ystrdyisgone

I think he was referring to 10x better than the one he looked at.

Thanks man! That's good to know about the multiple coats of seafoam. I really do want to lift it, and I even had a BOSS lift in my hands a couple months ago. I ended up selling it though, money was tight and without having any sort of shop to work in I am leery of starting in on the major modifications. If I lift it I'm going to want to do some crossmember spacing, which seems a large task for this backyard mechanic.. And than there's always that "EJ it!" in the back of my mind..

This little subaru just keeps on trucking. She's up to 193k now, the old EA82 just got some new seals: crank, cam and side seals, and best of all a timing belt change. The belts were ridiculously cracked, I was very surprised they hadn't snapped on me. Put some nice lightly used idlers on there as well. Just from doing the seals alone my oil pressure reads much higher, she still seems to be running through/burning the same amount of oil though. I fear what the rear main seal is looking like. All of the seals that were replaced looked original. :/ I've had a rear air deflector for a few months now, finally got around to putting it on today. It's an EA82 deflector, with EA81 feet, so the angle is different than most EA82 wagons, but I'm pretty sure it will still do the trick. I used some little grommet things below the feet to cut down on vibration, as well as put some silicone around each hole I drilled, I'm hoping that will be very rust preventative. Before: After: I also did a little shining up of the plastic on the car, taking the advice of AKGhandi I used seafoam on all the bumpers, mudflaps, and trim. It definitely looks a lot better than before! Before: After: Next up on my list of repairs is tracking down the heating problem, I've already replaced the resistor pack and the switch assembly, had the blower motor out today it LOOKS good, but I didn't dig in too far. I'm guessing it's either the relay or the motor itself. Also I have to fix my rattling exhaust, may just get a new exhaust from the y-pipe back. And my steering rack needs some attention/replacement, DS seal has started to leak and I have started to feel a clunk when rotating the steering wheel. I'll probably postpone this repair as long as possible.

I actually no longer work at this shop. That sounds like something he would have though. If you would like to call him and see if he'll ship to you, the number is 406.388.1800 Be forewarned, he likes to get top dollar for these old gen parts.

Thanks for the reply Fairtax, all of the good information definitely helps in this decision! I was definitely planning on using that as a bargaining tool, timing belts and//or head gaskets. As far as finding a new transmission, are they exclusive to the forester only or are they shared between models? Thanks again

Hello all, Here's the story: I'm looking to buy my wife a new(er) subaru. Right now she's driving around my 87 GL, which is a pretty solid little car, but truth be told, I wish I was driving it . So I came across this Forester on craigslist http://bozeman.craigslist.org/cto/3946313491.html and am intrigued. I am a fairly capable mechanic, and have done a couple transmission swaps before, but I don't have a transmission jack anymore. Do you guys think it's worth offering around $1000 and putting a new transmission? I am more familiar with the older gens and am not to0 informed about quirks of the newer gen models. Is this transmission known to fail in a certain way? Also, if my research is correct, this car has a SOHC? Which I'm told is preferred to the DOHC 2.5s. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

I think I missed something.. what's up with the water tube?

Any recent progress on this baby?

Welcome to the board! Is your Loyale 2wd or 4wd? If it's 2, and you find you are in need of new shoes/pads. I've got some brand new Bendix brake shoes sitting here that I could part with for real cheap.

From what I've gathered I think it's at Subaru of America in New Jersey, not sure it that's "Liberty" or not.

Found these pics of an all original 35000 mile ff1, thought you guys would enjoy. http://imgur.com/a/DVq6D

Thanks for the responses guys! I figured it wasn't too big of a problem, as she still seems to be running just fine. It's nice to have some additional opinions though.

Hello everyone, I haven't been on here in a while! Something happened to my poor subie a couple weeks ago, and I haven't been able to put my finger on what actually took place. I'm hoping you guys can help shed some light on the subject! So here's the information of the event: Wife and I took it up in ze mountains, took her off road for the first time. We were about two miles into the woods, had it in 4wd Lo the whole time, went through some steep stuff, never had the revs past 3k though. Oil pressure was good, temp was good. We came across a log in our way and had to park the car. This is when the "something" happened. Looking back, I should have shut the car off... but I didn't. So she was parked at a downward facing angle, the front left of the car was the lowest point, the back right was the highest point. I don't think it was sitting at more than 20 degrees. So we got out of the car, and started trying to move the logs. The subie idled in that position for about 5 minutes. Getting back in the car I noticed a pretty loud ticking coming from the driver side of the engine(the usual valve?? tick but much louder than normal). As I put it in reverse to back out of the spot white smoke came billowing out of the exhaust, the ticking was really really loud too. I backed it up and put it on flat ground and shut her off for a while. Started it back up ten minutes later, there was a little more smoke, and then it went away. The ticking calmed back down about ten minutes into driving it again. The only ill effect I noticed is that I seem to be burning through oil more quickly now. Other than that it seems fine. Did I just burn some oil? Any chance of damage to my engine? Thanks ahead of time

Hello all, I am hitting the road in two months and am going wherever it takes me(1000s of miles/months of travel). I have an 87 GL Wagon which will be my chariot. I plan on replacing the water pump and hoses before the trip, and bringing a spare radiator along. I will also be mostly resealing the engine before the adventure. The area I need the most advice in is the tire/lift/axle situation. It currently is not lifted, and has 185s on it. I do however have a 2" BOSS lift, some 6 lug nissan wheels, and some 26 inch tires. Now originally this was going to be my head to the mountains rig, which would work wonderfully with the above mentioned changes. But now, it has become a road trip/car camping rig. My question is, should I still do the modifications for the times when we do take it off road? Or do the negatives outweigh the positives in this situation? It will be about 80% highway driving, 20% town and possibly offroad for camping. Another thought was that the increased sidewall height would make the highway driving a bit smoother?? I guess I'm looking most for input from guys who DD their lifted rigs, but I am open to all opinions. Thanks

For the studs, I've heard the double-nut method works well. (Thread one nut on a good ways, then another. Tighten them to each other, then crank on the innermost one to remove the stud.)

I've heard an ea81 carb swap is recommended. That or a Weber, if you really want to do it right.

Hey guys, I've been doing some searching but can't seem to find a good writeup for the rear disc conversion. I would like to be aware of things to look out for, necessary modifications to brake lines. Is it just a direct bolt-on procedure? Thanks ahead of time.

Thanks! Ha yeah I thought about doing something with the EJ22, maybe JB weld it on top of my ea82 stamp, just for fun? OR I could put the badge somewhere on the body when this wagon inevitably gets its heart swapped.

Work was fun tonight. Popped the hood of the outback in the bay and was greeted by this: About an hour and a half later: The dog and I headed down to the river after work. Here's the wagon waiting for us when we got back. I love these cars. There is absolutely nothing special about their appearance, a box from the 80s. But it's MY box from the 80s, and I can rely on her to get me just about anywhere. Grabbed some tires off Craigslist today for 80 bucks. Had to get those for the new rims that I picked up, some old yota steelie 15x6's. I may get some different ones tomorrow though. These ones are a bit too plain. Awww shucks... the tires I got are too big and won't fit on the car! Good thing I'm ordering my lift tomorrow, as well as taking some hubs and rotors down to the ol machine shop. Updates soon to follow.

I am interested as well. I was actually thinking about doing this to my wagon today, but woke up to snow and wind :-(. Woes of a driveway mechanic...

Like you have a gas-powered pedal car as well? Or are you referring to your full-size Brat?

I'll check our stock at work on Tuesday, and will get back to you.

Not so sure actually. I have been helping with inventory and have come across some NOS boxes. A few things I have seen include, upper door trim panel for Gen 2s, wheel bearings, hmm, there's more but they aren't popping up in the old noggin. I will take a look on monday to get more specifics. Or if there is something you guys are looking for in particular I can check that out too. Like I said, SOME is NOS. Not sure how much, the rest is lightly used, and I have no problem taking pics to show the condition of items before proceeding with any sales. Mitch

Called him again this morning to try to negotiate price. Seller got pretty worked up, started swearing and whatnot. I think I'll pass.. Thanks for the input guys.

Yeah, it is. I am so set on getting one of these though, that I'm near to convincing myself to just buy it. But yeah... it is in pretty rough shape. Maybe I should just wait it out til another one comes along.