GeneralDisorder

Ultimately you have two routes: 1. dry out the inside of the car - no moisture = no fog or ice on the inside. 2. Get the heater working HOT. First thing you need to do is check the engine operating temp. If you aren't getting up to temp then the heater core isn't going to do much. You need to get up to 190 to get good heat and you need good flow through the heater core. GD

Crap - I forgot it's an LSD on those - you will need Gen 1 Legacy rear axles to make it work in the Forester. GD

There are so many variations that it is highly dependant on what you are looking at. As for Subaru, these are the systems: 1. 2WD (FWD - need I go further?) 2. 4WD - locked 50/50 torque split just like a truck. 3. Full-Time 4WD - Subaru did this in the 80's. It's AWD with open diffs all around. The 5 speed versions also had lockers in the center diff - when locked they are just plain 4WD as in #2 above. The automatic version is basically AWD (4EAT) as below. 4. AWD - in this scenario there is some form of traction device in the center - either an electronic clutch pack that can vary the torque split (4EAT) or a center diff with a viscous coupler (5 speed). In both cases there will always be power to the front and the rear even if you lift a wheel. Now other manufacturers do many different things - but one thing you fail to observe is that with ABS systems being ubiquitous these days it's a simple thing to add "electronic traction control" to an AWD system that has simply open diffs all the way around. When a wheel slips or has no traction you just apply the brake to that wheel. Done with a computer and wheel speed sensors this system is VERY effective. Also - from a performance standpoint - not just considering the "all 4 wheels on ice" scenario - even with open diffs AWD has much to offer. When you *do* have traction you now have twice as much contact patch for the same size tires. This makes starting, stoping, and handling much more responsive. GD

Yep - all EA rear's are pinned on both ends. GD

You won't need to remove any axle nuts - the rear axles are pinned on both ends just like the inner joint on a front axle. So a 3/16" pin punch. If the splines are frozen with rust, just pop the boots off and dissasemble the inner joint on the axle. GD

Yeah - you might have jammed the radiator fan with snow. Probably didn't blow a head gasket. 3/4 on the gauge wouldn't blow them and these are REALLY hard to blow. I've run them to the top of the guage multiple times with no damage. GD

A search will give all the info you need. It is bigger, and will give you more low-end torque. No increase in top-end power but it will feel faster. It's simpler too. GD

Rain-X makes an "anti-fog" product for the inside of the windshield - it works pretty good but it wears off after a month or so. GD

I don't understand - the carrier bearing's posistion is not important - you can just eyeball it. It's just a rubber mounted bearing assembly..... maybe I'm not understanding what you are after? The u-joints insure that it will run without vibration at any angle you put it at within reason. When I installed an EA82 driveshaft in my Brat I just made up some brackets, welded them to the floor, and bolted it up. I eyeballed it with the shaft on jack stands. No issues. Basically posistion it so the first section from the trans to the bearing is as straight as you can get it. Then do whatever it takes to make that happen with the mounts. I just bent up some 1/8" steel flat-bar that I had, drilled a hole for the mount to bolt to and then eye-balled how to bend/shape it so I could get a good fit with the floor pan - cleaned the area and welded it down. Just don't set your carpet on fire like I did. GD

Old Subaru's are not hub-centric and as such do not need to fit exactly over the nibs on the hub. Peugot rims will work, but you won't find much in the 4x140mm pattern out there. Basically old Subaru rims and 504/505 Peugot rims. You can machine the hubs to accept 6-lug Chevy/Toyota/Nissan/Mazda/Etc truck rims, or you can do the 5 lug conversion and use newer Subaru rims. Those are the easiest options though people have done other things. I think I recall that someone did a redrill to an older VW pattern as well. GD

No, not really. Sounds like a clutch adjustment is warranted and tell the dealer you want the gear oil drained and checked for metal. Something could be eating itself in there. If there is very little metal in the gear oil then it will likely be ok, and if there's a ton of metal in there then you have a good reason to ask them to replace the transmission. It is normal for the gear oil to be a dark amber color and for there to be a small amount of metal on the magnet of the drain plug. If there is a mountain on the drain plug, anything big enough to feel between the fingers, or metallic swirls in the gear oil (or, as I've seen - the gear oil looks like siver paint ) - strange things are afoot at the Circle-K......:-\ GD

If the mileage is less than 200k, the head gaskets are well worth doing. They are really easy engines to work on. It's basically a timing belt job + a head removal. You don't even have to remove the cams or valve covers! Although I know what you mean about the 2nd gen Legacy's - I've worked on enough of them that I don't like them either. They are much cheaper on the construction than the 1st generation one's. If it goes to the crusher - save the engine for someone doing an EJ swap. GD

The turbo transmissions are a bit different inside - wider, beefier gears, and such. It might not work but I don't know for sure. GD

1. The defrost function works better if the AC is working. 2. The inside of the windows will fog up if there is any moisture present inside the car - wet people, coats, carpet, towels, etc. If you want fog-free windows you have to get the moisture out and keep it out. GD

Could be the tank vent line as well - do you have the charcoal canister hooked up? One of the artifacts of installing a Weber is that you will occasionally get a whiff of gasoline - the float bowl vent on DGV's is just a hole in the top of the carb so without modification to the carb you always have fresh fuel present under the hood. Also most people disconnect the canister and leave the fuel tank vent line (the one next to the fuel supply line on the firewall) open to the atmosphere. GD

If you could get the RPM high enough (look around for B&S performance parts - you probably could), then yes. Probably have the best luck with one of those big v-twin's. There are some riding mower manufacturer's that use Generac 997cc v-twin engines.... you get that sucker up to 10,000 RPM and sure - a VF7 would rock it's world. GD

Could the clutch be dragging? Might need adjustment. If it's not, then I would say there's a good chance you need a new transmission. Have the dealer drain the gear oil and check for metal. I just replaced a '96 5 speed at 113k where 2nd gear had frozen to the shaft (needle bearing failure), and the tranny tried to be in 2 gears at once. Tore all the teeth off 2nd gear. It's not unheard of for the 5 speed's to fail but it's pretty rare. I've seen a couple. GD

Glad you got it fixed up. BTW - the rust and discoloration you see on the old axle shaft is called "fretting" and is caused by vibration between the axle shaft the inner bearing race. This always happens to some extent - what's going on is complex, but basically the two peices vibrating or rubbing across each other (were talking a matter of thousanths of an inch here) creates a place where there is no corrosion protection (no grease, no protective rust barrier, etc) and this results in rust formation and pitting of the metal in that area. They aren't moving relative to each other - if they were it would be called scoring and you would have MUCH bigger issues anyway. One of the side-effects of fretting is that new axles very often just slip in without the zero-clearance fit that new bearings will have with new axles. But that's ok. GD

Absolutely incorrect. The head bolts are never replaced unless they are damaged. The block is aluminium and the bolts are not torque-to-yeild. GD

Replace the thermostat on general principle. You are complaining of no heat right? Replace it with a Subaru OEM thermostat and gasket - should be about $15 for both. GD

The pan's don't leak a lot on the EJ's - make sure what you are seeing is not the cam seals leaking and running around the lip of the pan. The water pump leak is interesting. Definitely get yourself the dealer gasket for that - it's metal with a graphite coating and is WAY superior. The problem is that the pump sits in a reccess between the driver's side cam and rear belt cover, and the oil pump. When you do it, since you are removing the oil pump anyway - put the water pump back on FIRST. It's very fiddly even with the dealer gasket, but with the oil pump off it's easier. The aftermarket gaskets are cardboard and unless you are very careful with them and use a couple light dabs of RTV to hold them in place as well as carefully tighten the bolts evenly..... yeah pretty easy to screw up for a novice I would guess. As I mentioned in PM - I really don't trust aftermarket gaskets and seals. Even when I buy the ebay timing belt kits I just use the hard parts. It comes with a water pump seal but I very often will go to the dealer and spend the extra $3.50 for the metal seal. The oil-pump seal is $1.62.... etc. It's not worth the hassle of the cheap aftermarket seals for the difference in cost. Especially with the EJ's where there's really only a handful of seals that generally need replacement. I'm sure you already know - but when you do the job pull the radiator out. What I do is unbolt the thermostat housing from the water pump and drain the coolant directy into a bucket (love the Subaru engineer's for this change over the EA's ), and then disconnect the fan's electrical connections, remove the upper radiator hose completely and the trans cooler hoses if equipped. Then the whole assembly - fans and all - lifts right out. I leave the lower radiator hose attached to the thermostat housing as this keeps coolant from getting everywhere when you remove the radiator and move it around, etc. GD

Don't worry about it - when you put the car back on the ground it will compress the axle and that will go away after it's run for a bit. GD

Power steering fluid (AKA, Automatic Transmission Fluid [AKA Hydrualic Oil]) doesn't start to gel till -10* F. It could be a bit thicker, but that won't affect the pump to any appreciable degree. What you need is to rough up those pulleys with some sandpaper and set the proper tension on a NEW belt. GD

So does it looked hacked together? There shouldn't be any single-wire blue connectors in the fuel pump circuit that I know of. I would find out what the previous owner's did, and undo it. Then start from scratch and fix whatever the problem turns out to be. GD

Yes - quite possible. Forgot about that one GD