Roundeye

Like NW says, the XT radiators are different. They are a bit wider than DL, GL, Loyale radiators and will not fit without serious surgery. Sucks, 'cause I parted out a '85 EA82 XT and have a damn fine ALL METAL radiator that I can't use:mad:

I made mine out of flat stock and 1" square tubing. Worst part was removing the headliner for install.

It only takes one bad diode to do that. One of mine failed that way and I measured DC and AC voltage and yes, the indicator light were not happy. Suck part is, individual diodes are non-replaceable. Must replace whole set. Side note: Some 80's Nissans used the same alt. as 80's Subarus. If JY shopping, check out hardbody trucks and 240's.

If it goes overvoltage, any lights you use will be really REALLY bright and the air cond/heater fan will blow you away. It will also boil acid out of the battery. Ask me how I know:mad:

VERY nice looking wagon! I think I still have a set of trim rings and center caps for those rims if you want them. I also have a set of alum. rims too.

clean battery connections and check all elec. connections related to the battery and charging system. Don't forget the grounds. Start/jump the car, remove jumpers and check voltage at the battery. Should be around 13.5 or so. 12 or less means no charge. Check voltage at back of alt. when running. Battery voltage only = dead alt. assuming belt(s) are tight.

Remove valve cover for #1 cyl. Rotate engine (wrench/socket on crank bolt). Observe valve movement and watch piston through spark plug hole. When both valves are closed and piston stops moving up, you are at TDC (or close enough to crank and fine tune later). Make sure disty rotor is pointing to #1 position after installation. or...... With flywheel installed, rotate engine (correct direction) by hand with finger over #1 plug hole. On compression stroke, air will will be forced out under you r finger. Right when it stops pushing air out, stop rotating. You are now close enough to install disty and crank for final timing adjustment.

420 is a good number, but not for a tint price;) Damn that's high. Around here it's about $190-$200 for a 4 door and it is a MUST here. It was 98 today:mad: . The inside of my wagon was 140 when I got in it!!! That was with ATR35 tint and a sun shade in the windshield. I wouldn't think demand would be THAT high up there for them to bend you over like that.:-\ Shop around.

Unless you know what you are doing, take it to a pro. The cheap stuff at Wal-Mart and auto part stores will cause you more headaches than good even if installed correctly. It will blister, crack and more commonly fade. Look for a dealer who uses LLumar. It's the best out there and comes with a lifetime warranty if installed by an authorized dealer. One of my best friends owns a tint shop and has tinted every car I've ever owned (50+ over the last 19 years) with LLumar and never had any problems. I worked with him some and have stripped alot of crappy tint off of peoples' cars through the years. If you get the cheap stuff or install it wrong, it will cost you ALOT extra to have the stuff removed when you finally want it right. BTW: amonia will turn tint purple. I'm sure you have seen a car with purple tint....now you know why. Clean tint with products made for that purpose.

I used 15" rims from a early 90'2 Toyota Tacoma. I got a set of 5 for $75 from a junk yard. Don't look for the truck, look for the rims. I found mine in a pile of rims. Alot of people with 'yotas get aluminum rims and scrap the steelies. Very common and cheap. I chose to drill the rims and not the hubs because the 'yota rims are thicker than the Subaru hubs. A little margin of safety IMO. Also, if the drilling weakens the part and it fails, I'd rather change a busted rim than a busted hub. Odds are neither will break under "normal" use, but I'm crazy like that. Consider too that 15 inch rims give you a far bigger choice in off-road tires than 14s. Here is what the 'yota rims look like.......

That's one damn nice looking 'roo you got there! #5 gets my vote.

Damn. It's hard as hell (but not impossible) to drill another bit. Even if the one you are using is harder, it will want to walk off of the broken bit. I would do this: Place a small nut over the broken bolt/bit and weld the center of it up. It may wind out. It has saved my hide several times in the past on VW engines.

I've been told similar, but use ATF in place of diesel. Never tried it though. Consequences are too great:dead:

Are you setting the free-play? If no free-play is present, the bearing will always ride against the fingers and NEVER get any rest. Make sure your cable is slightly slack when at rest.

Some will surely disagree, but you do not need one that high in a Subaru, unless you have a completely water-proofed engine and run with no doors. Why? If you get in water above the hood, you will float, loose momentum and loose the all-important wake ahead of the vehicle and swamp the engine compartment. Fan will be flexed into the radiator destroying both of them and engine will take on water along with your accy's. There you will sit as water enters wheel bearings, transmission and everything else down low. As stated earlier, a wave can come over the hood even when entering some not-so-deep crossings. A well-engineered intake a couple of inches above the hood is plenty. The key is how you enter and drive in water. A slow entry and a slow speed is used to keep the wake just ahead of the front of the car. Too fast will push a wave over the hood, too slow will allow the engine compartment to get swamped (taking out fan, etc). My wagon has ingested water with the stock setupand even with the hose up in the back corner (passenger side), but since moving the intake a couple of inches above the hood, I have not had any problems. If you prefer to banzai into rivers, get a full roof snorkel. If you cross streams and hit deep mud holes, get it above the hood. They do look cool on the roof though.

If I lived closer, I'd hook you up. Surely you know someone with a full size truck? You could use a tow dolly which can be rented from U-Haul , but I would REALLY recommend changing the rear tires at least with some cheap used ones. Do not trust the ones on the car. One separation I had was on a set of tires that looked new. They still had the little tabs sticking out on the sides and tread. They sat for a few years untouched and all were inflated and held air. They lasted about 30 miles before one threw the tread (luckily I was not going too fast) If you are on a tight budget and absolutely must drive it (provided you can bring it to life in the field), at minimum replace tires with known good ones (used 13's are cheap!) and go through the brakes as mentioned above and check the steering. Those are the big items will keep you out of a courtroom, hospital or grave. Everything else will only leave you on the side of the road cursing and kicking a door. Good luck!

Trailor it. Really. My experience in bringing cars back to life that sat for years has shown nasty things showing themselves at bad times. Tires coming apart, brakes blowing out, brakes locking up, trash getting sucked up in the fuel pickup, angry WASPS! NO FUN. I could keep going.... I've brought to life countless air cooled VWs over the years and every Subaru I've owned, I bought sitting somewhere (except the WRX, of course). The longest was an XT that sat for 13 years. The fuel system was the biggest pain in the arse. I use 2 years as a magic number. Anything over that and I replace everything that is made out of rubber in the fuel system and clean the fuel tank. Carb gets disassembled and cleaned with new seals. Complete tune up (plugs, wires, etc. Cooling hoses, water pump, thermostat, accy and timing belts get replaced. Oil + filter. Tires get replaced. Most importantly....BRAKES. Fluid gets changed along with mast cyl, wheel cyls, caliper seals and flex hoses. A general rule is all fluids get changed and anything rubber that holds a fluid gets changed. All of that stuff doesn't cost all THAT much, esp. considering you are getting it for free. You will then have a safe and reliable vehicle. It may sound like alot but trust me, a couple hundred $$$ is worth saving yourself a miserable time on side of the road or a nasty accident.

Perhaps you are hearing an exhaust leak or bad lifter? Describe more this "after ignition sound".... As mentioned, timing belts do not shrink. They turn into chewing gum when contaminated with coolant and oil. They can wear out and something to consider.......can be installed improperly. Getting one a tooth off will cause it to run rough. This will seem to smooth out as engine speed increases, but will still lack power. Any skipping or loping will be more pronounced at idle.

Along with what has already been posted, check air filter, tire pressure and....driving habit (weighed your right foot lately? ).

I too must agree. There is no "mechanic in a bottle". I have seen MMO and others quiten noisy lifters (at least for a little while), but that is covering a symptom, not curing the problem. Here is the link to the lifter rebuilders that GD mentioned: http://www.mizpahprecision.com/pricing.htm

Sweeeet! Good looking 'roo you got there. Yes, keep the scoop. My guess on the lift....at least 4, maybe even 6. I'll say 5 Can't help you on the digi dash. I have seen some posts on converting to analog here. Make a post on converting and I'm sure somone will hook you up. If you lived on this side of the planet, I would give you an analog cluster/wiring/sensors. I HATED digi dash on some of the cars I owned. (300ZX turbo was an exception...it was cool). Go play with that 'roo and give us some dirty pics:headbang:

I wouldn't do it. Not only would you be flogging the drivetrain to pull stuff, but think about braking. a heavy load would push you right through an intersection. Bad juju. The only person I know to completely tear the guts out of an older Subie transmission did it pulling trailers. And that was only one used for hauling lawn equipment (granted it was on a regular basis). I wouldn't sweat pulling a small trailer occasionaly hauling a washing machine, lawn mower, etc., but by no means a car. Someone may chime in saying go for it. Remember this post down the road if you do.

Maybe not in YOUR case. 1. Crankcase ventalation is vented to the air filter housing to recycle any unburnt gases that pass by the rings. This is normal even for a zero time engine. 2. ALL, repeat, ALL engines wear out eventually. 3. A worn engine (cylinders) will have more blowby than new ones. The increase in volume and velocity of blowby gases will carry oil vapors with the usual gases out of the vent and will deposit said vapors to wherever the vent leads (air filter housing or overboard), leaving an oily deposit. These are basic facts that exist on any internal combustion piston engine. Subarus are not exempt. True, they last longer than alot of other designs, but sooner or later succumb to laws of physics and wear out. But you did say almost never. This may not be his problem, but it's a good place to start. A simple compression test will tell. A differential compression test will tell the exact cause of leakage. I did a differential test on a 1985 XT and observed air escaping from the crankcase when I pulled the oil fill cap. Only one thing will cause that.......

Welcome to the USMB! Oil in the air filter housing is a result of excessive blowby. The crankcase is vented to the filter housing, alot of blowby (caused by worn rings, scored cyl wall, cracked/hole in piston, etc.) will pressurize the crankcase and push oil vapors up into the fliter housing where they collect and pool. I see in your profile you have a 280k engine. It's getting tired. I'd run it 'till it blows:headbang: It could last another 280k, just will use a little more oil. What kind of cooling problems are you having?

Thats bad. The Helicoil kit should tell you what size drill bit to use. You MUST make sure to drill 90 degrees to the surface. Very important. If the hole is too hogged out to fit a Helicoil, all is not lost. Remove everything near that spot and have the hole welded up. It's going to take a skilled welder to do this. Then resurface the area and drill a new hole for the bolt. I would still use a Helicoil. Good luck.