subynut

Replaced the starter and crank angle sensor in my parent's outback to help isolate a intermittent no start and misfire codes. Also ran it through the car was cause it was FILTHY! Now, off to diagnose brake noise on me truck.

Looks good, man. What did you do for the rear?

Awesome! Looks like the extra downforce of that wing helped, eh?

I dunno...I had a simular problem with the driver's front half shaft. I replaced about twice as many on that side than the passengers. But only on the 86.

That is awesome! Great job! Now go get it dirty and take plenty of pics.

I live in southern Arizona and have done 2 EJ swaps in EA82 cars. I have not had any problems doing 70+ for long distances in the desert heat. I did replace the radiator during the swap on one, the other one we used the original rad and it was fine till the air temps were over 100*. Then things started getting warm (over 220 coolant temp), but other than that I have had no problems using the EA82 radiator. I run dual 12" pusher fans tied to the EJ computer to help cooling. I second a clogged coolant passage somewhere or there is air in the passages.

That's nuts! I love it!

Good lookin' sedan. All setup for some sideways action!

Hey Dave, I picked it up from Cactus Auto Sales, one of the larger used car lots in Tucson, they had a whole slew of USFS trucks. They all looked in really good shape. I picked one of 2 standard cab V10 4wd 6sp manual trucks: a F250 and a F350 - I grabbed the F350. It's the XL package so it has manual everything which reduces the amount of failures. It had 62k miles on it. I killed my sportage - it just couldn't hold up to my abuse: the tranny again, broke something in the front driveline, engine leaked like a sive, and the interior plastic was crumbling. So, I went to a truck. I now can go farther than the lifted sportage and tow 13.5K lbs if I need to. All in a stock truck. It's nice being able to crawl up the side of the mountain in low+4low at idle and do the same thing going down without ever touching the brakes. Since it is a 1-ton, it has forced me to behave while on the trail because if I get too throttle happy, the light rear end just shakes me like a steel wheel on a rock bed and the tail goes first! Only thing I miss is AWD; on wet roads, this thing is tire spin happy in 1st and second gear with no more than 1/4 throttle. Once I get to third, then all is ok. So, getting started from a stop in the wet is interesting and annoying when you need to squeeze onto a busy street.

Thanks. Yes, there definitely will be! Just have to find the right moment. The only downside of a 1-ton truck is, when I'm spinning the tires, I have massive wheel hop unless there's about 900lbs in the bed. But, I can drop 8500lbs of trailer on the back and still maintain 65 in overdrive.

Actually, I did go to church - both the morning and evening services. Well, the closest to donuts I got was doing about 3 mph in 4wd crab walking on the trail cause is was so rough. That's the only downside with having Dad with - he frowns very heavily on being stupid on the trail.

Dad and I wandered over Montezuma Pass and checked out a couple of trails. Snapped this on our way out: That's out our back window! This was off a non-marked trail that supposedly ended in a mile, but we went about 2 miles in, but had to turn around cause it was gettin' really rough and the storm was rollin' in. It was really windy out and forgot to take some pictures. However, I did snap this one during a pit stop: We continued back to Montezuma road and decided to take the trail the other way FR2726 and ended up at the US/Mexico border: I knew we were close, but not 2 miles close! Looking towards the Huachucas: Stormy out: I turned around and zoomed in as far as I could go to get a picture of the pass: Then full digital zoom: You can almost make out the monitoring tower for the border patrol. On our way to Parker Canyon Lake, we stopped and chatted with a border patrol man, as usual, he asked how things were with the USFS and after correcting him, he said "Oh, that would explain the missing markings on the side of the truck!" It started raining afterwords, but not enough to make any mud yet. :cry: Passed a few USFS trucks and waved as we passed by, dodged a front loader and a grader while they worked on the road and ended up at the lake: Dead as a doornail! I wonder why? Very windy and raining, so, I couldn't get very many pictures. But we had a good time anyway!

ooooo......he's environmentally friendly riced out! Green flames gives ya 113.7 mpg increase! On a subaru note, I parked next to a blue second gen forester thinking how to get my wagon running with an EZ30D and megasquirt.

According to a few mechanics and machinists I've talked to, they don't last down here in the Arizona heat. Most of the daily driven rx-7s last about a year before the seals go and you really can't push them because they have worse cooling problems than the ea82. Besides, it's a torqueless wonder.

Yeah, I would check that IAC. Have you checked your grounds and the electrical connectors to see if something is loose? Yes, that misfire code is very frustrating. I'm taking a break from it since it's making me nuts trying to diagnose the blasted thing. So, I replaced the front u-joints on my truck - Yay, no more squeaking with the hubs in!

Forgive me, Grossgary, but the cheapest used first gen ODB-II ej25 ecu goes for 175 bucks that's on the opposite end of the state. We have a whole woppin' one pull-a-part and it's 90 miles away and usually has, at most, 2 subarus. (What's odd, is this area is swamped with hondas and there's hardly any in the junk yards. Does that mean somthin? ) If Emily doesn't want that ECU, I would be willing to take it for testing purposes. Quidam, I realise that can lug the engine, I certainly hear and feel when that happens - that's when I drop to 4th, but when I'm just maintaining 25 on flat ground, the cars don't mind. Well, the outback used to not mind, Now, it says, NO! Well, back to my U-Joint adventures on my truck...........

Last time I drove it, I noticed it has a hard time holding 25mph in 5th gear. It used to be able to maintain that speed and as long as you didn't give it too much throttle, it would accelerate from 25 in 5th - not fast, but it didn't mind it. Now, it says "Don't even THINK about it!" I'm sure Subaru didn't design it to run that slow in 5th, but it certainly used to be able to do it. My 86 wagon could do 25 in 5th with either the original ea82 or with the ej22 I had in it and the rpms in 5th are identical between the two cars. Just a few more pieces of the puzzle

Hey, your almost as far from the utah border that I am from the mexico border! Welcome back to the land of the roo! I've got a F350 for my wheeling rig and a 87 GL wagon that I'm working on - can't make up my mind if I want a ez30d or a ej22 on propane....choices choices!

So, it IS the computer. That's the pits. I've wondered about it for quite some time, but those things are not cheap for a test, ya know? Well, it looks like the outback will have to live in non-emissions testing country for the rest of it's life and will gut the cats since the engine will be running rich (limp home) most of the time. Which is fine, as long as we stay here.

Well, turns out the neutral switch is a dealer item. I checked the electrical properties and they operate the same. So, I swapped the connectors. Went for a test drive and ....blink blink... 2 counts each - misfire 3 and misfire 4. Shows up over 2800 rpm. Only difference is that it drops the idle sooner and the drivability seems a little better. Still hiccups though. Strange thing, that switch was shot. Well, on to more diagnosing.....

Besides, isn't that part of what makes a Subaru a Subaru? Unless your looking to loose traction/handling for mileage, then FWD is better, but for everything else, AWD FTW!

My 86 wagon had really bad understeer in FWD, in 4WD it was better, but still not great. It wasn't till I installed the rear LSD did the car become balanced in 4WD and did whatever I told it to do at 40-50 on dirt. In FWD, I wouldn't feel safe over 35, in 4WD w/Rear LSD, 50ish was my limit, but I think the car could have gone faster. I've driven a neon and an escort sedan in the dirt and the neon was understeer happy while the escort was very tail happy - both FWD. I also rode in a first gen 2dr ponitac sunfire - that was quite tail happy on gravel. He had quite a time keeping that thing straight. All depends on the suspension geometry and weight distribution, I guess. My truck, Ford 1-ton with open rear diff, is fine till I hit washboards then it's all over the place. Strange, sometimes the tail goes first, other times it understeers madly till the front catches and then the rear comes around. It's quite fun! Mom and Dad's Legacy Outback is rock solid on any roads. Although, on dirt, the tires have this strange attraction to sharp rocks that put holes in them. An interesting note is when a tire goes on that car, the reaction is much much much milder than on my 86. Personally, I would check all the bushings, top hats, struts first and make sure all is ok. Afterwords, might want to look into a swaybar kit and see if that helps with the understeering. You can only do so much with the suspension. The other thing you must remember is it's a FWD with a very torquey motor - doesn't take much throttle to get the front tires to spin on slippery surfaces. Ever tried driving a FWD EJ22 powered EA82 wagon on wet roads? Tire spin city in 1st, 2nd and part of 3rd! At only 1/3 throttle. Pop it in 4wd and away we go! I think going to RWD will make it too tail happy. For the same reason it's so "skiddery" as you put it. Too much torque for only 2WD. Also, with it being a sedan, the wheelbase is much shorter so the reaction time of when the tail brakes loose and when you compensate is also much much shorter. I started on a FWD with heavy understeer (86 4wd wagon) - I tried converting to RWD, it was fun, but still understeered badly till the rear broke loose - crazing thing is that was with a EJ22 in it. I then switched to a low powered RWD (Kia sportage) STILL understeered (but awesome off road) till the rear finally broke loose, then oversteer with no power to back it up {ever watched Initial D when Tak raced that white FC? He almost put the 86 in a guardrail because he didn't have enough power to point the car in the right direction.} scary, it is. I then went to a AWD XT6 - most well balenced car I've ever drove! I now have my Ford truck which is VERY tail happy in rain, snow, mud, and gravel, but again, I got 400 ft/lbs from 1800 to 3000 rpm at the rear. Laws of physics say the tail's gonna spin. AWD - False sense of stability? No, I wouldn't say that. It's more of you need to be more in tune with the car and know the subtle feedback that the car is telling you to know when traction is low. Having driven all three drivetrain types, I still prefer AWD out of all of them for the street.

Yup. We haven't had one like this in a LONG time AND it landed on a weekend so I could go out and play! I think the mountains got 8 or 12 inches last night. There were spots that were quite deep. Great fun, though. I'm curious how much the Chiricahua Mountains got since they're higher than the Huachucas which is where I was. Depending on when church finishes, I might go out there tomorrow afternoon...we'll see..

So, then the EJ25 is a solid lifter engine, I take it, yes? This is interesting. Oh my, didn't realize the pics were THAT big. Gonna have to fix it. Much better. One note about the neutral switch is that the old one definitely has a worn spot on the end of the sensor.

Ah more data. Will check that sensor. It was COLD this morning! YES, That's SNOW in southern Arizona! Well, I TRIED to swap the neutral switch, but the parts guy ordered the reverse light switch! So, I will have to wait some more and get the right part. One side note: the only difference between the two connectors is that the key for the connectors are on opposite sides and thier color. I did drive it some more and it's definitely in the 3000-3500 range that will trigger the codes. I tried driving in 4th at 55mph which puts the rpms at ~3200 rpms and 30 seconds later....blink blink. Stopped and check the codes: misfires on 3&4 two counts each. On another note, after I reset the computer, I went to start her back up to head for home and it acted like something broke - kinda like a "reer oof!".....odd... try again and alls happy. I'll check the other sensors and the encoder wheels to see if there is something amiss. But for now, it's time to eat!