Subaru Scott

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/163470-super-cheap-93-legacy-wagon/

"Let me get the straight. While I was walking into a dealership in 94 and the salesman was talking up the product, the farm trucks were supposedly carting off the junk parts out the back door because everything about it was crappy and failing and there wasn't a good thing to be said about it. So if all this is accurate, then Subaru is an unethical company that lies to customers to get them to buy junk." WHAAAT? A car salesman? LIED to you?? Yes, Virginia, because they are paid only on commission. Same goes for the technicians, which is why they always seem to "find" something wrong with your car when you stop in for an oil change. That's why I left the dealerships, I have a conscience. "Jesus Christ, you seriously do not know about the Battleship Missouri, upon which the Japanese signed the documents of surrender for WORLD WAR II? After the condom cucumber demo they never taught US history? If you tell me you are a millennial or stoner I will forgive you, be disgusted but forgive you. " Oh gosh, if I start being a stoner, will you forgive me? I have many, many, many hobbies, one of which is not keeping up with nicknames of 70 year old war machines. I do find it incredibly ironic that a guy bashing me for WW2 trivia has been driving a leaky, underpowered, Japanese econobox for the last 23 years, that he bought new!

I've started using a good grade of marine grease instead of anti-seize. It seems to stay in place much better even on fasteners running in saltwater. The added bonus is, it doesn't seem to automatically GET ON EVERYTHING as soon as you open the bottle!!

Sounds like a bad vacuum leak to me.

I said: the TRANSMISSION DOES NOT CARE AT ALL ABOUT SHIFT POINTS.

OBD changed in 95-96, Transmissions changed in 98-99. Two separate changes. Between those changes, all cars were OBD 2 with phase 1 transmissions. There were some small changes in the transmissions, but nothing that will throw a code or cause a problem. All you need to be concerned with is the final drive ratio. Whatever you're unplugging, (probably the cruise control unit) it is not the TCU, which has everything to do with shift points, but it needs to match the vehicles OBD.

You are still confusing phase 1 with OBD 1. When we say phase 1, we are speaking of the transmission. When we say OBD 1, we are speaking of the on board diagnostic system. Your 94 SVX is OBD 1 with a phase 1 4EAT transmission. The 98 Impreza is OBD 2 with a phase 1 4EAT transmission. You MUST use the SVX TCM. The transmission DOES NOT CARE AT ALL ABOUT SHIFT POINTS.

That's like saying: "I love my wringer washer, and I don't mind spending several hours every week doing my laundry, cause that's how I remember the happy times with grammaw." or, "I have no use for an electric drill, my dads old brace and bit will get this hole drilled, eventually." First gen EJs were non-interference. What else you got? Overhead cams and MPFI have been around for decades before the EA82. EA81 cars had MPFI. Anyone with enough money and access to a good machine shop CAN make replacement parts for EA82s, Model T's or over-glorified war machines. If that makes you happy, go nuts! Most of us have antique or sentimental items that may be worth nothing to anyone else, and this has nothing at all to do with "taste." I'm talking about practicality for a daily driver, not a hobby car or family heirloom. This is the OPs ONLY car! That, quite frankly, makes me feel a little claustrophobic... If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only have one car... Nonaof4, dude, 26 years, don't you ever yearn to know what else is out there? If you had a friend who had a fat, lazy, cheating wife who was draining his bank account, wouldn't you tell him to ditch the b**ch? Or just let him be, because he still loves her and has fond memories of the past. OK, that might be a ridiculous example, but not as much as a trip to Hawaii to see Mighty Mo, whatever that is. I'm just trying to help you understand, because if you've never experienced the difference, you have no idea. And when you do, just like I did, you'll say, "What was I thinking?" If you're really attached to the car, if it fits your needs and you like the styling, (my daily is currently sporting an XT body)... just swap in an EJ. Maybe you're sick of hearing that, but THERE'S A REASON you keep hearing it. Those of you who maintain your own EA82s because you know the platform well and have parts stockpiled and have to spend very little for maintenance, I can appreciate that. I was once among you. But life is short, and time is money. And WHEN you come to that next major engine repair, you should really consider... I mean, theres a member on this forum right now trying to give away a running first gen Legacy!!! How much are you spending for gaskets?

1-2 degrees of camber is not going to give significant tire wear like that. Most likely they are toed out. You can check yourself and actually get very close with just a tape measure and some straight edges. I use a couple small pieces of angle iron about 30" long, and just tie them onto the outside of the wheels with string. Get them just low enough that you can get a tape under the body and measure front and back. Then adjust with the cam bolts on the transverse links. You'll want them just ever so slightly toed in to dead even. You can sight down the straightedges to keep them parallel to the fronts. That should cure the tire wear, and then if you like, of course, you can take it to an alignment shop to get it perfect. Is there an iphone app for alignment yet?

Sure thing! 59 huh? You may have me beat. Is that counting parts cars?

If they are threaded inserts that crimp in? Northern tool has those and the install tool. The inserts are available in stainless too. I used it to put a roof basket on my XT. Worked super, looks factory, (well, the inserts do anyway) and didn't have to remove or butcher the headliner.

"EJ engines had such a problem with HG failure that Subaru had a WP-99 advisory. Was there ever one on the EA82? I would be interested to know." You betcha, and then some!! 3 different campaigns for CRACKING cylinder heads. Mostly on the turbo models, but many N/A heads cracked too. The castings were updated TWICE before they got it under control in 89. Our dealership literally hauled truckloads of EA82 cylinder heads to the scrapyard in the mid-late 80s. 2 for the infamous "double-walled" exhaust system (that trick never works). A guy used to come around once a month in an old grain truck to be able to pack all those away. Luckily, those fell under the 5 year/50k mile emissions warranty. I warrantied complete exhaust systems for every car that came into my bay, because I KNEW they were ALL going to crack. And then there was one for the ultra-thin finned radiators that would simply vaporize in the salt-belt. Those are the ones that immediately come to mind... there were more. I guess I should be thankful, in a way. To quote a character from SNL: EA82 "been bery, bery, good to me!" I raised 3 kids with EA82 money. It was mostly those timing belts. So, so, so, many timing belts. I'm sure I could still change a pair in my sleep. The main populous had no clue they needed to replace their belts at 60k, MUCH LESS adjust them at 15k!! Never before, and never since, have so many towtrucks showed up at the Subaru DEALERSHIP! That, is a fact. It was disgraceful. Many, many loyal Subaru owners walked away, after being stranded in a new car with 30k miles on it. Sure, there have been other periods of "issues" (headgaskets, cough, cough) which I really don't have dealership-level insight of, like I did back then. But I just don't see how those could hold a candle to all the problems the early EA82s had. As GD said, the first gen Legacies were, quite possibly, the finest Subarus ever. And I really feel sorry for anyone who has never experienced one... you really don't know what you're missing. Green eggs and ham comes to mind... But don't take my word for it, here"s proof: https://www.torquenews.com/1084/why-2015-subaru-legacy-longest-lasting-sedan-road If you have never read about this, you need to. I still have no Idea why Subaru didn't do a better job of publicizing this. Yes, the FIRST YEAR MODEL Legacy took the 100k kilometer land speed endurance record away from Saab, and it stood until 2005, when Mercedes benz finally beat it. This was 18.5 DAYS of WOT on a track in the Arizona desert, stopping only for gas, (they fitted 37 gallon tanks) driver changes, and regular maintenance... there were NO breakdowns. This wasn't just a lucky fluke because they ran 3 cars at the same time, and they ALL broke the records! My personal first gen EJ22, has 500k HARD miles on it, with dino oil. It's in it's 3rd body now. My daily work/tow vehicle for 17 years. I had one injector go bad at 300k, and another just recently. Valve cover gaskets at 350k is the deepest I've been into it. Aside from the oil fill tube o-ring, ALL other gaskets and seals are original! It still has 180 psi compression in all 4 cylinders. If you can show me another engine that can do that, I'll get off my soapbox. If you still prefer to keep your head in the sand, good luck. Keep plugging along in your Loyale. Just keep it out of the passing lane, bub.

Well, if it's knocking, it's done. Time to look for another engine, sorry.

You got a sweet ride there! I'm an Indiana native as well, now residing on Florida's west coast. Welcome to the forum! My advice would be to swap the engine, trans and rr diff first, then see how you like that before swapping suspension, lifting, etc. That's going to be a huge project anyway, and many, many, people get overwhelmed with that alone. One chunk at a time.

^Exactly. I can remember being in love with the EA82, in the before time. I had swapped an EA82T into my 86 hatch and thought it was one of the greatest Subarus ever, as did all my Soobie colleges. Then, when I attended Subaru training update in late 88 for the new Legacy, and saw my first EJ, with it's 4-valve heads and 5 main bearings... the light shined down upon me. Once you go EJ, you never go back. I heard Subaru fired the engineers that designed the EA82...

Yep, anything with the generation 2, or USDM "Leone" bodies are the same.

All I would say is dig into the parts car and see if something is plugged in differently.

What's Shaken?

Grab the Brat and the 93 Legacy and you've got a party!

DOOOOOOODE!!!

Hey Bird, welcome to the forum! What kind of major issues are you having?

Great response man, you get it! 1. You don't need lifters. Unless you've already beat the hell out of them. Replace the oil pump shaft seal, then flush with Seafoam, or good engine flush, or just a quart of ATF. 2. Inform the GF that a donor car is the most economical way to repair/upgrade, and the left over parts can be sold for profit and actually provide a second income that the IRS will be clueless about. 3. Graciously accept scolding from senior members that know what they're talking about because one day, all too soon, you'll be that crotchety senior member with no patience for stoopid noobies

Look man, I'm not trying to squash your dreams or quell your enthusiasm. I think it's great that you are motivated to make something out of parts and components that nobody wants, I do that all the time. I'm just trying to convey to you what I know from years and years of doing just that! Others on here are speaking from their many years of experience too. We've won many battles, and lost a few, now we know how to pick our battles. One such battle is the "tick of death," which is a ridiculous name made up by people who lost that battle and LET their engines die because they never found the problem. I, for one, spent many man-hours in the 80s chasing the tick. Re-sealing cam cases, replacing lifters and oil pump o-rings. I saw others refacing/replacing cam cases, cams and cylinder heads even. Many times these repairs would "work" because it just gave enough of a boost to the system to shut them up for awhile, but it always came back. Then, one time I was dealing with one that just wouldn't shut up for anything. I tried everything. Then, just to at least physically see what kind of flow the oil pump was putting out, I removed the oil filter and attached a clear hose to the pump output port. I ran that into a bucket and then chucked up my right-angle drill to the oil pump shaft. It spun it about as fast as it would turn at aprox 1k rpm. Had great flow! But then I noticed, air bubbles... in the clear hose. It was sucking air past the shaft seal. Which appeared to be in fine shape, very pliable still, not leaking a drop of oil. So then I fixed it. And dozens after that. And as long as you haven't driven hundreds of miles with the lifters hammering, the only thing your car needs is that seal. Saying the only engine you can afford is from a junkyard is absurd, unless you have found a "giveaway Don's" yard where prices are what they were 30-40 years ago. Donor cars from private individuals are the ONLY way to go for a budget build. You say you have time and patience? Great! That's exactly the position to be in to find a rusted-out, or otherwise running car with other "major" issues from someone that just needs it gone. There are running SVX's going for 500 bucks with bad bodies and transmissions. So, that's everything you need to make a super hotrod out of your car. 600 more cc's, double overhead cams and 4 valve heads! You can even swap over the hubs and brakes if you're really up for a challenge. OK, you'll need an EJ trans or an adapter for yours, but again, a donor car with a good 5-speed and diff, 2-300 bucks. Yes, I see them all the time, even here in the land of few Subarus. Just set up an alert on craigslist for any Subaru listed. The XT's are cool cars. and I'm just guessing from your location that the car has very little, if any rust. So it's worth fixing up. But don't waste a lot of time on the ER, really. If it runs good, I'd slap an oil pump seal in and start looking for a donor SVX. If you can afford a little more, Start looking at JDM STI packages.

Yeah, ^ and try to find one with a double lip, like an outboard motor prop shaft seal, so it won't ever SUCK AIR!!