GeneralDisorder

Fast idle on the Hitachi is very tricky to get right. It's all about adjusting the choke settings, and cleaning the linkage. Basically you have to tear it down. Secondary is vacuum operated from inside the carb casting. It will only open under load usually. WOT will not open it unless conditions dictate (in gear, up a hill in third for example). GD

I had a problem similar to that - the guage just stopped working. No problem with the wires under the dash, or at the sender, so *somewhere" inbetween the tank and the dash there is a problem area in the EA82's with those wires. I ran two new wires to the sending unit, and up to the appropriate wires at the connector under the glove-box that feeds the whole back of the car. I then removed the trim at the bottom of the doors and fed the wires under all that and the carpet. Both work great now. It's really not a difficult job at all. Took about an hour. You might try replacing the sender first.... does the light go out if you disconnect the sender? That would indicate the sender itself is bad. Otherwise you have a grouned wire somewhere on the chassis. GD

Makes sense - lots of heat from both engine and transmission, and by that time in the production the head cracking/gasket issues were well known. So it basically was a very late introduction to the EA82T. Good to know. GD

Take both belts off, turn the flywheel to the center of the three valve timing marks, put the passenger side cam mark up, and the drivers side down, put both belts on, and then time the disty. GD

Unless you have access to a lot of fabrication ability, just buy an STi. It will cost about the same, and it won't take you 5 years to build it. GD

When I was a kid we had an 83 Pontiac Bonneville woody wagon with the rear facing seat. The parents used it to keep us kids WAY in the back. That thing was a beast - had an Olds 301 V8 in it too. GD

Only some do - I think it's the AWD ones. The regular D/R doesn't have one however. GD

Motor is the same - you need the intermittant control unit and you will probably have to custom wire most of it as you don't want to start unraveling the engine harness. GD

Nothing wrong with the push-button trans except it sucks. It's only got high range, and a bunch of aparatus to make that silly button work. Give me a solid lever to pull any day. Worst idea subaru ever used on a transmission. GD

Fry's is an experience unto itself. They have it all. More electronics and components than Radio Shack ever thought of, and everything from office furniture to refrigerators to every electronics known to man. The place is amazing really. It's a fixture in california, and each store has a "theme" like outer space or ancient egypt. Most customers absolutely abhor the company, and their time spent at the store, but we continue to shop there out of pure spite I suppose. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry's_Electronics GD

Classic wheel bearing symtoms. Jack it up and try to move the wheels with the parking brake OFF. GD

Cmon people - enough of the mundane "I want to be a lemming and drive a WRX/STi like everyone else with no imagination".... Think outside the box, and lets hear some real ideas. The man said "ALL THE MONEY YOU COULD EVER WANT". That's a serious load of cash people. You can fit a lot into "spending it on your current subaru". I mean - it's a vehicle, but that doesn't mean it has to be limited to road.... or mud.... or even Earth for that matter. Subaru moon lander anyone? GD

Naw - that's about the going rate. Around here I think I can get *just* the EA82 faceplates for like $15... (I never have to buy them though as I always seem to have a couple extra from the junk yards and parts cars) but that's US dollars too, so I think you did fine considering you have all those other ones too. Interesting tidbit - my best friend worked at Future Shop back in the day - then got a HUGE settlement when they left the US due to not obeying US tax and labor laws. I remember them being all over the place down here, and then all of a sudden all of them were gone! But we have things like Fry's electronics so no worries. GD

So many things would be redesigned, you could hardly call it a subaru anymore. I would probably retain the body because I like the look, but short of that nearly everything else would be new, and alot of it would be custom. Long travel custom independant suspension - at least 30"+ of travel, and enough clearance to fit 44's (probably boggers, or a mattracks style system). Air lockers front rear and center. Some form of diesel with at least 300 HP (or possibly a small turbine), twin transfer cases (at least 200:1 crawl). Etc. Use your imagination. Oh yeah - and fully submersible with underwater and above water amphibious equipment and drive systems. Bilge pumps, water tight interior, ballast systems for shallow submersion (say.... 25 feet or so). And a retractable top for days on the lake. And a fishing platform with some koosh chairs and such. Electric trolling motor of course.... Lets not forget the full bar, hot tub, and exotic dancers in the back.... GD

EA81's do not have timing belts. GD

That's your problem - you only gave the battery a surface charge. Hook a charger up to it overnight. If it continues to drain then the battery could have been damaged by running it dead too many times. GD

What is wrong with your Nissan? Anyway, axles are not the issue that everyone makes them out to be. The problem is with "rebuilt" axles that really are not. Older subarus especially run axles at very high angles, and poorly or improperly "rebuilt" axles will fail very quickly. The GCK brand new axles can be special ordered through autozone, and all the older subaru's seem to get about 100,000 out of a new axle. I've been using them for years now, and haven't changed a single one since I started using them. If a quality product is installed properly, it will easily go 100k or more. I would recommed a manual transmission, 2WD legacy. Great gas mileage, and the EJ22 is bulletproof as is the manual tranny. Anything older than that and you are looking at low HP, timing belt/head gasket problems, etc. While there are still gems out there, and when properly maintained or repaired the older ones are quite reliable, it's still a 20 year old car, and you are better off with the newest car you can afford if you are disabled. The EJ22 is argueably the best engine subaru has ever made, and the 5 speeds are great transmissions. Far and away an early 2WD legacy will be your best bet for low maintenance, cheap repair and operation. GD

Yep - push-button on-demand 4WD. Just like a truck. You can see the orange button on top of the shifter in the picture of the interior. 94 Imp could be either - you will have to ask or look under it. In 96 Subaru did away with all 2WD vehicles, but prior to that they made 2WD Imp's and Legacy's. If there is a rear diff under it, then it's AWD. They did not make part-time 4WD anymore after the Loyale. GD

Depends on the model - feedback carbs used a single sender with two spades on it grounded through the manifold. One spade for the dash, and one for the ECU. SPFI/MPFI/Turbo have a seperate sending unit variously located, but usually around the thermostat housing (I know that's where it is on the SPFI). GD

I second the cam and crank seals. I've had old cam seals just pop out of the cam case on their own when the PCV system gets plugged up. And yes - the Pugeot 505's did have 15" versions availible, but the 390 metrics are nearly the same size. It should say on the rim which it is. GD

EGR light comes on every 60,000 miles based on the odometer. It does not indicate a fualt (in fact the system has no way of finding a fualt in the EGR). It indicates the EGR system should be "serviced", which means take the valve off and clean it - then put it back on. Or just reset the light and forget about it since you don't need the EGR anyway. There's some wires under the dash - green connectors and blue ones I think. Whichever ones are not connected, switch them. It will be a two prong green or blue to another two prong green or blue. The ECS light indicates a fualt has occured with the feedback carburator. Take the kick panel down from the drivers side dash, and read the codes from the computer when the light comes on. They will be indicated by the usual long and short flashing of the 02 monitor lamp on the ECU...... or just rip the stupid thing out and put a Weber on it. You will be 100% frustrated by the feedback Hitachi. Guaranteed to give you grey hair. GD

You'll be fine - the subaru PS systems are almost bullet proof. Crack the high pressure line off the pump (the 17mm one) and run the engine till it drains the system. Then refil with ATF. Oil and ATF mix readily, so no worries. 10w30 just isn't a hydrualic fluid, so probably wouldn't work well in the pump for long-term (cavitation and such), but I wouldn't hessitate to use it in a pinch. GD

5 speed has a completely different linkage, and they usually just need some cheap bushings from the dealer when they get sloppy. If you want to fix the 4 speed linkage, there's a couple ways, but none have really proven to work well in the long term. I've given up with them as I run 5 speeds in all mine now. But if you really want to be a contortionist you can drill out the shift rod in the trans and put a bolt in there. Along with cutting a slot for added clamping force into the sides of the shifter sleeve you can usually get them tight for a while. It's just a bad design tho, and they always get loose again. Do a search on here for "shifter slop" and you will find a number of posts by me and others on the 4 speed linkages. The bad linkage is half the problem with the 4 speed - it contributes to reverse gear failure, and it plays a part in that 3rd gear syncro problem too. Kit includes a custom cross-member that bolts to the EA81 body, and the EA82 5 speed transmission, and also allows it to clear the transmission tunnel without rubbing or requireing you to beat the tunnel out for clearance. Also comes with customized shift linkage to adapt to the differences in length of the 5 speed (whole transmission is shorter) vs. the 4 speed. You send him parts of your old linkage, and the 5 speed linkage and he will work them into the proper sizes. It will look 100% stock, you will just have 1 extra gear. 5 speeds are all over the place - any 85-89 GL wagon with a manual will likely have what you need. GD

That statement, along with another you made about the clutch releasing high (meaning all the way to the floor is certainly released) is definately pointing to failing input shaft bearing or serious out of whack pilot bearing. The trans input shaft is binding and it's not able to release the shift cog. I would guess you will end up replacing that tranny. GD

Yeah - the throw out bearing is a possiblilty, but they usually make noise when the clutch is engaged. I would suspect the pilot bearing or the intput shaft bearing. But everything in the clutch area should be checked. I've had release bearings (throw out) make a ton of noise, but usually only when you engage the clutch. GD