john in KY

A new radiator can solve a lot of overheating problems.

Ticking almost always indicates the pump is sucking air. Looks like you need to redo the gaskets.

Had an 85 XT once with the exact same problem. Problem turned out to be a bad ground wire that attached to one of the intake manifold bolts on the passenger side of the engine. Hooked up a noid light and cranked. No triggering on the injectors. Both sides of the injector plug sit at +12v the whole time. This doesn't seem right. One side should have 12v but not both. For some reason voltage is being "backfed" from the ECU. I would unplug the ECU and determine which two wires are from the injector circuit. (The injectors are fired in pairs so the 4 wires from the individual injectors somewhere between the injectors and ECU become two wires.) If my multimeter shows these two wires are hot then that tells me there is a short somewhere between the injectors and ECU. If the wires aren't hot then the problem I would think is a short inside the ECU.

Just replace that 23-year -old radiator.

Yikes. The last engine I saw that looked this bad was 45 years ago. Next to impossible to get this much build up if the oil was occasionally changed . Almost makes me think the PO used nondetergent oil in this engine.

Gap an old plug to .080. If it can jump a spark, figure the ign system is good to go.

Since there is a U-Pull nearby, grab the ignitor and the coil packs. Have you ever checked for spark when experiencing the no-start condition?

Don't think the flexplate could be the problem but there is a fair chance the transmission case cracked.

I doubt if the alternator is the cause of this problem. Recall reading somewhere that the electronics in the car will work down to 10 volts. Below that and the ECU goes "offline". As for everything being too hot to touch, sounds perfectly normal to me. Edit: When the car stalled out in the driveway, did the battery still have enough juice to crank the engine? If so then the charging system/battery is working just fine. Edit: If you just want to throw parts at the problem, replace the plug wires, the coil packs and that thing on the firewall.

Only the XT got the NA MPFI engine. Better than average chance what you have is the turbo version of the MPFI (the turbo was removed) which means it will have the super low compression. Can't swap intakes and the SPFI ECU won't work anyways. Only way I can see this working is the heads and intake manifold have to be reused. If the pistons in the long block are dished, this means it is a turbo engine and this makes the swap a no-go also.

Try running a wire from the battery positive pole directly to the positive post on the coil. If the engine fires I would think the CAS is good and the ECU is bad. If it doesn't fire, my guess is a bad distributor (CAS).

If you are sure the whine is from the alternator, then it is on the way out. Another "test" is to feel the alternator after the engine has been running for a few minutes. Too hot to touch means it is dying also. Those voltage amounts don't sound all that bad to me. You can use a much newer Subaru alternator if you want. Only difference will be the alternator plug. Lot easier to find a 95 and newer alternator than that old one. Just take the plug.

Correct me if wrong but fairly sure the fuel pump to run, there has to be a signal from a turning distributor.

Have you checked for a broken timing belt yet? ECUs in these things almost never fail. If the timing belt is not broken and the fuses are good and still no spark, I would suspect the CAS located inside the distributor. Edit: Located on the coil bracket is something called a power transmitter or something like that. If it fails, no spark. If the coil bracket is not well grounded, no spark.

May want to check this out, located under the passenger seat:

Car is located way too far from me to fool with. But you should have no problem selling it if listed on Craigslist. Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga are the 3 cities I would use.

I live 40 miles from you and could be interested in the whole car if you can send me some photos.

Engine had to turn to install the TC bolts. Have you attempted to turn it in the other direction? Thinking one of the TC bolts is hanging up if you are lucky. Also, if you didn't fully seat the TC, you just repeated your HS experience.

Radiator in the car is a two row if it has never been changed because of it being a turbo. Temperature problem is almost certainly a leaking head gasket, passenger side. Nice looking old wagon. Someone in Wisconsin or Michigan just a few days ago offered for free a good turbo engine. May want to hook up with him. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?p=941324#post941324

You do know about the 3 marks on the flywheel used to time the belts? After 1st belt installed, rotate one full revolution and install the 2nd.

Very easy to break the 4EAT when you install the engine if you have never done it before. Just a warning.

To correctly install the belts, when the timing mark on one cam is in the 6:00 position, the other timing mark on the other cam has to be in the 12:00 position.

Can't be a Loyale because none ever came with the air suspension. If a Legacy, I have a set of new rear air struts. Edit: $325 shipped for the pair.

The fan should work when the AC is on. When the AC was blowing hot air this means it wasn't engaged. System could be low on refrigerant or the AC compressor could have gone off line because of the underhood temperature. Don't quote me on this but I think the compressor has a thermoswitch somewhere. When the compressor gets too hot, the switch turns off the compressor. I know my wagon will do this on very hot days and when I sit for 30 or more minutes with the engine just idling. The fan has to have a relay somewhere. It may be failing. Easy way to determine if the fan has not failed is to unplug it and then run 12volts to one side and ground the other. If the fan turns then you know it is not the problem.