man on the moon

What the h*ll did you do that for? Sounds fun but completely impractical. Are you going to sawzall another car to install it into? Or drive the sawzalled one without a firewall? Either way sounds like a fun adventure, I'm just curious what the purpose was!

Take the cap into a parts store and if they don't find a gasket right away, have them rummage through similar bits. Some manufacturer somewhere, some-when is bound to have made one that will work. I have done this with bulbs and belts with good success, and as long as it's not something designed to fit a specific thing (like a weird shaped manifold or a head) there should be a round piece of rubber that will work for you Or do what I did, and just drive with it until you go to the junkyard next and then hunt for one with a good cap

TheLoyale: that is too awesome. I've never seen such a thing here in the US which is why I've spent so much time thinking about how to macgyver one. Is that only squirters, or are there wipers I'm missing somewhere?

I use my ice scraper on the headlights before I drive. Sometimes a dab of windshield washer fluid helps. As for buildup while driving, I've been considering trying to mount a pair of headlight wipers from a fancy-schmancy european car to the Loyale, but I haven't got around to it, yet. That might be worth experimenting with if you don't mind some time in a junkyard and can fab some mounts!

I got five rims for $40 to put snow tires on. I also added coolant a day or two ago and, while I was watching the level remain steady and not bubbling and getting a big smile on my face...a gray 'bubble' of sorts came up the radiator neck and I went from happy green coolant to weird gray coolant in a split second. Then I was sad. I will do compression tests and whatever else I can think of over the weekend to figure out if it's a head gasket (which I did just four months ago) or just some build-up broke loose.

I swapped in a d/r transmission a couple months back and had a similar problem. I lost a screwdriver, two drill bits, an allen wrench or two, and mushroomed the head of a hardened steel punch (3/16"). Oh, and the roll pin from the other axle (which I thought I might use as a driver of sorts). The roll pin went in and I got the whole thing moving until it was about half out, then it jammed again. After more work and a punch and some choice words, the roll pins (plural) split and 'shattered'. And that was after I dropped the transmission and had it out in the open. I jammed a screwdriver in and couldn't get it out while the transmission was still in the car. Since I was swapping the transmission I only gave it a few hours before I gave up and just took the core to the junkyard complete with an axle attached. If you don't mind a bit of a mess, you can take the axle off at the DOJ cup and put the new one on, minus the DOJ cup. That would probable be easier than dropping the whole transmission and f*ing around with the stub.

I laid in the mud and ice at the junkyard today, but it was worth it. I went to puzzle out how the running lights are wired, and work out a solution to put blinker bulbs in there. I came home with that AND...a new shifter! The d/r swap into my Loyale resulted in a brown shift handle/console in a blue interior. Today I found a blue set/console so I grabbed it Totally worth the 30 minutes of cursing the ice under the car, and the headwhack and the wrench-knuckle. Funny note: the wrench knuckle came not from a wrench, but from wrestling the drive train off the transmission, I whacked it up against the bottom of the body. Oops. I'm still going to try to swap the pushbutton handle into the d/r tranny, but I can now put the blue 4wd handle in, too! And if the pushbutton thing doesn't work, I have the proper blue handle to match AND the entire related console.

It will be one of the easiest swaps you've ever done. You didn't mention transmissions, but if one is manual and one is automatic, just be sure to swap the appropriate flexplate/flywheel/clutch assemblies. Other than that, you're golden. Maybe take the bad motor out first so you get a feel for it with less risk, other than that... Oh, and someone will be sure to say "put a 2.2 in it!", which is a bit more work but also doable. Budget a weekend or so, unless you're going to reseal the engine (wouldn't be a bad idea while it's out), replace the timing belts/pulleys, hoses (there are several small coolant hoses around the top of the motor). All that stuff is way easier to do while it's out of the car, though totally manageable while it's installed. Have fun!

Well, Subaru was going to put a big "STOP" sign on the back of the car, but opted for brake lights instead, at the last minute *hides*

Driving without the PS isn't too bad, if you can figure out how to route the belts (or get a shorter one) to drive the A/C, Alt, and water pump. If you can figure that out, just skip the power steering all-together--problem solved!

If you had the heads milled, and the block is flat, and you cleaned the block...did you by chance mix up the bolt tightening sequence? Or do like I did, and say "oh I can drive the mile home without putting the alt/power steering on...", forgetting that the same belt drives the water pump? (I damn near had to do it again, I was lucky as h*ll).

+2 on the BFH, or a ball peen/flat face combo and a rubber or plastic mallet if you have cash left over. If you STILL have cash left over...I...oh there is a long list of tools that come in handy. A multi-meter, wire brush, battery terminal cleaner, wire stripper/crimper, dykes (cutters, not a girl), heater hose adapter thingy for flushing the cooling system, torque wrench...maybe just walk around the tool aisle(s)/bins of your local parts store and eyeball things that fit your budget.

I feel like Mac sometimes, trying to repair the damn thing.

Depends how long the ramp is . But once or twice, yes--or I spot a big gap in traffic and floor it. By the time the gap has closed in on me I'm usually at a decent speed. Most of the ramps here are metered (stoplighted, not money) during heavy hours. If I time it so I'm rolling up to the line when it's my turn, I can usually beat the car next to me. Twice I've cursed at the other driver because I beat them from a dead stop--and they were in something nicer/newer/faster. This causes me great confusion when it happens, I wonder if something is broken, or if the Matrix is glitching...then I realize they are just being dopes and not driving it.

I forgot one! (And one I haven't got yet). A 10mm box-end ratcheting wrench, for the valve covers and clutch fan. You will not regret this purchase, ever. A deep socket 14mm would be nice but not required, for the exhaust manifolds. Keep a regular depth 14 on hand too, since the deep 14 won't fit most other places.

A 22mm socket or wrench would be wise. Or one of each. The crank case pulley bolt and the transmission drain bolt are both 22mm. I think the clutch fan and cam shafts have a flat spot on them that are 22mm as well. I also keep a roll of masking tape, a pencil (both for marking/tagging), a flashlight, a pocket knife, a few feet of string, a pack of bubble gum, and a jb weld 'set' in my car for emergencies/random needs.

And don't worry--I'm not/wasn't planning on putting up signs or making dedicated trips just to pull people out--more "oh I'm on my way and this guy needs a push" type thing. Anyway...yay lawsuits. Guess it's (mostly) shovels and muscles!

F*ing lawsuits. I am more than careful--rule number 1a is "don't do anything you can't undo or redo". While I'm not a wrecker driver, it's not my first time around the block, either--just the first time with a smaller vehicle. I knew this was too simple to be a good idea, there is always a catch!... Numbchux logic wins. (You may now return to your regular programming) (As to projectiles and snapping lines--I've been climbing a long while, enough to see poorly rigged lines do...bad things. This phenomenon I'm familiar with, sadly)

Something like this:

It's more the nudging part you mentioned than pulling on a loose line and yanking someone out. More a "ok, when the line goes snug give the Accord a little gas and you should slide out of that parking spot/shoulder" than "Ok, I'm going to get up to 30mph, don't be in the way when the line goes taut and your F150 comes flying". As for dough, I don't expect to make much money, but people will sometimes offer. I just want meet people and do something worthwhile to make me feel better about spending a wad of cash when I don't *really* need to. It's not a certain thing! Just an idea I'm toying with. I am slightly worried about the 'more broken vehicles than you started with' part. Not too worried I'll get stuck--I know where those limits are!

This sounds more like it! I timed myself in, oh! It was the red Loyale...oh well. The ECU fried on that one . Anyway, I kid you not it took me something like 56 seconds. It dawned on me later I was going uphill, but I've never been able to convince myself that car could have done it any faster on the flat. My white one will hit 50ish and I can merge at freeway speed before the entrance ramp ends.

I'm toying with the idea of putting some serious snow tires on the Loyale this winter, and justifying/paying them off by pulling people out of the snow. I don't want to pull all the SD (small d*******) truck owners out of the bottom of the median, but I've heard enough stories about people doing simple stuff (road shoulders, small drifts, parking spaces, etc) with their Loyale/Legacy/etc that I'm sure the car can do it. So far I have on my list of supplies: --Tow line/rope --Sand/kitty litter --Shovel or two --Jumper Cables --Gas can --Various comfort items (blankets, drink, granola bars) --A girl, in case we meet any females who might be nervous about a couple strange guys 'walking up to her when she can't escape'. Also handy for driving, pushing, or watching out for vehicles that might hit us. Any other ideas? And what should I not do/what are the limits? I don't want to find out the hard way that the tow hooks on my car will pop off at some yet unknown load level, for example. I'm not gonna pull any Dodge Rams up steep medians, but anything to watch for besides that?

No one has mentioned it yet, and it is hard to be sure from the pictures but...in the right hand engine shot, the one with the PCV hose that's been commented on (check the PCV valve, too), it looks like a bolt is loose. That part that has "Subaru" stamped on it is your valve cover. If it's loose, oil WILL come out. Check all the bolts holding that on (and the left hand one, too), they are 10mm. Have fun with the one in the back, by the disty Otoh, you can get a pair of valve cover gaskets for $20 or so and it's a super easy repair--five bolts on the driver side cover, four on the passenger cover. Swap the old rubber for new, replace the covers and snug the bolts down. Nothing to align or match-mark, just pull, swap, replace.

On the way home that same night I did pass two trucks in the left hand ditch (on 225) facing traffic, and a car facing into traffic on the right hand shoulder. Not sure what happened, but a second truck was pulled angle-ways onto the left shoulder behind the first truck. Both big trucks. Awesome pics in the OP, btw. Love GOTG! Need to migrate that way more often. Oh, and thanks to Denver's 'fantastic' road clearing skills (I will leave it at that) I had the pleasure of pulling through an 18-inch plow pile tonight with a foot of snow on the other side to jump start a 4wd SUV thingy-ma-bob. Then I backed out (with summer tires)...and watched as the 4wd SUV thingy-ma-bob spun and wiggled but wouldn't go through until the guy backed it up onto the sidewalk, and we all gave it a good push and he still barely got out. I considered offering a tow-rope, but it was more fun to watch.

Pictures! I need to do this when it's not a foot of snow or 4 degrees out. (It seems to be one or the other here, cold and dry or warm and wet).