555Ron

Subaru put the Brat out of production to put the impreza into production. Any new vehicle would have to meet safety standards/emission standards etc. So it won't be a brat as you know it! I say its totally impossible. If there was one, Subie Aus would have it here in a flash. The local Subie wrecker has a Toyota as his delivery vehicle. He wants a brat... but he just keeps selling them!

I was raining the other night and i was able to find the source of my water leak under the hood. If you take the spare tyre out there a join half way up the metal. When it rains water will seep out from this join and sit underneath the spare tyre. The other thing i have also noticed is that if you throw a bucket of water at the car, the water will drain from the rear of the guards (which have rusted out) near the front doors. I've been puzzled by this for some time, but now i think there may be a drainage hose for the front. I think this is how most cars work. Theres a recess below the wipers, and a hose will drain this water to the ground. So i thought maybe the hose had become clogged up and be causing all this trouble. There was a fair bit of crap in the guards when i bought the car, but many hours of thought haven't been able to solve this mystery... yet! So has anyone ever stripped one of these cars (Ea82 leone/loyale) and seen this hose? (it may not exist.../ know of the correct path for the water to flow) My old sube had its fair share of rust (its causing the spare tyre holder to rust), but it didnt have this problem

Ok, my question is mineral, semi synthetic or synthetic. Which is best for the ea82? I want to put some 10w40 semi synthetic in mine... is this ok?

Sounds like a cool mod. I nominate you as the test pilot though:D

Cool, i'd love a gig like that. Yep, salesmen are pricks (apologies to salesmen on the board;)). Cut them out if you can, all they worry about is their pocket. The dealer principal should do you a good deal. Dunno what your place is like, but the upmarket (bigger) type dealerships don't like to have old cars, and send them off to auction. They also don't offer much to trade them in. They probably don't know the value either if they only deal in new cars. You should be able get a great deal, car sounds like a goer. Go for it:D ...And post pics as you go. Sounds like a good project.

Don't know. No rust is a big positive. 6 Cylinders sounds nice, what engine are you going to use? You don't want to go too low, and start being talked, up and up, and up. You also don't want to offer him too much. I'd start at $2500... the prices i've seen that would be a steal. You have to look in the paper in see what they're going for in your region. Everywhere will be different. Where do you work?

Is it just the rear diff that is a lsd? How do you tell?

Cool, sounds like a sweet car you got yourself there. A bit more info on the engine... what cylinder is down? Do a general tune first... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32721 ...then come back and tell us more. Maybe the distributor cap, leads or plug is bad. Don't put injector cleaner through it if you can help it, general consensus is it can do more harm then good (well, especially overuse). Once you can find the cylinder that down, you can take the plug out and feel for the valves. This will tell you if your camshaft is ok. Also, take the front timing covers off and make sure they're not a notch off. This would make it run horrible also. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/article.php?a=24

Goto Subaru and get a waterpump gasket. About $3, get some loctite aviation gasket seal and some gasket cleaner from an auto store. Clean it all up and reinstall with the Subaru gasket, coating the pump and block with the loctite to help. I had trouble with my waterpump leaking, the gasket had folded over on itself during installation. Not your problem obviously, but something to be carful of as seeing the bottom of the pump is difficult with the belts in the way. The only places i can think that could be leaking are, O-ring on the pump inlet pipe, did you replace this? - You must. Theres two bolts on each side of the head for draining the cooling system, the HG's, the waterpump, the thermostat housing and the heater unit. This is everywhere coolant could be leaking from in my book. Double check the waterpump and maybe even do a reinstall... i know how much its going to piss you off, i had to do it after completing the job when i saw the puddle of coolant under my car after i refilled the radiator, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Hi Shadow, sounds like an interesting plan. Whats involved in making an ethanol still? Whats the difference between ethanol and methanol? (as in power/burning/corroding.. could you put 100% ethanol in one week then 100% methanol?) And how will you get your injectors to inject the correct amount of ethanol and petrol? Anyway, ethanol should be fairly cheaper then petrol. Local independent fuel retailers add ethanol to their fuel so they can compete with the larger companies.

Hi, get the plastic boot fixed asap. That is the CV joint covering, and without grease and a possibly water contamination it won't last too long. It's a $10 part, and should be cheap to install. ($45 Australian for me, messy job;)) Next, clean up your engine really nicely... get all the oil off it. Take a high pressure gun to it if you can... just be careful not to let it get into the engine (via dipstick, oil cap) and cover the distributor and alternator with a plastic bag so they dont get wet. Now, i think you need a 12mm spanner (maybe 10mm) and take the two front plastic timing belt covers off either side on the front of your engine (on each side, one of the nuts isn't seated on the inside of the plastic cover like the others, so you'll need a pair of pliers on the inside to grip it while turning the nut. I worked this out the hard way:-\). You can take the middle one off too but you will have to take the pulley off your engine, so it can stay for now. Clean up the oil in there too. These covers only keep water and debris from the belts, but when your oil leak is bad it is much better to leave them off as the oil will puddle inside the belts and weaken them. So, everything is nice and clean and visible. Start her up in this state, get a beer and have a look to see where the oil is coming from. Look at the engine seal, cam seals, and underneath the cam housing for leaks. Now, you've got to decide if you want to DIY or take it to a mechanic. Definately find out exactly where the oil is coming from before you take it to the mechanic. You don't want to find out the *************** is still leaking after $600 being spent on it. If you were to do it yourself, there are some great people on the board here and you could do all the front seals for say, < $50... job done. (not an easy job for a beginner in my books though) If you do decide to take it to a mechanic, just leave those covers off like i said above. You won't damage the engine and you'll be helping your belts.

Well, they're a very sort after car in Australia. They've got a cult following so if you want one, you've got to pay some serious money for them. I've heard of them selling for more then what they were worth brand new:drunk:. There's nothing quiet like them in Australia. And Subaru have a very good name here... and a considerable market share. (>25% for SUV's, about 5-6% overall)

Stick with Gates and OEM. Steer clear of bosch. A broken belt isn't terminal though.

Yes, Lucas is available in Australia. Goto your local parts store. Its usually stocked with the oil and grease. I don't think it will do much personally, but it worth a try in your situation. It's not cheap either. (way cheaper then a new box though!)

Yes, there is a rear muffler... but it will be the middle pipe with the resonator that could make this noise (loose baffles). Get down on your knees, the pipe is in 3 sections. Your rear muffler may be new, but 9 out of 10 times your resonator and catalytic converter will be 15 years old. Give it a few kicks and you'll see if it is that or not. If it isn't get the screwdriver. If you don't like it, i think everyone on the board would pounce on this car, its a goer (imo:cool:).

Yeah, they're all underpowered. They'll take weight though. If it is your muffler then that maybe restricting power a little. Just go to the exhaust with the engine off and kick it. It could be a loose baffle in the resonator or something similar and it should make a noise if you do that. You can take a screwdriver, flat end to the engine and put the plastic on your ear. Check the cam housing, oil pump, block etc for the tap. Anyway, one tap can be easily fixed... usually...

If you pull the engine you can also do the main rear oil seal. And that would be all seals bar the HGs. It can be done in the engine. It will be easier to do if you pull the engine... and you'll probably do a better job.

Cool, thats an excellent place to start. Some belts have a habbit of throwing teeth which cause it to slip and jump. The car will start to run horrible and before long it simply won't go. Give that a go and come back and report your findings. It can't be stressed enough how bad overheating these cars are. Once it start to get a little hot, turn it off and investigate. The all alloy engine will warp when overheated.

Check timing belts. Don't let it overheat:o Bit more info on the car would be useful... What sort of engine/car/tranny etc

I think tim might want the car for himself:drunk: Only thing that stopped my EA82 was a broken clutch cable. I could have still driven it with a fair bit of effort... but i thought it would like it better if i didn't. Doesn't use oil, doesn't leak oil... great little Subie

So, yeah, it shouldn't be too bad. But she'll brake just like a WRX box if you give her too much hell.

100,000 miles... you're still running it in. You should have good compression in that. Wouldn't that be the key in this? If it works - More compression??

No worries. I'm just a guesspert, but there are some really knowledgable Subaru people on the board. It's a great resource. You might want to change the fuel filter(s) if you haven't already to stop it from recuring...

Never had a cat go on me, but those are the symptons. Check the entire exhaust system for dents. Check the inlet for any clogs (air filter). I put converter into the search and got these results. Also, check you have a cat converter. You're idle also seems very high. I believe the manual lists 800rpm for the auto and 600rpm for the manual.

The Cat Converter.