TROGDOR!

Went to the other boneyard and got that second mirror today. Got them on the car, and got a couple more pics. Yes I know the pics are terrible and the car is filthy.

The Subaru starter bolts to the trans.

I suspect gauge issues with these cars as well. My RX has had 3 engines in it since I've had it, one of them being brand spanking new. None of them ever read pressure above 45, and every one of them hits zero at idle. I think it's just the gauge. Yeah I know my car is an EA82, but the gauge hardware is very similar. I say go for the mechanical gauge, and if the oil pressure is healthy on it, forget about your factory one.

So, when Tin Soldier and I were playing around with my parts car last week, we stumbled across something new... something I've never seen done before that looks pretty derned cool... (yeah, my car is filthy from driving on country roads in the rain all day) XT mirrors fit an L-series! Use a hacksaw or Sawzall and cut off the lower rear screw post, and the remaining two screw posts fit right in and hold it in tight. Even the plug matches and works! The XT at the boneyard had had both mirrors on it, but I got there today to find that some jerk had smashed the drivers' side, so I only have one for now... but, another local yard has one, and in black too- but it'll be Monday before I can get it. I'm sure some people will hate it, but I love it.

Not sure how to prevent them from getting in... but... When you let the car sit for a while, even if it sits for just a couple weeks: Mouse traps under the seats and in the trunk. Rat poison in specific locations. I recently picked up a car that had been parked for 6 years. It was armed like that. No mouse poo smell, and no mouse nests anywhere. I'd suggest trying it. Though, do check the mouse traps periodically... a decaying carcass in the car won't smell good.

Yes, all the rear diffs have the same spline count.

Pics this weekend. Engine bay needs to be straightened up and cleaned, despite the engine running well, under the hood still looks like a bomb went off. Also will have pics when I install my new goodie to make the car look better. Wait till the weekend for that, it's a secret.

Well, around here we have something called mountains. I've never had my Subarus on flat, open roads for more than a few miles at a time, so I have no idea what they're really capable of in terms of MPG. Getting anything up over 30mpg in this town is an accomplishment.

It's doable, but some conversion work is required. It's about the same amount of work as doing this: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40961

So, I did the swap this weekend! I'm glad I got a parts car, because I ran into some extra parts I needed. Besides just getting the XT engine, you need to do the following- Intake plumbing: -Save all air intake plumbing and airbox from the XT. -Save as many XT vacuum lines as possible- you won't need them all, but several of the EA82T vacuum lines will be too short Belt system: -The XT has a keyed crankshaft and crank pulley that the EA82T doesn't have!! -To overcome this you'll need the ENTIRE belt system from the XT! You need the crank pulley and all belt-driven accessories, as well as the brackets that hold them to the engine. The EA82T brackets won't allow the alternator to adjust tension properly, and the power steering pump end up mounting crooked. -As this swap was with an engine with no A/C, I have no idea what's required to make the A/C work. Probably will have to use the lines from the XT. -If you order a new water pump, be SURE to order one for an XT! The shaft length is different, when you put the XT pulley on an L-series water pump, the pulley will be 1/4" misaligned from the crank. Wiring: -All wiring harnesses match up, provided you got the right year engine. I'd reccommend using an 85-87 XT engine for an 85-87 car, and an 87.5-up XT engine (with spider intake) for an 87.5-up car. This will ensure that the distributor and MAF wiring match. Both the donor engine and recipient car were '89 models in this case. -The main power lead for the alternator is too small to fit over the lug on the XT alternator. Drill it out a little bigger and it will work. -I'm not sure if the turbo MAF and XT MAF are the same. I used the one from the XT and it worked fine. Exhaust: -You'll need a Y-pipe WITH an oxygen sensor, if your car is a year so equipped. The XT one will fit, as will one from any fuel injected L-series. Be sure to check it for holes before bolting it onto the car. Mounts: -Save the pitch stopper and bracket from the XT. It bolts to the trans instead of the engine, as the type that bolts to the engine will be way too long. -FYI, the XT block has threaded bellhousing bolt holes. No nuts required to hold the top of the bellhousing together. Misc: -Throttle cable. The L-series one is too long. You'll need the one from the XT. -Lower water outlet tube. The one from the XT meets the driver's side radiator hose at a different angle than the L-series. You'll need to keep the one that was on your original EA82T. You might be able to get away with keeping the XT one, but I changed mine. -Leave the power steering lines on the XT engine- the top end of them is shorter and required to fit the pump. -Spare tire: the spider intake gets in the way of the spare, and you'll have to drop it in the trunk. XT's came with a cool vinyl bag for the spare, as well as a hold-down to mount it in the trunk. Save the bag for a nice clean look. The L-series will have bolt holes in the floor of the trunk which you can use to hold the tire in place. And I believe, as they say in Germany... Das ist alles. Took me a bit of messing around to get all this right, but when it was all said and done, the engine fired up and ran like a champ on the first try. It runs great- slower than a turbo, but still plenty of pull. Very torquey, this would be a great engine for an off-roader. It can still climb a 5% grade on the interstate in 5th gear without bogging down too bad- and the gas mileage is PHENOMENAL. I'd reccommend this swap to anyone who is fed up with blowing up EA82T's or wants amazing gas mileage out of their car. In the mountains here I get about 32mpg with it, and I've heard on flat ground this engine can hit 36mpg. Only problem I had with this swap is a check engine light. Haven't checked the codes yet, but the car runs great.

That's right, in other countries they started making them in 1985. Only in North America were they only made in 1989 and 1990. There is no extra headroom in the front, but the backseat has more headroom. The raised roof adds a few more inches of cargo space. A touring wagon could have hauled my couch, where my normal wagon was 2 inches too narrow.

Touring wagons were only made in 1989 and 1990, and were quite rare. I've seen a few 89's in person, and a couple 90's online. I also recall my mom test driving a 1990 Loyale touring wagon in 1990. They never caught on in the US and are the rarest of the EA82 body styles.

Leaky power steering lines could be dumping ATF down there. Either that or you could have a massive oil leak at the front of the engine, from the front main seal or cam seals.

Any idea where they are on an XT, so I can snag them for Gary before it gets crushed?

Where on the car are these control solenoids located? Are they the gizmos bolted to the trans behind the starter?

The way I got all the gas out of my dead XT was to remove the fuel sending unit and siphon from there. Pull the carpet up in the back and you'll see a little metal lid in there, pull it up and you've got access to the sending unit, little bolts all around it. Remove it and there's just barely enough room to slip a siphon hose between the body of the car and the fuel tank, when it comes through that hole, just stick it down in the tank and siphon away. I got everything out of the tank, all but about 1/16" of gas. I couldn't even reach the gas running a hose through the filler tube, and that was with a full tank of gas!

Not sure about the EA81 stuff... But, you should be able to find anything you need in the PNW, 2WD or 4WD, auto or manual. I can get just about anything here, and that area is Subaru heaven compared to here.

I know you said you don't want to do a manual swap... but... the gearing in those automatics is horrible, and hurts performance and gas mileage. If you're not opposed to swapping the tranny... these cars are very easy to do a manual conversion on. Takes an hour or two extra work, tops. No major electrical work required, and everything bolts right in. I've done it myself and it truly isn't hard.

Yes, 1990 only. The Loyale RS, while looking like an RX, did not have a turbo engine standard. It was just an ordinary option the same way it was with a GL. Turbo automatics had FT4WD.

Engine specs from this page: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/80s/specs/mechanical/engine-specs.html 1781cc, 90hp@5600rpm, 101tq@2800rpm (listed under 86-94 SPFI) Location would obviously be front, layout flat 4 From the 1988 owners manual, should be the same as 87: Compression ratio 9.5:1 Redline 6500rpm Gear ratios: 1: 3.636 2: 1.950 3: 1.344 4: 0.971 5: 0.783 R: 3.583 Final: 3.900:1 Front wheel drive 5 speed manual of course. Weight: take it to a truck stop. Weight distribution: your guess is as good as mine. Heavier in the front than the rear, but no idea as to ratio. Wheelbase: 97.2in Tire section width: Check the first number on the tire size. Stock is 175mm. Wheel diameter: 13" Tire profile: Check the second number on the tire size. Stock is 70% of 175mm, or a "70" profile. Coefficient of drag: lots. Something like .45 I believe, don't quote me on that. Height: 51.8in Width: 65.4in Ground clearance: 5.1in You owe me a beer for this.

Much of this info can be found in the back of the owners' manual. Unfortunately I don't have one handy.

Hmmm, then I suppose one of us with some free time needs to go to the junkyard with a Subaru lugnut and stud in hand and start checkingJapanese cars, starting with Subaru, then Nissan, and on out from there.

So, what are they?

All talk was close... but... No body kit offered in 85-86, not even a front skirt. Checkerboard interior was 85 only. 1985 models were an enthusiast's type car, no power options at all. Not even power steering! All RX models had special super-grippy seats. The 1985's were a checkered flag pattern, 1986 was two-tone color coded to match the interior (saw a blue set at the yard once), 1987-89 were always two tone gray with vinyl sides. All RX's came standard with a rear limited slip differential. 1985-86 RX's were sedan only and available in any color. 1987-88 RX's were available as sedans or coupes. Most models had a full body kit, BUT some 1987 sedans were available as a stripped-down model with no body kit, just the front skirt. ALL cars with the full body kit were ONLY produced in white. The non-body kit sedans were available in any color. I've personally seen silver, light blue, and white. A 1987 coupe with only the front skirt and wing instead of the full kit, and in another color besides white is in fact not an RX, but a FT4WD coupe. They had almost all the RX goodies but are not technically an RX. 1989 RX's were said to be produced only in black, though I've heard of some white ones as well. A black RX is somewhat rare. They were produced only as coupes, no sedans at all. An auto trans was available for the first time. Many black RX's do not have the full body kit. In 1990 they produced a car called the Loyale RS, which looked like an RX coupe, with the front skirt and rear wing. They were made only in black and red. These cars have virtually nothing in common with the RX except the body, and are fitted with standard Loyale options. Most were nonturbo, and could be ordered with any options the customer wanted. No more special than any other Loyale. The major differences between an RX and a turbo GL are the RX transmission (RX's were the only turbo cars to have a dual range transmission, throughout the whole production line- both part time and full time 4WD) , the interior, the suspension, and the body kit. Many other differences of course like we talked about, but those are the big ones.

OHC/OHV, 4 headlights or 2, FI or Carb, any one of those will tell us what we need to know. Subaru made 2 body styles with a hatchback in 1987.