DaveT

GD - Are you saying that the sleeves that get the Ridge worn that makes them stick in the sleeve get that way because the sleeve is too high, or moved out of the cast aluminum? I'm curious, since I have at least 1 head with pretty stuck in lifters, where most they just pull out fairly easily.

I'll add, I am referring only to stock un modified engines, operating within their specifications, that is not above red line.

Keep a close watch on it.

That is odd. I've had several and they always have 2 wires. Not sure what missing one could cause for trouble, or why one would work without one. Never had trouble to investigate enough to find out.

All of the oem and copies I have are brass, which is a common metal for keys. The Subaru ones are a little.on the thinner / narrower side, so they can wear out in less than 20 years... Some profiles are quicker to wear than others also.

The brand new battery was likely fully charged. For a while, it would hold fairly steady voltage. LA batteries have a moderately flat discharge curve until depleted. The old battery had already been abused by running until discharged. It may or may not recover if fully charged. Starting batteries don't handle deep discharges well. They should survive a few, but each reduces life. In addition to checking that the output wire has a good connection, check the 2 small wires on the T shaped connector.

How many miles on the original alternator? Every one I've had has worn out a brush right around 150K. You are describing no alternator output with the readings you list. Some reference points: Brand new condition non abused battery - Fully charged, resting battery = 12.6V Fully discharged resting battery = 12.0V Anything lower than 12.0 is harmful to a battery. 13.8 would be absolutely the minimum for any charging to happen. 13.8 is typical float voltage, and car charging systems are not float chargers - they have to put more power back into the battery in too short of time to be truly float. Rear axle change is coincidence, unless you did something to the electrical system under the hood.. I've read a lot of stories on here about people buying bad alternators. I've always rebuilt them.

I have a couple of old ones somewhere. There are loads of 3d print places online if no one here has one. Also look up local maker groups. That's a whole community of 3d printer and home builders of things.

That's not a surprising number. These engines are made to spin fast, not lug at low rpm.

Yes, if it was swapped, the ratios could be wrong. But it still should go into 2WD mode, and no binding.

Once you lifted the wheels off the ground, the binding is gone.

This model Subaru definitely has a front wheel drive only mode. It is not only 4WD hi or low. I am not familiar with the particular transmission you have, as all of mine are automatics, but I know that Subarus in this model / age and before have selectable front wheel drive / 4WD. [Or 2WD only] The select on the fly is what made them famous. The binding and stuck shifter exactly describe what happens on dry pavement.in 4WD, with mismatched tires or turning. The only way you can roll in 4WD on dry pavement without binding is 4 brand new tires, and in a straight line. Going by what I've read in this thread, your diff is not bad, unless it is making noise.

It could be jumping around for a lot of reasons. Loose or poor connection anywhere in the charging circuit could do that. That includes circuitry inside the alternator, the car system, and the battery. More tests are needed to pin it down to 1 part. Battery cranKS the car ok, runs headlights ok, so battery probably ok. Dyplicate the situation when the meter jumps around, put the parking lights on, what does it do then? Add the headlights, what then?

With the driveshaft removed, the rear diff is still turning, by the rear wheels rolling, so if the rear diff was the cause of your problem, the problem would still be there.

When the car Is not in 4WD there is no load in the driveshaft. Sane as when you remove it. Driving with it removed won't hurt it. If the car is in 4WD on dry pavement and the tires are not all the same size, brand model and miles, it will bind up, even going straight.

Are all 4 tires the same brand, model and size? Even if they are, the car may bind up on dry pavement in 4wd in sharp corners.

That ground should work, as long as the contact point is metal to metal. (Remove paint.) One of the fusible links is in the circuit from the alternator output to the battery, so if that one is open, or high resistance, no charging.

There should be a heavy ground wire [about the size of the one to the starter +] from the bell housing bolt shared by the starter to the battery (-). There should be another, about AWG10 from the battery (-) to the car body. Usually, the alternator ground happens through it's mounting bolts. Voltmeter - one lead on the alternator case, the other on the battery (-) while running, you should not see much voltage. With everything off, you should see close to zero ohms.

If it's all original, [it's 30+ years old] it probably needs a reseal from the head gaskets up. All new hoses. #1 way to blow head gaskets is to run low on coolant. The alternator will need a brush at about 150K miles. Every one I've had wore the same brush out within a few 1000 miles of 150K. Like GD wrote, parts are going NLA. So as long as you are prepared to deal with that, rebuilding, making things, have a shop, etc. and have another car for backup, ok. If you want 1 car to rely on, and pay someone else to fix, forget it, go to a newer version.

Actually, this is a good thing to notice - make copies of your keys, now. Save the original as a master, never use it. When the copy starts showing signs of wear, take the master, and get a new copy.

Oh, that's nasty... A magnet will do nothing, keys are not steel or iron.

I never had this problem... Maybe a dental pick? Maybe a fish hook unbent and the end ground so the little barb can sneak in and grab? Make sure the wheel lock isn't holding against the key turning.

Read a lot of the threads for the common items.

there are a total of 7 cooling system hoses on an EA82. Check all of them.

In some cases I've seen on here, there are actually stuck lifters. I do check oil and coolant levels each am before first drive of the car. Waiting to see the temp gauge over normal is NOT how to check coolant level.