edrach

I do have to agree with the features of the EA82; the d/r tranny is nicer than my AWD; the gas consumption is better since the car is lighter; overall maintenance costs over the long term might be lower (heaven help me if I need to replace an IAC; but a one belt replacement for the timing belt is so much easier than two). However, for a daily driver which isn't going into the woods, or such (I have my Brat for that), I still prefer my Legacy.

No adjustments, but I do remember a thread posted a short while ago for cleaning the air control valve. If yours is an automatic transmission car, I have a good working used one available (check my post in the for sale section).

I hate to be the dissenting opinion here but I'll add my two cents. If you want to drop an EJ22 into your EA81 or EA82 vehicle, feel free to do that. I wouldn't stop you and I think it's cool that you can do it. It's not a choice I would make for myself since I have enough projects. However, having driven an '86 GL for over 10 years (and loved it) and still driving (and loving it) my '84 Brat, I finally upgraded to a '91 Legacy wagon for my daily driver. Having worked on all three generations fairly extensively, I find the Legacy the easiest to work on. I can change an axle on my old GL in less than an hour; I did my first axle change on my Legacy in less than 20 minutes....no special puller needed, no hassle pushing the splined shaft out of the hub. I had to replace the engine in my Legacy recently and two of us did that job in just a little over 5 hours. I was amazed how easy it was to get the PS pump and A/C out of the way and unplugging the engine harness with just 3 connectors. Almost every job that I've done on my older cars seems easier on my Legacy. And the handling.....My old GL couldn't compare to my Legacy. Just needed to add my two cents worth. Sorry for the rant.

Is you don't want to re-use the old ones, try www.1stsubaruparts.com; that way you'll get ones that are correct for the application.

I guesss they're not paid to check the ECS light. During the test where they smoked my brakes, the operator aborted the test by shutting off the engine. However, the protocol was still running and it printed out a test passed form with the idle speed at 0!

www.cvaxles.com $55 plus shipping and rebuildable core. Another outfit that actually rebuilds them by replacing the inner and outer joints.

The copy that's floating around was done by a USMB member about 4 years ago. It was very well done at the time. Somehow he's disappeared from the Board. I don't know where the $35 prices came from (or the $70 for that matter). I bought my hard copy of HTKYSA, Vol 2 for $10 plus shipping off ebay a while back.

I don't believe Larry Owens would care (I believe he died a few years ago), but the publisher might have some issues even though the book has been out of print for a few years.

I use the 75W-90NS redline gear oil in my '91 Legacy which had a 3rd gear crunch when I bought it 60K miles ago. Gearbox is smooth now; I've either gotten used to avoiding the crunch or the redline is doing it for me.

Local Seattle Pull a Part yard will sell you all the parts you need for about $120 or less. But I agree, it would be cheaper to find a 4WD wagon and certainly less work. With a pull a part yard you not only have to remove all the parts needed as well as re-install them. 4WD wagons with a blown head gasket or some other minor problem can be had for a song and would make for much better candidates for restoration.

First belt change usually doesn't require new idlers or water pump; but the second one I wouldn't do it without them available.

My harbor freight electric impact tool does 95% of the axle nuts I've tried; the other 5% get my 4 foot extension on my 1/2" breaker bar...it's a craftsman and I've only had to replace one in 5 years. For the really difficult ones at Pull a Part where the brakes are useless and the wheels are in the air, I have a steel rim with a two foot bar welded on it to keep the hub from turning. I just bolt on the rim and prop up the bar a crank on the breaker bar.

Wow! I did the same job on my '91 Legacy and bought the OEM parts at 35% off list from an on-line dealership (including the water pump). Parts alone cost me $536; I supplied the labor and it took about 3 hours. I think you got a great deal. I did wind up replacing all the idlers as well as the tensioner since I had 155K on the engine (2nd belt replacement as far as I could tell).

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks these rules are unmanageable. But I'm just out there for fun. The interesting thing is that under the old class structure, cars with a similar range of times would run the course so two or three cars could be on the course at the same time. Now a stock Brat could be running against a stock WRX which likely will result in longer times for the event since one can't always load the course with more than one car. Also, it will discourage new comers who own older cars since they become even more uncompetitive in their Stock class.

You'll also have to replace the flywheel and clutch since the 2WD version uses a smaller diameter clutch disk.

I was lucky enough to find a puller on ebay a few years ago and that's made life easier when replacing an EA81 or EA82 front axle. I've always removed the axle by pounding them out carefully with a sledge hammer. Before I had the puller, I used to pry the axle back in with a collection of large washers and two large screw drivers. Never damaged a wheel bearing that I know of on my Brat which has seen over 6 axles in the 5 years that I've owned it (I've been using used axles for the most part). I do use a lubricant on the axle stub; that does the outer bearing, but not the inner one. In either case, I've never had to replace front bearings on my Brat or any of the two wagons we've owned or my son's '82 Brat. I haven't kept count but I've replaced in excess of two dozen axles over the years on multiple cars.

That ebay price is excellent, you should get it. Also, consider looking for a water pump for your car; if it's been over 90K miles since the water pump was replaced, you might as well do it while you're doing the belts. The labor here is what's most expensive; no point in doing the labor again in 6 months when the old water pump fails.

No, you might even be considered Stock since your car exists somewhere in stock form (I think); this rule change will require almost everyone to list their car and parts for a ruling on which class it should be running in. SCCA strikes again; a bunch of "suits" who structure events around insurance requirements and convenience with no clue as to whether the rules are practical, fair, or good for the growth of the sport.

It'll be interesting I'm sure. I'll see how I manage. Makes me think I want to convince my wife to let me bring her Impreza instead and run stock. But I'll likely run a full season with the Brat since I do it for fun anyway.

Sorry, I just re-read your post and realize that you have a Loyale and not a Legacy. Only differences is that the Loyale belts are slightly more difficult to replace and might take another hour. I'd have to recheck the parts cost for your car since I haven't done one on my old '86 GL for long enough that I don't remember the parts cost. So take my other comments about keeping the car because they don't change and continue to get a price from a 2nd source. Having just replaced the belt and all the idlers and tensioner on my '91 legacy, the $850 is not out of line. I bought all the parts OEM with 35% off list price and it came to $550 and I didn't have to replace the harmonic balancer (not an obscure term...it's the main crank pulley). So a fair price for just the parts is around $635. Add two hours labor and you get to $850 pretty fast. I wouldn't think that I'd junk the car is the rest of the car is in reasonably good condition and you planned to keep it for another 60K miles.

Cool, I can do powerpoint. I still don't know much more. We'll see how it works, but the most obvious thing appears to be that the low cost "beater" is pretty much relegated to being non-competitive. My Brat which would be considered Prep 4WD class could be running against a prepped WRX. I don't want to criticize before seeing the event structure but I would think SCCA has managed to exclude the "low budget" weekend warrior from fielding a competitive vehicle since there is no differentiation between a 80 HP vehicle and 200 HP vehicle within classes.

Finally the regs are out and being published now. This is preliminary and you can read all about it here (you'll be ahead of me since I'm not sure I can "read" Power Point). NORPAC Rally Crossers: As you may know, your voice was loud and strong in the creation of the NEW 2006 SCCA Rally Cross Rules. While Divisional Stewards from across the Country contributed and participated in the formulation of these rules, your participation and support over the many years carried much weight that was brought to bear at that National level. While some things have changed, I feel the traditional history and spirit of Rally Cross was successfully retained and supported. I am happy to announce that the new 2006 Rules are being PRINTED this week and rule books should be available starting at the National Convention in Kansas City February 2nd. While there were some minor language and grammatical changes still being ironed out regarding the rest of the Rule Book regarding operations, safety and other topics, we made it our Priority to solidify the Class Structure and Rules so that competitors can be prepared to start the season off on the right foot. What I have done is prepared a Rally Cross Class Rules overview in Power Point that you can go to on-line and browse. I will take a quick second to BRIEFLY review the Class Structure now and you can click the link below for the specifics on Prep Level and class clarifications. There are now THREE basic Class Prep Levels... 1 - Stock (implies STOCK vehicles with minimal mods) 2 - Prepared (bolted on mods) 3 - Modified (fabricated mods) Within each Class Prep Level there are further configurations as follows: 1 - Stock ......Two Wheel Drive FRONT ......Two Wheel Drive REAR ......FOUR/ALL Wheel Drive 2 - Prepared ......Two Wheel Drive FRONT ......Two Wheel Drive REAR ......FOUR/ALL Wheel Drive 3 - Modified ......Two Wheel Drive ......Four Wheel Drive As I said, there are further clarifications in the attached link but I think you get the idea. Gone are the old and familiar Stage Rally Class names that we have grown to know and love. While I'm disappointed in seeing this particular change, I understand it. In case you are still wondering "WHY?, the reason lies in the fact that Stage Rally was sold to Rally America and the class names were sold WITH stage rally. So, it is now a trademark of Rally America and the SCCA is no longer authorized to use them. However, on closer inspection you will see that the new class names reflect what we had been doing already with the exception of some additional breakdowns in the Stock and Modified Classes. Production is Stock. G2, G5 and PGT is Prepared. Open Class is now Modified. Different names, same game. Again, for more information and specifics, write your Regional Rally Cross Director or myself or you can follow the link to the new rules presentation. That link is: http://www.pregrid.com/RX/RX_Rules_06.ppt Here is the basic narrative by slide 1 - Intro 2 - Traditional Rally Cross Descriptions, but is it more? 3 - Since Rally Cross is indeed more, understanding our history and future is key to Competitors and the Rules Set 4 - How we find ourselves needing a new Rule Set 5 - Who Rally Cross Competitors REALLY are effects the design of the Rules Set 6 - Beyond the easily identified competitors, there are NEW markets to explore. Creating a unified Rule Set allows us to tap these new markets wherever they are 7 - The unfinished 2005 rules promoted disassociation while the new 2006 rules promote unity and growth 8 - Mandated rules provide Unity and Reduce Liability while still being flexible at the Regional Level. So what ARE these rules? 9 - Basic Vehicle Eligibility 10 - Three Prep Level Overview and Basic underlying descriptions/reasoning 11 - Stock Classes and Prep 12 - Stock Classes and Prep cont. 13 - Prepared Classes and Prep 14 - Prepared Classes and Prep cont 15 - Prepared Classes and Prep cont 16 - Modified Classes and Prep 17 - Modified Classes and Prep cont 18 - Now that classes are identified and unified, how are they implemented? SIDE NOTE - What classes CAN'T we use and why? 19 - A note about changes to Penalties 20 - What is a DNF and how is it worth? 21 - Claims and Protests... We're SERIOUS this year 22 - Don't forget our purpose... these rules REFLECT it and so should our Organizers 23 - Final Thoughts about our Future 24 - Q & A If you cannot read a Power Point presentation, you can email me for a WORD version of the file that I can send to you individually. Personally, I am very excited about the Rally Cross program for 2006. It's going to be good for the sport to have a comprehensive NATIONAL program to back our local efforts. With that kind of support, we can more effectively advertise, seek and acquire new venues and places to race, grow our event budget, buy more cones and better equipment, etc. LOTS of good things will come about because we now have a cohesive program Nation Wide. I can't wait to see what the new year holds. I also want to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to April Smith, who will be filling my shoes locally as the Oregon Region Rally Cross Director and Manager. She joins a respectable group of dedicated Rally Crossers throughout the Northern Pacific Division of the SCCA that continues to lead the United States in our Rally Cross program. There are some big efforts developing in Alaska, Montana and Northern California that I think will give our long standing presence as the "big boys of Rally Cross" a run for our money. I have been your NORPAC Rally Cross Steward for the past two years and this year I am taking a more aggressive role in growing the Rally Cross programs in other Regions within our Division. The seeds planted last year are taking hold and there are new programs developing and a greater interest in our attempt to provide a Divisional Championship this year. Last year it was nearly impossible to get the Regions to agree on a rule structure that made a Divisional possible. This year, we have a cohesive program that will bind us all together and make that Divisional Title available to a lucky few in each class. Our Division has grown to NINE Regions this year. That's NINE Regional Rally Cross Championships and 72 Regional Championship Titles, 216 Invitations to the Divisional Championships but only 8 Divisional Championship Titles up for grabs. That's not including the shot at a National Rally Cross Championship Title at the end of the year! Like Solo, we have planned for a National Marketing program that will attract Sponsors and other exposure to the Rally Cross Program and it is my supreme hope that this kind of support will filter its way down through the Divisional events into the Regional events and be a direct benefit to each and every one of you. Here's to a great 2006!!! Scott Kovalik YOUR NORPAC Rally Cross Steward scott@pregrid.com dkov@pacifier.com

Cool, the RCW paragraphs should be added to the USRM under a new heading called LEGAL!

Tailgatewagon is right; if you can afford to wait, time is on your side. A short note to your state's Insurance Comissioner detailing your dissatisfaction never hurts either.

Purge solenoid is on order from 1stsubaruparts.com; I'll have it tomorrow and it'll be in as soon as I have a dry evening or clean out the garage.