GeneralDisorder

The evil death box is just a solenoid - EGR, EVAP, etc. It controls the vacuum signal to something. Try to follow the lines - one should go to the manifold or another vacuum source and the other to the device it's controlling. GD

I wouldn't pay dealership prices for one, but the 90 to 94 Legacy is the most reliable Subaru ever made. I would give preference to the '92 if you are just looking for a daily as the '90/'91 is somewhare rarer so 92-94 are easier to find parts for. Sounds like this will be your first Subaru? Stay away from the EA82's. That's '85 to 89 GL's (except hatchback and Brat), and 90 to 94 Loyale's. If you want a reliable 4WD/AWD your best bet is either an '82 to '84 (that '84 for $300 is a good deal if it's just an ignition issue), and 90 to 94 Legacy's. '95 through '97 are ok if they have the EJ22 (pass on any phase I EJ25's). I would reccomend a 92 to 94 Legacy for anyone looking for the most reliable AWD transportation you can get for the least amount of money. I buy them for less than $500. For a really nice clean one - maybe $1500 is as high as you should go. Though those are west coast prices and you can't throw a rock without hitting a gen 1 Legacy around here. Those mileage numbers are nothing - don't be scared by those. EJ22's are known for their longevity. It's not uncommon for the car to rot out before the engine dies. GD

Hard to say what dry threads would do with torque that high - you *never* want to install head bolts dry though - got to get them to turn smoothly with a minimum of "creaking" - that throws the torque to overcome the static friction of the bolt up really high. Oil the threads but more important is the head of the bolt - it needs to slide smoothly against the steel washer. Make sure there are no burrs on the bolt heads where they could grab the washer. GD

Wow! AC and 4WD. Love the cobbled in overflow bottle and the serviceable battery! GD

Rear, passenger side of the intake manifold. There is a coolant cross-over in the manifold and the CTS for the computer is threaded into it. I beleive this is the one ($16 at www.rockauto.com): Best to stick with OEM on the thermostat's - should have mentioned that before. High failure/overheating potential with the aftermarket stuff. Dealer isn't that expensive. Don't worry about the mechanical fan - leave it off. It's mostly for the air conditioning and isn't even found on non-AC cars. The primary electric fan will handle all your cooling needs this time of year. Plan on adding a second electric fan for the heat of summer. You'll be fine for now though without it. That's a solenoid of some kind. Depending on what it does you can likely fake the ECU by installing a 33 Ohm, 5 watt resistor in it's place and cap the lines. Depends on what it does though - follow the vac lines and see what it's operating. GD

The starter is no problem - just pickup a used or reman unit. The ignition switch could be several things - maybe she means the key doesn't work, maybe she means the switch on the back of the lock doesn't work, and it's not uncommon to see burnt wiring at the connection where the ignition switch connects to the body harness. If that's the case - good chance the starter isn't even bad. I would say she has no real clue what is wrong with it other than what someone that also doesn't know much has told her from looking at it. If it were me I would take a used starter with me (any starter from 82 to like 2005 will fit ), and probably an ignition switch (the part that bolts to the back of the lock), and my wireing tools. I could drive it away in 30 minutes or less if that's all that's wrong. Hell - I would probably fix any burnt connection at the switch, jumper the solenoid from the positive cable with a screwdriver and be on my way in 3 minutes. If it's the ignition *lock* that's broken - you'll have to pick the lock if the steering is locked. Or swap the column. Once the steering lock is taken care of, the lock assembly can be removed with 4 bolts. You would have to remove the steering wheel (no puller required on EA81's) and slip the lock off. That takes about 15 minutes. It helps to have a pair of needle nose vise grips for the ignition lock bolts. GD

More than 2 and less than 10 . I'm betting less than 2 on at least one of them. Who's got a fiver on it? At least they are round and appear to be holding air. That's something in their favor. GD

We don't crush for rust - we just crush for fun! Seriously though - those are parts cars. With so many complete specimins around in the NW you can't really justify putting something like that on the road. And gen 1's aren't all that desireable. They command more than a wagon to be sure, but 82-87 Brat's are where the time/money is best spent. If you are going to restore one - restore one that's actually going to return the investment ya know? It's all about where you want to spend your time. For example - as far as profit making opportunities - there aren't any left in the EA series cars. I don't buy them at any price, and frankly I see a lot of them I could pickup for almost nothing - $100 or $200. Several a week. Even first gen Legacy's aren't worth beans. I won't even buy them except for EJ swap donor's. Last one was a '91 sedan for $250. Needed 1 injector '95 and up is all I even look at, and I won't pay a lot for those. I just bought a '95 wagon in decent shape with 165k on it for $800 - drove it home. GD

No problem - I'll help with what I can. If you need talked through it over the phone send me a PM and I'll give you my number. All you are going to have to do is cut/strip/crimp some wires and spade terminals. You will need a relay - I typically have used Subaru relay's around but you can use any 12v normally-open relay. Most auto parts stores will carry something in a blister pack - like a Bosch, etc. On the side of the relay will be printed it's "pinout". There will likely be spade terminals - either 1 through 4 or 1 through 5 depending on the relay type. You will see that two of them in the diagram pass through a rectangle - that's the coil inside the relay - when powered it causes the contacts to close. Two of the other pins will pass through a contact "gate" on the diagram - it will look like a raised bridge. You want to use the two contacts that are NOT closed on the diagram. Now it's a simple matter of hooking up the wires to the right contacts. You will need to make three wires. First you will cut the end off the starter solenoid wire and crimp on a new female spade terminal. That will connect to one of the coil contacts - doesn't matter which one. The other side of the coil you will run to ground - which means any availible location on the engine/manifold/body, etc. The other two wires will run from the battery, through a 15 amp fuse, and to the normally open contacts in the relay. The other side of the contacts runs to the starter solenoid where the original wire from the ingition switch was. Here's a diagram I found online - instead of "starter button", you will be using the solenoid wire from the stock ignition switch: A relay is simply a remotely activated switch - you turn it on with 12v. That's what you will be doing. The reason this works is that it takes a LOT less amps to turn "ON" the relay than it does to push out the plunger on the starter solenoid. Relays switch on a large voltage or current using a small voltage or current - ultimately they save on wireing and switching component costs and make things less bulky. In this case you are using them to advantage by taking the large solenoid load off your aging ignition switch and putting it instead on the relay. This will save your already damaged crank circuit from further decomposition. GD

71 ft/lbs is a bit on the high side. Stock is 47 and I take them to 55. I haven't tried any higher because I haven't found it neccesary - I haven't stripped any block threads out yet but I have heard of folks haveing that trouble. Just a sugestion. If you hadn't gone to 71 I would say reuse them and go 10 lbs higher. But...... I would replace them considering the high torque they were under. I don't think you need to have a shop put the heads on - seems like you are doing fine on your own. Maybe have them do the valve's but mounting and torqueing the heads doesn't require a lot of "special" knowledge. Just a little care which I would think you would have more of than some shop. GD

Of the two, I prefer Miller over Lincoln, but they both make decent machines. I've used both in their 230v/460v range of machines and typically the Miller's weld a little cleaner. Though I do like the Lincoln Sqaure Wave TIG machines FCAW (flux core) will do thicker material and handle dirty stuff a bit better - that's true. And there's no arguement from me that a 110v FCAW machine is a really useful tool to have - no gas bottle - all you need is a 110v extension cord. That's a very conveinent thing. That's what my old HF 110v machine is for now. Just depends on what you are going to do with it. Small automotive stuff and sheet metal - 110v machine is a good choice. I wouldn't try building a trailer with one though nor would I trust it to weld 1/4" thick mild steel lift components for a Subaru. GD

Just install a relay between the existing solenoid wire and the starter - use the solenoid wire for the relay coil and run a hot lead from the battery (fused) to the relay contact and then other side of the contact to the solenoid. I just did the same fix in a '91 AT - same problem. Intermittant start. It's not the ignition switch - the previous owner had the dealer change that out less than 10,000 miles ago. It's just that the ageing wireing can't pass enough current to kick the solenoid hard enough. You can swap/replace components all day and in the end it will just keep comming back till you fix it with a relay. This is a pretty common problem on older Subaru's - I've done about half a dozen relay's by now. It's a 100% success rate for me. I drive the '91 daily and since I installed the relay it has started flawlessly every time - been several months now. You do not need a push-button - you use the stock ignition switch and instead of fireing the solenoid directly it fires the relay. They will pass enough current to close a relay contact easily. GD

The roller bearings are pressed onto the diff carrier - removing and installing them requires removing the diff from the transmission. It's not difficult really - just remove the tail section and split the case - the whole diff drops right out. GD

Being a turbo - high likelyhood that it was overheating and some previous owner removed the thermostat completely. These EA82T's rarely overcool - mostly they overheat and blow up. GD

I would get another one - the seal between the graphite and the head/block has been disturbed and it might not bond tightly the second time around. GD

Yeah - total water pump failure - I've seen it before. Basically you will need to do a whole timing belt job. Replace the timing belts, water pump, reseal the oil pump, and new front main and cam seals. The entire kit with the belts, idler, and both tensioners can be had on ebay for cheap. The labor is about 3 to 6 hours depending on experience. You will want someone that's experienced with EA82's as the dual-timing belt arrangment is unusual and a lot of mechanic's have a hard time with it. If you want to tow it to West Linn - just south of Portland, I could do the job for $200 plus parts. Typical shop rate for a timing belt job runs about $500 - I can save you about half that. If it needs a radiator, those are about $120 new. I don't like to use used one's as these cars already have small cooling systems. Another possibility - I have a friend that regularly travels through your area and also has a car trailer. For a small amount of gas/hookup money he would be happy to bring it here. GD

It sounds like the water pump has failed - the mechanical fan should have NO play in the shaft with or without the belts attached. You should be able to spin the fan, but not move it on it's shaft. Those are not the timing belts - they are the accesory belts. They run the power steering pump, the alternator, and the water pump. As well as the air conditioning if your car is equipped. Are the belts broken or just loose? If they are loose it's probably because the water pump is gone. When you move the fan do the belt pulley's (where the belts contact) move with it or does just the fan move? Also - you should post where you are located so members in your area can offer assistance if they are so inclined. GD

Don't clear coat it - that will just peel off. You should put around 5 to 6 coats of color on, then wet sand it with 600 then 1200 grit. Then buff it out with finishing compound. It will looks better and last longer than the clear coat. Remember - light coats - but lots of them. Don't glob it on or it will take forever to dry. Prep the surface with a D/A if you can get one or sand it real good by hand. Make sure the suface is very clean - use laqour thinner to clean up sanding dust, etc before you spray a panel. There's nothing wrong with a rattle can job - just understand that it's going to last about 2 years give or take - the clear coat will make it look worse when it does start failing and makes it impossible to touch-up, color sand and refinish when it does start looking like poo in a year or two. And watch out for big bugs - a good sized one will roll up that soft rattle can paint from your headlights to the winsheild if you hit em right GD

Yes - very important - if you don't know how to weld it's going to be 10x harder to learn on a crap machine. A good welder can make one work OK, but a novice will expose all it's flaws and turn out really poor welds. Have you thought about a decent stick machine? I firmly beleive that you should learn at least AC/DC stick before you MIG weld anyway. Gas welding is optional these days and frankly is just as expensive as MIG if you have none of the gear. A decent stick machine can be had for almost nothing - a Lincoln tombstone can be had for $100 or less and can produce very strong welds even if they aren't the prettiest thing around. GD

It's just all the lock mechanisms and rods/links needing lubed. Pull the door panels off and spray it all down with lithium grease. Work them back and forth. They probably are binding and not fully disengaging from the locked posistion. Every gen 1 Legacy I've owned needed this done. There usually isn't anything broken though. GD

For it to get to 5k you need the throttle plate open - no amount of extra fuel will do it without the air for it to mix with. It's got to be a mechanical bind of some kind as it would never get that out of control without the air supply from the TB. Only other thing I can think of would be a sticking idle air control valve - but even then I wouldn't think it could get to 5 grand. GD

Only difference I could see side-to-side would be the use of a different inner joint boot on the passenger side to prevent heat damage from the cat. Otherwise that's probably a cataloging mistake as every Subaru I've ever worked on (except the Justy) uses the same part for either side. Even in the Subaru parts books. GD

If none of the coating has come off, then it would probably work. I've never tried to reuse one of those, but maybe since it's still basically new. As pointed out though - the cost in labor would kinda suck against the cost of the new gasket if it didn't work. GD

XT6 axles are unlike all other EA82 (including XT) axles. They use a legacy style outer that mates to the 5 lug legacy-style knuckle/hub assembly. They most likely have a 25 spline inner. I beleive they are basically first-gen legacy axles. If you throw up a picture we can tell you immediately if it's the correct axle or not as the outer joint is quite different from any other EA82 axle. They do not have the bearing mating surfaces like the EA82 axles - instead they are splined to fit the hub which is pressed into the bearings. GD

Hot wire vs. vane style MAF. If it's an 85 or 86 it should have the vane style, and all 87's and newer should be hot-wire. Just clean the two little wires with the electronics cleaner. GD