heartless

personally, for a commuter car, i would not go with a turbo - but that is me. the 4EAT are 500x better than the old 3spd autos - have one in a 90 Legacy LS wagon and it is fine - i get around 29 mpg on the hiway (when it is cold they dont like to shift to that last gear until fully warmed up) the 5 spd would get a little bit better fuel mileage, but with AWD, not sure how much better (the other half has a FWD 5 spd & gets 32-33mpg running country roads - not city, not interstate)

+2 - if you're gonna do it, do the pillars, too - it just looks weird if you dont.

well, didnt take any pics - too darn cold. Official total in Wausau (about an hour from us) was a little better than 11 inches. here it was hard to say what we got cause it all got blown around with the 30-35mph winds!! We had drifts of nearly 4 ft in some places and bare ground in other places.... and got snow up under my hood again this year! not nearly as bad as last time, when it was packed solid, but still agrivating!

based on this statement I am willing to hazard a guess that you didnt blow a head gasket - you packed snow up into the radiator breifly - less airflow would raise the temp some, then it melted off which could feasibly cause steam... and it was completely melted by the time you got home.

i'm sorry to hear this! If we were closer I would be happy to take it off your hands - blown headgasket & all.

OMG Dude - those pics look like our driveway! a very familiar sight. gonna wait till it gets light out & will take some pics - we have a cool looking drift between madkow's car & the garage - kind looks like the matterhorn! madkow was supposed to work today, but was told dont bother coming in - they arent going anywhere with the trucks today - 30+ mph winds!!

gary - thank you for the tidbit on the power steering o-ring - we have a couple of o-ring kits - both metric & sae so I am pretty sure i can find one to fit as long as it is smaller than about 1-1/4" in diameter... also appreciate the info about the rear cam o-ring - that would explain quite a bit of the oil leak if it does indeed have that... and again - thanks to GD for all the tips, and advice, both here and in pm. Thanks to all that have replied - It is greatly appreciated. I am off to see about ordering parts... Oh, and I am going to leave the oil pan alone for the time being...re-do the other stuff and see if it helps with the oil leakages...

first - thanks for the replies guys. unfortunatly for us - the nearest dealer is several hours away, so just popping over for a few parts isnt really much of an option. (thus the ? to you, GD, about the gasket sets) GD - thank you for that VERY helpful piece of info on the water pump (and the pulling of the radiator) - i will be sure to follow your advice. Honestly - without some serious degreasing on the underside, it is really hard to say for sure where the oil is really coming from - I am pretty certain that the front cam seals are leaking some (clue: oil drips from the cover seam), but from pulling the outer covers to take a peek, it doesnt look too bad in there & the belt is dry at least. looking at the cam towers from the underside - passenger side is pretty clean considering - drivers side however is lookin pretty grimy... Looking at things from the top - have a gunky buildup near the pass side front of intake manifold gasket area :-\... the worst of the oil residue is at the back side of the pan & going towards the back of the car (covering the crossmember, steering rack, etc) yes there is some oily residue at the front, but not nearly as bad as back by the x-member & beyond...oh & drivers side of the pan is mostly bone dry... coolant leak has got to be very miniscule - i am a fanatic about checking fluids regularly and I rarely have to add any coolant (when i do it is only about 1/3 to 1/2 a cup) I just happened to notice a very small green spot... I have only had the car for a couple of years, & really have no idea if it's prior history - what I do know is it was abused by the p.o. - driving it around on blown air struts, tearing up the exhaust...there were a bunch of reciepts in the glovebox for various things done, including reasonably regular oil changes, a new radiator a year or so before i got it, and a few other minor things, but that is the extent of the 'known' history. oh yeah - another book! LOL

...is it to replace the oil pan gasket on a 1990 EJ22??? while doing an oil change yesterday spent a little time inspecting the underside (ewww - very oily!) a couple of rags later it looks like I could really use a new pan gasket, as well as new front seals (timing belt area) and a couple of other items... a little back story here - when i got this car a couple of years ago a co-worker was looking for a car to work on in his auto repair class at the local tech school - huh, figured i would help the kid out with a good project for him & myself by getting new timing belt, pulleys, seals, waterpump, etc done for me...BIG, BIG mistake!!!! (lesson learned!) it wasnt but a couple of months after getting the car back that I had to completely redo the timing belt - it jumped and died on me in a bad spot on the road (no place to pull over!)... recently, the car has been going thru oil like crazy - darn near an oil change worth between regular changes (roughly 4000 miles) needless to say i check it VERY regularly... So now I am looking at doing the job i should have done myself anyway completely over again... Timing set, new front seals, reseal water pump (pump was replaced, but there is a very small leak in the area - assuming he fubarred the gasket, double check the screws on the oil pump backing plate, etc, etc,...and since the oil pan is pretty nasty along the gasket line, am wondering how hard it would be to replace that as well.... obviously i would have raise the engine a little, but how far would be enough to do this job?? and what - besides motor mounts - would i have to unbolt to raise it? we do have a nice cherry picker, so lifting from the top side is no problem... Sorry for the book, but, well... and thanks in advance!!

if the fuel pump is cycling with the engine off/key in On position... first thing to check - pop the hood, look near drivers side strut tower for the green connectors - I am betting they are plugged together - unplug them and the pump will stop!! (these connectors are not supposed to be plugged together for normal driving conditions - neither are the black ones that are in the same location!) fwiw - if you need to drain the fuel tank, plug the green connectors together, pull the out feed line from the pump, and place another hose on there that is long enough to reach into a can - turn key on & it will pump away! (just make sure you keep an eye on things!)

another possible is Thorogood - made by Weinbrenner - they have been around since 1892, and supply police, fire & rescue, etc.... The other half recently bought a pair and absolutely loves them! model 804-4240 - 6" sport boot safety toe gen ex he says they are VERY comfortable - they are also shock resistant and slip resistant. here's a link to one place online that has them: http://www.onlinebootstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=804-4240&Category_Code=ThorogoodMenSteelToe he got them locally on sale, so was able to try on first,

might be something worth trying before actually buying a replacement cable. seems to me, if it is fine once things warm up it is getting "moisture" inside the cable housing that is freezing up, thereby causing the sticking. Once the engine warms up enough it would melt the ice and everything would be fine... OR... lube inside the cable is too heavy and/or dirty - needing to warm up/soften to move freely... i'm just a "Mickey Mouse Mechanic", so don't take my word for it, but makes sense to me....

wow, sounds like you have some seriously stuck pins - I have never seen one that frozen up - not even on a 20 yr old car in the salt belt! Yes - the bushing you asked about should move within the housing - again, lots of PB, let it soak in good, heat on the outside if you have it, squirt again... the other half's Legacy had pins that werent sliding very well (completly worn inner pads, darn near new outer pads), but we didnt have THAT hard a time getting things apart - PB Blaster is the cat's meow for doing this stuff - coupled with a little heat if things are really bad - might take several cycles of heat/PB, but it will eventually work. In the absence of a good heat source - squirting PB in as best you can, and rotating the caliper back & forth (up/down) on the pin may help as well, as can a couple taps with a hammer (causes vibrations that will help the penetrant get in) When you do get the darn thing apart and cleaned up - make sure you are using the grease specifically made for brake systems to regrease everything. when re-assembling, lube up the piece, put it back in where it belongs - slide it back & forth a couple of times, smear a little more grease on, repeat...make darn sure all moving parts get coated good! Good luck.

save yourself the money & the gas and get the 4 cyl. gas is gonna keep goin up, and in the end you will want the better mileage over the little bit of power...

while some will say yes to napa - others will say no and some will tellyou OEM no matter what......i am in the 'no napa' catagory - i feel their prices are too high when I can get the same stuff cheaper elsewhere. for brake pads/shoes, i generally use the wearever brand (usually the silvers - around $18-20 per set) if everything else on the brake system is in good condition, they last just fine. (by everything else, i mean calipers, slides, etc) Wheel bearings - I used to get them at Car Quest - dont remember the brand name - generally speaking, if greased & installed correctly, no problems. Struts/shocks...comes down to what is available & what the cost is - get the best you can afford... on a side note - if you are going to do all of that, might check your ball joints & tierod ends (outers) too - if they are sloppy, would go ahead and replace them, then take the car in for a proper alignment. you should then be golden for many, many miles Good luck!

Whichever you prefer, nipper! Oo-Oo - yeah, what he said about the shrinkwrap packageing!! and lets not forget the danged hard plastic packageing that practically takes an impact hammer to get into!!

any place that sells tools in general should have them - they are called, "impact drivers" - usually have several bits in the kit - 2-3 phillips bits, a couple flat blades, and a few other odd bits. heck in a pinch the Harbor Freight cheepie works...

and you will find yourself spending more & more time with your Subie than with your hon-dog (sorry, just cant seem to say it right! ) The more you learn about Subaru's the more you will come to love and cherish them! oh yeah, and welcome to the best board on the net!!!!!!

there is no substitute for a GOOD handheld impact driver set. as mentioned, they are invaluable on older japanese bikes (and i concur with the kicking statement!! ) Using a power version i am sure is nice and all, BUT - you have a much larger amount of control with the good old fashioned handheld, hammer driven ones - from a light tap with a standard claw hammer, to a good solid smack with a mini sledge... just my .02 cents worth...

i have a couple of them just lying around here - if you want to pay for shipping i can send ya one or two - might fit in a small flat rate box even...

i found this place (actually one of it's previous incarnations) about 10 years ago when i got my first Subaru - the gang here has helped to that car going for years!! Lots of very knowledgeable people and tons of great info - the best of all worlds!!

would be helpful to know what car you have...1st gen legacy's have issues with the controls needing re-soldering... other than that - pull your glove box out for better access to the blower motor & wiring.

you arent excited or anything, are you?? my old 89 GL wagon, 5 spd, FWD got 32-33 mpg average bone stock(and i did NOT baby it!) madkow's 89 GL wagon, 5 spd, dual range got 28-30 mpg also bone stock(he drove it like Grandpa!) the current 90 Legacy LS AWD Automatic gets anywhere from 26 to 29 mpg - havent managed to break that 30 mark with it yet, but got really close @ 29.8 on a fill up. madkow has a 90 Legacy L, 5 spd FWD that gets 32 mpg easy (again, he drives like grandpa! )

all depends on where exactly the break is - had an 89 Taurus that both rear coils had broken on near the top, never made noises, didnt even sag much - didnt know they were broken until we went to replace the shocks/struts... rears are probably less prone to make nasty noises than fronts since the fronts need to turn with the wheel...but anything is possible i 'spose, since his was a front...

+1 on the Legacy wagons! got my LS for $200 with blown air struts - swapped it over to the standard coilovers, fixed the trashed exhaust - down the road we go!! a LOT more comfortable than the older GL's and more hp, too. (altho will always have a soft spot for the GL's - had mine for 10 years!)