edrach

Thanks, but I don't think the issue is the compressor. I thought I was low on R12 since the AC worked when I bought it three years ago, altho not as cold as I would have liked. I was planning on topping it up but now that I have the guages on it, I see there's nothing left. I put the vacuum pump on it last night and it pulled to 30 inches of vacuum right away, but hasn't dropped low enough based on the vacuum guage I have on it. I'll be going through the fittings and looking for oil and snug them up. Now it'll be a choice whether I install R12 or do the upgrade to R134a.

Even though the seats are OEM, they are not original. I had to replace the driver's seat (doh!). Thank you Richard.

No, I don't think I'll regret it. It should go to someone who will enjoy it for what it is and not keep it hidden away in the garage.

Quite frankly, I'm not really fond of the ebay experience.

I'm working on the AC now to get it to blow cold. Miles are 116K; I'm second registered owner of this Brat. I haven't settled on a price as yet. I'm thinking of $6K.

My 1984 Brat, purchased 3 years ago and planned to implement my "retirement" fund. After some cosmetic corrections/changes and clean-up, it'll go up for sale in the Spring. Sadly, I need the space more than I need the Brat. More pics can be found in my Show Brat album. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/album.php?albumid=106

Generally KBB is high. This is what people quote to you when selling their car. NADA is usually much lower, and what a dealer will quote you when you trade in your car. The truth is somewhere in the middle. If you're buying, I would use NADA to justify your offer since they are more accurate in describing condition versus valuation.

http://www.books4cars.com

Just make sure you don't buy anything radio related at this store, they certainly don't know what they are talking about. This answer sounds like they couldn't be bothered with your problem.

'Just have to ask the question, is the antenna extended? FM will still work when the antenna is retracted, AM won't. After that, I'd consider replacing the antenna. You can test the AM with about 10 feet of wire plugged into the antenna connector. A new radio isn't that expensive. It could certainly be that the AM portion is bad and a new radio would be cheaper to install than fixing your old one. Good luck with it; let us know what fixed it.

If that's a good EJ22 for $150 you won't be disappointed. However, don't discount the EJ18; there are a number of them around, they are cheaper to come by, and they are more reliable.

More information from other sources: If you haven't signed up yet, hop to it! This is an intense school with LOTS of seat time. It is not uncommon for students to complain about being tired after all the run time we give them. Good stuff regardless of whether or not you want to Stage, RX or TSD. Remember, the School IS worth coefficient points and all the fun a body should have over a weekend. You won't regret going. If you have any thoughts about attending but are unsure or have questions, just PM, IM, Email or Call and ask. We are here to help. Scott

Primitive's Rally School will take place in Vallejo, CA on March 27-29. Check for details at http://www.writerguy.com/primitive/ A must for TSD, RallyX, and beginning Stage Rally competition. I've enrolled in the school in Hillsboro and it's the most fun you can have for the bucks (check out the cost for some of the other driving schools...this one is a bargain!). Early registration can save you some more.

I had a set custom made for my Impreza (OEM was WAY too expensive) by Pacific Import Auto, in Tacoma, WA. You might call them and see if they can have a set made for a Brat. Trust me, they will know what a Brat is. Ask for Steve or Dave. They are not open on Monday (they work Tuesday through Saturday). 253-536-0389. If the long distance is too much for you, I could call them for you and ask the question and give you and estimate. "Full set" means all for wheels, right?

Also, get a decent snow tire to go with the narrower rim. I'm personally fond of the Nokian studless tires; but cost considerations put Hankook iPikes on this year. An awesome tire in the snow!

I used the 75W140 once when I was trying to reduce the stress on the Impreza's transmission due to high rpm's during rallyX events. I took it out after a week because it felt like the shifter was mired in butter (and rallyX is normally a summer sport).

The NS version of Redline is specially formulated for gearboxes that have some miles on them (like greater than 75K).

Depends on the age of your transmission. Redline makes both a 75W90 and 75W90NS. Either will work well for you, but the NS version is recommended for older gearboxes since they have an additive that allows old slippery synchros to grab better and reduce that nasty crunch when quickly shifting into 2nd (or other gears). When I bought my '91 Legacy 8 years ago it had 93K on it and a slight crunch going into 2nd. I think the seller thought the transmission was going out so he wanted to unload the car. I changed the transmission oil to the 75W90NS and the crunch went away after about 3 weeks of driving. When I had about 200K on the car I changed the tranny oil again (ooops, a little late don't you think:rolleyes:?) but didn't have any of the Redline at the local autoparts place so I bought the same grade of Lucas gear oil. The evil crunch was back big-time going into 2nd, 3rd and even 4th! After a week of that, I drained out the Lucas gearoil, and replaced it with 75W90NS. Transmission shifted smoothly again in all gears. It made a believer out of me. Car now has 217K+ on it and it's still going strong.

If you want to go online, try www.rallitek.com in Portland, OR. They support the USMB and carry a significant stock of bushings; I'd be surprised if they didn't have Brat bushings. You'll need the swaybar diameter when you order.Or call 1.888.773.1212, ask for Garner or Sean.

$650 was OEM dealer price.

What size tires do you run? My '94 EJ18 sedan ran fastest on 14" rims; like a stone on 16" rims. I never noticed a difference with different amounts of gas in the tank. Maybe the slight forward shift of weight to the front makes a difference.

The MT-90 and the ....NS140 will likely be too heavy for your winters. 75W90 has the widest temperature range of all the ones you list. I'm personally fond of the 75W90NS because it works so well with high mileage transmissions. Works to take the grind out of 2nd gear better than any tranny oil I know.

I think your previous post was in the New Gen forum. Here it is: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=96275 As to your question, clutch and carb repair won't solve your loss of oil problems. With the mileage and oil consumption you'd likely have to go into replacing the rings on the engine and that's going to be pricey if that's the case. I can't advise you on which way to go, but there are lots of people here that look like they're willing to help you out. Good luck.

Firstly, Smart Service is one of the best independent service shops around. Higher priced than most independents but quality work every time. I would trust them more than any dealer in the area. That said, I don't understand your concern about head gaskets. When they fail they usually give ample notice of imminent failure. I have a close friend in the rallycross group with a '99 Legacy GT where the head gaskets finally gave "notice" last year while in Portland. He had 156K miles on the car at that time. After cooling off and topping up the coolant he drove it north to Olympia without issue and had the work done at his local independent shop. I think your timing belt service is due at 105K so I don't understand why you're concerned with it at 81K. It's possible that timing belt service was due at 60K but I think that was earlier models. As to thinking about cost saving, I think you have reversed logic here. If you need to do the timing belt, doing the head gaskets at the same time involves significant additional labor and cost. On the other hand, if you were doing the headgaskets, timing belts would not add any significant time to the labor cost of the work. I don't know if there is any significant information that was the cause of your feeling that you want to combine costs and do all the work at once, but I think you're being un-necessarily conservative in your approach. If Smart finds that there is leakage around the headgaskets, then I would go for the whole repair. But if the head gaskets are fine, the timing belt service should be sufficient for the time being.

I had an EJ18 powered '94 Impreza sedan I used for a DD and rallycross car. Great gas mileage and fun to drive with the 5MT transmission. With the 16" wheels that came with the car, the car was a "stone." When I installed 14" rims and tires the entire complexion of the car changed; it became a real "runner" and fun to drive. I personally feel that the EJ18 engine was the most reliable engine (except for the EA81) that Fuji ever made. I'll be doing an EJ18 upgrade on my Brat this year.