cal_look_zero

If everything plays out ok with timing, I should stab the engine back in this week and you can borrow the hoist. I'm sure Tony would be ok with you borrowing the engine stand too. Not to do headgaskets... Maybe for the clutch though.

The 2.2 engine is far and away the battle tank of the Subaru engines, and is the most sought after for sheer reliability. The 2.5s are not bad, but they have the reputation for eating up head gaskets; especially if they've been done improperly. I would look for a 95 or newer Legacy wagon with the 2.2.

Carb fueling and distributor ignition are notorious for backfire conditions. Usually means issues with the air/fuel ratio and ignition timing.

If there's reason to suspect the HGs, you have a few simple checks and a few not so simple. Simple: Oil in the coolant/coolant in the oil Milky "blowby" residue on the oil fill cap. This can also be piston blowby though.(Neither are good) Bubbles in the coolant res while the engine is running. Steam pouring out the exhaust. Less simple: Compression test, only really counts if the HGs are really bad. Shop needed: Sniff test the radiator for hydrocarbons.

Sure, this hasn't been bad so far. I'll let you know when I get a break.

Not really, you should be able to get an alternator for $130 at autozone/oreillys I guess that's not expensive to me, since the one in my Montero ran $270, but came with a lifetime warranty. I'm on my 2nd free replacement unit now though.

The water pump was leaking of course, and the HGs were in fact on their way out. I just helped them along a little bit by not properly burping the system and getting the car hot one last time. On the plus side, I'll have a pretty close to new engine after this is all said and done. On a side note, I also fixed the parking brake, clunking axle, and the wonky rear wheel; for a grand total of $45. Cable was cut for the brake, axle was shot, and the strut was all bent to hell. Action u pull came through on that one.

Easy way to test it: Jump start the car and use a multimeter to measure the output to the battery. If it's under about 14vdc, your alternator is on it's way out. Pretty much what it sounds like to me.

Longbed 2wd F100 Custom with a 302 mated to a C6 with a 9" rear end. None of my handiwork though...

I'm sitting here scratching my head at these 3 and 4 thousand dollar claims... If you threw a rod, drop in a good shortblock under your heads. You're in Seattle, right? Go to NWIC on NASIOC and put up an ad for an EJ25 shortblock. I'm picking one up for $100 that needs rings.

I think everyone knows the best part of Thanksgiving is pulling the turkey out of the oven... Need to get the flywheel surfaced, and the clutch is more burned up than the marshmallows on a sweet potato casserole. I'd like the record to state, that pulling an engine by yourself kinda blows. Spending a 1/2 hour messing with pulling it only to realize you didn't unbolt the dogbone from the transmission to the firewall and have been fighting an immovable object... that really blows.

Get ahold of B&M machine up on Highland. Mike (the owner I believe) may very well be as knowledgeable as GD (oh boy, what have I done by saying that?). I'm taking the Lego up there for a coolant sniff test at some point. He'll be able to do all the tests necessary to isolate what's wrong with the car. I can tell you that what you describe is exactly what happened to my Loy when the HGs went. Fired up the engine and steam POURED out for about a minute, then it was fine right up until the HGs completely let go and I had chocolate milkshake pouring out from between the head and block.

Ok, the Legacy isn't "thrashed" by most people's standards... I just see about 5 or 6 hours of body work between straightening the dents and filling the wrinkles. Right now, I'm not going in any direction but keeping them both. After I finish freshening up the Legacy tomorrow, I'll be driving it for a bit to make sure everything is good on it. Then...? I'm not seeing anything amazing in the $3k realm on CL. Lots of 1st and early 2nd gen Legacies in that realm... nothing worth selling either car to pursue.

Well if you get it, and it's a 90-91MY wagon, I have a list of parts I could use. A bunch of interior parts if it's any body/trim 1st gen.

I wouldn't be doing all the body kit, rally wing, and bling bling crap to any car. Good suspension, nice 17x7 rims, performance mods on the other hand... I don't need the money for bills, but it is the holidays and I have a 2 year old, so anything extra wouldn't hurt. The CBR is almost paid off and is pretty used up so I wouldn't get anything worthwhile out of it, and the GS850 is my girlfriend's now so selling it would be about equivalent to castration. I just can't justify lifting a car. The Montero is lifted on 32s and I really never even use it to it's potential. I guess if I keep the Loyale, I would consider going that route, but I'd hate to build another mall crawler. I'm well versed in paint and body, which is why straightening out the Legacy and lowering it isn't something I'd have to put a lot of thought into. I'm not planning on putting Tein coils ($1000) and BBS rims ($2000 with rubber) on it or anything outlandish like that. More like 16" WRX rims and S tech drop springs or similar. As far as resale, something small like wheels and springs, I would take the loss on simply because it's a minimal investment and makes the car more enjoyable. Plus, someone could return it to stock easily if they wanted. But an EJed Loyale is definitely a niche car that I'd lose at least a grand on, and would have to sit on for awhile to find the right buyer. I guess I'm more looking for which car you would keep, and why. I'm trying to see beyond what's currently in the driveway, and what quirks lay before me with each car. I'm leaning towards keeping the Legacy (Let's face it, I'm 24 and my motorcycle has 20 more hp than the Loy) or selling both and getting something a little newer and more comfy.

EJing the Loyale isn't an option in any spectrum. I'm not going to combine 2 good running cars to make one good running car; plus I need something to drive to work everyday. And even if I did a PnP EJ22 in there, I'd lose my arse if I ever sold it.

Ok, as you can see from my signature, I currently own 4 vehicles. This is just me and my girlfriend, so.... 2:1 (3:1 if you count our bikes). The Montero is on a loan; not going anywhere. The Ford is necessary, paid for, and costs $12 a month to insure. So that leaves the Subis to question. Basically, I really like my Loyale. Runs like a top even with 334k miles, straight clean body, great interior, mechanically sound as a watch. Gutless as can be, loud on the road, and not terribly confidence inspiring at 70 in the rain. Mixed feelings on the push button 4wd. However in the 2 months that I've had it, I've put over 2000 miles on it and know the ins and outs of the car; out of necessity. If it were my only option, I'd have no qualms driving it every day in it's boring stock form. On the other hand, the Legacy is still kind of "in progress" I've put about 200 miles on it, but parked it due to the timing belt looking like Clint Eastwood's mug. It's definitely not in as good of shape as the Loyale in or out, but eventually I can remedy that. It's got nearly 100k less than the Loy on the EJ22 putting down ~185psi on all 4. I like the space, the AWD, and the power of the EJ. I have a lot more room to "grow" in the sense that I am TERRIBLE at leaving anything stock; and am a total stickler for a nice set of rims and about 3" of drop. The dilemma, if you will. I appraise the cars at about the same value; including the PNW Subi tax. I'd say I could get $1500 for either car at the moment, maybe $1700 if I work it. The Legacy body is REALLY rough and the interior is honestly beyond help, but some college kid would rock the heck out of it for a snow car. The Loyale even with a straight body and clean interior, is still a square gutless wonder; I'd wager some middle aged couple would enjoy it. I have 4 options as I see it: 1) Keep both cars even though I only need one. Problem being that if I plan on driving both in any given month, I have to pay for insurance for both. Plus I don't make any extra $ 2) Keep the Loyale knowing what's in it and been done to it, and sell the Legacy; use the money to pay bills or tools or something. 3) Sell the Loyale after I'm sure the Legacy is in tip top DD shape and use that money to start putting some custom touches on the Legacy (and some towards bills and stuff) 4) Sell both cars and put the money towards an Impreza or newer Legacy. This posting brought to you by

334k miles on my Loy, only thing that has 100% solved the TOD for me is Engine Restore. Not to say that doing it the right way should be overlooked, but I did it the right way, and it still ticked on start up every day. Now that I've ran this stuff, it does it maybe once a week for about 30 seconds after start up.

#1 is less than $500 diy, shouldn't be more than $1200 to have a shop do it. I'd get compression, leakdown, and cooling system pressure tests done before I tore into it though. As mentioned above, the HGs can often times "weep" oil long before the gasket fails. #2 not worth noting unless you have a massive amount of fluid loss and lack of power steering as a result. #3 as mentioned above, in conjunction with #1. Plugs and wires should run you about $40 #5 less than $200 to have the rotors turned at O'reilly's or similar and buy new pads.

Just out of curiousity, did you pry the folder part of the nut out of the axle keyway? Soak it in PB blaster overnight, in the morning when it's cold, heat the nut up with a propane torch (avoid getting the axle hot), whack the end of the axle with a hammer to shock the threads, and try to break it loose.

You're putting in your time in the service, you earned the right to do whatever you want... even if it is COMPLETELY nuts.

I was going to drive the 5 hours up there to buy a WRX (sanity kicked in) instead of buying from the dealership here. That is the ONLY Lithia dealership I'll deal with. Although now that I'm in to the older stuff, I remember the techs I worked with at the Subi/Mitsu dealership here. 2 of them had 1st gens that were booney bashers, and one had a built STi.

They're called "Idiot lights" for a reason. I believe with every fiber of my being, that if someone is too complacent to notice all sorts of alarms and changes in their car's feel, that: 1) they deserve to blow up their engine and 2) they're too complacent to be behind the wheel of a 4000 pound death missle.

Hmmm... wonder if we'll see a nice price drop on the 257s now. I certainly hope so...

Fuel gauge is off actually. I was just estimating off of the fact that I put 4 gallons in when the fuel light came on, and drove it til the light came on again (accurate as a hand grenade, I know) but it was closer to 22-23, which I can fully live with; given the fact that I haven't gone through it yet.