man on the moon

I second the hose concern voiced above. Five years is way longer than most hoses should go even WITH being driven, much less with no driving at all. The vacuum lines on top of the engine can split and crack, and the primary symptom is weak/boggy action. If they are bad enough and/or in the right spot, it can even keep the car from starting. I would buy a few feet of each size (take one sample of each size in to your local parts store). Push for stuff off the spool, don't be afraid to ask for "generic/spool" lengths. I say this because the parts store clerk will almost always ask for the make and model of the car, and then look lost when no 'vacuum hose' is listed on their screen. The hoses are not a subaru specific part--any hose of the correct inside diameter will work, and they DO have spools of each size in the back. Hoses in hand, swap out on piece at a time. I mark the hoses on the motor BEFORE I start any work (white out works well) so I know which ones still need swapping after I am half-done and go inside for a water break. Doing the hoses is cheap and simple, and will have to be done in the next six months ANYWAY; and will most likely fix your problem to boot. Kill two birds with one stone

I'd like to at some point. My days off keep changing . Working this weekend, currently off Mon/Tues. Also waiting on this horseshoe gasket from NAPA. I opt for no shipping, it will come in two weeks. I pay shipping it comes in a few days. Not in a hurry, but also not wanting to get out of town and blow the motor due to the gasket fully giving out.

About ten days ago I noticed that coolant was leaking from the throttle body, so stopped in to my favorite NAPA store (ok, the only store in town that can actually get stuff I need on the first try...but I digress). I picked up a coolant flush detergent, some radiator fluid, a gasket and some generic gasket material, a few other things, came home. Drained the coolant, pulled off the throttle body...coolant is full of sludge . Put the detergent in, gave it a few days. Then Sunday morning I went out and drained the coolant/water/nastiness. Spent half hour pulling half-baked hoses off their mounts, turn around to grab the hose for the flush...no hose. Yep, someone stole the hose that had sat behind the apartment for the last nine months. I had checked JUST THE NIGHT BEFORE! Anyway, that made me none to happy. Come to find out a couple kids in the building had been playing with it and had decided to take it inside. Last night it showed up again, out front, so I stole the hose back and pulled the car apart again, flushed until the water ran clear, and filled her back up again. I think I'm going to do one more detergent cycle (it was gnarly dirty, as in I was scooping out gunk with a screwdriver from the throttle body passage) before I call it good, but it's a far cry better than it was!

If there were that much friction in the motor, you would never be able to start it. When the engine is off, the valves don't move, and at least some (if not all) are in the closed position. The air pressure/vaccuum (depending on where in the cycle a given piston is) is sufficient to keep the pistons from moving, even with the weight of the car resting on it. The CLUTCH has enough friction to prevent slippage, but you have to use the clutch pedal when you want to shift. There is not clutch pedal for the cylinders, though!

Had this same rotor issue the day I replaced the push-button with the hi/lo transmission...got two miles down the road and went "ok, WTF...did I do???". Also mistook it for low gas/water in gas, among other things. A tow and a $75 mechanic fee later I felt really sheepish. The clutch, transmission, and axles are still kicking butt, btw. ShawnW replaced the passenger hub and corrected one angle-washer a bit after, but otherwise...yeah. Sheepish!

Pretty sure my best 1/4 time is about three minutes, give or take... Kidding. The first time I timed 0-60 it literally took me two minutes. Turns out I didn't account for the big hill I was climbing (still no excuse, it wasn't THAT steep, just long!). The other day, though, I hit 55mph in third gear while still on the acceleration ramp, THAT was an awesome feeling. Not sure what the RPMs were since my tach is way off (it idles around the Zero mark).

This happens sometimes if the pump thingie is angled funny compared to the tank filler neck, too. I sometimes wonder if the angle and/or diameter of the filler neck has a weird mate with certain styles of pump heads. I have had this same experience, but only at certain gas stations. When it happens, try pulling the pump out about a half-inch or so, and let it 'hang' a little 'flatter' (as opposed to "half-way vertical") and see if that doesn't do the trick for you. Or play around with it, sometimes it has to be a wee bit MORE vertical, etc.

Gloyale is correct in the stuff for trans drop. No need to mess with front suspension. Just drop the exhaust at the heads, drive shaft at its center-mount point, linkage, and roll pins. Undo the four bellhousing bolts and wiring on the trans (very basic, and all connectors are unique from each other). Can be done solo, though I recommend someone be nearby in case things go south.

You don't have to pull the motor, just lift it about two inches and slide it forward about eight inches. You have the same amount of workspace that is accessible from the top. It can all be done standing up. I can do this alone, even at my whopping 110 pounds! I've also done a tranny swap, which wasn't too bad, but for just a clutch I would vote for just sliding the motor forward. Dropping the trans requires working laying on your back the entire time, including any lifting or shifting of the trans... It can be done both ways, so decide which is easier for you. Leaving hoses and wiring in place on the motor sounds good? Drop the trans. Doing the whole kit-and-kaboodle without laying on your back or having to put the car up on jack-stands? Slide the motor forward. It's apples and oranges, not life-or-death. As for alignment tools, grab a sparkplug from the motor. Any of the sparkplugs in your motor will work. Insulation goes in, spark point out. Ceramic bit fits in the pilot bearing hole, and the wrenchy-angly bit of the plug fits in the hole in the clutch plate. Line 'er up, snug down the pressure plate, put the plug back in the motor. Get everything put mated-up and put together. Final tighten through the starter hole (requires turning the motor by hand, use a 22mm wrench on the crankshaft pulley). Done. That's it.

If it's none of the above, maybe check the mudflaps/guards, plastic firewall bits, antenna, etc. They may be snug, but if there is a wee bit of play, perhaps a constant vibration builds up at a given speed, eventually causing the piece to wiggle just a bit. Like a tuning fork, it will only make noise at a given frequency. In your case the frequency would be made at a certain speed, or set of speeds. Just a thought!

It's ok Shawn. The primary sentiment seems to be "have fun building and tweaking". For older gen' fans, that means an older cars. Ask the same question to people who've built a variety of newer gen' rigs, and you'll probably get the same answer but with "newer gen" inserted. It's fun, and a good mental exercise as TheLoyale mentioned--the year and model is up to the individual, as long as a good time is had. I'll still come ooh and ahh over a newer car (or even a truck, like you have) just as much as some of those sweet older Brat's in your parking lot

Oh...I've done that. Sucks to the nth degree. Hope the drill works out readily

ShawnW should be able to hook you up, and part of the money goes to support this board. He owns a Subaru shop and can get good prices and the right part for you . Send him a PM.

The EA82 motor is, to put it lightly, not efficient at removing heat. The coolant jacket is not well run, especially around the exhaust ports (at least if my eyes and lots of reading here have figured it out). The EJ22 is much more efficient from what everyone has told me/rumor has it. As long as you have a fan running it should be A-ok.

And I second the "ranting makes me feel better" bit. Sometimes it really makes me feel better to sit down and gripe for a few minutes, even if I know it isn't going to change anything (except maybe my outlook). Feel free to rant, but maybe try to preface it a little more clearly in the future; chances are we'll join you

Another factor to keep in mind is that dealers do not always work for the manufacturer. It is more like the own a franchise, with some support from the parent company, but have a lot of leeway and decision making they can do on their own. I don't know where the Buy Back falls in the scheme of things, but my guess is that it's dealers trying to move stuff and Subaru doesn't really care how they do it, as long as they do. Anyway, just a guess, so take it with a grain of salt. (And if it is Subaru pushing the buy-back, it may be marketing and not engineering, or a corporate big-wig who is clueless about other things...etc...isn't necessarily a company wide thing even if it markets that way. Which is silly, but appearances can be deceiving, etc).

You mean you wouldn't put an EA82 motor in a second gen Outback??? *ducks*

If the cylinder is the original one to the car, they should be able to cut it as long as they still have the book/binder listing the key codes for each VIN. If they've tossed it...I'd suggest calling ahead and asking. In theory yes, in practice, who knows.

Personally I'd like one of each. I don't plan to tear around in either, so I don't expect to blow through parts, though it is still possible. I'd like a newer one for running around doing businessy things, or going out with friends or first dates where a smelly, muddy, stained old beater may...cause difficulties. And keep an older one for mudding, camping, road-tripping, and taking the dog to the park...and a play thing. If I had my way I'd get a newer Impreza (second gen, I think. yeah, "new"...I know) and keep it stock, make the old gen my toy and fun.

Piling up parts is good. I think that's what I'm going to have to do. I want to drop money on everything at once but even with full-time work I don't see that happening. I feel your pain. I've spent the last month planning to do a variety of car-related things on my day off...it will be sixty and sunny all week. Have a day off (varies by the week due to schedules and such) and without fail, it snows and/or rains. When it was 45 and sunny yesterday I got started...and it started clouding and snowing. Three inches on the ground now. But, I got the worst problem fixed, and had an adventure at the parts store to boot! At least it runs smoothly now. The last year or so has looked really awesome in this thread, hope this summer is good, too . Can't wait to see the pics!

I fixed the Loyale before it started snowing at 11am. Man, I feel ambitious! Ok, it wasn't *that* exciting. She hadn't been starting occasionally, usually on really cold days (yeah, ran all winter but a cold day in April? Fuggetaboutit). Or racing, having a hard time controlling the idle. Starting, then no throttle response, and cut out/die. Etc. Finally had a day off when it wasn't snowing/raining, so I poked around under the hood. Hmm. Hose off the PCV valve has three big cracks! That might do it. Grab the valve and hose, walk down to the parts store. Cue spending a lot of time explaining that no, the radiator hose with a similar shape won't fit on the PCV valve. The conversation went something like this: Me: "Hi, I just need a hose to connect to this PCV valve and run about 14 inches over to where it joins the rest of the vacuum control lines" Desk: "What year, make, and model?" Me: "1991 Subaru Loyale, but I doubt it will be listed, I have parts from several models and years on this car, I just need a length of hose off the spool". Desk: "Well, this one looks like it, there is even a flair at the end, same as this one, see?" Me: "No, that's a radiator hose, it says in the description. That won't work. It lists the inside diameter as over an inch, this might be...half-inch inside diameter? Well, grab it and we'll check it out, I have the valve here in my pocket." Desk: "Oh, I have to get it from the warehouse, it will be here by 1pm (it was now about 10:30am). Name and number where I can reach you?" Me: "Check for PCV hose, I'm pretty sure the radiator hose is the wrong one and we don't need to waste four hours and two trips to the warehouse to get the hose" ...Computer shows no hoses, whatsoever, for the PCV...at all. Desk: "Let me request the one the computer is showing, it'll be here in a couple hours". Me: "No, just measure this hose (hand over old hose) and we'll see how it compares to the listed size for the one you found in the computer." Desk: (*Walks around for a minute looking for a measurer thing, none is found*) Me: "Can I use the tape measure on the display over there? (point to next register...go over and measure...it's 5/8 inch inside diameter) Desk: "Oh, huh, it looks just like the one in the picture though!" ...(a couple more minutes of this sort of thing, with a request to look for a spool of hose that will fit the valve)... Desk: "Hey [shift manager] I can't find any hose like this in the computer...(goes through the whole thing again with the shift)." Manager: "Oh, no problem, just grab him some hose off the spool in the back." Desk: "What size?" Me: (silently, to myself): "sigh" Manager: "Well, take that valve he has in his hand and try them all until you find it". I did finally get the hose, run home. Get the valve and hose in place. I'd already wiped off/out the PCV, don't worry. Get it all together and running, success! Drive two blocks to get gas, and it started snowing! Now it is snowing and 15-20mph winds. Looks like I finished just in time . Best part is it has snowed or rained EVERY day off for the last month. And been sunny all week long. Just glad this finally is over, though the weather nearly finished me off yet again. Edit, had too many emoticons.

I have to work

I am working.

The good news (aside from now knowing the problem) is that belt kits are relatively cheap. Get a kit, not just the belts. Replace the tensioners, even if they were done just 45k ago. If the belt went, the tensioners are probably sh*t too. A quick search (top right of this page) will bring up a dozen or more threads discussing many various aspects of replacing the belts, including how to set the timing.

This is only true for the driver side belt. You would get a spark if only the passenger side belt is broken, and the distributor would turn. Though I guess since the most prominent concern at the moment is spark, this would work well. Going the other way it would throw a spark, but run roughly or not at all.