pyromanic

Holy crap, this site hasn't changed a bit since way back when I was building my first lifted 85 GL wagon. It was a gold mine of valuble information and helpful folks then, and I see it much the same today! Grossgary, those links to Ebay headgaskets tell the story. What difference! All youall that replied, thanks! I've never bought a new car in my 62 years of living. Got a lot to learn. Think I'm probably leaning toward that.

Been reading about FB engine. Available since 2010, right? Will do much more reading, but it looks good so far. Available in Outback? I WAS thinking Forrester, but after more research, think I will stick to Outback.

Thanx man. I'll keep that in mind!

Long time since I've posted. After many years of miles and fun I sold my lifted '85 wagon when I inherited my mothers 2003 outback. So my dayly driver has been that for the past 5 years. Head gaskets done at 70,000 along with belts and all the re-seal, water pump, bearings and such. ANYWAY, I'm thinking about giving that car to my daughter. She needs a good car, and I owe her. AND----If I do that, I have the resources and need to replace with another Soob. I COULD buy a new 2017. Or I could save some dough and buy used low miles. Having owned and shade treed two EA82's and now this '03 outback, I'm fairly familiar with some Soobs issues, at least up to 2003 2.5's. So really, I'm not sure what I'm asking. I'm having a hard time finding comprehensive evaluations of late model Outbacks and Forresters. Comparisons of known issues would be nice to find. I'm getting to be an old crippled up fart, and won't be working on cars much anymore. No more front end reseals, timing belt jobs, lift kit installs, tranny swaps or head gasket jobs for me. (I hope). I guess what I'm wondering is, am I gonna be dissapointed in 2017 Forrester or Outback? Has Subaru got their head gasket issues sorted out? And I know that a couple years ago I was reading about oil consumption issues with new ones. If I buy used, I will buy (if I can find one) low miles. Wikipedia says Gen 4 is 2012 to present, I guess that what I'd be winding up with. Any particular issues to avoid? Any links to good info? Thanks And sorry if questions are too varied and vague. I suppose they are.

This prolly don't belong here, but fer whut it's worth, we just did a clutch replacemnt in a Forester, just dropped the driveline, stuck a jack under the trans dropped the crossmember, slid the tranny back a few inches, then flywheel and all came out. Easier to leave the tranny where it is and slide the engine forward? I dunno. But I'd never worked on nothin but my 85 wagon, and I was amazed at how alike the Forester was mechanicaly. Pyro

Lots of lots of good info here guys, thanks a million!! I have not yet got out the guys place to have a look. It did not seem that he was activly trying to sell, so seems I may have a little time. When I DO get out there I will try to take some pics, that was a worthy suggestion. I agree that his statement "runs ok" would in all probability indicate issues. $300 bucks though, some issues might be ok. I have two parts wagons on property, so---------we'll see. Pyro

A fellow came out to my place the other day, see my lifted wagon and parts cars and says he's got a turbo wagon he'd sell it for three hundred bucks. I've never driven one, but always been interested. I have not seen it yet, may go look this weekend. Says it's fairly straight, runs ok. Thought before I go look I'd try to gather some information. Are these a little rare? Worth a little more than average EA82? He says it's got a five speed. He only drove it once, and says he can't remember if it's got a dual range. Might it? Says it's hard to get into reverse. What would cause this? Might the Reisolene fix help? If it's a runner and straight bodied, fairly clean interior, what's it worth? Whats gas mileage on these compared to other EA 82's? And lastly, havn't I heard that these turbo'd engines are prone to problems? Any details appreciated. Thanx, Pyro

Back a few years when I first got my 85 wagon, which had sat for five years, I spent many oil changes, MMO, Seafoam,new oil pump, much fiddling and time trying determine if what I was hearing was TOD, piston slap, or rod knock. I'm kindda half deaf in one ear, no stereo, this throws things off. Tried the pulling plug wires one at a time. No change. I'm still not 100% sure, and I do not have access to listen to a new and quiet EA-82, never have, so don't even know what a normaly quiet one sounds like, but---------- Back then, when I was still fretting about it, I discovered a few 100s of "crank walk". Ran this by the board, and a couple of guys said, "well, yea, maybe thats what your hearing". Apparently it's uncommon in these engines, though not unheard of. This engine only had about 12000 on a longblock, I've driven it about 6000 since I resurected it, and it still has some tapping or clacking or whatever at times, mostly in cold weather. Heck I can't find it. Now I try not to worry about it. Runs good, great compression. Pyro

"You will quickly adopt the same policy - I guarantee it. GD" I guarantee it?? Wow. So what someone else is going to decide has been guaranteed by another. What presumptive horseradish. Keep the tires to 27" or thereabouts, and you may just find that it's ok as DD. Mine is. Has been for over two years. Oh wait, no that's not possible. We have "guarantee" that it's not acceptable. Bull pucky. Best wishes, Pyro

In 90 or 91 (or thereabouts,) my wife and I bought a brand new Legacy. It was the first year for them, so whatever year that was, just don't remember. Anyway, I got it stuck in a snow bank one night, and the tranny failed. When we got it towed to the dealer (oh, and it was like maybe 6 months old at the time) they said there was a recall on the auto trans, replaced with whatever the upgrade was. I only stayed around another year with that car, left for greener pastures, but now I drive an 85 with DR 5sp. Pyro

Just to be different, I bought one of these : http://www.knfilters.com/Racing/plenum.htm It's the second one down on the page. I bought mine from Summit Racing. Looks like they don't carry it any more though. It's on a lifted 85 wagon. Looks pretty cool, runs like a Weber. Way too expensive though. Stuck two K&N clones (from Summit) on it as I don't really need a snorkel. Then put a cast aluminum scoop above the dual plenum fro fresh cool air in the summer. I stick a piece of custom cut foam in the scoop in winter to keep the snow and crap out. Pyro

Yes, you must have had it backwards. 20 degrees on a carbed EA 82 is very bad juju. Pyro

most of us already know this, but for any noobs that find this thread whilst seeking a remedy for the mushy pedal, the ever so easy conversion of the rear drums (which totally suck) to disk makes a world of difference. Try it, you'll like it! Pyro

Hey, I like those! Ram, as in Dodge Ram pickup, or what? (sorry if that's a stupid question) Here's another: Those are alloy or steel? They look kinda like alloy. If they are I want some. Pyro

I swear, the misimformation that is passed around on these boards can sometimes be infuriating! There is NOTHING, I say NOTHING wrong with the advanced engineering and "ahead of their time" design of Subaru's EA series muffler bearing. One cannot tell from this picture if that bearing is being removed or installed, but whatever. Any seasoned Subaru mechanic will spot instantly that the bearing is either coming out, or being installed backwards!! Not only is this abuse of a perfectly good Subaru muffler, but is also inhearantly dangerous, as the harmonics that can be created from an improperly installed muffler bearing are the same as those used by the milatary for their subsonic crowd controll weapon. In fact, that is where the concept originally began.(you know, the one that makes rioters or demonstraters feel abrupt and severe dizzyness and nausea) This common mistake of improper instalation of the Subaru muiffler bearing is responsable for untold hiway fatalaties. On the other hand, those of you who might think that to do this deleberatly, and drive around with earplugs or other quality hearing protection, using your wagon as a weapon of mass destruction, remember, this is a felony, and though perhaps an amusing way (for the hardcore sociopaths amongst us) to entertain yourself, but hardly worth the risk. Happy new year, and all that rot. Pyro

"I do it with the car on a floor jack but you may want to secure it on jackstands" Shouldn't that read "you MUST secure it on jackstands or blocks"? Pyro

For what it's worth, (probably not much) I learned an emergency fix for striped T-stat threads yesterday. Here's the story: I had been thinking to change to the hotter T-stat for weeks, as morning here now are in the low teens or zero's. Problems with over cooling. I had some nagging memory of troubles last spring when I had put in the cooler one, but couldn't remember details, just that I was feeling reluctant. So yesterday a.m., I pulled the housing, cleaned the mating surfaces, dropped in the new OEM T-stat, gooped the surfaces, as I began tightening the bolts, I remembered-------yup, nearly stripped threads on the passenger side. I had barely got it to hold last time. It's a wonder it did. But somehow, it had held together all summer and fall. Not this time. So---------no appropriate tap on hand, no wheels, no dough, what to do. I looked close, and saw that the holes are not blind, but go on through the flange of the intake manifold. Maybe I could find a longer bolt and just use a nut. But the hole in the manifold flange leaves zero room for the head of a bolt, no room for a nut. Hmm, grind the head of a bolt custom to fit? Maybe. First I drilled out what was left of the stripped threads, then I found a bolt right size, and length, ground the head of it off on two sides, (roughly 90 degree's), stuck it in from underneath, reasembled, and I'm good to go. I could take it apart later and tap to a bigger thread, but I may wind up just leaving it. FWIW Pyro

"Do others in cold climates (at or below zero temps.) experience this overcooling of the engine when it gets cold out?" <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I do. Run with cardboard covering over half the rad. I may very well put in a bigger piece today. Pyro

Well, I HAD AC when I got the car, but when I did the tranny swap to 5 sp, I removed it, as it didn't work anyway. All my windows fog up even the rear. Pyro

I have the exact same problem with my lifted 85 wagon. If you figure it out, let us know!! I don't have a garage, so that's not an option. I track a lot of snow into it, maybe that's where it comes from. Yea, ice on inside of the windshield sucks. Pyro

My dad used to do a lot of saltwater fishing with a 17ft boat. He was worried about salwater contamination of the trailer wheel bearing and came up with this: (kind of like a "Bearing Buddy" tm) He would drill a hole in the the hub cap, you know, the little cuppy thingy, and install a zirk, then he install the rear seal backwards. after every fishing trip, he would pump grease into the hub untill all the old grease was squoze out through the reversed rear seal. Later, after got old enough to wonder about things mechanical, I wondered what kept the grease from heating up, luquifying, and running out through through the "reversed" rear seal. Maybe that his boat trailer had no brakes the hubs never got hot enough for that to be a problem, don't know. Guess it's not an option for us. Just thought I mention it though. Pyro

No kiddin. Industry is the killer here. EGR are not a drop in a bucket, it's more like a tenth of a drop in a thousand oceans. Probably less. And another thing, somebody saying theres more trees-------------bah. so what? Second growth compared to intact old growth------- well---------hogwash. And I worked for the forest service for 25 years-------(not to defend their practices, just that I am educated in the issures) My EGR is long gone. Just one more thing I'll NEVER have to repair or think about again. If it was a far newer car, I'd leave emmisions stuff alone, of course. Pyro

If anyone can refer me to a good place to have the headgasket replaced/my vehicle worked on (near the Rochester, MN area), or instructions/a manual with photos and very detailed instructions on how to work on the heasgasket, it would be cery helpful. Thanks. If you have time do the work yourself, you can save tons of money, and it would seem that you are suggesting that you may. Intructions to do any work to this car are right here at your fingertips. Just takes time. The search function can and will provide all that you ask for above. And if you get stuck, just ask for help, and you will get it from the many generous board members. I agree completely with the posters that believe you would be better off repairing you Subaru, as oppose to starting over. I have daughters that keep buying cheep used cars, and when they break down, call it a lemon and buy another. It's my opinion that this is totally stoopid, but what do I know? My Soob has 300,000 thou on the chasis. New motor, new axels, brakes, bearings all the way around, Weber carb, so on and so forth. Sure, it took a few years, but just keep after it. I know what's new, and whats not. I know what is likely to give me grief, and what probably wont. I bought mine for 300 bucks with a new motor, and blown auto trans. then I picked up a couple of free parts cars, one with a 5sp. did the swap. The bought disk brakes from a board member. Same with the webber carb. I think that one of the best things about owning one of these old Soobs is the generous support availiable here online at USMB. When I started a couple of years ago, I knew vitually NOTHING about SOOBS. But with the collective knowledge of all these other Soob enthusiaists, I don't believe that there is any problem that could arise that I couldn't tackle with confidence. So any way, learn to use the search function here on board, and don't forget the USMB repair manual which is always right here. Good luck Pyro

Hey, I like those too. Maybe with cutting some short pieces at an angle could get them to wrap around the corners. I have an antique electric mechanical hacksaw that works. (sort of!) Then put in some expanded metal between the tubes like the AA bumpers. (just for looks I guess, or to keep brush out of the rad) Pyro

AARGH! Sorry, I just found it by searching "bumper" right here in "off road". That link works too though, thanks man. Should have searched before I asked, sorry. Any way, now that I see those bumpers again, I STILL like the heck out them. Think they are some of the sweetest I've seen. I don't have a bender though, so guess I'm out of luck. Gonna have to go a different route. I think. Thanks again. Pyro