bratman2

Black Dupont Ureathane, 3 coats. Had used Dupont Imron on the first paint job back in 2001 but it is pricey and now hard to find. Something about making paints more enviromentally friendly. I work at a chemical plant that is very hard on paint jobs and glass. Now to be totally honest I had waited 14 days for the paint to finish curing and you are looking at two coats of Mequirs wax also. My wife made the comment that I just spent more on it than I originally paid for the whole vehicle. But I believe it is kind of like marriage. Cheaper to keep her! Over the years I have installed the webber carb, 2002 model Impreza RS seats installed in 2004, 6 Polk Audio speakers, new carpet,black dash overlay, struts, new taillights from Japan, windshield and gasket (the old gasket had dry rotted windshield broke on replacement). Also 2-inch exhaust from Y pipe back, Pug steel rims with 97 Legacy hubcaps. Think I will go back to 180/80's and have the orginal rims powder coated next year. We will see! Glenn

Here is my little Brat after another paint job and also had "Rapture" spray in bedliner applied. Reason for second paint job is I have owned it 10 years this month. That' Kaos gaurding the Brat in the first picture. Glenn

Probably due to wear in the arms under the cowl. On my brat I switched the wipers to mount under the arm instead of on top. Then adjust down until it seats at the bottom rubber of the windshield when cut off. When you are going down the road the extra force from the wind will keep them off the bottom rubber. You can also drop down a size or two to a 15" which will help also. That should fix it. Worked for me

I switched to all 10w-30 in my vehicles right many years ago. Was using 5w-30 in my late model truck, wife's late model Legacy. Putting 10w-30 in my older Brat and my daughter's car. Just too aggravating to be out of one oil are the other so I just go 10w-30 through all now. No real difference that I have seen. Bobistheoilguy sight I have seen but they are a little to extreme for me. They are the only bunch I have every seen that can find bad oil right out the jug. The only really bad oil is no oil at all. My opinion.

I agree with misledxcracker, the one on the left should be boxed up as a set of four and discarded to eastern NC ASAP. I will properly dispose of them when they arrive. Oh, my pick would probably be the left one.

I would stay with red on the hood. The Brumby looks mighty sharp red to me. If you go with black do the raised portion. Just my opinion.

I used a couple of clothes pins on the cam pulleys to keep the belt from slipping while installing. Helps alot!

We went with Cooper SLE H rated tires on my wife's Legacy. Got around 40K out of the stock Bridgestones and have about 34k on the Coopers with about 1/3 the tread left. They were $424 out the door with new valve stems and mounting. Wife likes they way they have handled and I am pleased wih the mileage. Considering the Bridgestones G009 myself as a replacement when these give it up. Mainly because our only local tire dealer has dropped the Cooper line. Said they were a pain to have to deal with. They handle OTR, big truck and passenger tires and had to deal with a different person everytime they called Cooper. Cooper might be another tire to check into.

I have better success rebooting my old axles that are good than messing with the remanufactored axles if that is what you are considering. Over the years I have recieved the wrong axle, an axle that didn't even have the DOJ in the cup and axles that had bad DOJs out the box. I have three good front axles that I just reboot, regrease and swap. I would opt for pulling the axle off your non running car myself.

You can check auction number 290139984000, the seller has KOYO front wheel bearings. They came quick and he offered me a second set with free shipping if memory serves me correctly. Has lots of other Subaru parts also. Hope this helps!

I replaced the fronts on my Brat some 9+ years ago. NAPA only had one set the other set came from Autozone. Just replaced my driver's side again (believe that is the Autozone set). My Brat had a grinding like vibration/feeling from 35-45 mph and then kind of died down some. I had swapped axles side to side and check free play twice and could not detect any free movement (not saying it wasn't there). Also swapped tires around just trying different things as I was stumped somewhat to the problem. They can be tough to tell they are bad. I found a pair on Ebay that were Japanese and very reasonable price. The seller had more , I will try to search through my history and post back later.

Go to the Ultimate Subaru repair manual and click on transmissions and axles. Bottom of the first page post by Subeman90 and a write up by Hassey. Exact procedure I used 5 years ago, mine had so much slop in it I expected it to come out in my hand any day.

I think I did mine about 5 years ago and still tight. Hope you have the same success!

Grossgary I believe you are correct. Sometimes my memory slips by a little. That is probably why I never dropped the pan again after the first change. I guess the intent of my reply was to say that if the transmission has been serviced regularly there would be no need for extra fluid changes as the transmissions are not prone to failure if treated and maintaind properly.

Parts places have a hard time with older Subarus. They tend to mix EA82 and EA81 parts as if they are interchangeable. I find it best to order the parts through a parts store and show up with my old part for comparison. I have seen parts listed for my Brat over the years that I know will not fit. Also have had the unfornate event of purchasing some said parts online and in stores years ago. Lots of places and stores included have no knowledge of what fits only what a computor says. These same people could have been flipping burgers at McDonalds the day before. Can be very frustrating to say the least.

If your Legacy is the same as my daughter's former '93 I would recommend dropping the pan and changing the filter. Like theflystyle said there is a magnet that is in the bottom of the pan. Probably looks like a fuss ball if you have any miles at all on the cars. This also gives you a chance to clean the inside of the pan which will be coated with a pretty nasty layer of fluid. When dropping the filter out you should get another half quart or more. My daughter's Legacy showed in the maintence records a change at 60K and flush at 97k. I changed fluid and filter at 130K and the pan and magnet were pretty nasty. Then I did just a drain at 30k intervals. A coworker bought the car after my daughter hit a bear with it and it has around 215k last I looked and transmission is running fine.

I don't think it is a throwout bearing. It should squeal or screech when the pedal is pressed. If you can hear it outside the car without touching the pedal it would be one of the most wornout throwout bearings ever.

Seehag I know exactly what you are saying. I have had mine 10 years and have replaced some minor parts twice ( wheel bearings, axles, clutch cables). But the overall reliability considering the age is outstanding. GWYNATIVE I have to agree with ChiefTim, you got a good deal after reading the add and seeing it.

Hello and welcome to the world of old Brats. Popping out of gear is not good but may be unrelated to the grinding noise. I would check for stripped splines on the front hubs and axle stubs along with making sure they are torque down hard when reinstalled. On wheel bearings it has been my experience that the typical wheel off the ground check is not accurate. The driver side went out on my Brat and there was no noticeable shake top to bottom. There was a far amount of vibration in the 35-45 mph zone and some grinding noise. They had been replaced about 9 years ago so it took me a little while to figure it out. I have not looked at your Brat but can say this much, a solid body Brat for sale is getting fairly rare and mine isn't going for sale anytime soon. Keep a check on the rust as I assume they still salt the roads in the NC mountains. If you need a another transmission big deal, sounds like the concenses is you still have a good deal. You may also consider the 5 speed conversion if the other transmission doesn't pan out. But do check your splines!

If you search Weber 32/36 in Ebay you will turn up two. Also one in the Ebay store. 24.99 shipped and looks to be the same on that comes with the kit from Redline. You could also check Redline out.

Just replaced the drivers side bearings in my 87 Brat last week. Did exactly as described except I just used a claw hammer to pull the axle through by the axle nut with the front disc removed. It doesn't take a lot of force. Try smearing a thin layer of grease on the axle hub.

Good point gbrand, my daughter's 93 Legacy also did the same thing. Seems if I remember correctly the AC compressor also comes on with the defrost? Sold the car to a co-worker who still has it with 215k now, AC locked up last year on him. I had replaced the water pump with a new timing belt 168K and the old pump still looked pretty tight. Saved it for a spare that went with the car.

Of the Neons, I know only three owners and all had headgasket failures before 100k miles. Sure some have made it past 100k but I don't know of them.

That may be my Brat (87 Black). I have had the RS seats in my for 3 years or so. Got lucky on them as they came out of a brand new Impreza that was bought for racing, seats removed after two weeks but sat for a year unprotected in a garage (dusty with dog hair). I am 5' 9" and with the rear mount low as I could get it my head is about 1.5-inches from the roof. I give this information incase you may be taller. I ride with the track forward one click and the seat laid back against the rear wall. They are the best seats I have ever sat in period and my daughter has a new Acura to compare to. The seat mount holes are 1-inch wider than stock so minor modifications do have to be done but are easy to accomplish in part of a day. There is also pictures of the Brat here, the old webpage that you probably saw hasn't been updated in some time as it cost 10-15 dollars a month to have back when I started it. I just let it go but it still is on the web without access for updating. They are many options on this style seat such as the WRX and also leather versions that may be found. I woulds guess that if you were approaching 6' of height they may not be the best choice. Good luck in your seat search.

Impreza RS seats will fit also, that is what I have in my 87 Brat. Same as WRX and the most comfortable seats I have ever sat in. Front inside tab bolts in, cut ear off inside rear and drill to bolt to seat belt mount, rest were tabbed over like Tsutomu did. Outside bolts missed by 1-inch over stock, no rail switching. Took maybe 5 hours to install counting taking the old seats out. They have been in three years now and came out of a new 2002 that had 5 point racing harness seats put in for rally racing. At 5'9" I really can't tell any difference in height over stock or it has been so long since they were installed that I have forgotten there was a difference. I can't think of any other seat I would want over them, 2002 did not have side airbags in the RS, any WRX seat should fit the same also. I believe they are thinner than the seats in the 93 Legacy we use to have but closer to thickness of the seats in 2003 Legacy my wife has.