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thanks for your help

How do I find the article about the tranny? I did a pressure test on the cooling system and it hold pressure very well. It seems that the radiator cap was very loose and needs replacing. My mechanic says that this could be the problem, as when it gets low on coolant it will begin to run hot. Also, does anyone know if the tranny for the shoc and dohc are the same? Thanks

Okay, I picked up a '99 outback legacy Yesterday and was told that it was having temp problems. I checked the radiator and it was very low. I topped it off and drove it to my shop. The temperature never went above a third on the guage and I never smelled any antifreeze burning off. I realize that i may have a minor issue and not a blown HG, so my question is where to start looking? Also the manual tranny wanted to pop out of fifth gear when I let off the gas. Any ideas as to the cause and possible fixes. This is a very nice car and I only paid 500 for it, so I think I may be selling my 87 turbo and driving this one as my daily driver. It is plush inside with all of the options. Any help would be greatly appreciated Mike

The car has 180k on it and is loaded. Five speed tranny with a new clutch. Seems worth the energy to restore. Body in great shape too. Got the whole thing for 500.00 so not much lost. I'm going to check with a machine shop on the cost of a head job for the heads. I have time and want to check al of my options before I dig into this car.

This is going to be my first foray into the world of ej engines and I want to have as much knowledge before I get into the job. I just want to do it once as this may become my daily driver. I'm leaning toward a japan pull with 40k on it, but if the head job is less expensive I may go that way. I will definitely put a new radiator in as well. Any other info is greatly appreciated and thanks for the info thus far. Mike

I just picked up one of these cars and I know that the engine has overheated twice. Are these engines like the ea82's in that they crack heads, or can I safely rebuild the engine? Will I need to replace the heads, or should I just go for a used engine. It seems that the mechanic that rebuilt the engine the first time did nto recommend a replacement radiator and that caused another round of overheating within 40k miles. Just looking for some advice so that I can get this car resurected. Thanks guys Mike

If all else fails, you can manually take it out of 4wd by getting under the passenger side of the car and pushing the actuator to the 2wd setting. The system for those cars is a vaccuum actuator that pushes or pulls a cable which puts into or out of 4wd. Follow the cable and you will see the mechanism you have to switch. If my vaccuum ever goes out I will just hook up a cable like the old choke cables to put in in or out of 4wd. Good luck

If you use the fishing wire it really isn't that bad. If you have to replace a window anyway, use that one to learn on and then go get the replacement.

The trick to geting out a glued in windshield (front or rear) is to use 90lb fishing wire. Make a small cut with a very sharp knife in the glue and thread the wire through to the opposite side. Wrap the ends around a couple of stout dowels and pull the wire around the windshield. Do it on a warm day and you can have a front out in 20 min and a back out in 15. I've experimented with several types of wire and the fishing wire is braided and less likely to break. You don't have to saw back and forth, just pull. If the wire breaks, just thread in another piece and continue. I've done three fronts and two backs this way now. Glueing the new one in is easy, just make sure you scrape off all of the old gasket material and then glue in the new one. The job you are looking to do is very doable as a novice. I think you should give it a try and expand your horizons.

Try bypassing the turbo coolant lines and see if you have a turbo leak. You may be sucking in coolant there. It probably is a headgasket though.

Gloyale: He said that the car is a GL-10 not a GL-10 turbo and therefore it has drum brakes not discs. I agree that the rear brakes could be the problem, but only if the wheel cylinders are leaking. Good luck beataru, I hope you get this problem fixed. It sounds like the car is unsafe to drive right now.

I will repeat...... it is your master cylinder. You have bled the system to death. The hill holder will bleed along with the rest of the system, so you don't have to do anything special. Get a Master from a junkyard. Look at the rear seal and if it is dry then you are golden. If you cannot find one, let me know and I can get you one and I bet it will be around 25.00 with shipping to Arizona. I realize that the shop experts all agree that the master is not the problem, but I have been through this with people telling me that same thing. I replaced the master and Bingo the problem is solved. Stop pleying around and wasting time doing the same thing over and over. As far as bleeding is concerned, the shop should have a vaccuum pump for bleeding and that is the fastest way to do it. Personally I just open the resevior and gravity bleed the brakes one wheel at a time. you don't have to pump the brakes, but it does go faster that way. Call me if you want some info. 804-393-0516

When you compressed the pistons back in, did you open the resevour? If not, you have blown out the rear seal on the master. The brake system on these old Subs is not complex in any way and bleeding should be a snap. Why you got the ddark brown goop, I have no idea. I hope I am wrong and the master is still good, but with all of the time you have spent bleeding the systems you could have gotten a used one and replaced it and you would be sure of the integrity of the system. When my master went there was no sign of a leak until I actually got it off. I had it replaced in about 45 minutes and that included bleeding the system. If you realy want to do a through job of bleeding, you should use a vaccuum pump hooked up to the bleeder screws and actually poull the new fluid down to the caliper or wheel cylinder. Good luck and I hope you get this figured out soon

Mine wasn't losing a significant amount of fluid either, but it was still the master cylinder. All the symptoms you describe are related to a master cylinder failure. It may just be coincidental that it happened during the brake job.

As far as the e-brake is concerned, I have NEVER had to adjust it. It is self adjusting. A few pumps of the brakes and it should be right where it belongs. If you had dificulty in screwing the pistons back in you may have a sticking caliper, but I doubt it. I've replaced many brake sets on these cars and oly found one bad caliper and that was from excessive heat on my wifes car. She is heavy footed on the brakes. My vote will stay with the master cylinder until proven otherwise.

I can tell you from experience, you have a bad master cylinder. It is easy to replace. I had the same problem about a month ago, replaced the brakes and calipers and still had a bad pedal. Removed the master cylinder and it was leaking at the rear seal. Replaced the unit and have great braking now. Good luck

Daeron: In case you hadn't figured it out by now, he is doing the front brakes not the rear. Even four wheel drives have drums on the rear.

Hi guys: As you all may recall I built a high comp turbo engine mid last year. I started with a brand new, not rebuilt engine. Yes, completely new engine straight from japan. Then I swapped out the pistons and dropped it into my car. I'm probably going on seven months now and the engine has not given me a single hiccup. I am getting ready to put an oil cooler on it, but I will wait until it warms up a little. I do not beat the engine because I built the baby for better low end torque while off roading. It does a nice job for me and I can keep you all updated. If it blows I'll definitely let you know what happened. I'm also running stock boost from the turbo. I like the better throttle response and low end, but I'm not looking to make any super times.

I understand the desire to wait for warmer weather. Cold fingers make for a difficult job. Seroiusly, call me if you have any questions. I can walk you through it.

Glad to be of help. Our experiences definitely help others.

When I did mine it was leaking pretty well and I was afraid of damaging the diff. I tighned the !!!!!! out of the collar as best as could be done without special tools and then drove the car for 50 to 60k miles after that with no issues. Unless you go to extreme lengths you are not going to be able to tighten that collar but so far. Maybe I was just dumb and lucky. I just listened to my mechanic and he has been at it for 30 years.

If you have an autozone I'd get some there. They give a lifetime warranty and I have used the warranty to replace some that went bad. Not a result of the reman process, but my abuse to the axle. They never gave me a hard time, just new axles. You can even order them online from them. I'm not sure of the part number for the non-turbo though.

I have done it before and you can easily do it with the tranny in the car. You will need the seal for the spline shaft and the o ring for the carrier. Take the half shaft off of the spline shaft of the tranny. you will have to break the steering knuckle loose in order to do this. It isn't difficult. Next, you will see a collar around the shaft with a keeper on it. Take the keeper off and then, with some muscle, you can unscrew that collar (then carrier). Once you have this off you will see that is has the shaft seal in the center of it and the oring on the outer rim. Replace both of these and reasemble the unit. Make sure you get the collar tight or the bearings will be loose. My mechanic says that you cannot over tighten the carrier. If you want some assisstance you can call me. 804-393-0516 A Haynes manual willl have all of the steps necessary to do the job. Good luck Mike

That is just a mud guard. If you put the axle in from the front of the strut it isn't in the way and insert the asle from the outside in to the tranny. I've done many axles and it has never been an issue. You just have to work around it. It won't hurt if you cut it off though.

Due to the new EPA regulations the really good flushes are no longer on the market. In order to get the crud out of the radiator you need to take the rad to a professional. Frankly, I just replace the radiator with a new one. It will probably outlast these old cars anyway and it isn't woth it to chance overheating the engine. Good luck. New rads can be had on ebay for about 80.00 for a single row rad