l75eya

Most likely, from what you're saying, it sounds like you have an oil leak that is drip, drip, dripping onto your exhaust and burning the oil (emitting clouds of smoke). Do you *smell* burning oil? Idle your car for a little bit, wait for the smoke to start and then pop your hood and see if you can identify where the oil is dripping from. Watch out for moving bits of the motor while you're looking around (belts and so on/so forth). Your oil leak is probably one of the main seals, though it could be a few other spots, but it's hard to say from my stand-point. What I can suggest is that you post up in these forums or in the old gen forums trying to find somebody who will help you to either diagnose and/or diagnose and fix your leak. The key here is to find a reputable Subaru specialist that is familiar with the motor in your car. Not that a regular mechanic can't fix it, but it's hard to find one that's going to diagnose it properly. Best of luck!

Ebay. There's a member on here that sells reproduction decals on eBay. I can't remember his screen name. Somebody will chime in with that.

I think a better approach would have been to ask IF his rotors are true and smooth, rather just assume they're shot.

Really shouldn't send it off...

I can answer your first question. In the 80's the subaru engines were named on an EA series basis. There was the EA81, and then it's successor the EA82. Any "T" in those names just indicates that the motor was turbocharged. EA82s are non-interference. EA81's I believe were as well but can't be sure. Here's a great wikipedia article about the EA series engines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_EA_engine

This is all great advice, but nobody has addressed the possibility of the abs system malfunctioning. This is a very real possibility i actually experienced first hand very recently. I drive in Manhattan daily in a tiny little chevy HHR (i hate it) that is equipped with abs. The car only has just over 25k on it and was bought new by my boss. The abs started malfunctioning and exhibited symptoms just like the OP describes. I would be gradually braking and would hit a slight bump and the abs system would kick in and GREATLY (and needlessly) increase my braking distance. This is a terribly dangerous situation that was remedied at the Chevrolet dealership. It was a faulty abs sensor. This is why i strongly suggest the OP have a dealer check out the issue.

$33! The LEDS cost .0008 cents to make! I mean I understand profit but damn. That's a hell of a profit. Any cheap DIY alternatives?

On this note does anybody have an image of the manual showing just exactly HOW to adjust the clutch pedal, or can somebody give a brief run down?

Is there noise when you're stationary and in neautral with your foot off the clutch? How about stationary with the pedal to the floor? What about when you're in gear and decelerating and you push in the clutch (But still keep it in gear) does it still make the noise? give us as MANY details about the noise as possible. What conditions have to be met for it to make noise. What conditions, if any, have to be met for it to NOT make noise. Btw, this is going to get moved by a mod at some point so you're going to have to look for it in the forum ABOVE the BRZ forum you posted in. Old gens forum.

Another thing of note; Though I mentioned my trans is fine, other than the noise, there IS one more side effect I've noticed, maybe yours does it too 5005 When my car is cold (starting up for 1st time of the day, etc) and it is warming up, I keep my foot on the clutch (pushed in) the whole while so that my transmission doesn't make the noise. If my car is idling at it's cold idle (2,000 RPMS) and I suddenly drop the clutch while the transmission is cold, it will put a load on the engine and the idle drops about 500 - 600 rpms. If I'm on level ground and the emergency brake is off, it will even start to slowly roll forward even though it's in neutral. Doesn't do this when it's warm though, only cold, and the colder it is, the more evident it is.

We need to be clear on a few things here... You mention you bought an Impreza...but that it has a dual range 4WD transmission... Now, this is possible, but only by one of two ways You either have an impreza that somebody took the time to modify and throw in a dual range 4wd transmission from the early 80s EA series subaru cars, and this should be obvious OR You're have a european/latin american/pacific asian domestic market Impreza with the REALLY REALLY rare EJ series dual range transmission. If neither of these are the case, maybe you meant to say you bought an 88 GL and not a 98 GL Impreza? Anyway, all that being said; It's not your throw-out bearing. I'm fairly certain. Throw-out bearing should make the noise when your clutch is dis-engaged. (IE when you are shifting between gears. More simply when your foot is ON the clutch pedal) It sounds like you are saying that your problem occurs when the transmission is in gear and driving (foot OFF the clutch) Is there any noise when you are decelerating with the car IN gear but with your foot fully depressing the clutch pedal? If so then how about if you put the transmission in neutral and let the clutch pedal out (foot OFF the clutch)while you're rolling (25ish mph is a good speed to try) If it still makes noise like that, I bet pushing in the clutch while coasting in neutral and holding it in makes it go away. You're describing a very very similar problem that my hi/lo 4wd transmission in my 87 GL is making. One that I've been describing to people for ages and still haven't been able to figure out quite exactly what it is. I've begun to think it's the transfer case. I've been driving with my trans making this noise for a good 10,000 + miles now and it's been fine, other than the noise. I am going to replace it though as soon as I get my hands on a replacement transmission. This noise happened because I didn't change my gear oil when I got my car and the gear oil that was in there was way old and not quite oil anymore. I then proceeded to drive across the country 4 times. On the 4th time across, it started making the noise. so, my advice is to CHANGE YOUR GEAR OIL immediately. Pay attention to the condition of the oil that comes out when you change it as well. Look for metal shards in the oil (though there wasn't much in mine) and look for metal shards on the drain plug (There was a bit on mine. The drain plug is magnetic and any shards will stick to it) Replace the gear oil with a good brand gear oil. Mobil 1 is good. From what I've heard around here the absolute best gear oil you can put in it is actually a subaru gear oil called Subaru Extra S. It is only obtainable from a subaru dealership and they don't sell it; you have to talk a tech or parts rep into hooking you up with some. There are a few places online you can order it but I'm not sure of them. Somebody else will probably chime in with that. Conclusion; Don't panic; it should be okay like this for a while, just take it easy on the trans. If the noises are like I asked they are above (that's how mine is) try to approach any slowing situations with the trans in neutral and your foot holding down the clutch. Keep your eyes out for a replacement transmission. It took about a year before one popped up for me but I'm on the East Coast and they are few and far between out here.

Pictures, little write-up would be cool.

If you can just get the end of the axle to poke out of the knuckle a little bit, thread the castle nut on and then grab it with two hammers; use the hook ends. OR (some people don't approve of this) just start cranking on the axle nut and pull the axle through with the nut. Do whatever you gotta do to keep that spacer out of the way, I assume. Strange that it's getting in the way though and not just sliding along the axle itself.

YES!! When can I come check out what you have?! I'm just over an hour away! Sending you a PM.

I think the FIRST time you rear-ended somebody due to your ABS system malfunctioning, you should have brought the car to the dealership and had them find the problem and fix it. I think now that it's almost happened to you *again* you should be on your way to the dealership right now. That's dangerous and you're putting others at risk (and yourself) while delaying getting it looked at.

At least the issues you're running in to are small, easily fixed ones. Sounds like everything else is going well. Hope you get it fired up (running) soon!

Agreed, would be a shame to run an old awd gearbox in to the ground. Just grab a dime a dozen part timer

LOL a thread about how our axles are weak to begin with and a comment about doing burnouts

Oof! That sounds like a pretty hard hit. See if you can get some pictures of the rear suspension. Both rear wheels are angled? Not just the one that slammed the curb? Get a good picture of your rear diff and the driveshaft too.

Is it more of a guess that automatic and manual transmission 23 spline axles are the same, or is it a positive "definitely" the same?

If you can find any of the parts you need in a junkyard in chambersburgh Pennsylvania i live in Jersey but I've got a guy out there that would probably be able to pick them up and get them shipped to you.

I would love to hear the definitive answer on this question as i rebuilt and rebooted the old axle from my 5 speed gl and put it in my automatic Loyale and now the steering wheel has a crazy bad shimmy. ..are they different or is it something else?

Where are you located?

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/96433-axle-rebuild/?do=findComment&comment=811297 Here's another good link for rebuilding your old axle. I've done this myself and it works wonders for reviving one. If you're going to reboot your old axle i highly recommend doing this first if you have the time. If your original axle is in decent shape to begin with this will make it like new again and will last you many more years. Definitely worth the trouble if you can do it.

Where are you located?