Scoobywagon

Just disconnect the block connector at the base of the column. I've forgotten what the pin out is, but you can always check for continuity through the switch at the block connector. Also makes it easy to disconnect the switch from the rest of the system.

oh, I just gotta know.... How many times on that trip did some jerk-off in a Civic/Neon/Mustang/whatever pull up next to you and try to race?

Get yourself a Monster. 2 cylinders is still plenty when you've got boost!

The lighting problem is almost certainly either a bad switch or some kind of problem with the clock spring in the column. As far as draining batteries goes...well...there's really only one way to test that. Put a multi-meter between the negative terminal on the battery and the negative battery cable. Put the meter in current mode. Make a note of how many amps the car pulls with NOTHING on. Acceptable current draw is somewhere around 30 milliamps. Begin unplugging fuses one by one until the excessive current draw goes away. That will tell you which circuit is drawing that current. From there its just a matter of tracking that circuit down and finding the broken bit.

Heat. Or a press. Or a couple of C-clamps.

It's ok Nipper. The Christmas Tree run actually has very little to do with christmas trees. Its much more about being silly in the snow.

Just occurred that I haven't seen or heard anything yet about a Christmas tree run this year. Is this in the works? If the regular organizers are busy, I'd be happy to help out. I had a LOT of fun last year and I'd like to do it again!

Well, the upshot is that you're alright. Well...at least as alright as you were prior. Also sounds like a good excuse to yoink that trans and put it something else fun!

Well, I'd recommend looking at all the basics first. Plugs, wires, carb, etc. I suspect, though, that the problem is in the distributor. Sloppy bushings are fairly common on these. Make sure that the rotor doesn't have any play in it. Might also check the gap between the reluctor and pickups.

I'm not in Oregon, but I have a big yard, plenty of couch space and am not too far from Olympia. And a few Subarus. I'm sure we can work something out if you need to use it.

OK, wheel bearings it is. Use the instructions I posted previously to remove the knuckle from the car. Use a seal puller to remove the seals. As GD said, use a drift punch or screwdriver to reach through the bearing on one side and push the other bearing out. If you don't have a press, use a couple of C clamps or a hammer. Just be careful. Make sure to pack the new bearings full of grease. When you are ready to reinstall them, I've found that a large socket makes for an excellent way to drive the new bearings in. Install the new bearings, install new seals....voila....no more wobbly down the road.

I'm making a few assumptions here because, as GD said, more info required. First, I'll assume you're swapping the knuckle. I've had to do that before when a previous owner ignored all the warning signs of bearing failure and the knuckle itself got pretty seriously chowdered. If this is the case, then here is what I would do. As a disclaimer, I haven't owned an EA81 vehicle in at least 5 years. So I'm working out of memory here. With the wheel off, you'll want to look at the back side of the brake caliper. As I recall, there is a pair of 14mm bolts holding the caliper on. Remove those and then the caliper should rotate out of the way on a slide pin. Pull it off the slide pin and hang it out of the way so as not to stress the brake line and fittings. Next, you'll need to remove the axle nut. I've forgotten how large it is, but I want to say it is something like 35mm. Behind that nut should be a flat washer and a conical washer. Be very careful not to lose those. Now you can wrestle the hub and rotor assembly off the axle. As I recall, the easiest way to do this is to turn the rotor with one hand and use a dead blow mallet in the other to gently tap the assembly off of the axle stub. Next, you'll need to remove the ball joint from the knuckle. In your case, I'd recommend taking the old ball joint with the knuckle and putting a new ball joint in with the new knuckle. Reach underneath the lower control arm and remove the 12mm castle nut there. That will let you drive the shank of the old ball joint out when the time comes. Next, you need to remove the axle from the knuckle and bearings. There is a special toll for doing this, but most people don't have it. Since you aren't trying to replace the axle this time, use a wood block and a hammer to drive the axle out of the bearings. It is a VERY tight fit and will take a bit to remove this way. You won't be able to get it entirely out of the bearings, as the DOJ and CV joint just don't compress enough to allow that at this stage. Just get that axle pushed as far in as you can. With the axle out of the way, remove the bolt holding the strut in the knuckle. Now, you can pop the ball joint's shank out of the lower control arm and remove the knuckle from the strut. The axle should stay put and, voila, one knuckle no longer in the car. If you merely have to replace the hub (much more common repair), then the procedure is even more straightforward. Pull the wheel, brake caliper, axle nut and hub/rotor assembly as described. At this point, just remove the four (?) bolts that attach the rotor to the hub. Swap in appropriate new parts, reassemble.

It can be. I've seen some engines with relatively low compression bring those numbers up a bit after they've been cranked over a few times. Once the cylinder wall gets lubricated again, the oil helps seal the rings back up. On the other hand, it is just as likely that the low compression is the reason the engine got sat for a long time.

The bad marks on the engine were related to the headgaskets. My understanding is that Subaru introduced a revised headgasket design that resolves the problem. So, if the head gaskets have been replaced on the car you're looking at, then odds are its just fine. If you are looking at a car with the automatic trans, make sure it exhibits no signs of torque bind. Put it on an asphalt parking lot, crank the steering wheel all the way to the lock and drive around in a circle. If the car tries to crow hop, that's torque bind. Find another car. Oh yes...when you perform this test, make sure the FWD fuse is not inserted. That'll be under the hood on the passenger side up against the firewall.

OK...got the car towed home...new symptom. When the tow truck hooked on and tried to pull it backwards, he put the trans in neutral. The rear wheels turned backwards and the fronts tried to go forward. The car will drive forward ok, but not as normal. Yes, I checked ATF. Just don't like the cat urine smell of it. I think the center diff has eaten itself. More to the point, I think something died while we were driving and then when it cooled, it had welded itself closed.

Wow...I had no idea there were so many 14 year old girls on here!

We actually DID manage to get reverse to work. But it was more like lurching backwards. And, as I said, the engine acts as if it is under load even when in park. Putting it in drive will cause the car to move, but only with throttle. Previously, it would creep forward a bit at idle. Again, as though it were loaded all the time. Fluid is clean and smells as nasty as all ATF (I hate that smell). Level is hard to determine, as I can't get it hot what with all the rattling and clanking going on and the not really driving. I really doubt it is a cable problem as all the shifter gates still feel correct. Either way, how would I check that? I crawled under there this evening and the trans is astoundingly clean for 170k. Anyway...didn't see any magic neon signs indicating the presence of a problem. Oh well. When it rains it pours.

I'm a bit baffled on this one. Car has 160k. We've had zero problems with the trans up to this point. Not even any torque bind. Today, however, something very strange has occurred. My wife and I drove the best part of 100 miles today with no strange occurrences. We parked the car and, when we came back 3 hours later, no reverse. We got some strange mechanical noises from under the car. Sounded like two pieces of thin metal hitting each other. The engine sounded like it was under load, even in park. I'm wondering if the torque converter has died. Any thoughts?

So, just to be clear....when you push the button on the keyfob, even with the new fuse in place, nothing at all happens. Is that correct? There are several components at work here, but the two important ones are the keyless entry box and the actuator in the driver's door. You'll need a DMM to check this out. If you don't have one already, go get one and get a decent one. The first thing to check is the lock wire on the driver's door actuator. Use the keyless entry fob to try to lock the door. You should see that wire come up to 12-VDC. If it does, then the problem is the actuator. If it does not, then the problem is with the keyless entry box.

I've built a few wheelchair equipped vehicles. I don't know the nature of your disability, but it sounds like you CAN walk, even if it is difficult. I believe that, with a Forester, your best bet is going to be to get the lightest chair you can and put a hitch-mounted carrier on the back of the car. If you go this route, you're likely to need to do some suspension upgrades in the rear. This will require you to load the chair on to the carrier, tie it down and then go get in the car. This is the least expensive solution. The problem is that the roofline in a Forester is not high enough to accommodate most powered wheel chairs. In some other vehicles, you can get around that by lowering the floor inside the vehicle. You can't do that in the Forester, though, because your rear diff is in the way. You could convert to FWD, but that just seems kinda silly. If you were going to do that, I'd encourage you to look into acquiring a Scion xB from RampVan. They lower the floor in the whole vehicle, and you enter and exit IN THE CHAIR from the (HEAVILY modifiead) back hatch. There is the roof-top type lift that Pinister mentioned. However, here those are expensive, prone to breakage, hard to work on, don't work with powered chairs particularly well and, oh yeah...ugly as sin.

Current pics of Quatro-San can be found here. And, by "current", I mean taken this week. Here's a taste...

Quattro-san is currently in storage at Western Washington University. He is not in running condition. Further, it would take some REAL doing to get him back to running condition. His engine, an EA-81, was used by WWU as the test platform to develop the timing belt system for the EJ motors. I'm not sure as to the extent of the issues that prevent it from running, but its at STRANGE motor. It is quite likely the only one of its kind. I've got a friend up at WWU. I'll see about getting him to take some pics.

I have to admit that I don't think I'd buy ANY Subaru for an application where I knew I'd be towing with it regularly. Not that they can't or won't, they just aren't designed for it. Having said that, yes, my wife's 01 Forester has a hitch on it and, yes, I occasionally tow with it. But the towing we do is little to no weight and not generally more than an hour or so each way. Anything heavier or longer than that and I'm getting out the Ford.

Personally, I'd sell it back to the dealer unless I was REALLY emotionally attached to it. Save the money. If the car is something special, like some kind of special or limited edition, then that's different. In that case, the suggestions above are a good start. I'd also put some desiccant in the car. Something to keep the air dry and prevent mildew inside the car. Have the car detailed, complete with a really good, heavy coat of wax. Tell them what you're doing and they'll likely have some suggestions. Don't forget to have them clean the undercarriage, too.