed) head gaskets. It wouldn't surprise me at all. GD

If it's being forced out the top of the reservior - that usually indicates an over-pressure condition - either a bad radiator cap or combustion gasses causing the system pressure to increase beyond the set-point of the cap. When the cap opens the coolant is forced into the overflow and that usually is accompanied by a bubble of combustion gasses that stop the flow of coolant and over time (depending on how large the leak is - could take several hours of driving or could take 10 minutes) will cause the temp to suddenly spike. Pressure check is meaningless because the leak could only open when the engine is hot - I've seen engines that would run fine indefinately without a thermostat in place but would overheat when run to proper operating temp. The exhaust gas check is usually a better test but there's any number of reasons it could have failed that. The bubbles in the coolant are an indication of exhaust gasses pressureizing the cooling system. That is seen on almost 100% of these engines when then HG's let go. An air bubble will cause the coolant to stop circulating and could cause a blown head gasket, yes. The fact that the engine was rebuilt does not make any real difference and depending on what parts were used and how the work was done could make it MORE likely to have blown a gasket. Anything but the OEM gaskets from the dealer are prone to failure unfortunately. GD

Phill from Mizpah Precision is in need of "core" lifters for EA82's. He will pay $1 per core lifter off your rebuild order for each additional core lifter you send him. So, for example, if you send him 16 lifters (8 to be rebuilt, and 8 for his core stock) you will get $8 off your rebuild. Rebuilt price on EA82 lifter is $4.50 per lifter. Please contact him at: Philip Dreher Mizpah Precision MFG 11522 Bartlett Ave Mizpah, MN 56660 Phone:218-897-5922 Fax: 218-897-5905 Email: Mizpah@paulbunyan.net GD

Bubbles in the overflow . CLASSIC head gasket symptom on that engine. It will get worse. With EJ's - you pop out the vent plug, fill them till coolant comes out the vent, close everything up and you are done. That's it - no other burping or fussing should be needed. If it overheats then it's either leaking it, burning it - bad head gaskets. GD

Temp gauges spike when the coolant stops flowing. This is due to there being a big air bubble at the top of the engine - the water pump can't circulate coolant past the air bubble. The bubble is either air from a loss of coolant (leak) or it's combustion gasses. It's obviously not leaking out the cap if the reservior is dry so scratch that as a possible leak..... look around. If you don't find a leak then it's probably burning the coolant which is a head gasket failure. *usually* these engines push exhaust gasses into the coolant and displace it into the overflow bottle - but that's not the only way head gaskets fail - sometimes they will drink coolant. GD

Flywheel resurface is about $30 at your local machine shop - no real reason to replace it if you are going with OEM unless it's been resurfaced two or three times already. *edit* - just noticed you say it's been resurfaced twice..... I would go for a third but that's me. They don't take off much - usually .005" to .010" so three times would still be less than .050". Unless you have another reason to want to replace it. You could also go for a used one and have it resurfaced. GD

Head gaskets - pretty much a sure bet on that engine. Spiking temp gauge - dissapearing coolant..... yep. GD

Yeah - could need the governor plunger "dressed" so it slides more freely. Or it could just be the tranny is about to fail . The 3AT's are not renown for their reliability (by the usual Subaru "benchmark" of lasting 500k miles ) but seem to do pretty well if maintained regularly (every 30k or so) with new fluid, etc. GD

Your clutch cable isn't tight enough. GD

That would be pretty neat . Go for it and show us what you got. Would this be something that would come to market? GD

PM me - perhaps we can work something out on your harness needs since you are local. You should consider dropping by and checking out renob123's Brat - he will be here Sunday afternoon (that's the plan anyway). There's some things you can learn from his swap - start your "shopping list" based on some of the stuff he has used, etc. . GD

Getting the crank timing sprocket off can be a real biotch. I've dealt with fretted sprockets before - last one I broke two of the crank sensor tits off before it came off (not a big deal - plenty of spares around) - took 45 minutes of working it to get the sprocket off - that's with the engine out of the car on a stand . The key was shattered and a peice of it resides inside the sprocket to this day - sitting on a window-shelf-of-shame in my garage . GD

No - there is no transfer case on a Subaru. It's all one unit called a transaxle. In '85 they had both push-button single-range, and lever-activated hi/lo selectable 5 speed's. Yes - it bolts up with minor modifications to the driveline, transmission cross-member, and some swapping of clutch parts. It's definitely the most common transmission swap on the older Subaru's and is very well documented on this board - check out the retro-fitting forum and the USRM links, etc. It's been done by probably hundreds of members here. GD

NO SEALANT. OEM gaskets installed 100% dry - 12 Ft/lbs. Chase all your threads and anti-seize them well. Never seems to matter in my experience. Just install it and it should be fine. I've never paid any attention as most of the aftermarket clutch plate's aren't marked for orientation and most flywheel's have had the marks machined off . GD