Subaru_dude

On Goodyear Assurance Fuel Maxes I got 31.25 at the VERY best in my '96 5spd Outback. Consistently managed 33 out of my '93 5spd 2wd Impreza WAGON with those big honkin roof racks. Upper 30's (can't remember exactly but did manage 41 once coming from Nashville with a very strong tail wind) with my '89 5spd 2wd GL sedan.

Hell, have a muffler shop relocate that cat. Sludge problem solved (unless there's just nowhere to move it to). I'll be sticking to my EJ22 Outback. 225,000 and going strong.

Bahhhh there's enough supercharged EJ22s out there. This will be one sweet EA81 if you go through with it Isail...

Actually have considered Idaho. That's where the Outback I am currently driving is originally from actually. I will have to look more into Idaho...

Wow guys it appears I'm getting sold. Tell me more...

Title says it all. I want members who have moved to the West coast from the East coast to tell me why I should move West. I LOVE long winters, cloudy weather, mild summers, snow, and SUBARUS. There's NONE of that here. I'm tired of the humidity, the congested air, and the complete lack of brotherhood when it comes to Subarus around here. Don't get me wrong, I've met some great people through this site but there's no old-gen here at all. Never any 4-wheeling trips with lifted EA82s or EA81s... just Impreza cruises which is fine and all just not my thing. I have some experience in the construction field. I've been looking at houses in my price-range in Oregon and Washington and I see ALOT more of what I'm looking for over there. I personally think that I would enjoy it more but I want to hear from you guys that have made the big move. Let's hear it...

1996 Subaru Outback 5spd. 220,000 miles and depending on how I drive it, can use oil. If I drive it hard with alot of high RPMs it'll use a quart every 3,000. Less spirited it will use none. Doesn't feel like it's low on power at all, seems to have plenty of it. Rides great, no noises. Have seen plenty of Subarus with 400,000+ miles. My nephew's Impreza (which I handed down to him) currently has 260,000 on original motor and trans. I resealed the trans with a new clutch about a month ago. Judging by the way that car runs, another 250,000 should be absolutely no problem at all.

Here's some more...

Thank you very much for posting that thread Loyale 2.7. Unfortunately I've already gotten a hold of an Aussie d/r from another board member who bought it from Zap who had it imported here lol. and yes SubieDaddy, it's WAY too clean. Fortunately I'll be going camping soon and that usually involves alot of donuts in muddy fields. And thanks everybody for the positive feedback. I try to keep this car in great condition and it's nice to hear some compliments!

215/60/16s mounted on WRX rims. Also has O'Reilly auto parts mud flaps. They work great too. Will someday have: Aussie EJ d/r with EA82 low range and Forester 5th gear King Springs and KYB struts Custom front and rear bumpers with skid plates

I've been giving my Outback a break from the 140 mile round trip commutes and re-comissioned my '89 touring wagon. It's bone-stock except for the 15" peugeot wheels and Bridgestone Turanza tires. I feel much more comfortable driving the EA82 to be honest, even if the Outback is actually the safer car. The EA82 is much more manueverable and seems to be easier to rev-match when downshifting. I have ALOT of trouble getting it right with the Outback, as a matter of fact I have so much trouble I gave up haha. The only drawback is the seats but that's not a permanent none-fixable problem. Not to mention the EA82 is WAY funner to drive. Handles awesome with the pugs and you can just tell by the feel of the car it's much lighter. Not to mention 33.5 mpg as opposed to an even 30. The EA82 has enough pep to get along. The Outback of course is more desireable if you're a more agressive driver, but if you just want a cheap car that will take a beating and is easy to find parts for the EA82 is an excellent choice. And like GD said, you could always swap in an EJ22 or EA81. I say go for the EA82, I think you'd enjoy it more and get more use out of it. EDIT: I just now realize that this post is pretty much useless because I have no experience with Justys whatsoever. And furthermore, I am comparing an EA82 to an EJ22 Outback.

Holy crap been a while since I had that car. Ended up wrecking it. Never was fast. Never had one fast. Never will have one fast. Don't even want one fast. As long as it's got 4lo, who cares. That's my motto and I'm stickin' to it.

I'm looking to buy some Yokohoma Geolanders for my Outback. I noticed that certain sizes are made in Japan while other sizes (namely the size I want) are made in Thailand and China and were also less expensive. Should I worry about where they're made? Does anybody have any experience with 215/70r/16 or 215/65r/16 Geolanders? Thank you very much for any replies.

After actually driving it, I passed. I'm simply too big to fit in it comfortably. AND it had NO power. Being that slow... it better get more like 50mpg.

Okay so I talked to him on the phone after work and asked how much on top of the Outback he wanted for the Brat. $2000 . So I told him I would offer no more than $500 on top of my car and he said he still wanted to have a look at the car and negotiate. So I head in his direction. I get to his house (he's keeping the Brat at a friend's house) and he drives my car the 5 or 6 miles back to the Brat. He only nit picked about a couple little things but overall really liked the car actually. Talk about what he's got at home, factory jump seats and factory camper. SWEET. He lets me take the Brat for a test drive and I'm really impressed. Not bad at all on room, seemed to have enough head and the seat just BARELY leaned back far enough for me to feel comfortable. Had no idea 4th was THAT TALL. And you guys weren't kidding about it being a billy goat on the road either. Anyway I ended up passing cuz he still wanted $1000 on top of my car WITHOUT including the jump seats OR the camper shell. I've got my hatch to look forward to at least. Having driven an EA81 now, I'm really motivated to get the hatch home and running. Thanks very much guys for giving me an idea on what to expect. I indeed found all your input to be very useful!!!

The 27th of this August will make exactly one year. It had 186,xxx miles when I bought it so that's 34,000 miles a year. Next year I should have around 250,000 on original engine and tranny unless I swap in my ej d/r.

I most definitely would NOT be buying this vehicle as a daily driver. Some of you seem to think I'm replacing the OBW with it. That's just not true. It would be a short road trip, camping vehicle STRICTLY. The EA82 wagon would become the DD. And I'm most definitely not going to pay $5000 for it. I'm going to offer the OBW in trade and throw $500 on top of that and THAT'S IT. That's a total of 3,300 being that I paid $2,800 for the OBW when it had 185,000 miles on it. If he doesn't take it then no real losses, I love my Outback. If he does then I'll just have to make sure the touring wagon is ready for many MANY miles.

Yeah I'm aware. I have an '89 Touring wagon that would probably become my daily. That's why I made reference to it. At one point I had a 1987 DL with manual steering and I prefer it over power steering. I just like the feel, I've always been somewhat Spartan when it comes to my tastes in vehicles. I could easily get by without even having A/C. I learned to drive on a '78 3 on the tree straight 6 Chevrolet with power NOTHING. I loved that truck. I'm also a laid back driver anyway MOST OF THE TIME. Sometimes I do get a wild hair though... The Outback sees speeds in excess of 100 at least every couple months. I like to think of myself as a very simple person. I don't mind sacrificing a little to have less to worry about. I also recently bought a hatch in very good condition that needs a little work to get it running. If I get tired of the Brat, I'll just switch to the hatch!

Well I'm going to offer NO MORE than $500 on top of the Outback. I originally wanted a multi-purpose vehicle when I bought the Outback. I wanted something that was comfortable yet could handle many different types of conditions. It's also a plus that I can sleep in it if need be and have quite a few times. It's been the best car I've had so far and the only one that doesn't leak any fluids at all. Having owned a few Soobs, it's nice to NOT smell burning differential grease at stop lights. I also just got a hold of a d/r EJ tranny from Numbchux that I'm planning on dropping EA82 d/r low into and that's another reason I don't want to get rid of the OB. I'd just have to get rid of that tranny too. I just performed a tune-up using NGK V-power plugs and Subaru plug wires. My mileage went up about 1-2 mpgs. The timing belt was done at 177,000 from what I can see on the tag under the hood. I do not know if the idlers and tensioner were done then though. Hoses look good too. I may say that this would just be a weekender or a show car but truth be known I'd probably drive it to work quite often. It seems to me that an EA81 would be just as reliable as any EJ22 as long as mantainance is kept up. And yes the Outback is racking up the miles and I can feel the difference in just 30,000 miles. That's what's nicer about the EA82, you don't feel as bad about driving it into the ground. Or at least I don't. I'm just torn lol. I'm honestly too emotionally drawn into this situation to make an informed decision. Just the thought of how clean and pristine of a Brat it is makes me decide right then that I want it. I need you guys to think practially for me!!! You're doing good so far... but even if you do bad and I end up with the Brat I'll forgive you. Sigh....

Well that wasn't really my question. My question was whether or not I should make the trade.

1985 Brat. T-tops, 4spd d/r, dark blue in excellent shape. 145,000 miles and nearly NO rust. Just a couple spots I could find and it wasn't serious at all. New tires too. He's asking a whopping $5000 and he says FIRM. I offered my 1996 Outback with 217,000 miles and he said with a little cash on top of that he would think about it. My practical side says I should keep the more "reliable" and comfortable ride but good lordy this is one absolutely beautiful Brat. No jump seats though. If he decided it was a fair trade, would I regret giving up my 5spd EJ22 Outback for a pristine Brat? It took me a while to find the EJ22 Outback and I've had no complaints about it whatsoever (besides it COULD use some higher gearing). I would be forced to revert to my EA82 Touring Wagon as a daily. This Brat would be strictly for show or the occasional short road trip. I drive 140 miles daily and enjoy the comfort and nice cold a/c of the Outback. What do you guys think I should do?

Alright, who here in the Great Southeast would be up for a camping/4x4ing/bbq meet? I know of a pretty good 4x4 trail in Cherokee National Forest. I have weekends off so any weekend would be good for me personally.

I have no idea why it was painted. He said it has a timing "chain" and I'm assuming those will go a while before needing changed. Next time I go look at it I'll ask him why it's been painted. He said it hasn't been in any wrecks though...

I found a 1980 Toyota Tercel coupe with 150,000 miles and a new paint job. It doesn't appear to have any rust on the undercarriage or body and the interior is in good shape. It's a 4spd stick and supposedly everything's mechanically sound. I've been looking for a 40mpg car for work and back (700 miles a week) because the Outback at it's very VERY best gets 30. From what I've read on the net people get 40-50 (seems a little high) pretty regularly out of this model Tercel. Anybody have any experience with this model Toyota? How were the carbs, problem areas, easy to service? From what I understand it has the 20R pretty much based on the 22R and from what I hear the 22R is an EXCELLENT engine. Thank GOODNESS it's not a transversely mounted 4-cylinder. That's one of the most appealing things about it to me. So you think it's worth anywhere near $1000? That's what he's asking but it seems a bit steep for such an old car but then again at that price it would pay itself off in less than a year.

Really suprised at how well it turned out. Was hesitant about the paint job at first, but now that it's finished it actually looks really cool. I bet you can see that thing from MILES away. Sweet job on the paint job