GeneralDisorder

You don't need the resonator. Replace it with a solid section of pipe. Just weld in a section to replace it - no need to go and buy expensive exhaust sections from the dealer for a 10 year old car. GD

What does this "rattle" sound like and when is it occuring? Subaru rod knocks usually only show under load. Are you sure it's not hydraulic lifter ticking? It can be very loud and to the uninitiated it sounds like a mechanical failure of some sort. Where are you in Portland? I'm in West Linn. I don't have a dolly but perhap I could tell you if it's serious enough to need one or not. I've heard about every sound a Subaru can make. GD

Mine ('85 Brat) measures about 2.75" from the tire to the wheel arch in the front, and about 5" in the rear. All of my adjusters are completely down. But I may have different tires than you have as well (which would account for the larger front AND rear measurement). The stance sounds correct with your current springs. Again I highly doubt you will see any change with new springs. If it changed then your camber would be toast and you would wear tires something fierce as happens when you crank up the adjusters. Brat's don't sit flat like the other body styles. Not enough weight in the rear. GD

But why not lift it instead? Hatch's do very well lifted.... Are you also planning an engine/tranny swap? I would think more power would be needed for auto-x or whatever you plan on doing with a lowered EA81 and the 4 speed's are almost worthless for daily driving let alone race usage... GD

They are Parker (Fluid Power) Tru-Seal's - they have a Teflon ring inside the ID of the nut. They are used to seal problematic NPT threads. http://www.parker.com/literature/Miller%20Fluidpower/miller/cat/TruSeal_02.pdf I also used Loctite 545 hydraulic sealant on the threads. Probably a bit of overkill, but being NPT threads and the tank being plastic I didn't want to crank the barbs in too tight and crack the tank. I seriously doubt I will ever have a leak. (I do industrial machinery for a living, so I'm pretty confident in my thread sealing ability ) GD

Using cheap oil is about the worst decision you can make for your engine. Go to costco and get Chevron - about the best price I've found and high quality. About $30 for a case of 12. GD

The best source for all that stuff is the dealer. The water tank nipples breaking off is extremely common. Unfortunately the water tank's are expensive and retro-fitting the newer turbo tank's is problematic as they are different sizes and shapes. My solution was to cut the barbs off flush, tap them with a 1/4" NPT tap and install 1/2"x1/4" NPT hose barbs. I used true-seals and Loctite hydraulic sealant on the threads and trimmed the barbs back to about 3/4". Been great for over a year now. I don't see it ever failing again with my modifications. The coolant lines and plastic nipples are best purchased from the dealer - don't cheap out on this stuff. I replaced every single coolant line in mine and the cost was around $175 for all of them. These aren't cheap engines to maintain after they have been neglected for so many years. Unfortunately they are also very rare and as such you simply won't find any parts in the junk yards. I have seen a grand total of 2 1st generation legacy turbo's in the junk yards in the last 10 years. GD

Make sure you take the requisite minimum amount of time to compress it to avoid damage to the hydraulic cylinder. I beleive 3 minutes is the minimum time allowable to compress it. I use a c-clamp and then insert a small diameter drill bit through the pin hole. GD

So long as you aren't going off-road with that setup I think it's a fine idea. Although I generally just open the radiator drain cock and let enough out that it brings the level down below the coolant cross-over in the manifold. GD

This belongs in the new generation forum - just so you know. Mine was in similar shape - bought with a "head gasket blown". Unfortunately that was the least of it's problems by a long way. The engine had become so hot that it melted part of the cylinder liner for the #2 cylinder and absolutely destroyed the bottom end. The whole short block was toast - not even rebuildable - timing belt covers and knock sensor had melted into puddles on the block. Another engine was sourced along with a turbo, radiator, and associated components. After installation I found that the thing had over-pressurized the cooling system so much it blew the tank off the tubes in the heater core so out came the dash..... It's a daily now, but if it weren't for the fact that I got it in a trade after a friend had already dumped about $3k into it and couldn't make it run it wouldn't have been worth it. Cared for properly, these engines are actually very reliable. The car's weak point is the transmission - much over 200 HP and they tend to eat 2nd gear. The syncro's are pretty poor as well. Mine has 165k on the tranny and it grinds into 2nd if I really try to shift it fast. I'm careful with it for now and eventually I plan to replace it with 6 speed or rebuild it with a heavier gearset. I love the car though - mine is pearl white and in decent shape. I've got a TD05-16G and a Forester XT intercooler sitting here for it as well but I'm going to pull the engine back out for a reseal - it's a 110k long-block from a wrecked 94 turbo touring wagon and I notice it uses about half a quart of coolant over an oil change interval. You'll want to check out www.legacycentral.org - That's where the action is for these cars. GD

You crawl under it and look at the adjustment bolt on the torsion tube assembly. It's not difficult to access. GD

But have you actually checked the torsion bar adjustment to see where it's at? GD

Is it possible that your "nose down" impression is because the rear torsion bar assembly has been cranked *up* thus giving more of a rake than you remember from your previous vehicle? I think this a more likely possiblity than someone having installed lowering springs. Anything is possible and the turbo springs would indeed lower the nose about 1 cm. EA82 springs I don't know about.... I suspect they could be used but I don't know what effects they would have and it would depend on the one's used as there were several more spring rate's availible for the EA82's such as the turbo/RX springs and the XT's. GD

Grind the mushroom off that thing , and take it to a shop that has a press. Or go buy one of the inexpensive shop presses at harbor frieght. If you want to move metal, you have to put some serious force on it. GD

If you added enough weight then you would need different springs. It doesn't sound like you are adding enough to matter though. Subaru offered all kinds of options including winch bumpers - no differences in spring rate were required or offered. The adjustable strut's can be used to increase the compression of the spring and thus counter any added weight. You won't have any issues with cranking the struts up regarding binding of CV's. What you WILL have problems with is terrible camber issues that can't easily be corrected without making camber-adjustable strut tower blocks as part of a lift (if you are installing one). The adjustable struts are only good for about 1". That 1" isn't worth the camber issues or the stiffness it brings with it. I have a 5" lifted wagon and I've had it both up and down on the strut adjusters - they are best left all the way down (stock) and the lift accomplished with blocks instead. There are just too many issues with using the adjusters - they are slow and problematic as the camber is never where you want it if you use them. Invariably they are a hassle so you end up driving on pavement with crappy camber or just don't bother cranking them up off-road. The only spec given in the FSM is for "free length" - with the spring removed from the strut. The spec is 319mm for non-turbo, and 310.5mm for turbo springs. GD

Yeah - steering wheel puller's are cheap - like $5 to $10. EA81 and EA82 will not interchange. EA81 and Justy are the same though. GD

The struts are not at all load-bearing - they are dampener's. All EA81's from 1981 on were "equipped for installtion of AC" - the components of same weigh in at about 40 lbs..... the springs were designed to handle this load as they are not replaced when adding the AC compoenents. I'm afraid you are over-thinking the situation. The springs on EA81's are VERY large for the size of the vehicle. Additionally they are not prone to changes in spring rate - at most with a spring that size you might have an actual failure of the coil. Being hardened spring-steel, they will simply break. They aren't a wear item and my sugestion is that you replace the struts only. I am 100% confident that you will not need springs. Don't waste your money. GD

Pull the pan, sand-blast it, or wire wheel it, and paint it. Then reinstall it. You may have to jack up the engine to remove the pan - that's typical. This isn't rocket science and it's not worth $400. Those guys are nuts. A decent shop would just sand-blast and paint or zinc coat the thing and put it back on - you are talking maybe 2 hours shop time plus $50 to have it zinc plated. Nowhere near $400. There is no gasket on the pan. It's RTV. Use ultra-grey. GD

I've never replaced a set - why would you bother? They are very large for the size of the vehicle and I've never heard of them failing or the spring rate changing. The dealer, or the wanted forum is your best bet. Otherwise I would look up some of the aftermarket spring suppliers. GD

Yes - the Monroe's are well known here. Autozone (cragen) also sells adjustable struts. All EA81's use the same 4WD strut. Travel is not an issue. GD

Open your mind to a world of possibilities when it comes to mechanical principles in general. Trust me - dual timing belts is far from the biggest oddity in the world of machines. A TON of things have been tried over the last 100 years or so of automotive history. For example - at work we have a large Hyster forklift that we are trying to find a water pump for. The water pump is gear driven and has both coolant and oil running through it - it's leaking coolant into the oil. We may have to have some new components machined for it as it's got a very old flat-head engine of some type and parts are not availible it seems..... EA81's don't have belts or chains - wrap your head around that for a bit. GD

I bought a Rigid set with drill, impact, flashlight, radio, and two batteries (18v) for $179 at the depot. The impact is mostly what i wanted and I did my research first - for the price it offered the best torque @ 120 ft/lbs. Love it but it's really only a rather superior "power ratchet". It will never replace my 650 ft/lb air gun. GD

You will also be taking off the brake components (whatever that may be). The stub will come out. It is only an interferance fit with the inner bearing race. There is plenty of grease in there so it's unlikely to be frozen. GD

Download this PDF: http://home.comcast.net/~trilinear/SubaruEA82-ServiceManualPart2.zip And go to page 47 (53 in acrobat pages), and proceed with the tests there. As for coil's - from what I have seen Hitachi was the only manufacturer of SPFI coil's. You can easily test the coil though so replacing it is only shotgunning parts and it's likely not your problem if the engine runs. The ECU is complaining that it doesn't see a reference pulse from the optical pickup - that's probably the pickup itself that's at fault. But follow the troubleshooting - it will tell you. GD

Since the other side wasn't moved, just screw the one side back in till it's tight enough that there is say... less than .005" play in the shaft and call it good. The hypoid gear differential is strong enough to handle it being out by less than 5 thou and the tapered roller bearings used for the output stubs are about impossible to kill at the RPM's they are being used for in that application. GD