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Installed the new aftermarket rear cat. Ran it without connecting it to the resonator pipe. Power restored! Loud! Now it makes sense compared to how quiet it was when I ran with the restricted rear cat disconnected...it was muffled without any mufflers attached, due to low, restricted flow. Hooked up the rest of the exhaust and it runs mostly normal, no codes, power restored. Stumbled a bit when rolling to a stop, assuming that it hasn't learned how to idle just yet. Going to clear the ECU anyway by disconnecting the battery, just to start fresh since its recent history includes operating with restriction. So about $750 later we have new aftermarket front and rear cat and both O2 sensors. Rest of exhaust is original. If I had to do this again I would start by disconnecting at the center spring flange and run it with open pipes. If its not loud enough to annoy the neighbors with the spring flange disconnected there is a restriction somewhere toward the engine. And then remove pipes one at a time toward the engine.

Heads up! I just seen a 1986 L line subaru at the Pull and Pay in Auroras website. i will try to go scope it out tomorrow. its only been there 1 day. Hopefully theres tons of good parts.

Half way worked with old fans. Did test ground to: Old fans----Pass to left pin-1.2 ohm -- center pin-0 ohm Driver to left-.5 ohm --center--1.0 ohm known good fans----Pass to left pin- .5 ohm---center-1.0 ohm Driver to left- .5 ohm --center-1.0 ohm Conclusion? Bad fan holding signal to ground, and lighter fuse blown. YMMV Thought I would send this to add to the body of knowledge if it helps.

TA-DA (So fat) Got under the dash to see if any aftermarket stuff was wired to fuse box and found the mirror/lighter fuse was blown. Replaced it and all works! Last test is to reinstall the customer fans and test. Don't know where that system comes into play' Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion. (and what about Mary Ann?) Jon

Exactly that. Wearing the inside edges of the tires quickly.

What kind of wheels are on your brat now? The best spare would be another one of those! Hopefully you have a matching set of 4 at least! I believe all the subaru 4x140 wheels will fit your brat, cause you have the ea81 years. Ea82 (85-94 wagons) cannot use ea81 wheels generally due to backspacing differences the caliper hits the wheel And keep the 4 x 140 for as long as you can, i would suggest a rear disc brake conversion first! Cheers man good luck finding what you are looking for! These parts are getting harder to find, i have the best luck cruising through junkyards. If you happen to have the white factory 13" 8 spoke or the slotted steelies for ea82 cars i might be able to come off of one.

No mechanical clutch fan - just a direct drive. It requires a different alternator bracket with it and this doesn’t work with AC. Cheers Bennie

You're welcome.

Well ideally you want either an actual graphing automotive oscilloscope. Or you can also use an analog volt/ohm meter. You are looking for dead spots in the wiper of the sensor. This will show up on the graph as you slowly turn the sensor as a sudden drop to 0 volts and then back up to normal reading. You want a smooth transition from 0.5v to 4.5v without any hash or drop outs in the signal. An analog meter can show this as a smooth sweep of the needle. You really can't use a DVOM because it will often miss the drop outs and they tend to switch ranges which also looks like a drop out and can give you a false positive. GD

The 2000-2004 are great tanks for a kid to learn in. In the rust belt, you should make sure rear sub frame is not rusty. Wheel bearings, Head gaskets, timing belt replacement are all good stuff to look for. I sometimes find a cheap outback with a broken timing belt for cheap. Then fix the heads, do the head gasket and timing belt, idlers, cam o rings etc rear main......you get the idea and while it is up drain and fill the tans with a new spin on trans filter. That way, you pay $250-500 for the car, but can afford to do all the rest of the things that will make it reliable.

the muffler thing is a total red herring. it is a "single" exhaust system made to look like a dual. forget about that aspect. you could eliminate one of those mufflers completely and still have a fully functional exhaust system. the problem is elsewhere.

+1 on them being AWFUL cars, possibly the worst car Subaru has ever built. I hate when they come in and being the 'last one to touch it.' We have a saying at our shop: "Friends don't let friends buy Legacy GTs" I recently told someone in the local FB group that I could rewrite the lyrics to "We Didn't Start the Fire" with all the common problems these cars have.