Andy FitzGibbon

Autozone has them. Andy

Are the EJ head bolts torque-to-yield? Seems like I remember that being the case. That might be the source of the confusion. It should be noted that the bolts should not be reused if they have damage or rust. This ties into the section of the manual which explains how to inspect them for reuse. Andy

The head bolt holes need to be as clean as you can get them. If the bolts can't turn smoothly in the threads they are more apt to "pop" as you are torquing them, which gives a false torque reading. Andy

I have never worked on a turbo. But, on a N/A engine the head bolts can bottom out, particularly if there is dirt/gunk/ect. in the bottom of the bolt holes. The problem is made worse by surfacing the heads, as they are then thinner and more of the bolt extends into the block. Dig out the bottom of the holes with a screwdriver, then spray some sort of solvent in (carb or brake cleaner), then blow them out with compressed air. Then, take one of your old head bolts and grind four flutes in it, like a tap, and use it to clean the threads (I like this better than an actual tap, as there's less chance of removing metal from the holes). Also, you should replace your head bolts. Andy

I know you mentioned vaccum leaks already, but my '85 had that exact problem- and it was a vaccum leak. The engine still ran fine, but it shook the car at idle. That car has a Weber on it. Andy

Thanks... I'm guessing it has an EA-81 engine? Was the EA-71 still available by '87? Thanks again, Andy

A friend of mine is looking at an 87 GL hatch that's for sale. The car is not local to him, so we are going by pictures. Is there a way to tell if it's D/R or not from pics of the shifter? The ad says it's a 4 speed. I am not familiar at all with anything other than EA82s. Thanks, Andy

Since you live in PA, how is the rust situation on your car? Your rear trailing arm crossmember could have given out due to rust. I drove one home 30 miles like this. They will go along fine, but there is increased sway, particularly when braking. Andy

If you're going to do all this swap work for an around town car, I'd just put in an electric motor and a bank of batteries. Not that I have actually done this, and I know it's not going to be an easy job. But, it seems like the returns would be a lot greater than gaining only 10 MPG or so. Andy

Something is obviously going on- but what? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988-Subaru-Loyale-4x4-Wagon_W0QQitemZ130188827424QQihZ003QQcategoryZ6467QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Andy

Everything on the site looks like great work. Good luck with the new business. Andy

I agree about the body, but it looks like he does nice fab work. A friend of mine knows him. Andy

http://www.wfmservice.com Scroll down, click on "special vehicles" then click on "Scoobygator". (Sorry, couldn't provide a direct link, as every page of his site has the same URL). Andy

They are the same publisher. Andy

I got my Touring Wagon back here from Portland for $500. I had a special hook up with a shipper, but you should definitely be able to do it for under $1000. I think I priced a few and the cheapest I found was DAS, they were around $700-$800. A friend of mine shipped a Toyota from California using them and had a good experience. Good luck, Andy

Road signs are made out of some special aluminum alloy that is pretty though stuff. A few years ago the scrap guys I knew didn't like to take them in because they are hard to bale, they shatter instead of crumpling up nicely. Now that aluminum is up I think they will take anything, though. Andy

Everyone who knows me thinks I'm crazy for refusing to drive this car in road salt. I need some support from people who understand the Subaru sickness:lol: Andy

Autozone has them. I don't remember the price but they are less than $50 each, maybe something like $70 for both. I just can't remember what I paid for them. They don't fit like the originals, there's an included bracket that you have to add. Andy

For some reason, my ex's rates went down considerably when she switched from a '92 Loyale to an '89 4Runner. Makes no sense to me. Andy

I actually preferred the push button 4WD in my Loyale for winter driving. It did OK as a fire road runner too, until the rear end finally broke out from under it (rust). But mostly it was a good commuter. GD is right, the Legacys are a major step up in power and comfort level. As far as mileage, I got as much as 32 MPG in my 4WD Loyale. That was with very careful 55-65 MPH driving. I did check the odometer against the mileage markers on the interstate and factored in the difference (I think I was gaining one mile in 40 miles traveled). I got that mileage more than once, so it wasn't just a bad fill up that gave me a false reading. With more casual driving, I got 27-30. Andy

Is it a 4X4? They don't say anywhere in the ad, so I'm assuming not. Definitely too much if it isn't. Probably still too much if it is, due to the automatic. There's a '93 Loyale wagon for sale here- same rust as this one, 100k, 3AT, for $1800. I drove it, and decided never to buy a car with the 3AT. Low mileage isn't necessarily good. There will be less wear, but low mileage also means the car sat around a lot so there will usually be problems that pop up once you start driving it every day. Andy

I didn't know the part-time cars didn't have the LSD- good to know. Thanks, Andy

Does it have a limited slip in the rear? It may, since it's a turbo. It would be a shame to weld one of those. Andy

Check to see if the radiator is grounded properly. It has to be for the switch to work. Andy

Yes, Pennsylvania cars rust just as bad as New York cars. Pennsylvania has rust laws, so they look a little better than the ones in NY, but they usually have the same amount of rust. Andy