GeneralDisorder

Yeah I can understand the concern. But really you have like 8 bolts torqued to 55 ft/lbs. Chances of it moving are really freakin slim. If you really want to be careful make sure you thread in all the bolts and then rock the flywheel clockwise before torquing them. This will insure that the shock loading from engaging the clutch will tend to push against the bolts rather than against empty space. You could also get some peices of tubing to cut and put around the bolts to take up the space. Not really an issue in the real world though. GD

It will work when the disc is brand new. But it will slip easier and you will not get the full life out of the disc. With the larger step of the EA81 flywheel it's as if you had put a used clutch in that's at the last 25% of it's life. Sure it will still work but it's only got 25% left till it's too thin to hold without slipping. The larger holes in the EA82 flywheel are of no concern. You use the smaller EA81 bolts and you torque it properly. It does not cause a problem. I've run probably a dozen like this over the years and it's never been an issue. GD

You really need an 81 FSM for this stuff. Personally I'm much more familair with the 83+ wireing because it's a lot more common. I don't know what that timer or that relay are for. I would guess that this mini-harness and fuse tube are for some accessory that was after-the-fact but dealer installed. Like AC or Cruise control. It appears that it's only point is to intercept a main power lead, run it through a fuse, and to....? If it were me I would probably remove this mini-harness and just connect the two ends together. Make note of where it came from in case you need to put it back in later :-p. The combo switch does not need to be grounded. You are going to have to trace the circuit. You need power at the lights. The switch turns on and off the *ground* for the lights. Subaru used a ground controlled lighting system. When the ignition is on the bulbs should always have 12v present. They should only be grounded when the switch is on. Check for +12v at the bulbs. Then try grounding the other side - it should come on. That will narrrow it down to the power supply or the ground switching. There should be at least one or two grounds (ring terminal style) under the dash that are for the lights. And of course the relays. GD

That's all well and good - but the CEL only *flashes continuously* for one reason - continuous misfiring. That means excessive unburned fuel in the exhaust - which means RED HOT cat's (trust me I've seen it numerous times). This is a fire hazard and the car SHOULD NOT be driven. GD

Sorry I should have been more clear - I was just saying that if the seller has nothing to hide and has listed what's wrong with the car to the best of their knowledge (and thus why it's worth $800) then they shouldn't have a problem with someone having it inspected. If I sell something as-is and list what problems it has then I would expect an inspecting mechanic to find at least those problems and possibly anything I had missed (which hopefully I haven't but with an as-is type of sale it's possible even if unlikely). GD

5 speed D/R TOB is made from stamped materials unlike the 4 speed unit. There is not enough material to grind. Same with the fork - it's stamped and unless you grind and weld on it for reinforcing.... not going to happen. Personally I wouldn't mess with them - they already have a tendancy to crack when fatigued. Which is another reason that altering the PP finger location could be an issue down the road - the more force is required the harder the pedal will be and the more load you apply to the fork. Forks are known to crack and snap in half on occasion. GD

Fulltime didn't come out till '87. All the 85/86 RX's are part time transmissions with crappy low range. 87 to 89 RX (with diff lock and D/R) 88 and 89 FT4WD Turbo 5 speed's (diff lock but no D/R) Sound to me like what you need is an EJ AWD tranny. Fulltime doesn't have a center VC. Has a diff lock instead. GD

If you have never rebuilt a carb nor truely understand how they work - I would not start with an EA82 Hitachi. They are complex and a poor choice to learn on. What do you want to acheive with this rebuild? GD

With the newer vintage's of Subaru's - axles are just like any other FWD car axle. Any mechanic that's done a Honda, Toyoya, Mazda, Kia, etc axle will be able to do them. You also may be looking at rust issues so make sure you find someone capable of handling things should they go sideways. Not all shade-tree guys that are good with basic mechanics are good when things don't go the way they ought to. GD

Try it and see. Or - learn how to search. That's what all of us did! If you want to learn from other's then you need to first play our game and do as we ask. You may think that myself and the rest of the guys here are d-bags but we are actually pretty cool. But we aren't going to waste time answering silly questions that are answered in the FAQ stickies. An hour is nothing - I've researched things on here and elsewhere for DAYS and WEEKS before posting a question. GD

Caliper, caliper bracket, and rotor are different. The pads are the same. Usually if you order rebuilt calipers from like rockauto.com, etc they will come with brackets. Vented front rotors was an 83.5 deal. Some late 83's got them. All 84+ got them. They went to vented to stop them from warping and keep them cooler. Rear disc brakes are almost never vented. Even Outback's and GT's don't have rear vented discs. There are some anomoly's out there such as the 91 to 94 Legacy turbo and of course the STi's have them. EA82's were never equipped with such things and they wouldn't really be useful anyhow. The rear's do 20% of the braking and don't need that level of cooling. GD

I have had people take car's I'm selling to "their" mechanic. Never had a single complaint - in all cases they have completed the purchase. GD

Use this site - it's a parts directory for all the salvage yards in the US. You can search for the part you need and then sort the listings by distance and find one close to you, or sort by price and find a good deal then call them. www.car-part.com GD

That is the T/O you need to put the 5 speed clutch in a 4 speed application. I don't think that will fit the 5 speed D/R.... GD

Dealer only on the rubber boot. You don't really need it though. They are about $25 IIRC. GD

Very easy. Get the car high enough to work on, support the transmission with a bottle jack and then drop the cross-member and mount out. Replace the mount and reassemble. Do shifter bushings while you are in there for a nice tight shifter feel. GD

You have very little money - check. You have a cheap, old car with a laundry list of problems - check. You are taking the car to a mechanic - che.... DOH! You need to spend what little money you have more wisely. Use what you save by not going to a mechanic to buy a few critical tools (sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, etc). Special tools can be rented at places like Autozone, etc for free. The definition of a Lemon has clearly not been properly defined for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_law Around here we generally like Subaru's and the specific year and model you have purchased is widely regarded as one of Subaru's more reliable. With *proper* care they can easily last 300k+ miles. Oil pan leaks are uncommon unless they have been resealed in the past - they are effectively glued on from the factory and unless touched for some reason - I will go so far as to say they will NEVER leak. What you are probably seeing is cam seal leaks, cam support o-ring leaks, front main and possibly oil pump seal leaks. And likely valve covers. All these get old, the rubber gets hard, and they need replaced. In addition the engine may be burning oil. There is not really an easy solution to that so you will just have to budget for oil to put in the car if that's the case. Clicking and popping in turns is generally CV joints. But it can be hard to determine which of the front CV's is causing this. It's also not usually a big problem unless the boots are torn. Many people report driving 50k miles or more on clicking CV's. GD

Right - I was refering to the HG's by themselves. That's HG's, Intake, and exhaust gaskets..... I resurface all my heads in-house. I was trying to make the point that it *could* be done for about $100 in parts. Not that you *should* do that. I probably should have been more clear. GD

Call your insurance - it will fall under uninsured motorist coverage. Make sure you have a copy of the police report. Take it to a paintless dent removal place or call one of the mobile services. GD

*Glass bead* is what I run. Sand is much too coarse for alloy. I think shipping from/to Alabama would probably kill the deal for him. Thanks for thinking of me though . After blasting - find a place that does "coatings" - the guys I use do lots and lots of teflon. They also do powder coat and it's about $25 per rim. GD

I would not drive it 500 miles with a flashing CEL. That's an indication of a really serious misfire condition and you could end up stranded. GD

Very important clue there. That's the symtoms of a burnt valve. Depending on driving habits and mileage it can take anywhere from a couple weeks to several months to develop as the cylinder loses more and more pressure from the expanding hole in the valve. The misfire's don't always tell the whole story - the ECU isn't perfect at determining which cylinder a misfire has occured on because it uses a heuristic based on crank angle sensor input - it tries to determine a misfire from the speed changes of the crank durring a single revolution. If a misfire occurs multiple times in the same cylinder durring a specified interval then it will set the CEL flashing to alert the driver and attempt to avoid catalytic converter damage from excessive unburned fuel. I had this happen once due to a loose camshaft pulley bolt (owner did his own HG's while unemployed). It chewed out the locator notch in the drive end of the camshaft and advanced the intake valve timing by about 30 degree's. Also got worse over a period of time. Strange thing in that scenario was that the compression was too *high* on the passenger bank because of the advanced intake valve opening. GD

Often mentioned on here but I've never actually seen it happen when not accompanied by other severe issues and noises - I've seen it happen once on an EJ22 where the water pump completely seized. That's the only one I've witnessed where it actually skipped without breaking. I've seen three times as many burnt exhaust valves from not doing the 105k valve shim adjustment. They run like poo and give all kinds of misfire codes when you blow holes in the exhaust valves. GD

My vote is for burnt exhaust valve. Check compression to confirm. GD

Have you dissasembled the carb and cleaned out the jets, air bleeds, e-tubes, and especially the inlet needle valve assembly? Carbs can get clogged up from sitting for long periods - fuel will evaporate down to "varnish" and it can easily clog small passages. GD