GeneralDisorder

Lots of us have had bad experiences with the chain store axles - NAPA included. For the last few years I've been running EMPI brand axles (new, not reman, and yes they have a lifetime warantee). There's a local import parts house that I get them at for $65 each. They are availible online from a couple sources. EMPI is a well respected name in VW aftermarket and has been for years. A few years ago they started a drive axle product line and the quality has been excelent with good thick boots, etc. I have a set in my EA81 hatch that's been there for several years now without any problems. I've been through all the major brands and pretty much they all suck. There is a rebuilder called MWE that some people here like but other than that the consensus is to either get OEM axles from the dealer, get used OEM axles and clean/reboot them from the junk yard, EMPI, or MWE. No other sources of quality parts have been found. GD

The '94 is the better machine. Lots of cheapness went into the post-'94 models. Little things like plastic door handles instead of metal, plastic AC tensioner nut, cheaper interior and seat construction, and a myriad of other little things. The '94 was the last year for the non cost-cut Legacy. And the Ti is a special edition car. Lower mileage doesn't hurt either. I would go with the '94 every day and twice on Sunday's. To find a Ti wagon with mileage like that - that's a ROCKIN deal and I would probably be hard pressed to not buy that myself and daily drive it. You just can't beat the '90 to '94 Legacy with a 5 speed. A great car and decently fun to drive with the special edition package and the 5 speed. Should have the premium sound system, etc. GD

A "transfer case" in a 4WD system is responsible for transfering power to the front and rear wheels. It "splits" the power into two directions. The Subaru rear output only engages or disengages the rear drive. It does not split the power and go both directions as the front wheels are always driven on a part time transaxle. Really it's a nomeclature thing - it's easier to not use the term "transfer case" with all it's typical design implications and tell folks that Subaru's don't use them - because in the usual sense that is meant by that term they do not. None of the questions that are applicable to a normal 4WD truck transfer case apply to the Subaru transaxle so it's easier to just call it something else. What you are calling a "transfer case" is nothing more than a de-coupling device for the rear driveshaft. It's a very simple thing. Nothing about the internals of those two transmissions is compatible. The D/R main shaft is a two-peice and the XT6 main shaft is not - further there is no ability to install the D/R into a non-DR case and then you have the whole center diff/no center diff issues and the differences in the main shaft that accompany it. The XT6 transmission is rather like the EA82T RX FT4WD transmission - you want one of those if you want D/R on your XT6. GD

No - what I said was that I would rather buy one for $1000 that has reccords and runs/drives and then do preventative maintenance - I don't wait for things to break - I inspect and repair as needed to insure I don't get stranded somewhere. The whole problem is that he does NOT know what's wrong with the car. All he has is speculation from the current owner who is not willing to fix it. With something that runs and drives you are at less of a disadvantage. Sure - it could be something simple like a coolant hose. But then it could easily be something severe. He says head gaskets - that's the same diagnosis that was given on my '91 SS when it was bought by the member I got it from - turned out the engine was completely shot. Cylinder liner melted, tons of metal in the oil pan..... etc. That was a costly mistake to buy the car - he figured at $1500 for the car he would be down the road for $2k. Turned out to be much closer to $4k after buying a replacement engine, turbo, radiator, heater core, etc etc. Just got a friend into a low mileage '90 Legacy from a little old lady. $1k and there's nothing wrong with it. I'll be doing a timing belt/WP as her funds are availible, etc. THAT is the kind of deal I'm refering to. Could something go horribly wrong? Sure it could. But the likelyhood is small. With a $250 car that doesn't run or drive - skys the limit as to what kind of time/money that's going to eat up. Too much gamble. GD

That's fairly typical of cheap single-phase motor failure. Either partially shorted windings or possibly run capacity failure if it's equipped with twin caps. Could be a number of things causing high amperage draw - pressure switch settings, discharge check valve issues, air-end valve issues, etc. But most are easily corrected. About the only things that will condemn a small machine like that is bottom-end failure or upper cylinder damage of the air-end (which isn't uncommon with the reed valve machines when the reed's break and end up inside the cylinders), or motor winding failure. Other than that it's generally a matter of fixing a control sub-system like a pressure switch or check valve, replacing a faulty reed valve assembly, or a motor capacity, etc. Usually it's a cheap fix if you know how to diagnose and repair them yourself. When I repaired them for a living we would tell people to buy a new one since the labor was more than the machine was worth but we fixed them all the time for ourselves and on our rental fleet machines A few simple checks will narrow down what's going on and if it can easily and cheaply be fixed. If it does the job you need it to do and can be fixed with a $20 capacitor..... why spend the dough on a new machine? I've bought several of these cheap little machines and given them to friends - bought two of the 20 gallon machines - one for $20 and another for $35. Operator error mostly. Belt failures, and I had one the guy claimed was locked up but it was just a bit of surface rust in the cylinders - shot some Yeild in there and turned it over - wiped it out and hit it with some oil. Fired right up . GD

Drive axles are very easy. Don't swap it to a 5 speed. The auto's are typically more reliable - the 5's have issues with the main shaft bearings and of course the clutch maintenance. If it's just a daily - flush the ATF every 30k and it will last virtually forever. GD

Melted knock sensor is a big clue - have you done a compression check? Last engine I saw like that was completely wasted internally - melted part of the cylinder liner in one hole...... My bet is that it's totally shot - I would have run a comp. check first thing. GD

Check for spark - might have lost half the coil or ignitor. GD

Yeah - pretty much the stuff from Home Depot is what I have used. GD

You have a carter/weber - they have a number of problems. One of which is a tendancy for the bolts that hold them to the manifold to loosen which can cause a vacuum leak. Bogging durring acceleration can be a symptom of a vacuum leak. GD

Well - hot wireing and blown fuses means there is a higher than normal draw on the circuit or that there is damage in the circuit causing resistance and thus the headlights are drawing too many amps for the damaged circuit to carry. So either there is a short - which from the way you describe it there is not as that would generally cause the fuse to immediately blow... or you have poor connections somewhere in the circuit - anywhere in the circuit that is getting "hot" such as the connections to the fuse panel or the wireing in that area is immediately suspect. Bypassing fuse blocks even if you plan to use an inline fuse to do so is not usually the proper way to repair such a problem. Typically replacing the bad wireing and connectors is not that hard with some flux and solder and careful repair. Unfortunately I can't help much with specifics as my knowledge abrupty ceases prior to the EA81 body switch in 1980. While your Brat is a 1979 by design and thus wireing as well. I haven't worked on many of that vintage and I've only owned one which was dismantled as a parts car. GD

There is no "head" on the spring pin. It is a 6mm roll pin and the holes are not tapered. It pounds in/out from either side. Just rotate the axle till you can get a good angle for punching it out with a 3/16" pin punch and a hammer - usually it's easiest to knock it out from above before you jack up the car. GD

You mean the heater "core"? I would not touch it if it's not leaking and the coolant was clean and green colored. They don't typically fail - more often they get clogged or what fails is the heater control valve that controls flow through the core. But don't replace that either unless it's bad - they are NOT cheap You should replace all the foam around the flapper doors and the heater core, etc though. That stuff is likely shot and replacing it will help a lot with preveting air leaks through your duct work, etc. GD

Probably needs a new clutch cable. That's considered "high mileage" for any normal car. It's not bad for the EA81 but figure the 4 speed trans might have 50k left in it - or less if it's been abused by that kid grinding it, etc . They weren't strong transmissions in the first place and 250k was a good run for one. I bought mine for $250 but it's higher mileage, had some minor body damage, and had a broken clutch cable so it couldn't be driven. Frankly $800 is a good deal for a 4WD hatch with a nice body in running/driving condition. Interior will really freshen up with just new carpet and seats and a good cleaning - used Legacy seats and carpet remnants are cheap...... The hatch is the most desireable EA81 body next to the Brat and as such they can command a decent price to the right buyer. Low mileage and excelent condition examples have brought $2500 in recent years while people are not paying even $1000 for wagons. Offer $500 and be prepared to pay $650 to $750 if they know what they have. Maybe you'll get lucky and they don't know what they have and are hungry. Wouldn't be the first time. At any rate - even at $800 it's worth it to own a hatch I owned a Brat first because they "look neat". I drive a Hatch daily because they "drive neat" and I hate that I can't lean the seats back in my Brat. It just sits. I haven't even started it in a couple years. GD

Of course it's possible. Transmission or use adaptor plate with a redrilled EA82 flywheel Entire EJ25D wireing harness - stripped to just engine control and piggybacked to the EA82 harness. There will be some modifications needed in order to use the EA gauges such as the temp gauge - the EA sender is different and the coolant cross-over has to be modified to accept the EA sending unit. EJ's don't have oil pressure gauges at all so either that just doesn't work or you have to run a line out from the idiot lamp port to the stock EA sending unit mounted to the fenderwall, etc. Exhaust - you will need the EJ25D's header and cat sections and probably will have to do custom for the rest since the stock exhaust isn't really large enough. Radiator and cooling fans will have to change a bit. Some use pusher fans in front of the radiator while other's mount different radiators altogether..... It's a lot of work. Personally I would use an EJ22. The EJ25D has too many problems with head gaskets and bottom end failures and will be very hard to service in the smaller engine bay of the EA82. GD

On the older stuff the boots can get torn and "mushy", etc. I've seen it more on the EA81's - I had a torn, mangled boot on one of my Brat calipers and I've seen some others on off-road rigs. XT6's being largely "street" driven probably don't see the damage that some of the EA wagons and such have seen in their more "rugged" life. GD

Well - I was refering to a "full" rebuild wherein replacement of the rubber boot on the back of the caliper is also done - which entails removing the e-brake lever mechanism..... which is a PITA. If all you are doing is pulling the piston, cleaning, and reinstalling it then that's not a rebuild - it's a piston boot/seal replacement which is fine if that's all it needs. You can't resurface the caliper bore or anything, but you can clean, lubricate, and replace the o-ring seal. GD

No - they never come with the seal. That's a seperate part. GD

They aren't easy to assemble because of the parking brake setup - they are spring loaded - it would be easier to just get reman loaded calipers and new rotors. GD

Actually - '89 was the *only* year the touring wagon was availible to the US market. Most of the one's I've seen were manual transmission cars - either SPFI D/R or turbo PB style. Don't get rear-ended. It will be the end of that car since the rear gate is specific to the TW's and near impossible to find a replacement for. GD

35" tires on a solid-axle rig will yeild about the same clearance as 28" tires on a Subaru. You are forgetting all that axle tube and pumpkin that follows the center-line of the wheel. 35/2 = 17.5" - 6" (half the diameter of the ring gear+pumpkin case) = 11.5" ground clearance. My 4" lifted wagon on 27" swampers has 12" under the front skid plate and over 15" under the rear diff. That's more on both ends than a solid axle Blazer on 35's. Also the overall width of the vehicle has a lot to do with how much clearance is needed to cover rough terrain. Ultimately the tire sizes are not the biggest problem with Subaru's - our biggest drawback is the lack of gearing and upgraded drive components to handle it. With 4140 axle's, R200 diff components + lockers, and a 6:1 low range I gaurantee I could sort out the rest of the peices needed to build a Subaru that would rival any Blazer on 35's+. And someday I'm going to prove it too - just have to finish aquireing all the tools for my machine shop GD

Remove the ball joint pinch bolt, spread the knuckle open a bit with a screwdriver or chisel and pop the lower control arm free from the knuckle. Drive out the roll pin and pull the axle free on the transmission end. There is plenty of room to get the axle out without touching the exhaust. GD

Fuel, Spark and Air. Figure out which one you don't have. GD

I know what you mean - I have a '69 GMC with a 350 SBC and a 4 barrel. It's not even 4WD and it sucks the gas down pretty hard. I do secretly enjoy driving it and working on it though - it's quite simple and it's just a total beast with it's 1 ton suspention and V8 torque. People get the hell out of the way - no one wants to tangle with "big green" since it's obvious that I could care less what it looks like - rust, dents, and all that . One more civic stuck in my grill wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I wouldn't want to take it off-road though. What a monster! I can't imagine having to unstick it if it were 4WD and I burried it to the frame . No thanks. I did all that in the Army. GD

Code 5 is a model designation - it's just telling you what engine/transmission combination the ECU was programmed for. It's not a trouble code and generally indicates a *lack* of codes stored in the computer. It's an "All's Well" Code. GD