GeneralDisorder

You DO NOT want more offset. That increases the swing arc of your steering and causes you to have to do a LOT more beating and cutting. You want the correct Subaru offset. The Peugeot rims are very close and are an excelent choice. Many of the Toyota rims are close as are some of the older Isuzu truck (Chevy Luv) rims. Proper Chevy rims have too much offset. GD

Love those pesky turbo coolant hoses . Go to the dealer and order EVERY SINGLE coolant line on the car. Save you a lot of headache and blown head gaskets. GD

I just used a 1x2 chunk of pine when mine didn't work. Never got hit in the head . GD

Back-probe the connetor that contains the fuel pump wires and check for power while cranking. Use a DMM or a 12v test light ($5 to $10). For the injector signal you need a Noid light - which you can easily build with an LED, a resistor, and a couple paper clips (again - $5 to $10 or less). Just google it. IMO - everyone who is any kind of mechanic should have at least a cheap DMM ($2.99 at Harbor Frieght), a 12v test light (I like the Hella one for $8) and a Noid light in every car along with all the usual tools. GD

Correct - 105k on the '97+ EJ22's. GD

I'm sure they are fine. I've used the Sach's strut's before. I have a set on my EA81 hatch right now and they are great - the hatch strut's have a MUCH higher rate of failure than the wagon struts - mine have been on for a couple years and I have no complaints. They say that sell Sach's and that's probably what you will get. I think their feedback rating probably says it all - near 30,000 feedback and 99.9% positive. Seems like a straightforward purchase - what are you worried about? They will probably last 10 to 15 years just like the originals and for $50 that seems a pretty fair trade to me. GD

They are annoying to work on - the timing belts, their propensity for valve ticking, weak cooling system..... etc. It's even more annoying that none of this is really fatal and you usually can't justify crushing them over it. I hate them too. The day I never see another one will be a happy day at my shop. Mostly it just really pisses me off that Subaru had to saddle me with these crappy belts and lifters when they could have just hot-rodded the EA81 and had the same damn thing. Basically the EJ22 and the EA81 are considered the two high-points for reliability and ease of maintenance from that era (~ '85 to '95). The EA82 is considered the low point. That's not saying it's a bad engine when viewed amongst car engines from all manufacturers - just when viewed against other Subaru engines of it's time. GD

Well - you can help out by donating to the board. You get more storage space for PM's, pictures, etc. It's a simple $5 paypal. That would certainly help and is encouraged if you find the board useful, etc. Note that I do not run this board or incur it's financial obligations nor am I a staff member. I merely sugest it when people indicate they find this place useful. GD

It does not require complete dissasembly. Replacement of the transfer clutch and the solenoid is about a 2 to 4 hour job. It's a very simple task actually - not at all like soldering on SMD resistors (yeah - I've done my share of computer work). Junk yards, by and large, do not sell bad transmissions, engines, etc. They are pulled from running cars - usually running well enough to get into an accident. They are inspected and cleaned and then sold if everything looks in order. Your chances of getting a bad transmission is very low. It's never happened to me and I have bought dozens. It is completely unfounded for your parents to claim this nor can the words of a transmission shop be trusted (they have monetary gain in mind). Further - it is unlikely that you need the whole tranny. As for you mother not being sure you are up to the task - well that's something YOU should be decideing since you are almost a man now. Stop calling yourself a kid and stop viewing yourself in that light. Speak up for yourself. Tell her you are a man and wish to handle this in your own way. I know how hard this can be - I had to basically join the Army for my mother to realize she didn't have to be my mommy anymore. It's tough but it's got to be done. It is not a Ford - nor is that experience applicable except to someone that has a complete lack of understanding of mechanics and automotive principles. Basically your parents are driven by fear - they are afraid of what they do not understand and are seeking not only a way to not have to face said fear but also reinforcement that their fear is well founded and pragmatic. They do not weigh the options with an open mind. Their fear is debilitating and costly. And that is sad. I understand you are stuck in the middle here with little recourse as you are not the one holding the means to move the mountain..... Just don't let their close-minded, fearful mentality eat into your young brain. Don't become a man that is driven by fear of the world around him. You sought out the answer and found it - just because it wasn't received by your parents doesn't mean it wasn't the right answer. In this case they are wrong and there's nothing you can do about it. But at least you tried. GD

I use my cheap Craftsman ratchet for the "hand impact" method. I have a couple of them and if I break it - oh well. It's just the right length for this method - thus the reason I use it. Breaker bar is too long to hit effectively with a hammer (too much flex). Yeah - maybe you will strip out the guts (I haven't stripped one that way yet but probably will in time) - but who cares if it gets the nut off. I don't abuse my Snap-On stuff like that but the Craftsman..... well it's Taiwan junk anyway plus they will give me another - no questions asked. GD

Yes - you can handle it. Tell her to give you half the money that she would have spent on the transmission and you can buy tools (which will be useful for the rest of your life), and the transmission, and install it in a weekend or two. Explain to her that it is both educational and also adding to your tool collection which is priceless - many of those tools will be useful down the line - maybe to fix your car, or maybe to fix HER car. You never know. A tool is almost never a bad investment - at the very least you could buy craftsman and then return them after the job is done Transmission swap is pretty simple on an automatic. Transfer clutch and solenoid are WAY easier than that. The biggest thing is to come HERE when you are confused or frustrated and we will tell you how to proceed. With a friend, and this forum you can accomplish almost anything on that car. Other than the transfer clutch pack and the solenoid these transmissions are VERY reliable. I have a customer with one that had a little torque bind at 215k - we flushed it out twice. The shifting got a lot smoother and the torque bind is nearly gone - it now has 245k on it. He drives 160 miles a day commute and has put 30k on it in 8 months. With proper maintenance and replacing your solenoid and clutch pack it should easily make 300k. Show her this thread - make her read my comments. Show her my post count and my join date. I work on these for a living - I buy and sell them all the time. I know of what I speak and I'm not asking you for money - so consider my motivation here vs. the dealership. GD

They are normal right-hand threads. Lefty-Loosey is correct. You need an impact or use a 1/2" ratchet and hit the end with a 4lb hammer (repeatedly) till the thing breaks free. Some PB Blaster (or Yeild if you can find some) can help. Let it soak in for a while before going at it. GD

You have to start ruleing out stuff - I'm sorry but that could be almost anything (except the battery obviously ). Check for spark, check for power at the fuel pump while cranking, check for injector signal, etc. Could just be a bad coolant temp sensor and the ECU thinks the engine is warmer than it really is. GD

No - the bolt circle is too large. GD

Heh - I meant that in the nicest possible way - what I meant was that they are worthless because the cars are old, common as dirt, and never seem to die. They are worthless in the same way that a used but good running 350 SBC is worthless..... you can't get any money for them because everyone has one or five in their shed taking up space . I meant "worthless" in the literal sense - they are worth very little money. The EA82 is an OK engine - the timing belts and lifter ticking are annoying and you occasionally have to change a head gasket, etc. But they rarely just up and fail. Personally I find it insulting that Subaru added the OHC's, poor lifter design, etc to the EA81 and only got like 10 to 15 HP from it. They could have easily got that with some bigger valves, larger carb, and a cam regrind on the EA81. But it was all about the marketing - being able to say they have a "New for 1985! SOHC engine with more power!". That's what it was about. GD

Yes - that's an excelent plan. You will gain experience and confidence in your car through fixing these problems yourself. Doing your own maintenance and repair is really the only way a car of this age makes any sense - otherwise you might as well buy a Kia with a 100k warrantee and pay the $199 a month. The "system" that car dealers have in place makes maintaining a vehicles beyond it's warantee prohibitively expensive - they do this so you will buy a new car. GD

New transmission is a huge mistake with that many miles on that model engine - the cost will be more than the car is worth and then you have an old used engine in there. That's a terrible investment when you have maybe 100k to go before the car and it's engine etc is used up and ready for the scrap heap anyway. Why go and buy a transmission that will be good for 300k? You are buying 200k miles of transmission for the guy that gets it when the car is shot. Used transmissions with around 100k on them and in good condition can be had for $750 or less (sometimes a lot less - $250 to $500 is not at all uncommon) - typically with a warantee (usually 90 days but many dismantlers will sell a 1 year extended, etc). Your mother needs her head examined if she thinks thats a good deal because of a warantee (which, BTW will not cover labor - only the part). I would also highly doubt that it needs a whole tranny - typically just a transfer clutch and solenoid (used of course) will fix them right up. The 4EAT automatic that you have in that car is well known as a reliable workhorse - they don't just fall apart. Torque bind because of poor tire maintenace, yes - but that's a repair not a replace sort of problem. Lets say you need a whole tranny - www.car-part.com is a great resource: Ace Auto Wrecking USA-CA(Sacramento): $400 Modesto Auto Wreckers USA-CA(Modesto): $400 That's just two options I pulled up for your area. You call these guys up - ask how much for a tranny with a warantee. You and your neighbor install it in a weekend. That's assuming you don't just need a $100 transfer clutch and a good duty-c solenoid. Don't let your mother waste her money - that's foolish and disrespectful IMO. You came here to get the answers so you could help her (and you) make good decisions. I can only show you the right path - I can't make you follow it - but I will laugh at you when you don't. Might as well just light the money on fire - at least that would be entertaining. :-\ GD

That is normal for these - they very often read 0 on the gauge when warm. Consult your owners manual - it's in there. I just installed a brand new factory oil pump and rebuilt lifters into an EA82 I own - runs absolutely perfect with no valve noises - gauge still reads 0 at idle when hot. If the guage doesn't come up to a higher pressure when the engine is reved then either the sending unit is shot (likely) or the pump is bad. You NEED to verify the pressure with a good shop gauge - the dash gauges are worse than useless. If you don't check the pressure with a second gauge then you don't really know anything and are just throwing parts at the problem (probably the wrong ones). If it's stalling when warm it's not because of a lack of oil. . Trust me on this - it's not getting "tight". You would be here asking where to buy a new engine if that happened even once. There is no choke - Loyale's are fuel injected. Sounds like you may have a bad Coolant Temp Sensor. Have the lifters rebuilt and inspect the oil pump - change the sending unit. Should be fine. These oil pumps don't just "fail" at 130k. I have pulled plenty that were still fine at 250k. Sounds like your mechanic is guessing when he should be testing. You need an oil pressure reading from a quality gauge.... and possibly a new mechanic. No need to tow it - if the lifters aren't ticking then you have adequate oil pressure. Just drive it over and have him test the oil pressure. Engines for these are very cheap - it is unlilkely that is a serious problem and even if it is - a good running EA82 should run you about $100 to $150. They are worthless. I think you are over-reacting frankly. Find out for certain what the problem is before you decide to junk the car - it's very likely a $45 sending unit or something equally mundane. GD

A basic Haynes manual from any parts store will do for now. Any questions you have can be answered here by searching or posting if you can't find anything. There are many of us that do this regularly and can walk you through the process. GD

Yes - it's in the alt. GD

+1. Do it right or have horrible camber. Eats tires like crazy when you build them like that. You need to build camber-adjusted strut tops since the mounts are not horizontal. GD

Some members have had issues with that at higher altitudes and low temps. There are ways to mitigate it though. GD

A few years ago they were fetching a decent amount out here - reason being the trucks they came in were still being used - we don't have that rust problem that you guys in NY have. I can see them being cheap when all those Fords are rusting away out there. Prohibitively expensive to ship though. As noted the bottom dropped out of the market - it was due to all those trucks reaching the end of their service life. Also - many of them were dually's - so not as desireable for the off-road market. GD

Last one I got was at the dealer. Try NASIOC for discussion on this - it's a common failure on the Imps. GD

Was the torque converter fully seated when you bolted up the engine? It should have been about 1/4" or so back from the flex-plate till the 4 mounting screws were installed. If they are not seated properly they can easily damage the oil pump inside the tranny. Same goes for pulling the engine out with the TC attached - the loads that can be placed on the tranny by doing that can easily break the pump. If that's the case you will have to find a replacement transmission. GD