suprjohn

Well done! Were you able to find all those suspension parts as a kit, or did you have to purchase them individually? John

Yeah, I don't really NEED an automatic; it's just kind of a personal preference. My knees aren't getting any younger. lol John

That might almost be doable for me! Wonder if they would allow an '89 DL wagon? John

Thanks for all the input guys! I'm glad I asked here before I suggested it to her. I guess if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Don't get me wrong, my sister loves her Forrester. And you're right, she did get it after someone side swiped her 2000-something Malibu, so her mileage expectations may have been a little high. At any rate, thanks! John

Thanks guys! I'm mostly "bench racing" at this point due to budget constraints, but I will keep my eyes peeled for the right parts. The auto four speed sounds intriguing... John

Hey All? It seems most guys want to convert from automatic to five speed, but I would kind of prefer an automatic. That being said, I'll admit I don't know much about Subaru automatics. Are they reliable? Efficient? Would this conversion even be possible? Thoughts, opinions, advice welcome! John

Thanks Bushwick! I'll pass that info on, and she can decide for herself if she wants to try it. :-) John

So I was talking with a guy with a 2000??? Something outback. He said he pulled a fuse to disable the AWD, and run FWD in the summer netting him an extra seven MPG. Is this possible/plausible/advisable? Not applicable to my '89 DL wagon but my sister has a '10 Forrester that she says she's disappointed in the fuel economy with. Advice, opinions, info welcome! John

I wondered if any other makes of handles would work. I may have to explore that option. I'll keep you posted. John

Thanks! i'd kind of hate to change doors, unless i could find some the same color…but stripping the parts out might be doable... i have to be kind of careful about getting another parts car…She Who Must Be Obeyed has stated that if i bring in another one, i will have to live in it…lol i might see if the local wrecker has any subaru's. :-) john

I picked up some Maguire's bumper black. I haven't tried it yet, but how much do you want to bet it's shoe polish in a bottle that costs twice as much? lol John

21 hours is insane! Drop a class and work on your Subaru! lol Kidding. I have no real answer for you. John

LOL Well there you go! John

has anyone here ever installed or used or have any info or favorites for after market power windows? i'm having a dickens of a time finding good window handles and i wouldn't mind having power windows. comments, opinions welcome! john

Yeah, I was pretty jazzed not to have disintegrated foam, leaves, rodent excrement and Lord knows what else blowing out at me. Lol And my heater works great! Just in time for summer! lol John

Thanks Guys! Sorry I've been slow to reply; didn't get notified for some reason. I will check into those fixes. Thanks! John

Sorry for being slow to post on this. Didn't get notified on responses for some reason. Yup, there's like three vacuum motors or actuators this open and close flaps to direct air and regulate the amount of air flowing over the heater core. There are foam seals and gaskets throughout the HVAC system, to seal joints, seal doors, and reduce nose I assume. Time and rodents had destroyed all of these in my system. I replaced all of this with foam weather stripping and batting. I tested the vacuum actuators with a handheld vacuum pump. I also replaced the blower motor. I now have forced warm air, just as God intended! :-) John

Now that my dash is back in, I took some time to look at the blinking LED on the ECM. Near as I can tell it's flashing 34 & 35, though it's kind of hard to distinguish. When I look that up, it says, EGR solenoid, and purge control solenoid. Does that sound plausible? What would be the cheapest best place to start? Advice and opinions welcome! John

Finally got some time and good weather today! Finished making the electrical connections in the dash, and replaced the hoses to the heater core. Reconnected the battery, and after sitting for months, the old girl fired up and ran like a champ! My heater now works great! All the vacuum motor are working, and no more rodent excrement and leaves blowing out the vents! 4x4 still not functioning, so I will have to keep digging on that. Next steps will be to finish installing the dash, recalibrating the gauges, and finishing the stereo install. Good to hear the old girl run! John

Not to hijack your thread, but what size are your tires, and does your Brat have any trouble turning them? How much lift there? Looks nice! John

Shoot! Wish this thread had been around when I did my belts. I might have left the covers off. Although I think I might have a PS leak to address... John

Or you could move to Arizona! Sorry. I crack myself up. John

Not cool. Not a huge fan of GY tires. I've had great luck with Kumho's though. If you look up "date code tires", there's some info on how to tell how old a tire is. John

Looking good! John

Would de-stroking the engine reduce compression or displacement or both? I've read that engines with lower compression are good candidates for forced induction. John