zyewdall

Hmmmm. The so called tick of death is usually there at idle -- sounds like what you had before. And, it isn't that much to worry about, ironically. A louder, more deep, and less clicky, tap, sounds more like a main bearing or rod.... and that would be more likely to get worse under load. But, subarus very rarely have lower end issues, since they have such a short stroke. Hmmm.... it doesn't sound too good, whatever it is. Z

Probably not -- the '86 wagon is the EA82, wherease the '81 is the EA81. The '86 hatch is the EA81... but not the wagon. I think the EA82 is a little longer? Z

Yeah -- I have two 4x4 trucks with good snow tires on them, and the suby. The trucks are better at crawling and such, but in deeper snow will stop at some point and just not go any further. The subaru, at long as the wheels are touching the ground, does not stop. (now, when you get in deep enough snow to high center it, that's a different story....)

I like the solid older vehicle myself... old, but not worn out. New cars are nice, but... expensive, impossible to maintain yourself, and I like a vehicle with style (which I personally don't think much newer than... 1980ish.... really has (there are exceptions, of course)), and I also like tinkering. I don't get to do much tinkering on my subarus... they tend to just run.

Technically not true -- I've flooded my '89 wagon a few times by stalling it under full throttle. (pulling into a snow drift in too high a gear and not hitting the clutch in time type situation) Short of that, you are right, they don't really flood. If it does, you can clear it by keeping it floored while cranking it.

Yipppie. Saved.:banana: I hate seeing subaru's go to the crusher just because some little thing goes wrong in the wrong place...

Wow... this thread is wandering. 8N as in a ford tractor? Here's mine 1954 Ford 600. Hey, there's two subaru's in the background, so it's still on topic.

UPS gives around $60 to $110 depending on exact weight and size that it ends up... shipping from boulder to Jerome. I estimated about 90lbs for it, but maybe it's less.

Yeah..... sometimes I drive home to Spokane in which case I drive right by there, but this year, with work and time off and such, I'll probably end up flying instead. Z

Depends on whether the tranny is still working.... mine's a 5 speed, which has a lot better reputation, but apparently the CVT has a good reputation overseas where distances are alot shorter and there's not as much highway driving or such.

Sounds kind of like the one on my '85 GL.... the shop I took it to (which knew old subaru's pretty well, the owner drove a '86 wagon) told me that there were internal vacuum leaks in the carbureator which were causing it to suction the idle circuit dry, but the power circuit was still working. He recommended rebuilding the carb, to the tune of $300. I ended up having head gasket issues and selling it first though. Z

Yeah, I like that look too. I saw it on Monsteru's brat, and now I want it on my wagon. I guess getting an engine in there is first... but after that Z

I'm not sure... maybe some of the more experienced people on here can say why... but it seems that the 4 speed transmissions are kind of known for 3rd gear going. My old rusty '82 wagon that I had before this would pop out of 3rd, and grind going in, and my '84 wagon was a little hard to find 3rd sometimes. Both of them were over 200k miles, and this one is only 154k, IIRC. Z

I've got a spare 4 speed dual range -- I'm putting a 5 speed in my '82 wagon when I put it back together. Still has 3rd gear even Not sure how to get it to ID from here, but... free otherwise.

I just got my '89 wagon running again today (still on 3 cylinders, burned out exhaust valve -- the new engine is in the back), and even down one cylinder, it still had better torque in the snow than my Justy. Dual range After I get the new engine in it I might get to sticking the extra SPFI intake on my EA81 and stick it back in my '82 wagon with the extra 5 speed I have. oh, the motivation of a warm sunny day. It'll probably be cold and windy again tomorrow, and it'll all go back onto the back burner for another few months

I agree, it sounds like the actual unit. A bad cable exhibits itself as a jumpy speedometer that twitches instead of staying steady at a steady speed, and then nothing.... (that's what the one in my Justy did -- a new cable made it all better). Z

Yup. With one of those, my old '82 wagon would beat the pants off my friend's Saabaru (WRX clone). :banana: Though.... it would be cheaper for me to just put a WRX engine in the '82 wagon

Here's my two ideas. Timing belt is one notch off, so when it said 40 degrees, it actually was closer to correct than 20 degrees. Or... unrelated to the timing, the choke is stuck closed (or whatever equivalent of choke that this has with the EFI). That would make it run fine cold, but crappy once warmed up, have great trouble revving, and account for lousy gas mileage. Z

Now that's just silly... Though I was just talking to a friend who was helping someone buy an older Legacy. And after buying it, they found that the all wheel drive didn't work. Because it didn't have a driveshaft or rear differentials or axles... it was a 2wd. He didn't even think to check whether it was an AWD

yeah... if you are in a location where you expect to be driving on the snow more than a few times a winter (I'm on snow or ice of some sort for at least part of my commute for 4 to 7 days a week for about 5 months a year). I switched from Michelin Harmony to studded Hankook Ipike for the winter... and it's a world of difference. I run both of them at 40psi. With the Ipikes I can floor it and not spin out (75HP yeah:rolleyes:), or stomp on the brakes... and start skidding... studded snow tires only go so far But it does skid in a very straight line, and you really have to try to get it to skid, unlike the harmony's which touching the brake more than very gently would start locking up some tires when on packed ice.

Not sure... But my '89GL did the same thing in cold weather. Would be sluggish in getting up to speed or coming down from speed, and also would stick at 15mph for a few seconds after coming to a complete stop.

Well.... I'd disagree, but I have seen an old single range '79? brat do some stuff that I was hesitant to try in my '89GL wagon. So... I can't

Or buy an aviation EA81... 100HP for the NA, or 140HP for the turbo variety. Kind of pricey IIRC (think breaking 5 figures for the turbo one) And... I'm not sure, but you probably have to run aviation gas at the higher compression ratio they modify them for. Z

+1. If you stay on paved or gravel roads -- low range not needed. But if you venture into dirt roads, logging trails, deep snow.... say goodby to the clutch if you don't have dual range. Z