Twitch de la Brat

I have considered this option, as I have a 1990 lego sitting waiting for a good shortblock. But I really don't want to have to strip two cars of their wiring harnes, and rewire one. Heh, looks like an ej swap isn't in my future :-p Anyway, I've been hunting and as soon as I can save up for it, I'm gonna begin a full blown search for a JDM Legacy (I already have a thread on it) and import one. They have the same safety equipment as the postal Suby's and therefore are already IIHS legal. So it won't be nearly as difficult as say, a Skyline :-p Twitch

Ok, I've owned subarus exclusively since I bought my first car until now, and haven't driven much else. So anything heavier than 3000Lbs and bigger than a lego is a barge to me :-p Maybe hate is too strong a word. It's definitely not my fave to drive, esp with the 18- MPG. And I meant the - as it rarely gets better than 18 on a good day. I personally don't mind having a gutless wonder. It may take 10-15 seconds to hit sixty, but just getting there sounds and feels like I'm getting up to 100. Yes, I do enjoy being able to give my car hell and barely making it to the speed limit But I digress, the blazer is a decent rig, and that IFS isn't as bump dampening or vibration dampening as I like. It still shudders and shakes when I hit a pothole. And the shocks are good, they were better than the new ones I bought to replace them with And I believe some animosity towards the car is coming from the fact I spend at least 7 hours a day in the thing, when I work that is. But just the total lack of control over anything the car does just bugs me. The lag in acceleration from the auto, the stupid vibrating brake pedal, and that disconnected cushy feeling just make me edgy. If it had ECS I would probably have shoved it back at the dealer the first time it cut me off. If I'm gonna have a RWD I better be able to have fun in it... Twitch

So I've been driving it for work and I hate it. It's just not my cup of tea, vehicle wise. It drives like what it is, a big lumbering barge. Top that off with an automatic and ABS and it's complete torture compared to driving the BRAT. I replaced the ball joints, and the ride is better, but it's still no subaru. I've done an oil change and it's not too bad to change, but the oil filter flap is kinda funky. Not to mention the skid plate is actually just a crap blocker. It's made of plastic and would probably shatter if it took a decent hit. So I'm hunting down a RHD Subaru to drive, but finding one of those is a PITA. And when you do find one, they're usually beat to death. Twitch

Haha, sounds like a true Subaru Lover Congrats on the new purchase and the return to the Subaru family. We welcome you with open arms. And I was kinda hoping when I stumbled on this thread that you had gotten an EA81 of some kind :-p Twitch

Thanks for the info mining there JesZek Lets just hope FB doesn't mean Fubar'd. And it'll be nice to see the iteration of Subaru tech. I hope they stay true to the Flat Four and don't start building (heaven forbid) inline engines for the US market *shudders* Twitch

Well while thatswhatshesaid is putting a 6 cylinder in his car, I'm gonna be putting in the clutch from a 6 cylinder XT6 clutch FTW! Yes siree I'm dropping an XT6 clutch into my 5sp d/r swapped brat, because my used jy clutch is SATH. It slips in first gear So anyway, I'll be pulling the engine and getting the flywheel resurfaced this week. Oh, and does anybody have any suggestions on where to get a disty seal? Mine is leaking underneath the disty. Twitch

So long to the EJ engine. Time for a new category (Shawn!). :-p And that's cool, thanks for the info JesZek I can't wait to see one of those EE20's in action, and I hope to get to test drive an OBS. That would soooooo sweet if they put those in the smaller outbacks, it'd make them a lot more practical with the awesome fuel mileage and that torque would make trails a cakewalk Twitch

Hey, you're right in my backyard. I usually roll in my 85 BRAT, It's the loud one I'm over off seasons, I haven't seen you, maybe give me a rev salute or something when you see me If you need help zip me a message, I'm around fairly often. Hope to see you around, kinda nice to have another Subaru nut around Twitch

Shockingly enough, some carriers have RHD HHR's with manual transmissions. So I was desperately hoping to find one with that, but its not a huge deal to swap, about the same amount of work as a standard lego tranny swap. Twitch EDIT: And yes, they made postal legos in the same color varieties as the standard LHD legacies.

Son of a B****. Good thing you're in TX otherwise you may have me at your front door throwing money at you. Its next to impossible to find a postal Subaru in decent shape around here. And importing a RHD is PITA as well. Good luck on the project and hope it all goes well for you. As a side note, they usually need all 4 wheel bearings, as they seem to fail simultaneously. Also, make sure you change your tranny fluid and check your diffs, as they receive a TON of work while delivering mail. Twitch

Stupid answer, but have you checked the starter wire? Those things make a hell of a smoke show when they ground out. (Those from the BRAT know what I'm talking about.) Otherwise have you checked out your tranny wires? To me, smoke is usually caused by a hot wire gounding out and destroying the insulation. You might try running a bare ground strap from the tranny to the body and see if it gets hot under the conditions you see smoke. Also, as was suggested, try new ground straps. Twitch

I tried to start the BRAT but forgot I drained the battery (Left the key in the acc position, not off ) so its been sitting there waiting for new front rotors and pads :-\ I moved Xandra about 50 feet, so she no longer in Dad's way. And I've been working on Zeh Nite Vagon, fixing those *&%*&^$ exhaust studs. Twitch

It can be as Gary said. Ironically enough though, I have run my BRAT completely out of coolant/water and still was able to drive it 10 highway miles back to work without overheating it Now that is an EA81, not an EA82, but in theory you could get away with running it out of coolant as long as you could keep it cool. But running out of oil is a whole nother story and will most likely cause massive internal damage to the engine. Twitch

Or if you want to bypass all that taxation, overspending and smog nazi's, come to Idaho They're kinda paranoid about water plants (eurasion water milfoil is a big one) but we have a lot of national forest and a TON of roads and trails around here. Like I can drive for 20 minutes and be completely surrounded by national forest. We have a third lower sales tax (6% compared to 9%), way lower taxes, less strict laws (way less strict, like WAY, WAY less strict), fewer people per mile, better road/snow crews (sorry WA guys, but its true), we have an amusement park! , and more good ol' down home country folk. But, here in ID, the minimum wage is the lowest in the nation ($7.25 compared to $9.05 in WA), not nearly as many cities or any sort of big city feel, washboard dirt roads in general, some dodgy road repairs, jobs are on the light side around here and the housing market is a little ridiculous in pricing (like $170k for a 2 bed on a 1/4 acre lot). So there are some of the good and bad aspects of Idaho Fire away if you have any questions. Twitch

Lol, that's pretty funny. Ok, to change your pic, go to your User CP, located on the bar directly below the forum name. Then right below that should be a list of items, one will be"Edit Profile Picture" Click on that and then click the browse button in the center of your screen. This will pop up a window that will allow you to go through your computer's contents and find the picture you want to put up. Twitch

Now what year is this Dakota? If its anything newer it may just be a shiny coating over some plastic. If that's the case, you'll have to adjust your paint type. Twitch

Haha, yeah, I was looking at S-10 trucks, and for the money, I was looking at an S-10 for 8-10K for a 2000, or 4900 for this 2002 Blazer. Hmmmm, hard decision... Anyway, I've been too busy to look for that oil leak, but I'm pretty sure its nothing. Parts will be easy to come by for years to come and I have a plethora of aftermarket support for it, unlike most of my subarus... :-p Twitch

It could possibly be bad intake manifold gaskets. When those go bad they tend to leak coolant into the cylinders. Twitch

I smell a lawsuit. And I'm really glad you weren't in the car when it happened. That woulda been one nasty head bash into the A pillar. I hope you get just desserts for it. I'm guessing when you found it there was a lot of language said that isn't allowed on this forum. Thankfully if you get stuck repairing the mechanical aspect of things, they're pretty easy to swap out. Hope all goes well on getting it repaired. Twitch

I was gonna say, what the hell kind of offroading were you doing? That really sucks man. I hope his insurance pays up the nose for fixing those cars. Twitch

Ok, please no fighting in here. I happen to agree with 3eyed, because in stock form, with completely shot struts and worn out ball joints, this thing still rides pretty nice for a body on frame. And as for the handling comment, this thing handles close to what my BRAT does on pavement, although not all that close on dirt/gravel, BUT it has about 3000 lbs over the BRAT. And I'm sure your 4 runner is around 1500-2000 lbs lighter than the blazer your GF had. Also, 4runners are usually (in this area) overpriced, beat to death, rust buckets, that have center shifters, manual or auto. I needed something that was decently priced ($4900 for an 02 is dirt cheap), still in decent shape (worst parts are the struts), no rust what-so-ever, and has an easily removed unimportant center console. Not to mention many mail carriers use blazers on a daily basis. So keep your hate comments out please. Twitch

Thanks for the replies guys I'm gonna be buying a repair manual for it soon. The oil leaks primarily out of the rear of the engine, so I think I have a leaky rear main. But I'm going to investigate it more when I get some money and time. Twitch

Yeah, unfortunately I only had limited time searching, but in the sites I looked at that was the only one that had that size. I'm still searching, but those mastercraft tires look like they'd be good for an all season tire. Maybe the new extemporaneous offroader tire THE SEARCH CONTINUES!!! Twitch

Its not an offroad tire, but it is a street sport tire for about $57 a tire. Linky Its 205/60R13 and may be interesting to you who drive FWD subys... Twitch

+1 That is why I trust this: More than I trust this: And I've owned the legacy longer and done more to it! The simplicity and security is just too much to ignore. And as a suggestion for the out dated parts, UPGRADE Twitch