jj421

Took my tax return and put it towards doing the suspension on my Legacy. It's a 1998 Legacy L wagon, so I had base suspension on there (with some 205/70/R14 tires for a little lift). I did a bunch of research and decided on Outback struts, Forester springs, 16" wheels, and 27" A/T tires. Very very very very happy with the result. Exactly what I wanted, lots of ground clearance but could still pass as stock to the untrained eye. I put all new 1998 Legacy Outback KYB GR-2 struts, all new KYB strut mounts, all new 1998 Forester base M/T Moog springs, all new OEM Forester upper spring perches and seats (for the front struts), all new Moog inner and outer tie rod ends, used Outback trailing arm brackets, used 16" 2nd gen Outback wheels, and all new 215/65R16 General Grabber AT2 tires. Handles VERY nicely. Even though I'm higher up, it corners much better than before (mostly due to new struts). The suspension is a lot stiffer than it used to be, but still smooth and comfortable over bumps and offroad. The tires are a perfect fit! The only rubbing I've heard so far was at full lock doing a tight u-turn, and maybe once while backing up and turning. But it's so minor, even with the radio off and no noises, it can barely be heard. Maybe if I had mud flaps, they might rub on the front. Also I'm very impressed with how well the tires fit in the wheel well. I was worried the offset on the wheels (and wider wheels) would make it stick out more, but it's perfect. Performance hasn't been a big issue, even with the 3.9 gears and 2.2 engine. I'm used to driving my 2" lifted EA82 on 27" tires, so for reference, it's easier to drive than that. Acceleration is definitely slower but I didn't buy this car to go fast. These wheels/tires are around 46 lbs a piece, whereas my 205/70R14 tires on steel wheels (before I lifted the car) were around 40 lbs a piece. For how much tire I got, that extra weight is really marginal. I am planning on getting a 4.11 Outback gearbox and diff in the future, but I just replaced my transmission a couple months ago (got the car for cheap, wouldn't go into 4th, then clutch started going out), so I am not looking at doing that any time soon. As far as alignment goes, I did my own alignment (I work at a shop) and was able to get everything in spec. I had purchased camber bolts for the rear struts for camber and toe adjustments on all 4 wheels. I got everything within spec, and it drives straight. All 4 camber adjustments are maxed out, and one rear toe adjustment is maxed out (other is almost maxed). But like I said, all within spec and pretty close to preferred values. Rears have a little more negative camber (-0.7) than preferred (-0.5). Fronts have a little more positive camber (+0.0) than preferred (-0.2). Rear wheels are barely toed out (-0.10) compared to preferred (+0.0). So yeah, it's just barely off of preferred values but still within spec and I can hardly tell the difference in how it drives (most people wouldn't notice, I just do alignments for a living so I can notice). Going to be doing another alignment soon now that the suspension is more broken in, curious to see how the numbers changed. Curious to see how the CV axles hold up too. I think they will be fine, they don't look like they are at too bad of angles (especially compared to the EA82), but you never know. All in all, it took me a day to do everything. Did it at my shop so a lift, full air tools, and a wall-mounted spring compressor made easy work of the job. What wasted my time was one of the tack welded nuts on the trailing arm brackets broke, so I ended up cutting a hole in my floor pan under the rear seat to put a socket on the nut. Anyways, I'll stop rambling on, haha.

Wet/dry compression test has been done! Some interesting results, so let's get to it. This was done on a fully warmed engine (spark plugs were hot to touch), and with wide open throttle. For each cylinder I did a dry compression test, cranking 8 times. Then I did a wet compression test, pouring in 2.5-3 cap-fulls of 10w-30 into the cylinder, cranking another 8 times. I also put in the past results too, for reference. Cylinder #4: Dry(110psi)Wet(145psi) [Orig. 120psi] Cylinder #3: Dry(120psi)Wet(170psi) [Orig. 60psi, 12.5% leakage] Cylinder #2: Dry(105psi)Wet(175psi) [Orig. 120psi] Cylinder #1: Dry(110psi)Wet(160psi) [Orig. 60psi, 24% leakage] So a couple of things to mention. Number one, most obvious and confusing to me, are how cylinder #1 and #3 have decent compression now! Since the last test, they have double in compression, even though the only thing I have done to the engine is slightly move around the PCV lines. Only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't screw in the tester all the way into the spark plug hole, but I always check that it's tight before I crank the engine. Hey, at least they aren't as low compression as I originally thought, so that's not necessarily a bad thing. Number two, it does indeed look like my piston rings are worn. With a pretty significant increase in compression once oil was added, it looks like I'm dealing with ring issues which definitely equals blow-by. However, the fact that I still have okay compression across all four cylinders, and that my vacuum gauge doesn't pick up on the ring wear, I think it's definitely worth a shot to put in a can of Engine Restore into the oil and see if it helps. Which brings me to my third point. Third, the engine has seemingly fixed itself in regards to oil just getting dumped into my intake. I still see some oil in my PCV lines, but definitely nowhere near as bad as it was. I checked my air filter, and only a small section on the bottom had oil on it, in comparison to half of the air filter like before. This is after a full day of driving, including freeway use, hill climbs, hill descents (with engine braking), and full throttle acceleration bringing it near redline. I took brake clean and cleaned all the oil out of my intake snorkel and air box, and sprayed some in the PCV lines. I will check again in a few days to see the condition. The way I see it, I could do the head gaskets and rebuild the heads, but it wouldn't be worth all the time and money because of the ring wear. Might just look at getting another engine and in the mean time, run this one until it dies. Going to try Engine Restore and might even buy an oil catch can to prolong the life even more. But I think this engine is just tired and nearing the end of it's life. Let me know what you guys think, but I don't think it's worth my time and money honestly.

A lot of good information, thanks everyone! Skishop69, yeah, I think for sure my intake valves are hanging up. I agree, the air going past my rings is what's causing my blow-by. I think that in combination with my intake valves acting up is what's getting oil into my intake. My air filter does indeed get soaked in oil. Well, at least the bottom half. Not sure how bad it is fouling the plugs, I haven't replaced the plugs since I bought the car almost a year ago (about 15,000 miles ago), but they weren't as bad as I expected them to be. Not that they were in great shape, but considering how much oil I believe my engine ingests, I expected them to be worse. That's good info on the valves getting caught up! That would explain the low compression if they aren't seating properly, mixed with the blow-by just to make things worse. Robm, I don't think I'll be able to do a leak down test on the other side, probably not until next week, which sucks. Both valve trains are actually very clean; I always keep up with my oil changes and last time I had the cam towers off, everything look clean and sludge-free. Dee2, that's good to know! I will probably try and do that tomorrow since I have the day off, but I've got things to take care of first, then if I have time, I'll post with the results. So far it's seeming like my valves and valve guides are the main reason for my low compression. Rings are letting oil get past through blow-by and getting into the intake through improperly seating valves. I am going to do the wet compression test and get some results through that, hopefully confirming this. I also think I might put some additives in the engine too, like you guys suggested. I'm not a fan of miracle in a can stuff either, but I might put something like Engine Restore (or another highly rated/reviewed product with confirmed good results) into the oil to help the piston rings, as well as running some engine cleaner through the vacuum lines to maybe try and clean up the valves. If the valve guides are problem, obviously that won't help much, but it's worth a shot for now. When I peered my flashlight into the cylinder, the top of the piston looked pretty carboned up, presumably from burining oil. I can't imagine the valves aren't in similar shape. I find it interesting because the other day, I kinda swapped the PCV hoses around and I seemingly have less oil through the PCV lines. Before, the black T fitting was pointed towards the rear of the engine, and I moved it so it's pointing down towards the ground (if that makes sense) and routed the hoses accordingly. I just took a quick drive on my lunch break to get food and the PCV hoses aren't as oily as they have been. I rotated my air filter so the "dry" part is on the bottom, so I can see if it gets as oily as it did before. Tomorrow I will be driving a fair amount, so we will see. So basically my next steps are as follows: -Perform wet/dry compression test -Add oil additive to help piston rings, drive for a few days -Another wet/dry compression test -Add cleaner through vacuum lines and drive for a few days -Another wet/dry compression test Obviously we will see what the results are on the first wet/dry compression test and go from there, but in my head, that's my plan of action. So far, I think I'm just gonna rebuild some heads and do the head gaskets, especially if an oil additive will help my piston rings. Also considering getting a parts car and building the engine, but with my tools at work and living in an apartment and no easy/cheap way to tow a car home, it might not be the most practical.

It's not the original engine, so I'm not 100% sure. I was told it had fewer miles than the body of the car, and if I had to put a number on it, I would say 180-190k.

Leak down test has been done! My boss had today off and my coworker let me borrow his leak down tester, so on lunch I pulled my car into the shop and did the test. First, let me respond to you guys: DaveT, I did manage to do the shaft seal last time I had the engine out. I made sure to get an oil pump gasket set that included all three parts to the oil pump. Either the mickey mouse gasket got misplaced on installation, the oil pump itself is bad, or something else is causing it to get oily down there. I replaced the crank seal too when I was there. MR_Loyale, hmm, no I haven't tried that yet. I can do that at lunch tomorrow. Thanks for the offer on using the compressor and camera! Dee2, well now that I have the leak down tests, tell me if you think they're related or not. Second, here's the results for the leak down test. I only did the test on cylinder 1 and 3 (driver side cylinders) since those are the problem cylinders and because I only had so much time on my lunch break. I feel pretty good about the accuracy of the tests; I made sure they were at top dead center (used a small piece of tissue paper to ensure it was on the compression stroke, and peered in with my flashlight to make sure the cylinder was indeed at the extent of its travel). I also was using an expensive MatCo leak down tester, not some cheap Harbor Freight one. So here are the results: Cylinder #1 (Driver side, front of engine) As you can see, it was sitting at around 24% leakage, which is a little on the high side but nowhere near what I expected for having such low compression. Where was the air escaping? Well, judging off sound, about 2/3 of the air was coming out of the crankcase (could hear it coming out of the oil filler tube, dipstick tube, and PCV hoses). A little bit of air, about 1/3, was coming out of the throttle body/intake, definitely audible when I opened the throttle (had the intake snorkel off). No air coming out of the exhaust, no air coming out the radiator/cooling system. Just the crankcase and intake. Cylinder #3 (Driver side, rear of engine towards firewall) As you can tell in this picture, this cylinder was right in the 12-13% leakage range, which is not bad at all. In fact, that's actually pretty good! Similar to cylinder #1, about 2/3 of the air was coming out of the crankcase and about 1/3 was coming out the intake (again, rough estimates just based on how much air I could hear). Still no air escaping out the exhaust or cooling system. It's also worth mentioning that I could not hear air escaping between the cylinders either, both cylinders were independent. So what's my interpretation of these results? Well, since the majority of the air was coming out of the crankcase, this is telling me that my piston rings are not sealing very well. I also have air coming out the intake, so that tells me the intake valves also are not sealing properly, thus requiring rebuilding the cylinder head. However, because of the relatively low percentage of leakage in both cylinders, this tells me that neither my piston rings nor intake valves are in that bad of shape. In other words, in theory (correct me if I'm wrong), if I replaced the head gaskets and put on rebuilt heads with strong sealing valves, this will lower my leakage percentage. Even without touching the piston rings or bottom end, cylinder #1 should get reduced to a more acceptable level (hopefully below 20%) and cylinder #3 should be reduced to probably around 10%. However, even at 24%, this doesn't directly explain the low compression (again, correct me if I'm wrong). It definitely doesn't explain cylinder #3, because at 13% leakage I should not be down to 60 psi of compression. So what does low compression, minimal leakage mean? From what I was reading online (not a whole lot of information on this condition), it usually means a valve train issue or the timing is off. If it's a valve train issue, like I said in the above paragraph, a cylinder head rebuild would be the route to go. This would also raise compression if this is the issue. If the timing was off, that would definitely explain the low compression. But even at one tooth off, it's pretty obvious how poorly the engine runs when the timing is messed up, especially to someone who is familiar with these engines. Maybe it's worth re-doing the timing belts to make sure everything is properly timed, but that doesn't explain the oil in my intake (unless I have separate issues). However, the fact that I'm getting air past my piston rings, coming through my crankcase and PCV system, gives me a pretty good indication that that is why oil is getting into my intake (especially if the intake valves aren't closing properly). What's my next step? Well, to me, it seems like putting on rebuilt heads and doing the head gaskets is the fix. Though I am exhibiting piston ring wear, I don't think it's that bad since my vacuum gauge doesn't pick up on it and because 95 psi of compressed air coming out of the crankcase probably makes it sound worse then it actually is. What worries me though is the fact that the majority of the air is coming out of the crankcase, and not the intake. I don't want to do head gaskets on an engine with really bad piston rings. That being said, I also don't want to do the head gaskets and increase compression, ultimately putting more wear on the piston rings because that's the only place where air/oil can go. It would suck to tear apart the engine and do all that work, just to have the rings go out 6 months later. So let me know what you guys think about these results, as well as my process of thinking. Correct me if I'm wrong on anything, I don't know everything and half of this is theorizing/information I found on the Internet. Thank you so much!

Huh, that's good information to know. When I had the engine out and I was doing the timing belts, I replaced all three of the oil pump seals. I didn't replace the actual oil pump, however. If I recall correctly, it is still oily down there so that might be the issue if the actual pump is shot. But that wouldn't explain the low compression unless I have two separate issues, a head issue and an oil pump issue. Hmmm Really I just have to do a leak down test and that'll tell me exactly what I need to know. I just wish I had an air compressor so I test it easily. The shop I work at is usually pretty busy and the next day off I have that I can come in is next Wednesday, assuming they let me do it, haha.

The engine runs fine, runs pretty well actually! No real shortage of power, maybe a very slight misfire at idle but I blame that on old spark plugs, wires, air filter, basic maintenance stuff. Compression that low would be a reason for the misfire too, but regardless, you can't really tell it has two low compression cylinders based on how it runs. I just went outside and checked the timing, and it is spot on. One cam is 180 degrees off of the other. I even counted the teeth to make sure it didn't jump a tooth. I've done quite a few timing belt jobs on these engines, easy as pie, haha. Yeah, I have had no indication of a bad head gasket. Has never overheated as long as I have owned it, coolant level has always been okay (and is still green like the day I put it in), no milky residue anywhere but the PCV lines, no coolant out the exhaust, and no exhaust gas smell in the coolant. Not that I'm ruling it out entirely, but I just haven't had any symptoms of a head gasket issue. Like you said, if they have a crack between them, it might not show up. The car has like 227k on it, but the engine isn't original. As far as I know, it has fewer miles than that. I don't have an exact number, but I would put it around 180k. Would a head gasket leak between two adjacent cylinders cause blow-by? If so, then that would probably be my answer. Until I do a leak down test, of course. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the spark plugs. When I pulled the plugs for the compression test, they all 4 looked pretty similar, even between the two sides of the engine. The driver side plugs were a little more oily than the passenger side ones, but all 4 just looked like old plugs. I looked up an image of spark plug diagnosis, and they look most similar to the "Ash Deposit" plug in the following image (http://www.aa1car.com/library/reading_spark_plugs.jpg). According to that, it's due to oil burning from faulty valve guide seals. Thank you so much for the response!

Hello all! I am posting because I'm trying to figure out exactly what is going on with my engine in my Loyale. For a while now, I have been having oil in my air box and intake snorkel. I have done a lot of work on this engine already, and with a baby on the way, I need it more reliable than ever. I'm due for a tune-up, but I don't want to spend money on an air filter and spark plugs when they're just going to get ruined again. Here's my issue: I have oil coming into my air box, and a pretty decent amount at that too. The whole bottom half of my air filter is covered in oil, with it puddling up at the bottom. The whole rubber intake snorkel going to the throttle body is coated with oil on the inside, pooling up in the grooves of it. My throttle body and inside my intake manifold remain clean, however. When I engine brake down long hills is when it seems to be happening, since when I get to the bottom of the hill and touch the gas, I get a cloud of blue smoke out the exhaust (temporarily), oil burning smell, the engine hesitates, and then goes back to normal when the oil is burned off. Going up hills and normal flat driving don't yield any abnormalities, and I can't see any blue smoke out the exhaust (from the rear view mirror). First things first, I took care of the obvious. Replaced the PCV valve with a genuine Subaru one and replaced all the PCV hoses. The T connections are free and clear, and I even have the updated design with the blue T fitting, and it's installed properly (don't have the T fittings switched around). I also have taken care of just about every single vacuum line in the engine bay since most were hard and cracking. When I replaced everything, the problem still continued, though arguable it got a little better, just a little. So the mystery is why is it still doing this? Just the other day I removed all the lines and PCV valve, made sure where the PCV valve goes into the intake manifold is free and clear. I have cleaned all the hoses and air box, but after just a drive or two, it goes back to the condition it's in now. Oil in the air box and intake snorkel, oil coated PCV lines lined on the inside with milky residue, similar to what you would find on an oil cap on an engine with head gasket issues. I presume this is just condensation, and it's worth noting that the oil cap has been replaced (it doesn't rattle; it seals properly) and it has no milky residue whatsoever. The oil in my air box becomes so much that it leaks out the bottom, spilling oil on my frame rail right underneath the air filter and eventually going onto the ground. What is this telling me? With all the basics covered and what all my extensive research has yielded, one can simply pass this off as blow-by. This doesn't make me a happy camper because again, I have a baby on the way so I can't have things like leaking piston rings. I had the piston rings go out on my old Loyale and I don't want to deal with that after the baby is born, so I'm trying to take care of things ASAP and fix everything properly, so my car is the last of my worries and I can focus my attention on the baby. So let's get into further diagnostics! I have a vacuum gauge hooked up in my car, and it reads perfectly. Like, I have not seen a vacuum gauge give more ideal readings on an engine. At idle when warmed up, it sits beautifully at around 22-23", like it should. The vacuum gauge is very responsive to throttle inputs and never fluctuates or crazy needle vibrations (my old Loyale had erratic readings on the vacuum gauge, indicating piston ring issues, and sure enough they went out on me). So according to the vacuum gauge, my engine is in good shape, at least the bottom end is. Today I did a compression test on the engine to see if it would yield any interesting results, and sure enough it did. The two cylinders on the passenger side of the engine (2 & 4) came out both at exactly 120 psi. However, the two cylinders on the driver's side (1 & 3) came out to exactly 60 psi. Obviously something is going on with that side of the engine. First idea for this would be my exhaust leak. The exhaust studs on that driver side cylinder head are completely messed up. When I bought the car, one exhaust stud was missing and the hole was oversized. Last time I had the engine out, the other stud decided to break off in the block. With careful attention to detail and help from coworkers at the shop I was working at, the best I could do was drill a hole in the broken stud, but we kept breaking drill bits because it was so hardened. Currently, the exhaust is barely being held on on that head, but it's sketchy to say the least. Bottom line, if I unbolt the exhaust, I don't know if I'll be able to get it to tighten again. I need a new cylinder head on that side to fix the problem, but I've been putting it off since I don't want to deal with all that work. So I have a minor exhaust leak from the bottom of that cylinder head (as well as a muffler about to fall off, getting a new one next paycheck though), and I'm not sure if that would affect compression test results but it is worth noting. My question is, where do I go from here? Obviously my next step is a leak down test, but it might be a short while before I can get my hands on a leak down tester and air compressor (might be able to do it at the shop I work at, but finding time is hard). So I'm looking for some advice as to what it might be. I am more than happy to throw "new" (used, but machined) heads on the engine and do the head gaskets, but if it's the piston rings, I'd be looking at changing out the long block since I don't have the tools or extra money to rebuild the block. I would much, much, much rather do the head gaskets. It'd be nice to know that they've been done and I've got a lot of new parts on this engine (replaced just about every oil seal/gasket, brand new lifters, timing belts, etc.) so it would already make the job that much easier/cheaper. Oh yeah, last thing to mention is oil and coolant consumption. I do not lose any coolant, as the coolant level in both the radiator and the overflow reservoir stay steady and topped off. However, even after replacing all the oil leaks, I do lose oil. About 1 quart every 1800 miles or so. Usually by the time I do my oil change at 3000, I have had to add about a quart and a half. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. If it's blow-by, that means my rings are shot, yeah? If that's the case, then why is my vacuum gauge reading perfectly fine? Even if it was my valves having issues, that would be obvious on the vacuum gauge. So assuming the gauge is telling me the right things, then that means that I'll be needing to do the head gaskets and throw on some rebuilt heads with good valves and seals. But if THAT is the case, why is oil getting into my PCV and intake? The only thing I can think of is the valve seals letting oil in or something, but again, I feel like I would notice that on the vacuum gauge. Now I've never done a head gasket job before so I could be ignorant about small details inside the head that can cause things like this, but it's not outside my realm of what I can do/learn. Would the exhaust leak on that cylinder head affect compression reading? Would I fix the compression by replacing the head and fixing the exhaust? If so, how/why would that affect the oil getting in my intake? Any help is appreciated, even if it's just spit balling an idea. The baby is due in July and I'm trying to get this thing running like a top by the beginning of summer so I don't have to worry about my car. I could, and might, install an oil catch can just to ease the stress on the engine, but like I said, I like to get things done properly instead of just bypassing the issue. Thank you so much for reading all of this, I know it was a lot. I just try and give as many details as I can. I work as a technician and I know the smallest details can affect diagnostics a lot. Grant

Thank you! Yeah, I did the LED backlighting conversion (many thanks to you for the write-up ), but I didn't realize the low fuel light would come on all the time. I don't know if it's because of the LEDs or if something is wrong, but it doesn't bother me too much. It's not worth pulling everything apart for, so I'll deal with it if I have the instrument cluster out again.

Was coming home from work, had a beautiful sunset, view of Mt. Rainier, and a camera on the passenger seat. Had to stop

Took a ride out to Lester, WA and got a couple shots on the way!

Well guys, I don't come on here as much as I used to! But I wanted to share a photo of my new Subaru! My old Loyale (lifted red wagon, not sure if anyone remembers) is dead. I crashed it, fixed it, then the piston rings went out. With no money and a rent bill, it had to go. But now I have Smokey and a new build! And boy, did Smokey earn his name! I bought it from Subruise, and after fixing the oil leaking onto the exhaust, I'm now moving on to building it how I want to. For this car, I'm going for the "Cross Country Cruiser" build. Essentially a car that I can daily drive to work, that's comfortable to ride in with options, but can also go anywhere and isn't afraid to get dirty. If there's one thing I learned, is having a modified car on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis is not a good combo. So even though I want to EJ swap it, that comes with a lot of potential future failures and reliability issues that I'd rather not deal with. Maybe long term in the future, but I definitely don't have the funds for it anytime soon. What has been done: D/R swap, rear disc brakes, new brakes, cam seals, crank seal, rear main, pilot bearing, valve cover gaskets, oil pump seals, oil pan gasket, newer clutch, window tint, LED light bulbs (including instrument backlighting) fog lights, and offroad lights. What I have planned: New front wheel bearings, replace driver side axle, replace timing belts and pulleys, new lifters and cam case o-rings, put on 195/70R14 aggressive tires (probably on steelies, but we'll see where the wind takes us), put on adjustable shocks all around, A/C delete (cost to fix is not worth it to me here in Seattle), dual electric fans in front of the radiator, heated Outback seats, aftermarket stereo, upgrade speakers and add two in the rear, add sound insulation, upgrade headlight and fog light bulbs, and put on some mud flaps. I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot of stuff.

Yeah, those are all of his photos.

https://imageshack.com/a/kjTz/1

Well, after driving it a couple hundred miles, the transmission issue has presented itself again. So I think I will eventually do a fluid/filter change.

Pulled the engine. Swapped the flywheel (for one that has timing marks), did the rear main seal, both camshaft seals, removed inner timing belt covers (outer covers were already removed), valve cover gaskets, oil pump seals, and reset the timing. Took me about 10 hours, start to finish. Most difficult part was mating the engine up to the transmission. It just would not go in.

I believe I have found and fixed the issue. In the quest to fix the sputtering/misfiring, I found the spark plug wires for cylinder 2 and 4 were arcing really bad. At night, I could see it arc between both wires over a span of about four inches. Wrapped the wires in electrical tape, but they were still arcing through the tape. Today I put in NGK plugs and wires, and that seems to have fixed everything. Car runs fine, no sputtering or misfiring. And it shifts perfectly now. I can actually keep it in drive without shifting manually. I was talking with my friend and he said that in his experience, if the engine is not running right, the TCU won't know what to do and will send random codes. I'm still getting a flashing power light at start-up, but I presume it'll go away once the computers relearn everything. I'll post again in a few days with an update.

Here's my opinion: Use what the car manufacturer recommends you to use. They put it in the owner's manual (or on the oil fill cap) for a reason. Synthetic is great if you have a new or freshly rebuilt engine. However, on a car this old, I would not put anything but conventional in. Synthetic oil is "superior" because it has additives in it that will clean sludge and protect your engine. However, on an engine this old, the sludge is actually preventing it from leaking. Synthetic oil can clean the sludge which will increase your oil leaks. There is no difference in the viscosity or flow rate between conventional and synthetic, but you may notice more oil leaks when switching to synthetic. If anything, rebuild the engine first. Clean up the internals really well and put new seals on just about everything. Then run synthetic. But to me, that's a lot of work for not much gain. And besides, the engine rebuild alone will make it last longer. You can always run a high mileage oil (they are part-synthetics). It's a good medium, and it's designed for older engines. But it's still got cleaning additives that can make your oil leaks bigger. With synthetic, I still wouldn't go much longer between oil changes. As stated above, in these engines it doesn't last much longer anyways. NEW engines are designed to go WAY longer between oil changes, but that's because they were designed that way. Our engines are not. I would say put the money in a good oil brand and oil filter. You'll notice better performance and longevity with certain oils and filters. But what's a good brand is entirely personal preference. My Subarus like Castrol GTX 10w-30 with a Bosch oil filter. I've tried a couple brands and that's what they like the most. Finally, if you want to clean out your internals, put ATF in the oil. Right before your next oil change, pour a quart of global ATF into the oil. Drive about 50-100 miles then change the oil with the engine hot.

As far as I know, it's primarily just the EA series engines. That being said, I spent $40 at the dealership for a thermostat and seal for my '93 Impreza. My personal view is the cooling system that you should get quality parts, for any car. Better hoses, OEM thermostats, Japanese made water pumps (for Subarus; I recommend the brand Aisin), etc. It's worth the extra money. But I digress. As far as the thermostat goes, definitely spend the extra $$$ and get it from the dealership. Also, in regards to the thermoswitch, I don't know if you necessarily need to get a new one. My EA82 has the original one (AFAIK) and it's 284K miles old. Still working fine. If someone else says otherwise, listen to them. I'm not super familiar with EA81s so my advice may not be super credible. I'm not sure about the EA81 engines, but I believe people have swapped in a thermoswitch from a Toyota or Nissan that turns on at a lower temp. Don't remember any details, but I recall reading about it last year or something.

Aftermarket thermostats for Subarus frequently start sticking open or close within a few months of installing it. You'll be lucky if you get an aftermarket one that works as it should. If you're on the side of the road with an overheating car, go for it. It'll get you home. But otherwise, go with an OEM Subaru one from the dealership.

So I want to update this thread. The car started running worse. Sometimes it would run rough at idle, and I'd only have barely any throttle or full throttle. Anywhere in the middle and it would just bog down and the whole car would shake/vibrate. I didn't pay attention to the RPMs, but it happened most often around 60 MPH. I have installed a new TPS (got a used one off eBay). I installed it and noticed no difference. Car was still running rough. Also, when in neutral or park, if I rev it, it sputters until ~2000 RPM and then it revs fine. I threw a new fuel filter on there, but that didn't change anything either. I also notice that if I have it in drive, it seemingly shifts from second gear to fourth gear. Then after about 5 seconds, it decides to go into third gear. I remember seeing a couple threads on the "skipping third gear" problem. I'll have to find those again. Ugh, I'm getting a tad confused. Apparently the TCU is behind the radio/center console? I'll have to take a look. Have I ever mentioned that I hate automatic transmissions?

Another little excursion into the woods. I there was an uphill rock climb that I wanted to go up for a while, but didn't want to go up alone. Brought my friend and went up the hill. Was actually pretty disappointing. Wasn't as difficult of a climb as I thought, and just ended shortly due to a mudslide/washout. But running at 15 psi in my tires makes driving over rocks super comfortable! Anyways, got some good pictures!

Exactly. I didn't have big drill bits to drill the holes through the lift blocks originally. But now I bought the step drill bit set from Harbor Freight, and it works amazingly well.

Just figured I'd give a quick update to my steering failure adventure, since you guys responded. What caused me to lose steering was half of my engine subframe bolts sheered off. My Loyale is lifted, and I have a subframe drop. When I originally put the drop in, I didn't have any big drill bits and I was too cheap to buy some. So I decided it would be fine to just run skinny 1/4" bolts to hold my subframe on. Fast forward a couple months, and after ~500-750 offroad miles and jumping my car 4-5 times, they finally gave way. That night, the two driver's side subframe bolts snapped, which caused the entire engine to hang low on the driver's side. This, of course, pulled on the steering column to a point where the u-joint got pulled off. Good thing I did not drive fast that night, because I didn't notice the subframe bolts until the day after. Since I have the proper tools now, I currently have much bigger bolts holding the engine up. Not sure what the diameter is, but they're the same size bolts as the factory ones except longer. I also have both lock nuts and lock washers. My new bolts are also a stronger metal than the OEM ones. If these fail in any way, I will probably quit life. You're guys' stories are very interesting. I love reading these stories. And don't even get me started on ball joints. I would write about the night I lifted my car, but I think I already wrote a post in this thread back in February of this year. Yeah, yeah, I did. It's on page 226 of this thread. Go check it out. That was a fun night too.

I suppose I'll have to put my wagon up on jack stands and see what my driveshaft and u-joints look like. Visually, everything looks fine, but I'm sure once it gets spinning I'll notice something. And I always keep stuff in my Subie. I never leave home without a lighter, tow strap, ratchet straps, hunting knife, water, road triangle, spare timing belt, spare light bulbs, and some other things that I forget. I always have pretty much everything required to spend the night in the woods. Only thing I don't have is a jack in case I get a flat.