Hondasucks

It's NOWHERE near as easy as swapping a Legacy or Impreza from auto to manual. The pedal cluster needs a bracket added to it for the front bolt that's up under the dash, the shift linkage also needs to be lengthened. You also have to find a place for the clutch master cylinder (That's not too hard though) and you need to either build a custom crossmember, or purchase one, as the 5 speed crossmember doesn't just bolt in. (One of the guys on the SVX board sells a really solid well-made one for $500). I've got most of the stuff to convert mine, I need a bearing for the transmission I have + I need to find a 4.44 LSD to go with it.

My 87 GL turbo does the same thing, except it doesn't like to idle unless I clamp the fuel return hose off with a pair of vise grips. I've had no luck finding a fuel pump for it though

I've seen these cars with 250k and the original gaskets, and I've seen them with 150k and leaking gaskets. Do the coolant at least every 30,000 miles and you should be good. The 2.5 twin cam's problems were mainly blowing the gasket internally, the single cam 2.5 likes to leak coolant externally, but neither one of them is necessarily a "bad motor"

The main problem with the EA81 5 lug swap is the axles. The stock EA81 axles don't fit the EA82 hubs/wheel bearings, and the EA82 axles are too long for the EA81 car. I have seen a Brat with a 5 lug conversion, and the guy took the center section out of the axles and had them shortened so that they would be the correct length. This car also had a STi motor in it, so his axles were a bit beefier than yours would need to be but it could still be done. The rear 5 lug stuff is a direct bolt on, however, so the main hiccup is the front. Also, IIRC the top mount of the front strut is different, and I think you'd either need to re-drill the strut tower or swap the top hat of the strut out, but I haven't laid the suspension side by side to see if that's possible.

Is the SVX wrecked? Or does it just have a toasted transmission? SVXes are fun with a manual tranny! As for the Outback, I've seen an Outback SUS (first gen Outback sedan) with an EZ30 in it. (3 liter chain driven flat six out of the H6 outback)

I've seen cars with blown head gaskets take 2-3 oil changes to get all the water out of the coolant. Make sure the coolant is full, and keep an eye on the temperature gauge if you run the engine, also I'd run the heater, as if it's using coolant, the heater will stop blowing hot air once the heater core has drained. That will warn you of impending doom quicker than your temp gauge will. I'll pick the Senior Master Tech's brain tomorrow at work and see what he says.

I'd just do the head gasket job, it may be expensive but it's cheaper than buying a new car, unless your car is a rust bucket. Running it without the thermostat will work however in the cold weather it may not warm up enough to go open loop so your fuel mileage will suffer. You might try some of the Subaru cooling system conditioner, that MIGHT take care of the leak. They also have other types of "head gasket in a bottle" type stuff that seems to work pretty well, they are no substitute for new head gaskets though. Also, are you sure they are blown and you don't just have a stuck T stat, clogged radiator, or bad radiator cap? Any of these could make the bottle overflow.

Evap codes can really be a pain sometimes. I've spend days chasing them down! Check the carbon canister and the lines going to it, pull them off one by one and if there is any water or anything in the lines, replace the carbon canister. You can plug the green connectors together under the dash and with the ignition on, the car will cycle the solenoids. If one of them isn't clicking, replace it. (I can't remember exactly what valves are where, since it varies between years, but if you have a haynes or chiltons manual it should show you where the different solenoid valves are.)

win/lose tight/loose Depending on how bad the head gasket was blown, you will get steam out the exhaust until it all boils out (need to drive it though) After you changed the oil, is the oil still creamy? If so you might have a cracked head or something. You said you had it all machined, did you have the heads checked for cracks? Was it ever severely overheated?

Kia = Korean junk. Only good to get BRAND NEW with the 100,000 mile warranty and dump before the warranty expires. Resale value on them is DIRT!

lol damn kids and their texting! I used to do it all the time cuz I could do it by feel on my old phone, I didn't even have to look at it or anything, but my new phone has a touch screen on the front so it doesn't work that way. So now if someone sends me a message, I can hit send 3 times and it will call them How bad is the Loyale? If it's still driveable, beat the dents out and stick it on craigslist for like $400 or something, you'd be surprised what people will buy that really need a car!

You have to remove the shifter surround, remove the screw that is holding the molding that goes along the edge of the center console. YOu can then remove another screw from the rear, and the clip that's up under the dash, and remove the side of the center console. This will allow you to access the two hidden screws for the glove box. They FINALLY figured these out on the 2010 models, they have a panel you pop out to get to the filter. I definitely do not understand why Subaru recommends replacing these every 7500 miles, the Toyota ones (which are very similar in construction) last 30,000 miles. (Of course, Subaru also recommends the oil change every 7500 miles, which I think is way too long!)

Welcome to the forum! I used to have an 84 GL 4WD but mine had over 300,000 miles on it:eek: What I would do, since it has a lot of rust, is find one for cheap that has a good body but maybe a blown engine or something (or just has high miles) and swap the drivetrain. You can also try and repair the rust if it's not too excessive. The cheap and easy way would be to get rid of the loose rust with a wire wheel, and get ahold of a can of Kitty Hair and smooth that over the holes, then sand and paint it after it cures. It's basically fiberglass resin, but with fine glass fibers already impregnated into the resin. Works great just have to make sure you paint it to keep the water from soaking into it, and it's easier than making and welding in patch panels. As for the fluids, I would definitely change all the fluids. Brake fluid I would have a shop do since it's not very easy unless you have a vacuum bleeder. (Not sure out there, but we charge $50 for a brake flush) The engine oil, transmission oil, rear end oil, and engine coolant you can easily do yourself. Get an engine filter, engine drain plug gasket, and transmission drain plug gasket from the dealer. You'll also need a 22MM socket to remove the transmission drain plug. Transmission takes I think 4.3 pints of fluid, and the rear end takes .8 I think. Fluid type is API GL-5 75W-90 (Must be GL-5 or better due to the hypoid gears in the differentials.) Engine oil should be 10W-30, although I've run 20W-50 in these engines without any problems. I'd also pick up a Haynes manual for your car, which you can get for about $20 at Autozone.

That car will be a SOHC 2.5L. They have been known to leak coolant externally, however if they have been replaced with the updated OEM gaskets, they usually don't leak. If the car has under 100,000 miles and has coolant leaking externally, there is a warranty extension, however I don't know exactly what years are covered. The head gasket job would cost ~1800 or so if you had it done at my dealership, might be less from an aftermarket shop or if you did it yourself. (Does not require engine removal)

That settles it, I'm definitely bringing my laptop! Dangit I wish I had the CarPC set up in the SVX...

I'll bring my SVX I'll go post this on the SVX board too...

I use progressively finer wet sanding (800-1500 grit) if they are really bad, followed by a two step polishing process. They will need to be clear-coated to prevent them from re-yellowing, but I usually leave that part up to you since I don't want to overspray on the car, but all you need is a can of clear spray paint.

I will be bringing my headlight polishing kit to the show, anyone who wants their headlights polished I will be offering this service for $25 (or trade for beer, parts, etc..) so if you want your lights polished, come find me at the show. I will also have a sign posted on my car.

We replace head gaskets all the time on cars with 150-250k miles and have no problems with other things blowing out. You are not going to mill the heads unless they are warped or pitted or otherwise require milling... You're looking at ~1500 or so to have the head gaskets replaced, and about the same and maybe more to have the engine replaced, and which a replacement junkyard engine, you may end up having to replace the head gaskets anyway, although I do agree 260k is a bit high. What I would do is try and find one that has 100-150k on it that has had the head gaskets replaced and drop that in there, but if you can't find one, I would just do the head gaskets on the engine that is in there and call it good.

Yeah, your car has a lifetime seatbelt warranty, take it to the dealer and they'll replace it.

Peugeot diesels are actually very reliable, and those cars are built like tanks! My friend's mom had one, and they got rear-ended by a Caddy going like 45 MPH, and you could barely tell the car had been hit! I used to have an 85 505 STI turbo diesel, but after having to drive to Bellingham to get parts for the stupid thing, I sold it. It ran great, just needed some work, and I had no desire to work on it! (They are a complete pain in the arse to work on!) The gas engines aren't TOO bad, the turbo ones do tend to puke head gaskets occasionally. The V6 was junk though, it was a PRV (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) joint project, and they were not that great. Biggest drawback on these was the fact that the oil pump, which used steel gears, had the housing cast into the aluminum block. Score that housing, and you chuck the block. This was the engine used in the DeLorean DMC-12.

I'd totally come if I could but congrats!

I just did one on Tuesday that had 94k on it. Warranty doesn't pay very well (3 hours for one side, or 7 hours for both sides) but this car also needed it's 90K service, so when it's all said and done it'll be pretty close to the 12 hours that I would have gotten for the head gaskets if it was out of warranty. Nice thing is once it's done, you USUALLY don't have any problems with it leaking again, and the single cam engines you don't have to pull to do either...

That's a sharp lookin Runner, I want a Land Cruiser BADLY but the idea keeps getting shot down by the wife every time I bring it up We had an 87 4Runner get traded in shortly after I started working at the dealership I work at, had 240k on it and needed CV boots and brakes and they ended up freakin wholesaling it before I could tell the used car guy I wanted it But I thought I'd let you know that since I work at a Toyota/Subaru dealership, I get cost + 10% on parts, so if you ever need anything, or if you just need advice on something, or something scanned out of a factory manual, let me know!

I'm a Subaru technician, expert enough? What do you need to know?