Nitsivart

So I have an 88 GL 4wd 5spd and the "LOW" light on my dash won't go off. It flickers a bit which leads me to believe that there might be a bad ground or switch. I know it's not in 4 Low when the light is on, and it does indeed go into 4 low when I want to it, so everything seems to be working right except the light. I have found a wiring diagram and it seems that light is turned on by a switch that is supposed to be "On Transaxle Case" but as I'm fairly newish to these and not too familiar with transmissions to begin with I can't seem to identify it. Can someone maybe shoot a picture of what this switch is supposed to look like so I can track it down and find out what's going on? Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to what this might be besides a bad switch / connections I would greatly appreciate hearing them. Thanks!

Does the normal crack normally fail pressure tests too?

I removed the heads because I figured I would preemptively fix a potential problem before it arrived. Had I known that cracked heads were normal before starting I probably would have left it as is. It was running a bit rough, but nothing a tune-up would have probably fixed. I needed to do the clutch and the timing belt and I had a bit of extra spare cash at the time so I figured a small overhaul would save me sometime down the road because I already had the engine out. I am doing most of the work myself, but I work at a place that allows me access to tools and a lift and some non-Subaru-specialist mechanic knowledge. Money is definitely an object at this point in the project. I was told that when vacuum was put on it that it sucked oil that they put on the top the valves right through the crack. Another machine shop just told me that it failed. I took it to two because I didn't trust the first guy. The cracks are obvious to the eye but I was hoping when I brought them in but they weren't all the way through. The last shop I took it to pulled one of the valves out for me and showed me the crack through the center. The attached picture gives an idea of the cracks, that one is about the worst looking one.

So I had my the heads for my 89 EA82 pressure tested and they both have pretty decent cracks between the valves. I'm stuck in a pickle now and am needing some advise from the people that have dealt with this stuff. My options as far as I see them are these: a) Run with the cracks and hope for the best 2) Get new heads III) Get these heads fixed up d) Get a crate engine and call it good I'm not a fan of the idea of using the cracked ones because I want this to be a reliable vehicle in the long run, don't want to have to worry about pulling the engine again soon. From what I can find new heads are like $250 ea plus shipping, so I'm looking at around $600 or so if I went that option, about the same price that I was quoted for getting my current heads fixed. I found a crate engine nearby with ~50k on it for $950, which would be a bit more than getting my heads done up but I would be getting a lot more out of it. If you were in my shoes which way would you lean? I'm even kind of thinking about just doing an EJ swap at this point, but I think everything for that is going to run me quite a bit more than just a crate EA82 and that cost already is starting to push at the top end of the budget I have for this build. Also, what's a good place to source heads around WA? I would rather not be shipping everything cross country. Thanks in advance for the help!

Dang, is it just way easier that way? Or is that really the only way to go about it? I was hoping to stick with my original dash as the parts car is a different color. Oh well, I'm already taking the tops of the door panels and switching them. It's going to be a multicolor interior now. Maybe I'll take the time while it's all apart and paint it something new.

Well I have the engine completely out right now anyways, so I guess what better time than now right? Thanks for the input!

I have a 91 Loyale that has working air conditioning and I would like to get it in my 89 GL that didn't come with A/C. From what I can gather the Loyale and GL were pretty much the same so I feel like everything should swap right over. But I want to ask and see if it's doable before going through and tearing it all out. Anyone done this before?

That all seems like a fairly doable sized kit. Does it seem unnecessary to waste space for brake lines and such? Or should a combo of something like the tape and epoxy that Numbchux mentioned be enough to suffice?

I have a GL that I'm wanting to get prepared for long road trips and I have a Yakima box for the roof that I want to fill with some common parts that may go bad during a long trip away from civilization that I would be able to fix on the side of the road. I've acquired a mostly good parts car that I'm planning on salvaging parts from so I won't have to worry too much about cost. As my GL hasn't given me many problems in the short time I've had it, I'm not too familiar with what to worry about going bad, so my question is this: What do you guys consider some essential parts to have spares of that would also fit in a roof box and replaced on the side of the road? While I'm at it, anybody got need for parts off of a 91 Loyale push button 4wd? Trans is still good and most of the interior and body is in good shape.

I have a GL that I'm wanting to get prepared for long road trips and I have a Yakima box for the roof that I want to fill with some common parts that may go bad during a long trip away from civilization that I would be able to fix on the side of the road. I've acquired a mostly good parts car that I'm planning on salvaging parts from so I won't have to worry too much about cost. As my GL hasn't given me many problems in the short time I've had it, I'm not too familiar with what to worry about going bad, so my question is this: What do you guys consider some essential parts to have spares of that would also fit in a roof box and replaced on the side of the road? While I'm at it, anybody got need for parts off of a 91 Loyale push button 4wd? Trans is still good and most of the interior and body is in good shape.

I have an 88 GL Wagon with 126k that I've had for about 15k miles myself and never had any big problems. My clutch is needing to be replaced soon and I know it's at the mileage where I should think about doing the timing belt as well. These aren't too big of issues seeing as I work at a shop and have access to a lift, tools, and help. Seeing as the whole engine is going to be out of the car during this process I was thinking about going through and just doing a complete seal kit as well, including new head gaskets. But I'm being advised by somebody that it's not necessary to do a preventative replacement of the gaskets if they haven't gone bad. I'm just worried about it going out on me 10k miles down the road and wishing I would have done it while everything was pulled out. So I'm needing some advice, do I bother to spend the extra money now? Or just wait for the potential failure? Also, any advice about things I should check in general while I have it all torn apart? I want this to be a reliable car for a daily driver / adventurer. Thanks in advance for the advice!