subbum

Thanks for all the advice. All the cam sprockets still turn freely...to a point, but they all spin in a consistant manner. My only reservation to overhauling the heads is a finicky automatic tranny. I believe I can pull the engine and replace/adjust the valves, but I have to research replacing the head gasket. I really miss my old, reliable, easy to repair EA-82.

Passenger side exhaust camshaft sprocket disentegrated. Literally....it broke into a hundred pieces and shattered the timing belt cover on that side of the engine. Ironically, the timing belt is still intact. Further investigation discovered a faulty idler pulley as the cause of this disaster and I am assuming that I may have bent vavles. I know i can remove the cam covers while the engine is still in, but do I need to yank the engine to fully inspect the drive train? 188k and the car has been flawless until now.

I am a newby on the TB issue but something I just learned about with my '90 Legacy is that the drivetrain is sensetive to tire type and size. Some of my TB issues were caused by having different brands of tires with different amounts of wear on the front and rear of the car. I don't know if this info helps. Good luck.

Yes, the reverse works.

Yes, I guess I do need to clarify. When it goes into Drive it goes into the top gear, skipping the first and second.

It will go into drive, but the current owner says that the problem initially when the car was warmed up but now is constant. He says the estimate he has to have it professionaly repaired is around $300.

I am looking at buying a 93 Legacy with 170 K. The car checks out fine except with an issue with the transmission being stuck in drive. The current owner says he took it to the shop and they told him that all it needed was a new throttle body assembly (I think that is what it is)....or in other words, that big hunk of metal that is underneath the fluid pan. He says the part is easily replaced and costs around $50 from a salvage yard. He has the price 'reduced' to $1100 because of this problem. I am looking for some input on this just to see if anyone else has had a similar problem.

I am looking at converting my '88 to R-134. The conversion kits run around $40 and look simple to install. You have to have a shop clean out your system before you can recharge it with the new stuff. From what I understand, if you do not get all of the R-12 and lubricant out it will not work very well.

Just replaced both of my front half-shafts on my '88 DL Wagon. Despite disconnecting and loosening everything on the steering knuckle and control arm, I couldn't get the inside of the shaft off the tranny without taking the steering knuckle off. After I disconnected the inside of the shaft, I temporarily reconected the steering knuckle so I could pop the shaft out with a block of wood and a BFH. Installation was the reverse with having to remove the knuckle again to connect the inside again. This was a little more time consuming, but it allowed me to clean and repack my bearings and it taught me alot about the front end of my car.

I had a similar problem and solved it by replacing all the hoses and the pcv valve.

I dig the electric fan idea. Where's a good subie-filled junkyard in Denver?

My fan clutch is worn out and I am looking fro alternatives in case I can't find one in the junk yard. Is there way to rig it to where it will stay permanently locked up? Also, has anyone had luck with electric cooling fans? The part cost $200 at the local Subaru Dealer.

I like the Pathy wheels on your Sub. Makes me miss my old '89 Pathfinder.

I've seen this wagon around, but I am a cyclist and notice things like that. Great looking wagon though. Share the Road:headbang:

My 88 DL Wgn has 196,000 for the moment. All original 'cept for the tranny which I replaced when I bought it. Cool thing is that I spent $850 for it (the car, not the tranny) two years ago and have driven it all over the country on all types of roads (yes, the skid plates do work). I have to get a bigger car soon (kids), but I planning on keeping my soob because it is the coolest car I have ever owned (and my kids would kill me if I sold it).

I have been hanging around here for a few months and really enjoy all the posts. I know there are a lot of sub-par mechanics out there like me and I thought it would be good fun to share our @#$*-ups. I am more than willing to share mine. Never, ever use more than one bottle of radiator stop-leak in a short period of time. I am still flushing tht crap out of radiator after one month. What really sucks is that it clogs evrything up and causes my motor to run hotter than usual. As a testament to EA-82 durability, it has overheated numerous times in the past month and still runs like a champ!

I am no Mr. Mechanic, but I always heard that you shouldn't switch to synthetic oil after using regular motor oil in your engine. I can't remember the reasons why, but I remember someone lecturing me on the subject. As far as the ticking......it seems to be an oil pressure issue but I have found that it may not be related to the oil pump/mickey mouse ear thing. I have a new oil pump and seals and my motor still ticks away when cold. Using 20W-50 solved it, but starting in the morning with that sludge was like churning butter. The Marvel Mystery Oil seems to work a bit, but I am cautious about using to many additives.

Thanks for all of the advice. The blockage in my cooliing system could be from a bottle of Bars-Leaks that I put in there as a pre-caution last December after I drained and refilled the radiator. I think that using this stuff, especially when I did not have any obvious leaks, probably gunked up the radiator and heater core. Oh well, live and learn! Nice thing about my '88 DL is I could probably roll it off a cliff and it would still run afterwards!

I flushed the cooling system two weeks ago using some Prestone Flush product. You know the procedure, drain, flush, drain, flush with water, drain, the refill. I real pain in the rump roast, especially if you live in an apartment complex like me. Apparently, this whole procedure did not get all the crud out of the system.

Taking advice I read on this great forum, I switched my heater hoses on my EA-82 in order to backflush the heater core. On my first attempt at this, I ran the engine with heater full blast for twenty minutes and acheived immediate results, only to have my heaters performance diminish during the following week. I tried the reversal again yesterday and ran the car all day with the heater blasting like a foundry. I am going to eventually return the hoses to their proper places, but what I am curious about is if any damage could occur from operating the engine for prolonged periods of time with reversed heater hoses?

Paid $900 for an '88 DL Wagon and it has taken my family all over the country and back-country. I love all the cool cubby holes and secret comparments. Owning a Subaru is like having a large extended family that spreads around the world. I may be crazy, but I think even the youngens' in their WRX's always slow down a little too check us out!

I have been adopted by an '88DL Wagon and I absolutely love it. I have owned a '89 Pathfinder SE, '75 Vette, and a '96 Volvo Turbowagon and the Sub is by far my favorite car. I need to change my right front half-shaft and I need to do it myself. I have read posts on this and the recommendation is to separate it from the steering knuckle with a BFH. Can a BFH be used to set the new one too?