88SubieSnack

Battery and cables/terminals Alternator Plugs, wires, cap, rotor

Driver side done: Now under the hood:

Steering rack and pinion w/ new mounting bushings New exhaust manifold gaskets. (had to remove the manifold for the steering removal) Had the knuckles hot tanked. Then new bearings and seals. Wanted to replace both backing plates and dealer said I bought the last one in the country. Thought it would be cool to add it in. Ready for install: Done:

Hell everyone. Did a few repairs recently and would like to share with you. Repairs: Front KYB struts, bellows, top hat bearing assembly Rear KYB struts, bellows, bushings (sorry no pics) Rack and pinion w/ new mounting bushings Beck Arnley ball joints Moog outer tie rods Beck Arnley wheel bearings/seals New exhaust manifold gaskets Passenger knuckle backing plate Cap, rotor, NGK plugs and wires Battery, alternator, battery cables Sorry I do not have pictures for the following. I had recently busted a timing belt, so I bought the entire GATES t-belt component kit. Replaced rear lift gate support struts and blower fan resistor.

Hi there! I just read somewhere on here about MAF Cleaning. My car had similar bogging in accelerating definitely when cold, and I sprayed some carb/throttle cleaner through the MAF sensor. It definitely helped out with "cold start and drive it" type of driving. Like when you're running late and hop in and go. I think the MAF sensor got dirty from age. Try spraying the heck out of the sensor and then reconnect it and fire it up. It might take a few turns to burn off the cleaner. Then next time you cold start it, drive it immediately and see if its better now.

I have a set awaiting install. And am concerned about this? These axles definitely look beefy. Is that why you say they hit when at full lock? It looks like the more beefy area is the inboard section of the axle. Can you tell where it is hitting when you are at full lock? Thank you for your input.

Hi there. Nice looking XT! Do you have any hard or soft codes? I haven't dealt with my situation, but my scanner says that I have a soft code 23 or 24 (can't remember) which is my air control meter (mass air flow sensor). I fire it up cold and has a 2k idle and drops to normal idle after a few minutes. Occasionally my idle will jump around 800-1600 rpm when I drive it then I come to a stop with engine still running, and then check engine light illuminates. If I start driving again the check engine light turns off and the idle is back to normal. I can also peep through under my steering wheel and see the code pulsing its corresponding light sequence on the engine computer. This is definitely a soft code because it is intermittent and I can clear it with my scanner tool and the check engine light turns off. I am not sure if this info helps, but It could be your air control meter. Or something completely different. You say the previous owner had the battery backwards, so that may have damaged some electrical component. I hope you come to a conclusion shortly with your tune-up in post #28.

Here are a few more. Dirty, but having fun.

Christmas 2015. My daily driver, all original, 5-speed dual range.

Yepp. Focus entirely on the three small lines when you try it again. Like 87subbomber wrote: Then double check your distributor position and your rotor should be close to spark plug #1 or really close. Timing the engine will bring it closer to #1. If you need info for timing we can help with that too.

Just curious...when you say you reset the cam to its original position, then you rotate the flex plate to the zero degree position, is that the marks with TDC markings and numbers or three small lines? When you set your flywheel to the middle of the three small lines your driver cam dot should be up. Install belt. Rotate 360 degrees back to middle line. Install 2nd belt. Rotate 360 degrees back to middle line. Distributor positioned at spark plug #1. That is also if you didn't remove the distributor, but you did replace the engine. Did you transfer the distributor from old engine to new one? The flywheel has two groups of markings. 1). Three lines for Distributor/Timing belt serve markings 2). Larger group of lines/numbers for setting the timing with a timing light. Hope I can help you. Will

Welcome aboard! Thought I paid the least for my wagon. You outdid me.

^^ Sounds about right. Double check and let us know.

Alright I have an exciting update!! Yesterday I removed the driver side timing cover and found that the driver side timing belt was really loose...about 1-inch of travel up and down. A lot of slack. So today I removed the passenger timing cover and the passenger timing belt had better tension but still a little bit of slack. So now for the exciting part! I reset the tension on both timing belts and fired it up. No more noise and now this little motor purrs better than before! Definitely a relief and piece of mind. Maybe the slack in the driver timing belt was causing free play somewhere inline of the distibutor during idle...don't know for sure. All I know is that my belts are tensioned properly and the noise is gone! There is about 30k on these belts so I think they stretched a bit. Anyways I hope this may help anyone out there with an engine noise, and that I recommend them to check the timing belt tension FIRST! Thank you!

Hi there, I just read in Chilton's repair manual that they recommend replacing a timing belt once it is removed from the engine. So I would say 'NO' to a used belt...And I agree with GrossGary 100%. It would also be worth it to buy a complete timing belt component kit of a reputable brand. All pulleys included. I bought mine off of rock auto and so far about 30,000 miles. I just checked earlier today that my driver belt tension is finally loose and needs adjustment. And just like GrossGary said, the driver side has more load/pulleys/bends. I hope this is helpful. Kind regards.

Hi everyone, A few weeks ago I noticed a noise in my engine. Oil level at the time was normal and dark. I then changed the oil and filter with my normal 10w40. Still has a very audible noise coming from the driver cylinder head. I replaced the distributor assuming a bad bearing because most, if not all of the noise was heard there through my stethoscope. Not the case, so I re-installed the original distributor and am back to square one. Please view my video and if you want, you can jump to minute 3:15. The audio did not turn out that well for the warm up, but sounds better at minute 3:15. Thank you for your help and any input would be helpful. Will

Welcome aboard fellow Washingtonian!!

Thank you. More pictures coming tomorrow. Along with a bit of pricing and thinking of my next assignment for this vehicle. It may be delayed until the spring, and or summer of next year, but will definitely be a main modification goal for the time being. I am starting to gather the necessary components for an EJ22 engine swap. Stay tuned for my build thread in the appropriate category. A little about myself. I have automotive knowledge built up that has me as a dealer technician. I just sold a modified civic with a motor that I rebuilt. But now I am stepping down from Honda's and checking out Subaru modifications, swaps, conversions, and performance. I really like the 1990-1994 Subaru Legacy sedan. I am thinking of purchasing one soon for a daily driver as I tinker with the EJ22 project. I may even buy a second one for a swap parts car. Stay tuned. Thanks.

Hello everyone. I have a 1988 Subaru GL 5-speed Dual Range station wagon. This car is great!! Best $650 I ever spent!! Runs great and is very reliable. I have taken this thing through snow, tractor farm fields, and rutted out forest roads. Very impressed with this little rig. Shortly after purchase, I disabled the vehicle for the winter of 2012 for a complete work over. Resealed all oil leaks with new gaskets, replaced head gaskets; water pump; oil pump; timing belts and clutch kit. Along with distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, and wires. Recently replaced in 2014 were 4 tires; front pads, rotors, and calipers; transmission and rear diff fluids; and a rusted out muffler. As of now this car is my daily driver, 40 miles a day, 5 days a week...at a minimum. Average 23-25 mpg daily in stop and go traffic, and about 30 mpg freeway. Eastbound interstate 90 (I-90) averaged 350 miles per 12 gallons (full tank). That is incredible!! Here is a picture of this proper vehicle: I will be adding additional photos soon. Thank you.