cookie

Last time I did that was when I put a Ford V8 in a Datsun Z. I had to do a lot of stuff there anyway for the Hurst shifter and some new electrics. I wanted it to appear fairly stock so I formed it with aluminum and covered it with black leather. Around the shifter I made a wooden insert and then used a Hurst shift boot. It cost me quite a bit of money and time to do though. Have you looked at similar Subaru models in junkyards? There may be a console that fits fairly closely that you could trim that does what you want.Some of them have double DIN openings which can give you an extra radio spot. A lot of the folks on this board have much more experience with early Subarus than me and may be able to help. When I was changing the stereo in my Forester someone advised me that there were CD holders available that fit right in to close up the double DIN extra hole. Thanks again whoever that was, you saved me an afternoon and the holders are handy!

If you make your own set up it would be a good idea to put in a relay. There are many types, I often used older Ford and GM relays becuase I had them around and they are easy to wire. A relay takes a hot wire from a source like the fusebox, and allows it to be controlled by the smaller amperage of the stock horn circuit like a switch. Make sure you run your heavy power wire from a fuse or circuit breaker. I like to add my own circuit breaker and run it from a source like the power to the fuse box. The relay will require three wires usually. The forementioned power, a jumper from the current horn, and a good ground. I have usually just wired in another horn from a junker or something off the shelf. I kind of like the two different tones of two horns. On my Jeep I used the old horn and one from an XK140 Jag I had sitting around.

failed to reveal head gasket failure on phase 1s until they get pretty bad. They seem to be even able to fool the sniffer. If it were mine I would change the gaskets and check the valves while it was apart.

and AWD is really great up there when its 20 below and you just got another foot of snow. I used to use copper gaskets on Nortons and I considered them for my Subaru also. In the end I went with post 03 gaskets and my phase 2 seems fine at the moment. If I had a phase 1 I think I would do a head gasket change at about 120,000 miles even if I had no trouble with it to that point. Mind you I changed my head gaskets on my car at around 95,000 miles and mine is a phase 2. I had a tiny weep and I wanted to feel confident that it would not blow. Based on Commuter's experience and a few others from this board I suspect the post 03 phase 1 subaru gaskets are a big improvemnt and I would use them with CCRINC rebuilt heads with the valves already adjusted. Valve adjustment is due at around then for a phase 1 I think and it would be much easier with the engine apart. Keep in mind I am a paranoid ex mechanic who is fussy about his cars.

Since I bought it used at least I assume it came with them. They have been fine here in CA and at about 105,000 miles I still have a lot of life left on this set. I have no idea when the first set was changed out. I bought the car at 85,000 miles.

the first thing I had done was replace the whole dang header pipe. When a rattle came back a 20 cent screw was a lot cheaper.

switch is accidentally wired to the washers.

years with no ill effects other than the irritating noise when cold. You will soon develop Subaru friends in your area and then you can compare noises. If it is a real loud hard knock it would be good to check out, but most seem to make some noise.

still running.

stiffer KYBs. I did and I love them. With the WRX swaybar on the rear of my Forester the car is quite well balanced. The other night coming back from picking up my wife at Oakland Airport a packing case came off a truck in front of me. It split into several pieces and my Forester did a 70 MPH salom course with perfect aplomb. If you want the model for them I can look it up in my paperwork.

The car had great numbers and it was like old home week in a garage owned by someone who used to work for me. If the car is in good shape its no problem but as they age......

I have only seen this happen once years ago. A guy driving a wrecker in a garage I was a mechanic in did the same thing. I think our insurance company paid for a whole new transmission.

by teaching it to expect too much. I just drive it through the car wash when I fuel it.

By then they were starting to sort some of the earlier problems out I believe.

it gets to the intake. Old Jeep sixes sometimes saved them selves by having the distributor on the side. If they entered the water slowly and cautiously the electrics would die before the water got to the intake. If it goes in slow you can drain the water and dry it out ad be fine. This is the first time i have really thought about bent exhaust valves in flooded engines and on furthur reflection I think you might get them because of the broken pieces of piston, or the fact that when a rod breaks the piston often flies to the top of the bore. If the broken piston hits the next valve that opens it will be the exhaust.

engine to do damage. As someone mentioned before taking a garden hose and trickeling it into the carb used to be a common method of getting carbon out. Also folks have used water injection to reduce pinging and gain power. But when you do get enough in it really hashes everything. The only time I have heard of engine damage is in fording streams.

These engines fell peppy, not revvy to me. I guess that transulates to the fact that you can feel a bit of a push when you stomp on the accellerator, wnere some engines have to rev to the sky before giving you some pull. It is also interesting that the 2.2 has had a reputation of running for high mileage like a Diesel.

and pipers that are the backbone of civil aviation. Blitz has defineately made an interesting question here. I wonder how the rod angle and piston speed of say a Cessna 172 compare here?

we should get lost? OK.

around WW2 for aero engines if I recall correctly. As far as I know we are still not using two stage superchargeing in cars yet. For the size of the engine I agree with you that a Subaru is a torquey little engine. This was one of the reasons I bought one as they felt more peppy to me than the Honda. Blitz I think you really got us all thinking about this one! It mystifies me why the engine would be happier with a thicker oil as it seems counterintuitive. I wonder if the smaller Subaru engines are actually more efficient than the 2.5s? The main thing that I think we will soon see for a general change is in smaller engines and hybrid drivetrains. The electric motor should give the engine a chance to operate in a more efficient range and make transmissions much more flexible. I suspect that Subaru will use the Toyota system GM is licenseing and this will give Subaru another chance to get the boxer right or move on. I do love that boxer smoothness, but it must be more expensive to build two heads.

were run up the side of the front of the roof if I recall correctly. I think it was a commonly available kit for vehicles like Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers. (perhaps an Ozzie or Kiwi can help here) It seemed to offer the high intake the old military Jeeps had as well as picking up cooler and cleaner air away from the dust. Fact, in my years as a mechanic I only tore down one water trashed engine. Fact, it had a bent exaust valve. I am not sure exactly why it bent but it was. Fact, it does not much matter why the valve bent becuase when you turn an engine into a high speed hydraulic press that is going to operate a couple of hundred times a minute it will trash the engine if it gets enough water. By the way I like that water trap idea. On my Subaru I have left the intake stock as it gets the nastiest operation I give my cars. Last Xmas it got a several hundred mile drive with five people, presents, and luggage through a pouring rainstorm over mountains where the rain turned to snow. When it got to the other end it went through flooded streets that would have done the air intake if it was down by the bumper like my BMW. Then it went down a snow covered gravel road. The only malfunction was my wife putting a CD in the gap above the radio in the dark. If 2 or 3 HP at WOT is important enough to you move your air intake, but mine is doing fine.

tire. This can be quite hard to find. If you must try the rear tires on the front to see if there is a change.

than the old carbed ones.I just sold a 79 CJ7 with a 350 rear gear and a Turbo 400 automatic mated to a 258. It would not get better than 15 MPG on the freeway. The Subaru Forester has replaced it and hauls more and can go nearly as far off road. At least in my use, I don't climb rocks. I picked up 10 more MPG with the Forester and a lot better driveability. But as far as Blitz's engine theories they are interesting. Porsche has had much the same answer to its boxer problems and has added gears and a higher level of sophistication in both power delivery and engine management. I might suggest that Blitz take a look at what they have been doing as he will find it interesting. In the old days everyone went to oversquare bores for power and long strokes for torque, except the British who were limited by a strange bore tax law. In many ways Subaru has done exactly what many of the other manufactuers have done. The quick fix for slightly better mileage is a six speed, but as long as we have AWD we will have to pay for the additional rotating mass and weight. Superior fuel injection would help I think as I am not aware of any other FI engine that carbons up like a Subaru.

has jumped on the bandwagon all right. Almost seems a shame becuse I don't think Subaru is getting the R and D money that some of the big guys get. Being part of GM may actually help here. I think Subaru is now lagging behind in electonic management systems and powertrain research. Some of the newly developed cars out there may have a generation's advance. How much has the transmission system changed from 10 years ago?

culprit. My Forester is about like a barn door for areo shape also.If the car had a sixth overdrive gear it would make a huge difference. Most modern autos have a built in overdrive. On old Volvos I used to fit the overdrive from the P1800 S and pick up a few MPG but there is no practical way to do this to these cars. A very common mod many years ago was to fit Jeeps with an overdrive for the same reason. My BMW roadster has a five speed and weighs less than my friend Doug's new Corvette. I only get about 18 MPG and Doug can hit 20 with a bigger engine and car. His six speed overdrive is the main factor. I just had a Hyundai rental car for a couple of weeks with an auto tranny with overdrive. It consistantly cruised at about 1500 RPM giving it pretty good mileage. My Forester would have been about 3,500 RPM at the same speed. If your torque peak is kept low and you keep the RPMs low you are going to get good around town mileage too.