Andy FitzGibbon

Of course, after you go through with this, you will probably have to find some other dealer to work on your car... not trying to discourage you, just pointing that out. Andy

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know. Andy

On EA82 cars with AWD (full time 4WD) single range 5 speed transmissions- do they have a center diff lock, like the RX dual range AWD trannies do? Thanks, Andy

I would think that, in Africa, a pickup truck would be more useful and versatile than a car. You can haul anything, but you can still haul people if need be. A pickup will have a lot more load capacity and will be a bit tougher mechanically than a Subaru. The trucks shown in the links from subiemech are great, I had four of them right in a row and they were all extremely reliable. They are also sort of the standard in Africa from what I've seen, pretty much any National Geographic article about Africa shows at least one Toyota Hilux or LandCruiser. Subaru's AWD system is not really designed for rough off-road conditions, it's more meant for increased traction on ice, snow, ect. Without modifications, the modern cars are not really a good off-road machine. A Toyota pickup is a much better choice for that sort of thing. It might help if you could tell us what she will be using the vehicle for, and how much she will be using it. Andy

Is the wiring for heated mirrors already in place on my (non heated mirror) '96 OBW, or will it need to be stripped out of the donor car along with the mirrors and switch? Thanks, Andy

'96 2.2 5MT Outbacks are 4.11 ratio as far as I know (mine is). Andy

I was gonna mention the interference issue, but someone already did. I really love my '96 5 speed 2.2. Don't really feel like I need any of the extra power a 2.5 would provide, but of course it would be fun. Andy

It has been done. Someone posted photos a while ago (before all the board crashes and hijacks) of a car they saw and followed on the highway that had a solid rear axle. It was not lifted. It was in a foreign country somewhere, can't remember which one or who posted it. Andy

I bought the same car in October and love it. Bought it with 152K. Dealer wanted $2900, I got them down to $2500, had to put tires on it and replace the rear struts. Mine is not quite as clean as this one (dents, but no rust), and doesn't have heated seats. But, it's only a two owner car and has no accident history, and has a trailer hitch. The bike rack on this one adds some value, I suppose. I don't think I would pay that much for a car with crash history, maybe I would if I saw it in person and could tell it was OK, but my gut reaction is that the price should be lower. Andy

To make it sit any lower than in that photo, you would have to cut out a lot of the unibody/uniframe. Guys used to do that with Ford Pintos when I was growing up, and ran into the same issue. Andy

I think he meant a 3/4" DRIVE, not a 3/4" socket. Andy

+1 Andy

See here: http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=14983&highlight=outback+strut

To answer part of your question, it is fine to put the covers back on with zip ties rather than the bolts. Andy

You will like the car, I just got one and it is a nice ride. BTW mine is a cable clutch. Last year for the hill holder, I think... Andy

All EA82s with AC (turbo and non) have engine driven fans, as far as I know. Cars without AC had an electric fan only. The EA82 SPFI already pulls air in through the fender. You will not get any noticable power increase by changing to a cone filter. I would leave the intake setup as is. Andy

It really isn't that big a job to do it with the engine in the car. If you have a convenient way to pull the engine, it's up to you, but if you are going to have to rent a hoist/build a tripod/ect. (or some other sort of inconvenience) I would do it in the car. The only real PITA is the valve cover bolts, but if you get a ratcheting 10mm wrench that gets a lot easier. Andy

There was a EA82 DL wagon on ebay a while ago with 13K original miles. It belonged to a handicapped person and had a crane mounted in the back to take a folding wheelchair (or something) in and out. It went for a little over 4000 dollars. Personally I wouldn't pay that much for any EA82. Andy

There's no such thing as an '88 Loyale (they didn't come out with that model designation until '90). It's either a GL, GL10, or DL. Oil pressure dropping to zero at idle is normal- the owner's manual speaks about it. It's because these engines rely more on oil volume than oil pressure to lubricate themselves. Doesn't really sound like a HG to me, usually with a bad HG the car will run fine when it's cold and then start to run crappy when the thermostat opens. The chocolate milk oil could have been caused by the previous owner driving lots of short trips and/or not changing the oil very often (condensation buildup in the crankcase from the engine not getting hot enough to burn any moisture out). The lugging when the engine is cold sounds like just that, the engine is cold. One of the engine control sensors may not be entirely up to snuff, giving the ECU false readings until the engine is warm. Is the check engine light on? You should do a compression test, that will help determine if your problem is HG related or not. Good luck, Andy

KBB is around $4000 and Edmonds ranges from $1500-$2500 for the year and mileage. I am going to look around more before trying to make a deal on this one. They most likely won't come down enough to make it worth buying- they'll wait until someone who isn't as savvy comes along and buys it without knowing about the clutch and rear main problems. If it sits there for a while, I might try a super low offer to see what they say. Thanks again to all for all the good advice, it's been very helpful on this car and will be helpful as I look at other Legacies. Andy

It is not at a Subaru dealer. It's at a small, private used car lot that sells "as is" cars. The guys there are not dishonest, they will admit up front that they know nothing about the cars other than the obvious stuff ("runs good"). It's pretty likely they got it from a Subaru dealer who took it in on trade. I have had a leaking rear main make a clutch slip before, but not on a Subaru (it was on an IH Scout). That's what I was going from on that. Either way it's not something I would wait around to do. Gary, you're probably right that the car was dumped by the owner because they didn't want to put money into the clutch and other issues. Rust is not a huge bargaining chip around here, because pretty much all the used cars around here that are more than five years old have some rust. The Subaru dealer is just around the corner from this place- maybe I'll drive it over there and get them to make out a list of what all the work would cost that I can show to the seller. Thanks, Andy

Drove it today. The engine is indeed a EJ22. Runs good, drives good, shifts good, brakes are good. E brake doesn't work. No sign of any binding (that I could tell) when making tight turns in a parking lot. One axle occasionally clicks when accelerating in turns, not bad, it would go like that for a long time. The rear main seal is leaking, which makes the clutch slip occasionally on very steep grades. It would go for a little while before it absolutely had to be replaced. Both valve cover gaskets leak a little. The timing belts were replaced 70K ago by the local Subaru dealer (found the receipt in the glove box). Has the original CD player, with a Pioneer CD/AM/FM mounted above it (?). Interior is decent, some dog hair and driver's seat has some wear. Heated seats and mirrors. Tires are good. In general, seems to need nothing other than the rear main and clutch, and minor dinky stuff (cup holder doesn't open, ect). The rust it has isn't bad at all, and as I am looking for a winter driver I'm not too worried about a little rust. If it was rust free, I would feel bad every time I took it out into the salt-slush slop of January. The underside is fairly clean. Thanks a lot for all the posts so far, they have been very helpful. Overall the car seems solid and I'm going to do some thinking about it. More opinions are welcome. Thanks, Andy

There's one for sale at a local used car lot. White, manual trans, 199K. Interior is in nice shape, not much rust (usual spot behind rear wheels has been fixed semi-professionally, one rear door bottom is losing it's paint along the edge). Good tires. Have not driven it yet as they were closed when I looked. Don't have any experience with anything beyond Loyales. What's a rough price for something like this? Thanks, Andy

What size tires? BTW, nice looking car. Andy