GeneralDisorder

If you have never done the solid-axle offroad thing - go for it. It can be a lot of fun. But remember - the more capable the rig - the worse you will get stuck and the bigger the failure's will be. It's that simple. I know somoene that got a D9 cat stuck once. Burried the tracks - the ground was solid enough to walk on but the D9 was just too heavy...... Took a D7 and another D9 to get it unstuck. Subaru's are fun because they are light and small - sort of halfway between a truck and an ATV. Which is the reason I dislike the wagon body and especially the EA82 and newer wagon bodies - too long and too heavy. Light, small, and nimble is the name of the game. The K5 is none of these so it's a totally different kind of machine. What you will find with the K5 is that while it can turn big tires - it's a performance and modification black hole - bigger tires means you need more HP - more HP and torque means upgrading the transmission and axles.... etc, etc. The type of people you have to run with in case of fail or stuck is different as well - and you have to deal with the personalities that this entails. A K5 blazer is a whole different world of off-roading. It's like going from an ATV to a Subaru. They are both fun in different ways and under different conditions. Personally I would rather avoid having to wear hip-waders and dealing with the type of personalities that often own those machines..... those are considerations you will have to make for yourself. GD

Typically with a 4", the linkage works out OK without really changing much at all. If you like you can extend the shifter itself up a bit and either make or buy EJ shift components to shorten the throw - thus bringing the shifter back *up* to near it's original posistion and at the same time shortening the throw so the longer shifter doesn't have to be pushed as far for each gear change (and interfere with console's and such). In the end it will probably be a combination of things - drop the shifter tray anchor an inch or two, lengthen the shifter an inch or so, and shorten the throw a bit..... none of the changes are enough by themselves but taken together they will solve any issues you have with a 4" drop. If you need anything welded, etc - just mock it up and bring it by. GD

Personally I hate VW's. They are notorious for electrical issues on a lot of models and the Rabbits had some nasty transmission issues on some years. Plus I just despise anything that's transverse in general..... it's typical for VW's to "nickle and dime" you pretty hard. The Datsun stuff is ok. Datsun and Subaru have some close ties back in those days. Use a lot of the same electrical parts, etc. The most trouble-free thing you can get is going to be an EJ22 Legacy - simply because all that older stuff is going to be carbureted and anything that old with a carb is going to be more fussy than the first-gen EJ22 MPFI setup. They are so reliable that it's not uncommon to see then go 250k to 300k before anything in the FI system even needs attention. No carb can match them. GD

They really aren't all that expensive considering that a rebuilt stock replacement carb will run around the $250 range. The carb is the most complex and precise metering device on your car - a lot goes into their manufacture or rebuild. I can take a used Weber - rebuild/rejet, change the choke style, and add the adaptor plate and filter for right arond $200 all-in. That's paying $100 for a good used carb that has little to no throttle shaft wear. The last one I did cost $190 complete - that's changing the choke to electric, buying the adaptor plate/rebuild kit, and changing a few jets. I wouldn't reccomend the "kits" from Redline. They don't come with the right linkage parts nor the correct size air filter - and sometimes they need some jetting changes since they are only a starting point. If you are going to buy a new one call up carbsunlimited.com and tell them you want the bare carb with your choice of choke style (I prefer manual) and the short air filter plus a couple of different idle jet choices - 50 (usually included) as well as a 55 and a 60 for tuning. GD

Just follow the large hose that leaves the silencer - one side goes to the air filter - the other side goes to the ASV. They are on a bracket bolted to each cylinder head. GD

Your pictures are of the silencers - not the ASV's. Something could be clogged or stuck, yeah. I would take the ASV's apart and inspect the reed valve, etc. GD

The ASV's should make the noise that the guy Ed reccomended said they should make - if you pull the hose off that goes to the plastic silencer then you should hear a pronounced gurgleing exhaust type sound from the valves. The ASV's provide fresh oxygen to the exhaust stream for proper catalytic converter operation. Newer style cat's don't require this but back in the '80's it was common to see valves like this or smog pumps (on larger engines) that did the same thing. Oh - and I totally would have jammed my beater into the space next to his driver's door - so that he would have to climb in through the passenger side. I guess I'm just a dickhole like that but it's one of the benfits of owning a $500 car. GD

I agree to a point - but what do I have to give other than opinions and experiences? If I'm not mistaken that is what the OP asked for regarding his potential purchase. According to the OP's location he's about 15 minutes from me. So he is fully capable of responding to the same craigslists ads that I have found. These deals are availible to anyone with the patience to wait for them. 180k is a lot of miles. Other than blanket statements I can say that I regularly see EA82/T's in the condition described (doesn't run, etc - but we swear it's an easy fix! ) on craigslist around here for about that same price. They get listed over and over and over again because people simply aren't buying them. That says a lot to me about their value on the market. I can say that if I were to buy that car for the price being asked and the obvious unknowns with regard to it's "problems" I would have to figure at a minimum of $750 parts and (my) labor (worst case) to get it mechanically straight - cooling system overhaul and timing belt/WP kit for sure - plus probably heads and such. So you are looking at a high likelyhood of having $1000 into the car just to start driving it. I can find lower mileage, perfectly running examples for that much money - probably several a week on craigslist around here. That is not a good investment IMO as the unknown variables are just too many. I would rather just pay the $1k for one without the problems and then do any work in a premptive fasion. I buy and sell cars quite a bit and that's how I see it. I'm being totally honest about it without any prejudice toward the EA82/T specifically - it's just an old car with high mileage and unknown, possibly severe, mechanicaly problems. I would say the same about anything of similar vintage/condition. GD

Being as I used to build and rebuild compressors for a living - yeah I suppose I've done that a few times On your old compressor - have you done any troubleshooting? It might be something simple like a start capacitor, etc. If you can turn the air-end over by hand try taking the belt off and seeing if the motor turns over. If it does try spinning the motor as quickly as you can by hand and then simutaneously turning on the power. If the motor spins up that way but won't on it's own (or won't under a load) it could easily be the start cap has blown out. If you do end up buying another machine - just strip the motor and air-end off the old tank and plumb it into the new machine with hard pipe or SS flex line. More storage capacity won't hurt you any. No sense throwing away an extra 20 gallons of air storage. GD

All EA82T-hating aside..... I thought that the Gen-3 heads were only availible post-production or possibly on the somewhat rare 1990 Loyale Turbo's..... I've never seen a straight answer as to which years came with which heads. I still say it's not really worth the trouble - it doesn't start, and when it does it doesn't run right and it's not particularly low mileage. Besides haveing a straight EA82 vintage body...... I'm not seeing where the $250 value comes in. Best case you are looking at fixing a broken timing belt..... worst case the heads are cracked to oblivion. Trust me - with used car's it's buyer beware and people do the most unbelievable things to cars - especially when your average Woman has been driving them and they are already old and frail Case in point - I just bought a '97 Legacy - EJ22 with only 147k on it. Head gasket was blown and they band-aided it by gutting the thermostat. Now that's not an easy engine to blow head gaskets on in the first place let alone at that relatively low mileage...... I'm just saying I don't think it's worth the price being asked. I've bought running, driving EA82's for $100 - several times. The EA82T aspect of the deal frankly doesn't help it's value either. If anything it's a such a double-edged sword of an engine that it doesn't do anything at all to the value. Slightly better power at dramatically reduced reliability and higher maintenance costs. The last first-gen Legacy I bought came with a 2" thick stack of receipts from the dealer and I drove it home for $250. It had a bad injector and needed a wheel bearing. But I could see it run, knew the codes, had the papers, etc. I just don't see any EA82 being worth more than a Legacy at this late stage of the game. They are tired, troublesome cars by comparison to what can be had for the same money in a Legacy. GD

Save yourself the headache of getting it wrong the first time and just order a set of reman lifters before you even start. That and the pump seals, cam tower o-rings, etc should take care of any ticking you might be having. I spent a lot of time and energy finding used lifters that got rid of the ticking for me but they still aren't perfect and I don't imagine they will last forever without ticking. It already came back a little more - I changed the oil and it vanished. This time I'm not using the Rislone/MMO/ATF because it just causes them to start ticking sooner after an oil change. Most of the cleaning benefits that were to be had from it already have been. GD

Sounds like junk to me. Nothing but hassle with that engine. Pass. GD

Subaru D/R systems are not in a "t case" - there is in fact no transfer case at all. The low range is done at the front of the input shaft on the transmission and thus it is impossible to "add" it to a non D/R transmission. The XT6 FT4WD transmission does NOT have an LSD in it. It has an open front and open center differential. It is not AWD in the modern sense either as it does not have a center VC. It has a lockable center diff instead. As mentioned by ED - the axles must be custom made in order to do a 5 lug swap on an EA81. That and the lower control arm has to be modified to accept an XT6 or Legacy style ball joint or an adaptor must be manufactured for the knuckle to accept the EA81 ball joint. GD

Sounds like the clutch fork is cracked and bending. You'll have to do a clutch job to get at it. GD

I did it once on an EA series. I never use the strut method - I typically take the lower control arm loose at the engine cross-member and disconnect the sway bar link. On EJ's I usually pop the ball joint out of the knuckle and that by itself is enough to get the axle off the trans. GD

Yes - it's possible but it's messy and awkward unless you have a lift (even then I wouldn't) and the chances of contaminating the new grease from debris in/around the "work area" is high. Removal is better and also allows a cleaning/antiseizing of the axle/hub splines and general inspection of brakes, etc. If I'm doing it - I'm taking out both axles, rebooting them, doing brake repairs as needed, and swapping the axles left/right. GD

I agree - rings are my thoughts as well. Specifically I want to do a leak-down on it to see if it's rings in general or oil-control issues. With what I've seen of Subaru cylinder/ring wear I suspect that it's something like an oil control ring issue rather than a general issue with all the rings or cylinder wear, etc. We will definitely tear it down to see. He has another engine to put in it so we'll see what's going on with this one. It didn't smoke like this when it was installed but it's been raced and driven several thousand miles since then and the mileage/condition of the engine is unknown except that it runs ok and seemed a lot better than it is now when we first got it running. GD

Plain old ATF. Whatever generic brand you find cheap. Unlike gear oils, ATF is pretty consistent and the specifications are pretty rigid. What is important is not that it be a super premium brand, but rather that it is changed with some regularity. Every 30k is a good rule. Given your driving conditions, an extra tranny cooler is a good idea. Heat breaks down oil - keep it cool and clean and it will last nearly forever. It is best done by draining and refilling the transmission twice - driving it about 10 miles between. This flushes out the ATF that stays in the torque converter when you drain it. GD

Subaru axles are very easy to R&R. Being it's an inner, probably a recent failure, and not making any noises - I would reccomend that you pull the axle out, replace both boots+grease and get another 100k from that axle. If you are industrious - pull both axles, replace all the boots, and swap them left to right. This will reverse their primary rotation and spread out the wear on the joint components a bit thus extending their life. Where I buy my boots they are $12 each. So $48 and a couple hours to do the job. I wouldn't pay a shop unless you have no choice - the job is really too easy and it's just a waste of money to pay for it since Subaru's eat axles and boots so regularly. GD

Stubby wrenches can be useful at times. Generally you can double-wrench with the standard length one's if you don't have a long set but a long set is handy. GD

You want as little metal to get in there as possible, but don't stress about it in the extreme. It's Aluminium and the cylinders are steel. For the most part if a shaving or two drops in there it's going to get shot out the exhaust port in short order. If it doesn't it will very likely just burn away - small shavings like that don't have any way to dissipate heat durring combustion so it's very likely they will simply vaporize as the melting point of aluminium is relatively low. GD

Remove the bearing and take it to a bearing supplier. It's a 3000 series double-row angular contact bearing I would assume. They can cut the groove for the locating ring. Bearing supplier is going to be a lot cheaper than the dealer most likely. GD

The PCV valve is new and the system is clean. It's got no cats and the exhaust does sound weird because it's not well tuned (for sound) it's a cast-off STi muffler and 2.25" pipe from the header back. No resonators or cats. GD

He means it uses a quart of oil every 1k miles. Not coolant. It doesn't use any coolant as far as we know. The video was shot in my driveway and I can confirm that it's not steam - it's blue tinged and defintely oil smoke. My thoughts are that there is simply too much oil being burned for this to be valve stem seals - there's got to be a stuck or broken oil control ring or something. Perhaps the plug color will tell. We can look at them when we do a leak-down on it. GD

Pugs come in 14, 15, and 390mm GD