calebz

Grab the rotor and give it wiggle. it shouldn't move, but if it does, bushings are probably worn out.

I see you met Washington State Patrol's toy unmarked volvo.. Sneaky little bastard isn't he? I met him recently as well..:madder:

Its possible for the distributor to knock if the bushings are bad, but its generally not as 'sharp' of a sound as a rod knock.. if its a rod knock and you don't want to deal with it, let me know.. I always wanted an RX and I have an 88 EA82T sitting here....

Check all fuses inside the car. Check to see if check engine light comes on with the key in the on position. hook up green diagnostic connectors under the dash and see if there are error codes.. even with no codes, you should at least get the manufacturing date code.. if no flashy lights at all on ECU, then there's a chance you fried ecu. also, with key on and green connector connected, you should hear the fuel pump relay click every 1.5 seconds, you should also hear the fuel pump cycle every 1.5 seconds.

Fix your oil leak...

there a few few tests to be done.. one is checking resistance.. when unplugged, I believe it should read out right around 35-37 ohms(someone please correct me if I'm wrong)

You're probably right about the suspension being out of a sedan or wagon.. 4wd wagon=tall.. 2wd wagon=a little shorter. 2wd XT even shorter.. if you have the 4wd wagon suspension on there now, you should notice a big difference when you put the 2wd xt suspension on.. thats as low as you can go with out cutting/heating springs. However, you talked about binding in your last post... what exactly is binding up? steering, is your 4wd binding? The tall suspension shouldn't cause any problems.. just looks a little funny.

Soo.. you never actually said what is happening.. Are the new belts breaking? Perhaps new tensioner pulleys are in order. And sorry, I don't know of any website that will give you explicit instructions

C'mon man. EA82T is really not that hard to work on. You have a primo soob there.. don't sacrifice it over a stupid head gasket.

Even if it didn't run, that would still be an OK price..

Iliked my pug.. it was big, heavy, comfortable .. and a damn sight faster than a subaru:eek:

I'll check with my Father in law.. he lives in that area and used to indulge in our soob disease. (until his wife sold the GL and moved away with the OBW)

I have similar advice.. Put the tranny in 2nd gear before putting it in revers.. Its a habit I got into years ago to avoid grinding reverse on my saab(its actually recommended in the saab owners manual!).. works on my soob too.

Get a subaru mechanic.. then find a better source for the fuel pump. Not sure what it is about the job that would justify $450.. tell us where in CO you are, and either me, or someone else will know a good direction to point you for a soob mechanic.

Pretty similar experiences.. A quart between changes.. more if I have long trips.. I need cam seals and a crank seal.. the little drips are driving me mad! I noticed that I used a little bit of coolant recently.. not much.. don't know where it went.. no leaks

Its just a few seals.. compressor stays.. the biggest thing is to have the lines completeley evacuated.. r12 and r134a don't play well together .. You can get a conversion kit at autozone for 35.99

Don't get a haynes for timing belts.. get an FSM or someone that knows how to do it to help you. The haynes manual I have doesn't show the correct procedure for installing the belts. it left a step out.

Brake calipers will rub

I totally dig the dryer hose cold air intake!

As far as I know they weren't readily available in the US. they were made for peugeots in the early 90s. They could be ordered in the US, but even from the dealership, they were cost prohibitive.

Only color I have ever seen them in is red.. When I had a peugeot, I found a guy that had a new set..$385 each plus shipping from the UK.. I decided to pass

One thing I forgot to mentio. My tail lights went out a few months back It turned out to be a faulty switch.. I hotwired the tail lights so the are always on with the key.. You have to remove the steering wheel to replace the switch:(

Behind the dash isn't any worse than most other cars. The best manual is the factory service manual set. They can be pricey, but they some times pop up on ebay or from members on the board.. I paid $30 plush shipping for mine

Just to add a little to what steve has said, the two relays right above the ECU are for Ignition and fuel pump.

Dude! If you got passed around like that you would be a little worn out too!