boxerhummfetish

Go to pick and pull or a scrapyard; I would think '93-'95 models would be compatible for that. The scrapyard charges you just a small amount, but you probably want to hire someone off of craigslist or so that has pulled these before. It can take a bit of time, like a pro about an hr to two. I wouldn't attempt myself unless i had to. http://www.picknpull.com/ btw wow what a***holes. the broke the most expensive and difficult window to swap, and you cannot even unlock the door from the rear hatch if they were thinking of breaking in; for that any of the side windows would do.

Wow, thank you very much John. I will look at the starter contacts first. Also, I will check the auto parts store and maybe radio shack and ask if there is some sort of conductive paste (maybe zinc based) for terminals.

I'm driving a '93 Legacy right now. Car has worked pretty well; a few minor issues but seems good. One odd thing did happen to me on a recent 6 hr drive to NYC, coming back midway and during my refueling rest break. Car had been sitting like 10 minutes with key maybe in on position to power my gps map which I was playing with for 10 minutes to figure out the route. I try to start the car, and it doesn't turn over like usual. Lights are on though on the dashboard, just turning the key to start the starter produces no action. Turn off for a while and again try a few times, and eventually it starts. What could cause this weird one time occurance? Once I had a loose battery terminal but in that case the dash lights showed that that was the case--similar to having a dead battery. Not sure what went on this time. My other question... I've noticed that this 1993 subaru is different (from my 1995 imp) in that the ignition will start on the second click, not the first turn of the key. Is this a weird old subaru safety feature or also a defect in the ignition system?

Hey, thanks everybody. I will look into all these possibilities. I did change the ATF fluid before my trip east (one flush only though)--and, like 91Loyale warned, I actually messed up with interchanging the fluids with the front diff, but quickly corrected the mix up. (Sorry 91Loyale for posting in OlderGen; my thought was this old Subie had more in common with the Older Gen drivetrain-wise than New Gen which are now all AWD and not 4WD. ) I think I may try the Gunk additive you suggested, I've had a great experience with their Steering rack additive (fixed everything), and if that doesn't work look at the possibility of something wrong with the CV or U joint.

Okay, I've developed or first noticed some very strange issues in an old 1st Gen Legacy wagon. It's a 1993 Legacy 4WD with Automatic transmission that I bought late spring this year and drove across to the east coast (exciting adventures). Anyways, aside from an incident with more than expected oil consumption (compared to my EJ 1.8 Impreza that burns next to none), I'm just coming up with an issue I'm concerned about. The symptom occurs only sometimes, and is only noticeable at very low idle/walking speeds; it's as if you left on the parking brake on--there is extra resistance force that brakes the car, usually to a halt, from walking speed; you need to tap the throttle where normally idle would move you forward. Then, the other odd thing is, once you're at halt, and you switch it out of gear, say from D to R or P, or from R to P, there is a slight jerk and thud from what might be the transmission; the release of power is noticeable as a jerk which actually moves the car forward by some a few millimeters or slight amount. It's also possible these symptoms occur more frequently when making sharp turns (extreme steering deflections) during parking maneuvres--but maybe I'm imagining this correlation because parking often involves such turns. This is so weird. Does anybody have a clue or guess as to what this may be? TIA

Okay, great, I came across that awesome link by browsing similar threads. That's great, the black connector worked and flashed me a code 32; this was indeed the O2 sensor. So, either the code was never reset (just did a 20+ minute battery disconnect, which should clear them) or I may have some faulty wiring with the new O2 sensor. Anyways, this routine is great to know.

Jerking reminds me of when my MAF when unreliable. So, MAF electronics could be going bad, such that cleaning won't help. I suggest pulling another used one from pick and pull; hopefully a better on. Other possibilities?? crank position sensor? plug wires or plug?

I just recently got this '93 legacy awd wagon. runs well, but recently the CEL light comes on for about 5 or ten minutes, usually (not consistently), and usually after driving for 5 to 10 minutes. It goes off after 10 minutes or so too. I thought it might've been the o2 sensor being really old (prev owner barely passed the smog); so I swapped that for a new one yesterday. But I still noticed they CEL light coming on once today. The previous owner also rep'd the MAF sensor (with a working used one). What else could this be? Also, anyone know what a low end OBD1 reader model is for a subaru?? Thanks!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_engine (6 piston engine rather) Just kidding. But I did hear they're coming out with an H4 diesel!

1995 Impreza L, 1.8, 5 speed, 150k miles. I get around 28 combined. 28 to 30 if pure freeway driving (road trips). City driving doesn't usually drag the mileage down too bad (unless I'm in a real hurry or going mental). I usually drive like a grandma, lug the engine on light acceleration ~1600 rpm, coast a lot, think about timing the traffic lights; I'll even often stop the engine on long red lights. I'm thinking on getting bigger tires on my next set (185 75 r14), because I think the fwy miles could be better, and would be improved by keeping the rpm's under 3000, which doesn't happen much in today's typical 70 to 75 mph fwy driving.

I just came across these links which opens the possibility that the mechanic incorrectly though the axle was too short. The compressed length listed by empi seems to be comparable to that which I measured, and the axle indeed seems to stretch a bit (whether a full two inches remains to be seen). This is the std (awd and auto part for the 90s soobs): http://www.empius.com/2008_driveaxles/axle_images/80-5511.html Look up a different soob with this part reference: http://www.empius.com/2008_driveaxles/driveaxles_pg22.html

Wow thanks for the hint. My guess is that this mystery part is an EJ axle. Did the FWD transmission go on the AWD without problems? If so I would guess those axles are the same. My mystery axle is significantly shorter, like by 6 cm (59 cm versus 75 cm). Is this FWD transmission of yours an auto or manual? From the napa parts online parts catalog it seems to tell me that 2WD parts are compatible with AWD for the automatic 2WD, but not for the manual 2WD.

I very unluckily received the wrong axle (too short, length=27.3") for my front CV assembly. It won't fit on my '95 Impreza manual awd and I'm wondering how in the world this mix up could've happened... ugh . I feel horrible having this new FEQ axle uselessy lying around. Where would this shorter axle fit (~27.25 inches)? Are the front axles different for auto trannys or 2wd's? The standard part seems to be 29.5 inches, and I have no idea how they shipped this part instead. (Too late to return though, since I didn't bother to change the CV until over a year after ordering the axle).

I may consider a new sensor soon; I guess with the car being in mid life (11 yrs) and the black tailpipe, it's not a bad time to do that soon. Also, the winter tires I got were about 3% and made the engine rev lower on the freeway. The mileage was about the same as with the smaller tires while the odo/speedo would underestimate the actual mileage by 3%. So, that's close to a 1mpg improvement. Not a bad idea for older imp 5sp's which rev hi at 70mph. My next set of summer tires will be larger. The biggest diff in mpg is whether i take it easy on the fwy or not. Makes a 2mpg diff.

alternator? lights off and a trickle charger could both maybe minimize that from happening. new batt helps too.

It seems just about all the garages have switched from 10w30 to 5w30. This isn't really optimal for those of us with older cars (>10yrs), and my manual specifically states 5w30, though okay for the winter temps, is not recommended for higher temperatures. Has the quality of oils improved since then, that is now okay to use this oil? I know it isn't optimal for my 95 ej18 engine. Would adding half a qt of 20w50 or straight 40 help much?

hmm, they don't make fwd 95 imps do they?? i also have an 95 imp L, but I'm sure it's awd, and thought they didn't make fwd's in 95. I could be wrong. Anyways, I also asked about the possibility of swapping a MT and the response I got is that they are interchangable within a certain year range. I think people said the 93 was probably good to use in a 95. why not try it and report back?

Subarus seem to be built generally with easily interchangeable parts, but how far does this go? can I use a man transmission from a legacy model, esp the early 90s ones which can be found very cheap around here? What about 2wd transmissions, will they bolt right on and fit the fwd linkages? If so, anybody considered turning their 4wd into a hybrid: 2wd + electric motor in the rear?

>Well, after doing the front, i was going >to do the rear diff as well. From reading >some USMB searched posts on this, I >was under the impression a square 1/2 >inch drive would fit right in and be able >to remove the top and bottom drain >plugs. But on inspection, I see that the >drain plugs are regular hex nuts. Does >anybody know what the size of these >might be? (I think it's somewhere >between 17 and 19mm), 18mm or 19mm? The correct answer to the size of the bolt: use a 17mm socket (for the rear diff on a manual transmission impreza). I finally got around to doing this. The top bolt was a tight as a mofo, but I got it loose finally (after using a pipe around the short 3/8 in driver, and my hulk like powers).

The ej 18 has a pretty impressive HP/liter figure for a normally aspirated engine. I remember a volvo 2.3l I-4 getting roughly the same hp. Anybody know how high you need to rev it to get that 110 hp figure? I don't take it above 5000 very often, and never >=5500 rpm. It's probably bad for the engine to be turning that fast. Do ej18's have higher gearing than ej22s? When i first was getting used to the car, I thought the revs were a bit high on the freeway. I thought the spacing between 5 and 4 could've been larger. I guess the reason is that you hardly ever need to downshift to 4th and have access to quick acceleration when it is suddenly required; fuel econ probably is slightly comprimised.

Probably you can, but this is just an uninformed guess. Yet why would you want to bother doing this now, esp. when you still have a (probably perfectly) working engine.

I find that good old 15w40 oils are quite good for all cars that I've used in the past. Even works in mild winters. It should burn less than thinner 10w30 and reduce blow-by in your well worn-in engine which now has greater clearances. I don't go thinner than 10w30 in the winter and my 95 subaru manual states that 5w30 is NOT kosher for any temps above the freezing point 0 celsius (32 F). I assume that models newer by a few years probably haven't changed much as far as engine specs go, so the same recommendation against 5w's may hold true there too. If I had to put a 5W for the winter I would probably get a 5w40 instead, and I would get rid of it as soon as winter is over. (Luckily I don't live near the arctic circle and I don't need 5w's) Not sure if you would have to spend the big $ for a synth or synth blend for this particular high viscosity index 5w-40 weight.

well, it might fit with two to three whole turns missing, but i think it would be foolish run with such a questionable setup. Not worth it for the few extra folds of the h6 filter anyway.

First off, Alfa's were pretty ugly compared to your average italian sports car. (maybe that explains why alfa is a failure) Secondly, this front end looks more like a buick/chrysler cross than an alfa; with its lack of edges it in facts looks quite anti-alfa. If you're going to imitate somebody, imitate somebody with taste. I vote that they should imitate Germans, not some americanized "italian" style. One would do quite well to imitate Mercedes. I like their station wagon design, and I noticed there was some similarity between the very new forester wagon and some mercedes wagons. They did quite well to move from the suv-look to a plush wagon look in the new foresters. check them out (rear end view). Anyway, I think writing subaru is a good idea. If anybody is any good at letter writing, your effort would be appreciated. I may take the time to try do so too, perhaps. Here's another idea: Instead of giving all soobs a universal and totally banal front ends, why not bring the hatch back back in the form of a teardrop shaped car like the 911s and 912s. This would also open up the option of a convertible .

Yup, Lucky Texan is a tome of knowledge: "H4 filter is 'dished' in such a way that some filters do not engage enough threads." I tried this and bought both filters, compared them. The threads on the H6 filter are recessed more, in fact you would be missing about 2-3 turns. (I so didn't bother mounting it.) So there is no way to use the H6 filter in the H4's. (BTW, the cannister for the supposedly higher area filter is roughly the same size as the H4. There must be simply more folds in the H6 filter.)