Subaru Scott

You will have to take it apart and weld, or otherwise lock the center diff.

Probably just low tire pressure.

So, GD, you really DON'T hone the cylinders with a new set of rings? I'm just asking because I've never tried that. And it goes against everything I was ever taught. I'm all for it, if it works! You've really had better success with seating the rings on a smooth cylinder?

Just out of curiosity, how much did they quote for a regrind, if you don't mind me asking?

I think you have been a victim of marketing hype, sorry to say. Like General Disorder said, Subaru horizontally opposed engines are inherently balanced. I would send it back for a refund. Rockauto has new balancers for 40 bucks, IF there is really something wrong with yours, like, it came loose because someone changed the timing belt and didn't torque it properly. A common problem I've seen these days since "the trick" of propping a breaker bar against the frame rail when you don't have, or can't make the special tool to get the crank bolt loose, is becoming well known, and then it get's "tight enough" upon reassembly...

Yeah, I've done the dolly thing too. But the rental place isn't close to me, it's usually a hassle; they don't have it available when I want it, or it's NOT THERE when I have it reserved. And it costs over 60 bucks when I own a really nice towbar.

I have had this theory for several years, but have never tried it. Wondering if anyone here has ever tried just, filling the transmission slam-full with ATF. Then, even though the pump isn't running, everything still has plenty of oil, right? I have successfully towed (towbar) autos with the engine idling. But looking to snag me a parts car which may or may not run. And yes, I need the trans.

Oh, I forgot to add, 800 for battery, cables, and a fuse box?? I've never seen a fuse box go bad. You should be able to get a top-of-the-line battery and cables installed for around 200. I doubt the cables are bad either, probably just need cleaning. Find another garage.

Sounds like you probably need to have the fuel injector o-rings replaced. That is fairly common on that car for the age and mileage. It should not be an expensive repair, mostly labor. I would try to find a local independent shop that specializes in Subarus. Taking it to a dealer can get very expensive. I know, I used to work at them.

Start searching ebay JDM for a dual range EJ trans. Best of both worlds and no adapters, etc. They don't come up often, you have to keep your eyes peeled. Sometimes they don't even know it's a dual range, just look at the pics for the shift lever!! I got one with under 50k miles for 700, shipped. It came from Canada, so maybe you're close enough to pick up for about half the price!

+1 I'm getting ready to start a similar build.

Well. #1, your crankcase is too full. Hopefully, it's just oil from being overfilled by mistake. But it could also be from a coolant leak, or even fuel from a stuck float. First thing to do is drain the oil and check to see if it looks milky, (you can probably see that on the dipstick too) or really runny and stinking like gas. #2, your pcv valve needs to be properly hooked up or at the very least plugged, so it's not creating a huge vacuum leak. Find some pictures on here to see what hoses you may be missing.

No need to bother with cutting/flaring your lines at all. Not unless you're building a show car. Auto parts stores have several different lengths. Just buy some unions and get as close as you can with what they have. Just take the long way round or even bend an "s" or a loop if you have way too much length. Ziptie it up and head down the road!

Check the little u-joint on the linkage where it hooks to the transmission. Mine was making me berserk with pretty much the same symptoms, and I found the bushings were shot in that joint. With just that little bit of slop, it was hitting two shift rails at the same time, and the interlock was stopping it. Even though I was pulling it to the sides as far as it would go. One of the pivots in that joint is "non-servicable," it has a pin through it which is peened like a rivet. I just ground the peened part off, and then drilled and tapped a small hole in the end of the pin for a 1/4-20 screw to hold it in. I used pieces of nylon tubing for replacement bushings. Shifts perfectly now, and I had to take back all the swear words I called the clutch

Castrol GTX 20-50 in the summer for me the last 30+ years. 10-40 in the winter. I guess if I had something really fresh and tight, I might go thinner, but never owned anything really with less than 100k miles. I know synthetic is superior, and will go for a lot more miles, but I just can't stand to run dirty oil in my engines. When it starts getting dirty, about 4k, I change it. Synthetic, for my usage, is not worth the extra cost. Maybe for much higher horsepower? Since I've used Castrol, I've never had a bearing or piston failure of any kind, EVER! My EJ22 daily driver has almost 500k hard miles, puling trailers, etc. I have a lead foot and drive aggressively. That engine has never been apart, and still has 180 psi compression in all 4 cylinders... I don't know how I could give a better testimonial. Be aware that some recommendations, even from the factory, are influenced by factors other than what is best for engine longevity. The trend toward thinner oils is MOSTLY just to get better mileage ratings. The increased oil change intervals are pretty much all about less cents-per-mile. Which is how many cars are rated by Consumer reports, etc. and what fleet buyers base their decisions on. I was told this by a Subaru factory rep. Of course, oils ARE much better now than in the past, and you CAN get away with less frequent changes. But I think I'll stick to my program boys, thank you.

It really is a tough call sometimes. Obviously, the best case scenario is to keep an eye on your boots and replace when they first fail with OEM boots. The stainless boot clamps they used to sell at the dealer, that wrapped around twice, then went through a cinch band and folded over, were the best by far and required no special tools. I used to use a gasket scraper braced against the cinch band and pull the tail tight with linemans pliers, then fold over and stake with a center punch, just for good measure. And that was back in the days when EACH JOINT was $350 at the dealer, and there was no aftermarket. But when you buy a car, or repair one that has had the boot ripped for who-knows-how-long, you run the risk of rebooting joints that are too fargone and will continue to click on sharp turns... don't ask me how I know. All I can say is it sure is depressing to remove, clean, reboot and re-install, just to have the same horrible noise when you are done. And I never figured out how to tell when a joint was too worn to make that call. My personal experience has told me that, once they start clicking, they're DONE! I have had good luck so far with the aftermarket replacements from Rock Auto. And for $60 for a complete axle, shipped... it's hard to argue. But if any of you in the midwest run across CV boot bands with a center punch mark on the boot band, that was me , I did thousands...

I'm almost certain the "T2" indicates 4.11... almost.

Wow.. that thing is hideous!!! Way to butcher up a nice Brat.

I was thinking maybe cutting a slot in the rail and putting a port-a-power ram inside. Pulling it would probably be easier if you had a good pull point.

Chain it to a tree... get a running start... I think this may justify getting one of the Harbor Freight port-a-power sets I've always wanted. I just usually make do with a bottle jack and wood blocks...

Well Matt, not sure who fed you that 10% rule, and not trying to start an argument, BUT ; I can speak from nearly 40 years of trailering experience that a fixed percentage of towing mass per tongue weight is completely invalid. I have personally experienced the "woo-woos" only twice in all the years I've towed. The first was when I had no idea what I was doing, and had zero or negative tongue weight, and the second was when I was in a hurry, letting others hitch up and tell me "Good to go!" As long as you have positive tongue weight, you shouldn't get the woo-woos. There are other factors involved, but in general I feel that tongue weight must be tailored to the tow vehicles capacity. Yes, more is better with a heavy trailer, but never overload the tow vehicle or hitch. In just the example of the picture I previously posted, I had every bit of 8000 pounds behind me, and damn sure had nowhere near 800 pounds of tongue weight! That tow vehicle has stock Outback struts. I pulled many, many trailers full of limestone with that much weight or more with the same vehicle for years when I was building stone walls. Here's another pic, same vehicle, different body. Pulled from Ft. Lauderdale to Charleston, SC. Had to pile as much weight as I could in the back of the boat just to get the tongue weight UNDER 200 pounds. Found out when I got there that all the foam under the floor was completely saturated with water. Was probably pushing 10,000...

Yeah, I've seen them so sloppy that the reluctor was just bouncing around, triggering 2 or 3 sparks per cycle, backfiring and stopping the engine dead. But NEVER saw the electronics fail on a Hitachi, ever. As long as the engine had GOOD, clean oil, they didn't have a problem. But the least bit of sludge would fill in the spiral groove in the distributor shaft that fed oil to the upper bushing. Be sure to also thoroughly clean the centrifugal advance mechanism and lube with a little marine grease.

I used to rebuild these with bushings from a small machine shop. Definitely worth rebuilding, as the Hitachi electronics will last indefinitely. As opposed to the Mitsubishi distributors, usually found on 2wd models, which will wink out without warning and leave you walking... don't ask me how I know.

Yes, thanks, I forgot to mention having a good cooler for an automatic. What I've read on this forum and others is the 4EAT can be extremely durable even for off road/canyon crawling if you keep them cool. They got a bad reputation when first introduced because the factory cooling tube in the radiator would clog with band material and cause overheating. They installed filters in 91, I believe, to fix that. But a good aftermarket cooler installed in front of the radiator/condenser is cheap and will definitely keep that auto under the car and off the bench! Have one on my 94 SVX with almost 200k, and the tranny shows no signs of slipping. And yes, if I had my dithers, I'd have a different vehicle for every day of the week! But, unfortunately, like most of us, I don't have the option of keeping multiple cars at my house. And even if I did, I wouldn't want to shell out the money to plate, and more importantly, redundantly insure every single vehicle,,, even though I can only drive ONE CAR AT A TIME!!!! ...don't get me started. The other point I forgot to make is that tongue weight is normally completely adjustable, and up to your discretion. If you load your trailer right, where you can just pick up the tongue with one arm, till it clicks up against the ball, you got about 100-150 lbs tongue weight. If you have a car or boat on the trailer, move them accordingly. Easy. Too much, and your tow vehicle sags like a dog. Not enough, and it will wag like a water snake.

What a bunch of candy rump roast crybabies "Oh, Bluto, I don't know, we might get in trouble or something!" Here's how you tow an SVX: That rig just has an EJ22 with almost 500k miles on it and I tow trailers weekly. Sure with a load like that it's 50 mph in 4th at max, but that's once in a blue moon. OK, realistically, that was WAY too much to try and tow safely, especially for a four hour trip. But the point is you don't need big hp to pull a trailer, especially on flat ground. Stopping is what you need to be concerned with! As was said before, take your time, be careful, and use common sense. Keep your eyes focused as far down the road as you can. If you even think you might have to slow down ahead, slow down now!! If you just need to pull an SVX on a dolly a couple of times a year on flat ground, there is no reason you can't do it with even a 4 cylinder Outback or Baja. Get the car you want. Use it! It's a Subaru