Bushwick

Summit Racing Turbo Mufflers have a clean sound. The "Turbo" in the name is just a gimmick from a different era before turbos were popular. It's a standard style muffler and sounds really clean on a catted engine. They only cost $35. Do NOT get the Fully Welded variant as those are obnoxiously loud. http://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/summit-racing/product-line/summit-racing-turbo-mufflers Make sure to observe inlet/outlet sizes and offsets. Can go with a larger outlet if you can find one as our mufflers sit right at the bumper.

I wouldn't turn it upside down with oil in it. If it's never been apart, there should still be oil in the bearings. It should spin freely with a ratchet on the crank pulley. If it doesn't, it might have gotten moisture on the rings and rusted, which I believe is bad. If ignored, the rust can probably gouge the walls and you might end up with a broken ring, etc. Would have to search on that or ask others. I'd drain the old oil, and put a decent synthetic in. Pour some directly into the oil filter, then screw that on. Can fill about 80% of the filter then screw it on. If it spins freely prior, you can try hand cranking (with plugs out for ease) once fresh oil is in and that should start circulating it. It has a rotor style oil pump. From there, you probably crank until it sees full pressure.

^ Like Dave said. You need to spray the starting fluid ahead of the air filter. When I last did mine, I just unclipped the air filter box and lifted the upper portion slightly, sprayed in the tube, then cranked. Also, my OEM fuel pump failed but it's actual motor was still good. It spun up in the car but no matter how many times I tried priming, it wouldn't fire, and once it was pulled, I double-checked it with a 12v battery and motor sounded OK, so I suspect something came apart internally. Installed a new pump, and it fired right up.

I still can't find that ground Fairtax. Do you happen to have a pic?

Why didn't you just grab a set of used heads? To anyone else reading this, it really is worth having a shop do head work as they can get everything exact, check for deck warpage, back-cut the valves, do 3 angle valve jobs, verify spring pressure is consistent, etc.

If your rack boots are ripped, you can either do them when doing everything else, or ask the alignment shop to install them. Many shops are getting weird about installing customer parts, so be warned. I think I paid $12-15 for replacement boots (rock auto IIRC) and talked the alignment shop into installing them, though they were hesitant, but I said something to the effect "they'll either fit or they won't and they've already been purchased".

Do yourself a favor and look at rockauto.com as their prices will be cheaper and they sell brand name. If you order everything in one go, the shipping + part prices will still most like be cheaper than buying everything at auto zone. I've run Munroe struts and they are fairly decent for what you get. Considering the damage to the car, I'd run those to save money. If in another 5 years you don't want the car, they should still be good enough to sell the car with. Do EVERYTHING yourself. Ask for help, watch you tube videos, etc. in advance to get an idea of tools needed. You can rent more unique tools from Auto Zone like strut spring compressor, ball joint puller, etc. Will need a heavy duty breaker bar and at least an axle nut socket which can get large. If you get a socket for your lug nuts that fit the larger breaker bar, leave it with the spare tire and your life will be easier if you ever get a flat tire down the road. If you do all the work yourself (tierods, struts, ball joints, etc.) you'll save $60-110 an hour service charge of probably 5-8+ hours worth of work. Just try and get the strut tops in roughly the same spots (use white out or similar to mark) and make SURE the tie rods are roughly at the same length so steering won't be affected enough to not be able to drive it. Leave the bad tires on it and then drive it to an alignment shop after everything is together. Get a 4 wheel alignment. Tell them everything is "new", it just needs aligned. Hopefully your rear end nuts for the trailing arms don't give them too much of an issue. I did everything on my Saab, with much being a 1st time affair. Broke an breaker bar trying to get axle nuts off, so I went to a local shop and asked if they could crack the nuts loose for me, then tighten back up. They were hesitant, and misunderstood (they left them snug vs. retightening, but I live a 2 blocks away which was stated) and was able to finally get them off. I bought everything except the springs at rock auto. Only screw up (actually it was MOOG's fault for putting incorrect tie rod side in box, so that was an assembly line error, not RA's fault) was a tie rod was incorrectly packaged and wasn't caught until everything was apart, but wasn't a big deal. Saved a ton of money, and same deal as you where the work done would have encroached on the car's book value had it been done entirely at a shop. Definitely give rock auto a look. They also sell extremely hard to locate parts.

There isn't sugar in most pops anymore. Coke, Sprite, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, etc. DO offer a 12 oz bottle at most gas stations, and those are sold with real sugar. Have to look at the ingredient label to be sure. They all pretty much taste like they did 30+ years ago. Pretty amazing how much the high fructose corn syrup alters the original flavors (almost always for the worse).

It's probably a broken switch. Could also be fluid (coffee, pop, etc.) spilled over it, and it's sticking. Pop is horrible as it'll never evaporate and remains tacky for years.

If you want a legit performance build, consider retrofitting a Tremec 5 or 6 speed (run a bale operated trans and you life will be easier) and convert to a RWD build. Run a small block, pushrod Ford or even Chevy engine. Chevy will be cheaper to have decent HP as many/most of their more recent factory engines are fairly respectable HP/TQ engines, even the truck/SUV engines. Run a carb and carb intake manifold and you'll save thousands while still having a powerful and easy to work on engine. Carb'd engines require roughly 5-11 psi fuel pump and a way to control the spark, but most of this stuff can be pirated from earlier carb'd engines. Can easily have 225-500 hp, but the rear end will need an upgrade. Going with a Subaru engine, you can try the 2.5L block with EJ22 heads, and I think they are good for 160hp roughly. Otherwise, go with Subaru 3.0L - 3.6L, but expect a bunch of work. Those engine with get you in the mid 200's.

You want to pull the corner out, right? If you have access to a heavy truck, you try using a chain. You'll have to find a way to keep the car 100% static, then put the truck in a low gear and pull at a creep. Try and chain as far out to the crumpled corner as possible. A bumper support might be enough to wrap chain around. If you have access to a semi, dump truck, etc. it'll be fairly easy, but go VERY slow and don't stand anywhere near the chain in case it gets loose or flings a car part out. In lieu of a truck, find a tree or well-anchored parking lot car-stop post (no light poles as those can break) and get almost taut on the chain, like leave about 4" slack then give some gas and try and "tug" it. Keep repeating until it straightens out. Again, I'd leave the metal bumper in place, then wrap the chain around the support near the crumpled corner and wrap the bumper a few times so it doesn't deform the sides of the support or rip it upwards. Don't go too fast or you'll end up with more damage.

If going to dry the car out; those thick pads under the carpet can hold water but the actual carpet surface will feel DRY, hence the need to pull the carpet up and inspect. I suggest pulling ALL the plugs and putting a propane torch into the hp;es to dry the cylinder walls out and get the water removed. On DOHC, that might be impossible, so consider cranking a few time with plugs out then maybe put a few teaspoons of oil into each and crank again. Big thing is you want the water off the rings and the oil should help preserve them, though this is just guessing and something I'd probably do if serious about keeping engine OK while everything dried. CPS if not working, will prevent fuel AND spark, so consider the sensor might be bad. I remember years ago working at a used lot and we got this low mileage 96' Thunderbird in. Owner's son was a coke head and kinda shady on top of everything, and would get cars from auction in the "junk" lanes if they looked OK. The Thunderbird ran, but it had a severe miss. I was looking through the trunk and pulled the carpet to the spare tire well and there was sand everywhere. We were able to deduce from the the limited documentation that it was a flood car that someone got running or it ran, but definitely did not belong on a car lot in that shape. So, just saying, it might behoove you to write the car off and let it be totaled. Buy it back from the insurance and use it for parts, or use the money to pull the engine and run a new ECM + wires, etc. You'll need to do a compression test once FRESH oil is it. Wouldn't waste money on premium oil at this stage as it'll probably get exposed to some water and will need changed again.

Sounds like you learned an important lesson on why you shouldn't drive through water. If engine was carb'd and had a snorkel above the water level, it wouldn't be such an issue. But on electronic fuel injected vehicles where there are sensors everywhere and the air intake tubes feed through the fenders or lower, water isn't something to play in. If you took water in the intake (check the air filter, if it's wet, that's bad) you probably damaged the engine. Oil is most likely contaminated, wiring and sensors are wet, etc. Probably will need to report it as a flood accident and get another car. If you want to waste a ton of time trying to get it running again, pull the seats, carpeting, kick panels, and disconnect the battery, etc. Carpet padding is THICK and holds water like meat packing bladders. You'll get mold, internal rust, and constant moisture build up if ignored. Anyhow, once everything is out, put some heavy blower fans in the car and leaves doors open and windows down for several days. Make SURE the air is blowing up into the foot areas as that's where the electronics are mainly at. If you have a heated garage (or friend willing to loan the space for several days) set the garage heat high and leave the garage closed up. The high heat will aid in evaporating the moisture. I've had cell phones (found several over the years too) that were completely submerged, and found a couple packed in wet snow too. I pulled the coverings off and removed the PCB, and let them set on a dry heat source for a couple days. ALL of them took a charge once completely dry and booted up. LCD screens were messed up on a couple, but others worked, Was even able to return 2 of them to their owners. If after all this it still won't start, try swapping in a used ECM. You'll need fresh oil in the engine and hopefully the cylinder walls haven't started rusting to the rings. If you get it running but it runs really rough and pops a bunch of CEL codes, you'll have to systematically fix each issue and engine might still need replaced on top of that, or very least rebuilt and new sensors everywhere.

Do it every 3k miles with full synthetic like Mobil or Valvoline if you actually care about the engine and want it lasting. Turbos put the oil through hell, as it goes from engine temps to exhaust temps then immediately back into the engine. This will break the oil down quicker over time, causing it to degrade. Having run turbo'd engines myself, even top-shelf synthetics are BLACK around 3k miles, and can be junk before that if you like to get on it a lot. There's going to be a LOT of junk engines in the future from people getting lazy with oil changes and these ridiculously thin weights auto manufacturers have been suggesting.

A fuel pump failure will cause that. Unhook the air filter box and spray a small amount of starting fluid directly into the screen (ahead of the actual air filter) then try cranking it. If it fires briefly then dies, your fuel pump is probably bad. No need to pull timing cover. Remove upper most right bolt off cover, then pull cover back about 1/2". You'll either see the belt on the cam sprocket or you won't (SOHC), otherwise look behind the DOHC cover.

Some states it's technically "illegal" to install an older engine into a newer body, and it could haunt you at the point of sale. I know if you sell a car w/o a cat for instance, the new owner can sue the previous owner to cover the costs of a new cat. Just an FYI

If you have a 12v car battery (pulls a good deal of current to power fan, so battery works with testing) connect the fan to it and see how it goes; make SURE it's pulling air and not pushing it. You'd be better off letting it run at full speed as it'd kick on, cool radiator quickly, then go off. Some cars use a giant resistor to lower speeds. If you can only get it to turn on at low speed, that might still be enough. In single fan set ups, I believe the higher speed kicks on when AC is activated as that creates a heavy load on the engine, which needs more gas at idle to compensate for and not stall out, which creates more heat. Hook it up, and watch your temps. I'd suggest connecting a temporary light to the fan circuit so you know if/when the fan is kicking on. You can also run a slightly cooler thermostat 180 degree vs. 195, and the system will open the thermostat sooner, making it run cooler and less fan-on time.

Are ALL 4 tires identical? I know mine has made some decel whine when the previous tires were getting worn and one got a little low. Evap issues usually pop codes. I say evap as that's part of the gas tank system, and fill ups can present themselves as an evap issue. You do not overfill, right? i.e. you don't "top off" by forcing fuel into the tank beyond the cut-off? That can send raw fuel back into the evap lines, and screw with the charcoal canister. If you aren't over filling, try replacing the gas cap. If car is paid for and otherwise runs OK and you enjoy it, then keeping it running isn't an issue. I'd get a 2nd and even 3rd opinion on the trans. Do NOT tell the other mechanics you already had it looked at, or you "think" it's a transfer case, etc. Let them come up with a diagnosis on their own. If you want to save some dancing, have Subaru diagnose it. DIY will save a ton of money, but if you aren't mechanically inclined, get 2nd-3rd opinions. If car is paid for and needs a legit $1500 in repairs; going used and DIY you can get that down to maybe $250. Otherwise, think of it as roughly 3-4 monthly car payments and you still own the car that has the creature comforts.

You can run 2.2L heads and get a bump in power with less issues that the 2.5L DOHC heads seem to present, but you'll need to run premium fuel as it raises compression ratio slightly. Or, as mentioned above, run a complete 2.2L SOHC engine instead. Some years are more desirable than others, but they are considered workhorses and last forever. Mine just hit 190k miles and still runs as good as an engine with 60k miles. I too have a wagon, and can fully attest the factory roof rack is SOLID. I plopped some plywood sheets on mine, and ran 2 ratchet straps to secure them. Made several trips to/from lumber store at about 5 miles each trip, and upwards of 600 pounds on one of the trips. Roof was amazingly solid as was the actual rack. Did it look a little silly? You bet. Did it save a bunch of money and time vs. renting a truck? Yes sir. Had to make a couple practice "panic" stops in the parking lot with hand out window holding 6" worth of stacked boards to be sure it wouldn't move, and all was well. Something lighter like bikes, ladders, luggage, etc. will be a piece of cake. Just make sure they are tightly secured.

^ I ran dual dumps (Summit Racing Turbo mufflers with 90 degree turn downs) just ahead of the rear axle on my 79' Mustang that had a warmed over 306 with RV cam, 10:1, small carb, etc. That thing screamed and had a truly unique sound. The unibody acts as a sound trap as it reverberates off the pavement. Gotta watch though as it's an easy way to kill yourself at a red light, but man it's a nice sound.

Assuming it's not something related to the serpentine belt and accessories, alt, etc. your power steering fluid could be bad. My power steering assist was mildly stiff when I got my 95'. Over the course of roughly a year, it got worse and had "dead spots" where it went from assist to no assist. Thought for certain the rack was failing, but decided to change the fluid first (it uses Dexron trans fluid which doesn't age well) and I did that twice to get remnants out of the lines/rack. Completely rejuvenated the power steering assist. You need to have a voltmeter (multimeter works) on your electrical system and find out if it's charging properly or not. You could also have a slipping belt, an AC compressor locking up, etc.

You'd be better off buying an older 1990's Ford/Chevy work truck with 2WD and auto (be sure to check the trans fluid as GM autos from the era failed constantly around 80k miles). Get a simple, bare-bones truck for $1500-$2k. You know the type, manual crank windows, rubber floor,-basic. Most already have a class 3 hitch. Minor towing, factory brakes will suffice. If it doesn't have a trans cooler, it'll need one. They run $45-100 and look like mini radiators. Very simple and easy to run one in tandem with the factory radiator cooler. I used to tow 750 pound dolly on my 96' Mark VIII and pulled everything from MVP minivans to full-size Chevy vans to even a couple extended cab F150's through the hills of western PA on the interstate and old state highways. That car weighed roughly 3800 pounds factory, and was over 4100 with me, tools, hitch, etc. + 750 for dolly + 3k to 5500+ pounds on the dolly. Think was ultra stable though it had air bags. Got plenty of WTH moments passing the trucks so a decent truck should be similar.

CEL is probably the header. Factory might run dual cats, but a single cat can suffice so long as it's a decent diameter and not too far away from the header (further away, the colder it'll operate). Link states header uses factory O2 locations. Your down stream O2 MUST be AFTER the cat. Verify that it is. The vibration is most likely a rubbing exhaust pipe, rubbing muffler, etc. If ANY of the exhaust touches the body or anything solid, it'll vibrate and make noise. This is why the factory uses soft rubber hanger isolators is negate any vibration. Sounds like the muffler shop did a poor fitment. They are absolutely bull-sxxxing you about the increased flow causing extra vibrations, or the person is a moron. You can run 2" or 3" pipe, it won't cause extra vibrations. An obnoxious 40 series Flowmaster (or similar) however can cause excessive droning and that can cause a resonance vibration in the car, or make other objects vibrate.

Straight thru mufflers that are literally a straight shot from one end to the other w/o baffling, do little to limit noise. If you run a couple of them end to end on say a turbo engine, they can sometimes be manageable if you are not getting on it constantly. Flowmaster, and similar mufflers rely on internal baffling, that deflects sound waves, has sound traps, etc. to give a unique sound, and with Flowmaster, they offer different "series" of them, with I think the lower the number, the more aggressive the tone, regardless if a cat in place or not. Summit Racing makes a welded case muffler that's apparently a copy of the 50 series or something in that realm after a patent for Flowmaster expired (this was told to me, I assume it was true). Anyhow, I ran 2 of those on my Mark VIII (4.6L DOHC) and they were obnoxious. Those lasted about a week before getting cut off. If you have one of those "look at me" trucks, they are perfect. A daily driver car? No. If you want increased flow, a clean sound with a minute amount of clean aggression when stomping on it, and 35-45 pound weight loss, give one of those Summit Racing turbo mufflers a try. I personally love them, and they can get meaner behind a performance V8 engine while still being quiet for cruising. On 4 cylinder cars with cats in place, they give a really clean tone w/o the obnoxious rasp or cackle. They typically run $35 each, so it's a cheap experiment to see if you like the note. Can try googling them. This link: the 1st mufflers are the turbo variants, the second ones in the video are welded case Flowmaster knock-offs. The welded ones are MUCH louder in person as that's what I ran with cats. Also, pipe diameter outlet affects sound as does a dual outlet. If you have a 2.5" outlet, that'll be louder than a 1 7/8" outlet. Entire pipe diameter from cat back has an effect on sound as well.

My 95' does the same thing, and it started doing this sometime after purchasing, and seems the rear is the culprit. Bumps in the road and the pads clank around loudly, though mine doesn't pull. I'd suggest installing new pads as your pad clips are probably bad, causing them to sit loose and clank against the rotor. New pads with the shim should fix it.